At that moment, Hagrid and Madam Maxime were hiding in a concealed cave deep in the mountains, completely unaware that the people back in England were discussing how to rescue them.
More precisely, the others were doing the discussing, while Tver would be the one coming to the rescue...
"I've got to thank you, Olympe. If it weren't for you, I might've come away with more than just this little injury…"
Hagrid rubbed the wound on his shoulder blade and looked gratefully at Madam Maxime, who was setting protective magic around the small cave.
Unlike Snape, who had more information, they had never actually run into You-Know-Who, nor did they know that his objective was much the same as theirs.
They had simply been unlucky enough to walk straight into an internal conflict within the Giant tribe...
That, by itself, was nothing unusual for Giants, and Hagrid had been mentally prepared for it.
What he had not expected was that the original Gurg, the title Giants used for their tribal chief, Kacus, with whom they had always had a good relationship, would be beaten to death on the spot.
Not only had that wiped out all the effort they had put in before, it had also made the new Gurg hostile toward them.
The new Gurg, also the strongest Giant currently in the tribe, Golgomath, believed Hagrid had sided with Kacus, and so refused all contact with him.
Worse still, when Hagrid continued trying to win the Giants over with gifts, Golgomath even tried to have his Giants capture him.
If Madam Maxime had not sensed that something was wrong and driven back the attacking Giants with a string of spells, Hagrid would probably have followed in Kacus's footsteps.
"It was only right," Madam Maxime said after finishing her work. She put away her wand and walked over to Hagrid. "How is your wound? Do you need me to brew some potion?"
"No need. It's nothing serious now!"
He could hardly act weak in front of the goddess, so Hagrid immediately let go of his shoulder, revealing swelling so bad that even his thick fur coat could not hide it.
When Madam Maxime gave him a doubtful look, Hagrid quickly added, "Er, I'm used to little injuries like this. It won't get in the way of my moving around."
"Besides, we can't really do anything now anyway..." he said dejectedly.
What Giants hated most was wizards using magic on them. In their simple understanding, it was because wizards had used magic that they had been driven into the deep mountains, where supplies were scarce and the living conditions harsh.
So although Madam Maxime had used magic to save Hagrid, it had also put an end to any hope of continuing to win the Giants over.
At the thought of that, even Madam Maxime felt a headache coming on.
"This is all my fault. I shouldn't have used magic..."
"No, no, no." Hagrid waved a hand. "I can see it now. Even if you hadn't used magic, they probably still wouldn't have chosen to cooperate with us."
"Why do you say that?" Madam Maxime asked.
For the first time in front of the goddess, Hagrid showed a perceptive side, and he could not quite hide the trace of pride on his face.
"Golgomath's betrayal was too strange. He picked the exact night before we were about to win Kacus over."
"And before we even had the chance to name our terms, he not only wanted to drive us away, he wanted to capture us too..."
Maxime reacted at once.
"You mean someone is directing him?!"
"I can't be sure." Hagrid frowned deeply, though it was hard to tell whether it was because of the wound or the unknown enemy. "But this is far too abnormal. Something's definitely wrong here!"
"Before we came, Dumbledore said You-Know-Who didn't have many Death Eaters he could command, but he's still You-Know-Who. We'd better stay alert and leave here as soon as possible!"
The worry in Maxime's heart showed plainly on her face as she glanced outside the cave.
The darkening sky was gradually swallowing the last of the sunlight inside, just like the uncertain road ahead of them on this journey.
"It's a pity that, as half-Giants, we can't use Apparition..."
Rumble.
A crashing force like an avalanche suddenly rolled in from the distance.
"What happened?" Hagrid asked in surprise, getting to his feet.
Maxime stopped his next move with one hand, drew her wand with the other, and headed for the cave entrance.
"You're injured. Stay here first. I'll go take a look."
Hagrid knew this was no time to force the issue, so he obediently stayed where he was, all the while grumbling at himself and watching Maxime's back with worried eyes.
The moment Maxime stepped outside, she understood what had happened.
"It really is an avalanche, but it's quite far from here. It won't affect us," she whispered back to Hagrid.
This was not a place where they could speak loudly. On the very first night after arriving, they had witnessed a Giant snore loudly enough to trigger a small avalanche.
"The avalanche may not affect you, but we can."
Just as Maxime and Hagrid were breathing a sigh of relief, a gaunt wizard in black robes appeared not far from the cave, with a group of sturdy Giants behind him led by Golgomath.
"I didn't expect your magic to be this impressive. You managed to hide such a large cave and erase the traces of magic so thoroughly."
Voldemort looked Maxime over with approval, as though he already had them in his grasp.
"I can give you a chance to choose. Join me, or have your soul drained dry by me. Of course, that big fool is excepted."
He cast a disdainful glance at Hagrid, who had come hurrying out in alarm.
A man with nothing going for him except being smaller than a Giant, yet he still dared stand in front. It was stupidity in the extreme.
But in Madam Maxime's eyes, she only felt that the long journey here had not been for nothing after all.
"Give it up, Voldemort. Becoming your subordinate is no different from becoming a walking corpse!"
"No, no, no. There is still a difference." Voldemort curled his lips into an amused smile.
"For example, after draining your soul dry, I could turn you into an Inferius and personally send you to attack the students of Beauxbatons!"
"You!"
Madam Maxime had not expected a Dark Lord of such power to resort to such vile tricks, and she was instantly furious.
"Expulso!"
But she also knew that no matter how despicable he was, he was still the Dark Lord who had thrown the wizarding world into chaos.
Yet Voldemort merely waved a hand and blocked the powerful dark magic. Only the dust thrown up in the air proved that the spell had existed at all.
After blocking the spell, Voldemort made no further move, but Golgomath could not wait any longer and charged at Madam Maxime with the Giants under his command.
It was as if he wanted to make up for his earlier failure in front of his new master.
Maxime and Hagrid's expressions changed at once.
The pressure from Voldemort alone was already more than enough, and now there was also a whole group of Giants with overwhelming resistance to both magic and physical force.
If Maxime had been able to rely on distance and wear them down with magic, they would still have had some chance of winning.
But now, with Voldemort standing nearby, idly playing with his wand and watching the chaotic Giants with disdain, there was no way he would give them that chance.
"Wuuuh!"
Golgomath took the lead, roaring as he swung up a fist bigger than several casserole pots put together. Maxime fired several spells at him, but his thick hide took them without so much as a reaction.
Bang!
That heavy, terrifying punch smashed into Hagrid's raised arms, driving him back several steps. He staggered and then fell hard to the ground.
"Hagrid! Are you all right?"
Maxime rushed over to help him up, but when she saw his arms hanging limp and powerless, her eyes immediately reddened.
"I... I can still hold them off a little longer." Hagrid spat to one side, his eyes fixed resolutely on the approaching Golgomath as he raised his fractured hands again.
"Then get the news from here to Dumbledore as quickly as possible. Let him, let him... let him know that the Giants have already gone over to Voldemort!"
"What about you?" Madam Maxime looked at Hagrid with reddened eyes.
"I..."
Rumble.
Suddenly, this time it was not an avalanche. A massive shadow came crashing down with a roar like a fighter jet.