I do not own Harry Potter. Direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix will be in bold.

A Giant of a Tale

The four wasted no time in hurrying in the direction of Hagrid's cabin. Charlie knocked eagerly on the wooden door, and Fang immediately started to bark. "It's just us!" called Charlie, throwing a quick glance over her shoulder to make sure they were not in danger of getting busted. Thankfully, even with the dim lights of the castle, they were well shrouded by the darkness.

"'Course it is," grumbled Hagrid, heavy footsteps falling towards the door. "Jus' got back an' yeh don' give me anytime teh settle in."

There was the sound of the bolt sliding back, and then the door creaked open. Hagrid's face filled the gap and Hermione started to scream in surprise at what she saw. Harry flung his hand over her mouth to muffle the sound and Ron hastily looked around to see if she had attracted any attention.

"Calm down," said Hagrid quickly. He stood back and the four filed into the cabin.

Charlie studied her friend intently. "Hagrid, are you okay?"

"Fine," he insisted, moving around and closing the curtains. "It's nuthin' teh worry abou'."

Charlie disagreed. Hagrid's beard and hair were matted with blood, his left eye nothing more than a slit surrounded by purple and blue bruised flesh and cuts covered his face and hands. He moved about slowly, and she guessed that his ribs must be broken.

"Tea?" asked Hagrid, setting a kettle over the fire.

"Who did this to you?" cried Harry.

"No one."

Ron frowned. "Yeah, right! You look horrible!"

"You ought to go see Madame Pomfrey," said Hermione anxiously. "Those cuts don't look good."

"I told yeh, it's nuthin'!" exclaimed Hagrid, turning to look at them. "Good teh see yeh lot, it is. Did yeh have a good summer?"

"You can't change the subject yet," said Charlie firmly. "You have to tell us what happened."

"No I don'," returned Hagrid. He went over to the large wooden table and brushed aside a tea towel, which had been covering a green-tinged steak. He picked up the slab of meat and pressed it against his injuries, letting out a sigh of relief. "Helps with the stingin'," he explained.

The four friends exchanged glances. It was obvious Hagrid wasn't going to tell them of his secret mission of his own accord, so one of them was going to have to give him a nudge. "So…I guess the giants did this to you?"

Hagrid fumbled with his steak in surprise, but managed to catch it before it hit the floor. He stared at Charlie with an expression he tried to keep neutral, but his shock was obvious. "Who said anythin' abou' giants?"

"No one, really," answered Hermione.

"We kind of figured it out," added Charlie with an apologetic smile.

Hagrid snorted and tossed the steak back onto the table. He went over to the kettle, which was now whistling. "'Course yeh did," he grumbled, taking hold of the copper kettle and swinging it over to the table. "Yeh always seem teh know more than yer supposed teh know. I'm not complimentin' yeh on it, either."

He sloshed boiling water into four mugs and set them in a row. The four teens arranged themselves across from their friend, taking cautious sips of their tea. "Where are the giants?" wondered Harry.

"In the mountains."

Charlie furrowed her brow. "Giants are extremely large. How do Muggles not see them?"

"They don' live teh tell the tale," said Hagrid grimly. "Mountaineerin' accidents, they're labelled as."

"Come on, tell us more," cajoled Ron. "After that, Charlie can tell you what happened with the Dementors-"

Hagrid choked on his tea. "Dementors?"

"You didn't know?" asked Hermione in surprise.

"Bin on a mission for Dumbledore this whole time. Didn' want owls followin' me, so I didn' get any letters. What abou' the ruddy Dementors?"

"They tried to attack me in Little Whinging," informed Charlie. "Near the end of summer. My cousin was with me, so they tried to get him too. I sent them off and then the Ministry of Magic tried to expel me."

"No!"

"Yes," confirmed Charlie. "For a short while, I didn't think I'd be returning to Hogwarts?"

"What happened?"

"How about you share your story first and then I'll tell you mine?"

Hagrid sighed in resignation. "Alright, then. At the end of term, Olympe and I set off. Let me tell yeh, she's not afraid teh rough it. We were climbin' over boulders and sleepin' in caves. Bu' she was a trooper."

"How'd you know where to go?" asked Harry.

"Dumbledore told us. It's no real secret where they are, though. Jus' that wizards prefer to leave them alone, fer obvious reasons. So long as they're far away they're not bothered. But it's difficult teh get to. Took us a month teh get there."

"Couldn't you have used a Portkey or something?" asked Ron in disbelief.

Hagrid looked at him seriously. "We're bein' watched, Ron. Ministry is keepin' an eye on Dumbledore an' anyone in league with him."

