Bang! Bang! Bang!
A series of crisp sounds echoed in front of Gringotts's main gate. From a grey vortex, more than a dozen Aurors dressed in practical attire appeared with solemn expressions.
Scrimgeour quickly walked up to the Goblin in charge of Gringotts. His face was like an ancient, unchanging bluestone slab. His slightly limping foot did not slow down his movements. He remained decisive and efficient, his black trench coat half-open.
Kingsley and the other renowned Aurors followed right behind him.
However, Moody and Tonks did not participate in this operation. One had already retired, and the other had not yet officially started.
"Fruus Scrimgeour," the Goblin, dressed like a banker, saw Scrimgeour and immediately lunged forward. He grabbed him with a large, ancient hand like a palm fan.
"Where is the prisoner who broke into Gringotts?" Scrimgeour asked directly, without any beating around the bush.
"Still in the cavern. There are Anti-Apparition Charms here. He can't escape!" the Goblin shrieked. "I want you to capture him immediately! Hand him over to us!"
His tone was not friendly. It was even somewhat commanding. But Scrimgeour was too lazy to dwell on it. What he cared about was the safety of the property within Gringotts.
To put it bluntly, at least half of all wizards in Britain had vaults at Gringotts. The more prominent the family, the more closely they were tied to Gringotts. If Gringotts were truly robbed, the trouble would be immense.
"Of course," Scrimgeour nodded stiffly.
He glanced at Kingsley, and the burly Black wizard immediately understood. He led several Aurors and rushed through Gringotts's main gate.
Only then did Scrimgeour notice that Gringotts's main gate had been blasted into an unrecognizable mess.
The massive copper gate had vanished. In fact, a large portion of it had smashed into Potage's Cauldron Shop, and now one wall of that ancient shop had collapsed.
"I can't believe you only brought so few people!" the Goblin said, highly displeased.
"The Ministry of Magic has its own arrangements," Scrimgeour said calmly. He led the remaining Aurors to seal off Gringotts's exits. 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 Charm," he commanded coldly, like a machine.
"Own arrangements? You're just wasting time and manpower on those two escapees! You Ministry of Magic are a bunch of good-for-nothings! The matter of Tom Riddle killing two Goblins still hasn't been settled!" the Goblin cursed.
"Regarding this matter, the Minister already discussed it with Boderick of the Goblin Brotherhood through the Goblin Liaison Office a few days ago," Scrimgeour said.
"Furthermore, Gringotts has always been entirely managed by you Goblins. Now, with repeated intruders, it's likely due to your poor management. If you can't manage it, then hand it over!"
The Goblin seemed to want to hurl some insults, but Scrimgeour walked away directly. The Goblin's already ugly face turned as red as a pig's liver.
It was impossible to make the Goblins hand over Gringotts.
This decision had initially been made to appease the Goblins' dissatisfaction, a result of the Ministry of Magic's repeated compromises. If the Goblins were forcibly compelled to surrender Gringotts and another rebellion broke out, Scrimgeour would not be able to bear that responsibility.
He had the Aurors make full preparations. On the other side, Kingsley led a team of Aurors cautiously into Gringotts.
There were still injured Goblins in the hall who had not evacuated. They had been blasted by Voldemort's spells when he forcibly entered, and the entire hall looked as if it had been bombed. The protective magic that should have been effective was so fragile under Voldemort's attack.
Seeing Kingsley and the other Aurors enter, the Goblins in the hall did not act arrogant.
"Sir, the intruder is in Vault 12—"
Kingsley nodded. In reality, he did not need the Goblins to say much. He could find the violent intruder's location simply by following the trail of destruction.
He was about to lead the Aurors into the cavern when the entire mountain beneath Gringotts suddenly began to shake violently. The ground beneath their feet swayed, and the hard stalactites hanging from the ceiling also seemed to sway. The rock pillars standing in the massive cavern, connecting the top and bottom, seemed to emit sounds of breaking.
Kingsley felt a momentary worry about a cavern collapse.
If such a massive cavern collapsed, they would be powerless to resist. Apparition would be unusable, and spells probably would not protect them.
Kingsley was still worried, but the Goblins could not stand their hesitation.
"What are you waiting for?"
Kingsley sighed and was about to signal the other Aurors to follow him down when another violent tremor struck.
This time it was even more severe. The hall's floor cracked like a biscuit. They nearly lost their footing, and one Auror almost fell into the cavern. Fortunately, Kingsley reacted quickly and cast a spell to pull him back in time.
Then, a monstrous roar echoed from deep within the cavern.
The piercing roar reverberated long and drawn out through the cavern. The sound changed so much that it became impossible to tell what kind of monster it was.
"It's that Dragon!" The injured Goblin clenched his fists tightly, an irrepressible excitement on his face. "That will surely burn that intruder to ashes! You Aurors are useless. Hurry and leave. We won't give you a single coin if you stay!"
The Goblin's words annoyed the Aurors somewhat, but they did not react. Instead, they turned their gaze toward the depths of the cavern.
There, crimson and blue-white flames alternated constantly.
Flames erupted from the deepest part of the cavern like a breached flood, and a huge dark shadow riding through the flames surged upwards. Kingsley saw it clearly: it was a Dragon.
The Ministry of Magic was aware that Gringotts kept a Dragon underground, and it was legal.
No, rather than legal, it would be more accurate to say that when the Goblins kept that Dragon, Britain had not even enacted a law prohibiting the private keeping of Dragons.
However, Kingsley had not expected that the Dragon now seemed to have escaped and was somewhat out of control.
Unlike the Goblins' confidence in the Dragon, he felt that the Dragon looked somewhat fearful and panicked. The flames were not being spat from its throat. It seemed to be fleeing for its life.
Was something incredibly terrifying in the flames chasing it?
But Kingsley did not have time to think too much.
He only knew that no matter how pathetic the Dragon looked at the moment, it was still a Dragon.
It only needed to stretch its limbs a bit to potentially cause massive casualties.
"Stop it!" Kingsley roared.
He raised his wand, intending to hit the Dragon with a Conjunctivitis Curse when it charged up.
Dragons have high magic resistance. Even if the Dragon before him seemed very old, Kingsley still doubted whether his magic could penetrate its skin.
"Ah!"
At this moment, the Auror who had almost fallen earlier suddenly cried out in surprise.
"What's wrong?"
"On the Dragon's back—there's someone on the Dragon's back!"
Kingsley immediately narrowed his eyes and indeed saw the dark figure standing on the Dragon's back.