Giant Tribe

Seven o'clock in the morning.

The sky outside was already bright, and the morning mist squeezed in through the window cracks, bringing a slight chill. The small village at the foot of the mountain was secluded. First, the sound of the mountain wind blowing along the gentle slope through the woods could be heard, as if someone was whispering. The person, immersed in a sweet dream, seemed oblivious and slept soundly. Then, a few distant crowings of roosters and barking of dogs reached the ears. The two people, whose sleeping postures were messy but inexplicably harmonious, smacked their lips and breathed evenly. Finally, the clear chirping of birds and insects reached the ears. Even the changes in the birds' tunes could be heard. The eyelashes of the person who had had a good night's sleep trembled slightly.

Hermione opened her eyes, but her body was sealed by the weight of a hand and a foot, unable to move. She could only remain curled up in the blankets, waiting silently. She couldn't sleep, and she couldn't even take out the map to look at it again. She turned her head slightly and looked at Loren sleeping peacefully beside her, not feeling bored at all.

The scent emanating from him was indescribable, not a distinct fragrance, nor the familiar aroma of orange peel, but a unique scent that belonged to Loren, giving Hermione a sense of reassuring security.

When Loren is asleep, she is always more well-behaved than when she is awake, and even her face looks much better, if you ignore the hand resting on her stomach and the leg resting on her leg.

The wind whistled slightly through the window cracks—

Loren frowned slightly, as if he was somewhat displeased.

The adults next door seem to have gone out, and the energetic little dog is barking excitedly and loudly—

Loren's eyebrows furrowed, and he took an impatient breath.

A bird landed on the windowsill, seemingly having spotted a tiny insect with nowhere to escape, and chirped sweetly—

Loren finally couldn't bear it any longer and shrank deeper into the blankets as if trying to escape, wanting to plug his ears with cotton.

"Get up when you're awake, have breakfast and then we'll head up the mountain."

"Give me a kiss and I'll get up." Loren hummed in agreement, his hand that was on her stomach moved up to hug her neck, and he buried his face in her neck and took a deep breath.

Hermione stiffened for a moment, then pursed her lips, feigning composure. "Kiss me after I brush my teeth."

"!"

Five minutes later, Loren put down his toothbrush with unprecedented speed, rinsed his mouth with the cold water that had frozen his teeth, spat out the foam, and waited expectantly by his side.

Like Chick waiting to be fed in their nest.

Hermione brushed her teeth silently. It was orange and sea salt flavored toothpaste that Loren had squeezed out for her. It was sweet with a hint of saltiness, and the foam was rich and creamy. He said it could prevent cavities.

I wonder if it's possible to shrink my front teeth.

"Hmm..."

He eventually sucked the soft worm into his mouth, even gently biting it. His lips, which he used to feed it, became slightly engorged with blood, turning bright red and glistening. It didn't hurt, but it felt tingly and numb, and his mouth was filled with the taste of oranges and sea salt.

Satisfied, I went downstairs. The fireplace was blazing, and the firewood was crackling as it burned. Breakfast consisted of bread with a rich wheat aroma, paired with a bubbly Winky juice, which was quite delicious.

The morning fog was as thick as milky white milk. The tavern door was only half open, and the ethereal fog flowed in, making it seem as if you could see tiny particles. The firelight was scattered and blurred.

"Alice, I'll have to trouble you to watch the shop for me today. I need to take those two up the mountain." Old Dodd used the last bit of Winky juice to smear the bread in his mouth and let out a comfortable sigh.

"It's fine with minding the shop, there's no business anyway." Alice, with a piece of bread in her mouth, squatted in front of the fireplace adding firewood. Only half of her face was facing the three of them, its red glow from the flames obscuring her expression. "But are you really going to leave right away? Why don't you wait until the sun comes out before going up the mountain? The fog is too thick; if you slip and fall, it'll be troublesome if you get hurt..."

"This little bit of fog is nothing to a wizard; it will dissipate by the time we leave the village."

"Oh, alright..." Alice lowered her head to add fuel to the fire, and fell silent.

Old Dodd turned to the young couple on their graduation trip. "I suddenly remembered this while I was steaming bread this morning. The Ben Nevis Mountain are vast. If you search for them one by one from the Giant tribe, it might take a week if you're unlucky. I've prepared some things you might need on the mountain..."

"Thank you, Mr. Dodd."

"..."