"You couldn't use any magic at all? You had to act like Muggles the whole time?"

"Not the whole time. Olympe and me, we stand out a bit. We had teh pretend we were goin' on vacation. Went into France, pretended teh go where Olympe's school was. Managed to lose the one tailin' us an' we headed right out."

"Did you get into any trouble after that?" asked Charlie.

Hagrid shook his head. "It was pretty smooth, 'cept fer my altercation with a vampire in a pub. We risked a bit o' magic, but once we got close to 'em we laid off. Giants don' like wizards, and we didn' want them teh feel cornered. Dumbledore warned us that You-Know-Who wanted 'em back on his side, and probably sent off a messenger already. Told us teh be careful and not draw teh much attention teh ourselves."

"What happened when you reached the giants?" wondered Charlie.

"There were abou' seventy o' em. Tallest was twenty-five feet. There used teh be loads of giants, bu' there's few left now. Wizards killed a few, but the giants are mostly killin' each other. Dumbledore says that's our fault, as they're not meant to live together like that and we've pushed them teh live there.

"It was dark when we found them, so we decided teh wait until mornin'. We walked in an' did as Dumbledore said-brought the Gurg gifts."

"Gurg?" echoed Harry.

"Chief o' the giants. Name is Karkus. Easy teh tell he was the chief 'cause he was the ugliest and laziest one there. Was bein' brought food by the other giants. We kept our gifts high an' ignored the others, so we reached the Gurg with no problem."

"What do you give a giant?" asked Hermione curiously.

"Well, not food. They like magic, when it's not bein' used on 'em. Gave him a branch o' Gubraithian fire."

"That's eternal fire," clarified Charlie, noticing the confused expressions of her male companions.

Hagrid nodded. "Right. Told 'em it was a gift to the Gurg of the giants from Albus Dumbledore. 'Course, he didn' speak English, but he called over fer a few giants that spoke our lingo. He was very pleased with it. So then we said Albus Dumbledore asks the Gurg if he would speak with his messenger tomorrow when he brings another gift."

"You couldn't speak to him then?" asked Harry in puzzlement.

"Nope. Dumbledore wanted us teh take it slow. Show 'em we keep our promises, like bringin' another present. Also not a good idea teh overload them with information. So next day we went back and Karkus was waitin'. This time we have him a goblin-made battle helmet. Then we talked."

"What'd he say?" asked Ron.

"Not much, he listened mostly. He knew of Dumbledore, which was a good sign. He knew that he tried to stop the last killings of giants in Britain. He was interested in what Dumbledore had ter say-so were the other giants that spoke English. We promised teh be back tomorrow with another present an' left. But things went wrong that night."

Charlie felt her heart sink. "What?"

"Giants kill each other every few weeks-they have too. They can't help it. A fight broke out, lasted fer a few hours-we could hear it. Mornin' came and the snow was scarlet and his head was resting at the bottom o' the lake."

"Whose head?" asked Harry in a small voice.

"Karkus. Golgomath had taken him out. We hadn't expected on dealin' with a new chief, but we had teh try. Bin there fer two days and we weren't given up. So we went down with the third present, but before he opened his mouth I knew we were in trouble. He was leerin' at us and wearnin' the helmet we gave Karkus. I held out the roll of dragon skin, sayin' it was from Dumbledore. Next thing I know and I'm hanging upside down by two of his mates."

"How'd you escape?" asked Ron in awe.

"Olympe saved me. Did some o' the fastest spellwork I've ever seen. Hit the two holdin' me. We were in trouble then, so we had teh leave. Knew we couldn't go back."

Hermione tilted her head to the side. "If you were only there for three days, how come it took you so long to come back?"

Hagrid snorted. "We didn' give up after three days! We knew we couldn't go back in mornin' light, so we sat an' watched for the next few days. What we saw wasn't good-the giants weren't opposed teh wizards. They were only opposed teh us."

"Death Eaters," said Charlie, slumping back against the back of her chair. "Who?"

"Macnair. Yeh know, the one they sent teh kill Buckbeak. They started talkin' teh Golgomath, an' he seemed teh like what they were sayin'. But Olympe an' I, we weren't givin' up. We decided teh talk teh the giants who didn' want Golgomath as their Gurg. Yeh could tell who they were-they were the ones beaten teh a pulp. Some had sense an' were hidin' in the caves. We would go lookin' at night, peekin' in. Had to watch for the Death Eaters, 'cause Golgomath told 'em abou' us an' they were lookin'."

"Then what?" asked Charlie, ignoring her tea as she focussed on her friend.

