"Say You-Know-Who, will you?" interjected Ron angrily. 

"-- so obviously, the Malfoys knew Black was working for Voldemort --" 

"-- and Malfoy'd love to see you blown into about a million pieces, like Pettigrew! Get a grip. Malfoy's just hoping you'll get Yourself killed before he has to play you at Quidditch." 

"Harry, please," said Hermione, her eyes now shining with tears, "Please be sensible. Black did a terrible, terrible thing, but d-don't Put Yourself in danger, it's what Black wants.... Oh, Harry, you'd be Playing right into Black's hands if you went looking for him. Your mum and dad wouldn't want you to get hurt, would they? They'd never want you to go looking for Black!" 

"I'll never know what they'd have wanted, because thanks to Black, I've never spoken to them," said Harry shortly. 

There was a silence in which Crookshanks stretched luxuriously flexing his claws. Ron's pocket quivered. 

"Look," said Ron, obviously casting around for a change of subject, "it's the holidays! It's nearly Christmas! Let's -- let's go down and see Hagrid. We haven't visited him for ages!"

 "No!" said Hermione quickly. "Harry isn't supposed to leave the castle, Ron --" 

"Yeah, let's go," said Harry, sitting up, "and I can ask him how come he never mentioned Black when he told me all about my parents!"

 Further discussion of Sirius Black plainly wasn't what Ron had had in mind. 

"Or we could have a game of chess, he said hastily, "or Gobstones. Percy left a set --" 

"No, let's visit Hagrid," said Harry firmly. 

So they got their cloaks from their dormitories and set off through the