Clankers

Clankers
Object information
Location	Gringotts Wizarding Bank
Manufacturer	Unknown, possibly Gringotts
Made	c. 1998
Usage	Wards off dragons that are guarding high-security vaults in Gringotts
Owners	Gringotts Wizarding Bank

"Ron passed the bag to Griphook and the goblin pulled out a number of small metal instruments that when shaken made a loud ringing noise like miniature hammers on anvils."

— Description

Clankers, also known as Goblin Noise Makers, were magical items which made a loud noise when shaken, which were used in Gringotts Wizarding Bank. They were small objects kept in leather bags.

History

Ron Weasley with a Clanker to keep the dragon at bay

They were used in high-security Gringotts vaults to ward off the dragons guarding them. The dragons had been "trained" to expect pain whenever they hear the sounds produced by the Clankers, causing them to retreat from the source, and so flee the vault that they are guarding when they hear the sound. They are used by the goblin employees at Gringotts in order to access certain vaults.

On 1 May 1998, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Griphook, and Bogrod (who was Imperiused at the time) used the Clankers to ward off the dragon guarding the Lestrange Vault, in order to get to the Horcrux inside. Hermione Granger personally considered the use of clankers to control dragons to be "barbaric".

During the Calamity of the late 2010s and early 2020s, clankers were turned into Foundables, which volunteer members of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force had to deal with.

Behind the scenes

• In LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7, a bull is used to scare away the dragon instead of clankers.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (video game)
• Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
• Harry Potter: Magic Awakened (Mentioned in History of Magic classes)