"They intend to capture Grop?"
Nagini recognized the giant immediately. It was a surprise, nothing more.
"Tom, what do you plan to do?" she questioned.
"..."
Tom still preferred to observe, uninterested in interfering directly. He felt no particular attachment to Grop.
However...
"Go and wake Hagrid," Tom instructed.
Even without any intention of intervening, Grop was, after all, the only giant in his eyes who, while foolish, wouldn't "do anything stupid" to cause him trouble. Tom didn't have any ill feelings towards Grop.
Since he'd seen it, he'd leave it to Hagrid to handle.
Consider it a small favor for a colleague.
The scene shifted, and they were back in the house.
They were still sitting on the bed.
Nagini hopped off and slithered towards Hagrid, who was sleeping soundly by the door.
The situation was rather ironic; even after "returning home," Hagrid was relegated to the "guest room." The giants didn't accept him, and even his own mother treated him like an outsider.
"Hagrid!"
Nagini poked Hagrid with her wand.
Unfortunately, he remained stubbornly asleep.
"Grop is about to be captured!"
"What?!"
Hagrid bolted upright, glancing around wildly before focusing on Nagini.
"Professor?"
Hagrid shook his head. "Must've been half-asleep, imagining things."
"No, it's true."
Nagini pointed out the window. "Fairies have infiltrated the giants' village; they're after your brother."
Bang!
Hagrid kicked the door open, grabbed his little pink umbrella, and charged outside.
The commotion drew the attention of the "Night Watch" giants and the fairies. It even roused the sleeping giants in the surrounding houses.
The fairies overheard several booming shouts in Giantspeak.
"..."
They remained silent, hoping they hadn't been detected.
"Hey! Annoying little blighters! Stay away from my brother!"
"..."
Seeing the small pink umbrella aimed in their direction, they knew they'd been found out.
"Blast!"
"Let's get out of here!"
But the giants had already noticed their movements.
Enraged by these cunning creatures who had intruded into their domain, the giants roared and charged, weapons raised!
Fortunately, the fairies had prepared an escape route: a "spaceship" originally meant to transport the "captured giants"!
It had been hidden beneath the mountaintop, ready to launch.
The fairies had forged this ship with confidence, believing it impervious to giant attacks, thus they planned a daring aerial escape.
But now, they had to put that plan into action.
The fairies launched their spaceship and ascended into the sky, while the giants hurled boulders in an attempt to bring it down.
The spaceship sustained several direct hits, but as the goblins had predicted, its construction was incredibly sturdy and withstood the assault.
"..."
Grolger, awakened by the commotion, emerged from his house, his expression grim. His tribe had been infiltrated by a group of disgusting goblins!
And they only discovered it because of outsiders!
"Summon the tribesmen responsible for tonight's watch."
Grolger wasn't going to let those lazybones off the hook!
But what angered him even more than the negligent giants were the goblins themselves.
He would teach them what "the wrath of a giant" truly meant!
...
The next day.
After the previous night's events, Hagrid remained glued to Grop's side, fearing some villain might try to snatch his "small and pitiful" brother again!
Tom simply let him leave. Though puzzled, Hagrid obeyed, also taking Grop along.
As for Harry and the others…
"Take them back to Hogwarts first."
At Tom's command, Nagini led Harry and his friends to the Thestral-drawn carriages.
"What about you, Tom?"
"Me? I'll have dinner here before I leave."
"..."
Nagini looked worried.
Tom's decision to send them away early suggested two possibilities.
Either he was planning something "inappropriate for children," something Harry and the others shouldn't witness.
But that seemed unlikely.
Which left the second possibility: Tom was about to do something incredibly dangerous, so dangerous he wasn't confident he could protect them.
"Why don't you come with us, Tom…"
Nagini tried to persuade him.
But Tom's attitude was firm; he magically "threw" her into the carriage, treating her like an errant pet snake.
Harry and his friends, sensing the chilling intent in Tom's gaze, didn't dare to resist and obediently boarded the carriage.
Cassandra, standing beside Tom, nodded in approval at their obedience. Then she looked at Tom, her tone expectant, "So, what are we going to do now?"
"..."
Tom pointed at the carriage.
Cassandra covered her mouth, her eyes wide with shock, "Tom!"
"You're going too!"
Like Nagini, Cassandra was magically "thrown" into the carriage by Tom, caught by Nagini inside.
The carriage doors slammed shut.
Accompanied by the eerie neighing of Thestrals, the flying carriage soared towards Hogwarts.
"..."
Grolger, in the giant village behind them, swallowed hard at the sight.
Big brother, this makes me really unsafe.
They agreed to watch the "ritual," but then Tom left halfway through.
It was obvious he was up to something!
Grolger's expression was conflicted. He saw Tom turn and look at him.
Still smiling, still speaking calmly, but his eyes seemed even colder.
"Let's go in."
Tom flew to Grolger's side. "It should be soon, right? The ritual."
"Yes…that's right."
Unlike Tom's calm demeanor, Grolger's voice was laced with tension.
Hearing Grolger's words, Tom nodded slightly. "Good. Now…take me there."
"..."
Grolger took a deep breath. "Yes."
...
The giants' sacrificial site was located at the very center of the mountaintop, not far from the village.
It was already filled with Grolger's people, hundreds of enormous giants, a truly magnificent spectacle from a distance.
---
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