A Sensitive Half-Giant

The old shopkeeper leaned against the wall, watching the scene in silence for a long while.

Madara turned and looked at the old shopkeeper.

"I'm satisfied. Name your price."

The old man slowly removed his monocle as he watched.

"It wasn't the wizard who chose the magical creature. It was the magical creature who chose the wizard."

He then named a price. A Shadow Guard tossed over an Undetectable Extension Bag, while the Crow perched on the shoulder of the burliest Shadow Guard. The group turned and left.

Behind them, the old pet shopkeeper stood by the window, staring at the empty giant cage as he murmured, "The storm is coming." He immediately called for his clerks to draw the curtains and prepared to close early.

Uchiha Madara's group stepped out of the magical creature shop. Seeing the owner shut the doors behind them and hang up a closed sign, Madara smiled and was about to say something when they ran into another group head-on.

"Hey! Harry! Ron! Hermione! Let's head to Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour first and get something tasty. I sincerely recommend their new butter biscuit sticks—they're amazing! Especially for you, little Hermione. I heard they've also got a limited-edition girls' toffee pudding and Victoria sponge cake. If we get there too late, there won't be any left! You know, there are enough sweet-toothed people here to fill the entire street!"

He was an incredibly tall, brawny half-giant, with wild hair and beard like a lion's mane. He wore a heavy moleskin coat, his enormous body like a moving wall.

He was far bigger than Kitsuchi, Onoki's guard from the Land of Earth, in Madara's memories.

Madara saw the badge on the giant's chest. It read: "Hogwarts Keeper of Keys and Grounds—Rubeus Hagrid."

Behind him stood three young wizards:

A black-haired boy carrying a birdcage, wearing battered round glasses, with a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead;

A red-haired boy with a nervous expression, clutching several secondhand textbooks and looking embarrassed;

And a freckled girl with thick, curly brown hair and curious eyes.

They were none other than the savior Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, whom Ryuichiro and the others had mentioned before. They had just come out of Eeylops Owl Emporium across the street and were planning to relax at Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour.

Hagrid was animatedly planning their sweet trip to the ice-cream parlour, his enormous hand gesturing at the size of the butter biscuits. His rough laughter made the birdcage in Harry's hand tremble slightly.

However, when the corner of his eye caught sight of several figures emerging from the shadows of the magical creature shop, every sound and movement seemed to be abruptly severed by an invisible blade of ice.

"Gah—!"

A suppressed gasp squeezed from Hagrid's throat. His enormous body instantly stiffened, like a rock struck by sudden extreme cold.

The color drained from his face in an instant. Even his tangled beard seemed to stand on end.

Something was wrong! Very wrong!

As a half-giant, his senses far surpassed those of ordinary people. This wasn't merely "powerful magic"—

He had felt vastness from Dumbledore, purity from Professor McGonagall, and even cold, sinister malice from certain hidden dark wizards.

But the feeling crashing toward him now... was something else entirely!

The black-haired youth walking at the front was surrounded by intense, violent magical fluctuations, as though tangible darkness were flowing around him!

Even more terrifying was that Hagrid's giant bloodline, with its almost instinctive sense for danger, smelled an unbearably thick... stench of blood beneath the youth's seemingly calm exterior!

It was the aura of death and destruction that came from walking back from a battlefield of corpses and blood, soaked deep into one's bones!

It was icy and piercing, making his stomach cramp and his heart pound madly!

Almost instantly, he sensed the suffocating magical fluctuations emanating from the black-haired youth!

As for the four black-robed figures behind him, their auras were restrained, but the occasional scarlet gleam flashing beneath their hooded shadows made every hair on Hagrid's body nearly stand on end!

Those were the eyes of predators—indifferent, precise, and filled with the terrifying tension of a lethal strike ready to erupt at any moment.

These people were dangerous, more dangerous than any dark creature he had ever seen in the Forbidden Forest!

