Harry Potter: Charlie and the Candy Factory

"etc."

A Muggle who was about to take a sip of wine suddenly seemed to think of something, and his mind became a little clearer.

He put his glass, which was still half full of beer, back on the table. He looked at the drooping brow standing behind the bar counter with his drunken eyes that looked a little dazed from drinking too much beer.

The bartender concentrated on wiping his glass, as if all the noisy atmosphere around him had nothing to do with him.

He licked his lips, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke anxiously.

"I... don't seem to have any coins from your wizarding world... Or do you accept pounds here?"

As soon as these words came out, a few Muggles who were drinking happily nearby also woke up a little bit.

Only then did I remember that the currency issued by the British Muggle government seemed to be of little use in this world full of wizards.

So they all quickly stopped what they were doing and looked at Old Tom, waiting for the other party's answer.

Old Tom paused in wiping the cup and did not raise his head. Instead, he spoke unhurriedly in his hoarse voice that seemed to be born with him.

"Drink with confidence! Charlie Black came to see me specifically yesterday. He will cover the expenses of all Muggles who come to the Leaky Cauldron to drink today."

It wasn't until the end of his speech that a somewhat happy expression could be vaguely seen on Old Tom's wrinkled face.

You know, this is a big deal.

Since early this morning, there have been more than twenty new faces, including Muggles and Squibs, who have come to the Leaky Cauldron.

These Muggles seem to have a high enthusiasm for things from the wizarding world. They don't mind tasting these alcoholic drinks that are more rough than those in modern cities, and they can also interact with some wizard regulars in the Leaky Cauldron.

They quickly became one and formed a very cheerful atmosphere.

After all, this is the Leaky Cauldron, and its main target audience is ordinary wizards from the middle and lower classes of the wizarding world. Most of them are Muggle wizards and mixed-blood wizards, so the news published in the newspaper reflects

His attitude was just one of surprise, but not as disgusting and protesting as the upper-level leaders.

This is also the reason why Charlie specially gathered these Muggles who have probably never had formal contact with the wizarding world in their lives and have only heard of its existence from their children or partners...

Sure enough, after hearing what Old Tom said, everyone couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief, and then, a wanton smile began to appear on their slightly blushing faces.

"Salute to Mr. Charlie Black!!"

A Muggle who was obviously a little drunk stood up directly, raised the huge wine glass with one hand, pulled off the tie that was originally tied around his neck with the other hand, and shouted loudly.

His words were quickly responded to. With the same purpose in mind, the guys who completely let go of their minds raised their cups high above their heads and collided with each other in the air.

Ignoring the drops of amber hops caused by the trembling movements, they sprinkled on the originally neat suit, leaving faint traces.

"Salute to Mr. Charlie Black!!!"

For a time, such voices echoed one after another in this small bar, which was not that big. Even the wizards, in their drunken state, were inspired by their hearts and cheered loudly.

There was a faint smile on Old Tom's face. He put the wiped cup back in its original place, raised his head, and looked around. Instead of continuing to wipe the remaining things as usual, he put his hands on his hips.

, quietly watching his tavern turn into a gathering of Charlie Black followers.

I couldn't help but sigh in my heart... I remember when I met that boy, how old was he?

His memory is not very good. If it weren't for his inspiration, Old Tom wouldn't even be able to compare this name with the one in his long-lasting memory who was wearing a Slytherin school uniform, with his smooth black hair combed back into a meticulous back, and his eyes were arrogant and rebellious.

The boy matched up.

He only remembered that it was a time when Voldemort's power had not yet reached its peak, when the conflict between pure-blood wizards and Muggle wizards had not been so huge...

It was around summer vacation, on an extremely ordinary day, that Charlie Black walked in with a little wizard who also had long black hair.

They were holding a stick in their hand...but it wasn't a wand. (Probably because it was summer vacation, so they couldn't use magic outside of school)

After coming in, he overturned a round table without saying a word. Then, before anyone could react, he raised the stick high in his hand and mercilessly moved towards the drunken man sitting next to the round table.

Four teenagers of the same age waved away.

After a severe beating, and after confirming that all four of them had fallen to the ground and could not get up again, he and the other little wizard Youyouran put away the weapons in their hands, and calmly tidied themselves up in full view of everyone.

Wearing expensive clothes.

Then he squinted his eyes, walked up to Old Tom quite formally, threw down a small bag of Galleons, and said

"This is the money used to pay for the table and the things I accidentally broke just now, plus the cost of cleaning up. If it's not enough, go to the Black family and ask for it. Just give me my name, Charlie Black!"

After saying that, he took his friend and walked out of the Leaky Cauldron Bar without looking back, leaving only him, the customers looking at each other, and the four little guys lying on the ground, still wailing faintly...

Just when Old Tom was immersed in this long-standing memory and thinking quietly, a sound suddenly came from the door, breaking his thoughts again.

"Dingling bell..."

The doorbell of the Leaky Cauldron rang, indicating that another customer was about to enter.

Immediately afterwards, the door opened, and before anyone could react, a round figure ran directly in. Then with a heavy "thud" sound, it slid a few meters and lay on the floor.

The originally noisy atmosphere suddenly became quiet for a moment because of the new arrival.

But after the quiet, more noisy sounds came.

The drunken wizards all squinted their eyes, grinned widely, shook their heads and laughed without hesitation, "Look! Another Muggle friend is here!!!"

"Welcome to the world's best wizarding bar - the Leaky Cauldron!!"

"Hurry up! Newcomers, hurry up and order a nice beer from Old Tom, and then cheer for your future boss, Mr. Charlie Black!!"

Sounds of various tones and dialects poured into Dursley's ears, causing him to fall down unexpectedly and his mind, which was already a little dazed, became even more confused.