"Found some o' them on the third night after Karkus was killed. They were in no condition teh fight, so they didn' attack when we stepped foot into their shelter. We managed teh convince them, along with six or seven others, at one point."

"What's that mean?" whispered Charlie, though she had a horrible idea she knew what.

Hagrid sighed deeply. "Golgomath's lot found 'em and killed 'em. Rest didn' want anythin' teh do with us after that, so we left."

"No giants?" Harry said in despair.

He shook his head sadly. "We did what we set out ter do, delivered the message. 'spect it stayed with some o' them, an' that's as much as we can ask for."

They fell into silence for a moment. Hermione ran her finger around the rim of her mug and glanced up at Hagrid. "Did you…did you hear anything about your mother?"

"Died," he answered bluntly. "Years ago."

Her face fell. "I'm sorry-"

"Don' worry abou' it. Wasn't much o' a mother."

"Hagrid, you still haven't explained how you got so beat up," pointed out Ron. "Or why it took you forever to get back."

"Madame Maxime has been back for a while," added Charlie. "What held you up?"

Before he could answer, there was an insistent rapping on the door. Hermione jumped and dropped her mug-it shattered on the floor and Fang started to bark madly. Charlie twisted around and spotted a familiar shadow hovering by the window.

"She's here!" hissed Harry, face pale.

"Everyone under!" snapped Charlie. She whipped out her Invisibility Cloak and they all dove under it as Hagrid watched in confusion. They shuffled into a corner and Ron whispered, "Get rid of the other mugs, Hagrid!"

Hagrid snatched up the three remaining mugs and hid them under the cushion in Fang's basket. Hagrid nudged his dog away from the door and opened it.

Umbridge stood outside, wearing her green tweed cloak and matching hat. She took a step back so that she could see Hagrid's face. "You must be Hagrid," she said, her voice slow.

Without waiting for him to say anything, she entered the cabin and looked around critically. She swatted at Fang when he attempted to greet her in his usual fashion. Hagrid stared at her. "Who are yeh?"

"Dolores Umbridge," she answered.

His brow furrowed. "Yeh work with Fudge, don' yeh?"

"Used to, yes. I was Senior Undersecretary to the Minister. I am now the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and High Inquisitor of Howarts."

"Uh…is that new?"

"Yes, it is." Umbridge stared at the broken glass on the floor. "What's that?"

"Broke a mug," said Hagrid quickly. "Had ter get another one."

Umbridge stared at the piece of steak on the table and then at Hagrid's face. After a moment she said, "There were voices."

"Well, I was speakin' teh Fang-"

"And was he answering?"

Hagrid shifted, looking uncomfortable. "Sort o'."

"There are also four sets of footprints coming up to your cabin," continued Umbridge not missing a beat. "But there are not four sets leaving."

Charlie flinched. She doesn't miss a trick, this woman.

Hagrid, with no plausible excuse, only shrugged.

Umbridge walked around the cabin slowly, peering under the bed and checking the cupboards. When she could not find anything, she directed her attention to Hagrid's injuries. "What happened to you?"

"I fell."

Charlie managed not to groan in dismay. Come on, Hagrid. I know you can do better than that.

"You fell?" repeated Umbridge, her disbelief obvious. "I see. So, where have you been? Term started two months ago and no one could tell me where you went off too."

"Went away fer my health."

Umbridge stared at the battered man. "For what reason?"

"Ju' teh get some fresh air."

"I suppose you don't get enough of that as a gamekeeper."

Hagrid flushed. "Change o' scenery is always good."

"Mountain scenery, I suppose."

Charlie's eyes widened. Dang it.

"No," returned Hagrid. "Went teh France fer a bit."

"I see no tan."

"Sensitive skin."

Good, thought Charlie. You're doing better…

Umbridge stared at him coldly for another moment before nodding stiffly. "I will be informing the Minister of your late return. And it is my duty as High Inquisitor to inspect my fellow professors. You can expect a visit from me shortly."

Hagrid blinked. "Inspection?"

Umbridge paused by the door. "Yes. The Ministry is determined to send out the unsatisfactory teachers. Good night."

She left, the door closing firmly behind her. The four teens waited tensely under the Invisibility Cloak for a few more moments. Hagrid pulled back the curtain and peered out the window. "She's goin' back teh the castle."

Charlie pulled off the Cloak. "Well. That was close."

"She's inspecting the professors?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah. Trelawney's already on probation."

"Do you have your lessons planned?" asked Hermione.

Hagrid brightened. "I got some surprises planned, don' worry. I think yeh'll really like 'em."

