Harry Potter and the Candy Factory

“The Philosopher's Stone, as an alchemical creation, is both a success and a failure.”

“Its success lies in its immense power and the magic it holds to grant immortality… while its failure stems from the fact that, as the pinnacle of modern alchemy, it can only serve a tiny fraction of people.”

Nicolas Flamel spoke softly, his words leaving Charlie utterly speechless.

“When I think that the knowledge within my mind will vanish with my life, I can't help but ask myself… have I truly contributed anything to this magical world I love so dearly?”

Suddenly, his eyes narrowed, seemingly filled with melancholy, as if lamenting his impending demise… After a moment of silence, he finally revealed his true intention.

“I've heard that in Muggle history, there was a First Industrial Revolution, a Second Industrial Revolution, and a Third Industrial Revolution… I want to know, before I die, whether I can truly ignite a revolution that will propel the entire magical world forward.”

With that, Nicolas Flamel turned his head, his gaze fixed on Charlie with solemn earnestness. “This task is undoubtedly arduous, but its emergence will be like a cataclysmic tidal wave in this stagnant pool that has been still for centuries.”

“Now, Charlie, I want to ask you… are you willing to help me, to detonate this pool of stagnant water with me?”

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“Madness!”

At this moment, Charlie could not think of any other word to describe Nicolas Flamel's actions. ♬ ♦     ♦ ♧ But he had to admit… if it was Nicolas Flamel, then this matter might actually be possible!!

After all, he was the alchemist who had successfully created the Philosopher's Stone… Six hundred years, the knowledge and techniques accumulated from the thirteenth century to the present, became a powerful support for the realization of all delusions!!

“Glug… … … … ”

Charlie unconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

He looked at the old man before him, whose heroic spirit and energy were not at all like his gaunt appearance. He seemed to have been inspired by him without realizing it. Just as Charlie faced Nicolas Flamel's resolute gaze, his heart pounding violently, about to agree— — — — the light in Nicolas Flamel's eyes was suddenly retracted back into his deep eye sockets, as if everything was just Charlie Black's illusion, whether it was the alchemical item placed here, or the other party's eloquent speech just now… … … …

“You don't need to agree so quickly…”

Nicolas Flamel smiled kindly, gently waving his hand. The ground beneath their feet began to stretch and move like rubber, carrying them out of the room they had only entered a few minutes ago, and sending them back to the burning fireplace, next to the two sofas.

On the coffee table between the sofas, the spout of the large-bellied white porcelain teapot was still spewing out hot air with the scent of chrysanthemums, and the firewood in the fireplace was still crackling under the burning flames… Everything was exactly the same as when they had just left.

“After all, I've lived for such a long time, so I'm not in a hurry.”

Nicolas Flamel slumped back into the sofa, and the teapot beside him poured him a cup of chamomile tea, which was also delivered to his hand.

He found a comfortable position in the sofa, looked up, and gently closed his eyes.

“Tomorrow then… If you decide you want to agree to my request, then I'll give you a day to arrange your affairs, from your factory to your friends and family… This is destined not to be a short process. Once you've arranged everything, come here again, 51 Montmorency Street—the door here will always be open for you, no matter when.”

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When Charlie walked out of the two-story stone building, the sun had already sunk more than halfway below the horizon. The once extremely bustling Montmorency Street, crowded with tourists, had also become bustling, with only a few foreign-dressed people enthusiastically picking out something in front of the stalls.

Even now, Charlie still felt his head was a bit of a mess. He even vaguely forgot how he had just walked out of the room. He only remembered Nicolas Flamel's sentence, “Detonate this pool of stagnant water,” and that huge alchemical item that was three or four meters tall. Under the light of these two things, even the Philosopher's Stone seemed a little dim for a while.

Slowly pacing down the stone steps full of the ravages of time, the ring on his hand shimmered, taking back the heavy gray linen wizard robe into the space, and replacing it with a comfortable and close-fitting down jacket.

Looking at the buildings with elongated shadows, the mixed red light sprinkled all over the streets and alleys, Charlie's spirit finally became clear again with the gusts of cold wind whistling in his ears.

He shook his head, and slowly exhaled a breath, watching the turbid breath with the scent of daisies in his mouth rise into steam as it encountered the cold wind, Charlie grinned suddenly.

“That's really strange, this feeling is like being hit by the Imperius Curse… Although I've never been hit before.”

Saying that, Charlie shook his head, slowed down his pace, and walked towards the intersection along the long street.

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Just after Charlie left, next to the window on the second floor of the stone building, watching Charlie Black's back as he walked into the distance, Nicolas Flamel smiled, slowly retracted his gaze, and his gaunt figure walked back to his sofa with light steps, and sat down with a thud.

Picking up the white porcelain teacup, he no longer savored it as he had just done, but drank a large gulp with a “glug glug”. Then he comfortably exhaled a long breath.

It just so happened that Perenelle came up from the first floor at this moment. Looking at her husband's performance, she couldn't help but stop at the stairs, her eyes widening in surprise, and asked

“What? Did Charlie just agree to you?”

Nicolas Flamel sent the cup away casually, and saw it suddenly expand like a balloon, swaying in mid-air, falling downwards. The coffee table also moved a few times in a timely manner, shifting its position so that it could just fall on itself.

“No!” he said cheerfully. “Charlie originally wanted to agree, but I blocked his words back and told him to think about it carefully and tell me tomorrow.”

[Seriously, I have been using the Huanyuan app to read books and follow updates recently. It has source switching, multiple reading tones, and both Android and Apple are available.]

Perenelle paced over, sat down on the other sofa, her brows furrowed slightly, seemingly with a bit of doubt and incomprehension, and asked again

“Haven't you been mentioning to me every day these past few days that you hoped that kid would come sooner? As a result, when he really came, you turned around and blocked him back.”

“Hey! You don't understand, it's just playing hard to get… Moreover, he will definitely come tomorrow.”