Harry Potter and the Candy Factory

For an entire morning, Honeydukes was packed with customers. One group, completely satisfied, would leave with bags of candy, while another group would rush in.

And after entering, they all said pretty much the same thing, always that one sentence: "Do you have Sneezy Violets?!"

And so it went, until nearly noon, when all the bags of candy that had been restocked on the shelves yesterday were bought up, replaced by shining Sickles and Galleons. Only then did the surging crowd finally die down, giving Ambrosius and Madam Flume a short breather…

"It's unbelievable… we sold more candy this morning than we usually sell in two or three days combined!"

Behind the counter at Honeydukes, Madam Flume looked a little tired, but she couldn't hide the excitement and joy in her voice.

She slowly pulled open the drawer behind the counter where they kept the money. Inside, coins lay neatly stacked, overlapping and tightly packed, gleaming brightly, filling the already-large space to the brim.

Even just a glance was enough to make one feel invigorated, completely forgetting all fatigue…

"This is the most wonderful Christmas ever!"

Madam Flume exclaimed, taking a deep breath, then looked up at her husband, who was standing by the door, as if wanting his approval.

However, Ambrosius didn't speak, only stared at the departing customers, lost in thought.

Sweat trickled down his forehead. The breath he exhaled turned into white mist in the cold air, until it gradually dissipated…

Suddenly, Ambrosius seemed to make a decision. He slowly turned his gaze back, took a deep breath, and turned his head, focusing on the new display shelf that had been set up yesterday, marked with the GG logo for Sneezy Violets—

Now, the candy that should have been packed on the shelves was all gone, with only a few bags of unsold violet candies lying forlornly on top.

He frowned, walked silently to the shelf, and reached out to pick up a bag of candy.

After examining it carefully for a dozen seconds, Ambrosius tore open the package, took out a crystal-clear candy, and, with an unknown complex emotion, gently put it in his mouth.

The moment the Sneezy Violet touched his tongue, he closed his eyes.

He silently savored the layers of sweetness surging and dancing on his taste buds, finally sending a strange sensation straight to his brain through his nasal cavity. Although the expression on his face remained as calm as before, the turmoil in his heart made him clench the candy wrapper in his hand.

After a long time, when the candy had completely dissolved in his mouth, Ambrosius finally opened his eyes.

His eyes held a hint of undisguised frustration and sadness, yet the clarity of the violet candy's aftertaste seemed to make him understand something…

Ambrosius handed the bag of candy to Madam Flume behind the counter, then, under her surprised gaze, gave a faint, bitter smile.

He slowly shook his head and said,

"He's reached an unachievable height… No one in the world can make something comparable to it… At least, I can never create a work like this candy."

Having said that, he walked into the back of Honeydukes like a defeated rooster…

Madam Flume watched her husband open the door to the bedroom, and after entering, he slammed it shut, but she didn't stop him.

Gently stroking the coins in the drawer that were almost overflowing, the smile on her face did not fade.

In her opinion, this might not be a bad thing for Ambrosius.

After all, although accepting reality is cruel, after the cruelty, there is also the courage to face the future.

It's better than constantly competing with Charlie Black in his heart, like he used to do.

Besides, the man has never even known…

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Hogwarts

As the crisp and cheerful bell rang with the first ray of dawn, inside the Slytherin dormitory, Harry slowly opened his sleepy eyes with a comfortable expression on his face.

With the end of the incident in the Forbidden Forest that night, everything seemed to have come to a clear conclusion, allowing his study life to return to normal.

Without thrilling adventures and terrifying enemies, all that remained was the wonderful time spent with friends.

Although it was a bit bland, Harry thought it was worth cherishing…

After sitting up in bed, Harry subconsciously turned his head to look to the side, where Draco's bed was.

Originally, according to his usual habit, when Harry woke up, Draco should have been sitting on the bed, engrossed in reading the notebook that Mr. Black had given him.

However, this time, it was not the case.

At this moment, Draco's bed was empty, and even the quilt had been neatly folded and placed quietly on the head of the bed.

Harry suddenly realized that Draco had already been taken home by his parents yesterday to spend the holidays together. →

Thinking of this, Harry couldn't help but feel a little lost and envious… Lost because he couldn't spend his first Christmas at Hogwarts with his best friend.

And envious because he was now with his parents, enjoying the warmth of family.

Despite this, Harry quickly adjusted his mood. He shook his head, put on his glasses, put on his clothes, and his face returned to its usual bright smile, preparing to welcome the start of this new day.

Just then, suddenly, the dormitory door opened, and a tall, indifferent-looking boy walked in.

He looked up at Harry, who was getting dressed, nodded slightly, and greeted him politely.

"Morning, Harry."

This was Theodore Nott, his roommate.

Although like Draco, he was also from one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight families, he was not a high-profile guy, and he liked to be alone. Even people in the same dormitory found it difficult to become friends with him.

