Disclaimer: Well, as I already said in the previous three (oh, God, am I really already by chapter four?!) chapters - THESE ARE NOT MY CHARACTERS! Anyone who assumes that they are should read J.K.Rowling's Harry Potter books more often. All the characters in this fanfic belong to her. Well, almost all characters. I'm sending an envoy of Lord Voldemort to the giants and as there are no giants mentioned in the books, they will certainly be mine. But apart from that - I'm just borrowing them so I can write this… um… thing.

A/N: Beta read by Luinthoron *waves at BlueEagle* and Puzzler *waves "Hi!"* I really wouldn't know what to do without them… This chapter is, of course, dedicated to these wonderful persons with great thanks from my side. And something else. Just in case you wondered. I'm not a fan of Lord Voldemort. I just found that idea of this particular spy so intriguing that I just had to write it down. I still don't understand how you all liked it, but hey, it's really fun to write an evil person for a change :).
Sorry it took so long with this chapter. We had some very big holidays this weekend (Midsummer Night, the night 23th to 24th of June are like the most important holidays in Estonia, right next to Christmas and some native stuff). And then there was this mess with the Emails. I finished the chapter on Monday and sent it as an attachment to Puzzler but the attachment went lost so I had to send it to her again. I was going to post it yesterday, but a friend of mine I hadn't seen in ages asked me to go to the town with her. As a little apology I made this one a little longer than the previous ones. And I'm already working on chapter five. I hope you enjoy this…
Oh, and before I forget it - the disclaimers and A/Ns are not beta read.

--Altair



Chapter Four: The Giants

"You wished to see me, my Lord?"
"Yes, step closer. I have a job for you. And don't you dare to fail your mission for it will be of great importance"
"My Lord, I'm so grateful you chose me. I will not disappoint you, my Lord. What do I have to do?"
"You have to immediately leave and make your way to the giants. They were my allies last time, but as I hear, Dumbledore has intended to make them work for his side this time. I cannot let this happen. So you have to reach them first and make sure they will join my forces and distrust Dumbledore's envoy."
"My Lord, I really don't think that Dumbledore would consider contracting with the giants…"
"Are you doubting my words?!"
"No, my Lord. I just wondered where could you hear something like that from…"
"This, Lucius my friend, is none of your business. I have my ways. I only can tell you that this information is absolutely reliable."
"Yes, my Lord."
"Very well. You can go now. You have to leave earlier to ensure you are there before Rubeus Hagrid is."

