The friendship between Ron and Hermione receives its greatest test to date, while the friendship of your MuggleCast hosts remains solid as ever. We tackle Chapter 13 of Prisoner of Azkaban, "Gryffindor Versus Ravenclaw" and ask Micah all of the sports questions as it pertains to Harry's new broom and Cho Chang's sports tactics. There is also an appearance from Sirius Black, and four Slytherin students are busted but ultimately given a light slap on the wrist for their attempted sabotage. All of that and more on this week's MuggleCast! The MuggleCast Patreon is now offering free trials for 7 days as a way of promoting our amazing bonus content, as well as the upcoming physical gift. Join our Patreon today! Chapter-by-Chapter continues with Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 13: Gryffindor Versus Ravenclaw Seven Word Summary: Cho distracts Harry with her amazing looooooooooooks Is Ron being overdramatic about Scabbers' disappearance? Do we side with Ron or Hermione now that the worst has presumably happened? Expert thread-connector Laura details moments when the trio argues with each other in the future. Did we ever argue with our friends when we were 13 and are we still mad about it today? On the Quidditch field, Cho has a strategy that gets Harry's attention. We examine whether it's fair to play in this way and whether Hogwarts should give everybody the same broom. Harry succeeds in casting his first full Patronus, but is it really an accomplishment given the circumstances? Does McGonagall go easy on Draco, Crabbe, Goyle and Flint? The hosts examine Harry's latest dream and connect it to future books. Did nobody show Sir Cadogan a picture of Sirius Black? How secure is Hogwarts anyway? Quizzitch: What does Flitwick do to the front doors of Hogwarts? Next Week: Chapter 14 of Prisoner of Azkaban, "Snape's Grudge" This week's episode is brought to you by Indeed. Visit Indeed.com/MuggleCast to start hiring now. In Bonus MuggleCast, Laura takes us through stories that seem to be full-on Harry Potter rip-offs, worldwide. Join our Patreon at Patreon.com/MuggleCast today to listen! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Expecto Patronum! On this week's episode of MuggleCast, Andrew, Micah, Laura and Chloé join Harry as he faces down his biggest fears under the tutelage of his greatest teacher! Plus, just what's up with Oliver Wood? Was he really going to bench The Chosen One? Happy 20th anniversary to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix! On this week's bonus MuggleCast on Patreon, we celebrate 20 years of the fifth book! Chapter-by-Chapter continues with Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 12: The Patronus Seven Word Summary: Lupin teaches Harry how to fight Dementors  How does the faculty feel about Lupin searching their personal spaces for a boggart? Why is it that a boggart Dementor has the same effect on Harry as a real Dementor? Harry struggles to find a powerful enough memory to conjure a Patronus. If we were in Harry’s position, what would we choose? Harry's internal struggle: for as much as he wants to fight the Dementor, he also wants to hear his parents How much is the Horcrux influencing Harry at certain moments throughout this chapter? Lupin is the first adult figure to really believe in Harry! We examine Lupin's reactions to the mentions of both James and Sirius What if the dementor’s kiss was your FIRST (and only) kiss? ::vomit:: Lupin challenges Harry on Sirius receiving the Dementor's Kiss. Is this as a friend, a compassionate human being or a bit of both? Anywayyyyyyy, back to the Firebolt Fiasco! Wouldn’t a teacher have found out eventually that Harry had a super cool new broom, and wonder where it came from? Which begs the question... shouldn't there be standardized equipment for school-based Quidditch? Did Oliver Wood plan to bench Harry? Is there nothing he wouldn't do to win? Odds & Ends cover Lupin's condition, Neville's password problem, Hermione's favorite subject, and more! Quizzitch: What does Percy win from his girlfriend Penelope when Gryffindor beats Ravenclaw? Next Week: Chapter 13 of Prisoner of Azkaban, Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw This week's episode is brought to you by Factor (visit FactorMeals.com/MuggleCast50 and use code mugglecast50 to get 50% off your first box)and BetterHelp (visit BetterHelp.com/MuggleCast today to get 10% off your first month). Our Patreon is now offering 7-day free trials: Get full access to Bonus MuggleCasts and behind-the-scenes extras for a limited time!