"Professor Umbridge is really strict," said Hermione insistently. "She won't be happy if it's anything dangerous."

"Nah, they're not dangerous," dismissed Hagrid.

Hermione wasn't convinced. "Maybe you should do Prolacks or something-"

"Bu' that's boring."

"Hagrid-"

The man yawned loudly, cutting the girl off. "It's bin a long night, Hermione. I think we should all get some shuteye. Don' worry abou' me, I got some great lessons planned. Back up teh the castle with yeh, and don't forget teh wipe yer footprints behind yeh!"

The four set off into the night, concealed by the Invisibility Cloak. Hermione performed the Obliteration Charm behind them, wiping away their footprints as they went. "I don't think he got the point," said Harry.

Hermione frowned. "I'll do whatever it takes to make sure he doesn't give Professor Umbridge any reason to give him the boot!"

They entered the castle and Hermione used magic to clean the snow and dirt from their shoes. They dropped Ron off first at Gryffindor Tower and then Harry before making their way to Ravenclaw Tower. They entered the Common Room and Hermione raced up to their dorm.

Charlie lingered, folding up her Invisibility Cloak. A thought had struck her as they were walking back to the castle. "Dobby?"

Barely a second passed before her house-elf appeared in front of her. "Mistress be needing something?" he asked eagerly.

Charlie smiled. "I was wondering if you could tell me something. Has Professor Grubbly-Plank left yet?"

Dobby shook his head. "No, Mistress! Professor is set to leave at break of dawn. Dobby has heard other house-elves speak of her departure!"

"Great! Are you busy right now?"

"Never busy for Mistress!"

"Do you think you can find some flowers for me? I know it is winter, but I just need enough for a bouquet. Preferably flowers that don't do anything…special. Like spit poison or anything of harmful magical behaviour."

"Dobby will find the most beautiful of flowers for Mistress. When would Charlotte Potter like them?"

"I know this is asking a lot, but is there any chance I could have them before Professor Grubbly-Plank leaves? And if not, that's fine."

"Dobby will be back before dawn!" promised Dobby.

Charlie grinned. "I've no doubt you will. I'll be back with some money, just in case."

She disappeared up the stairs and returned a moment later with a handful of Galleons. She handed them to her house-elf and he disappeared with a pop. Charlie collected her Cloak and went to her dorm, packing her things securely into her trunk and dressing in her pajamas. She climbed under the covers and it wasn't long before sleep claimed her.

…

"Mistress! Dobby has returned with flowers!"

Charlie slowly sat up and squinted into the darkness. She could see Dobby at the foot of her bed, a bouquet of flowers in hand, as she requested. Even in the dark she could see the brightness of the colours. She sat up with a grin.

"They're gorgeous, Dobby. Where'd you get them?"

"At a nice flower shop run by a kind witch," he said cheerfully. "Dobby said the flowers were for Charlotte Potter and she sent them without payment!"

His other hand held the Galleons she had given him, and her heart warmed. It was nice to know that there were other people out there besides her friends and family who still had faith and respect for her. "That was very kind of her." She took the money and flowers. "Thank you, Dobby. I don't know what I would do without you."

His smile almost lit up the room. "Professor Grubbly-Plank will be leaving shortly, Mistress."

"I better get moving, then. Have fun in the kitchens."

Dobby bowed and Disapparated. Charlie got out of bed and quickly got dressed. She slipped her Ravenclaw robes over her jeans and shirt and shoved her feet into her sneakers. She ran a brush through her long raven hair and shoved her money back into her trunk. Carefully lifting the flowers from her bed, she went down the stairs and out of Ravenclaw Tower.

There were a dozen flowers in the bouquet. They were a collection of bright pink, orange, blue and yellow petals. The pink ones sparkled, the orange ones had spiral petals, and the yellow ones smelled sugary sweet and the blue ones were decorated with ice crystals.

Hope she likes them, thought Charlie.

As she walked through the corridors, Grubbly-Plank was in the Entrance Hall, dressed in a long, heavy winter cloak and two trunks by her side, waiting to be levitated out the door. The four Heads of House were there, bidding her farewell.

"Albus will be down shortly to see you off. I myself want to thank you for taking up the position while Hagrid was unavailable," said Minerva. "Your service is invaluable. I also apologize for you having to put up with Dolores."

"Not so loud," hissed Pomona, eyes darting about. "She could be watching."

Severus rolled his eyes. "Paranoid, Pomona?"

"I don't blame her," said Wilhelmina. "If anyone is paranoid, it's the Minister."

"Not much we can do about it except play by her rules, I suppose," said Filius.

