As exam week approached, Hogwarts grew increasingly busy.
The library was often packed, with students occupying every available seat.
Before leaving, the Weasley twins left behind a legend at Hogwarts—after all, the desire for freedom is human nature.
Their ability to rebel without being shackled won the admiration of many.
Not long after they left, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes officially opened for business.
A year in the making, the shop was wildly popular from the moment it opened.
Tommy sent over a financial report, stating that this was currently the most profitable investment for Silverhand Angels.
John wasn't surprised—he was just curious how furious Umbridge must be.
With less than a month left until exams, Slytherin faced off against Hufflepuff that Saturday.
Malfoy deliberately sought John out and asked to borrow the Firebolt for Cedric.
He wanted the Head Boy, who'd been lording it over him, to lose fair and square. Cedric accepted the challenge.
Both of them were fired up, determined to defeat the other on the field.
"We're not going to lose," Malfoy said arrogantly. "Hufflepuff only has you, but Slytherin has all of us."
When he said that, Cedric really wanted to smack him in the face with his broom.
He still hadn't settled the score with Malfoy for sending Cho Chang flying last time.
Now that the opportunity presented itself, the two of them went all out during Saturday's match.
Despite being good friends, on the pitch they were constantly committing fouls against each other.
Even the usually rule-abiding Cedric couldn't help but resort to illegal moves when facing Malfoy.
The Firebolt was incredibly fast, and Cedric struggled to control it.
During one clash, Cedric's speed dropped too sharply, and he crashed straight to the ground.
He clutched his arm in pain—it was probably broken.
Malfoy, insufferable as ever, pulled off a graceful stop right in front of Cedric, tossing the Golden Snitch in his hand.
"Well well, has Head Boy Diggory gone rusty?"
Cedric's face darkened. Malfoy really was asking for a beating.
In the end, Slytherin won by a 40-point lead. The trident formation was simply too shameless.
If Malfoy hadn't insisted on settling the score with Cedric, they could've widened the gap even further and ended the match early.
And then Gryffindor wouldn't have had even a sliver of hope left.
Not that Gryffindor had much hope now anyway.
Given Ron's usual performance, many people doubted whether he could hold the goal under Ravenclaw's offense.
It was the last weekend of May—today's match was Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw.
"I bet that Weasley's going to piss his pants," Malfoy sneered nastily.
John wasn't particularly interested. He glanced at Malfoy rallying a group to go mock Gryffindor.
"I'm not going," John declined calmly. "I need to go somewhere. You guys go ahead."
Soon after, even from outside the pitch, Lee Jordan's exasperated voice could be heard.
Ron had let the Quaffle slip past and into the goal right at the start.
John headed away from the stadium toward the Forbidden Forest. The cheers from the Quidditch match were loud enough to reach even the forest's edge.
A Thestral spotted John and came over, nuzzling his hand with its head.
John patted the Thestral's head, and more Thestrals began appearing around him.
He paused for a moment, then gave a wry smile. "You're not picking up the scent of death on me, are you?"
Thestrals were extremely sensitive to death. Not long after they gathered around him, a beautiful unicorn ran out from the edge of the forest.
It was Weiwei.
Weiwei approached John with a sorrowful look and touched his forehead gently with her horn.
"What's wrong with your aura?"
She could sense it—that faint, death-like aura clinging to him.
"It's nothing, Weiwei," John said with a soft chuckle. "Do you know about Hagrid's situation?"
"He's tied up some big creature over there," Weiwei nudged John's hand with her nose. "I'll take you to it."
John nodded, letting her lead the way.
Deep in the Forbidden Forest, the underbrush grew thick and tangled—some weeds were tall enough to bury a person.
The deeper they went, the more the light faded, until it felt like twilight even though it was still day.
Weiwei, being a unicorn, moved through the forest like it was her home.
Unicorns were incredibly fast—that was how they managed to escape the pursuit of greedy hunters.
After walking for a while, John was starting to breathe heavily.
Weiwei turned her head back and began pacing in circles, clearly anxious.
John leaned against a tree to rest for a moment. "Weiwei, how much farther?"
"There's still a ways to go. John, you're too weak right now." Tears welled up in Weiwei's eyes. "Father has a way to help you."
"Clark can't help me," John said, gently stroking her head. "But thank you for worrying about me."
Once he had rested, they pushed through the thick brush ahead.
John blasted through the thorny brush with a Crushing Curse. Following the newly cleared path, they reached their destination.
Weiwei approached cautiously. "That thing is very dangerous."
John saw a massive dark shape lying on its side up ahead.
"I should've known," he muttered with a helpless look as he laid eyes on the creature.
Weiwei huffed angrily. "He nearly ripped my tail off."
"Hagrid really never learns," John said, staring at the creature and feeling a pang of discomfort in his teeth.
He'd thought secretly raising a dragon was Hagrid's limit—but apparently, the man also had a thing for giants.
Though this particular giant seemed smaller than most, it was still an extremely dangerous brute.
"Hagrid probably thinks he's harmless. And adorable," John muttered.
Lying there was a giant—a sleeping giant.
It looked like a massive mound of earth.
John sized it up, rubbing his chin. "He's a bit small."
The giant didn't look to be more than sixteen feet tall.
If John were to take his dragon form, this thing would seem downright puny in comparison.
He noticed that the giant was tied up with thick ropes—Hagrid's way of restraining it, most likely.
"Looks like Hagrid wasn't completely unprepared," John said as he approached the giant.
Weiwei anxiously paced in place. "What are you doing, John?"
John drew his wand as he walked, his eyes cold. "This guy isn't exactly behaving himself."
"You're going to kill him?" Weiwei asked, a bit horrified.
John paused and looked back with a helpless expression. "I'm not a devil, Weiwei."
"Oh… alright." Weiwei lowered her head, realizing she might've overreacted.
They circled around to the front of the giant.
One look at the massive creature, and John immediately understood why Hagrid always showed up to class covered in bruises.
He didn't know this one's name, but John figured he could at least try to negotiate.
Just as he was about to step forward, he heard voices coming from behind the giant.
Someone besides Hagrid had arrived.
"If I leave, I must—must tell someone, because I need your help. And Ron's, if he's willing." That was Hagrid's voice.
"We'll help you, of course. What do you need us to do?" That was Harry.
"Hagrid," came a trembling voice—it was Hermione. It was clear she was frightened. "You told us none of them were willing to come!"
Now that she saw the thing they had mistaken for a mound of earth, Hermione finally understood why.
And she also understood why Hagrid was always covered in bruises—raising a giant, how could he not get hurt?
Hagrid continued defending the giant. "He doesn't know his own strength. He's gotten much better now, not as prone to fighting."
He was trying to convince Hermione, but she was overwhelmed. "He didn't want to come. Why did you force him? Wouldn't he be better off staying with his own kind?"
"They all bullied him, Hermione—just because he's small!" Hagrid pressed on.
"Small?" Hermione echoed. "When you said we should take care of him… does that include John?"
"Hermione, I couldn't leave him behind," Hagrid said tearfully. "But I can't tell John… he's my brother."
"My half-brother," Hagrid muttered. "I found out later—after Mum left Dad, she got with another giant. That's how Grawp came to be."
"Why can't you tell John?" Harry asked, confused.
"Because John would scare him," Hagrid said.
That strange choice of words only made the two more puzzled.
"Actually, I'm curious too—what were you thinking, Hagrid?"
A voice spoke up suddenly, and Hagrid nearly jumped out of his skin.
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