Evening, November 28

Gringotts Wizarding Bank

Kai had been quite busy for the last three days.

Most of the time he had spent underground, walking, racing, and falling through the many tunnels specifically for the guards' use. Even though the High Guard had told him that his duty was to kill the rats, the training protocols required him to do all that the other wizards were supposed to do.

The abyss below the bank was a damp, dark mass of black, stony walls and horrors.

The thing that had made Kai furious beyond measure was that Snaglok had not warned him about the significance of the Vault Numbers. Nobody talked to him, but that didn't mean he had forgotten how to listen.

Monstrous things are guarding the Vault as one goes deeper into the abyss, Kai had heard one wizard say with unknown pride. There are dragons, giant crabs, enormous rats, and even sphinxes guarding those Vaults.

Kai's breathing had already lost its rhythm when the dragon was mentioned.

How the hell will I bypass all the wizards and the magical creatures at the same time? he had asked himself. Not to mention, the Blood Prophecy still lingered like a gluttonous monster at the back of his mind, ready to devour him at a single instance of negligence.

Now, Kai was getting a hang of the Blood Prophecy after repeating it many times.

There was no true limitation of time, though it didn't let him see much farther. It focused on Random Encounter, which, by all means, was bound to result in some unfortunate event in case Kai hadn't known about it beforehand.

So, the highest priority for him in the last three days wasn't to marvel at the terrifying vistas below the Gringotts, but to prepare himself in case Snaglok just happened to decide to fuck him up.

For that, Kai had to go out into the muggle world.

Being a squib, the High Guard, though reluctantly, had ordered a wizard to take Kai out of the Diagon Alley via Leaky Cauldron. It had been a simple thing to ditch the wizard at the pub and then go outside on his own. The moment Kai made sure that no one was spying on him, he had gone down to the sewers where he had stashed his stolen muggle money, for just in case scenarios.

Guns weren't the things Kai would buy, he had decided. First, he wouldn't have time to practice with them. Second, he had never used them.

What Kai was looking for was something that would be as effective on the wizards as the muggles. Which would be easiest and fastest to use, to give him enough time to steal the egg and just teleport right after.

What was the thing that the wizards share with the muggles?

They are all humans, so they have the same senses, he had answered himself. Well, wizards' senses are more heightened, a thing I can use to my advantage.

After buying what he wanted, Kai returned to the Gringotts.

A glance exchanged between him and the goblin, Snaglok, told him that the attack on the Vault would most likely happen tonight.

So, Kai had spent the next few hours going through all the nook and cranny of his plan and all the actions he would take repeatedly in his mind. The High Guard was not pleased about his lack of focus in the afternoon, Kai could tell.

Well, fuck him! Kai cursed, kicking a rat, sending it to fall off a cliff.

"Good," the recruit, Solanky, said. "You are already training yourself for your job. Well, you can do that later. There is no shortage of rats. The High Guard has ordered us to go to the deeper vaults to familiarize ourselves. Let's go."

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Kai's eyes widened upon hearing the order. He couldn't help but relate it to the glance he had shared with Snaglok.

Is it just a coincidence? Kai asked himself. If we go to the deeper vaults now, then the first to react to any attack would be us too, no matter if we are a bunch of recruits led by the High Guard for training. Is the attack happening tonight because Snaglok already knew about it? Then, doesn't that mean…

Kai's eyes narrowed menacingly at the fact he had just concluded.

When he saw the High Guard standing tall over the High Goblin, his eyes became even narrower.

"Get in," the High Guard, Mr. Gilson, ordered the three recruits. The other recruit, Baken, was chatting with Sord. They were laughing, jesting at each other, complaining about the cart's one-speed-limit.

"Where are we going?" Kai asked Sord.

Baken and Solanky scowled at Kai but didn't interfere. "Deeper than Vault No. 700," Sord replied, not unkindly. "Even you should know why only fools think of robbing Gringotts vaults, I guess. Mr. Gilson has requested the High Goblin to oversee the recruits' training for the deeper vaults. There are dangers there only he can handle."

Kai gulped.

There were two carts. Mr. Gilson and the High Goblin were in one, along with their cart operator. The rest were in the second one, packed shoulder to shoulder.

Kai said nothing during the rest of the ride.

Then they passed through the waterfall which could disable all disguises and charms upon passing under it. Sord's eyes went to all faces one by one. Only then did he nod to himself. As the rest of the wizards dried themselves with magic, Sord used his wand to help Kai. He was aware of the judging glances around him, but a sudden bright red-orange flash caught their attention.

ROAR!

Kai's mind shook, hearing that deafening roar.

He couldn't help but think of the time when they were hovering in the sky using brooms just outside the boundaries of Dufftown during his Initiation Mission. He had heard this type of bellowing cry then too. The cart was going up and down unimaginably fast, but even that couldn't stop him from scooching over its side and taking a peek.

A searing wave of heat hit Kai's face as a massive cloud of fire passed by his head, disappearing into the far oblivion.

Sord pulled Kai back with a jerk. "Do you have a death wish, squib?" he snapped, concernedly.

The carts slowed down and, finally, Kai saw the most desperate and overwhelming scene of his life.

It was an enormous Dragon. Metallic gray, its wingspan could have blanketed the entire Gringotts' ceiling, Kai could tell. It was bipedal, and even from afar, Kai could see the wrath infused in those two huge red eyes.

When it roared out pillars of flame, its steel-like scales flashed silver-black.

Kai's chest throbbed. His every cell was pulsing with raw hunger and thirst. For Power.

"Ukrainian Ironbelly," Sord told them, as they approached the High Guard. "It's the largest dragon species in the world. It guards the vaults in this row."

Kai was half-listening, half-contemplating.

His hand kept rubbing his chest as he thought about killing everyone here and getting that thing for himself. Dozens of scenarios passed by his mind, but he couldn't find a way to just devour the beast before dying himself first.

"Only goblins with clankers can handle this beast," the High Guard said. "So, never approach them by yourself."

The High Goblin nodded at the end of Mr. Gilson's warning and took out a magical device that made a drumming noise when the goblin shook them. The dragon wreathed manically, flapping its wings, and cowered in one corner. Kai found it amazing how this little thing could have such a profound effect on such a powerful beast.

"We have trained the beast to expect pain at the noise." The High Goblin spoke for the first time. "With this in hand, goblins can approach a vault safely," he said. "Here, pass it through among yourselves to have a feel for it, just in case you ever have to use it."

None of them was approaching the dragon, Kai noticed.

The High Goblin passed the device to Sord, who didn't hold it even for a moment and gave it to the recruits. Both wizards kept drumming the device, much to the dismay of the dragon.

Even the Ghost Serpent was getting agitated by the tumultuousness of the emotions he was going through.

Suddenly, the two recruits passed the device back to Sord.

"Uh," Kai approached Sord meekly. "Can I have a look at it too?"

Behind him, Baken and Solanky sneered. "OK," Sord nodded. "Don't stop drumming it, though."

Kai nodded in return. But the moment he touched the clanker, he almost forgot to shake it. The notification was even more unexpected than the dragon's presence.

…

[

Congratulations Kai Stormborn on finding an Artifact…

Artifact: Clanker from the Harry Potter World's main storyline

]

…

Artifact?! Kai's heart was in his throat. How the hell am I supposed to have it for 1 minute?