Hagrid escorted Harry through the oak doors as though delivering a prisoner, then swayed away, looking as though the drink had not quite worn off.
He had held on to Harry and muttered to him for ages, the gist of it being-don't leave the Castle, you're safest here, and so on...
Harry knew why, but he did not understand why that man wanted to kill him, so he wanted to ask his friends.
There was still some time before curfew. He brought Su Er and the others into a small room, looking rather miserable.
"Why does everyone want to kill me?" he said. "Why won't that Black leave me alone? How did he escape from Azkaban?"
Hermione looked blank. "Who's Black?"
"Didn't I tell you?" Harry tapped his head and looked at Su Er and Hermione, who were sitting close together. "Well, I'll tell you now. Do you remember that wanted criminal I saw on television when I was at your house over the summer, Su Er?"
Su Er nodded. "Black, the murderer."
"Wait, isn't that Black a Muggle? His wanted notice was in my dad's newspaper."
"He's a Dark wizard." Ron curled his lip. "He's so dangerous that the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, asked the Muggle Prime Minister to help hunt him down. My dad spent the whole summer working on it."
"Ron's right. That Black's target-is me." Harry nodded.
"But why does he insist on killing you?" Hermione was still puzzled.
"Good question." Harry looked glum. "I don't know why he wants to kill me either. Before we boarded the train, I asked Ron's dad, but none of them would say a word about it, as though it was something terrifying."
"Obviously, Black is a loyal follower of Vol... You-Know-Who. You killed You-Know-Who, so of course they'll