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode of MuggleCast, it's Christmas break at Hogwarts and the castle is full of emotions... and mostly the not-so-good kind. Since Hogwarts doesn’t have a guidance counselor, we’ll be the trio’s guiding light today! Join Andrew, Eric, Micah, Laura and Jason as they enjoy a special meal inside The Great Hall with all the stress and awkwardness of a normal holiday family get-together! Welcome Slug Club member, Jason! Our Patreon is now offering 7-day free trials! Get full access to Bonus MuggleCasts and behind-the-scenes extras for a limited time! Chapter-by-Chapter continues with Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 11: The Firebolt Seven Word Summary: Somebody sends a Firebolt mysteriously to Harry “A hatred such as he had never known before was coursing through Harry like poison." Harry quickly grows obsessive over hating Sirius Black. How much could his Horcrux be fueling these emotions? Why didn't anyone ever tell Harry that the reason James and Lily Potter died was because their best friend Sirius had betrayed them? We discuss how in both Prisoner of Azkaban and Order of the Phoenix, Harry not being given information negatively impacts his mental health and leads to reckless decision-making! We analyze Harry's treatment of Ron and Hermione in this  chapter Comparing Gryffindors: Peter Pettigrew and Neville Longbottom Comforting Hagrid: Lucius Malfoy’s influence rear its ugly head again! Did they not learn from the previous year when he threatened the Board of Governors? Hagrid goes into grim detail about his time in Azkaban. Should Azkaban just be for maximum security prisoners? Fan Fic Alert: “The Other Prisoner of Azkaban” by Jack Ichijouji The Firebolt: Does Hogwarts not have a security measure in place for packages delivered to the school? Why, just now, are they “evaluating” the broom? When 13 dine, the first to rise is the first to die: did Trelawney get it right after all? What crawled up McGonagall's @$$? Hermione's Most Gryffindor Moment Odds & Ends cover Manticores, Lupin's condition, Pettigrew's finger and more! Quizzitch: In which location does Harry’s first Patronus lesson take place? Next Week: Chapter 12 of Prisoner of Azkaban, The Patronus This week's episode is brought to you by Indeed (visit Indeed.com/MuggleCast to start hiring now)  and ZocDoc (visit ZocDoc.com/MuggleCast, download the app, and schedule your next health appointment today)! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From pranksters to marauders, this week’s chapter by chapter episode of MuggleCast is PACKED with all of our favorite characters and overflowing with plot. Join Andrew, Eric, Laura and Micah for a trip to Hogsmeade where we learn all about Sirius Black and his secret connection to Harry. Also, Professor Lupin reminds us why he’s our favorite teacher. Our Patreon is now offering 7 day free trials! Get full access to Bonus MuggleCasts and behind the scenes extras for a limited time! This week, we read through Prisoner of Azkaban Chapter 10, “The Marauder’s Map”! Seven Word Summary: Secrets are divulged via Professors drinking Butterbeer The hosts reflect on Harry’s attachment to his broken Nimbus 2000 and their own attachment to inanimate objects from their youth. Harry’s isolation is hard to watch as with Book Five, but why doesn’t he reach out to Hermione and Ron? And, is Dumbledore to blame for all of it? When Lupin reaches for Harry, should we have intuited more about his relationship to the boy? What about when he drops his briefcase? Just how hard is it to learn the Patronus Charm and why isn’t it more widely taught? Is the Marauder’s Map a dangerous magical item? Are Fred and George reckless for giving it to Harry? How did Fred and George learn to use the map? Did the map itself help? What impressive magic is involved in the function of the map? Secrets are revealed and we wonder how the teachers could have kept this from Harry. Quizzitch: What date is set for the Ministry hearing of Hagrid and Buckbeak? This week’s episode is brought to you by Indeed (visit Indeed.com/MuggleCast to start hiring now) and BetterHelp (visit BetterHelp.com/MuggleCast today to get 10% off your first month). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we're taking a break from your regularly scheduled programming! BUT, Micah recently got a chance to preview Harry Potter: The Exhibition in New York City! Enjoy this MuggleMiniCast, which includes an interview with Tom Zaller, the President & CEO of Imagine Exhibitions. Harry Potter: The Exhibition is now open in NYC’s Herald Square! Micah speaks with Tom Zaller, the President & CEO of Imagine Exhibitions Eric and Micah discuss how this exhibition differs from previous ones, what to expect as you make your way through, favorite moments, exclusive merchandise and more! Next week: Chapter-by-Chapter returns with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 10: The Marauder's Map And don’t forget! There’s much more MuggleCast waiting for you on Patreon, including Bonus MuggleCast segments! Most recently we discussed if HBO Max should gear the new Harry Potter TV show towards adults and the next Wizarding World park coming to Universal Orlando! Become a patron of ours today at Patreon.com/MuggleCast! As always, we appreciate your support of the show! