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"HERMY! WHERE HAGGER?"
— Grawp calling out for his brother Rubeus Hagrid[src]

Grawp (b. post 1931) was a giant that was known for his small stature and short height; although he stood at sixteen feet tall, this was considered short by giant standards.[2] He was the son of Fridwulfa and an unnamed giant and, therefore, the maternal half-brother of Rubeus Hagrid.[2]

Biography[]

Early life[]

Around 1931, the giantess Fridwulfa abandoned her human husband Mr Hagrid and their infant child Rubeus Hagrid. Rubeus was a half-gaint and therefore smaller in stature than she wanted at ten feet tall.[2] She consequently rejoined her own kind in the mountains, and there she found a new mate.[2]

The two gave birth to the giant Grawp who was a full-blooded giant, but still particularly small for a giant. Due to his small stature he was abandoned as well.[2] He was frequently bullied by the other giants thereafter due to his small size.[2]

1995[]

"Well, tha's why it took so long, see. Could on'y travel by nigh' an' through wild country an' stuff. Course, he covers the ground pretty well when he wants ter, but he kep' wantin' ter go back."
— Hagrid and Grawp's difficult journey to Hogwarts[src]

Rubeus Hagrid, along with his newly-found friend Olympe Maxime, paid a visit to a tribe of giants in June of 1995, on the orders of headmaster Albus Dumbledore of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in an attempt to bring the giants over as allies of the Order of the Phoenix in the war against Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters.[14]

After three days at the giant camp, Hagrid discovered his half-brother Grawp. He later dragged Grawp back to Hogwarts with him due to the bullying he knew Grawp had received, and presumably to protect Grawp from Voldemort's enslavement of the giants.[2] Despite his previous abuse, Grawp continuously attempted to return to the camp, but Hagrid forced him through England against his will.[2]

Hagrid kept Grawp in the Forbidden Forest for months, teaching him manners and pieces of English as they went.[2] The other inhabitants of the forest, namely the centaurs, noticed these attempts and tried to warn Hagrid that his trial was futile.[15]

1996[]

Hagrid: "Hermione, I couldn' leave him. See — he's my brother!"
Harry Potter: "Hagrid, when you say 'brother', do you mean — ?"
Hagrid: "Well — half-brother. Turns out me mother took up with another giant when she left me dad, an' she went an' had Grawp here —"
Harry Potter: "Grawp?"
Hagrid: "Yeah... well, tha's what it sounds like when he says his name. He don' speak a lot of English.... I've bin tryin' ter teach him.... Anyway, she don' seem ter have liked him much more'n she liked me.... See, with giantesses, what counts is producin' good big kids, and he's always been a bit on the runty side fer a giant — on'y sixteen foot —"
— Discussion of Grawp's origins[src]
Hagrid introduces the trio to Grawp

Hagrid introducing Grawp to Harry and Hermione

During a Quidditch match in 1996, in which Ron Weasley played as Keeper, Hagrid secretly revealed Grawp's presence to Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, asking them to look after Grawp in case he got sacked by Dolores Umbridge, who was strictly against half-breeds as well as creatures like giants. Despite their disapproval of Grawp's presence, they agreed in the end.[2] After Hagrid was later temporarily sacked by Umbridge, Grawp became upset about his absence and after chasing the centaurs away from Harry and Hermione before they could attack them, demanded about Hagrid's presence from Hermione, who responded that she didn't know where he was.[16]

After Voldemort's return and Umbridge's sacking from Hogwarts, Grawp was later reunited with Hagrid and was later sent by Dumbledore and Hagrid to live in the mountains near Hogsmeade, presumably in the cave where Hagrid hid after his sacking by Umbridge, with Hagrid commenting he was far happier there than in the Forest. Hagrid additionally considered getting a female giant for Grawp to socialise with, something Harry usually would have protested against but was unable to do so due to his grief over Sirius Black's death.[17]

Grawp also proved to be an indirect factor to Harry, Ron and Hermione discontinuing Care of Magical Creatures once they began their sixth year as they disapproved of Hagrid's idea to train Grawp to be his teaching assistant alongside Hagrid's tendancy to teach dangerous creatures over more amicable ones.[18]

