days at Hogwarts

Chapter 551 Grawp's Choice
The sky looks like an upside-down lake. The bright moon is like a lotus blossoming out of the water. The stars like lotus seeds sparkle and illuminate the lush and quiet woods. Birds perch peacefully on the branches, luminous insects that hide during the day and come out at night float in the air, and the green branches and leaves sway in the breeze.

The two little wizards and the half-giant were sitting in an open space, around a fire made of dry wood.

The smooth and clean rock cake floated in the air, filled with apple pie and steak, and was baked in the scorching outer flame. The honey on the apple pie had melted, emitting a charming sweet fragrance.

The pure-blooded giant was snoring loudly, and two hamsters were sleeping peacefully in a glass jar.

"They've been abusing him all the time. I can't just leave him there." Hagrid whispered, staring at the rock pie that had become a baking tray, and silently looked away.

"Didn't Madame Maxime stop you?" Hermione asked, turning around as she handed a piece of dry wood into the fire.

"She... um... Olympe and I have similar backgrounds. She understood that this was very important to me, and agreed that I should protect my own brother." Hagrid lowered his head and twisted his two big hands in front of him. "But she soon got a little tired of Grawp. I must admit... our situation was very complicated at the time. As you know, the giant tribe has a new Gorgon, and the Tall Horse is tracking down the Death Eaters together. The gifts we gave and the goodwill we tried to gain in the past few days have all gone down the drain. In addition, school is about to start, and as the headmaster of Beauxbatons, she needs to return to school as soon as possible to deal with the affairs of the new school year."

Loren, who was picking sweet potatoes, nodded: "Well, the reason is sufficient and convincing."

"She promised me not to tell anyone, which is good enough..."

"How are you going to get this big guy back to Hogwarts if no one comes to help you?"

"Traveling at night when no one is around, across the moors and all that. I must say Grawp can make pretty good travels when he wants to, but he always wants to go back..."

Hagrid looked up at the two of them and scratched his head. He probably thought this was a happy trouble and laughed, "But now we have your help, everything will be fine. Put Grawp in the spacious scales or pendant, and it will be much more convenient to travel. He won't lose his temper. I have to admit that when he is in a bad mood and gets irritated, his fists waving around are really unbearable. He probably really doesn't know how strong he is!"

"Hagrid, I must say, there's no need to bother with that now."

Hermione raised her head and looked straight into the honest face. "The Giant Tribe has a new Guggo, the one you are familiar with, Orr. They will not let anyone bully Grawp. Send him back, Hagrid. He belongs there. He belongs to the Giant Tribe."

"Oh yes……"

Hagrid was stunned. He turned his head to look at Grawp who was sleeping. A strange panic came over him. He murmured, "The Giant Tribe has a new Gorgon. They are the three siblings who helped me before, the down-to-earth Orr, the clever Gale, and the kind-hearted Mir... Grawp will be well taken care of when he returns. No one will bully him anymore..."

Loren and Hermione said nothing as they took down the baked apple pie and steaks, handed the largest portion to the bruised and dazed Hagrid, and ate their dinner by themselves, even chewing quietly.

Hagrid was still wringing his hands anxiously, and his mumbling became quieter and quieter, almost inaudible under the cover of his snoring.

"He can find food and water by himself. As long as no one bullies him, he will be fine... fine..."

When the half-giant was two years old, his giant mother Friedvafa disliked his short stature, so she abandoned her husband and son and fled back to the giant tribe without any news. Fortunately, he had a responsible father and depended on his father for life. His life in the next few years was simple and plain. When he was eleven years old, he received an admission letter from Hogwarts, which was considered a happy life.

The good life only lasted for a year.

When he was in the second grade, his father died of a serious illness. In the same year, he was involved in a locked room case because he secretly raised an eight-eyed giant spider. He was falsely accused and was expelled, and his wand was broken.

He has lived alone for nearly fifty years. When he received the mission from Dumbledore and came to the giant tribe, he suddenly learned that he had a half-brother. Hagrid couldn't explain how he felt at that time. He was just a half-giant who was expelled from the second grade, had no graduation certificate, and was unfamiliar with grammar. His poor language and clumsy mouth could not support his description of the feeling of his heart pounding and his blood boiling.

