Having settled the matter of teaching Grawp, Hagrid decided that before he left, he would take Amanda and the others to meet Grawp, which would also serve as an introduction.
Although Grawp might not understand, at least showing their faces alongside Hagrid would make it less likely for Grawp to mistake Amanda and the others for enemies.
Following closely behind Hagrid deep into the Forbidden Forest, Ron rubbed his arm, his face full of tension.
"Merlin's lace trousers, I can't believe I'm currently walking down a path to teach a Giant English and manners."
Hermione, who was walking beside him with her arm linked through Amanda's, turned and glanced at him. "What haven't we done? Compared to other things, this is easy."
Ron shut his mouth, carefully recalling his first four years at Hogwarts. He had to admit, that was true... Especially since just a few days ago they were fighting the Ministry of Magic and kicking Death Eaters. Compared to that, teaching a Giant English and manners really didn't seem like much.
Following Hagrid to a cave deep in the Forbidden Forest, Amanda's gaze quickly swept the surroundings, taking in all sorts of traces.
There were large trees with obvious scrape marks, faint footprints visible on the ground, and two unusually thick hemp ropes wrapped around the two stoutest trees nearby, extending into a cave on the right.
"This is where Grawp lives. To restrain him, I tied him up with two ropes."
Hagrid patted the two hemp ropes tied to the tree while introducing the area.
"They look very reliable." Harry swallowed, turning to look at the cave on the right.
Tied up with such thick ropes, just how big must Grawp be? Didn't Hagrid say he was easily bullied by the Giant race because he was too small?
Looking at this, why did Harry feel like the adjective "small" was a bit unreliable?
"Grawp! Grawp! Come out, good boy, I have some new friends to introduce you to."
Following Hagrid's call, a sound of "thump-thump-thump" footsteps came from the cave. Under Hagrid's benevolent gaze, and the wary yet slightly terrified gazes of Hermione, Harry, and Ron, a Giant at least sixteen feet tall walked out.
"Merlin... is he really small?" Harry looked up at the emerging Giant and couldn't help but whisper.
"This is Grawp," Hagrid turned to introduce him to the four Young Wizards. "He's only sixteen feet tall. He's a small one among the Giant race and often gets bullied, so I had no choice but to bring him out."
"Yes, small. He is so small, truly tiny."
Hermione mumbled softly, leaning against Amanda's shoulder as if exhausted.
Looking at Grawp, she could already imagine how difficult it would be to promote the integration of the Giant race into society after the final battle with Voldemort was over.
Aside from everything else, just his size... Amanda's gaze swept over Grawp, and Grawp was similarly examining her and the three others.
According to records, Giants are generally around twenty feet tall, or about six meters. From that perspective, Grawp, who is only a little over four meters tall, is indeed considered a small one.
Amanda rapidly converted and calculated the figures in her mind, drawing a conclusion.
Seemingly done with his inspection, Grawp plopped down onto the ground, making a dull thud. He casually picked up a bicycle handlebar nearby and started playing with the bell on it.
Hagrid picked up a large bucket nearby, which was filled with various raw meats. He took the meat out and tossed it to Grawp, who grabbed it and began to feast heartily.
Hermione closed her eyes at the sight, then lifted her head from Amanda's shoulder and looked at Hagrid. "Hagrid, if you truly want to educate Grawp according to common social norms, you have to make him change his habit of eating raw meat."
"Change his habit of eating raw meat?" Hagrid frowned in distress. "But I'm not sure if he can eat cooked meat."
Amanda's right hand, which Hermione was holding, twitched imperceptibly, and Grawp's body instantly began to emit the light of a Detection Spell.
Grawp, who was eating, didn't notice anything. After the light from the Detection Spell dissipated, Amanda turned to look at Hagrid.
"He can eat it. Starting tomorrow, we will switch Grawp's food to cooked meals. Since we need to align his upbringing with common social standards, Grawp's living habits must be completely changed."
"Alright." Hagrid nodded, his thick beard concealing his complete trust in Amanda.
With Hagrid beside him, Grawp sat quietly, steadily eating his meat, without doing anything extreme.
However, Amanda noticed that his gaze lingered more on herself and Hermione.
