Chapter 20 Hagrid's Tale

Harry sprinted up to the boys’ dormitories to fetch the Invisibility Cloak and the Marauder's Map from his trunk; he was so quick that he and Ron were ready to leave at least five minutes before Hermione hurried back down from the girls’ dormitories, wearing scarf, gloves and one of her own knobbly elf hats.

‘Well, it's cold out there!’ she said defensively, as Ron clicked his tongue impatiently.

They crept through the portrait hole and covered themselves hastily in the Cloak—Ron had grown so much he now needed to crouch to prevent his feet showing—then, moving slowly and cautiously, they proceeded down the many staircases, pausing at intervals to check on the map for signs of Filch or Mrs. Morris. They were lucky; they saw nobody but Nearly Headless Nick, who was gliding along absent-mindedly humming something that sounded horribly like ‘Weasley is our King'. They crept across the Entrance Hall and out into the silent, snowy grounds. With a great leap of his heart, Harry saw little golden squares of light ahead and smoke coiling up from Hagrid's chimney. He set off at a quick march, the other two jostling and bumping along behind him. They crunched excitedly through the thickening snow until at last they reached the wooden front door. When Harry raised his fist and knocked three times, a dog started barking frantically inside.

‘Hagrid, it's us!’ Harry called through the keyhole.

‘Shoulda known!’ said a gruff voice.

They beamed at each other under the Cloak; they could tell by Hagrid's voice that he was pleased. ‘Bin home three seconds ... out the way, Fang ... out the way, yeh dozy dog ...’

The bolt was drawn back, the door creaked open and Hagrid's head appeared in the gap.

Hermione screamed.

‘Merlin's beard, keep it down!’ said Hagrid hastily, staring wildly over their heads. ‘Under that Cloak, are yeh? Well, get in, get in!’

‘I'm sorry!’ Hermione gasped, as the three of them squeezed past Hagrid into the house and pulled the Cloak off themselves so he could see them. ‘I just—oh, Hagrid!’

‘It's nuthin', it's nuthin'!’ said Hagrid hastily, shutting the door behind them and hurrying to close all the curtains, but Hermione continued to gaze up at him in horror.

Hagrid's hair was matted with congealed blood and his left eye had been reduced to a puffy slit amid a mass of purple and black bruising. There were many cuts on his face and hands, some of them still bleeding, and he was moving gingerly, which made Harry suspect broken ribs. It was obvious that he had only just got home: a thick black travelling cloak lay over the back of a chair and a haversack large enough to carry several small children leaned against the wall inside the door. Hagrid himself, twice the size of a normal man, was now limping over to the fire and placing a copper kettle over it.

‘What happened to you?’ Harry demanded, while Fang danced around them all, trying to lick their faces.

‘Told yeh, nuthin',’ said Hagrid firmly. ‘Want a cuppa?’

‘Come off it,’ said Ron, ‘you're in a right state!’

‘I'm tellin’ yeh, I'm fine,’ said Hagrid, straightening up and turning to beam at them all, but wincing. ‘Blimey, it's good ter see yeh three again—had good summers, did yeh?’

‘Hagrid, you've been attacked!’ said Ron.

‘Fer the las’ time, it's nuthin'!’ said Hagrid firmly.

‘Would you say it was nothing if one of us turned up with a pound of mince instead of a face?’ Ron demanded.

‘You ought to go and see Madam Pomfrey, Hagrid,’ said Hermione anxiously, ‘some of those cuts look nasty.’

‘I'm dealin’ with it, all righ?’ said Hagrid repressively.

He walked across to the enormous wooden table that stood in the middle of his cabin and twitched aside a tea towel that had been lying on it. Underneath was a raw, bloody, green-tinged steak slightly larger than the average car tyre.

‘You're not going to eat that, are you, Hagrid?’ said Ron, leaning in for a closer look. ‘It looks poisonous.’

‘It's s'posed ter look like that, it's dragon meat,’ Hagrid said. ‘An’ I didn’ get it ter eat.’

He picked up the steak and slapped it over the left side of his face. Greenish blood trickled down into his beard as he gave a soft moan of satisfaction.

‘Tha's better. It helps with the stingin', yeh know.’

‘So, are you going to tell us what's happened to you?’ Harry asked.

‘Can't, Harry. Top secret. More'n me job's worth ter tell yeh that.’

‘Did the giants beat you up, Hagrid?’ asked Hermione quietly.

Hagrid's fingers slipped on the dragon steak and it slid squelchily on to his chest.

‘Giants?’ said Hagrid, catching the steak before it reached his belt and slapping it back over his face, ‘who said anythin’ abou’ giants? Who yeh bin talkin’ to? Who's told yeh what I've—who's said I've bin—eh?’

‘We guessed,’ said Hermione apologetically.

‘Oh, yeh did, did yeh?’ said Hagrid, surveying her sternly with the eye that was not hidden by the steak.

‘It was kind of ... obvious,’ said Ron. Harry nodded.

Hagrid glared at them, then snorted, threw the steak back on to the table and strode over to the kettle, which was now whistling.

‘Never known kids like you three fer knowin’ more'n yeh oughta,’ he muttered, splashing boiling water into three of his bucket-shaped mugs. ‘An’ I'm not complimentin’ yeh, neither. Nosy, some'd call it. Interferin'.’

But his beard twitched.

‘So you have been to look for giants?’ said Harry, grinning as he sat down at the table.

Hagrid set tea in front of each of them, sat down, picked up his steak again and slapped it back over his face.

‘Yeah, all righ',’ he grunted, ‘I have.’

‘And you found them?’ said Hermione in a hushed voice.

‘Well, they're not that difficult ter find, ter be honest, said Hagrid. ‘Pretty big, see.’

‘Where are they?’ said Ron.

‘Mountains,’ said Hagrid unhelpfully.

‘So why don't Muggles—?’

‘They do,’ said Hagrid darkly. ‘On'y their deaths are always put down ter mountaineerin’ accidents, aren’ they?’

He adjusted the steak a little so that it covered the worst of the bruising.

‘Come on, Hagrid, tell us what you've been up to!’ said Ron. ‘Tell us about being attacked by the giants and Harry can tell you about being attacked by the dementors—’

Hagrid choked in his mug and dropped his steak at the same time; a large quantity of spit, tea and dragon blood was sprayed over the table as Hagrid coughed and spluttered and the steak slid, with a soft splat, on to the floor.

‘Whadda yeh mean, attacked by dementors?’ growled Hagrid.

‘Didn't you know?’ Hermione asked him, wide-eyed.

‘I don’ know any thin’ that's bin happenin’ since I left. I was on a secret mission, wasn’ I, didn’ wan’ owls followin’ me all over the place—ruddy dementors! Yeh're not serious?’

‘Yeah, I am, they turned up in Little Whinging and attacked my cousin and me, and then the Ministry of Magic expelled me—’

‘WHAT?’

‘—and I had to go to a hearing and everything, but tell us about the giants first.’

‘You were expelled!’

‘Tell us about your summer and I'll tell you about mine.’

