Harry Potter and the Candy Factory

Clearly, at the nighttime gathering, Charlie Black was undoubtedly the center of attention.

Just as Muller said, it was indeed a private party limited to "friends," so the number of attendees wasn't large.

Counting the female companions brought by these wealthy merchants, there were only about thirty people.

The gathering took place in Muller's home, in the luxurious villa's hall, which was brightly lit when the banquet began.

Everyone was dressed appropriately, as if deliberately imitating the gentlemen of the British magical world. At first glance, Charlie couldn't help but feel a bit dazed, as if he were still in England.

Charlie moved through the crowd, attracting conversation wherever he went.

The wealthy merchants raised their glasses, their faces bearing restrained smiles, and, linking arms with their female companions, they gave Charlie a slight nod. Then they began a bit of small talk. After exhausting the topics of small talk, they finally got to the point, offering their identities and business cards...

By the end of the banquet, Charlie had accumulated more than a dozen business cards.

These business cards spanned various industries, from light industry to magical items, from clothing to magical brooms. Almost every owner was a leading figure in the American magical world.

Muller didn't let Charlie leave after the banquet ended. Since it was so late, he simply stopped him, warmly inviting Charlie to stay, and even instructed a maid to quickly clean up a guest room. Unable to refuse such hospitality, Charlie could only nod in agreement.

With a "whoosh," as he returned to the room Muller had prepared for him, the expression on Charlie's face relaxed.

His brain, which had been tense for who knows how long, could finally relax.

Without hesitation, he took off his clothes, washed up, and went straight for the large bed.

Lying on the soft bed, looking at the exquisite reliefs carved on the ceiling above, depicting some unknown story, and the luxurious crystal chandelier, Charlie had only one thought in his mind.

"Alright, it's all over..."

At that moment, his whole body relaxed. His brain, which had been running at high intensity for nearly two days, could finally get a moment's rest.

Just like that, Charlie closed his eyes. The moment his eyelids closed, he fell into a deep sleep.

...........................

Back in England, at Charlie's factory.

Tonight, Russell, unusually, wasn't handling the usual official duties. Instead, he and Lane had climbed to the highest point of the factory roof.

The deep night seemed particularly quiet. The mist that had originally covered the sky seemed to have been blown away, allowing the brilliant stars and moon to reappear before everyone's eyes.

Unfortunately, people didn't seem to pay attention to the beautiful scenery above their heads. They were busy with work, and after work, busy with life, not even able to spare the time to raise their faces and glance at the sky.

Leaving only Russell and Lane, at this moment, to have it all to themselves.

"Seriously... Russell wants to apologize to you."

Feeling the night wind blowing across his cheeks, making his large ears tremble slightly, Russell spoke.

He looked at Lane, who was slowly lighting a cigarette beside him, and said sincerely.

"Hmm?"

Lane, holding the cigarette, paused his fingers just as he was about to put it in his mouth.

Turning his head to look at Russell, he raised his eyebrows.

The expression on his face was no longer the decisive and confident one from this morning, but had returned to his hopelessly lazy demeanor.

"Apologize, apologize for what?" Lane's voice was relaxed, even his words were slow, as if he couldn't muster any strength.

It seemed that once he confirmed that nothing had happened to Charlie, nothing in this world could make him feel urgent anymore.

"At the time, Russell presumptuously believed that he could handle anything, that even if Master Charlie wasn't around, I could manage the entire factory in an orderly manner, without any accidents, providing Mr. Charlie with the most stable rear."

Russell looked a little sad, his head drooping, even his ears, which were trembling slightly in the wind, shrunk up a bit.

"So when Master Charlie told Russell that you were coming to replace Mr. Charlie, to be honest, I actually... had a strange resistance. Even if it was only for a few days, to be honest, I felt like I couldn't bear it. That's why I expressed hostility when you first came, talking to you like that."

Lane's raised eyebrows lowered again, thoughtfully nodding, no longer looking at the other party, but looking up at the sky.

The cigarette filter was placed in his mouth, and with a deep breath, the spark at the top gradually spread, burning the tobacco inside.

"Whoosh..." White smoke billowed from his mouth, Lane's eyes narrowed, making his already lazy expression even thicker.

For a moment, the atmosphere became quiet again. Russell didn't continue, and Lane didn't speak either. Only the sound of the night wind was still telling everyone that this story wasn't on mute.

"Actually, you weren't wrong." After a long time, Lane took the cigarette away from his mouth, and then responded.

"The factory didn't have any problems, and you did everything you were supposed to do. What happened today wasn't within the scope of what you should be considering. Otherwise... why would Charlie call me here?"

The corners of Lane's mouth curled up in a smile, and even his eyes had a different look.

"And just like I told you in the beginning... I agree with your point of view, Charlie Black is irreplaceable by anyone."

He reached out and skillfully patted Russell's shoulder to show affection and comfort.

Although compared to Lane's size, Russell was a little too thin, this sudden move almost made him stumble...

"You were just stating a fact, there's no need to apologize to me for that."

Hearing these words, Russell suddenly raised his head in surprise, his large eyes looking up at Lane's profile.

The slightly dim look in his eyes rose again, with a bit of joy. Even his drooping ears perked up again.

Most little elves' thoughts are like this, particularly easy to guess. Simple-minded, they simply don't conceal their emotions as complexly as humans do. They laugh when they're happy, and cry when they're sad. It seems that as soon as you look at them, you know what they're thinking.

"Thank you, Lane! You're such a good person!!"

He suddenly tumbled up from the roof, shouting happily in a slightly shrill voice.

