A magical journey that begins in Azkaban.

Chapter 528: Hagrid never received a salary?
Hearing the news that the giant had rushed out of the forbidden forest, Hagrid didn't bother to treat the new wound on his face that was still bleeding. He threw on his moleskin coat that smelled of musk and sweat and stumbled over.

Before he even got close, he saw Roger leisurely waving his wand and roasting golden and crispy chicken. The tempting white aroma seemed to have turned into an invisible little hand, hooking his nose at once. Hagrid couldn't help swallowing his saliva, and his stomach was rumbling.

"Ah, you're here." Roger smiled and pointed at the big guy next to him, "Hagrid, you should know this 'big friend', right?"

Hagrid didn't have time to answer, and rushed to his brother's side, carefully checking Grawp's condition. When he confirmed that his brother was just knocked unconscious and had no missing limbs, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank Merlin!" he murmured to himself, and his tense body relaxed.

Recalling what happened in the cabin just now, when Hermione and Ariana breathlessly brought the news that the giant had escaped from the Forbidden Forest, his heart almost jumped out of his chest.

This is not because he is afraid that Grawp will harm the students of Hogwarts, but because he is worried that Roger will wave his wand and do something terrible to his brother.

After all, in Hagrid's eyes, Travis is an out-and-out wizard who adheres to the pure-blood concept and has always lacked sympathy for non-human creatures.

Judging from the few contacts they had, Rogge would never easily let go of any creature that could pose a threat to everyone, no matter if it was a human or an animal.

Hagrid's thoughts could not help but drift to the eight-eyed giant spiders that were exterminated in the Forbidden Forest. In his eyes, they were just a group of cute furry children.

Maybe their appearance is not pleasing to wizards, and they do walk with their claws and teeth bared, but Hagrid is willing to swear to Merlin that they will never hurt any student.

"He... he is my brother Grawp." Hagrid hesitated for a long time and finally told them the relationship between the giant and himself.

He took a deep breath and continued, "Some time ago, I brought Grawp back and kept him in the Forbidden Forest."

Hermione opened her eyes wide when she heard this, and raised her voice involuntarily: "Hagrid..."

"I understand." Hagrid explained quickly, his big red face full of panic, "but they have been abusing him, and I really can't bear to let him stay in the giant tribe. If he doesn't come with me, he will be beaten to death by other giants."

"Is it because of the height problem?" Ariana patted Hagrid's arm gently and asked in a gentle tone: "He is too short, and other giants bully him, right?"

Hagrid nodded heavily, tears of gratitude flashing in his eyes. He secretly admired in his heart: What a considerate witch, worthy of being a child of the Dumbledore family.

"That's right." Hagrid choked, his eyes full of grievance, as if he saw his brother being bullied by other giants. "Look, Grawp... he's only sixteen feet tall. Among giants, he's simply a 'tiny guy'."

"Yeah, he's too short." Hermione couldn't help but retort. If it weren't for Roger's spell, the "little guy" would have crushed him.

Hagrid mistakenly thought that she agreed with his idea, and hurriedly continued to explain: "My mother left me and my father after giving birth to me, and then she found another giant and gave birth to Grawp in the giant tribe."

"My mother dislikes him just as much as she dislikes me. Because giants believe that giving birth to healthy, large children is a good thing. He is just a dwarf among giants."

Roger stroked his chin thoughtfully and put forward his own guess: "Maybe it's your mother's problem."

"After all, you are half brothers from the same mother, but you all have height problems. This can only mean that your mother has a health problem and cannot pass on the giant's height to her children."

"Rog, now is not the time to study giant genetics." Hermione reminded, and then stared at Hagrid with concern, "The wounds on your face... are they all caused by giants... I mean, are they all caused by Grawp?"

"Oh, that... is no big deal." Hagrid laughed indifferently, and then made a gasping sound because of the pain. "Grawp is very strong. When he is in a bad mood, he will punch me twice. But he has no ill intentions and can't beat me. Believe me, he is getting better and better..."

Hermione took a deep breath and frowned. She looked at Hagrid with a stern look similar to Professor McGonagall's: "I mean, are you going to keep him in the Forbidden Forest forever? Grawp is a giant, not an exploding snail or a noopa. He's too dangerous!"