Hagrid glared at him through his one open eye. Harry looked right back, an expression of innocent determination on his face.

‘Oh, all righ',’ Hagrid said in a resigned voice.

He bent down and tugged the dragon steak out of Fang's mouth.

‘Oh, Hagrid, don't, it's not hygien—’ Hermione began, but Hagrid had already slapped the meat back over his swollen eye.

He took another fortifying gulp of tea, then said, ‘Well, we set off righ’ after term ended—’

‘Madame Maxime went with you, then?’ Hermione interjected.

‘Yeah, tha's righ',’ said Hagrid, and a softened expression appeared on the few inches of face that were not obscured by beard or green steak. ‘Yeah, it was jus’ the pair of us. An’ I'll tell yeh this, she's not afraid of roughin’ it, Olympe. Yeh know, she's a fine, well-dressed woman, an’ knowin’ where we was goin’ I wondered ‘ow she'd feel abou’ clamberin’ over boulders an’ sleepin’ in caves an’ tha', bu’ she never complained once.’

‘You knew where you were going?’ Harry repeated. ‘You knew where the giants were?’

‘Well, Durnbledore knew, an’ he told us,’ said Hagrid.

‘Are they hidden?’ asked Ron. ‘Is it a secret, where they are?’

‘Not really,’ said Hagrid, shaking his shaggy head. ‘It's jus’ that mos’ wizards aren’ bothered where they are, ‘s'long as it's a good long way away. But where they are's very difficult ter get ter, fer humans anyway, so we needed Dumbledore's instructions. Took us abou’ a month ter get there—’

‘A month?’ said Ron, as though he had never heard of a journey lasting such a ridiculously long time. ‘But—why couldn't you just grab a Portkey or something?’

There was an odd expression in Hagrid's unobscured eye as he surveyed Ron; it was almost pitying.

‘We're bein’ watched, Ron,’ he said gruffly.

‘What d'you mean?’

‘Yeh don’ understand,’ said Hagrid. ‘The Ministry's keepin’ an eye on Dumbledore an’ anyone they reckon's in league with ‘im, an'—’

‘We know about that,’ said Harry quickly, keen to hear the rest of Hagrid's story, ‘we know about the Ministry watching Dumbledore—’

‘So you couldn't use magic to get there?’ asked Ron, looking thunderstruck, ‘you had to act like Muggles all the way?’

‘Well, not exactly all the way,’ said Hagrid cagily. ‘We jus’ had ter be careful, ‘cause Olympe an’ me, we stick out a bit—’

Ron made a stifled noise somewhere between a snort and a sniff and hastily took a gulp of tea.

‘—so we're not hard ter follow. We was pretendin’ we was goin’ on holiday together, so we got inter France an’ we made like we was headin’ fer where Olympe's school is, ‘cause we knew we was bein’ tailed by someone from the Ministry. We had to go slow, ‘cause I'm not really s'posed ter use magic an’ we knew the Ministry'd be lookin’ fer a reason ter run us in. But we managed ter give the berk tailin’ us the slip round abou’ Dee-John—’

‘Ooooh, Dijon?’ said Hermione excitedly. ‘I've been there on holiday, did you see—?’

She fell silent at the look on Ron's face.

‘We chanced a bit o’ magic after that an’ it wasn’ a bad journey. Ran inter a couple o’ mad trolls on the Polish border an’ I had a sligh’ disagreement with a vampire in a pub in Minsk, bu’ apart from tha’ couldn't'a bin smoother.

‘An’ then we reached the place, an’ we started trekkin’ up through the mountains, lookin’ fer signs of ‘em ...

‘We had ter lay off the magic once we got near ‘em. Partly ‘cause they don’ like wizards an’ we didn’ want ter put their backs up too soon, an’ partly ‘cause Dumbledore had warned us You-Know-Who was bound ter be after the giants an’ all. Said it was odds on he'd sent a messenger off ter them already. Told us ter be very careful of drawin’ attention ter ourselves as we got nearer in case there was Death Eaters around.’

Hagrid paused for a long draught of tea.

‘Go on!’ said Harry urgently.

‘Found ‘em,’ said Hagrid baldly. ‘Went over a ridge one nigh’ an’ there they was, spread ou’ underneath us. Little fires burnin’ below an’ huge shadows ... it was like watchin’ bits o’ the mountain movin'.’

‘How big are they?’ asked Ron in a hushed voice.

’ ‘Bout twenty feet,’ said Hagrid casually. ‘Some o’ the bigger ones mighta bin twenty-five.’

‘And how many were there?’ asked Harry.

‘I reckon abou’ seventy or eighty,’ said Hagrid.

‘Is that all?’ said Hermione.

‘Yep,’ said Hagrid sadly, ‘eighty left, an’ there was loads once, musta bin a hundred diff'rent tribes from all over the world. Bu’ they've bin dyin’ out fer ages. Wizards killed a few, o’ course, bu’ mostly they killed each other, an’ now they're dyin’ out faster than ever. They're not made ter live bunched up together like tha'. Dumbledore says it's our fault, it was the wizards who forced ‘em to go an’ made ‘em live a good long way from us an’ they had no choice bu’ ter stick together fer their own protection.’

‘So,’ said Harry, ‘you saw them and then what?’

‘Well, we waited till morning, didn’ want ter go sneakin’ up on ‘em in the dark, fer our own safety,’ said Hagrid. ’ ‘Bout three in the mornin’ they fell asleep jus’ where they was sittin'. We didn’ dare sleep. Fer one thing, we wanted ter make sure none of ‘em woke up an’ came up where we were, an’ fer another, the snorin’ was unbelievable. Caused an avalanche near mornin'.

‘Anyway once it was light we wen’ down ter see ‘em.’

‘Just like that?’ said Ron, looking awestruck. ‘You just walked right into a giant camp?’

‘Well, Dumbledore'd told us how ter do it,’ said Hagrid. ‘Give the Gurg gifts, show some respect, yeh know.’

‘Give the what gifts?’ asked Harry.

‘Oh, the Gurg— means the chief.’

‘How could you tell which one was the Gurg?’ asked Ron.

Hagrid grunted in amusement.

‘No problem,’ he said. ‘He was the biggest, the ugliest and the laziest. Sittin’ there waitin’ ter be brought food by the others. Dead goats an’ such like. Name o’ Karkus. I'd put him at twenty-two, twenty-three feet an’ the weight o’ a couple o’ bull elephants. Skin like rhino hide an’ all.’

‘And you just walked up to him?’ said Hermione breathlessly.

‘Well ... down ter him, where he was lyin’ in the valley. They was in this dip between four pretty high mountains, see, beside a mountain lake, an’ Karkus was lyin’ by the lake roarin’ at the others ter feed him an’ his wife. Olympe an’ I went down the mountainside—’

‘But didn't they try and kill you when they saw you?’ asked Ron incredulously.

