"Harry, surely you don't mean..."
Hermione had guessed how Harry planned to deal with the dragon before them.
"It can't be helped. We have no way to subdue a dragon. If we want to get through here and safely reach the Lestrange family vault, we'll have to kill it."
Ron, who had taken Liquid Luck with them, had finally caught up with their train of thought.
"Letting it go is still better than keeping it trapped here forever. If it were me, I'd rather die than be stuck in this hellhole."
"Come to think of it, it should be thanking us for setting it free."
The conversation between Harry and the other two left Griphook utterly stunned. It was as though the fearsome dragon blocking their path was not a dragon at all, but a bug they could crush at any moment.
Before Griphook had fully processed it, Harry had already raised his wand, stepped out sharply from behind the corner, and fired an utterly ordinary-looking stream of Devil's Fire at the dragon opposite them.
Over the past few months, Harry had used Devil's Fire countless times and understood its terror well. When it collided with the dragon's flames, it began to infect and devour the dragonfire, even carrying those flames back toward the dragon and completely engulfing it.
A shrill scream echoed through the chamber, making Griphook's face turn deathly pale as he watched. He had already guessed how Harry and the others intended to open the Lestrange family vault.
"That's... Devil's Fire!" Griphook's voice trembled.
It could not be helped. The incident in which the Malfoy family had been consumed by Devil's Fire had been far too famous. Almost no one failed to recognize that evil Dark magic.
"Don't worry. We can control it."
As soon as Harry