Grawp's Choice

The sky is like an inverted lake, the bright moon is like a lotus flower blooming from the water, and the stars, like lotus seeds, twinkle and illuminate the lush and quiet forest. Birds perch peacefully on the branches, and luminous insects that are active at night float around. The green leaves sway in the breeze.

The two young wizards and the Half-Giant sat in the open space around a fire lit by dry wood.

The smooth, clean Rock Cake floats in mid-air, holding apple pie and steak, baking in the hot outer flame. The honey on the apple pie has melted, emitting an irresistible sweet aroma.

The Pure-blood giant snored loudly, while two hamsters slept peacefully in a glass jar.

"They've been abusing him all this time, I can't just leave him here," Hagrid said softly, staring at the Rock Cake that had been turned into a baking pan, before silently looking away.

"Didn't Madame Maxime stop you?" Hermione asked, turning to put a piece of firewood into the fire.

"She... um... Olympe and I have similar backgrounds, and she understands that this is important to me, and agrees that I should protect my younger brother." Hagrid lowered his head, twisting his large hands in front of him. "But soon she got tired of Grawp. I must admit... our situation was complicated at the time. You know, the Giant tribe had a new Gurg, and the Golgomath and Death Eater were investigating together. All the gifts we gave and the goodwill we gained in the past few days were wasted. In addition, school was about to start, and as the headmistress of Beauxbatons, she needed to return to the school as soon as possible to handle the affairs of the new school year."

Loren, who was selecting sweet potatoes, nodded. "Yes, that's a good reason, very convincing."

"She promised me she wouldn't tell anyone, which is already very kind of her..."

"If no one comes to help you, how do you plan to bring this big guy back to Hogwarts?"

"Traveling at night when no one's around, crossing wilderness and such, I must say, if Grawp wanted to, he could travel quite quickly, but he always wanted to go back..."

Hagrid looked up at the two of them, scratched his head, and chuckled, probably thinking it was a happy kind of trouble. "But now that you two are helping, things will be alright. Putting Grawp into the spacious scales or pendant will make traveling much easier. He won't throw a tantrum either. I have to admit, when he's in a bad mood and gets irritable, his wildly swinging fists are really unbearable. He probably really doesn't know how strong he is!"

"Hagrid, I must say, it doesn't have to be that complicated now."

Hermione raised her head and looked straight at that honest-looking face. "The Giant tribe have a new Gurg, the one you know, Orr. The siblings won't let anyone bully Grawp. Send him back, Hagrid. He belongs there. He belongs to the Giant tribe."

"Oh... yes..."

Hagrid froze, glancing back at the sleeping Grawp. A strange panic gripped him, and he murmured, "The Giant tribe have a new Gurg. It's the three siblings who helped me: the reliable Orr, the clever Gale, and the kind Mill... Grawp will be well taken care of when he goes back. No one will bully him anymore..."

Loren and Hermione said nothing, took down the baked apple pie and steak, and handed the largest portion to Hagrid, who was bruised and dazed. They ate their dinner quietly, even chewing very softly.

Hagrid was still nervously wringing his hands, and his murmurs grew fainter and fainter until they were almost completely drowned out by his snoring.

"He can find food and water on his own. As long as no one bullies him, he'll be fine... fine..."

When the Half-Giant was two years old, his giant mother, Fridwulfa, abandoned him because she disliked his small stature and fled back to the Giant tribe, disappearing without a trace. Fortunately, he had a responsible father, and they depended on each other for survival. For the next few years, they lived a simple and frugal life. At the age of eleven, he received his Hogwarts acceptance letter, which can be considered a happy and fulfilling life.

The good life lasted only a year.

When he was in second grade, his father passed away from a serious illness. In the same year, he was expelled for being implicated in Chamber of Secrets mystery because he kept Acromantula without permission. His wand was also broken.

Having lived alone for nearly fifty years, Hagrid was sent to the Giant tribe by Dumbledore and suddenly learned that he had a half-brother. Hagrid couldn't explain how he felt at that moment. He was just a half- Half-Giant who had been expelled in his second year, without a diploma, illiterate, and his poor language and clumsy mouth could not support him in describing the feeling of his heart pounding and his blood boiling.