‘It was def'nitely on some o’ their minds,’ said Hagrid, shrugging, ‘but we did what Dumbledore told us ter do, which was ter hold our gift up high an’ keep our eyes on the Gurg an’ ignore the others. So tha's what we did. An’ the rest of ‘em went quiet an’ watched us pass an’ we got right up ter Karkuss leet an we bowed an’ put our present down in front o’ him.’

‘What do you give a giant?’ asked Ron eagerly. ‘Food?’

‘Nah, he can get food all righ’ fer himself,’ said Hagrid. ‘We took him magic. Giants like magic, jus’ don’ like us usin’ it against ‘em. Anyway, that firs’ day we gave ‘im a branch o’ Gubraithian fire.’

Hermione said, ‘Wow!’ softly, but Harry and Ron both frowned in puzzlement.

‘A branch of—?’

‘Everlasting fire,’ said Hermione irritably, ‘you ought to know that by now. Professor Flitwick's mentioned it at least twice in class!’

‘Well, anyway,’ said Hagrid quickly, intervening before Ron could answer back, ‘Dumbledore'd bewitched this branch to burn fer evermore, which isn’ somethin’ any wizard could do, an’ so I lies it down in the snow by Karkuss feet and says, “A gift to the Gurg of the giants from Albus Dumbledore, who sends his respectful greetings.” ’

‘And what did Karkus say?’ asked Harry eagerly.

‘Nothin',’ said Hagrid. ‘Didn’ speak English.’

‘You're kidding!’

‘Didn’ matter,’ said Hagrid imperturbably, ‘Dumbledore had warned us tha’ migh’ happen. Karkus knew enough to yell fer a couple o’ giants who knew our lingo an’ they translated fer us.’

‘And did he like the present?’ asked Ron.

‘Oh yeah, it went down a storm once they understood what it was,’ said Hagrid, turning his dragon steak over to press the cooler side to his swollen eye. ‘Very pleased. So then I said, “Albus Dumbledore asks the Gurg to speak with his messenger when he returns tomorrow with another gift.” ’

‘Why couldn't you speak to them that day?’ asked Hermione.

‘Dumbledore wanted us ter take it very slow,’ said Hagrid. ‘Let ‘em see we kept our promises. We'll come back tomorrow with another present, an’ then we do come back with another present—gives a good impression, see? An’ gives them time ter test out the firs’ present an’ fnd out it's a good one, an’ get ‘em eager fer more. In any case, giants like Karkus—overload ‘em with information an’ they'll kill yeh jus’ to simplify things. So we bowed outta the way an’ went off an’ found ourselves a nice little cave ter spend that night in an’ the followin’ mornin’ we went back an’ this time we found Karkus sittin’ up waitin’ fer us lookin’ all eager.’

‘And you talked to him?’

‘Oh yeah. Firs’ we presented him with a nice battle helmet—goblin-made an’ indestructible, yeh know—an’ then we sat down an’ we talked.’

‘What did he say?’

‘Not much,’ said Hagrid. ‘Listened mostly. Bu’ there were good signs. He'd heard o’ Dumbledore, heard he'd argued against the killin’ o’ the last giants in Britain. Karkus seemed ter be quite int'rested in what Dumbledore had ter say. An’ a few o’ the others, ‘specially the ones who had some English, they gathered round an’ listened too. We were hopeful when we left that day. Promised ter come back next mornin’ with another present.

‘Bu’ that night it all wen’ wrong.’

‘What d'you mean?’ said Ron quickly.

‘Well, like I say, they're not meant ter live together, giants,’ said Hagrid sadly. ‘Not in big groups like that. They can’ help themselves, they half kill each other every few weeks. The men fight each other an’ the women fight each other; the remnants of the old tribes fight each other, an’ that's even without squabbles over food an’ the best fires an’ sleepin’ spots. Yeh'd think, seein’ as how their whole race is abou’ finished, they'd lay off each other, bu’ ...’

Hagrid sighed deeply.

‘That night a fight broke out, we saw it from the mouth of our cave, lookin’ down on the valley. Went on fer hours, yeh wouldn’ believe the noise. An’ when the sun came up the snow was scarlet an’ his head was lyin’ at the bottom o’ the lake.’

‘Whose head?’ gasped Hermione.

‘Karkus's,’ said Hagrid heavily. ‘There was a new Gurg, Golgomath.’ He sighed deeply. ‘Well, we hadn’ bargained on a new Gurg two days after we'd made friendly contact with the firs’ one, an’ we had a funny feelin’ Golgomath wouldn’ be so keen ter listen to us, bu’ we had ter try.’

‘You went to speak to him?’ asked Ron incredulously. ‘After you'd watched him rip off another giant's head?’

‘Course we did,’ said Hagrid, ‘we hadn’ gone all that way ter give up after two days! We wen’ down with the next present we'd meant ter give ter Karkus.

‘I knew it was no go before I'd opened me mouth. He was sitting there wearin’ Karkus's helmet, leerin’ at us as we got nearer. He's massive, one o’ the biggest ones there. Black hair an’ matchin’ teeth an’ a necklace o’ bones. Human-lookin’ bones, some of ‘em. Well, I gave it a go—held out a great roll o’ dragon skin—an’ said, “A gift fer the Gurg of the giants—'” Nex’ thing I knew, I was hangin’ upside-down in the air by me feet, two of his mates had grabbed me.’

Hermione clapped her hands to her mouth.

‘How did you get out of that?’ asked Harry.

‘Wouldn'ta done if Olympe hadn’ bin there,’ said Hagrid. ‘She pulled out her wand an’ did some o’ the fastes’ spellwork I've ever seen. Ruddy marvellous. Hit the two holdin’ me right in the eyes with Conjunctivitus Curses an’ they dropped me straightaway—'bu’ we were in trouble then, ‘cause we'd used magic against ‘em, an’ that's what giants hate abou’ wizards. We had ter leg it an’ we knew there was no way we was going ter be able ter march inter the camp again.’

‘Blimey, Hagrid,’ said Ron quietly.

‘So, how come it's taken you so long to get home if you were only there for three days?’ asked Hermione.

‘We didn’ leave after three days!’ said Hagrid, looking outraged. ‘Dumbledore was relyin’ on us!’

‘But you've just said there was no way you could go back!’

‘Not by daylight we couldn', no. We just had ter rethink a bit. Spent a couple o’ days lyin’ low up in the cave an’ watchin'. An’ wha’ we saw wasn’ good.’

‘Did he rip off more heads?’ asked Hermione, sounding squeamish.

‘No,’ said Hagrid, ‘I wish he had.’

‘What d'you mean?’

‘I mean we soon found out he didn’ object ter all wizards—'just us.’

‘Death Eaters?’ said Harry quickly.

‘Yep,’ said Hagrid darkly. ‘Couple oi ‘em were visitin’ him ev'ry day, bringin’ gifts ter the Gurg, an’ he wasn’ dangling them upside-down.’

‘How d'you know they were Death Eaters?’ said Ron.

‘Because I recognised one of ‘em,’ Hagrid growled. ‘Macnair, remember him? Bloke they sent ter kill Buckbeak? Maniac, he is. Likes killin’ as much as Golgomath; no wonder they were gettin’ on so well.’

