Chapter 408: Harry's Transformation

Chapter 408: Harry’s Transformation

Rock cakes have always been Hagrid's specialty.

These cookies, hard enough to chip an ordinary person's teeth, are generally not something Harry and the others can easily accept.

But today, they didn't refuse. Instead, they held the rock cakes in their mouths while staring at Hagrid's face.

"What happened to you? You look like you've been in a fight with a dragon!"

Hagrid indeed looked terrible, even though his spirits were high.

His hair was a mess, matted with blood, his left eye swollen shut and black and blue, and his face and hands were covered in cuts, some still bleeding. His movements were careful, and Harry suspected that some of his ribs might be broken.

Yesterday, in the Great Hall, Harry had only seen Hagrid's hurried departure before dinner, not noticing the severity of his injuries.

"What happened to you?" Harry asked, as Fang jumped around them, licking their faces.

"I'm fine", Hagrid said, trying to sound casual. "Want some tea?"

"Forget it", Ron said, eyeing Hagrid's condition. "Look at you!"

"I'm telling you, I'm fine", Hagrid straightened up and tried to smile, but the movement pulled at his wounds, causing him to wince. "Ah, it's good to see you all—did you have a good summer, by the way?"

Although Christmas had been over for almost a month, Hagrid's question wasn't strange, as they hadn't seen him since the end of the previous semester.

"Hagrid, did you get attacked?" Ron asked.

"For the last time, I'm fine!" Hagrid insisted.

"If one of our faces turned into a bloody mess, would you say it's fine?"

"You should let Madam Pomfrey look at those wounds, Hagrid", Hermione said worriedly. "Some of them look dangerous."

Hagrid, however, acted as if nothing was wrong, picking up a piece of raw meat from the table that was oozing greenish blood.

"Don't worry about me, I'm really fine."

As he spoke, he pressed the meat to his face, a gesture that made Harry gasp.

"You're not going to eat that raw meat, are you?"

Ron leaned in to look. "It looks poisonous."

Hagrid, however, was unconcerned and pressed the meat to his wounds.

"It's supposed to look like that. It's dragon meat. It helps with the pain, so I can take care of myself. No need for you kids to worry."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchanged glances, silently agreeing to drop the matter of Hagrid's injuries for now and ask about something else.

"Can you tell us what happened?" Harry asked.

"No, Harry, it's top secret. I can't tell you. My job isn't worth this responsibility."

Hagrid's answer was firm, but Hermione's next words threw him into a panic.

"Did you go to see the giants, Hagrid?" Hermione asked suddenly.

Hagrid's hand slipped, and the dragon meat fell to his chest.

"Giants?" Hagrid caught the meat before it hit his belt and pressed it back to his face. He hadn't even considered that Hermione was trying to trick him, and he blurted out, "Who mentioned giants? Who did you talk to?"

Hermione's eyes sparkled with excitement, and she said apologetically,

"We guessed. It's pretty obvious, isn't it? Besides, we overheard Kingsley and the others talking about it at Number 12, Grimmauld Place during the summer, about trying to win over the giants and the werewolves."

Hagrid's face showed frustration. He was angry with himself for letting Hermione trick him into revealing his whereabouts after so many months.

He had always been trusted by Dumbledore, but sometimes it wasn't that he didn't want to keep secrets; it was just that some people were too clever.

"Alright, I did go to see the giants", Hagrid admitted, figuring there was no point in hiding it anymore. After all, this wasn't the first time, and Harry and the others were far from strangers.

Ron and Harry were both very interested in the topic of giants.

"To be honest, they weren't that hard to find", Hagrid said. "They're pretty big."

"Where are they?" Ron asked.

"In the mountains", Hagrid replied vaguely.

Harry and the others asked many more questions about the giants, and Hagrid answered them one by one.

This nearly half-year journey wasn't something Hagrid had undertaken alone. He and Madam Maxime, the headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, had eventually teamed up.

The two of them embarked on a journey to find giants under the guise of a holiday in France, taking such covert action to avoid drawing the attention of the Ministry of Magic.

"Mad-Eye Moody warned us that the Death Eaters have many informants within the Ministry of Magic. They can monitor the Floo Network and trace Apparition, so in most cases, we had to travel on foot."

According to Hagrid, they eventually found the giant colony in the mountains of central France.

They presented gifts to the giants according to their customs.

At first, things went relatively smoothly. The Chieftain of the giant colony had heard of Dumbledore's reputation and knew that he had always advocated for the rights of giants to survive.

So, for the first two days, Hagrid and his companions made significant progress.

However, on the third day, a rebellion broke out within the giant community. The Chieftain who was friendly with Dumbledore was beheaded by the new Chieftain.

The new Chieftain showed no interest in them. When Hagrid, despite the risk, tried to win the new Chieftain over with the same method used for the old one, he was immediately captured. Luckily, Madame Maxime reacted quickly and managed to save Hagrid.

They did not give up and continued to linger nearby, hoping for an opportunity. It was then that they spotted the Death Eaters.

"Before we decided to seek out the giants, Sherlock had little hope for this mission. He believed that the Dark Lord was also taking action, rallying his allies. The creatures on Azkaban have fully turned to them. According to Lupin's information, many Werewolves have joined the Death Eaters because the Dark Lord can offer them better benefits."

"Meanwhile, we have made few promises, not even vague ones. Compared to the violent factions who may never keep their word, we have little advantage."