When he learned that his younger brother Grawp was being bullied in the giant tribe, had no fresh food to eat, and could not sleep well, he came up with a bold idea - to bring Grawp back to Hogwarts.

Time was running out and there were Death Eaters chasing them from behind, so he didn't have time to think too much and hurriedly set off with Grawp.

Within two days, Olim left.

During last year's Goblet of Fire Tournament, Olym was an elegant lady, well-dressed and tasteful, and she never lost her composure even when she was angry. This time they went to Ben Nevis, where they climbed rocks, slept in caves, and ate cold bread, but she never complained.

She hadn't said it when she left, but Hagrid knew full well that she felt she had done wrong.

"is it wrong?"

Hagrid turned around again and looked at the huge figure lying on the ground in front of them, sleeping soundly. The nearby trees had been uprooted and the branches of various sizes were used to roast two fat wild boars, all of which went into Grawp's stomach.

His younger brother had a round head covered with thick fern-colored curls, chubby ears on both sides, an almost invisible neck in the middle, and a very broad back. He was wearing a rough-sewn gray-brown smock made of animal skin, which was probably prepared for him by their mother a long time ago. It looked a little small and was covered with greasy dirt, making it dirty.

Grawp's smock seemed to strain at the seams as he slept, his legs tucked up beneath him, his dirty bare feet folded over each other on the forest floor.

"Can he really take care of himself when he returns to the giant tribe?" Hagrid couldn't help but doubt in his heart.

The giant not far away was sleeping soundly, while the half-blood giant behind was too troubled to sleep. He ate the sweet and fragrant apple pie with a dazed look in his eyes. His expression was no different from that of eating a rock pie, bland and tasteless.

Loren and Hermione did not disturb Hagrid. No matter how much the advice from outsiders was, it was just advice. He needed to make his own decisions on some things. After eating and drinking, Hermione found a place nearby to camp. Loren threw a few sweet potatoes under the fire, washed and changed clothes, and was busy until late at night before going to bed.

Hermione was worried about Grawp's placement, so she didn't notice that someone was holding her in his arms.

Grawp snored all night long.

Early the next morning.

Loren dug out some sweet potatoes that were still warm, tore off the burnt skin, and used the sweet and juicy potato flesh to make jam and spread it on the bread. The three of them had a sweet breakfast.

After packing up the tent, Loren looked up at Hagrid, who looked listless. This man must have been troubled and couldn't sleep all night. The bruises around his eyes from being beaten had faded a little, but the dark circles he had from working hard made up for the fade, and he still had panda eyes.

Hermione looked at the giant who was snoring loudly beside her: "Hagrid, have you thought it through, should we go to Hogwarts, or turn back to the giant tribe?" "Let's go back to the giant tribe..." Hagrid laughed with tears in his eyes, wiped it carelessly with his sleeve, and took a breath of cold air when he touched the wound, his voice choked, "You are right, he belongs to the giant tribe, there he can run freely, instead of following me back to the Forbidden Forest and being kept in captivity like a dangerous animal."

Loren and Hermione looked at Hagrid's appearance and felt sad and a little reluctant.

"I'll go wake him up and introduce him to you..." Hagrid sniffed and strode towards Grawp.

But his way of waking people up was unusual. The two men watched him pick up a long wooden stick and poke it hard in the center of the giant's back. The hard branch collided with the rhinoceros' thick skin, making a dull thud.

"Roar!!"

The giant roared, so loud that it strained the eardrums. The huge Grawp supported himself on the ground with one huge hand, stood up from his knees, and turned his head to see who had woken him up and what had happened.

His features seemed to be carved into a spherical stone. His nose was short, thick, and shapeless, and his mouth was crooked, filled with crooked yellow teeth half the size of a brick. His eyes were relatively small by giant standards, a cloudy green-brown color, and because he had just woken up, his eyelids were half open and half closed.

"How are you, little Grawp?" Hagrid pretended to be cheerful, holding up the long branch and taking a few steps back. "You slept well, didn't you?"

Grawp blinked blankly, raised his dirty knuckles, each as big as a cricket ball, to his eyes and rubbed them vigorously, as if trying to see what had disturbed his sleep.