When he learned that his younger brother Grawp was being bullied in the Giant tribe, unable to get fresh food or a good night's sleep, he had a bold idea—to bring Grawp back to Hogwarts.

With time running out and Death Eater chasing after them, he didn't have time to think too much before hastily setting off with Grawp.

Two days later, Olympe left.

During last year's Goblet of Fire Triwizard Tournament, an elegant lady from Olympe, always impeccably dressed and never losing her composure even when angry, never complained during their trip to Ben Nevis Mountain, where they climbed rocks, slept in caves, and ate cold bread.

She didn't say it explicitly when she left, but Hagrid knew very well that she felt she had done something wrong.

Was I wrong?

Hagrid turned around and looked at the huge figure lying on the ground asleep in front of them. The nearby trees had been uprooted, and the branches, large and small, were used to roast the two fat wild boars, all of which ended up in Grawp's belly.

His younger brother had a round head covered with thick, fern-colored curls, chubby ears, and a neck that was almost invisible in the middle. He had a very broad back and wore a rough, grayish-brown smock made of animal skin, probably prepared for him by their mother a long time ago. It was already a bit too small and covered in oily dirt, making him look filthy.

When Grawp slept, the seams of his smock seemed to be stretched taut, his legs curled up under his body, revealing his dirty bare feet, which were placed on the ground in the woods, one on top of the other.

"Can he really take care of himself after returning to the Giant tribe?" Hagrid couldn't help but wonder.

The giant in the distance was fast asleep, while the Half-Giant behind him was restless and unable to sleep. He ate a sweet and fragrant apple pie with a dazed look in his eyes, but his expression was no different from that of someone gnawing on Rock Cake, devoid of any flavor or taste.

Loren and Hermione didn't bother Hagrid. Others' advice was just that—advice. Some things required his own decisions. After eating and drinking their fill, Hermione found a spot to camp, while Loren tossed a few sweet potatoes under the fire. He then washed up, changed clothes, and didn't go to sleep until late at night.

Hermione was preoccupied with Grawp's whereabouts and didn't even notice that she was being held in someone's arms.

Grawp snored all night long.

The next morning.

Loren dug out the sweet potato, which was still warm, peeled off the charred skin, and used the sweet and juicy flesh to make jam to spread on bread. The three of them had a sweet breakfast.

After packing up the tent, Loren looked up at Hagrid, who looked dejected. Hagrid must have been struggling all night and couldn't sleep. The bruises around his eyes from the beating had faded a little, but the dark circles under his eyes made up for it, and he still looked like a panda.

Hermione looked at the giant snoring loudly beside her. "Hagrid, have you thought this through? Are we going to Hogwarts, or turn back to the Giant tribe?"

"Let's go back to the Giant tribe ..." Hagrid laughed through his tears, wiping his wound haphazardly with his sleeve. He gasped in pain when he touched it, his voice choked with emotion. "You're right. He belongs to the Giant tribe. Only there can he run freely, instead of coming back to the Forbidden Forest with me and being kept like a dangerous animal."

Loren and Hermione felt a pang of sadness and pity when they saw Hagrid's appearance.

"I'll go wake him up and introduce him to you all..." Hagrid sniffed and strode toward Grawp.

However, his method of waking people up was unusual. The two watched as he picked up a long tree branch and poked the center of the giant's back hard. The hard branch collided with the rhinoceros's thick skin, making a dull thud.

"Roar!!"

The giant roared, making everyone's eardrums taut. The enormous Grawp used one of his huge hands to support himself on the ground, half-kneeling as he rose, turned his head, and wanted to see who had woken him and what had happened.

His features seemed to be carved into a large, spherical rock. His nose was short, thick, and shapeless; his mouth was crooked, filled with crooked, yellow teeth the size of half a brick. His eyes were relatively small by giant standards, a cloudy greenish-brown, and his eyelids were half-open and half-closed because he had just woken up.

"Are you alright, little Grawp?" Hagrid asked in a deliberately cheerful voice, taking a few steps back while holding the long branch. "Sleeping soundly, huh?"

Grawp blinked blankly, raised his dirty knuckles, each as big as a cricket ball, and rubbed them hard against his eyes, as if trying to see what was disturbing his sleep.

