Chapter 143: The Man on the Dragon’s Back

    Snap! Woosh! Snap!

    A series of crisp sounds echoed in front of Gringotts'' gates as a dozen well-dressed Aurors emerged from the gray vortex, their expressions solemn.

    Scrimgeour quickly strode to the goblin in charge of Gringotts.

    His face was like an unchanging slab of ancient stone, and despite a slight limp, his pace remained swift and decisive, his black trench coat half-open.

    Kingsley and several other renowned Aurors stood behind him.

    However, Moody and Tonks were not part of this operation.

    One had already retired, and the other had not yet officially joined the ranks.

    "Rufus Scrimgeour," the goblin, dressed like a banker, rushed over as soon as he saw Scrimgeour.

    His large, aged hands, like oversized fans, grabbed onto him.

    "Where is the prisoner who broke into Gringotts?" Scrimgeour asked directly, without any preamble.

    "Still in the vaults! There''s an Anti-Apparition Jinx in place, so he can''t escape! You must capture him immediately and hand him over to us!" the goblin shouted harshly.

    His tone was far from friendly, even somewhat commanding, but Scrimgeour didn''t bother to quibble over it.

    What mattered to him was the security of Gringotts'' assets.

    To put it bluntly, at least half of the wizards in Britain had vaults in Gringotts.

    The larger the family, the more intertwined they were with the bank. If Gringotts were truly robbed, it would spell significant trouble.

    "Of course," Scrimgeour replied stiffly with a nod.

    He glanced at Kingsley, and the burly black wizard immediately understood, leading a few Aurors through Gringotts'' main entrance.

    It was then that Scrimgeour noticed the extent of the damage to Gringotts'' doors.

    The massive bronze doors had been completely blown off—one large piece had even crashed into Potage''s Cauldron Shop, collapsing one of its ancient walls.

    "I can''t believe you brought so few people!" the goblin complained angrily.

    "The Ministry has its own arrangements," Scrimgeour replied calmly.

    He and the remaining Aurors began to secure the exits of Gringotts. If Kingsley and his team failed to stop the intruder, they would be the last line of defense.

    "Expand the range of the Anti-Apparition Jinx," he ordered coldly, like a machine.

    "Your own arrangements? More like wasting time and manpower on those two escapees! Your Ministry is useless! And you haven''t even resolved the issue of Tom Riddle killing two goblins!" the goblin cursed.

    "It''s the fire dragon!" an injured goblin clenched his fists, his face barely able to contain his excitement. "That intruder must have been burned to ashes! You Aurors are useless now. Leave immediately; we won''t give you a single Knut!"

    The goblin''s words irritated the Aurors, but they didn''t react, instead focusing their gaze on the depths of the cavern.

    There, red and blue-white flames alternated.

    The fire surged like a breached dam, gushing out from the deepest part of the cavern.

    Suddenly, a large shadow burst through the flames, charging upwards. Kingsley saw it clearly—it was the fire dragon.

    The fact that Gringotts kept a fire dragon in its depths was known to the Ministry of Magic, and it was legal.

    No, rather than saying it was legal, it was more accurate to say that when the goblins started raising that fire dragon, there were no laws in Britain prohibiting private ownership of fire dragons!

    However, Kingsley hadn''t expected that the fire dragon seemed to have broken free and was now out of control.

    Contrary to the goblins'' confidence in their dragon, he felt the dragon appeared frightened and panicked. The flames weren''t coming from its throat; it looked like it was fleeing for its life.

    It seemed as though something terrifying within the flames was chasing it?

    But Kingsley didn''t have time to think too much.

    All he knew was that, regardless of how vulnerable the fire dragon appeared, it was still a fire dragon!

    A single move from it could result in massive casualties.

    "Stop it!" Kingsley shouted.

    He raised his wand, planning to cast a Conjunctivitis Curse on the dragon as it charged up.

    Fire dragons had high magical resistance, and even though this one seemed quite old, Kingsley still doubted whether his spell could penetrate its skin.

    "Ah!"

    At that moment, the Auror who had almost fallen earlier suddenly cried out in surprise.

    "What is it?"

    "On the dragon''s back—there''s someone on the dragon''s back!"

    Kingsley squinted and indeed saw a shadowy figure standing on the dragon''s back.

    _____

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