Evan noticed that Sirius had his left arm wrapped in a cloth strip, which appeared particularly distressed.
"Last night, the Death Eaters who came numbered five. I only saw Walden Macnair. You probably don't know him, but he's cold-blooded, just like killing people as much as the giants do," Sirius explained. "I remember he works in the Ministry of Magic, responsible for executing dangerous magical creatures. I never thought he'd come here."
"You had a direct confrontation with him?" Evan inquired.
"I was outside the tent at the time. He charged in first, and we fought!" Sirius briefly recounted. "I hit him with a Stunning Spell, but naturally, his spell also hit my arm. It's nothing to worry about."
Though he made it sound simple, the situation was undoubtedly much more dangerous than that.
"The Death Eaters brought these giants to support them in battle. They had the giants take the lead while they hid in the back, cast spells, and launched sneak attacks. Although Hagrid is formidable, and Madam Maxime's spell-casting speed is beyond imagination, they were outnumbered, and we had to retreat," Sirius said. "We managed to escape up the mountain while Hagrid and Madam Maxime went to contact our giants for reinforcements. I stayed behind to protect you, and that's how it all happened."
Looking at Sirius and the severe spell scar on his arm, Evan could well imagine the intensity of the fight last night. The current situation was dire, and convincing all the giants to cooperate was nearly impossible. They were divided and hostile toward each other, with Death Eaters successfully recruiting some of them. Voldemort wanted the giants not to take part in the upcoming wizarding war, but it wasn't a straightforward battle; it was a contest to see which side could gain more giants and strength. The situation was chaotic, but they couldn't afford to withdraw. Dumbledore was counting on them.
Convincing the giants would be long-term, possibly taking several months to yield results. Evan realized he needed to focus on the key issue—choosing a new giant leader to unite them. The choice of candidate was crucial. Evan didn't know many giants personally and couldn't fully trust them. One candidate that came to mind was Hagrid's brother, Grawp. He was unquestionably loyal, but he was still too young and weak to command the respect of the giants. Evan sighed and put that thought aside. The more immediate concern was the chaos among the giants and the Cyclops deep in the Earth's crust magma.
The dark wizards conducting the ceremony were urgently in need of a solution. Since Gryffindor's scabbard was at the center of their request, Evan saw no reason to refuse. He planned to retrieve the scabbard but didn't want to awaken the Cyclops. That would only worsen the current situation.
Hagrid and Madam Maxime returned after some time. Both of them were injured, with Hagrid's arm still bleeding.
"What's the situation outside, Hagrid?" Evan asked.
"It's not good," Hagrid replied. "Those Death Eaters were scouring the mountains for us, and Olympe and I had a run-in with them. I know I said we shouldn't provoke them. Still, with Olympe, it's hard to stop her, especially when those Death Eaters insulted our lineages. She was furious and wanted to teach them a lesson. It's like lighting a wildfire in her."
"We warned you to be cautious," Sirius reminded him, furrowing his brow.
"I know, but the situation was tense then, and I couldn't stop Olympe. She was infuriated by those Death Eaters," Hagrid explained, his wrinkled face pulling at his bushy beard. "We just happened to cross paths, and after they insulted our lineages, she was determined to give them a piece of her mind, being part French and all."
"We had to teach them a lesson!" Madam Maxime added indignantly as she continued to bandage Hagrid's wound. "The situation outside is dire. The giants know about our attack last night, and our supporting giants are hesitating. They think we're not strong enough and have defected to the Death Eaters."
"Yes, they have about thirty giants there, all incredibly strong warriors, bloodthirsty and cruel," Hagrid said with concern.
"How many giants do we have?" Evan inquired. "Originally, we had some, but two of them are gone. The remaining giants are hesitating. My mother and Grawp can be counted on, and the old giant Herbert is willing to help us. There are three or four others, but they're elderly giants with little strength."
In terms of both quantity and quality, they were outmatched by the Death Eater giants. The older giants were more level-headed but lacked the ferocity and strength of their younger counterparts.
"What about the other giants?" Evan continued because over a hundred giants were in the tribe.
"They're fighting among themselves, competing for dominance, but I have a feeling they're leaning towards Voldemort and the Death Eaters," Hagrid explained. "They believe that Voldemort and the Death Eaters can offer them more, especially regarding bloodshed."
A heavy silence hung in the air. The situation was indeed worse than what Sirius had described. Afterward, Evan shared his plan with the others. After a discussion, they decided to retrieve the scabbard from the grotto. Hagrid and Madam Maxime would continue trying to persuade the hesitating giants and convey Dumbledore's message.
"By the way, Hagrid, do you know who currently occupies the summit of that grotto?" Evan inquired.
"That cavern is left unattended. It's the giants' palace, but since Golgomath and his soldiers died there, hardly any giants dare to approach it now," Hagrid replied, looking at Evan and Sirius. "The giants are scattered among tribes and no longer gather by the lakeside. Be careful out there, both of you."
