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It is partly because of Giants that fear of "Part-Humans" in the Wizarding World exist. Half-Giants are looked down upon as outcasts of society and are singled out and are subject of ridicule. When [[Rubeus Hagrid]] was outed by [[Rita Skeeter]] as a Half-Giant, many became frightened of him despite having known him for years, and some demanded his resignation. [[Olympe Maxime]] refused to publicly admit her heritage, even to a fellow [[Half-giant]].<ref name=GF/>
  
It is partly because of Giants that fear of "Part-Humans" in the Wizarding World exist. Half-Giants are looked down upon as outcasts of society and are singled out and are subject of ridicule. When [[Rubeus Hagrid]] was outed by [[Rita Skeeter]] as a Half-Giant, many became frightened of him despite having known him for years, and some demanded his resignation. [[Olympe Maxime]] refused to publicly admit her heritage, even to a fellow [[Half-giant]].<ref name=GF/>
   
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Not all Giants are "bad". [[Grawp]] was taken from the mountain tribe by his half-brother Rubeus Hagrid, and lived in the [[Forbidden Forest]]. Hagrid managed to civilize his half-brother to a degree, and taught him some English.<ref name=OP/> Grawp attended Dumbledore's funeral in [[1997]],<ref name=HP/> and assisted the defenders of Hogwarts Castle during the [[Battle of Hogwarts]].<ref name=DH/> There were also some other giants who grew interested when Hagrid and Madame Maxime when to negotiate with them to live in harmony with wizards.<ref name=OP/> Unfortunately, when the [[Gurg]] that they did not agree with raided the area looking for them, they refused to have anymore to do with Hagrid and Madame Maxime.
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Not all Giants are "bad". [[Grawp]] was taken from the mountain tribe by his half-brother Rubeus Hagrid, and lived in the [[Forbidden Forest]]. Hagrid managed to civilise his half-brother to a degree, and taught him some English.<ref name=OP/> Grawp attended Dumbledore's funeral in [[1997]],<ref name=HP/> and assisted the defenders of Hogwarts Castle during the [[Battle of Hogwarts]].<ref name=DH/> There were also some other giants who grew interested when Hagrid and Madame Maxime when to negotiate with them to live in harmony with wizards.<ref name=OP/> Unfortunately, when the [[Gurg]] that they did not agree with raided the area looking for them, they refused to have anymore to do with Hagrid and Madame Maxime.
   
 
===Known Giants===
  
===Known Giants===

Revision as of 20:48, 26 May 2012

"They're not meant ter live together, giants ... they can't help themselves, they half kill each other every few weeks."
— Rubeus Hagrid[src]

A Giant is a very large hominid which can potentially grow to approximately twenty feet tall, and appear to be large Humans. Giants are not as intelligent as wizards and witches, but they have their own language, culture and societal structure. They are capable of learning English, and presumably other languages as well, and read[1]. A Giant tribe is led by the strongest Giant, known as the Gurg.

History

Giants were once plentiful across the world, with at least a hundred different tribes. During the First Wizarding War, they allied with Lord Voldemort and were responsible for some of the War's worst atrocities against the Muggle community. Aurors from the Ministry of Magic targeted and killed many Giants, and forced them into hiding in remote regions of the world.[2]

The remaining Giants retreated into a remote mountainous region in Northern Europe, and being cramped in such areas resulted in them killing each other for the most trivial matters, or sometimes for nothing but sheer violence, reducing their numbers to around eighty in total.[2] In 1995, following the return of Lord Voldemort, Albus Dumbledore dispatched Rubeus Hagrid, accompanied by Olympe Maxime,[3] to make an alliance with Giants and deny their forces to Lord Voldemort when Cornelius Fudge refused to make an official approach on behalf of the Ministry of Magic. The pair traveled to a tribe north-east of Minsk, to try and gain the friendship of the tribe. However, they were not alone in their efforts. Two Death Eaters, including Walden Macnair, had also arrived to try and convince the Giants to rejoin Lord Voldemort's forces.[2]

Hagrid and Maxime were doing well, and were on good terms with Gurg Karkus. The Death Eaters, though, courted the favour of Golgomath and engineered an uprising. Golgomath killed Karkus, took his place as Gurg, and allied with the Death Eaters. Hagrid and Maxime were forced to retreat after being attacked by the Giants.[2]

In the opening days of the Second Wizarding War, Giants were responsible for an attack on Muggles in the West Country of England, although the official explanation was that a hurricane had hit the area. The Ministry of Magic covered up the incident, but informed the Muggle Prime Minister of the true cause behind the incident.[4]

DH2 Giant01

A Giant during the Battle of Hogwarts, fighting for Voldemort.

During the Battle of Hogwarts, many Giants fought on the side of Lord Voldemort against the defenders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They mainly battled Grawp, a small giant who had fled the colony two years earlier, and the Hippogriffs and Thestrals.[5] It is not known what happened to them after the battle. The most likely theories are that the survivors returned to the northern colony, came to be accepted by wizard kind from Albus Dumbledore's attempt to offer them the hand of friendship, or were subsequently executed by Aurors and The Committee for Disposal of Dangerous Creatures for the part they played in the war. If it is the latter, then the race of Giants would be near extinct, with Grawp and two half-Giants remaining.

Giants within the Wizarding World

Albus Dumbledore: "Extend them the hand of friendship, now, before it is too late, or Voldemort will persuade them, as he did before, that he alone among wizards will give them their rights and their freedom!"
Cornelius Fudge: "You - you cannot be serious! If the magical community got wind that I had approached the giants - people hate them, Dumbledore - end of my career -"
— Albus Dumbledore and Cornelius Fudge[src]
Giant bell towers

A giant fighting for Voldemort at Hogwarts

Due to Giants being dangerously violent, they are feared and hated amongst the Wizarding World. This was further compounded when they joined forces with Voldemort, and caused some of the most devastating catastrophes. As such, wizards and witches tend to reject any connections with such fearsome creatures in general. Voldemort and his Death Eaters, however, see the Giants as valuable assets, and recruited them for both wars. Albus Dumbledore attempted to bring them over as an attempt for strengthening inter-species bonding, despite Minister Fudge's absolute refusal at the idea.

It is partly because of Giants that fear of "Part-Humans" in the Wizarding World exist. Half-Giants are looked down upon as outcasts of society and are singled out and are subject of ridicule. When Rubeus Hagrid was outed by Rita Skeeter as a Half-Giant, many became frightened of him despite having known him for years, and some demanded his resignation. Olympe Maxime refused to publicly admit her heritage, even to a fellow Half-giant.[3]

Not all Giants are "bad". Grawp was taken from the mountain tribe by his half-brother Rubeus Hagrid, and lived in the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid managed to civilise his half-brother to a degree, and taught him some English.[2] Grawp attended Dumbledore's funeral in 1997,[4] and assisted the defenders of Hogwarts Castle during the Battle of Hogwarts.[5] There were also some other giants who grew interested when Hagrid and Madame Maxime when to negotiate with them to live in harmony with wizards.[2] Unfortunately, when the Gurg that they did not agree with raided the area looking for them, they refused to have anymore to do with Hagrid and Madame Maxime.

Known Giants

Behind the scenes

  • According to W.O.M.B.A.T., giants may be cannibals and have been stereotyped as typically aligning themselves with dark forces.

See also

Appearances

Wiki
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Notes and references

  1. ↑ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (video game) (A Giant Problem) - The first Giant that Minerva McGonagall fights has a book hanging from his belt.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

See also

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