The Hogwarts exams had ended, the Weasley joke shop had opened smoothly, and Dolores Umbridge—the old toad—had finally rolled out. At the farewell party, Dumbledore had returned to Hogwarts as well. Everything seemed to be heading in a better direction.
At the Black family's old house, Regulus Black no longer came by often. After all, he had agreed to leave the place to Sirius Black to manage.
As expected, Sirius donated the house to the Order of the Phoenix as a base of operations, just like before.
However, Regulus did not leave Kreacher with him. Instead, he left the newly bonded Shining to serve in the old house.
Sirius's sense of belonging to the Order of the Phoenix far exceeded that toward the Black family. That was also one of the reasons he was unwilling to marry. After buying Harry Potter a rocket crossbow, he barely had enough Galleons left to keep the old house running. He had never considered asking Order members to pay for food.
Naturally, the thick-skinned Dumbledore would never pay for meals either.
But Sirius had not realized that the Order of the Phoenix's activities here were completely exposed to Voldemort. Harry Potter, his godson, was being watched every time he went in or out. Normally, this would not have been a big problem, but once Voldemort's will became dominant, it turned into a dangerous situation.
Meanwhile, Voldemort's Death Eaters were still hiding in the Dursleys' home, torturing Vernon and Dudley while carrying out tasks Voldemort assigned.
To wage war, one must gather an army. Fallen wizards and magical creatures were all targets for Voldemort's recruitment.
The Death Eaters had already started trying to recruit giants. Those hulking creatures were not known for their wits, so the Death Eaters had spent a great deal of time on them, but progress was slow. To prove their sincerity, however, they had beaten Hagrid when he came to visit his brother.
In fact, they always beat Hagrid. This time, they had just done it more thoroughly. After all, Hagrid was small compared to them.
"Dumbledore! The giants have been recruited by the Death Eaters."
The Hogwarts term had ended, and Hagrid had gone to see his brother among the giants, only to return with this troubling news.
"When did this happen?"
Dumbledore had always treated the giants kindly, as long as they caused no trouble. But they were a wild and unruly race, and it was no surprise that they could be swayed by Death Eaters.
Still, what was the Death Eaters' true goal in recruiting giants? Could it mean Voldemort had really returned?
When Dumbledore thought of Harry Potter, now living in the Black family home, a chill spread through him.
In the past, Voldemort had not only giants on his side but also werewolves and vampires. Yet no race had ever fully supported his cause. Those magical creatures who had once joined him were later dealt with by the Ministry of Magic, and those who escaped had hidden themselves deeply. If the Death Eaters had successfully made contact with giants now, it could only be under Voldemort's direct command.
Otherwise, it was inexplicable that giants who had never been involved before would suddenly choose to stand with him.
Even before the exams, Harry Potter had instructed his Death Eaters to seek out giants and werewolves.
It did not take long to find the giants—their size made them easy to spot.
After several contacts, Harry lost patience. The giants who had once followed Voldemort had long since been wiped out by the Ministry, leaving only those who had stayed uninvolved or lingered uselessly in the background.
For these traitors, Harry had no patience. Taking advantage of being punished and leaving the headmaster's office, he personally went to threaten the giants to join his cause.
"As long as Dumbledore lives, you have no hope of victory. We do not want to side with a loser."
The giants were not completely without sense; their slow minds simply took time to process.
After meeting the Death Eaters, they thought about it for a long while and finally came up with the perfect excuse.
As long as Dumbledore lived, Voldemort had no chance of victory, and failure was even more likely.
This gave them a reason to refuse him.
"You want news of Dumbledore's death? I will make sure you see it. But before that, you must agree to my pact. Otherwise, you can go meet Dumbledore in hell!"
Harry appeared masked, releasing a horde of Dementors.
Their prey was not limited to humans. Recently, they had been allowed to feast occasionally, though they were usually restrained within their master's body.
The swarm of Dementors surrounded the giants, draining their life force greedily.
"All right! We accept your pact. Just take these foul creatures away."
Near death from the life drain, the giant chief finally managed to speak.
Harry recalled the Dementors. After such a feast, they could rest for a long time again.
The so-called pact was not signed on parchment but branded onto the giants' souls when they were too weakened to resist.
Once bound, they were shackled for life. Unfair as it was, the giants had no choice but to submit in order to survive.
At that moment, a black shadow darted from the distance. Just as the Death Eaters moved to block, the figure stopped.
"Fenrir Greyback comes to pay his respects to the Dark Lord!"
A tall, brutish man with a hideous face dropped to one knee. He was Fenrir Greyback, notorious criminal of the wizarding world, once a Death Eater, and leader of the werewolves. In the past, Voldemort had used him to organize and command the werewolves.
Greyback had noticed the Death Eaters' dealings with the giants. He had not understood what was happening, since he rarely interacted with wizarding society and had heard no rumors of Voldemort's return.
So, he had lingered outside the giants' territory, waiting for the Death Eaters to appear again.
Finally, a figure of immense power had arrived. Though he did not look like Voldemort of old, Greyback's wolfish instincts told him this handsome young man could very well be the resurrected Dark Lord.
If he was right, then paying respects to the new Dark Lord was the only correct choice.
In the original Harry Potter world, werewolves lived apart from society, surviving by theft and murder.
Most submitted to Voldemort, believing his rule would improve their lives. Unfortunately, Voldemort treated them coldly and with disdain, letting them wear Death Eater robes only when he needed their service. Most Death Eaters scarcely remembered Greyback at all. Only because Harry carried Voldemort's soul fragment did he remember this werewolf chief.
He remembered how Bellatrix used to call him a "filthy scavenger."
What a woman she was—so fiery. Yet rumor had it she had borne a daughter for the Black family before dying.
Fenrir Greyback followed Voldemort because he believed only the Dark Lord could make it possible for werewolves to "live under the sun."
The wizarding world's hatred and persecution of werewolves had fostered their resentment and thirst for revenge. Confronted with discrimination, Greyback chose vengeance, even though it would lead his kind into destruction. That was beyond his control.
What Greyback could not understand was that werewolves were hated and persecuted because of their hideous appearances. If werewolves had been as cute as dog-eared maidens, people would have adored them, and the Ministry might even have declared them a protected species.
Look at the Veela, who lived freely, restricted only from enchanting humans. No one threatened their survival.
On the contrary, Veela had even become mascots for the Bulgarian Quidditch team.
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