Hearing Ron's words, Hermione didn't hesitate for a second—she turned and ran with him in the opposite direction of the crowd.
The Class Prefects were all busy keeping order among their own houses; nobody had the time to care about these two little kids running against the flow.
"God, I hope Harry's okay," Hermione said.
"How could he not be?" Ron answered confidently, "He's the Boy Who Lived! You-Know-Who himself got beaten by him. Just a Giant—how could that possibly hurt him?"
But as he said it, Ron sounded the tiniest bit uncertain.
Giants had skin as tough as dragon hide, and magic resistance through the roof. First-year Young Wizards casting spells at them—forget harming them, even tickling them would be a stretch.
Merlin's socks, Ron prayed silently to Merlin, please let Harry be okay! I'd even give up eating drumsticks for a whole year if it helps!
Harry, who the two of them were so worried about, was just finishing pulling up his trousers.
In fact, he'd planned to use the Halloween feast as an opportunity to sneak down to the Earth Cave beneath the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom to snoop around.
After all, with so many heads at the feast, one or two missing wouldn't look suspicious at all.
And saying he needed the loo was the perfect excuse to slip away—not even just an excuse, because he really did need to go anyway.
As soon as he was done buttoning his robe, he felt something was off.
Why was there a heavy "thud", "thud", "thud" of footsteps coming from outside?
At the same time, a stench assaulted his nose—Harry instantly worked out what it was.
Heavy footsteps, the stench of rotten meat—what else could it be but a Giant?
He pushed open the stall door and looked up, locking eyes with the Giant standing at the entrance.
The Giant by the door was twelve feet tall, its dull, stony-grey skin as drab as granite; its head was about the size of a basketball, and compared to that monstrous body, the head looked downright pitiful.
The Giant was dragging a thick club behind it—thicker and taller than Harry himself.
It visibly hesitated, that tiny brain working overtime to weigh the size difference, then it let out a crazed bellow.
Harry wrinkled his nose in disgust—this thing... had killer breath.
Giants might not be smart, but it could still sense Harry's disdain and contempt. Being looked down on by this little human made it furious!
Still, it couldn't fit together why this little guy's first reaction wasn't to run, but to stand there staring back—he even had the mood to look disgusted!
Harry was mad now—really, seriously mad.
He'd just heard about his old friend's death yesterday. He'd meant to go to the Earth Cave, chase some ghosts from the past, and now here was this big idiot blocking his way.
A Giant showing up at school—there's no way the professors wouldn't notice. By the time they arrived at the bathroom, there'd be no chance for him to slip away.
The Giant raised its massive club, a vicious grin on its face.
Harry grinned back, just as viciously.
Isn't this just perfect timing?
Happens to be in a bad mood, and a thick-skinned punching bag delivers itself right to the door...
Even with its limited brainpower, the Giant was starting to sense something off.
Before it could react, the little guy whipped out a tiny stick, much smaller than the one in its hand.
"Expelliarmus!"
A flash of red light—and the club flew out of the Giant's hand.
But the club didn't fall to the ground; Harry decided to make the most out of this rare stress ball!
He took a deep breath—
—and immediately gagged and rolled his eyes; that stench was just fucking foul.
Seeing its weapon floating midair, the Giant had a question mark pop up over its head. It stretched out a big hand, trying to snatch the club back.
It couldn't for the life of it figure out why it suddenly couldn't get a grip on its weapon.
"Hey, you big lug!" Harry called, and with a flick, used a Transformation Spell to turn the broken doorboard into a thick set of iron shackles, snapping them around the Giant's ankles.
The Giant let out a rough "Oh!", turning to glare at Harry with those ugly little eyes.
Harry controlled the club, flicked his Magic Wand sharply—
—and the club, as if by his will, smashed straight into the Giant's body.
"Oww! Hoouuww!"
The Giant might be tough as hell, but being thwacked by Harry's magically controlled club really didn't feel good.
Harry kept up his assault—left, right, each blow hammering the Giant, carefully avoiding vital spots but showing no mercy.
The Giant, wailing in pain, kept trying to dodge—to wriggle away from Harry's attacks.
But that only made it worse. Thanks to those conjured iron shackles, the Giant lost its balance with a thud and crashed to the floor.
Harry had absolutely no intention of letting the Giant off just because it fell; he not only wanted to vent, but this monster had clearly tried to attack him.
Surely the school wouldn't expel a Young Wizard for beating up a Giant in obvious self-defense?
He mused idly, but his arms didn't slow down—he kept hammering the club onto the Giant's body.
The Giant was now full of regret—deep, bitter regret.
Why the hell did it wander into this weird house, only to mess with such an unremarkable-looking little pest?
But it had no strength left to resist Harry treating it like a human-shaped sandbag—just whimpered and held its bruises, howling in pain.
The agony, regret, and pleas for mercy in that howl—hell, even a Flubber Worm could hear them.
Ron and Hermione heard the Giant's roar too; their hearts raced. Was the Giant venting its anger? Had it found Harry already? Or—was it in the process of pounding Harry into Harry-paste?
"Harry… Harry will be okay, right?" Hermione asked, her voice wet with tears.
"Of course! Definitely!" Ron shouted anxiously, legs moving even faster.
And for that moment, they'd thrown all caution aside—their only thought was the worry for Harry's safety.
"I-Is it this door?"
Ron heard the thuds and the Giant's frustrated howls from inside, and swallowed nervously.
"Wait—let me peek first," Hermione stopped Ron, who was ready to barge in, and whispered, "We shouldn't startle the Giant. What if it's just venting on the bathroom furniture?"
Ron figured she had a point. So, very gently, he pushed open the door.
And then, he saw a sight he knew he'd never forget in his life.