A rustling sound arose as Alice crouched in front of the fireplace, her posture upright, as if adding firewood was a solemn and serious task that could not be distracted. However, while they were focused on tidying up, the Muggle girl would quickly turn her head to steal a glance. Then she would quickly turn back, continuing to stare intently at the flames.

She was incredibly curious; the old swindler had prepared several large bags of things—how could the two of them carry them empty-handed...?

Freshly baked, steaming loaves of bread were tossed one by one into the pendant, along with tender vegetable leaves still glistening with morning dew, and fresh water from brewing barrels—not precious, but quite bulky. Yet, the magical pendant made these things seem to have no volume or weight; she even suspected the pendant could hold the entire tavern.

The three people were focused on packing their things and didn't notice the surprised looks from behind them.

Alice held her breath, wanting to see just how much the pendant could hold.

Seeing Loren count the food and water in Galleons and hand them over, Old Dodd didn't refuse. He took the bag of coins and tossed it on the counter, not counting the amount or caring whether he made a profit or a loss. He clapped his hands, looked at the sky outside, and said, "Let's go."

Alice quickly turned to focus on the fire in the fireplace, only to hear the young wizard turn back to say goodbye, his clear voice piercing through the morning mist as he spoke to the Muggle girl:

"Alice, believe me, your college life will be more exciting than magic school."

Alice was taken aback by what she heard, and a faint smile appeared on her lips.

It was as if wildflowers in the mountains were blooming in the thick fog during a romantic summer.

"You're a wizard, of course you'll say that..."

"No ordinary person is like you guys, graduating and traveling around at 17 or 18. I was just starting university back then..."

"It's all Old Dodd's fault, that old liar! He's been lying to me for so long and he still wants to run away, that's too much..."

Alice grumbled and complained. She didn't know how much time had passed, but no new firewood was added to the fireplace. The flames gradually weakened and the light dimmed until all the charcoal inside had burned to ash and there was no more combustible material. However, a single flame remained burning quietly in the hearth, calm and persistent.

Alice picked up the tongs and poked around a few times, getting a clear look at the situation inside the fireplace, and her eyes gradually widened.

The sun climbed over the mountain peaks, breaking free from its shading, and cast its warm rays.

The sounds of birdsong and the rustling of leaves echoed in the air. Milky white mist particles dissipated, some carried by the mountain winds towards the summit, some melting into the moist, soft soil, and some gathering on the verdant grass, condensing into glistening morning dew.

As the mountain mist gradually thinned, the blurry and ethereal things in the distance became clearer, and three figures walked steadily out of the mountain mist.

Old Dodd, the leader, stopped under a tall, straight ash tree and pointed to a place still shrouded in mist on the mountainside. "Go in that direction. When you see flattened land or a wide-open cave, you'll reach the giants' settlement... If you encounter any major trouble that you can't handle, or if you're surrounded by giants and can't escape, set off a big firework in the sky to give me a signal..."

"Although I've said it many times, I still want to say thank you, Mr. Dodd," Hermione said sincerely.

"No need to thank me. You paid for the room and the things cost Galleons, not to mention Loren gave you such an expensive gift." Old Dodd waved his hand. "Alright, let's say goodbye here. Good luck."

"Goodbye, Mr. Dodd." Hermione watched the old man walk away until his figure disappeared at the end of the winding mountain road, then turned to Loren, puzzled. "A gift? What gift?"

"Gubra'i Immortal Fire- Youth Edition"

"?" Hermione tilted her head and rubbed her hair, completely bewildered.

"Based on the Gubra'i Immortal Fire I created by imitating Dumbledore, although it cannot burn forever, it can still burn for several hundred years."

Hermione's eyes gradually lit up. "How did you do that? How did you build a stable Magic Power circulation model inside the flames?"

Loren snorted and raised his chin to look at her sideways, "Now you think of asking me? Why didn't you ask when I brought it up with you last night?"

"Okay, okay, it's my fault." Hermione suppressed a laugh. "Please forgive me, Professor Morgan, and explain the key points here to me."

"You only get one chance, and you missed it."

"..."

As they chatted and joked, it was as if their heavy bodies had become lighter, even though Hermione insisted that it was the effect of the Levitation Charm.