"Get back! Harry! Ron! Hermione! Behind me! Now!"

Hagrid practically roared, his voice cracking from overwhelming tension.

Like a crazed mother bear protecting her cubs, he abruptly shielded the three young wizards completely behind him. His other hand gripped his pink umbrella tightly—his wand was hidden inside it.

His knuckles cracked as he clenched them. His huge body lowered slightly, taking the most primitive defensive posture of a creature facing an apex predator.

His beetle-like black eyes widened as he stared fixedly at Madara, filled with undisguised hostility and vigilance.

"Who are you?! What do you want?! Stay away from them!"

His roar exploded like muffled thunder through this relatively quiet corner of Diagon Alley, drawing glances from several passersby.

The moment Hagrid's hostility erupted, the four Shadow Guards behind Madara changed completely!

Their previously restrained magic became like blades drawn from their sheaths. Four scarlet gazes, like tangible chains, locked onto Hagrid with a sharp crack!

Their black robes whipped wildly despite the absence of wind, and dust beneath their feet swept outward in rings as deadly magical fluctuations instantly gathered to their peak—

At a single command from their master, they would tear apart this "beast" that dared bare its fangs!

Yet Madara merely raised a hand casually, the movement as languid as brushing aside a wisp of dust.

The Shadow Guards' violent auras were instantly restrained, as if someone had pressed pause. Yet the killing intent in their scarlet eyes did not lessen in the slightest, remaining coldly fixed on Hagrid.

An extremely faint, almost pleased... interest even appeared on Madara's face.

His scarlet Sharingan—now effortlessly active at all times—looked Hagrid's unusually massive body up and down. The corner of his mouth curled into an undisguised, mocking sneer.

"A giant? A human? Oh, so you're a half-blood mongrel."

Madara's voice was not loud, yet it reached Hagrid's ears with perfect clarity, carrying the scrutiny of someone looking down from above.

"How interesting."

The words struck at Hagrid's most sensitive wound like an icy whip, and his face instantly turned extremely ugly.

Madara's gaze then passed over Hagrid's broad body and landed on Harry Potter, who was nervously peeking out from behind him.

His eyes paused for a moment on the lightning-shaped scar on Harry's forehead, then swept over Harry's small frame and battered glasses. Not a ripple of emotion rose in his gaze.

"The savior?" Madara's tone carried an almost lazy disdain, as though he were judging an overrated product. "He doesn't look... particularly special."

After saying that, he did not even give Hagrid time to react, nor did he care about the angry or terrified looks in Harry and Ron's eyes. He simply waved his hand casually.

"Let's go."

"Boring. Let's go."

He stepped forward with calm, unhurried strides, walking straight past Hagrid.

In that instant, every muscle in Hagrid's body tensed to the limit. His palm around the umbrella handle was slick with cold sweat, and he could barely suppress the urge to pull out his wand. But his extreme sense of danger screamed a warning at him—Don't move! If you move, you'll die!

Madara did not even turn his head to look at him, as though the half-giant capable of restraining a dragon with his bare hands was merely an insignificant post by the roadside.

The four Shadow Guards followed like shadows. Their scarlet gazes swept coldly over Hagrid and the three children one final time, as if passing over several lifeless stones. Then they surrounded Madara, merged into the crowd, and disappeared.

Only Hagrid remained in his defensive stance, cold sweat covering his forehead.

After quite some time, once that suffocating pressure had completely faded away, he finally began to relax.

But the terror had yet to leave his face.

Hagrid suddenly staggered back half a step and leaned against the outer wall of the ice-cream parlour with a dull thud.

He gasped for breath, beads of sweat as large as beans streaming down his forehead and soaking the hair at his temples. His face was white as paper, and lingering horror remained in his eyes.

[The senses of a half-giant are quite different from those of young wizards, you know. So, esteemed wizards, could you cast a Follow Spell, Add-to-Bookshelf Spell, and Update Spell on little Mouse's book?]