A month had passed since the last incident and it was time for the term end at Hogwarts. It was the day when Professor Dumbledore let the school know that Lord Voldemort was behind Cedric Diggory's death. It was the day when Harry's name was cleared in the eyes of those who had been reading Rita Skeeter's article and thought that Harry was capable of murdering Cedric just to win the Triwizard Tournament. It was also the day when Lord Voldemort's envoy Lucius Malfoy finally got the answer from the giants.
It hadn't been a visit he had been looking forward to. He didn't like the giants. He never had. But he also didn't want to work against Lord Voldemort's orders because he knew just how the Dark Lord punished those who worked against him. Nothing good awaited those who angered him. And Lucius really didn't want to know just what Lord Voldemort could do to him if he acted against him. He really didn't want to find out.
The giants lived in mountain areas far away from England. Another reason for Lucius to hate this journey. He wasn't really fond of long trips. And if you had to travel to a place just to speak with someone as unpleasant as the giants… well, you get the idea. And of course the fact that he wouldn't be able to be at platform 9 and 3/4 to welcome his son for the holidays. That was the part that made him hate this journey the most. He didn't want to disappoint his son. He had promised to Draco to be at the station. And now he had to write to his son to tell him that he was chosen to serve the Dark Lord by representing him at the giants. Of course Lucius knew that Draco would be proud that his father was chosen for a such important task, but still. He really wanted to see his son. After all, Draco had been at school for almost a year (as always) and the little time they had off school at summer... Most of the wizarding world would have doubted this, but Lucius really loved his son and he had been spending all the days of Draco's holidays with him for three years now. His son was growing up now, he needed his father to be there for him, to be a role-model for him. Well, he was being a role-model, showing Draco how to serve the Dark Lord, but that meant he wasn't able to spend time with his son.
There was something else bothering Lucius apart from that. Who was the one who had been giving away information of that value to the Dark Lord? That had to be someone close to Dumbledore… But the man was too clever to let himself be fooled by some Death Eaters. They had tried it before, but they had never suceeded. And any attempts to infiltrate someone to Dumbledore's people had ended badly. Their last try had been Severus Snape. And he had gone and betrayd the Lord and became a servant of Dumbledore's and he spied against their Master. Lucius could remember how the Dark Lord had announced that Severus Snape had swiched sides. He had asked how Lord Voldemort could think of something like that of a faithful servant like Severus. Lucius never forgot that moment. Never before had he experienced the horrors of the Cruciatus Curse on himself. He remembered the words of the Dark Lord, the words he had said while he was torturing him via the curse. "Never underestimate the power of Lord Voldemort. And never question my information when it comes from this source." He wasn't going to make the same mistake again. But still. He really wondered who would be the one who worked for their side? Who would be able to fool Dumbledore himself?! Well, whoever this was, he had Lucius' full respect.
When he was finally there, he was amazed bt the houses of the giants' town. Lucius had never known that the giants were such an art-loving people. Well, appearently they were. Their houses were of artistic workmanship, even if they were of enormous size. He still didn't like being here, but he couldn't help but admire the beautiful buildings here. And he was delighted that as they were protected by Muggle repelling charms and the town was made unplottable, no Muggle had ever laid his eyes on this beauty.
Soon enough he had reached the ruler of the giants, a huge but blindingly beautiful lady called Violet. She had long silky black hair and sparkling amethyst eyes. Well, it really wasn't that surprising that she was pretty. Giantesses tended to look like works of art. But she was more than that. She had magical powers herself and she had studied in Beauxbatons and was a fully educated witch. She also happened to be very smart. Already after the first few words Lucius had noticed the warmth in the giantess' voice. They weren't so cruel and bloodthirsty as people wanted to believe. They just happened to be gigantic. But they were a rather frightening force as an enemy.
Past years hadn't left without leaving their marks on the giants' community. Their ruler from Lord Voldemort's last time, Marasmus, had passed away. Now was it up to Lucius to convince the late Marasmus' daughter Violet to join forces with the Dark Lord. And it wasn't going to be easy. The woman was too smart to let anyone tell her what to do. He decided to play on Violet's love for her father and on the promise her father gave Lord Voldemort while making the contract with him. He was pretty good at estimating people and he was positive that this would be the right button for him to press.
"My Lady, it's so good to see you again," Lucius began, taking lady's hand and kissing it politely. He hadn't even have to bow to do this.
"Oh, Lucius Malfoy, if I'm not mistaken. Seems that you haven't forgot us after all. What brings you this far from England?" she smiled
"My Lady, you may have heard that Lord Voldemort has returned from exile.."
"There were rumours, yes. But I don't see what brings you all the way up to us," she answered softly. Lucius could see that she was on her guard now. He had to make his move earlier than he had thought.
"My Lady, your late father Marasmus was a good friend of Lord Voldemort…" Lucius continued with a voice sweeter as honey. He just knew how to talk to women, he always had.
"Oh, I know he was. We helped him a lot as he had to fight the other wizards, you know that. I was fighting too, as you surely remember," she smiled.
Oh, how could he have forgotten this. He had been all too surprised to find a pureblood giantess with the powers of a witch. She had been one of the bravest giants fighting in this war evil against good, and one of the youngest. Most of the Death Eaters had admired her for her fighting skills as much as for her beauty and thought it was a shame she was born as a giantess not as a pureblood witch. But this didn't matter now. Not anymore. He nodded to show that he remembered.
"As you may know," he told with the same sweet vioce, "your father made a contract with Lord Voldemort, my Lady, in which he promised our Lord the help of the giants. Lord Voldemort has indeed risen again and he is asking to fulfill your promise. You certainly wouldn't want to make your dear father a liar?"
Bingo! Lucius could see that this one had hit and scored.
"Oh, no, of course not. You have always been so nice to us, trying to make the wizards' community accept us as we are. And I'd really like to help you. I just have to consult with my counsellors. You can stay in my house while you wait."
And now a month had passed with Lucius still staying by the giants and waiting for their answer. He knew, Lady Violet was doing all she could to make the giants join the sides with Lord Voldemort. He also knew that the giants would probably join the Dark Lord anyway out of respect for their late ruler. But he also knew that they would consider all arguments pro and con carefully and so he just tried to make his time there as good as he could. And being a guest of the giants' mistress was enough to ensure plenty of entertainment. The food wasn't bad either. He missed some specific English foods but then again, there were some dishes he didn't know and which turned out to be rather tasty. He had already considered to employ a giant cook back home.
Lucius was prepared to face another day full of waiting when lady Violet suddenly came up to him (he was staying in a room high in the tower) in the morning and asked him to accompany her to the meeting this day. Lucius was more than glad about the invitation. He had been here for... how long had it been? A month? Well, it seemed to him like ten. He was in hurry now. He had managed to convince the giants that Dumbledore was going to try to fool them into working for him with some help from two half-giants he had frightened into working for him. Lucius had really wondered at how easy to manipulate the giants were. They had really bought that! How could they be that stupid? That naive? For a moment, just for a single moment he felt a sudden urge to yell into their faces that they were being fooled and manipulated by him that very instant but he knew better than to do that.
It was about lunchtime when he was led to the council. Lucius hadn't been this nervous in years. This was it. The moment of truth. The big moment he had been waiting for for about a month now. He sighed and entered the room.
"Lucius Malfoy, you are here as an envoy of Lord Voldemort and your intention has been to work out a new alliance between us, giants, and you, wizards. You also have been so kind to warn us of the slippery words and promises Dumbledore's envoys will use to convince us. We thank you for the last part. As what concerns the first part, we have made up our minds and we are not going to back off later. We will renew the contract made by lord Marasmus and we will help you with all we can in this battle." It was Violet who spoke. The other, older and wiser giants, sat in a oval room around a long table and nodded approvingly. "We will discuss the conditions of the new contract later so you'll be able to speak with your Lord beforehand."