The doors leading to the Entrance Hall suddenly creaked open and all six heads swivelled to see who else would be up so early in the morning. Charlotte Potter froze in the entryway when she caught sight of them, hands behind her back.

"Miss Potter," said Filius sharply. "What do you think you're doing up at this time?"

"I, uh, I don't really know what time it is," she replied.

Severus sent her a look. "Four in the morning. But I suspect you know it's late enough for you not to be out in the castle."

"You haven't answered my question," said Filius pointedly.

"I heard Professor Grubbly-Plank was leaving this morning."

Minerva arched an eyebrow. "And how did you hear that?"

The fifteen-year-old smiled innocently. "Through the grapevine. Anyway, I wanted to say bye."

She removed her hands from behind her back, revealing the colourful splash of flowers. She approached the substitute teacher and held out the bouquet. "Thank you," Charlie said sincerely. "You've really taught me a lot, and…and I just want to say…take care."

The substitute teacher was at a loss for words for a moment. She managed to find her tongue as she took the flowers from the young girl. "Thank you, Miss Potter. These are lovely. Where did you find them?"

Charlie smiled sheepishly. "I didn't, really. My house-elf did."

"Nonetheless, I greatly appreciate the thought and gesture." Wilhelmina inclined her head. "It's very kind of you."

The girl smiled. "I just wanted to show my appreciation. I-"

A loud creak sounded from behind the doors leading to the Entrance Hall and she snapped her head around, eyes suddenly apprehensive. When it became apparent that the sound was nothing more than the old castle making noise, she relaxed.

"Come, Miss Potter," said Filius, knowing her jerky reaction had to do with her paranoia of being caught by Umbridge. "It is too early for you to be out and about. I shall escort you back."

She cast him a look of gratitude. "Thanks. Goodbye, Professor Grubbly-Plank."

"Goodbye, Miss Potter. You will go far in life."

It was a compliment Charlie did not expect, and her surprise registered for a moment before her familiar warm smile returned to her lips. She dipped her head in sincere thanks before practically skipping off, Filius right beside her.

Pomona shook her head. "That girl never ceases to amaze me. I must be off myself. Farewell, Wilhelmina. I am sure we'll see each other again before we know it."

"I should hope so," returned Wilhelmina. "This is the school where I get paid the most."

Pomona snorted before departing. Barely two second after she left Albus Dumbledore entered, his twinkling robes sweeping behind him.

"Ah, Wilhelmina. It is always a pleasure to have your services in our school. I look forward to when we can welcome you again." He took notice of the colourful bunch in her hands. "How beautiful. Where did those come from?"

"Potter," replied Minerva.

"Really?" was all Albus could say, emotions rising at the thought of the girl he had been avoiding for the school year.

"Not really surprising," drawled Severus. "She's always been sickeningly sweet. Well, except for when she and Miss Parkinson got into that brawl."

"Which I hoped she has been appropriately punished for," said Minerva pointedly.

"I know how to deal with my Snakes, Minerva."

Albus did not hear their banter as his thoughts whirled. The flowers were not just a token of the fifteen-year-old's appreciation, though he knew it was a part of her sweet gesture. After the death of Angelina, he knew the girl no longer held any certainty for what the following days would bring, or who else would be victim to the Dark Lord. She did not know if she would ever see her substitute Care of Magical Creatures professor again, and wanted to ensure that she gave a proper farewell, for fear that the worst would happen. It was a feeling of fear and uncertainty she did not deserve to go through, and one he wished he could take away.

"She's a good girl."

Taken from his somber musing, Albus glanced over at Wilhelmina, who had spoken. The woman was studying the flowers. "She's going to do well in life," she continued. "I believe no matter what is thrown at her, she will overcome it, and she will do it being herself."

Though she had no idea of what Charlotte would have to face in later years (and even he did not have the full idea of the horrors she would experience) Albus felt that Wilhelmina's compliment went deeper than she ever could have expected. "I believe so as well."

"Well, it is time for me to get going," said Wilhelmina crisply. "It was enjoyable to teach here as always."

"Take care, Wilhelmina."

"I am sure we will see each other again," added Minerva, pulled from her bickering with Severus.

"Be careful of who you interact with," added Severus. "You cannot be too careful these days."

"Quite right. Goodbye, all."

With a flick of her wand, her trunks levitated by her side. The elderly substitute professor walked out the front doors, and they closed with a firm clunk behind her.

"I suppose we ought a few more winks while we can," said Minerva. "It may be Sunday but that does not mean it will be a relaxing day."

"It never is," returned Severus. "Not with a castle full of foolish students."

"You secretly like them."

"Lies."