In confusion, he slowly raised his head, subconsciously opened his eyes, and began to look around at everything around him.

An unreasonable feeling of panic flooded into his heart again, making his heart beat a few minutes faster.

Wizards, all you see are wizards... They are all just like those in the TV series, wearing strange cloaks, with weird and evil smiles on their faces, looking at themselves with evil intentions, as if they are watching a

Experimental mice...

Out of fear in his heart, the bloated body lying on the ground bounced up with a "whoosh" sound.

Before he had time to dust himself off, he quickly took two steps back, subconsciously blocked his hands in front of him, and sat in a defensive posture, with a pair of eyes watching those "nothings" with vigilance.

Wizards with good intentions.

"Don't... don't be nervous, brother. They are all our friends!"

Just as Dursley was alerting everyone around him and taking steps to retreat towards the door, a sudden voice came from the crowd.

A man in a suit like him, holding a wine glass swayingly, passed through the round tables filled with wizards and squeezed in front of Dursley.

Before he could say anything, he grabbed his shoulder and said vaguely with his mouth that smelled of alcohol.

"First meeting...nice to meet you! My name is Andrew."

Dursley was so choked by the smell of alcohol in his mouth that he moved his head back calmly.

Although he didn't want to talk to the other party, out of politeness and the fact that the other party might be his future companion, Dursley still responded patiently and calmly.

"Nice to meet you, Vernon Dursley."

"Look...this is Louis, that is Gianna, friends, hiccup, they are all friends!"

As he spoke, he reluctantly stretched out his hand and pointed at the wizards Zhenghuan he had just chatted with.

The wizards were also very considerate and grinned. Although they didn't say anything, they raised the wine glasses in their hands and greeted the two of them.

"Are you crazy?" Dursley listened to his words, his eyebrows almost raised above his head, and he asked in disbelief.

"Have you made friends with those wizards?"

His voice is not soft. In this bar, no matter upstairs or downstairs, as long as you want to hear everything, you can hear everything clearly.

But no one paid attention to these people. After hearing it, they just laughed it off, whispered a few words to their companions, and ignored them.

After all, since the beginning, many Muggles have already walked in here... Although most of them immediately expressed their goodwill because of their relatives, there were also a very few who were like Dursley.

, the first impression of wizards still has a lot of stereotypes.

But so what? In almost ten minutes, they collapsed in front of the counter, and like others, joined today's special carnival, drinking wine, smoking cigarettes, and truly integrated into this

The wizarding world is completely opposite to Muggle society.

"Pfft!" Andrew, who was leaning on Dursley, couldn't help but sneer, and then slowly raised his head, squinting his eyes and looking up and down at Dursley's fat face.

"Then you came here anyway? Why, it's hard to make money in pounds in London, England, so you have no choice but to come to Charlie's Candy Factory to earn some galleons?"

Facing the other party's question, Dursley's face turned a little red.

"That, that's different! I'm here to..."

His tone took on a tough tone, as if he wanted to defend something. But before he could speak, he was interrupted by Andrew again.

He waved his hand indiscriminately to stop Dursley from continuing, then turned around and shouted loudly to Old Tom who was watching the excitement at the counter.

"Mr. Bartender! This guy is so drunk that he's talking nonsense! Come on, he needs a pint of beer to sober up!!"

As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere that had been quiet due to Dursley's entry became climax again.

Not only Andrew, but also several Muggles who had drunk a lot of alcohol walked out of the crowd. Without waiting for Dursley to refuse, they all grabbed his clothes and led him towards the bar counter.

It was hard to reject the warm hospitality. Although Dursley was still resisting in his heart, he finally did not show any strong rejection. Looking at the lively crowd around him and the muggles and wizards chatting happily, for some reason, he felt something in his heart.

A wonderful feeling.

"Okay, okay! I'll go with you! But be careful, don't pull my tie. This tie was a wedding anniversary gift from my wife to me. If it weren't for the interview, I would never bring it with me.

A place like a bar!”

As he spoke, Dursley reluctantly took a few steps forward, and finally, with half a push and half a step, he arrived at the counter.

At this moment, Old Tom had already picked up a glass of beer and placed it in front of him. He didn't say anything, he just smiled and raised his chin, indicating that it was for him.

"...Okay, thank you." Dursley licked his lips and looked at the large wooden beer glass. The amber wine still had some white foam rising. Even before he took his mouth, he could guess it.

It's really refreshing.

No middle-aged man can refuse a glass of cold beer in this atmosphere, even if the beer comes from a wizard, but at this moment, it doesn't matter so much.

Taking a deep breath, Dursley stretched out his fat palm and grabbed the handle of the beer glass.

And just this simple action instantly caused a wave of cheers from everyone.

"drink!!"

"drink!!"

"drink!!"

The rising and falling sounds became unified and rhythmic. At this moment, Dursley became the protagonist among them.

It seemed that even he himself didn't realize it, and an uncontrollable smile hung on his fat face.

"Okay! Okay!"

He raised his glass, turned around, and gestured to everyone.

Then, under the gaze of everyone, he raised his head, opened his mouth, and let the beer pour down into his mouth.

"Gudong... Gudong..."

As Dursley's Adam's apple began to rise and fall, the huge glass of beer began to gradually become smaller.

Finally, under everyone's gaze, the last drop of wine in the beer glass entered his mouth.

With a sound of "Peng!!!", the beer glass was hit hard on the counter. The force was so strong that Old Tom couldn't help but feel sorry for his antique.

"Hiccup!!!!" A loud and long burp came out of Dursley's mouth and resounded throughout the bar.

Until then, his vigilant eyes had completely disappeared, and his eyes looked brighter than ever.

“Delicious! Have another drink!!!”