I, Hogwarts Second Time Around.

Chapter 343 The Giant Tribe - Hagrid's Family

"No—she died in a conflict with the wizard," Mrs. Maxim said calmly.

His tone revealed no sadness or other emotional change.

"Please accept my condolences," Irving said, after a moment of surprise.

Although he had already suspected it.

"There's nothing to grieve over. She never loved me. The union of giants and humans wasn't based on some kind of emotion, as you might think. They did it to create offspring with powerful magic. Most male wizards were forced into it."

Wow—is it that exciting?

Irving turned his head away.

What the heck are those few who volunteered?

Could it be that they—wait—I can only say that the human XP system is truly abnormal!

Mrs. Maxim exhaled from her chair, her gaze turning to the giants on the other side of the lake with a complex expression.

Although she outwardly avoids associating herself with giants and tries to distance herself from the race, she has studied and learned about giants over the years, after all, Beauxbatons School of Witchcraft and Wizardry boasts the largest single library in Europe.

The collection of magical books within is vast. As the headmistress, she has the authority to access even the books in the restricted section.

Her knowledge of giants was no less than that of some magizoologists.

"Legendary thunder giants, fire giants, cyclops, and hundred-armed giants not only possess powerful physical attributes but also have powerful magical abilities, such as commanding lightning, controlling flames, and manipulating meteorites."

The giants believed that hybridization with powerful magical creatures would increase their chances of producing such powerful offspring.

"Hmm—I see." Owen's expression twitched slightly.

So all those human wizards were treated like studs.

Ouch—that's terrible. Uh—no, maybe some people just like this kind of thing?

As he spoke, Owen thought of the giant leader named Lops Titan. He seemed to be a Cyclopes. Could he also be a hybrid?

It doesn't look like it—such a tall figure, it doesn't look like it was born from intermarriage with a human.

Isn't it a hybrid of human and human?

Mrs. Maxim was referring to magical creatures, but not specifically humans; perhaps it was some other kind of creature?

With questions lingering, Owen and Mrs. Maxim continued their conversation.

Perhaps returning to the island of giants made her somewhat sad, stirring up unpleasant memories from the past, and she shared many of the giants' barbaric ideas.

Some of these were tolerable to Irving, but others were simply inhumane.

For example, some tribal giants would eat the male witch they had conceived, saying that this would make it easier to have a great child. Others would mate with the half-giant they had given birth to, and it was said that the probability of that was even higher.

Among these hybrids were female giant half-wizards, and the tragedies they witnessed were enough to challenge the moral bottom line of wizards.

It's no wonder that wizards hate giants so much that they're determined to exterminate them.

Anyway, after hearing Mrs. Maxim's story, if it were Owen, he would think it was a disgrace that this kind of creature was still not completely extinct.

"The tribes of today are not the same as before," she continued. "During the Dark Ages, black wizards slaughtered giant tribes that listened to the bewitchment of evil gods, using them as materials for magical experiments. This slaughter lasted for thousands of years, and the evil giant tribes were almost wiped out. Most of the remaining giant tribes are friendly or neutral towards wizards."

"Oh! Dark wizards do good things too?" Owen exclaimed in surprise.

In his view, beyond the crumbling city walls, the battle of the giants never ceased.

Shouts and sounds of blows rose and fell.

However, the giant's fighting style was extremely rudimentary, relying entirely on brute force to win, completely lacking the refined martial arts techniques he learned from a certain Master Ye in Chinatown. If the giant had mastered close-quarters combat, he would undoubtedly have dominated the world!

"Were these guys the survivors killed by the dark wizard?"

"Yes." Lady Maxim's gaze also fell on the giant warriors clad in their inferior armor. "It may be hard to believe, but in terms of results alone, the dark wizard did do some good."

However, they were only after better magical materials. The giants of evil tribes are usually far superior to ordinary giants.

Whether it's physical fitness or the soul.

Dark wizards believed that these giants were more suitable as magical materials.

"Oh, I see!" Owen idly scratched Sirocco, who had just returned from eating a big fish. The fur on the little guy's neck was so soft that it was impossible not to touch it.

"There's another question," he said. "What does it mean that the giants were bewitched by an evil god?"

He had a bad feeling.

"That's what wizards call it," said Mrs. Maxime. "When dark wizards dissect those giants or melt their corpses, they are sometimes affected by the giants' magic, and thus hear certain whispers in their ears. The Ministry of Magic has learned from captured wizards that these hallucinatory sounds grow louder as the wizard is corrupted over time."

In most cases, the dark wizard will also become more brutal.

Aurors and former white wizards called this phenomenon the whispers of evil gods, saying that dark wizards were bewitched by the giants' gods, etc.—but in my opinion, this is nothing but nonsense. Studying dark magic is inherently prone to mental derangement, and it's not surprising, but inevitable, that dark wizards went mad. Attributing all the blame to the giants only shows the wizards' excessive arrogance.