"We were as small and fragile as rag dolls standing next to him." She pointed to the deep pits in the frozen soil and said, "Look how deep his footprints are!"

"Even if you tie him up with a rope as thick as a small tree, he can still break free. If a student accidentally runs into Grawp in the Forbidden Forest, how desperate he will be."

Ariana nodded slightly in agreement.

"It was just an accident." Hagrid defended his brother stubbornly, but his hands were twisted tightly together like a braid.

He lowered his head and muttered like a child who had made a mistake: "I can take good care of him, and I'm teaching him English. Grawp is very smart and has already learned a few words."

"He...he's like a big kid, very kind. He needs someone to teach him, and someone to love him." Hagrid's eyes were as firm as a rock, and his tone became fierce. "I am his only family, I can't give up on him! He is different from Gogo and the others."

Hermione's ears caught a strange name, she frowned and asked: "Googo? Other giants?"

Hagrid covered his mouth fiercely, realizing that he had leaked the secret mission given to him by Dumbledore again. Fortunately, Hermione did not intend to investigate further, and Roger had no interest in the giant tribe.

"Uh... giant, it's nothing." He mumbled a few words and tried to get away with it. "Grawp might have escaped accidentally. As long as you don't tell anyone..."

Roger raised his eyebrows and couldn't help but interrupt: "Aren't you going to provide him with food?"

"There's plenty of food in the Forbidden Forest." Hagrid waved his hand towards the vast Forbidden Forest with a nonchalant look, "He'll get his own food, birds, deer, no problem."

Roger covered his forehead and couldn't help complaining: "Hagrid, have you forgotten that it is winter now?"

"The migratory birds have already flown south for the winter, and the deer in the Forbidden Forest are starving. How much food do you think Grawp can catch at this time?"

"Do you expect a giant with a limited range of activities to fill his stomach with the snow around him?" His question left Hagrid speechless. He pointed out bluntly: "Grop didn't run out accidentally. He smelled the delicious roast chicken and was driven here by hunger."

Ariana sighed and reminded softly, "Hagrid, hunger can make any creature irritable and dangerous. If Grawp is really hungry, he is likely to rush out of the Forbidden Forest and break into Hogwarts or Hogsmeade. The consequences... are simply unimaginable."

Considering that most wizards in the British wizarding world are pampered and have no fighting power, Grawp can become a god in a matter of minutes when he runs into Hogsmeade Village.

Even if he didn't hurt anyone and just rushed into the pub to eat and drink, the Ministry of Magic and the Aurors would never let him go easily, and Hagrid would regret it.

"That's right, Grawp is a giant after all, not one of those magical animals you raise. He has his own needs, you can't just leave him alone in the woods." Hermione couldn't help but criticize. Hagrid's face turned red, and he stammered in defense: "I... I sometimes bring him some food. But not too often, otherwise it will arouse suspicion..."

At this point, his shoulders visibly slumped, and his voice was filled with frustration. "But what can I do? I can't just watch Grawp being bullied by other giants, and I can't hand him over to the Ministry of Magic."

"Those wizards will surely treat Grawp as a monster, lock him in a cage and torture him. I can't allow that to happen!" Tears glistened in his eyes, and his eyes were full of worry and protectiveness for his brother.

This deep affection for his family deeply touched the three of them. At this moment, he was no longer just a ranger at Hogwarts, but a warrior who protected his family.

Roger sighed and reminded, "Hagrid, you get a salary every month. You can't spend all your Galleons on pet breeding, right?"

"Salary?" Hagrid rubbed his big messy head in confusion, not knowing how to answer for a moment.

Hermione suddenly thought of something. She opened her mouth in surprise and said indignantly, "Have you been serving the school for free? Hogwarts has never paid you a salary? This is so unfair!"

"That..." Hagrid waved his hands quickly, his tone very firm: "I don't need Galleons. They have no effect on me."

"When I was in the most difficult time, the headmaster helped me and gave me the job of ranger." Hagrid's eyes were full of gratitude when he mentioned Dumbledore. "The Forbidden Forest has everything I need. I can also use the animals I breed to do some business at the Hog's Head Inn."

