Harry Potter and the Candy Factory

“Ding-dong…”

“Ding-dong…”

“Ding-dong…”

The deep and drawn-out chimes of the clock echoed throughout the grounds of Hogwarts as the time gradually approached noon. Google Search Read

Spreading from the deep corridors like ripples, it reached the classroom, finally entering Professor Binns' ears.

Professor Binns paused, his voice stopping abruptly.

He slowly raised his head, looking down at the students below the podium, the expression on his face softening slightly. The stiffness of his lecture, even the tone of his voice, was unusually tinged with a hint of fluctuation, as he said:

“That's the time, I should end the class.”

Having said that, he ignored everything else, and with a "thump," he closed the thick lesson plan, which was as transparent as his own body, and then tucked it under his arm.

Immediately afterwards, under Hermione's somewhat regretful gaze, he slowly floated upwards, easily passing through the classroom ceiling, disappearing to who knows where.

“Ah~~”

Just then, Ron, who had been sleeping soundly for almost a whole class, also woke up.

He squinted his eyes happily, the expression on his face undisguisedly revealing a sense of satisfaction.

It could be seen that, with the help of Professor Binns' "lullaby", Ron had enjoyed the best sleep he had had in recent days.

The atmosphere was quiet, the temperature was pleasant, and the warm sunlight shone between his back and the ends of his hair, creating an indescribable sense of comfort.

To be honest, this was the first time he had experienced the fun of History of Magic class… If possible, he wouldn't mind Professor Binns teaching for another ten minutes, to bring this sleep to a perfect conclusion.

“You know what? I heard that Professor Binns and Nearly Headless Nick always like to have parties in some deserted room on the third floor… If you can find the room where they are having a party at midnight and join them, Nick will give you lots of violet sweets as a gift.”

Stretching out a long lazy stretch, causing the bones all over his body to realign with soft "crack crack crack" sounds, Ron turned his head to look at Hermione, saying unexpectedly.

Hermione's state at this moment was as if she was reading a story that had been cut off at the most crucial point, so her mood naturally couldn't be good.

Facing Ron, who came to provoke her at this time, she packed up her pen and the notes she had just taken, frowned, glared fiercely at him, and then asked:

“Where did you hear this rumor from again?”

“Fred told me.”

Ron straightened his back and replied matter-of-factly.

Although the Weasley twins, as his older brothers, had teased him a lot both at home and at Hogwarts, Ron still regarded them as an important source of interesting news, and he deeply believed in what they said.

Even now, recalling the two strange stories about the Kelpie and the Sorting Hat that Fred and George had told him at the beginning of the school year, he still maintained a firm belief.

And because of this strange obsession, he had argued with Draco five or six times.

“… … … ”

Seeming to think that Ron was completely hopeless, Hermione stopped talking. After rolling her eyes, she began to pack her things on her own…

“Tch…”

On the other side of Ron, Draco, who had also heard the conversation between the two, couldn't help but curl the corner of his mouth, and then made a sound that was clearly tinged with contempt and ridicule.

This sound was like a declaration of war.

Instantly, Ron's hackles rose, and he abruptly twisted his upper body, glaring at the other party, adopting a posture as if he would pounce on him and fight to the death at the slightest disagreement.

“What are you 'tch'-ing at, Draco!”

“Nothing, just admiring your naivety.”

Draco shook his head, the smile on his lips still present, but he didn't say much. He just packed up his books and quill, and casually replied.

After all, he had now completely recognized Ron's intellectual ceiling. In Draco's opinion, instead of wasting time arguing with this idiot on some meaningless things, it would be better to do something else that was more meaningful.

So, ignoring Ron's reaction, he patted the sleeping Harry, woke him up, and then stood up from his seat.

“Hmph!”

As if in a fit of pique, Ron also grabbed his things haphazardly, tidied them up a bit, and stood up.

After deliberately letting out a heavy snort, he turned his head smartly to the other side, no longer paying attention to the annoying Draco.

… … … … … … … … … … … … …

As the end-of-class bell rang, the little wizards who should wake up also woke up, slowly walking outwards.

Harry squinted his eyes, adjusted his glasses, and hugged his things somewhat dazedly, following behind Draco.

Following the crowd surging towards the door, the four squeezed out of the classroom all the way.

However, just as they reached the door of the classroom, a familiar figure suddenly caught Harry's attention, and it made the drowsiness he had just woken up from disappear completely, turning into joy.

“Hagrid!!”

Freeing up one hand, Harry waved happily, signaling to Hagrid, who was standing in the corridor, scanning the crowd, trying to find something.

“Ah, Harry!”

Hearing the call, Hagrid's head subconsciously twisted over, and when he saw Harry, his eyes lit up, and he strode towards the direction where the four were.

In an instant, the huge body squeezed through the noisy crowd, and soon came to Harry's side.

“Hagrid, what are you doing here?”

Harry looked up, looking at the familiar and kind smile on that rugged face, and couldn't help but reveal a bit of brilliance. He blinked curiously and couldn't help but ask.

Hagrid smiled, and after greeting Hermione, Ron, and Draco, he answered Harry's question.

“Actually, I just came back from Charlie's factory…”

As soon as these words came out, before he could finish speaking, three of the four little wizards' eyes lit up instantly.

Only Hermione was somewhat clueless, just frowning strangely, scanning the expressions on her three companions' faces, and she really didn't understand why a factory could excite them to such an extent.