1997[]

"Harry glanced at the back row to which Hagrid was heading and realised what was guiding him, for there, dressed in a jacket and trousers each the size of a small mar-quee, was the giant Grawp, his great ugly boulder-like head bowed, docile, almost human. Hagrid sat down next to his half-brother and Grawp patted Hagrid hard on the head, so that his chair legs sank into the ground."
— Grawp attending Dumbledore's funeral[src]
Funeral of Albus Dumbledore

The funeral of Albus Dumbledore

By the next year, Grawp had become much more docile and lost his violent edge.[19] He attended the Funeral of Albus Dumbledore, standing in clothes the size of mar-quees.[19] By this time he had developed a large sense of compassion. During the funeral his head was bent with sorrow, and he patted his half-brother to comfort him. This caused Grawp to unintentionally smash Hagrid into the ground due to his immense strength.

After the funeral ended, Grawp was seen embracing Hagrid, who was still grieving over Dumbledore's death.[19]

1998[]

"At the same time, Grawp came lumbering around the side of the castle and yelled, HAGGER! His cry was answered by roars from Voldemort's giants: They ran at Grawp like bull elephants making the earth quake."
— Grawp participates in the second half of the final battle[src]

In March of 1998, he and his brother ran from the Death Eaters due to the two of them having held a Support Harry Potter party at Hagrid's hut. This was illegal due to the school being controlled by Death Eaters.[20] Afterwards they hid in the Cave near Hogsmeade for the remainder of the war.

Hogwarts Big Battle at Hogwarts Moment Pottermore

Grawp launching himself at Voldemort's giants during the second half of the battle

On 1 May of that same year, Hagrid and Grawp heard Voldemort's magically enhanced voice from their cave. Voldemort was delivering an ultimatum of handing Harry Potter over to him or else a battle would start.[11] Grawp carried Hagrid and their boarhound Fang, smashing right through the boundaries and then launching Hagrid and Fang together as one through the window of the first-floor corridor. In the first-floor corridor, Harry was wandering. After greeting Harry, Hagrid and Grawp stumbled off to join the fight below.[11] As Grawp fought one of Voldemort's giants later on, it finally made the trio realise he was indeed an undersized giant. They had previously questioned Hagrid's claims of it.[12]

Later on, Grawp was seen alive but very angry, attacking Voldemort's giants head-first as he roared in fury.[13] Aided by Buckbeak and the thestrals, they were quickly defeated and Grawp moved on to helping others in the fight as reinforcements arrived.[13]

Grawp eventually survived the battle, and students threw food into his laughing mouth as they celebrated the recent victory in the battle but mourned the loss of the dead.[13]

21st century[]

Hagrid, player and Grawp taking photo MA

Hagrid, Grawp and the student taking the picture

At the start of the 2009–2010 school year, Grawp still stayed at Hogwarts with Hagrid, who made a butter-fly pie for Grawp.[21] In the winter of that year, he destroyed a snowman that students were building. The giant footprints left on the scene led some to believe it was done by a Yeti, and they still thought Grawp was one upon meeting him and had a brief fight, but Hagrid cleared the matter up by introducing Grawp as his half-brother.[22] Later around Christmas, Hagrid and an unidentified student took a picture with Grawp as a gift to him.[21]

Physical appearance[]

"Oh yes, tiny! Absolutely minuscule!"
— A sarcastic comment on Grawp's size[src]

At sixteen feet, Grawp was considered short for a giant. He had grey skin, brown-green eyes and hair and appeared like a little mound of land when laid.[2]

Personality and traits[]

Hermione Granger: "Oh Hagrid, why on earth didn't you let him! What do you think you're going to do with a violent giant who doesn't even want to be here!"
Hagrid: "Well, now — 'violent' — tha's a bit harsh. I'll admit he mighta taken a couple o' swings at me when he's bin in a bad mood, but he's gettin' better, loads better, settlin' down well...."
— Discussing Grawp's violent tendencies[src]