The only interaction was polite greetings…

In the beginning, Harry had also tried to take the initiative to establish a friendly relationship with him, but it wasn't very successful.

Theodore Nott's politeness and aloofness were like an ice wall, cutting off all his attempts at friendliness. He was like a lone wolf, living alone in his own world, not allowing outsiders to step in.

You should know that even in Slytherin, which doesn't have a very good reputation, a guy like him without friends is definitely an oddball.

"Morning, Theodore."

Harry nodded in response, then, as usual, casually greeted him,

"Not bad today, right?"

"Not bad."

Theodore replied briefly, then stopped talking and walked straight to his bed.

"Oh, right…"

Suddenly, he seemed to remember something, stopped, turned his head, and spoke to Harry.

"What?"

Harry looked at him with some surprise, his hand pausing as he was getting dressed.

After all, according to past practice, those two sentences were probably all the communication they'd have all day.

Even just saying one more sentence to him like this was a novelty for Harry.

"They're opening Christmas presents in the common room… I think I just saw yours."

Theodore pointed towards the dormitory door and said.

"Really!?!"

Harry's eyes immediately lit up, and the smile on his face couldn't be contained.

You should know that this was probably the first time he had formally received a Christmas present.

In the past, when he was with the Dursleys, Uncle Vernon always gave him either a fifty-pence coin, a pair of smelly socks, or even a toothpick…

"I'm going to go take a look!"

As he spoke, Harry, now excited, quickly put on his clothes, slipped on his slippers, and rushed out of the dormitory, running towards the common room.

Sure enough, in the noisy and bustling Slytherin common room, Harry immediately saw his Hedwig, standing on a stack of gifts, flapping her wings.

Seeing Harry appear, she opened her mouth and cooed a few times, as if reminding him that she was there.

"Good girl…"

Ignoring the coldness and frost that hadn't dissipated from Hedwig's body, Harry hugged her tightly, affectionately ruffled her snow-white head, and took out a handful of prepared feed to settle her down before finally eagerly looking at the gifts prepared for him.

First, the first gift that caught his eye was wrapped in layers of newspaper. Although it had become wrinkled due to the bumps along the way, it was not difficult to see that on it, in black carbon pen, were the words "Mr. Potter, Merry Christmas!"

Almost without thinking, when he saw the crooked handwriting, Harry instantly realized who had sent it.

Sure enough, when he opened the outer packaging, the contents confirmed Harry's guess.

After all, other than Dobby, no one would send him the exact same clothes as he got for his birthday—and they still didn't fit.

The second one was sent by Draco…

… … … … … … … … … … … …

And so, he opened them one by one, and soon, the gifts that had been piled high were visibly decreasing.

Although most of the gifts he received were small magical items that weren't worth much money, they were very interesting, and Harry was particularly satisfied.

Soon, before long, only two unopened gifts remained on the ground.

Harry's gaze fell on the largest of them.

"Is this… a flying broom?"

Looking at the long, slender shape tightly wrapped in colored paper and ribbon, Harry's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

He quickly brought it to his eyes, and then, in the tag clipped in the ribbon, he saw Charlie Black's name.

The handwriting signed with a fountain pen had a unique elegance, beautiful yet without losing its boldness and strength, just like his personality, so complex that it was difficult to figure out.

"Mr. Black sent it to me?!"

His originally raised heart beat even faster. His small face flushed with excitement, and he asked himself in surprise,

"How did Mr. Black know that I've always wanted a flying broom… Did Draco tell him?"

Harry had actually anticipated that Charlie Black would send a gift.

However, in his opinion, for a little wizard like himself, with whom he had little contact and had only met once or twice, Mr. Black could have just sent some candy, and that would have been enough to make him overjoyed.

But he never thought that the other party would actually buy him a flying broom!

Thinking of this, he could no longer suppress the joy in his heart and couldn't wait to open the packaging on it.

When the ribbons and colored paper were torn open, a flying broom with a perfect arc and beautiful shape appeared in front of everyone.

Whether it was the handle made of mahogany or the long and neat twigs at the tail end, everything seemed to remind Harry of the broom's superior quality.

And at its top, the part faintly shimmering with golden light, the logo "Nimbus: 2000" engraved on it, clearly indicated the identity of this flying broom!

"Harry received a Nimbus 2000!!"

Next to him, a Slytherin little wizard had originally only glanced at it casually. But when he saw the thing in Harry's hand, he immediately widened his eyes and couldn't take his eyes off it.

And with his exclamation, it was as if a certain switch had been triggered, and more little wizards gathered their gazes over.

"Is that the new broom?"

"This is this year's new model!"

"Oh my god, I want one too…"

… … … …

Listening to the constant whispers of envy in his ears, Harry swallowed. He had an unreal feeling, which made him subconsciously squeeze the shiny grip in his hand a little tighter again.

"Oh my god… If Ron knew, he'd be insanely jealous."

Shaking his head, looking at the Nimbus 2000 that he was actually holding in his hand, Harry couldn't help but exclaim.