‘So Macnair's persuaded the giants to join You-Know-Who?’ said Hermione desperately.

‘Hold yer hippogriffs, I haven’ finished me story yet!’ said Hagrid indignantly, who, considering he had not wanted to tell them anything in the first place, now seemed to be rather enjoying himself. ‘Me an’ Olympe talked it over an’ we agreed, jus’ ‘cause the Gurg looked like favourin’ You-Know-Who didn’ mean all of ‘em would. We had ter try an’ persuade some o’ the others, the ones who hadn’ wanted Golgomath as Gurg.’

‘How could you tell which ones they were?’ asked Ron.

‘Well, they were the ones bein’ beaten to a pulp, weren’ they?’ said Hagrid patiently. ‘The ones with any sense were keepin’ outta Golgomath's way, hidin’ out in caves roun’ the gully jus’ like we were. So we decided we'd go pokin’ round the caves by night an’ see if we couldn’ persuade a few o’ them.’

‘You went poking around dark caves looking for giants?’ said Ron, with awed respect in his voice.

‘Well, it wasn’ the giants who worried us most,’ said Hagrid. ‘We were more concerned abou’ the Death Eaters. Dumbledore had told us before we wen’ not ter tangle with ‘em if we could avoid it, an’ the trouble was they knew we was around—'spect Golgomath told ‘em abou’ us. At night, when the giants were sleepin’ an’ we wanted ter be creepin’ inter the caves, Macnair an’ the other one were sneakin’ round the mountains lookin’ fer us. I was hard put to stop Olympe jumpin’ out at ‘em,’ said Hagrid, the corners of his mouth lifting his wild beard, ‘she was rarin’ ter attack ‘em ... she's somethin’ when she's roused, Olympe ... fiery, yeh know ...'spect it's the French in her ...’

Hagrid gazed misty-eyed into the fire. Harry allowed him thirty seconds of reminiscence before clearing his throat loudly.

‘So, what happened? Did you ever get near any of the other giants?’

‘What? Oh ... oh, yeah, we did. Yeah, on the third night after Karkus was killed we crept outta the cave we'd bin hidin’ in an’ headed back down inter the gully, keepin’ our eyes skinned fer the Death Eaters. Got inside a few o’ the caves, no go— then, in abou’ the sixth one, we found three giants hidin'.’

‘Cave must've been cramped,’ said Ron.

‘Wasn’ room ter swing a Kneazle,’ said Hagrid.

‘Didn't they attack you when they saw you?’ asked Hermione.

‘Probably woulda done if they'd bin in any condition,’ said Hagrid, ‘but they was badly hurt, all three o’ them; Golgomath's lot had beaten ‘em unconscious; they'd woken up an’ crawled inter the nearest shelter they could find. Anyway, one o’ them had a bit of English an’ ‘e translated fer the others, an’ what we had ter say didn’ seem ter go down too badly. So we kep’ goin’ back, visitin’ the wounded ... I reckon we had abou’ six or seven o’ them convinced at one poin'.’

‘Six or seven?’ said Ron eagerly. ‘Well that's not bad—are they going to come over here and start fighting You-Know-Who with us?’

But Hermione said, ‘What do you mean “at one point", Hagrid?’

Hagrid looked at her sadly.

‘Golgomath's lot raided the caves. The ones tha’ survived didn’ wan’ no more ter to do with us after that.’

‘So ... so there aren't any giants coming?’ said Ron, looking disappointed.

‘Nope,’ said Hagrid, heaving a deep sigh as he turned over his steak and applied the cooler side to his face, ‘but we did wha’ we meant ter do, we gave ‘em Dumbledore's message an’ some o’ them heard it an’ I spect some o’ them'll remember it. Jus’ maybe, them that don’ want ter stay around Golgomath'll move outta the mountains, an’ there's gotta be a chance they'll remember Dumbledore's friendly to ‘em ... could be they'll come.’

Snow was filling up the window now. Harry became aware that the knees of his robes were soaked through: Fang was drooling with his head in Harry's lap.

‘Hagrid?’ said Hermione quietly after a while.

‘Mmm?’

‘Did you ... was there any sign of ... did you hear anything about your ... your ... mother while you were there?’

Hagrids unobscured eye rested upon her and Hermione looked rather scared.

‘I'm sorry ... I ... forget it—’

‘Dead,’ Hagrid grunted. ‘Died years ago. They told me.’

‘Oh ... I'm ... I'm really sorry,’ said Hermione in a very small voice. Hagrid shrugged his massive shoulders.

‘No need,’ he said shortly. ‘Can't remember her much. Wasn’ a great mother.’

They were silent again. Hermione glanced nervously at Harry and Ron, plainly wanting them to speak.

‘But you still haven't explained how you got in this state, Hagrid,’ Ron said, gesturing towards Hagrid's bloodstained face.

‘Or why you're back so late,’ said Harry. ‘Sirius says Madame Maxime got back ages ago—’

‘Who attacked you?’ said Ron.

‘I haven’ bin attacked!’ said Hagrid emphatically. ‘I—’

But the rest of his words were drowned in a sudden outbreak of rapping on the door. Hermione gasped; her mug slipped through her fingers and smashed on the floor; Fang yelped. All four of them stared at the window beside the doorway. The shadow of somebody small and squat rippled across the thin curtain.

‘It's her!’ Ron whispered.

‘Get under here!’ Harry said quickly, seizing the Invisibility Cloak, he whirled it over himself and Hermione while Ron tore around the table and dived under the Cloak as well. Huddled together, they backed away into a corner. Fang was barking madly at the door. Hagrid looked thoroughly confused.

‘Hagrid, hide our mugs!’

Hagrid seized Harry and Ron's mugs and shoved them under the cushion in Fang's basket. Fang was now leaping up at the door; Hagrid pushed him out of the way with his foot and pulled it open.

Professor Umbridge was standing in the doorway wearing her green tweed cloak and a matching hat with earflaps. Lips pursed, she leaned back so as to see Hagrid's face; she barely reached his navel.

‘So,’ she said slowly and loudly, as though speaking to somebody deaf. ‘You're Hagrid, are you?’

Without waiting for an answer she strolled into the room, her bulging eyes rolling in every direction.

‘Get away,’ she snapped, waving her handbag at Fang, who had bounded up to her and was attempting to lick her face.

‘Er—I don’ want ter be rude,’ said Hagrid, staring at her, ‘but who the ruddy hell are you?’

‘My name is Dolores Umbridge.’

Her eyes were sweeping the cabin. Twice they stared directly into the corner where Harry stood, sandwiched between Ron and Hermione.

‘Dolores Umbridge?’ Hagrid said, sounding thoroughly confused. ‘I thought you were one o’ them Ministry—don’ you work with Fudge?’

‘I was Senior Undersecretary to the Minister, yes,’ said Umbridge, now pacing around the cabin, taking in every tiny detail within, from the haversack against the wall to the abandoned travelling cloak. ‘I am now the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher—’

‘Tha's brave of yeh,’ said Hagrid, ‘there's not many'd take tha’ job any more.’