Grawp was aggressive and violent, both common traits for a true giant and was known to attack his brother when in a foul mood.[2] Despite this, Grawp loved his brother dearly and was badly upset when left alone in June of 1996.[16]

Grawp initially had great difficulties learning to trust Hagrid, however, as it took nearly a year to gain his trust. The language barrier may have been a factor in this since Hagrid could only speak English and, after nearly a year, Grawp could barely speak comprehensible English.[19] After nearly three years, he could still only just talk properly, and could not pronounce long or difficult words such as "Hermione", which he said as "Hermy", and "Hagrid", which he pronounced as "Hagger".[13]

However, while his language skills were still barely comprehensible, Grawp's personality on the other hand changed immensely under Hagrid's influence, despite doubts that Hagrid's efforts were completely futile.[2] By the time he attended the funeral of Albus Dumbledore, Grawp became more kind, gentle, and compassionate. He showed sorrow during the funeral and attempted to comfort Hagrid, who was more devastated by Dumbledore's death, by patting and embracing him (though causing Hagrid's chair to sink into the ground).[19]

Grawp also showed happiness and joy after Voldemort's final defeat, demonstrating that he had developed an understanding of human emotions.[13] However, while most of his violent side was lost, he still retained some of it when he fought against the other giants during the Battle of Hogwarts.[11][12][13]

Behind the scenes[]

  • In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Grawp is depicted as less a violent giant and more of a "high spirited", inquisitive child, as his half-brother, Hagrid, said.
  • Grawp is portrayed via motion capture[23] by Tony Maudsley in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.[24]
  • For the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the in-camera reference for Grawp was performed by William Todd-Jones, who also created Grawp's body performance as used for the sequence's pre-vis.
  • The original model for the film was created in 2004 by Gerald Gibbons who based it on a student he had taught back when he was a teacher. The student, Tom Hull, now attends the University of Bath.
  • The film adaptation shows Ron Weasley accompanying Harry and Hermione during their first visit to Grawp, as opposed to the book in which Ron was playing in a Quidditch match at that time.
  • In the end of the Order of the Phoenix of LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7, Grawp is seen on a high tree trying to help Luna reach a pair of her sneakers.
  • It is possible that his name is different from this as Hagrid said that it sounded like Grawp when he says his name. There is a theory that it is how he pronounces "Grow up!"
  • Grawp's role in the Battle of Hogwarts from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was omitted from the final version of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. In addition to this, the character is neither seen nor mentioned in the film.
  • J. K. Rowling mentioned in an interview that when she was writing Grawp's parts into the book that she knew she was giving the filmmakers a challenge when it came time to bring the giant to life on the big screen.[25]

Appearances[]

Wiki
The Harry Potter Wiki has 37 images related to Grawp.

Notes and references[]

