Category:Dragons

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Creature profile
Dragon
Ministry of Magic Classification	XXXXX
Appearance	winged, body covered with scales
Known specimens	Norbert, dragons in the first task of the Triwizard Tournament
First appearance in canon	Diagon Alley (PS) (mention), Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback (PS) (seen)

The dragon is a famous magical creature found throughout the world. The different dragon breeds all have different shapes, sizes and types of abilities or powers. Despite their contrasting traits, they are all given a XXXXX rating from the Ministry of Magic, as they can all be extremely dangerous, and most will attack without provocation and even prey on humans. Dragons should therefore only be approached by trained wizards. Females are generally larger and more aggressive than males (FBAZ).

Dragon blood, claw, dung, egg shells, flesh, heart, hide, horn, liver, and milk all have magical properties and are used as artefacts, potion ingredients, wand cores, protective materials or for healing (FBAZ). An inflated dragon bladder was used in the medieval game of Stichstock (QA2).

Contents 1 Dragon breeds 2 Regulation and Preservation 3 Dragons in the series 3.1 Norberta 3.2 The Triwizard Tournament 3.3 Escape from Gringotts

Dragon breeds

There are ten different dragon breeds:

• Antipodean Opaleye—the only breed from Oceania
• Chinese Fireball—the only oriental breed
• Common Welsh Green—a relatively peaceful breed
• Hebridean Black—a black, medium-sized breed
• Hungarian Horntail—the most dangerous breed
• Norwegian Ridgeback—a rare black breed
• Peruvian Vipertooth—the smallest, swiftest breed
• Romanian Longhorn—a rare breed with valuable horns
• Swedish Short-Snout—a beautiful blue breed
• Ukrainian Ironbelly—the largest breed

Interbreeding is possible but rare (FBAZ).

Regulation and Preservation

Dragons pose a great problem for the magical community as they are hard to hide and require a large territory. All dragon populations are therefore controlled and dragon eggs are Class A Non-Tradeable Goods. While some dragon breeds, like the Peruvian Vipertooth, are so prosperous (and dangerous) that they have to be culled at times, others, like the Romanian Longhorn, are endangered species which have to be protected. There are dragon reservations all around the world; the largest is the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary founded by Harvey Ridgebit, where dragonologists from all over the world study dragons at close range (FBAZ, WM). Charlie Weasley is one of them (PS6).

In Britain, the Dragon Research and Restraint Bureau at the Beast Division of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures is responsible for handling and studying dragons. The bureau's research is not limited to British dragons; when Newt Scamander worked there, he went on numerous research trips abroad (FBa). Britain also has a reservation for Common Welsh Greens, while the MacFusty family has taken over responsibility for the management of the Hebridean Black population (FBAZ).

Dragons in the series

Norberta

Full article: Norberta

Hagrid has a faible for dragons. He acquires a dragon egg in the beginning of 1992 and raises the baby dragon that hatches—"Norbert", a Norwegian Ridgeback (who is really a female and later called Norberta, DH7)—until Charlie Weasley takes it to the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary (PS14).

The Triwizard Tournament

Full article: First Task

In the first task of the Triwizard Tournament of 1994, the champions each have to get past a nesting mother dragon to fetch the golden egg placed between the real eggs. The four dragons—a Swedish Short-Snout, a Chinese Fireball, a Common Welsh Green and a Ukranian Ironbelly—are imported from the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary for the task. Charlie Weasley shows them to Hagrid and Madame Maxime (and unknowingly to Harry) the night three days before the task. Igor Karkaroff also sees them (GF19). Harry tells the Hufflepuff champion Cedric Diggory about the dragons while both visiting headmasters tell their students, so every champion knows the task beforehand and has time to prepare. Cedric has to face the Chinese Fireball, Fleur Delacour the Welsh Green, Viktor Krum the Swedish Short-Snout and Harry the Hungarian Horntail. All champions successfully get past their dragon (GF20).

Escape from Gringotts

It is a long-standing rumour that Gringotts uses dragons to guard high-security vaults (PS5). This is confirmed when Harry Potter, Ron Weasley Hermione Granger and Griphook break into Bellatrix Lestrange's vault, which is guarded by a huge dragon that is half-blind from its long imprisonment under the earth and badly scarred with pale, flaky scales. It is tethered with heavy cuffs and chains. To control it, the Gringotts goblins use Clankers—small metal objects that produce a loud noise that reminds the dragon of swords and punishments. The dragon retreats on the sound of the Clankers to let Ron, Harry, Hermione, Griphook and Bogrod, a Gringotts goblin under the Imperius curse, pass. When the Trio flees from the vault, Harry releases the dragon and climbs onto its back, followed by Ron and Hermione. As soon as the creature realises that it is free, it fights its way out of Gringotts, blasting away ceilings and walls with Hermione's aid. Then it flies off (DH26). It does not seem to realise that it carries three people on its back. When the dragon flies over a lake, the Trio jumps off of its back into the water. They can see it land on a distant bank to drink some water (DH27).