Hagrid said with a worried expression.

"At first, I doubted Sherlock's words. I thought that if I approached the giants with sincerity, they would be willing to listen and realize that the Death Eaters are not trustworthy. But in reality, only a few giants were willing to hear us out. The Dark Lord's offers were far more enticing."

Harry remained silent, already guessing the conditions Voldemort would use to lure these giants into an alliance.

There are now fewer than a hundred giants left in the world, a situation entirely due to wizards continuously driving them out, shrinking their living space. Muggles have also expanded into the wilderness more than ever, making life even harder for giants.

If Voldemort promised them that, after fully ruling the Wizarding World, they would no longer have to hide in the mountains and could claim more territory, Harry himself, if he were the giant Chieftain, would be willing to agree.

However, Hagrid's mission was not entirely fruitless. While evading the combined pursuit of the Death Eaters and the giants loyal to the new Chieftain, they managed to contact a few giants who refused to submit to the new leader. There were only about seven or eight of them, but it was better than nothing.

Hermione cautiously asked, "Hagrid, did you find out anything about your mother?"

Hagrid's face did not show any signs of sadness or distress.

"Oh, I found out that she died a long time ago."

The room fell silent. Hermione, looking apologetic, said, "I'm sorry, Hagrid. I didn't know."

Hagrid interrupted her, "It's alright, Hermione. She wasn't a good mother, and I don't have much affection for her."

"But you haven't explained how you ended up like this, Hagrid", Ron pointed to Hagrid's bloodstained face.

"And why you returned so late", Harry added. "Sirius Black said Madame Maxime returned early—"

"Who attacked you?" Ron asked.

Hagrid clearly did not want to discuss the matter further. This time, he was more tight-lipped, refusing to give Harry and the others any information.

"It's very late, children. The castle is about to start Curfew. You don't want to break the rules and get caught by Filch, do you?"

He ushered Harry and the others out of his hut.

"Remember not to tell anyone else about what we talked about today."

There was nothing they could do, so Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked together toward the castle under the cover of night.

"Hagrid is definitely hiding something", Ron said.

This was a fact that anyone could see.

"Let it go. The more we know, the less good it does us."

Ron and Hermione looked at Harry in surprise. This was not the kind of thing the old Harry would have said.

"Have you been hit by an Imperius Curse, Harry?"

Hermione slapped Ron on the back.

"Stop being ridiculous. Harry has become a lot more sensible than before."

Harry remained silent, not knowing what to say in response to Ron's shock and Hermione's praise.

He was thinking that if it were the old Harry, he might have tried to uncover Hagrid's secret no matter what, perhaps even sneaking out tonight under the Invisibility Cloak to see what Hagrid was up to.

But now, with the guidance of Sherlock and Lily, Harry had changed a lot, especially in his impulsive nature.

After Harry and the others left, Hagrid sat restlessly in his small hut, waiting.

He sat on the single sofa for a while, then stood up, feeling uneasy, and began pacing around the middle of the hut.

About an hour after Harry and the others had left, around nine o'clock, when the castle curfew had already begun, there was a knock on the door of Hagrid's hut.

Hagrid's spirits lifted immediately. He hurried over to open the door and welcomed Sherlock inside.

"You finally came, Sherlock. I thought you might have forgotten."

Sherlock looked at Hagrid's anxious expression with a hint of exasperation.

"How could I forget? But you didn't just sit here waiting for me, did you?"

Hagrid's smile turned awkward at this question, but he didn't try to hide it.

"For a while before you came, Harry, Ron, and Hermione visited me."

Sherlock didn't need Hagrid to say more to guess what had happened.

He squinted his eyes and asked,

"You told them about the giants?"

"They guessed it first!" Hagrid tried to explain.

Sherlock sighed and waved his hand.

"It's fine. It's not a big deal. But did you tell them about what we're going to do tonight?"

Hagrid, facing Sherlock's skeptical look, confidently slapped his chest.

"I didn't say a single word, I swear!"

"Did they guess anything?"

"I can be sure that Harry and Ron didn't guess anything, but I can't be certain about Hermione. She asked about my mother."

Sherlock shook his head.

"It's okay if Hermione guessed. She's much more mature. In our third year, she figured out Lupin's identity early on but never said anything and didn't tell Harry or Ron."

Hagrid nodded in agreement.

"Hermione is indeed more sensible than Harry and Ron."

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Have you already taken him to the Forbidden Forest?"

"Not far from the Centaur territory."

"Then let's go now. We need to find him a suitable place first."

The two of them left Hagrid's hut. Hagrid held Fluffy's leash and walked into the Forbidden Forest alongside Sherlock.

For Hagrid, who had been guarding this forest for most of his life, the routes and environment were second nature.

They headed deep into the Forbidden Forest.

"What do the Centaurs think about their new neighbor?" Sherlock asked.

Hagrid chuckled sheepishly.

"They don't seem too happy. I've been trying to convince them that Grawp is easy to get along with, but they don't seem to agree."

"Well, he's not like you. He's a pure-blood giant, and it's already a good sign that he can communicate with humans. We can't expect much more from him."

"I can teach him, Sherlock. I can make him better. He just needs time."

"Easy, Hagrid. I didn't mean anything by it, and I don't doubt you. I certainly wouldn't force you to abandon him. Dumbledore sent me to help you make his life here better."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end