From the perspective of biological instinct, Amanda found this understandable. After all, compared to the two boys, Harry and Ron, she and Hermione, as two girls, were indeed more attractive to Grawp.
As for whether this attraction might lead Grawp to do anything extreme, Amanda stated that everyone should be responsible for their own actions, and Giants were no exception.
It didn't matter if Grawp performed any extreme actions; a beating would suffice. Ordinary children might be educated through reasoning, but for a Giant who temporarily couldn't understand reason, one could only rely on a simpler "reason."
Anyway, given the Giant's physical strength, as long as she wasn't serious, she shouldn't be able to hurt him.
After watching Grawp finish the food in the bucket, Amanda and the three others left the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid.
Hagrid was leaving Hogwarts tomorrow to take care of the matter Headmaster Dumbledore had entrusted to him. This meant that starting tomorrow, the "heavy responsibility" of educating Grawp and delivering his food would fall to Amanda and the four of them.
"I hope everything goes smoothly." Harry sighed, walking back to Hogwarts Castle with Amanda and the other two.
"I hope so too." Ron quietly chimed in beside him.
Hermione, meanwhile, was deep in thought, considering how best to arrange the future lives of the Giant race. They were clearly not suited to live alongside humans.
Both sides could easily disturb the other, but clearly, abandoning them in the deep mountains and old forests, ignoring them, and treating them with discrimination was not what Hermione wanted to do.
So... what exactly should be done? Hermione believed this was a question she needed to ponder repeatedly.
The four entered the Great Hall in silence. The moment she stepped inside, Amanda's pupils constricted sharply, the hairs on her body stood on end, and a strong sense of crisis enveloped her heart.
Reaching out, Amanda swiftly blocked Hermione and the two boys behind her, her gaze fixed intently on a kind-looking, white-haired old man sitting next to Headmaster Dumbledore at the Staff Table.
"Amanda, what's wrong?" Blocked by Amanda, Hermione quickly drew her wand.
"The old man next to Headmaster Dumbledore: his appearance and aura don't match at all. There is an eighty-five percent chance he has taken Polyjuice Potion."
"Based on his aura, and combined with the information Senior Platt sent about Gellert Grindelwald emerging, the probability of this person being Grindelwald is seventy-three point one percent."
"Grindelwald!"
Hermione was startled but quickly calmed down, attempting to move out from behind Amanda's protection. If it truly was Grindelwald, she absolutely couldn't let Amanda face him alone.
Harry and Ron showed the same reaction. The two boys gripped their wands, poised for action. If there was a real emergency, there was no doubt in their minds that they were the ones who should rush to the front.
This wasn't underestimating Amanda and Hermione, but a very reasonable arrangement: their Charms were so good that they should constantly cast spell attacks from the rear, while the boys, who had relatively better stamina, should attract the opponent's attacks from the front.
Grindelwald, sitting at the Staff Table, couldn't help but slightly curl the corner of his mouth as he watched the four children who had just entered the Great Hall react as if facing a formidable enemy.
These four little ones didn't show any fear; they were quite decent.
Especially the leading girl—that must be the allegedly powerful Amanda. She recognized him instantly.
Grindelwald watched the four of them mockingly, deliberately releasing hostility. He just wanted to see if these four little ones, especially Amanda, were really as powerful as the intelligence he received suggested.
While Grindelwald was testing the four, Amanda was constantly analyzing his facial expressions.
The instantaneous stress reaction had caused her to quickly enter combat mode. However, upon closer inspection of Grindelwald, who had taken the Polyjuice Potion...
Although he was emitting hostility, his micro-expressions showed no desire to attack. Moreover, the muscles on the back of his hands and his arms were not tense, meaning he showed no preliminary signs of casting a spell.
Furthermore, Headmaster Dumbledore was sitting right next to him. Amanda didn't believe Headmaster Dumbledore was completely unaware of the situation. Combining all this, she drew a conclusion.
Amanda concluded that the most likely scenario was that Grindelwald had no genuine intent to attack them; he was merely "playing."
Having confirmed this, Amanda's tense body slowly relaxed, and her gaze shifted toward Headmaster Dumbledore next to him.
"Gellert, you've frightened my students." Headmaster Dumbledore put down his knife and fork, turning to give Grindelwald a warning look.
