For most of us, Harry Potter was a big part of our childhood/teen years. The magic of the page and screen alike was enough to transport us to a whole new world—aboard the Hogwarts Express, of course! Each aspect is so well-detailed, be it the wizarding history, prophecies, or even the significance behind certain names.
But for all the universe-building, there are some races that we don’t really see all that often in Harry Potter—the giants being one of them. Why is that so?
Well, this has to do with a certain You-Know-Who.
During the First Wizarding War, the giants allied with Lord Voldemort and were the cause of massive destruction and loss of life. Because of this, the Ministry of Magic ensured to kill them on sight, driving most of them into hiding.
Their sheer size and brute force would make the giants an advantageous ally. Both Voldemort and the Ministry knew this and tried to recruit them.
While Hagrid and Madam Maxime were making great progress with the giant leader Karkus, convincing him to side with Dumbledore, the Death Eaters were working up a scheme of their own.
They found a giant named Golgomath who was ready to support Voldemort for the right price. With their help, he killed Karkus and took over as the Giants’ leader. Golgomath ordered an attack on Hagrid and Maxime when they tried to recruit the other Giants, and ultimately aligned the whole race to serve Voldemort.
When the First Wizarding War took place, these giants wreaked havoc and killed many Muggles. (This is something that should be technically portrayed in a future Fantastic Beasts movie).
The Ministry’s Aurors decided that the only way to deal with the giants was to kill them on sight. This resulted in many dying and the remaining retreating into hiding during the period between the wars.
However, hiding did not guarantee their safety, especially from each other. Giants are not used to sharing (small) spaces and so living together like this could sometimes lead to even the most trivial arguments turning into full-blown brawls. It is theorized that this violence further dwindled their numbers.
As the majority of Harry Potter takes place just a few years before the Second Wizarding War, it makes sense why we don’t see a lot of giants around. At this point, not only had their population decreased, but most of them were in hiding in a mountainous region in Northern Europe.
Most surviving giants refused to side with Dumbledore even during the Second Wizarding War, as the relationship had grown too sour due to the Ministry’s attacks. The few that remained, continued to fight for Voldemort during the Battle of Hogwarts as well.
The total number of surviving Giants currently is unknown, but it is expected that they’re extant, even if very few in number.
About Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a film series based on the eponymous novel series by J. K. Rowling. The series is distributed by Warner Bros. and consists of eight fantasy films, beginning with Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and culminating with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.
The film series follows Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, and his journey to take down the evil wizard Lord Voldemort and save Hogwarts, the Wizarding School he attended, with his best friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley.
The series was mainly produced by David Heyman, and stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson as the three leading characters: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger.
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