Chapter 236: Ukrainian Ironbelly

Under the threat of the dragon and the blazing fire, everyone backed away.

"Unbelievable, the outside rumors are true, there really is a dragon in Gringotts!" Harry shouted in surprise, his eyes mingled with curiosity and panic.

"The Ukrainian Ironbelly, the largest species of dragon in the world. Very dangerous." Sirius said cautiously, "These goblins should have a way to subdue him. They seem to have tormented him enough, but we must be careful. Ivan, don't get too close!!!"

Ivan stood next to Griphook and looked curiously at the dragon in the corner.

Although he had seen dragons in many books on magic, this was the first time he had seen a live one.

As the largest fire dragon known to the magical world today, the Ukrainian Ironbelly can weigh up to six tons. Its body is round and its belly scales are extremely tough. Compared to the Peruvian Vipertooth or the Romanian Longhorn, it flies slower, but is more dangerous.

It is accustomed to landing at high altitudes and is capable of crushing the dwellings it lands on to get anywhere.

Normally, its scales are metallic gray, its eyes are deep red, its claws are particularly long and it is particularly vicious.

Ironbellys have been the subject of constant observation by Ukrainian wizarding authorities ever since one particular Ironbelly took a sailing ship from the Black Sea in 1799.

The dragon's blood and scales are extremely precious magical materials. The heart strings and nerves are used to make wand cores. In ancient times, only a handful of powerful wizards could obtain these things, because only they were able to slay dragons.

Although there are now places to breed dragons for profit, the price of dragon blood and scales still exceeds their weight in gold.

Different types of dragons have different dragon blood, scales, nerves and values.

Among dragons, the magic of Ukrainian Ironbelly belongs to the weakest type. Its dragon blood is not the best magic potion material. The heart strings and nerves are rarely chosen for making wands, but the hard scales of its belly have high magical power and are essential ingredients for many magical accessories.

However, Ivan doubted the value of the scales of the Ukrainian Ironbelly in front of him and whether anyone would need them because they looked extremely emaciated and unhealthy.

"He's partially blind!" Beside Ivan, Griphook gasped and said, "He was brought here when he was a baby dragon. It's been over two hundred years. His power is waning, but his temper is more brutal than the dragons outside. But we have a way to control him. He has formed a conditioned reflex to loud sounds."

Griphook pulled out a series of small metal instruments that when shaken made a loud, clanging noise like miniature hammers on anvils.

He handed them to everyone and demonstrated how to use them.

"Well, you know what to do," Griphook continued. "He feels pain when he hears the noise, he'll retreat. We'll take the opportunity to walk past him to the little room at the end."

"This is why I hate coming here!" Sirius muttered, "Crazy dragon, and equally crazy goblins..."

They lined up, Griphook stood at the front, followed by Ivan, Hermione, Harry and Sirius. They all held a bell in their hand.

Ivan's left hand shook Hermione's tightly, and his palm was full of sweat.

They followed the goblin, and moved around the corner again, shaking the bells, and the noise echoed off the rocky walls, grossly magnified, so that the inside of Ivan's skull seemed to vibrate with the din.

The huge dragon let out another hoarse roar, then backed away.

Ivan could see it trembling, and as they drew closer he saw the scars made by vicious cuts on its face, and guessed that it had been taught to fear hot swords when it heard the sound of bells.

Because he was close enough, Ivan could feel the amazing heat from him.

A few seconds later, when they all walked past the dragon and into the small room at the end, they were pale, wiped off their sweat and breathed a sigh of relief.

Close contact with a dragon was definitely a remarkable experience.

In front of them was a descending circular staircase, which looked very old, with a faint fluorescence of blue rock on the floor and an eerie smell.

As they descended, the dragon's roars gradually faded away.

Back to calm, on either side of the stairs were large and small chests.

In addition to the numbers used to identify the rocks, Ivan could only see all sorts of oddly shaped doors.

No wonder the vault of the deadly Bellatrix was in it, with another Horcrux, the Hufflepuff Golden Cup, placed by Voldemort in her custody.

Ivan didn't know which one it was. Fortunately, there weren't many vaults there. He tried to remember the nearby grounds and watched it carefully in front of a suspicious door. He wondered how to destroy this Horcrux....

"If you don't want to die, you'd better stay away from that door." Griphook suddenly turned and said, "The vault doors are all enchanted with a great defensive magic and curse, and only goblins can open them the right way, otherwise....

"I'm just looking at it!" Ivan explained. He really wanted to take a look, memorize the surrounding terrain and prepare to find the Horcrux later.

"I know, but I must warn you that insatiable greed does not end well," Griphook smiled unkindly. "Remember, if you want to take something that isn't yours from Gringotts, death is waiting for you. Any kind of magic arranged here is completely out of your imagination."

"Ivan is just curious. No one will be interested in that junk." Sirius said impatiently, "Come on, we'd better hurry. I don't want to spend all day in the cave."

The circular staircase zigzagged downward, seemingly endlessly, and they continued for about ten minutes, up to the edge of the stairs, then Griphook stopped suddenly.

Ivan also stopped in a hurry, and the surrounding area was dark and there was no light.

They all drew their wands. Under the dim fluorescence of their tips, Ivan saw something different from above. It should be a naturally formed cave.

There were cracks everywhere in the rock walls, and a buzzing sound was coming from the cracks.

Hoo. Hoo. hoo!

The high-pitched, raspy sound didn't stop. It was extremely strange, as if it were the screams of countless banshees.

The atmosphere was getting tense. They had just seen the dragon. No one could tell what else was there. Did these crazy goblins use the banshees to protect the vaults underground?!!

Ivan felt Hermione lean toward him, holding his hand tightly.

"What are these sounds, what's underneath?" Harry whispered.

"It's the wind!" Sirius' voice was also a little suppressed. "As for the following things, you'll know immediately. It's definitely an unpleasant scene beyond imagination. My father brought me here once 16 years ago and I never wanted to come back here again..."