"Hasn't anyone cleaned up Golgomath's body?" Evan couldn't imagine the giants abandoning such a significant cavern.
"The circumstances of their deaths were too horrifying. Other giants are afraid to approach," Hagrid explained.
Quickly realizing the terrifying cause of the giants' deaths that Hagrid mentioned, Evan and Sirius returned to the grotto an hour later. As they journeyed back, they encountered no living giants, only a landscape of chaos. Everywhere they looked, they saw the corpses and wreckage of giants. The giants who had fled the area had left behind their belongings, turning the entire lake into a sea of blood. The overpowering scent of blood hung in the air, assaulting their noses.
This place, once the gathering ground of giants, was now the bleakest and most desolate spot in their territory. It had become a purgatory on Earth. The battle between Golgomath and Cacus had resulted in the deaths of countless giants, and the subsequent battles had taken place mainly by the lake. In just three days, the number of giant casualties had grown dramatically.
The once-formidable giant tribe had fragmented, with surviving giants scattering to the nearby forests. In the grotto, Evan encountered the statue of Golgomath—or what remained of it. The statue was perched on the throne below the Cyclops statue, having been turned into a black, silent figure. On Golgomath's head was the "Crown of Destiny" replica, and his expression depicted fierceness and astonishment. His two arms extended forward in pain, and blue veins protruded all over his body, which resembled a grotesque sculpture. Around him, other giant soldiers shared the same fate, frozen in their exact positions at the moment of their deaths.
Evan was taken aback by the sight, finding it more shocking than the gruesome scenes of violence. He didn't fully understand the dark magic curses responsible for this, but he could sense their powerful magical presence. It was akin to the Binding Curse or being petrified by a basilisk's gaze. Golgomath and the giant soldiers no longer exhibited any signs of life. Evan wasn't sure if they could be restored, but he had several spells and potion formulas in mind that might help.
"These giants died so horribly. It's a complete disaster," Sirius commented.
When Evan placed his wand on Golgomath, he attempted to use a Disintegration Curse. Still, the statue was much more resilient than he had anticipated. Instead of disintegrating, the statue began to crack and emit a grating sound. Evan quickly halted his spell, watching as the crack expanded. His magic was having the opposite effect; it was strengthening the statue. It became clear that Voldemort had anticipated this scenario and enchanted the statue to resist any attempts to release it.
Even if they successfully removed the curse, Golgomath would only revert to a pile of flesh. Evan realized how truly terrifying Voldemort and his Obscurus powers were. Even if Dumbledore were to arrive, breaking the curse would be a daunting task. Voldemort had no intention of giving his enemies any opportunity. This was undoubtedly Voldemort's domain of terror, where the most dangerous Dark Wizard in history had left his mark. He didn't merely wield the Killing Curse; his magic was far more complex and horrifying.
"Alright, Evan, let's forget about these giants," Sirius suggested. "Their current state is far from ideal, and we should focus on retrieving the scabbard. No one will stop us."
Evan agreed, but as they tried to extract the scabbard from the Cyclops statue's eye, they encountered a problem. Sirius tried to pull the sheath with all his might, but it wouldn't budge. The scabbard was connected to the statue, seemingly as one entity.
"It's not working. I can't pull it out. There's a special magic preventing me as if it's bound to this statue," Sirius explained.
"Let me try," Evan said, thinking he might have a solution. He Apparated on the statue's head, giving him a bird's-eye view of the area below. He realized that the statue's eye could see everything below. To the giants, humans and other giants appeared as tiny as ants in this Cyclops's eye.
Evan focused his wand on the Cyclops's eye, which contained a large yellow gem. It was a transparent and flawless gem with no visible flaws and radiated a strong magical presence. Such gems were valuable in alchemy and had many magical applications. It was indeed a valuable treasure.
Evan aimed his wand at the gem and cast a powerful attack spell. A silvery light flashed, but the gem remained unscathed. It was harder than anything Evan had encountered before. A short distance away, the Cyclops's eye, at the center of which was the scabbard, didn't react to Evan's attack.
"This gem is indestructible," Evan said, realizing the futility of trying to damage it magically. "It seems that Voldemort ensured this scenario as well. He anticipated that wizards would try to separate the scabbard from this statue."
Evan examined the scabbard more closely. It was plain in appearance, entirely silver-white, and crafted from the same material as Gryffindor's sword. Carved onto the scabbard were patterns and magical runes familiar to goblins. The scabbard was dotted with ruby fragments, emitting a faint light reminiscent of stars in the night sky.
As if sensing Evan's gaze, the ruby fragments on the scabbard began to shimmer. Evan walked closer to examine it, just as Sirius had said. The scabbard appeared to be part of the statue, channeling a unique magical power, Gryffindor's strength, which prevented it from being removed. The scabbard was firmly sealed in the Cyclops's eye.
To extract it would be no simple task. If it were that easy, the giants would have found a way to remove it over the years. But they chose not to, leaving it as a testament to their shame.