“Hmph… Boys.”

At this time, Ron couldn't bother to be angry with Draco, he rushed out first, came to Hagrid's front, grabbed the hem of the other's clothes with both hands. His eyes were serious, and his mouth was like a machine gun, asking questions non-stop.

“Hagrid, you went to deliver something to Mr. Charlie and came back!?

What does Mr. Charlie's factory look like? My goodness, I can't believe you actually went in…

They said that no one has ever been inside before.”

“Hehe…” Hearing the envy and excitement in Ron's voice, Hagrid puffed out his chest, rubbed his nose with his large finger, and said with pride,

“It's probably because Charlie and I have a good relationship. So I didn't encounter any obstacles. As soon as I arrived at the entrance, Russell took me in… Oh, right, Russell is Charlie's personal house-elf.”

“Then…” Ron was so excited. He wanted to ask Hagrid what he had seen in the factory, and whether Mr. Black's candy factory was really like the rumors said, with even the bricks on the ground paved with candy…

At this moment, he had a bellyful of questions he wanted to ask Hagrid thoroughly.

However, as soon as he said one word, before he could organize his words to continue asking, Draco suddenly reached out and pressed his hand on his head, pushing him aside, while squeezing past him, pushing Ron's body away, and coming in front of Hagrid.

He didn't waste any words and directly asked the question he cared about most.

“Uncle… did Uncle read my letter?”

As soon as he said this, Draco felt his heart beating even more violently.

He widened his eyes, staring intently at Hagrid's expression, his fists clenched unconsciously, pursing his lips, and waiting excitedly for a reply.

Hagrid didn't play coy with Draco and nodded readily, replying to his question immediately.

“He did.”

Seeing Draco's face starting to turn red with excitement, he quickly added,

“I happened to be in his office when Charlie was reading it. He seemed very happy and even wrote a reply, asking me to bring it back and give it to you.”

With that, Hagrid reached into his cloak pocket, rummaged around, took out a letter, and handed it to Draco.

Draco's small mouth opened slightly, and the pupils in his bright eyes trembled slightly.

“This… this is Uncle's reply to me?!”

He reached out and slowly took the letter Hagrid handed over.

He carefully looked at the envelope, at the Black family crest, which was a shield with a skull at the top, a sword-wielding hand, and three ravens arranged in a row downwards…

Draco suddenly felt that he had been working so hard for so long, striving for excellence in every subject, trying to impress every teacher, just for this moment.

Now that this letter was in his hands, it proved that all his efforts were correct, and that his achievements had received the reward they deserved.

He slowly raised his arm and held the letter in the air, staring at it intently for about a minute.

“I'm going to tell my dad…”

After a long while, Draco murmured.

“What's wrong with Draco?!”

Hermione looked at his behavior, a strange expression gradually appearing in her eyes. She turned her head, lowered her voice to Ron, and asked incredulously,

“It's just a letter… Why is Draco like… like he's been petrified?”

“Just a letter?”

Ron withdrew his envious gaze from the letter, turned his head to look at Hermione, sized her up, and then rolled his eyes.

“That has the Black family crest on it!”

After saying that, Ron blinked, turned his head again, glanced at Draco holding the letter, smacked his lips with some envy, jealousy, and resentment, and continued.

“The family crest has a very important symbolic meaning among pure-blood nobles… Although we Weasleys don't really care about it, the other twenty-seven families treat it as a sacred symbol. Imprinting one's family crest on a letter sent to others is firstly to tell everyone who sees the letter where it comes from, and secondly, to show recognition and respect for the recipient.

Now that Draco has received a letter with the family crest from Mr. Black, in a sense, it can also be said that he is treating Draco in an almost equal way, thereby expressing his approval.”

As he spoke, Ron pursed his lips, and the resentment in his eyes grew stronger.

Suddenly, he asked abruptly,

“Hermione… do you think if I start studying hard now, will Mr. Black send me a letter like that at Christmas… After all, I'm also his… great-grandson, in terms of blood?”

“That's so strange…” Hermione ignored him and automatically skipped that sentence. She muttered to herself.

“Alright… If that's the case, my mission is complete.”

Seeing that everyone's attention was all on the letter, Hagrid shrugged and said,

“I have something to do and have to go back first… If you have anything else you want to ask me, you're welcome to visit my hut when you have time. Oh, right, remember to tell me in advance, so I can prepare freshly baked rock cakes to treat you.”

After saying that, he waved goodbye to everyone and walked down the hallway in the direction of the stairs amidst their farewells.

… … … … … … … … … … … … …

“Hurry up! Draco, you should open it and see what Mr. Black said to you.”

On the way to the dining hall, Ron's enthusiasm for Mr. Black's letter had not dissipated. He squeezed next to Draco, urging him incessantly.

“What are you talking about?!”

Draco pushed Ron, who kept crowding him, away with his elbow, refusing,

“Such an important letter should of course be read at a suitable time! How can I just open it casually on the way to dinner?!”

Two steps behind them, Harry and Hermione, who were equally clueless, watched the two of them as if they were watching a show.

“When are you planning to open it, Draco?”

Harry thought for a moment and interjected.

“I should wait until I go to the library!”

Draco's eyes lit up. For a moment, he even forgot to hold his notebook and keep looking at it as usual. It was obvious that his mind was entirely focused on the letter.

“So… that's really strange enough.”

Hermione curled her lips, quickly lost interest, and turned her attention elsewhere.