Hagrid and Madam Maxim bowed and put the gift down in the snow by Karkus's feet.
"Gift to the Gurg of the Giants from Albus Dumbledore, who sends his respectful greetings."
After addressing the giant, both of them remained in the bow position. Hagrid waited for Karkus, the Gurg, to acknowledge the gift, but instead of addressing Hagrid directly, Karkus let out a booming roar that echoed through the valley.
A giant with a single, braided pigtail down his back lumbered forward, his beady eyes fixed on Hagrid and Maxime. A guttural conversation erupted between Karkus and the pigtailed giant.
Dumbledore had prepared them for this. Most giants, due to being isolated from human interaction, wouldn't understand a word of human speech. It seemed that the one the Grug had called was among the few who knew about the human tongue and was translating what Hagrid had said just now.
Seeing that the gift had caught Krakus's attention, Hagrid began explaining how the gift was an everlasting fire.
When this news reached the ears of the Grug through his translation, and everyone around also heard about it, it caused a storm among them. This was such a great gift for the giants who needed to light a fire every time to combat the cold of the mountains. Seeing the Grug very pleased, Hagrid smiled and spoke.
"Albus Dumbledore asks the Grug to speak with his messenger when he returns tomorrow with another gift."
After the other giants finished translating for the Grug, Hagrid and Madam Maxime bowed out of the way, turned around, and left.
If later on Hagrid were to tell his actions to someone else, he was sure they would find it bizarre. Why, after the Grug was excited about the gift, did they leave immediately? Basically, anyone else would have thought to use this chance to convince them.
But unlike anyone else, Hagrid had complete trust in Albus Dumbledore. He was going to follow all his given instructions to the last bit. The headmaster's words were still ringing in his ears.
"Take it very slow, Hagrid. Let 'em see we kept our promises. And the next day, when you give them another gift, it will make a good impression. Plus, they will be able to test the first gift and find out how good it is. This will lead them to be eager for the next one."
On top of that, Dumbledore warned Hagrid and Madame Maxime that giants like Karkus liked things to remain simple. If they are overloaded with information, they would simply kill it to simplify things.
After Hagrid and Madam Maxime left, both of them got up the slope and got inside one of the caves of the mountains. That night, both of them were able to get a decent amount of sleep.
The following morning, the two half-giants set off to meet the Grug again. This time, Karkus was sitting up, waiting for them, looking all eager. As promised, Hagrid presented the Grug with a new gift. A nice, indestructible goblin-made battle helmet. Knowing the ferocious behaviour of the giants, Hagrid was sure that the Grug's interest was piqued.
Karkus reached out a hand and snatched the goblin-made battle helmet from Hagrid's grasp. He examined it a little before putting it on his head.
Having made a good impression, Hagrid began speaking to the Grug about Dumbledore. And the fact that Karkus had previously heard about Headmaster Albus arguing against the killing of giants made things proceed more easily.
The giant chief listened mostly, interested in what Dumbledore's message was. A few of the other giants, especially those who knew some English, gathered around and began listening.
They talked for a while, and when Hagrid felt that he was supposed to end the conversation, he decided to ask about something.
"There's somethin' else, Gurg," he mumbled. "A personal question, if you wouldn't mind."
Karkus remained silent. Hagrid took this as an ok reaction and thus continued.
"Was there any giantess by the name of... Fridwulfa?" Hagrid blurted out, his heart hammering in his chest.
Hagrid knew little about his mother.
Just that she was disappointed in Hagrid's 'small' size and thus deserted him when he was just three. Even though Hagrid did not remember Fridwulfa as a great mother, he still wanted to at least see her again if possible.
"Big one... name like dat... she died... ago. Son... Grawp... short... here."
Hagrid felt a flicker of disappointment, but it was quickly overshadowed by a surge of curiosity. "Grawp.. a half-brother."
Just as he was about to ask more questions about his newly found brother, he felt a slap on his back, and Madam Maxime took the parole.
"We will take our leave, Grug. We promised to come back tomorrow with another present." Madam Maxime bowed and left with Hagrid following closely behind.
Before the latter could ask why Madam Maxime had stopped him from asking about his half-brother, the headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic spoke, "Did you not see their reaction when they mentioned the giant Grawp? It must be that the relationship between them is not good. So it was better to stop speaking with the Grug about something that was unpleasant to him in case that could break all the effort we made during the two days."
Despite the fact that Hagrid indeed saw the reactions of the other giants when mentioning Grawp, Hagrid was so lost in the moment that he solely focused on his personal query and was about to compromise the mission set by Dumbledore.
Both Madam Maxime and Hagrid returned to the cave they stayed in the previous day, waiting for tomorrow.
But that night, something was happening that was going to mess up their plan completely.
From the mouth of the cave where the two half-giants were staying, they looked down on the valley where a fight had broken out in the giant colony.