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode, join us as we elude mass murderers with a sleepover in The Great Hall, attend a brutal Defense Against The Dark Arts class and play Quidditch in the worst possible conditions! What could possibly go wrong? Harry Potter: The Exhibition is now open in NYC’s Herald Square! Micah got a chance to preview the experience, so keep an eye out for a Muggle MiniCast set to be released Memorial Day Weekend, which includes an interview with Tom Zaller, the President & CEO of Imagine Exhibitions. Main Discussion: Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 9: Grim Defeat 7-Word Summary: Suspicions rock the Hogwarts student body tonight With Sirius Black running around Hogwarts, shouldn’t at least one professor have stayed WITH the students in The Great Hall?  How did Sirius Black break into Hogwarts? Could Crookshanks have been involved? Has Sirius formed a connection with him at this point?  Why isn’t the Ministry alerted? This is now TWICE that Sirius has gotten past the Dementors! What was the conversation like between Sirius Black and the Fat Lady? We analyze Snape's conduct in teaching Defense Against The Dark Arts, his great joy in criticizing the students’ lack of knowledge on the subject, and his attempt to sow seeds of doubt amongst about Lupin’s effectiveness as a teacher! Snape is trying to OUT Lupin! Is Snape more vicious in Prisoner of Azkaban than he is at any other point in the series?  Do we think Sirius knows Lupin is at Hogwarts? Did he use Lupin’s "time of the month" to his advantage as well? Could Lupin be “sick” because of the guilt of knowing that Sirius broke into the castle?  Quidditch Controversy: What's up with the Slytherin favoritism? Did the dementors come onto the Quidditch pitch because of Sirius?  Odds & Ends cover Cedric Diggory, Harry's worst memory, Hermione's bloodshot eyes and more! Quizzitch: In what school year of theirs did the Weasley Twins obtain the Marauder's map? Next Week: Reminder, we’re off BUT you will get a very cool MuggleMiniCast all about the new Harry Potter: The Exhibition! This week’s episode is brought to you by BetterHelp (visit BetterHelp.com/MuggleCast today to get 10% off your first month)! And don’t forget! There’s much more MuggleCast waiting for you on Patreon, including Bonus MuggleCast segments! This week, we’ll have a new look at the next Wizarding World park coming to Universal Orlando! Become a patron of ours today at Patreon.com/MuggleCast! As always, we appreciate your support of the show! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Hogsmeade weekend approaches! Will Harry get his permission slip signed by a stand-in guardian in time? This week we are joined by Slug Club guest Ashley as we discuss Chapter 8 of Prisoner of Azkaban, Flight of the Fat Lady! We discuss Snape's continued bad attitude, Lupin's secret, and whether Harry could've gotten more out of him during their unplanned tea time. Enjoy! Main Discussion: Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 8: Flight of the Fat Lady Welcome Slug Club guest Ashley! Host the show just like Ashley by joining us at Patreon.com/MuggleCast 7-Word Summary, Justice for Micah Edition: Teachers forbid Harry from going to Hogsmeade Snape picks on Neville worse than ever because he's Snape. But does Trelawney pick on Harry due to her prophecy? Did we ever have a teacher we were close with in the way that Parvati and Lavender are with Trelawney? Is Oliver Wood justified in feeling desperate about this year's Quidditch Cup? Is McGonagall mean for not signing Harry's permission slip? She knows about the Dursleys after all. Hosts connect some great threads between Book 3 and Book 5. Harry's Hogsmeade FOMO hits us in the feels. What makes Remus Lupin able and willing to say Voldemort's name? What If: Harry told Lupin about seeing the black dog off Privet Drive? Is Hermione wrong to point out the evidence against Trelawney's prediction about Binky? Could her doing so point to neurodivergent behavior? Rename the Chapter returns! And hosts assign MVP of the Week. Quzzitch: What does Hannah Abbott tell the students that Sirius Black can transform into? Next week: Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 9: Grim Defeat This week's show is brought to you by Indeed (visit Indeed.com/MuggleCast to start hiring now) and HelloFresh (use code "muggle16" for 16 free meals at HelloFresh.com/Muggle16), and by ZocDoc. Visit Zocdoc dot com slash mugglecast, download the app, and schedule your next health appointment today. And don’t forget! There’s much more MuggleCast waiting for you on Patreon, including Bonus MuggleCast segments! This week, we discuss how the Harry Potter TV show could appeal more to adults! Become a patron of ours today at Patreon.com/MuggleCast! As always, we appreciate your support of the show! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The podcast discusses the contrasting teaching styles of Snape and Lupin in Hogwarts, analyzing the impact on students. They delve into Snape's treatment of students outside Slytherin, the effects of bullying vs. collaboration, and emotions elicited from Harry and Neville. Lupin's past with Snape influences his instruction to Neville, while exploring symbolism and character nuances in Harry Potter.