"Oh? Is that so?" Owen seemed a little uneasy.

Mrs. Maxim is right; studying black magic can indeed completely change a person's character, and even their soul.

Miss Granger's personality changed drastically after only a few months of research; she became rather gloomy.

He is the only one who is unaffected by dark magic because of the characteristics of ancient magic.

Therefore, Lady Maxim's view is not without merit. Saying that the whispers of evil gods are nothing more than wizards finding an excuse for their own race. The black wizards killed so many giants, so they had to find an excuse to silence the gossip of other intelligent beings.

But—is that really the truth?

Suddenly, Irving felt a sense of unease. This whisper sounded so much like the whisper of an Outer God.

Could it be that the Outer Gods had already infiltrated the Giant race a thousand years ago?

Damn! I knew this time it wouldn't be so easy; something bad was bound to happen.

Suddenly, he remembered the obelisk in the whirlpool.

A vortex since ancient times, a strange tower.

Buried in a hidden place.

Hiss—could that be the Divine Tower?!

Tsk tsk—this is getting more and more troublesome.

Irving's gaze grew increasingly distant and serious, and the frequency of his touch on Sirocco's neck slowed down.

The kitten was very sensitive to the fact that its owner's emotions had changed drastically.

It meowed a few times before it brought Irving back to his body.

On the other side, Mrs. Maxim was still telling him about the giant's past.

But she wasn't just standing on the side of giants or wizards; she was standing on a grander perspective about justice.

As night fell and Hagrid still hadn't returned, she finally couldn't resist the urge to leave and venture into the forest to investigate.

However, as the principal, she ultimately did not go, because she could neither take Owen with her nor leave him behind.

She decided to give Hagrid another night, perhaps something had happened to delay him.

the next day.

Early in the morning, Owen had just crawled out of his tent when he saw Hagrid walking back from the forest in the distance.

He looks like a completely different person.

His hair was a mess, covered with blood clots, his left eye was swollen into a slit, and it was blue and purple. His face and hands were covered with wounds, some of which were still bleeding.

He moved very carefully, and Irving could tell at a glance that he probably had a broken rib.

"Hagrid, what's wrong with you?" Mrs. Maxim had gotten up earlier than Owen, her elegant figure showing signs of fatigue, and her face looking rather haggard. She probably hadn't slept all night, keeping watch outside the tent.

The moment she saw Hagrid, she rushed over to him, helping him up while taking out a bottle of white wine from her pocket.

"I'm fine. Grop remembers me, and I get along very well with him!" Hagrid said, taking the bottle from Mrs. Maxim's hand with a slightly flushed face, and then awkwardly lowering her hand that was about to apply the medicine to herself.

His gaze drifted as he stared at Irving.

After seeing the other person's wicked grin, Hagrid's expression became even more unnatural.

"Oh—I—I'm fine, really." He staggered to the lake to wash the blood off his face. "When he's not throwing a tantrum, Gropp is actually a good kid. I guess I need to be a little more patient..."

"Glopp?" Mrs. Maxim asked from behind him.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce you."

As he spoke, Hagrid began to recount what he had seen that night. It turned out that the small giant he had encountered the previous day was his younger brother, and he had found his mother.

Some touching and heart-wrenching stories unfolded during that time.

In short, Hagrid and his brother talked all night. Judging from his bloodshot face and injuries, but his beaming smile, they must have had a very good conversation last night.

"My mom told me that no giant wanted to be with Grope, that he was too lonely, and I wanted to try teaching him a little English," Hagrid continued, shaking his wet head. "I thought that if he could talk to other people, he could make friends and become more outgoing."

As he spoke, Irving looked at Irving with burning eyes.

The boy over there was fixing his hair and bangs; that damn Sirocco messed up his hairstyle.

"What?" A sliver of silver light flickered in his emerald eyes. Through the dappled light, Owen's gaze met Hagrid's, burning with intense longing. A chill ran down his spine. "You're not trying to get me to be friends with your brother, are you?"

"Why not?" Hagrid said. "You two are close in age."

"???"

Owen paused, startled, then said, "While I admire your mother for giving birth at such an advanced age, and while I'm from Hufflepuff Academy and have a slight interest in magical creatures, I—but! I will not have any contact with any male creature that lusts after me, unless you want your little brother's birthday to be this time next year!"

"What are you saying!" Hagrid said, a little annoyed. "Never mind, I don't know what that little idiot saw in you. Was it because of your silver hair?"

As he spoke, Hagrid glanced at Mrs. Maxim behind him.

In an instant, Mrs. Maxim's face darkened.

Hagrid was terrified and quickly explained, "No, no, no—I won't let Fleur and Grop have any contact. I promise."

Hearing this, Mrs. Maxim's expression gradually returned to normal. "Alright. We'll discuss the rest in detail later."

As she spoke, a complex expression appeared on her face. In truth, she was both happy for Hagrid and worried about him.