"Haha." Roger snorted coldly, "Are you willing to do that?"

"Well... it's just when I need to change some necessities." He scratched his head embarrassedly, "I made the clothes and rock cakes myself. Don't look at my thick fingers, but I am a good tailor."

"So..." Roger curled his lips and asked, "You haven't taken a Knut yet?"

"Hogwarts gives me a sense of home, which is more precious than any number of gold Galleons." Hagrid smiled proudly and patted his chest and said, "I am not interested in money..."

"This is not a question of interest." Roger frowned and reminded seriously: "Every year, the education budget of the school board and the Ministry of Magic is allocated according to the number of faculty and students submitted by Hogwarts."

"Even Mrs. Norris has her own pay slip for cat food."

Roger looked directly at Hagrid, his tone becoming more serious. "You may not care about that little salary, but if the school's accounts have problems because of your generosity, then Dumbledore may be removed from his position as headmaster."

He then threw out a disturbing term: "Eating a salary without working...Have you heard of it?"

There was a flash of fear in Hagrid's eyes. He stood there blankly, his lips moving but no sound came out.

"Don't scare him." Seeing Hagrid's panic, Hermione comforted him quickly: "Don't worry, Hagrid. Maybe the school has kept your salary, but you just didn't receive it."

"Right, right, right..." Hagrid nodded heavily like a drowning man grabbing a lifeline, "I'll go find Professor McGonagall and ask clearly. The headmaster... the headmaster will never leave Hogwarts because of me!!"

Ariana also took the opportunity to persuade him: "Hagrid, your loyalty and selflessness, my brother... Albus will never doubt it. But you have to consider Grawp too."

"He's as big as a hill. His stunted growth may be due to lack of food. With a salary, you can take better care of him, right?"

Hagrid no longer hesitated and nodded in agreement. He was frightened by Roger's crime of "eating empty salary", after all, Jessica was one of the school directors, and the most senior one.

"About Grawp, can you..." He looked at Roger with pleading eyes, asking him not to tell anyone.

Hermione gently tugged on Roger's hand and stood on tiptoe to whisper something in his ear.

"You said that." Roger smiled evilly and said, "Actually, I didn't intend to tell anyone."

Hermione was stunned for a moment, secretly regretting: "Oops, I've suffered a great loss!"

Although Hagrid is a big guy with a little brain and often speaks and acts carelessly, he is more simple and honest than most wizards and is more reliable.

Now that he owes him this favor, maybe it will come in handy in the future. Apart from anything else, the technology of breeding new magical creatures alone is worth Rogge's help in keeping secret.

He cleared his throat and warned seriously: "But you have to be careful not to let Grawp escape again. It's best to buy him some food and tie him up with a few more ropes."

Hagrid looked at him in surprise. He never expected that Roger was willing to help. He even forgot to thank him for a moment.

"Rejuvenate." Rogge waved his wand, and a powerful beam of light penetrated into Grawp's body.

The giant's body trembled violently, as if waking up from his slumber.

"Hermione, Ariana, run!" Roger grabbed the two girls' hands and rushed towards Hogwarts Castle like a gust of wind across the snow-covered ground.

Hermione looked back as she ran, her face full of worry: "Is it too unkind of us to do this? Will Hagrid be in danger?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Grawp's deafening roar came from behind. The three of them stopped involuntarily and looked over there curiously.

Ariana held her waist and panted, "Don't worry, Hagrid is his brother after all. And he has a wand, he can handle it."

"In fact, most wizards' spells are almost ineffective against giants." Roger gently corrected her point, "The best way to subdue a giant is with fists and swords, followed by benefits and compromise."

"But don't worry, Hagrid will be fine. At most he'll get beaten up by his brother again. He's probably used to it."

Hermione thought for a moment, then took out her protective glasses from her pocket. She skillfully adjusted the zoom function on the glasses and looked through the flying snow at the giant in the distance.

Grawp sat on the ground and roared, stretching out his tree-like arms toward Hagrid. The stunted giant was so strong that he lifted Hagrid into the air and pinned him to the snow.

(End of this chapter)