"Bloody mountain," Hagrid grumbled, wiping sweat from his forehead despite the chill. "Never thought I'd miss the humidity o' the Forbidden Forest."
"Patience, Hagrid. We must be near, based on the information given to us." Madam Olympe Maxime, a half-giant and the headmistress of the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, spoke as she walked side by side with Hagrid.
Hagrid, despite his grumbling, straightened his broad shoulders. He knew Maxime was right. After all, it was Albus Dumbledore who had given them the location and the instructions on how to reach the Giant's colony.
They were both on a mission set by Albus Dumbledore to bring the giants to the side of the Order of the Phoenix. They were chosen for this based on the fact that they were half-giants, as giants were not very fond of wizards and their magic.
As such, both Hagrid and Madam Maxime were travelling on foot instead of using magical means. But that was not the only reason why they had to lay off the use of magic.
It was because Dumbledore had warned them that You-Know-Who was bound to be after the giants also.
And indeed that was exactly what happened.
As soon as they left for the journey, they noticed someone from the Ministry tailing them. As such, the two giants pretended that they were going to France on holiday. Around Dijon, they were able to escape the wizard on their tail and then began travelling toward the real target.
The giant's colony.
But still, the journey had been difficult. On top of walking for such a distance, they came across some trolls on the Polish border. Apart from a slight disagreement with a vampire in a pub in Minsk, the rest of the trip was smooth.
And now both of the half-giants were in the mountains of Ural.
The sun had already set a few hours ago, and darkness was now almost completely on them.
Hagrid squinted at the dark shapes sticking out before them. "Let's get a good look from up there. If there's nothin', we head back down to that cave we saw earlier for the night."
Maxime nodded, and together, they tackled the final ascent, their heavy boots gripping the loose scree with difficulty. Huffing and puffing, they finally reached the ridge, the wind whipping at their faces. Hagrid leaned forward, peering over the edge. His eyes widened.
"Merlin's beard," he whispered, a sign of excitement in his voice, "they're here."
Little fires, like scattered embers, dotted the valley floor. Their flickering flames cast dancing shadows that stretched and contorted on the uneven terrain. But the shadows weren't the most unsettling aspect. It was the figures they belonged to.
Hagrid's eyes shone with a strange mix of awe and familiarity.
"Giants," he breathed, a grin splitting his face. "Looks like we found 'em alright, Madame Maxime."
Madame Maxime placed a hand on Hagrid's broad shoulder. "Hold on, Hagrid," she said. "Approaching them at night wouldn't be wise. Giants are known for their...unpredictable temperaments. Perhaps it would be best to wait until morning. We can make our presence known then, under more favourable circumstances."
Hagrid quickly saw the wisdom in her words. "Aye, you're right, Maxime," he conceded, scratching his beard thoughtfully.
"Wouldn't want to startle them. They might mistake us for intruders or worse."
Having decided to wait until morning, the two half-giants remained there observing the colony. As the long hours crawled by, the giants' movements grew sluggish. Their conversations dwindled, replaced by heavy sighs and the occasional yawn.
It was not until three in the morning that the last giants fell asleep. They slumped where they sat.
Sleep, despite the exhaustion gnawing at their bones, was a luxury Hagrid and Maxime simply couldn't afford. For one thing, they wanted to make sure that none of the giants woke up and came up where they were, and for another, their snoring was incredibly loud. One time, the snore was so loud that it caused an avalanche. Luckily, Hagrid and Maxime were not anywhere near.
After waiting for the hours to pass, the two finally set off as the darkness began to fade and the first sliver of sunlight peeked over the mountains.
Hagrid and Maxime descended the final slope towards the giant encampment. Compared to the other side of the slope they had just come from, this part of the mountains had many caves, and the more Hagrid and Maxime descended, the more cave openings they could see.
Seeing he was approaching the giants, Hagrid, mindful of Dumbledore's instructions, retrieved a carefully wrapped package from his backpack.
Nestled inside was a branch of Gubraithian fire, also known as the Everlasting fire.
Before giving it to Hagrid, Albus Dumbledore bewitched the branch to burn evermore, something that only a few wizards could do.
Hagrid held the gift at the highest possible height by stretching his arms as soon as he reached the dip between four pretty high mountains where the camp was located. The giants immediately took notice of their presence and became irritated. Hagrid swore that some of the giants were definitely thinking about hurting Hagrid and Maxime. But based on the instructions by Albus, the duo did not stare at any of them but instead kept walking toward the biggest, ugliest, and laziest giant while keeping the gift high up.
This particular one was the Gurg, the chief of the giant's colony.
Among the seventy giants that were present, the Gurg was around seven meters tall, and Hagrid estimated that it must weigh around a couple of bull elephants. The Gurg named Karkus was sitting beside a mountain lake, roaring at the other giants, and immediately they brought two dead goats as food for the Gurg.
The rest of the giants watched quietly as the two new creatures reached their Gurg's feet.