‘—and Hogwarts High Inquisitor,’ said Umbridge, giving no sign that she had heard him.

‘Wha's that?’ said Hagrid, frowning.

‘Precisely what I was going to ask,’ said Umbridge, pointing at the broken shards of china on the floor that had been Hermione's mug.

‘Oh,’ said Hagrid, with a most unhelpful glance towards the corner where Harry, Ron and Hermione stood hidden, ‘oh, tha’ was ... was Fang. He broke a mug. So I had ter use this one instead.’

Hagrid pointed to the mug from which he had been drinking, one hand still clamped over the dragon steak pressed to his eye. Umbridge stood facing him now, taking in every detail of his appearance instead of the cabins.

‘I heard voices,’ she said quietly.

‘I was talkin’ ter Fang,’ said Hagrid stoutly.

‘And was he talking back to you?’

‘Well ... in a manner o’ speakin',’ said Hagrid, looking uncomfortable. ‘I sometimes say Fang's near enough human—’

‘There are three sets of footprints in the snow leading from the castle doors to your cabin,’ said Umbridge sleekly.

Hermione gasped; Harry clapped a hand over her mouth. Luckily, Fang was sniffing loudly around the hem of Professor Umbridge's robes and she did not appear to have heard.

‘Well, I on'y jus’ got back,’ said Hagrid, waving an enormous hand at the haversack. ‘Maybe someone came ter call earlier an’ I missed ‘em.’

‘There are no footsteps leading away from your cabin door.’

‘Well, I ... I don’ know why that'd be ...’ said Hagrid, tugging nervously at his beard and again glancing towards the corner where Harry, Ron and Hermione stood, as though asking for help. ‘Erm ...’

Umbridge wheeled round and strode the length of the cabin, looking around carefully. She bent and peered under the bed. She opened Hagrid's cupboards. She passed within two inches of where Harry, Ron and Hermione stood pressed against the wall; Harry actually pulled in his stomach as she walked by. After looking carefully inside the enormous cauldron Hagrid used for cooking, she wheeled round again and said, ‘What has happened to you? How did you sustain those injuries?’

Hagrid hastily removed the dragon steak from his face, which in Harry's opinion was a mistake, because the black and purple bruising all around his eye was now clearly visible, not to mention the large amount of fresh and congealed blood on his face. ‘Oh, I ... had a bit of an accident,’ he said lamely.

‘What sort of accident?’

‘I—I tripped.’

‘You tripped,’ she repeated coolly.

‘Yeah, tha's right. Over ... over a friends broomstick. I don’ fly, meself. Well, look at the size o’ me, I don’ reckon there's a broomstick that'd hold me. Friend o’ mine breeds Abraxan horses, I dunno if you ve ever seen em, big beasts, winged, yer know, I've had a bit of a ride on one o’ them an’ it was—’

‘Where have you been?’ asked Umbridge, cutting coolly through Hagrid's babbling.

‘Where've I—?’

‘Been, yes,’ she said. ‘Term started two months ago. Another teacher has had to cover your classes. None of your colleagues has been able to give me any information as to your whereabouts. You left no address. Where have you been?’

There was a pause in which Hagrid stared at her with his newly uncovered eye. Harry could almost hear his brain working furiously.

‘I—I've been away for me health,’ he said.

‘For your health,’ repeated Professor Umbridge. Her eyes travelled over Hagrid's discoloured and swollen face; dragon blood dripped gently and silently on to his waistcoat. ‘I see.’

‘Yeah,’ said Hagrid, ‘bit o'—o’ fresh air, yeh know—’

‘Yes, as gamekeeper fresh air must be so difficult to come by’ said Umbridge sweetly. The small patch of Hagrid's face that was not black or purple, flushed.

‘Well—change o’ scene, yeh know—’

‘Mountain scenery?’ said Umbridge swiftly.

She knows, Harry thought desperately.

‘Mountains?’ Hagrid repeated, clearly thinking fast. ‘Nope, South o’ France fer me. Bit o’ sun an’ ... an’ sea.’

‘Really?’ said Umbridge. ‘You don't have much of a tan.’

‘Yeah ... well ... sensitive skin,’ said Hagrid, attempting an ingratiating smile. Harry noticed that two of his teeth had been knocked out. Umbridge looked at him coldly; his smile faltered. Then she hoisted her handbag a little higher into the crook of her arm and said, ‘I shall, of course, be informing the Minister of your late return.’

‘Righ',’ said Hagrid, nodding.

‘You ought to know, too, that as High Inquisitor it is my unfortunate but necessary duty to inspect my fellow teachers. So I daresay we shall meet again soon enough.’

She turned sharply and marched back to the door.

‘You're inspectin’ us?’ Hagrid repeated blankly, looking after her.

‘Oh, yes,’ said Umbridge softly, looking back at him with her hand on the door handle. ‘The Ministry is determined to weed out unsatisfactory teachers, Hagrid. Goodnight.’

She left, closing the door behind her with a snap. Harry made to pull off the Invisibility Cloak but Hermione seized his wrist.

‘Not yet,’ she breathed in his ear. ‘She might not be gone yet.’

Hagrid seemed to be thinking the same way; he stumped across the room and pulled back the curtain an inch or so.

‘She's goin’ back ter the castle,’ he said in a low voice. ‘Blimey ... inspectin’ people, is she?’

‘Yeah,’ said Harry, pulling off the Cloak. ‘Trelawney's on probation already ...’

‘Um ... what sort of thing are you planning to do with us in class, Hagrid?’ asked Hermione.

‘Oh, don’ you worry abou’ that, I've got a great load o’ lessons planned,’ said Hagrid enthusiastically, scooping up his dragon steak from the table and slapping it over his eye again. ‘I've bin keepin’ a couple o’ creatures saved fer yer OWL year; you wait, they're somethin’ really special.’

‘Erm ... special in what way?’ asked Hermione tentatively.

‘I'm not sayin',’ said Hagrid happily. ‘I don’ want ter spoil the surprise.’

‘Look, Hagrid,’ said Hermione urgently, dropping all pretence, ‘Professor Umbridge won't be at all happy if you bring anything to class that's too dangerous.’

‘Dangerous?’ said Hagrid, looking genially bemused. ‘Don’ be silly, I wouldn’ give yeh anythin’ dangerous! I mean, all righ', they can look after themselves—’

‘Hagrid, you've got to pass Umbridge's inspection, and to do that it would really be better if she saw you teaching us how to look after Porlocks, how to tell the difference between Knarls and hedgehogs, stuff like that!’ said Hermione earnestly.

‘But tha's not very interestin', Hermione,’ said Hagrid. ‘The stuff I've got's much more impressive. I've bin bringin’ ‘em on fer years, I reckon I've got the on'y domestic herd in Britain.’