  1. As he was born after Fridwulfa left Rubeus and Mr Hagrid, but was born sometime prior to his leaving the giant colony, this is the only possible birth range.
  2. 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 30 (Grawp)
  3. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 30 (Grawp) - "“All righ’, Grawpy?” said Hagrid
  4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - "“Good boy, Grawpy!” he bellowed through the hole in the window."
  5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 30 (Grawp) - "See, with giantesses, what counts is producin’ good big kids, and he’s always been a bit on the runty side fer a giant — on’y sixteen foot —”"
  6. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 30 (Grawp) - "He was, as Hagrid had said, at least sixteen feet tall."
  7. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 31 (O.W.L.s) - "“Grawp’s about sixteen feet tall, enjoys ripping up twenty-foot pine trees, and knows me,” she snorted, “as Hermy.”"
  8. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 30 (Grawp) - "It was much larger in proportion to the body than a human head, almost perfectly round and covered with tightly curling, close-growing hair the colour of bracken." Bracken is described, both here and here, as being a light brown. It is much more likely that Grawp's hair is the brown bracken colour than green.
  9. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 30 (Grawp) - "The small eyes were a muddy greenish-brown and just now were half gummed together with sleep."
  10. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 30 (Grawp) - "They looked up into his startlingly huge face, which resembled a grey full moon swimming in the gloom of the clearing."
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 31 (The Battle of Hogwarts)
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 32 (The Elder Wand)
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 36 (The Flaw in the Plan)
  14. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 20 (Hagrid's Tale)
  15. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 27 (The Centaur and the Sneak)
  16. 16.0 16.1 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 33 (Fight and Flight)
  17. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 38 (The Second War Begins)
  18. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 9 (The Half-Blood Prince)
  19. 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 30 (The White Tomb)
  20. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 22 (The Deathly Hallows)
  21. 21.0 21.1 Harry Potter: Magic Awakened
  22. Harry Potter: Magic Awakened - December 2021 special event
  23. "Grawp" | Harry Potter Behind the Scenes on YouTube
  24. Tony Maudsley to Play Grawp in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
  25. "'Harry Potter: A Blue Peter Special.' Blue Peter (CBBC), July 20 2007" at Accio Quote!
Order of the Phoenix
Fawkes WB F2 FawkesIllustration V2 Illust
Founder:
Albus Dumbledore
Leaders:
Albus Dumbledore | Alastor Moody | Kingsley Shacklebolt
Original Order of of the Phoenix:
Aberforth Dumbledore | Alastor Moody | Alice Longbottom | Arabella Figg | Benjy Fenwick | Caradoc Dearborn | Dedalus Diggle | Dorcas Meadowes | Edgar Bones | Elphias Doge | Emmeline Vance | Fabian Prewett | Frank Longbottom | Gideon Prewett | James Potter | Lily Potter | Marlene McKinnon | Mundungus Fletcher | Peter Pettigrew (defected) | Remus Lupin | Rubeus Hagrid | Severus Snape | Sirius Black | Sturgis Podmore
Reconstituted Order of the Phoenix:
Aberforth Dumbledore | Alastor Moody | Arabella Figg | Arthur Weasley | Bill Weasley | Charlie Weasley | Dedalus Diggle | Elphias Doge | Emmeline Vance | Fleur Delacour | Fred Weasley | George Weasley | Harry Potter | Hermione Granger | Hestia Jones | Kingsley Shacklebolt | Minerva McGonagall | Molly Weasley | Mundungus Fletcher | Nymphadora Tonks | Remus Lupin | Ron Weasley | Rubeus Hagrid | Severus Snape | Sirius Black | Sturgis Podmore
Order of the Phoenix allies:
Andromeda Tonks | Augusta Longbottom | Buckbeak | Dobby | Fawkes | Filius Flitwick | Firenze | Garrick Ollivander | Ginny Weasley | Grawp | Helena Ravenclaw | Horace Slughorn | Karkus | Karkus's wife | Kreacher | Lee Jordan | Luna Lovegood | McKinnon family | Mr Westenberg | Mrs Westenberg | Muriel | Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington | Neville Longbottom | Oliver Wood | Olympe Maxime | Rita Skeeter | Patrick Delaney-Podmore | Peeves | Percy Weasley | Pomona Sprout | Poppy Pomfrey | Sybill Trelawney | Ted Tonks | The Fallen Fifty | Westenberg family | Winky | Xenophilius Lovegood
Other affiliations:
Dumbledore's Army | Forbidden Forest Centaur colony | Headless Hunt | Hogwarts Hippogriff herd | Hogwarts house-elves | Hogwarts Ghosts | Hogwarts Staff |
Hogwarts students | Hogwarts Thestral herd | British Ministry of Magic | Giant colony (Karkus's control)
Giants and half-giants
Giant colony

Gurgs: Karkus (Former) · Golgomath
Fridwulfa · Grawp (Former) · Karkus's wife · Group of injured giants (Former)

Other giants

Bran the Bloodthirsty · Cyclops · Death Eaters' giant army in the First Wizarding War · Goliath · Grawp's father · Grawp's opponent · Hengist of Upper Barnton · Morholt · Morholt's brother · Unidentified giant in The Blind Pig
Unidentified giants at the Battle of Hogwarts: I · II · III · IV · V

Half-giants

Rubeus Hagrid · Olympe Maxime · Pronk

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