Finding their mother was certainly a good thing, but giants were ultimately different from wizards, and it was difficult for them to integrate into the wizarding world.

Otherwise, his mother wouldn't have left his father back then.

Among these factors, physical differences may not be the most important.

More concerns may stem from the fact that the wizarding world is not prepared to welcome giants. It is likely that Hagrid's parents lived a life of constant hiding and running. Even if they were truly in love and their relationship was not coerced, such a life was enough to extinguish some passion.

Ultimately, his mother chose to leave in pursuit of her own freedom, and also to give her husband freedom in return.

"Okay, I understand." Hagrid nodded.

Then, excitedly, she said, "I think I might have misunderstood my mother; she still loves my father."

She was very old, over eighty, and deserved to enjoy her twilight years. Life in the jungle had severely damaged her health; she had lost all her teeth. I thought—I wanted to take her back to England, to find a place where she could spend the last years of her life with dignity.

Hagrid went on and on.

He revealed his grand plans.

Meanwhile, Owen and Mrs. Maxim listened with noncommittal expressions on their faces.

At breakfast, Hagrid returned to the forest, bringing his brother Grop with him.

That dull-looking giant looked at least twice as tall as Hagrid.

Unlike Mrs. Maxim's concerns, Hagrid seemed pleased and introduced Irving and Mrs. Maxim to Gloucester.

But that guy was so stupid, he just couldn't remember their names.

However, he kept staring at Irving.

Hagrid could only give a slightly awkward smile and then began preparing breakfast.

Irving's backpack contained a considerable amount of fresh meat.

That was originally Bakal's grain reserves.

Now, however, Hagrid took out the roasted meat and gave it to his brother.

It's a good thing Bakkar can't speak, otherwise I would have had to greet him properly.

While waiting for dinner, Gropp, having nothing to do, picked up stones from the lake and started skipping them.

Although he couldn't make a splash, and the stones he threw always sank into the water with a "thud," creating a huge splash.

Then he burst into laughter.

Mrs. Maxim's eyelids kept twitching and her brows were furrowed.

But Irving never showed any sign of resistance or gloom.

He never harbored any resentment towards creatures he could kill easily.

Even if his behavior is disgusting and barbaric.

A hearty breakfast is over.

Hagrid and his brother had another round of heartwarming conversation.

However, at this point, Mrs. Maxim and Owen no longer paid attention to the two brothers.

Both of their attention was drawn to the open-air tent by the lake.

Because there they encountered another group of giants.

Their attire was clearly different from that of the giants at the lake.

The leader was a terrifying giant who was thirty or even forty feet tall.

Even among giants, his physique is among the most outstanding.

The giant had black hair and his teeth were painted red.

He wore an exquisite bone necklace around his neck, each piece the size of a human head, but on his neck, they were probably just small beads.

And those bones—perhaps they were a bit too far away for Irving to see clearly, but they looked somewhat like human bones.

On the arm as thick as a large tree in the Forbidden Forest, there was a metal ring engraved with intricate runes.

The ancient magical principle of reversion told Owen that the metal ring radiated vibrant magic.

It's quite surprising. You know, although giants possess magical powers, they can't cast spells. So where did this metal ring come from?

Could it be that the Death Eaters taught them this?

"They've come with ill intentions!" Mrs. Maxim said, her brow furrowed and her expression displeased.

They haven't even fully established contact with the first tribe yet, and now another one has appeared. Persuading the giants is no longer as simple as one plus one. With two tribes, they will start competing and fighting with each other. In that case, it's unlikely they can befriend either side.

The only hope now is that the Cyclopes of the British Giants tribe can defeat this towering outsider.

Otherwise, their negotiations would probably have to start all over again.

"The Titans are currently divided. These are probably Titans from other tribes, and they may not be as easy to talk to as the Lops Titans."

Just as Mrs. Maxim had guessed.

Soon, the sound of arguing came from the open-air tent.

Then the sound grew louder and louder.

Lops Titan and the towering giant had some kind of conflict.

They stormed out of the tent and came to an open space, stopping beside a low mound of earth.

Then—just when Irving thought a massive, earth-shattering brawl between giants was about to unfold.

What happened next left him dumbfounded.

Suddenly, the two giants reached out their hands, clasped them tightly, and began to wrestle against the mound of earth.

They were actually arm wrestling!

Damn—Irving almost threw his back out from this crazy tactic!

Weren't giants supposed to be warlike, cruel, and terrifying by nature?

And now you're telling me that the duel between two tribal chiefs was decided by arm wrestling?

Why is she inexplicably cute?

"boom!"

A mournful cry came from the low earthen slope.

Then a gust of wind came, and the sudden tension in the muscles actually caused a considerable gust of wind.

The dust on the earthen slope was blown high into the air, obscuring the sky. From a distance, it looked like two mountain-like giants panting heavily, their arms bulging with muscles harder than marble.

Their foreheads were bulging with veins, and their faces were contorted with rage.

(End of this chapter)