‘Hagrid ... please ...’ said Hermione, a note of real desperation in her voice. ‘Umbridge is looking for any excuse to get rid of teachers she thinks are too close to Dumbledore. Please, Hagrid, teach us something dull that's bound to come up in our OWL.’

But Hagrid merely yawned widely and cast a one-eyed look of longing towards the vast bed in the corner.

‘Lis'en, it's bin a long day an’ it's late,’ he said, patting Hermione gently on the shoulder, so that her knees gave way and hit the floor with a thud. ‘Oh—sorry—’ He pulled her back up by the neck of her robes. ‘Look, don’ you go worryin’ abou’ me, I promise yeh I've got really good stuff planned fer yer lessons now I'm back ... now you lot had better get back up to the castle, an’ don’ forget ter wipe yer tootprints out behind yeh!’

‘I dunno if you got through to him,’ said Ron a short while later when, having checked that the coast was clear, they walked back up to the castle through the thickening snow, leaving no trace behind them due to the Obliteration Charm Hermione was performing as they went.

‘Then I'll go back again tomorrow,’ said Hermione determinedly. ‘I'll plan his lessons for him if I have to. I don't care if she throws out Trelawney but she's not getting rid of Hagrid!’

　　哈利全速跑到男生宿舍拿出他的隐形衣和活点地图；他是如此的快以致於他和罗恩在女生宿舍门口等了五分钟，看到荷米恩带着她编织的头巾和手套！

　　看到罗恩露出不耐烦的情子，她谨慎地说：“外面可是很冷的！我们应该有充分的准备！”

　　他们匆忙的披上隐形衣爬出了肖像门洞，罗恩长高了很多，他现在不得不蹲下慢慢小心的移动才能避免他的脚碰到障碍！他们向楼下走去，不时的停下来查看活点地图，看费格和诺里斯夫人在什么地方。他们非常的幸运，除了差点没头的尼克没有遇到任何人。尼克一边飘走一边莫名其妙的说着什么“威斯里是大王”。他们走出大厅来到了外面，虽然正下着雪，但哈利看到哈格力小木屋的烟囱冒出的烟，他的心快速的跳跃着。他飞快的跑了起来，使罗恩和荷米恩在后面跌跌撞撞的跟他着跑。最后他们兴奋的踩着嘎扎嘎扎的厚雪来到了小屋的门前！当哈利用他的拳头敲了三次门后，里面传了一阵狗的狂吠声！

　　“哈格力, 是我们！”哈利大声喊道！

　　“等一下！”一个粗卤的声音说。

　　他们在斗缝下互相看着，他们从哈格力的声音中听出他非常的高兴。

　　三秒中后他们听见拔门闩的声音,门吱的一声开了，门缝中露出了哈格力的脸！

　　荷米恩尖叫了一声。

　　“我的天呀,小点声！”哈格力匆忙地说,忽忙躲来开他们的注视。 “你们是披着隐形衣对吧？好了,快进来,快来进吧！”

　　“对不起！”荷米恩气喘嘘嘘地说,紧跟着他们三个走进了哈格力的屋子。他们摘下斗蓬好让哈格力能看到他们 “我真的 - 哦,哈格力！'“是意外,意外”哈格力匆忙地说,在他们进屋之后关上了门和所有的窗, 但是荷米恩看到了他脸上惊恐的表情。 哈格力的头发被凝固的血粘在一起，他的左眼有一条肿胀的伤痕并且还有一块被打成了紫黑色。在他的脸和手上有许多处伤痕，有的还在渗血，从他小心翼翼的动作上看， 哈利怀疑他还伤到了肋骨。显然，他是刚刚到家，他黑色的大斗蓬和帆布背包正放在门后的椅子上。足有两个人大的哈格力正把一个铜荷壶放到炉子上。 “你发生了什么事？” 哈利问道, 尖牙正在他们周围乱蹦乱跳，并不断的想舔他们的脸。。 “是意外！”哈格力坚持地说。“要喝杯茶吗？”

　　“别骗人了”，罗恩说,“说实话吧！”

　　“我告诉你们了, 没事,”哈格力看着他们，并且准备给他们一个微笑，但是却畏缩的转开了脸。

　　“嗨！能够看到你们真好！真是一个愉快的夏天，对不对？”

　　“哈格力,你被袭击！”罗恩说道。

　　“我刚才就告诉你们了,是意外！”哈格力坚持地说。

　　“你认为我们会一点都看不出来，你的脸被打过吗？”罗恩说。

　　“你应该让庞弗雷夫人给你看看, 哈格力,”荷米恩担心地说,“你的伤口看来很脏！”

　　“它们不会要了我的命,没关系的”哈格力压抑地说。

　　他走到小屋中央的大木桌子旁，猛的掀开盖在上面的抹布。下面放着一块淌绿色的血像汽车轮胎那么大的牛排。

　　“哈格力，你不是要吃这个吧？”罗恩说，他靠近桌子伏下身看了看那肉，“它看起来好像有毒。”

　　“它是只看起来有毒，它是龙肉”，哈格力说。“啊，我不会吃它的！”

　　他拿起一块龙肉在他的左脸颊上轻轻的拍打着。当他发出一声满足的呻吟时，那绿色的血正沿着他的胡须往下滴。

　　“这样好多了，它们对治疗伤口很有效。”

　　“那么，你会告诉我们，你发生什么事吗？”哈利问道“不能，哈利，这是最高机密，我的工作不允许我告诉你们”

　　“是巨人打了你吗，哈格力？”荷米恩平静地问道。

　　哈格力手上的龙肉一下子掉到了他的胸口上。

　　“巨人？”哈格力说，他极快地捡起龙肉，并把它放回脸上，“谁告诉你关于巨人的事了？谁告诉你们我被巨人打了？”

　　“我们猜的”荷米恩辩解地说。

　　“哦，猜的！你们是怎么猜到的？”哈格力用没被龙肉盖着的眼睛严厉的看着她说。

　　“这很…明显”罗恩说， 哈利点头表示同意。 哈格力盯着他们，然后叹了口气，将龙肉丢回桌子上，然后走过去拿下正在嘘嘘尖叫的壶。

　　“从来没见过像你们三个那么爱管闲事的小孩。”他嘀咕着把三个杯子倒满，“可不是在夸你们。”

　　然而他的胡子却在一跳一跳的。

　　“就是说你们确实是去找巨人了？”哈利坐到桌子上，咧开嘴笑起来。

　　哈格力把杯子放到三个人面前，然后坐下，拿起龙肉又贴到脸上。

　　“对，是的。”他说，“没错。”

　　“找到他们了？”荷米恩静静地说。

　　“嗯，他们倒没那么难找，这是真的。”哈格力说，“因为很大，知道吧。”

　　“他们都在哪儿？”罗恩说。

　　“山上。”哈格力明白地说。

　　“那那些麻瓜们怎么没…？”

　　“实际上他们找到过。”哈格力说“他们常常说那些死掉的人都是因为山体滑坡之类的事故…”

