On their way, they had to remain vigilant not to be caught by the Death Eaters. Both of them were more worried about the Death Eaters than the Giants. During the past three days, Hagrid had noticed that the loyalists of Voldemort were searching for them at night. Hagrid was certain that the new Grug Golgomath must have told Macnair and the other Death Eaters about Hagrid and Madam Maxime's presence.
One time when they got near their cave, Hagrid had to control Maxime, or else she would have attacked them. Luckily, the Death Eaters must not have noticed them.
They chose another path, and Hagrid and Maxime got into one of the caves.
But sadly, it was empty.
Like that, the two half-giants carefully inspected several other caves, but it was still no go. Due to the recent fight, the population of giants had decreased further. Finally, when they got inside the sixth cave, the duo found three giants crammed inside.
In normal conditions, Hagrid would have expected them to attack him, but as the three had been beaten badly by the new Grug, they could barely lift their arms to fight. There were multiple huge, purple bruises on their skin. Even then, Hagrid and Madam Maxime carefully approached the three giants and made sure to show no ill intention.
And it seemed that destiny was on their side as one of them knew a little bit of English. Thus, Hagrid began giving them the message from Dumbledore, and the giant translated it to the other two giants in the cave.
It seemed the three were accepting the message, so Hagrid and Maxime went on to other caves to try to win the other wounded on their side.
Things seemed to be going well, and at one point, there were about seven giants that were on Hagrid's side. All of them were giants who were not happy with the new Grug. Having been successful, Hagrid decided to leave and came again the next day.
But in the morning when they woke, all their effort had once again gone to vain. When Hagrid and Madam Maxime visited the seven giants, they were all in worse physical condition and had lots of severe injuries. Golgomath's lot had raided their caves and beaten them, and now the seven did not want to be on their side again. Looking at them, it was a miracle that they were still alive.
Madam Maxime's face was grim as she surveyed the aftermath of the raid. "Hagrid, we've done all we can here. Dumbledore's mission was clear, and we have to hope that at least a few of them will remember our words when the time comes. It's time we go."
Hagrid's broad shoulders slumped slightly, his gaze fixed on the battered giants. "Aye, Maxime, I reckon yer right. But there's one more thing I need to do before we leave." He turned to her, a resolute look in his eyes. "I'm takin' my half-brother Grawp with me."
Maxime's eyes widened in disbelief. "Hagrid, you cannot be serious. Grawp is not like us. He is a fully grown giant, even if he is shorter than the others."
Hagrid shook his head stubbornly. "He's my family, Maxime. I can't leave him here to fend for himself. With Golgomath in charge, he doesn't stand a chance."
Seeing how important Grawp was to Hagrid, Madam Maxime gave in and decided to help Hagrid get his half-brother out of there.
Grawp was among the seven giants who were previously convinced to join Dumbledore's side. Even though compared to humans, Grawp was huge, for a giant, he was small and was thus bullied by the others. That was before the new Grug. So Hagrid came to the conclusion that if he did not get Grawp out of there, it was possible that Grawp was going to suffer a lot. So the duo visited the cave once again, and Hagrid tried to convince Grawp to come along with him.
Late at night, under the cover of the cloud blocking the moonlight, Madam Maxime, Hagrid, and Grawp left the colony.
The journey down the mountains was difficult. Grawp, unaware of his own strength, frequently tried to turn back towards the colony. Each time, Hagrid had to use all his strength and persuasion to keep his half-brother moving forward.
Madam Maxime had already sustained several bruises from Grawp's careless movements, and Hagrid wasn't faring much better. Both of them were exhausted, their bodies aching from the effort. The more the voyage continued, the more pain it became for Hagrid and Maxime to supervise the giant.
One night, the headmistress could not take it any longer. Maxime's expression hardened. "This is madness. I won't be part of this any longer, Hagrid. If you're determined to take Grawp, you're on your own. I'll make my way back to France. I hope you are successful in your attempt. You can rest assured that I won't tell anyone about Grawp."
With that, she turned and began making her way down the path, her tall figure quickly disappearing.
Hagrid watched her go, a heavy weight settling in his chest. He understood her decision; the journey was perilous, and Grawp was a significant burden. However, he couldn't abandon his half-brother.
"Come on, Grawp," Hagrid urged. "We've got to keep moving." Hagrid was sure that the latter did not really understand him, but he had to keep talking if he wanted his half-brother to know the human language.
To avoid anyone noticing Grawp, Hagrid would only move at night and through the wild country. During that time, Hagrid would let Grawp go hunt a deer for his consumption while Hagrid would take care of his injuries. Due to this, Hagrid was sure he was going to be late for his return to Hogwarts for the new school term.
As a precaution, Hagrid had asked Madam Maxime a favor when she returned. It was to send Dumbledore a message informing him that Hagrid was going to come a bit late.