The view at the foot of the mountain was relatively open, but as we climbed higher, the fog not only didn't dissipate, it became increasingly thick. Looking back, we could no longer make out the rough outline of the village; only an endless expanse of gray-white filled our vision, with rocks of varying shades appearing and disappearing in the distance. Occasionally, a cool mountain breeze would blow, and the fog would drift lightly. The strangely shaped rocks seemed like ferocious monsters brandishing their claws, ready to pounce and devour anyone they could find.

Loren and Hermione were not afraid at all; on the contrary, they were slightly delighted. The unusually thick fog, besides being due to the terrain, also revealed traces of magic.

The deeper they went into the foggy mountain valley, the more obvious the traces of the Muggle-Repelling Charm became.

If an ordinary person without magic were to wander into this place, they would probably lose their way in a daze. A clever person would use the shape of tree rings, the crooked marks of grass leaves, and the lines of shadows to determine the direction to go. A person who is not clever enough or who cannot judge direction would develop a strange sense of direction after wandering around and identify a direction that they think is correct. But no matter which way they go, they will return to the original path that led them into the fog.

Only a very few unlucky souls will manage to find a few weak points in the widespread Muggle-Repelling Charm and deliver themselves right in front of the giants...

Loren thought that once they entered the valley and walked a little further in, they would be able to see the cave where the giants lived, but the journey was much longer than they had imagined.

With the help of the Levitation Charm, they climbed quickly and gradually entered the silent deep mountain world. The isolated High Mountain peaks seemed to be rarely visited even by birds. There was no road ahead, and they practically floated on the grass. Apart from the occasional sound of stepping on withered leaves and broken branches, they could hardly hear any insects or birds chirping.

The two gradually fell silent, holding hands as they walked toward the obscure road ahead.

Hermione would occasionally doubt whether they had taken the wrong path, and she would insist that Loren look at the Magic Power floating around them and repeatedly confirm their direction before continuing on.

We ate a few pies and bread along the way, rested, and continued climbing. After walking for an unknown amount of time, we looked up and saw that we had reached a snow-covered area, a vast expanse of white.

"Should we continue?" Hermione exhaled a puff of white breath, took out a thick winter coat from her pendant, handed one to Loren, and put the other on herself.

"It shouldn't be necessary."

Loren turned to look at a patch of grass on his left. There was a strange path on the grass, more like a series of overlapping footsteps, which were so big and heavy that they had trodden out a smooth path.

Loren and Hermione exchanged a glance, their wands brushing against each other, a cool wave spreading across their bodies as they gradually became transparent and disappeared from the spot.

A series of rustling sounds echoed across the deserted Mountainous Area, gradually fading away along with the massive footsteps.

The giant's footsteps compacted and leveled the soft soil, making the last stretch of the journey easier. After crossing a ridge, a wide and flat Depression appeared before them, surrounded by mountains, with a deep lake not far away.

The Depression on all sides, and at intervals you could see wide cave entrances, as if they had been carved out by human hands. There were seventy or eighty giants below, generally about twenty feet tall, with the larger ones possibly twenty-five feet tall (nearly 8 meters). Walking on them felt like the mountains were moving, with their huge feet stomping on the ground and creating a slight tremor.

Loren and Hermione stopped in their tracks and took a deep breath.

A barbecue feast was underway in the Depression. Piles of bloody and filthy offal and intestines were casually tossed aside. A dozen wild boars, after being roughly processed, were skewered after being gutted and their organs removed. Small bonfires could barely roast the undissected wild boars above.

The flames flickered, casting huge shadows that obscured the hills.

In the very center of the canyon, the most blazing campfire was dominated by a burly giant with a ferocious face. He had black hair, large black teeth, and wore a necklace made of bones. The various bones, including human bones, made him look grotesque and terrifying.

He kept adding undried firewood to the campfire, but the flames only grew smaller, and the thick smoke made it hard for him to open his eyes.

The giant roared angrily, "McNair! McNair!"

Loren and Hermione then noticed that at the giant's feet stood a tall, well-proportioned human wizard. Hermione gasped, "McNair? Walden McNair, the Death Eater was there that night? The guy from the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures?"

Loren squinted and examined it carefully for a few seconds. "Yes, it's him."

"The Death Eater have found their way here too. Hagrid must be in danger!" Hermione thought with concern as she saw the skull necklace around the giant's neck in the distance.

"Don't worry, Dumbledore said Hagrid just ran into some trouble on his way back." Loren shook his head thoughtfully. "Let's go down and take a look when it gets dark; we should find some clues..."