Hagrid chuckled dryly twice, "Little Grawp, I brought two friends to see you. Remember Loren and Hermione I mentioned? They've settled all the troubles in the Giant tribe for us. Now you can go back to your cave, and no one will bully you anymore. You've finally got what you wanted and can go back!"

The giant then realized that two even shorter men were standing beside him. He lowered his rock-like head, looked at them with murky eyes, and said in a deep, resonant voice, "Naren, roast the meat..."

"Yes, that's right! Oh no... not Naren, it's Loren." Hagrid taught awkwardly, but even after repeating it several times, Grawp could only pronounce Naren.

Hagrid smiled genuinely for the first time, a little embarrassed, and turned to the two of them. "I'm sorry, Loren, it's probably because your name is too difficult for him to remember. Can he just call you Naren?"

Loren looked up and met Grawp's gaze, then smiled and nodded.

The giant sensed a gentle and friendly attitude from that smile, like warm sunshine on his body, making him squint his eyes and a happy expression appear on his rock-like face.

"This is Hermione."

"Hermi..."

Seeing the little Witch's helpless expression, Hagrid smiled but couldn't help but feel a lump in his throat, "Listen, we're going to send you back up the mountain. You don't have to keep fussing about going back. Are you happy, little Grawp?"

"Oh!"

Grawp seemed to understand what he meant, and shouted happily, startling the birds perched in the trees, which then flew away into the distance.

Hagrid nag on and on, not caring whether the giant in front of him could understand. "Poor little Grawp, remember to alter your clothes when you get back. I'll have someone help you. And remember, don't drink water from the mud pits anymore, and don't eat food with pebbles in it. I'll come back to see you when I have time..."

The giant, who could barely understand him, seemed to sense something. Grawp lowered his massive head by a foot, staring directly at the diminutive figure before him, at the face that had grown increasingly familiar over the past few days, and growled in a low voice, "Roast meat, roast meat..."

Hagrid's nose tingled, and he turned his head away from Hagrid's expectant eyes, saying in a muffled voice, "Oh, you gluttonous Grawp, we'll make you a barbecue before we leave, a real barbecue. I'll try to learn how to barbecue later and come make it for you during my holidays. You know, it's not that I can't barbecue, it's just that the firewood hasn't been good these days, the meat isn't good, and we don't have enough seasoning..."

Grawp looked up to find his target when a giant hand suddenly reached out towards Loren. The two, who were close together, moved nimbly and retreated behind a large tree. The giant's fist grazed the tree trunk and missed.

"Bad boy, Grawp! You're such a bad boy! Don't grab people... Oh!" Hagrid's scolding shouts suddenly stopped.

Two days ago, the giant hand that had retracted would have angrily punched him, but now, Grawp just childishly pushed him, even holding back his strength, causing Hagrid to stagger a few steps without falling to the ground.

Grawp pointed one finger toward the Giant's Depression, shaking his head repeatedly, muttering the only word he had learned, "Roast meat, roast meat..."

Hagrid's eyes lit up, and he asked tentatively, "You mean, there's no roast meat there, so you don't want to go back?"

Grawp nodded heavily, so much so that Loren and Hermione wondered if his head might suddenly fall off.

"Oh..." Hagrid sniffed, and the tears he had been holding back all morning finally fell, but they were tears of joy. "Grubber, Grawp, you really are a glutton. Have you thought it through? If you want roast meat, you have to come back to Hogwarts with me..."

Crying and laughing at the same time...

Grawp shoved him again, his face clearly showing his disgust.

Hagrid stumbled and fell to the ground, but instead of being annoyed, a happy smile appeared on his unshaven face and the messy black eyes. Seeing his comical appearance, Grawp couldn't help but laugh out loud, a blank, joyful expression appearing on his rock-like face.

"..."

Loren looked at his taller brother and shorter brother, leaned close to Hermione's ear, and whispered, "Do you think there's enough space in the Forbidden Forest for him to run? At the Sorting Ceremony, will Dumbledore emphasize that young wizards are forbidden from going to the Forbidden Forest? Are Hogwarts going to add new school rules?"

Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "Prohibiting students from going to the Forbidden Forest has always been a Hogwarts rule."

"Yeah?"

Loren's eyes widened in surprise; he had no recollection of it.