　　他轻轻的把龙肉放到脸上最严重的伤口上。

　　“哈格力，告诉我们到底发生了什么事！”罗恩说，“告诉我们巨人为什么攻击你，然后让哈利告诉你关于他被摄魂怪袭击的事！”

　　哈格力手里的杯子和脸上的龙肉一下子都掉了下来，嘴里的茶水和龙血溅得桌子和地板上到处都是，他一边不停的咳嗽一边说，“你们在说什么？被摄魂怪袭击？”哈格力生气的大吼道。

　　“你没有听说吗？”荷米恩睁大眼睛问道。

　　“自从我去了离开这后就根本不知道这里发生了什么事，我在执行一个秘密的任务，也没有收到任务猫头鹰信，摄魂怪没有伤到你吧？”

　　“他们没有伤到我，一天他们在街道上出现并且要攻击我和我的表兄，我使用了魔法，魔法部想要将我驱逐出学校……”

　　“怎么会这样？”

　　“而且我必须出席听证会，告诉他们我为什么使用魔法, 别管这些了，你先告诉我们关于巨人的事吧。” “你被驱逐！”

　　“差不多是这样，你告诉我们，这个夏天你到底做了些什么，然后我再告诉你关于我的事”

　　哈利坚决地看着怒气冲冲的哈格力。

　　“哦，好吧”哈格力认命的说。

　　他伏下身子，用力的把龙肉从尖牙的嘴里抢出来。

　　“哦，哈格力，是不是发生了什么……”荷米恩首先开始发问，而哈格力却拿起龙肉在他那肿起的眼睛上开始轻拍。

　　他重新给他们三人倒上了茶水，然后说：“是的，我们在放假后就出发了……”

　　“和马克西姆夫人一起，然后呢？”荷米恩插嘴问道“是的，我们一起”哈格力回答，在那满是胡须的脸上露出了温柔的表情，“没错，当时就是我们俩。我会告诉你们的，Olympe（奥林派，马克西姆夫人的名字）她也不会介意的。你们知道，她是个不错的女人，很有品味。而且知道我们要去哪儿，从来没抱怨过那些糟糕的环境。”

　　“你们知道要去哪儿？”哈利问道“知道巨人在哪儿？”

　　“是的，丹伯多校长告诉我们的！”哈格力说“他们藏起来了对吗？”罗恩问道，“他们藏在一个没的知道的地方对不对？”

　　“并不是这样”哈格力摇了摇头回答道，“他们只是不想被其它的巫师打扰，他们一直不喜欢与人接触，所在人们很难找到他们，这是因为是样，我们在接受丹伯多校长的指令后，用了一个月的时间才找到他们。”

　　“一个月？”罗恩说，他大概没有想到这次旅程要用这么长的时间“可是，你们不是知道他们大概在什么地方吗？”

　　他开始了解哈格力的处境了，他几乎是同情地看着他。

　　“我们迷路了，罗恩”，他粗暴地说

　　“你们迷路了，怎么会呢？”

　　“你们不明白”哈格力说，“魔法部一直在监视丹伯多校长和与他有关的所有人”

　　“我们都知道这件事”哈利急于听完哈格力的经历，“我们知道魔法部在监视丹伯多校长”

　　“所以你们不敢使用魔法去那里？”罗恩吃惊地说“你们必须用其他的任何方法呀”

　　“没错，用任何方法”，哈格力小心地说，“为了不引起怀疑，我们只能慢慢的走。”

　　罗恩趁哈格力喘粗气的时候，匆忙地喝了一口茶。

　　“因为他们很容易跟踪我们，所以我们只好假装在法国旅行，使他们认为我们是要去马克西姆夫人的学校去渡假。” “我们认为有人跟踪我们，所以我们不能使用魔法，我们用了很长时间才到达第戎” “哦，第戎”荷米恩兴奋地说“我曾在那里渡假，你记得吗？”

　　当她看到罗恩脸上落默的表情后，马上不在说话了。

　　“这次旅程也不是完全糟糕的，我们偶尔也会使用一些魔法。期间我们看到澳大利亚（皇家）海军埋葬一对波兰夫妇后不停的唱歌，还有一次我们在一个酒馆里遇到一个吸血鬼，……”

　　“然后，我们达到了目的地，我们开始往山里走，看有没有巨人们留下的标志”。

　　“我们停止使用魔法，好让他们接近我们，他们不喜欢巫师，我们不想让他们从背后攻击我们，丹伯多校长警告我们，魔法部一直对巨人进行限止，他已经找人通知巨人了，他让我们必须非常小心，因为在我们去的地方附近发生过死人的案例。”

　　哈格力停下来，喝了口水。

　　“继续说呀！”哈利急切地说。

　　“我们发现了他们”哈格力坦率地说。“我们在附近仔细地找，他们在真的那，利特尔举办了一个热情的宴会招待我们，”

　　“他们有多大？”罗恩插嘴问道。

　　“大概有二十尺”哈格力不在意的说“还有一些更大的，差不多有二十五尺。”

　　“有多少人？”哈利问

　　“我计算了一下，大概七十到八十人吧”哈格力说。

　　“是全部的巨人了吗？”荷米恩问。

　　“是的，所有的”哈格力悲伤地说，“八十人，他们部落最多时有一百多人，但一些上了年纪的都死了，可能是巫师杀了他们，也可能是他们自己杀的，他们死的比以前快。丹伯多校长说那是他们自己的过失，他们曾与巫师为敌，以前他们一直友好相处，巨人们没有好很的自我保护方法。”

　　“是这样，”哈利说“你见到他们之后呢？”

　　“很好呀，我们一直等到早晨，想去和他们谈谈，他们在黄昏时才起床，当时他们正在睡觉，为了让他们起来，结果引起了一次雪崩。”

　　“无论如何，当光线进来后他们就看见我们了。”

　　“真的是这样吗？”罗恩说，他对哈格力肃然起敬“你们真的找到了巨人的部落？”

　　“是这样的，丹伯多校长告诉我们，如何与他们相处，”哈格力说“你们要送他们酋长礼物并对他们表示尊敬。”

　　“你送了什么礼物给那个酋长？”罗恩问。

　　“这很容易，”他说“一些食物和其他东西。一只非常大的死山羊，我估计他有非常的重，还有一块像是犀牛皮的兽皮。”

　　“你们和他真的走到一起了？”荷米恩有些喘不过气地说。

　　“当然了，他们在一个四周都是高山的美丽山谷之中，在山附近有一个湖，我们和他还有他的妻子。”

　　“可是，他们刚发现你们的时候，没有要杀死你们吗”罗恩怀疑地问。

　　“他们中有一些这么想”哈格力耸耸肩，“但我们照着丹伯多校长告诉我们的那样做，送给酋长礼物后，他便不理会他们了，其它巨人也就不在这么想了。”

　　“告诉你们我们是怎么做的吧，我们向他们鞠躬，并到礼物放倒他们的脚下”。

　　'但是当他们看见了你的时候 , 他们没有试而且杀你吗？'罗恩怀疑地。

　　“你给巨人什么礼物？”罗恩热心地问：“食物吗？”