Grindelwald raised an eyebrow, also putting down his knife and fork. "Don't say that, Albus. Students always need growth and experience, don't they? I was just trying to help your students grow."
"If I were you, I wouldn't do that."
Headmaster Dumbledore shook his head, signaling for Grindelwald to look down.
Grindelwald looked down at the Great Hall beneath the Staff Table. Although the Ravenclaw Eagles were still eating, one hand was clearly resting on their wands. If he made any sudden move, countless spells would fly toward him.
The Little Badgers next to them were making the same motion. Grindelwald chuckled lightly, raising both hands. "Alright, alright, I really shouldn't scare your students."
Seeing that Grindelwald was actually speaking to Headmaster Dumbledore, Amanda tilted her head. Although there was too little information to deduce the exact situation, it was clear that the immediate danger was over.
Withdrawing her gaze, Amanda signaled to Hermione and the two boys that they could put away their wands. "It's fine. Grindelwald has no hostility, and Headmaster Dumbledore's relationship with him shouldn't be as simple as enemies. We don't need to be so tense."
Hermione, Harry, and Ron exchanged glances, and only then slowly put away their wands after hearing Amanda's words.
The four separated, heading toward the Gryffindor Table and the Ravenclaw Table. After Amanda and Hermione sat down, Cho Chang, Marietta Eckmore Edgecombe, and Penelope approached them, looking nervous.
"What was going on just now?" Cho Chang asked, her right hand still resting on her wand.
Marietta Eckmore Edgecombe and Penelope also maintained a posture ready to grab their wands and attack at any moment.
"The person next to Headmaster Dumbledore is Grindelwald, under Polyjuice Potion."
At this plain statement, Cho Chang, Marietta Eckmore Edgecombe, and Penelope gasped, instantly tightening their grip on their wands.
"But Headmaster Dumbledore must be aware of this; he tacitly allowed it. Moreover, Grindelwald showed no hostility toward me, Hermione and the others, or anyone present."
Their grip on their wands relaxed slightly again. Marietta Eckmore Edgecombe glanced nervously at the white-haired old man at the Staff Table, who had already started eating again.
"So why is he here?"
"I'm not sure," Amanda took a bite of the mashed potatoes Hermione had prepared for her. "But it should be related to Headmaster Dumbledore."
"Since he has no hostility," Penelope picked up her knife and fork again, cut into the steak on her plate, and ate a piece elegantly. "Then why was he staring at you just now, provoking you directly into alertness?"
"That was probably intentional," Amanda frowned, beginning to carefully analyze Grindelwald's motives to deduce the reason. "He wanted to test me, or test whether we truly possess the abilities mentioned in the current international rumors."
"As for the specific reason, it might be because Hermione and I exposed the Wizarding World to Muggles. This action contradicts his past ideology, so he wanted to see if we truly have the strength to back up such actions."
"But according to Micro-expression Analysis," Amanda paused slightly, displaying a look of confusion. "In Grindelwald's micro-expressions just now, besides the deliberately feigned hostility and mockery towards us, there was also almost imperceptible jealousy and envy."
"The first two are understandable. The latter two can only be deduced by working backward from the intersection points between us and Grindelwald. Based on intersection analysis, there is only one common intersection point between me, Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Grindelwald: Headmaster Dumbledore."
"Therefore, the comprehensive judgment is that the source of Grindelwald's jealousy and envy toward us is ninety-two point six percent likely to be Headmaster Dumbledore."
"Wait... what is Grindelwald jealous and envious of? Jealous that you are Headmaster Dumbledore's students? Envious that Headmaster Dumbledore is your Principal?"
"That doesn't sound very logical, does it?" Marietta Eckmore Edgecombe clicked her tongue, slightly confused about the origin of this jealousy and envy.
Hermione, however, narrowed her eyes, placing the cut steak onto Amanda's plate. She faintly had a guess. If that were the case... then Grindelwald's jealousy and envy would be explainable.
But if that was truly the case... this famous Dark Wizard was far too prone to jealousy!
---------------------------------
I hope you're enjoying the fanfiction so far! If the story has you hooked and you can't wait to see what happens next, you can unlock 30 chapters in advance over on my Patreon: patreon.com/TLHimejima1
Every bit of support means the world to me so if you're loving the ride, don't forget to drop a Power Stone and let me know.