"Hagrid!"
Those words did not come from the Centaurs.
After the Giant crouched down, he bellowed those three words directly at them.
The Giant's roar made the Centaurs' arms tense so hard that veins bulged visibly. Clearly, if the Giant made any more sudden moves, the provoked Centaurs would have attacked him immediately.
At the same time, the Giant's action left the Centaurs with no attention to spare for anything else, which meant that Draco and his group were temporarily forgotten.
Then, as Draco watched, the Centaurs obeyed their orders, spreading out quickly and drawing their bows.
There was no panic on their faces, nor any sign of disorganized attacks. Draco, who had been recently training Goyle and the others, immediately noticed this detail.
This military-like precision not only demonstrated the Centaurs' intelligence and vigilance toward the outside world but also made it clear that these Centaurs were among the elite of their kind.
And their next actions only confirmed Draco's assessment.
"Ronan, draw Hagrid's attention. The rest of you, keep your distance—don't get hit. Now, let's drive this guy out of the forest!"
"Yes!"
"Now, attack!!"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
The arrows tore through the air, their whistling echoing across the Forbidden Forest.
Although there were fewer than a hundred attackers, the scene felt like a vast army in full battle.
The illusion came from the Centaurs' rapid archery, remarkable accuracy, and the sheer force behind their shots that made the whistling sound so piercing.
As the Centaurs began to circle the Giant and launch their assault, Luna—who had spent nearly all her time staring off into space—suddenly spoke.
"Their natural affinity with the forest, combined with their strong limbs and hard hooves, lets them move across rugged terrain as if it were flat."
"Luna?"
"Add their innate skill with bows and powerful arms, and the Centaurs become the most dangerous creatures in the forest. It's nearly impossible to defend against arrows that could come from anywhere."
Luna's unexpected explanation drew the attention of several people, including Draco.
If one were to ask who among them knew the most about Magical Creatures, Pansy and Hermione might have answered Draco.
But in reality, setting aside fantastical and improbable creatures, Luna was the true expert. Even Draco might not know more about these Centaurs than she did.
In the realm of Magical Creatures, Luna clearly had the most authority.
So instead of Hermione giving the usual explanatory lecture, it was Luna who spoke, and Draco—without disputing her claims—fixed his gaze on the suddenly alert Luna Lovegood. "So, which side do you think has the better chance of winning?"
His tone implied complete detachment from the battle itself, leaving Ginny—who didn't know Draco well—stunned, her mouth wide open.
Is this really the time to calmly analyze the situation?
Shouldn't we do something, or at least get out of here quickly?
Shouldn't we notify the other professors at Hogwarts?
While Ginny questioned herself, Luna continued speaking with excitement, completely unfazed by Draco's question.
If anything, in this state, Luna was the most peculiar of all.
…
Surrounded by a hail of arrows, this scene should have felt tense and serious.
But with Draco's reassuring presence and Luna's confident words, the atmosphere took on a subtle, almost different tone.
Luna tilted her head slightly, exaggerating just a little: "The Giant in front of us is only about five meters tall. In a Giant clan, someone of this height would actually be ostracized—or even despised—by their own kind. Maybe that's why he ended up here?"
"You mean he was cast out?"
"Yes. A Giant's height directly determines their standing within the tribe. A normal Giant is usually around six meters tall, and the leader of the largest settlement today reaches a staggering seven meters."
"Seven meters..." Hearing this, Hermione, confronted with knowledge not recorded in any book, seemed to momentarily forget the battle unfolding between the Centaurs and the Giants.
"Yes, but… even if he was cast out, how did he get into the Forbidden Forest? You have to remember, the nearest Giant settlement is separated from here by an entire ocean."
Speaking whatever came to mind, Luna, unable to figure it out, steered the conversation back to the question Draco had asked earlier.
"Although Giants aren't very intelligent and their reactions are somewhat slow, what they make up for is the terrifying, visible power of their massive bodies, and…"
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The muffled sounds came from arrows bouncing off what seemed like an invisible wall.
Contrary to everyone's expectations, there was no gruesome bloodshed.
Simply put, the Centaurs' attacks couldn't pierce the Giant's defenses.
At that moment, Luna continued: "And… their exceptional resistance to physical and magical attacks. These Giants are born warriors."
No sooner had she finished speaking than the roar of the Giant and the ripping of trees filled the air.
Roar!!
Crackle!!
"Everyone! Dodge!"
"Damn it!"
Just as Luna had said, despite their low intelligence, the Giants fought like natural-born warriors. Without instruction, they instinctively grabbed nearby trees as weapons and consciously shielded their eyes and ears.
Not only that, but unable to be approached, the Giant calling out "Hagrid" seemed to have understood something—he began hurling the trees in his hands like javelins toward them.
This was a battlefield awareness born not of thought, but of pure instinct.
As time passed, even though the Centaurs were on home turf and outnumbered their opponent, their attacks still failed to break through the Giant's defenses, and casualties among them began to mount.
And whether it was Draco's imagination or not, the Giant—treating this battle like a game—seemed to have set its sights squarely on them.