Then he reached out, imitating Lane's appearance just now, and stood up to pat the other's shoulder.

Lane didn't stop him, his eyes curved, and he continued to pick up the cigarette and take a deep puff.

… … … … … …

"Actually… Russell has something else he wants to ask you. Of course, if you don't want to answer, just pretend Russell didn't say anything."

After Russell finished being happy and sat down again, he cautiously said.

"What?" Ryan replied casually.

"You weren't originally called Ryan… were you?"

Russell's voice was extremely solemn when he asked this question.

He carefully observed the other person's expression. As soon as the other person showed any unwillingness, he would immediately change the subject and laugh it off.

Originally, he didn't want to ask this… After all, as a servant of Master Charlie, the first thing to do was to maintain the attitude of a servant.

Although Charlie didn't usually care about these things, Russell had always strictly adhered to them, even vaguely showing a desire to model himself after Kreacher in the Black family's ancestral home.

However, thinking of Ryan's expression this morning, his attitude, and the confidence and composure he exuded after his change from the past.

At that moment, Russell even thought it was the master who had drunk Polyjuice Potion! He was too curious, his curiosity was itching…

So, after returning from the Ministry of Magic, he couldn't wait to rummage through his room for a long time, and found a copy of the Black family's family history.

Before asking this question, he already had his own answer, and now all he needed was confirmation.

Ryan's fingers trembled slightly, and a few inexplicable and complex expressions appeared in his originally narrowed eyes.

He seemed to be reminiscing, but there was also some kind of struggle faintly emerging between his brows.

Russell couldn't help but regret it, wondering why he had asked this.

So he hurriedly opened his mouth, intending to say something else to gloss over this matter, when suddenly—Ryan nodded.

"Yes…"

The complexity in his expression disappeared completely, as if it had never appeared, and he regained his original calmness, admitting readily as if answering an ordinary question.

"Regulus Black."

He softly uttered this extremely unfamiliar yet extremely familiar name.

Although there was still no change in his expression, his chest showed some slight fluctuations.

Although he had guessed a lot, Russell's heart still couldn't help but surge when this name was truly confirmed and spoken from Ryan's mouth.

"So, so you—" He felt his mouth was a little dry, and he stammered as he continued to speak.

"Didn't die." Ryan laughed, smiling quite brightly.

If it weren't for the stubble on his face, then this smile would have been even brighter… Russell subconsciously thought.

At this moment, the cigarette in his hand had been burned to the end, the tobacco had burned out, and the sparks were dimming.

He simply pressed the remaining bit of cigarette against the roof, and after completely extinguishing the sparks on it, he raised his arm high and threw it forcefully into the distance.

Watching the cigarette remains draw a beautiful arc in the air and finally fall down, Ryan also breathed a deep sigh of relief, as if relieved of a heavy burden.

"I've kept this secret for so many years… No one knows except Charlie. Even my brother would never have thought that I'm actually still alive."

Ryan stood up, stretched lazily, and then changed his gaze from the moon in the sky to looking into the distance.

"You are the third—besides me and Charlie, the third person to know about this."

Russell was a little dazed, he looked up at the tall figure, speechless for a moment.

"Do you know why I told you?"

Ryan continued to speak without caring whether the other party responded.

Russell widened his eyes and shook his head subconsciously.

"Because, I believe that even if the whole world… including me, betrayed Charlie, then you would be the last guy standing by his side, so you deserve my trust."

Listening to Ryan's words, his eyes couldn't help but blink, as if he had received some supreme affirmation, Russell followed suit and bounced up, his face flushed, nodding vigorously, and incomparably agreeing with the other party's words at this moment.

"And…" However, Ryan hadn't finished speaking, he closed his eyes and stopped paying attention to the night view in front of him.

"I also want to find someone to confide in… Keeping a secret in my heart for more than ten years is really not a good thing."

Since that night, Russell's favorability towards Ryan increased rapidly, and he suddenly replaced Harry Potter, becoming the second favorite human in his heart.

… … … … … … … … … … … … …

Time passed quickly. Originally, Charlie had booked a trip of about fourteen days, but thanks to the active cooperation of various forces in the American wizarding world, it was shortened to ten days.

Finally, with Charlie's satisfied nod, Andre and Muller officially signed a complete contract with Charlie, bringing the specific distribution plan for the sale of liqueur-filled ice plum candies in the American region.

At the same time, it also meant that Charlie's trip to the American wizarding world was finally coming to an end…

Standing in front of the Portkey leading to England in the Magical Congress, Charlie put on his black trench coat again, just like when he came.

Just as he was about to put his hand on the Portkey, suddenly, a voice came from behind, causing his movements to pause slightly.

"protegodiabolic!"

Charlie was stunned for a moment, then turned around and looked back.

He saw that the female Auror named Seraphina Stewart was standing not far away, wearing casual sportswear and looking at him. It seemed that she was not working now…

"Hello…"

Seeing Charlie turn his head, Seraphina smiled and waved to greet him.

"Why are you here?" Charlie couldn't help but raise his eyebrows in surprise.

"I still don't understand—" Seraphina walked a few steps closer and asked mysteriously in a low voice.

"Look, you're about to leave now, can you answer the question I asked you in the interrogation room before."

Hearing these words, Charlie smiled dumbly, and after pondering for a moment, he also lowered his voice and said to Seraphina.

"Next time—when you get to my territory, I'll answer this sensitive question for you."

After speaking, without waiting for the other party to react, he stretched out his hand and went straight to the Portkey.

With a "Swish!" Charlie disappeared, leaving only Seraphina, who, after a moment of stunned silence, kicked the brick wall next to her in anger.

.