Hagrid laughed dryly twice. "Little Grawp, I brought two friends to see you. Remember Loren and Hermione, whom I mentioned? They helped us to deal with all the troubles in the giant tribe. Now you can go back to your cave and no one will bully you anymore. You got what you wanted and you can finally go back!"

The giant then realized that there were two even smaller people standing nearby. They lowered their rock-like heads, looked at them with cloudy eyes, and said in a deep and rich voice: "Naren, roast the big meat..."

"Yes, that's right! Oh no...it's not Naren, it's Loren." Hagrid taught awkwardly, but after repeating it several times, Grawp could only pronounce it as Naren.

Hagrid smiled sincerely for the first time, and with some embarrassment, he turned to look at the two of them: "Sorry, Loren, maybe your name is too difficult, so he can only remember it this way. Can he just call you Loren?"

Loren raised his head and looked at Grawp, then smiled and nodded.

The giant felt a kind of gentle and friendly attitude from that smile, like warm sunshine shining on his body. It made him squint his eyes and a happy expression appeared on his rock-like face.

"This is Hermione."

"Hermi..."

Seeing the little witch's helpless expression, Hagrid couldn't help but smile and his eyes became sour: "Listen, we are going to send you back to the mountain. You don't have to make a fuss about going back. Are you happy, little Grawp?"

"Oh!"

Grawp seemed to understand what he said and roared with joy, and the birds perched in the trees were startled by their chirping and flew away.

Hagrid kept nagging, not caring whether the giant in front of him could understand him or not: "Poor little Grawp, remember to make your clothes bigger when you go back. I'll ask someone to help you. Remember, don't drink water from the mud pits anymore, and don't eat food that has stones in it. I'll come back to see you when I'm free..."

The giant who could not quite understand him seemed to have sensed something. Grawp lowered his huge head a foot and stared straight at the short man in front of him, at the face that had gradually become familiar to him in the past few days, and growled in a low voice: "Grill meat, grill big meat..."

Hagrid's nose felt sore, and he turned his head away from his expectant eyes and said in a muffled voice, "Oh, glutton Grawp, before we leave, we will make you a barbecue, a real barbecue. I will find a way to learn how to barbecue in the future, and I will come to cook for you during the holidays. You know, it's not that I don't know how to barbecue, but the firewood is not good these days, the meat is not good, and the seasoning is not enough..."

Grawp looked up to find his target, and a giant hand suddenly stretched out towards Loren from nowhere. The two men who were leaning against each other moved swiftly and stepped back to hide behind a big tree. The giant's fist brushed against the tree trunk and missed.

"Bad boy, Grawp! Such a bad boy! Don't catch people...Oh!" Hagrid suddenly stopped his scolding shouting.

Two days ago, the huge hand that was retracted would have punched him in anger, but now, Grawp just pushed him childishly and even restrained his strength, which only made Hagrid stagger a few steps and did not even fall to the ground.

Grawp pointed in the direction of the Giant's Hollow with one hand, shook his head and kept shaking it, muttering the only word he had learned: "Grill the big meat, grill the big meat..."

Hagrid's eyes lit up, and he asked tentatively, "You mean, there's no barbecue there, so you don't want to go back?"

Grawp nodded so hard and forcefully that Loren and Hermione wondered if his head would suddenly fall off.

"Oh..." Hagrid sniffed, and the tears he had been holding back all morning finally fell, but they were tears of joy, "Greedy boy, Grawp, you are such a glutton, have you thought it through? If you want to eat barbecue, you have to come back to Hogwarts with me..."

Crying and laughing...

Grawp pushed him again, his disdain clearly written on his face.

Hagrid staggered a few times and fell to the ground, but he was not angry at all. His unshaven face with panda eyes showed a happy smile. Seeing his funny appearance, Grawp couldn't help laughing out loud, and his rock-like face showed a dull joy.

"..."

Loren looked at his older brother and younger brother, leaned close to Hermione's ear, and whispered, "Do you think there is room for him to run in the Forbidden Forest? At the Sorting Party, will Dumbledore emphasize that young wizards are not allowed to go to the Forbidden Forest? Will Hogwarts add new school rules?"

Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "It has always been a Hogwarts rule to prohibit students from going to the Forbidden Forest."

"is it?"

Loren opened his eyes wide in surprise. How come he had no impression of this?

(End of this chapter)