Dragons are creatures with nearly unlimited life spans. They can survive for long periods of time, and no one has found a dragon that has died of old age. Adolescence is usually marked by the growth of a hatchling's wings, although not all breeds of dragons grow wings and some breeds have other traits that indicate the beginning of maturation. Once they hit adolescence, hatchlings change quickly, maturing to their full forms in only 2 years.

Dragons don't communicate with each other verbally, but they will growl to scare off predators and frighten prey. Young dragons will emit an extremely high-pitched squeal when they are frightened. To communicate, they use telepathy with each other and to speak to other creatures.

Black dragons are warriors. They are strong and capable in battles of force, but also ample magic users, capable of devastating opponents with their spells. Their bright eyes give them excellent night vision, which is why they generally hunt during the night.

Red China used to be bullied by Harry, but recently she has been showing independence.  Red is a kind, unselfish dragon, but when one dragon is putting another down (the receiver of such behavior is usually Joe DiMaggio) she will lose all sense of humor, and lash out at the bully.  Harry and Red have gotten a few things straight, now that Red's combat skills have grown to match the larger red dragon's, and both dragons have grown a little from it.