Three days later Lucius was finally back at home, exhausted. He just had enough time to say hallo to Draco before taking off to see his Master. At half past seven in the evening he finally got to Lord Voldemort's secret base of operations.
"My Lord, I'm back with news from the giants…"
"Very well. What do they say? Are they with me in this war?"
"Yes, my Lord. It seemes they have already made up their minds. And, of course, I made them believe that the two half-giants were tricked into working for Dumbledore. It really seemed to impress them." Lucius grinned.
"Did they say anything else of importance?" the Dark Lord asked.
"Yes, my Lord. They want us to go through all the conditions for the new pact and they will do the same. They also wanted us to meet them on Tuesday in two weeks. They will do the same."
"Thank you, Lucius, my friend. You may go now. I'll let you know when I'm ready. But now I have to think. ALONE!!"
Lucius Disapparated into the night.
"Well, did you hear that?" the Dark Lord asked facing the fireplace. He was answered with a sneer back from the shadows.
"Yes, my Lord," said the voice of Arthur Weasley. "And I can't wait to see Dumbledore's face when he finds out!" This statement was followed by a cruel, icy laughter.



A/N: So, I made the giants working against Dumbledore! Well, sue me. I won't be changing that one.. It's not like I'm a great fan of… well… You-Know-Who, but I thought it would be interesting when Dumbledore won't get the allies he wants. Don't be afraid, I'm not gonna kill any characters. Well… not yet *grins evilly* No, really. I promise I won't kill Harry. Or any other members of the Dream Team. Or Dumbledore. Or my two favorite villians Atrhur Weasley and Lord Voldemort. Well, not any time soon, that is. But there always can be a change in my plans, it's really not up to me…:).
Oh, and something else. Please, review, please? Please? *crosses her fingers behind her back* Please? 'Cause it would mean a lot to me…