　　“不，他们自己能找到任何食物，”哈格力说“我们给他们的是有魔力的东西，他们非常喜欢魔法，不是普通的魔法，是一支永远燃烧的树枝。”

　　“噢！”荷米恩非常羡慕，但哈利和罗恩却迷惑不解。

　　“那是什么？”

　　“永恒之火”荷米恩回答道“你们应该知道的，弗立维教授在上课时提到过两次呢！”

　　“没错，是那样”哈格力很快地说，使罗恩没法顶嘴。

　　“丹伯多校长给这支树施了魔法，让它永远燃烧，这可不是每个巫师都能办到的，所以当我把火把放在雪地上时，酋长表示了对丹伯多校长的尊敬和问候！”

　　“那么他说了什么？”哈利热心地问

　　“不知道”哈格力说“他说的不是英语。”

　　“你在开玩笑！”

　　“那没关系，”哈格力泰然地说“丹伯多校长告诉过我们巨人们会这么做。他们夫妇大笑了好久，但是我们听不懂巨人的语言，他们有翻译给我们听。”

　　“那么他们喜欢这份礼物吗？”罗恩问

　　“当然了，有了这个火把，他们就不怕下雨了”哈格力说，他把龙肉翻了一下个又放到肿起的眼睛上。“他们非常高兴，所以我告诉他们，丹伯多校长希望他们能有所回抱和能与他们联系。”

　　“你没跟他们说需要他们的帮助吗？”荷米恩问道“丹伯多校长让我们慢慢来，”哈格力说“让他们答应明天会回送我们礼物之后再说，然后我们再送给他们另外一个礼物给，这样好留下好印象，再让他们有时间去发现这些礼物是多么的好，巨人都特别喜欢收到更多的礼物。”

　　“如果只送简单的礼物给他们的话，他们会杀了你们的，因此我们采用了迂回的方法。那天晚上他们热心的为我们准备了一个非常舒适的洞穴让我们休息，”

　　“那么你和他们说了吗？”

　　“说了，在我们把妖精制造的永远不会损坏的钢盔送给他们之后，我和他们说了！”

　　'而且你和他说话？'

　　“他们怎么说？”

　　“不是很好”哈格力说“大部分不同意，他们听说丹伯多校长，他们认为丹伯多校长曾和英国的一些巫师参与杀死了英国最后一个巨人我们以为当我们离开的那天晚上可以得到他们的同意。”

　　“但我们错了。”

　　“这是什么意思”罗恩急切地问道

　　“就是这个意思，巨人们不愿意生活在一起”哈格力悲伤地说“他们不团结，他们不相互帮助，在没有食物的时候，他们数个星期都在互相残杀，男人杀男人，女人杀女人，老人杀老人，他们互相竞争，将对方杀死。”

　　哈格力深深地叹了一口气。

　　“那天夜晚爆发了战争，从我们休息的洞口看到了山谷里发生的一切，战争持续了好几个小时，到处都是惨叫声，地上的雪就全都染红了，他的头被扔到了湖底。”

　　“谁的头？”荷米恩喘着气问。

　　“酋长的”哈格力沉重地说“产生了新的酋长Golgomath。”他深深的叹了口气“我们用了两天时间来偿试与新的酋长修好，但他对我们并不友好。”

　　“你去了他谈话？”罗恩怀疑地问“在你看到他杀了酋长成为新酋长之后？”

　　“我必须完全我的任务”哈格力说“我们以为两天后他们会因为我们送给他们的礼物而不会与我们为敌。”

　　“在我开口前，他正坐在那里看老酋长的钢盔，他很强壮，有一头黑色的头发，带着一串用骨头做的项链，我给了他一块非常好的龙皮做为礼物，我对他说了我们的要求，结果他的两个仆人抓住了我的脚，把我倒吊起来。”

　　荷米恩用手捂住了嘴，差点尖叫。

　　“你是怎么脱险的？”哈利问道

　　“是马克西姆夫人救了我”哈格力说“她用魔棒发出咒语，打中了正在打我的两个巨人的眼睛，他们立刻放开了我。但这一下子就麻烦了，我们使用了魔法攻击他们，他们特别恨攻击他们的巫师，我们不可能再和他们谈和了，我们只能离开。”

　　“天呀！哈格力”罗恩轻轻地声。

　　“但是，你为什么这么久在回到这里呢？”荷米恩问我们没有在三天之后离开！” 哈格力说，看起来有些愤慨，“邓布里多还得靠我们呢！” “但你刚刚不是说你们已经不能回去了吗！”

　　“不，白天不行。我们只是需要重新考虑一下。花了几天时间躺在洞穴里观察，我们所见到的并不好。”

　　“它又拧下更多的脑袋？” 荷米恩恶心地问。 “没，” 哈格力说。“但是我倒是希望他那么做。” “为什么？”

　　“我是说我们很快发现，他并不拒绝所有的巫师 — 只是我们。”

　　“你是指食死徒？” 哈里很快地问道。

　　“是的，” 哈格力黑着脸说。“他们中的几个每天都来拜访，带礼物给Gurg，Gurg也不把他们倒吊起来。

　　“你怎么知道他们是食死徒呢？” 罗恩问。 “因为我认出他们其中一个，” 哈格力粗声说。“Macnair，还记得他吗？那次派来杀Buckbeak的小子？他是个，疯子。像Golgomath 一样喜欢杀人，难怪他们相处得那么好。” “所以 Macnairs 说服巨人们去加入You-know-who？”荷米恩绝望的问。

　　“暂停你的疯狂的想法，我还没说完我的故事呢！”哈格力不满的说，那个原本不打算告诉他们任何事的人，现在看起来好像很享受。“我和Olympe谈过之后觉得虽然Gurg看起来拥护You-know-who不等于所有人都同意。我们应该试着说服那些不想让Golgomath当Gurg的人。”

　　“你怎么是到那些人不拥护Golgomath呢？”罗恩问。

　　“哦，他们是被打得血肉模糊的那些，不是吗？”哈格力耐心的说。“那些有些理智的都被扔到一边，像我们一样藏在山洞和沟渠里。所以我们决定在晚上的时候刺探山洞，看看是不是能说服任何人。”

　　“你在黑暗里到处刺探巨人？”罗恩说，声音中充满敬畏与崇敬。

　　“嗯，我们当时最担心的并不是那些巨人们，”哈格力说。“我们关注的是那些食死徒们。丹伯多曾经告诉过我们最好不要和他们纠缠如果我们可以避免的话，可是麻烦就是他们知道我们在周围-想是Golgomath告诉他们的。我们想在晚上那些巨人都睡觉的时候爬近洞，Macnair那伙人在周围蹑手蹑脚的寻找我们。我勉强的阻止Olympe跳出来，”哈格力说，他的嘴角带动着周围的乱胡子上扬。“她特别渴望攻击他们，她被刺激之后很暴躁的，你知道的。我想应该是因为她的法国血统。”

　　哈格力出神的盯着火堆。给了他30秒回忆之后，哈利大声的清