This week the hosts dive deep into the MuggleMail bag to bring listeners' latest thoughts on recent Chapter-By-Chapter segments, as well as the new Harry Potter television series announcement! Voicemails include a 10 year old asking if Harry abuses Hedwig by making her travel so far, and someone has a theory about a Dementor that we all adopt on the spot as canon. Check out this laid back correspondence episode and be blown away by the opinions of our listeners. Main Discussion: It's a MuggleMail bag episode! Voicemails ask if the WWOHP theme park will adjust itself to accommodate the new TV series, a potential Cursed Child adaptation featuring the original trio, and an HP cartoon. More ideas for the HP TV series abound, with one listener asking how far the creators will stray from the look and feel of Hogwarts and surrounding areas. Will members of the HP movies be brought into new roles as a nod to their original performances? Who do we think would be most likely? One listener fan-casts the HP TV series for an actor from the Sandman series. Could the TV show flesh out the moments when Hermione and Ron learned that they would be attending Hogwarts? An eagle-eyed listener points out the use of the term 'Azkaban guards' disappears once we are introduced to Dementors. We hear a tragic story of school bullying where the school covered it up, and comparisons are made to Hogwarts The hosts reveal that double decker buses are not as prominent in the US as in the UK, in response to an email. And, the Sneakoscope was always right when Peter was around. Our latest "Legacy" E-mail from 2006 asks us if we think Draco and Harry will work together to defeat Voldemort. We offer our theories 17 years too late. Quizzitch: What animal causes the death of Lavender Brown's rabbit? Next Week: We return to Prisoner of Azkaban Chapter By Chapter with Chapter 7, "The Boggart in the Wardrobe"!! This week’s episode is brought to you by BetterHelp (visit BetterHelp.com/MuggleCast today to get 10% off your first month), and also Indeed. Visit Indeed.com/MuggleCast to start hiring now. And don’t forget! There’s much more MuggleCast waiting for you on Patreon, including Bonus MuggleCast segments! Most recently, we discussed more breaking news... a brand-new Quidditch video game! Become a patron of ours today at Patreon.com/MuggleCast! As always, we appreciate your support of the show! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode, get ready to broaden your minds and see past the mundane as we take our first Divination class! And remember to bow and blink while listening to this episode or your may be attacked by a hippogriff!  News covers a new Quidditch video game is coming soon… for consoles! We’ll discuss it in this week's Bonus MuggleCast, which is available exclusively on our Patreon! Main Discussion: Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 6: Talons and Tea Leaves 7-Word Summary: McGonagall shades Trelawney during Transfiguration class, ooooooo! We meet Professor Trelawney, who we later learn made the prophecy about Voldemort and Harry/Neville.  From Neville's grandmother to Parvati's stalker to an Easter departure, we keep track of Trelawney’s predictions and see if they come true! Have any of the hosts ever seen a fortune teller or tarot card reader? What did we make of the experience? Do we think Hermione is too quick to judge Trelawney? Does McGonagall influence her opinion? Professor Hagrid... Micah argues Dumbledore set him up for failure from the start! Name Origins: The Grim & Hippogriff Does Harry offer to approach Buckbeak to test the validity of his death omen? Odds & Ends cover paying attention in Transfiguration class (cough, animagi), Hermione's busy class schedule, Sir Cadogan and more! Quizzitch: What form does Parvati Patil's Boggart take? Next Week: It's a MuggleMail bag covering Prisoner of Azkaban and the new Harry Potter TV show announcement This week’s episode is brought to you by BetterHelp (visit BetterHelp.com/MuggleCast today to get 10% off your first month). And don’t forget! There’s much more MuggleCast waiting for you on Patreon, including Bonus MuggleCast segments! This week, we discuss more breaking news... a brand-new Quidditch video game! Become a patron of ours today at Patreon.com/MuggleCast! As always, we appreciate your support of the show! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices