Harry Potter: Charlie and the Candy Factory

"Albus Dumbledore! No matter what, you must give me an explanation for this matter!!!"

Compared to the lively and noisy atmosphere among the young wizards in Hogwarts, at this moment, the atmosphere in Dumbledore's principal's office has dropped to freezing point...

On the wall, in ancient picture frames, the principals were silent, and no one said anything. They all lowered their gazes in unison, looking at the man with extraordinary clothes and golden hair who was standing in the center of the principal's office.

Long haired man.

Once upon a time, they had never seen anyone dare to question the old man with white hair and beard behind the desk like this in the principal's office.

Although I don't want to admit it, in fact, in my heart, all the previous headmasters will give extremely high evaluations to Albus Dumbledore's strength and status.

You must know that the so-called "White Devil" title is not just pronounced by admirers through their mouths... It is the uncrowned crown that Albus Dumbledore has won in countless battles in the past years.

!

Even Fudge, as the Minister of Magic, could only barely keep himself at the same level when facing him, so as not to be weighed down by his aura, but he pointed at the other person's nose like this and asked him to give it.

Come up with an explanation... Even if you give Fudge ten more courages, he will definitely not dare to speak.

Looking at this scene, in the rows of portraits of the principal, Dexter, who has a long fiery red beard, seemed to have thought of something, and a somewhat awkward smile appeared in the originally silent expression on his face.

"Hey!" He couldn't help but snorted. He rolled his eyes and looked at the old enemy Phineas Black beside him. He lowered his voice as much as possible and said provocatively.

"Look, Phineas! It seems that someone more promising than your descendant has appeared...it just so happens that he also has golden hair!"

Compared to the last time, Phineas seems to be much smarter now. He was not angered by Dexter's simple words anymore. He just gave him a sharp look and then moved his eyes back again.

The two people below no longer paid attention to each other.

………………………………

Behind the desk, facing Lucius Malfoy's anger, Dumbledore did not choose to say anything more, let alone defend himself. He just sighed, shook his head, and drooped his eyelids.

He came down so that his eyes would not intersect with Lucius's angry eyes, and he silently welcomed all the other's reprimands.

After all, no matter from which angle this matter is considered, it is Hogwarts' dereliction of duty... Due to accidents and negligence, three first-year students were almost killed by the troll's wooden club.

If we hadn't just met Dabu, the consequences would have been predictable...

As the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Dumbledore must bear the main responsibility for this negligence.

And Lucius Malfoy was standing in front of him at the moment. Whether he was a member of the Hogwarts school board or a parent of a student who almost died, there was no doubt that he was qualified to issue such accusations to him.

…

The scene fell into silence again for a while... After a long time, Dumbledore pondered, slowly opened his mouth, and answered what Lucius said at the beginning.

"First of all... Malfoy, as the current headmaster of Hogwarts, I feel very guilty... because of our negligence, the young wizards studying and living here have fallen into such a dangerous situation. In some respects,

, I still have an unshirkable responsibility. Facing you as Draco's parent, I want to say sorry."

As he spoke, Dumbledore finally raised his head and looked again at Lucius Malfoy, who was staring at him like a sharp sword.

In his eyes, those sparkling blue pupils were now filled with inexplicable sadness and sadness, instead of being gentle and kind in the past.

“…”

Lucius didn't speak, he just pursed his lips, raised his head, and listened quietly to the other person's continued words.

"Secondly, I will assure you that no matter what, I will investigate the whole story clearly and give all the children who were harmed by this matter a due explanation..."

"...Albus Dumbledore"

After Dumbledore finished speaking, Lucius took a deep breath and slowly exhaled it. Although his attitude was no longer as angry as when he first questioned him, there was still an indelible feeling in his tone.

indifferent.

"Draco is my son...it also means that he will be the only successor of the Malfoy family in the future - you know if he is really seriously injured or even dies because of your negligence, then it means that

What?"

He crossed his hands in front of him, calmly pressed the head of his cane, and then crushed it hard a few times.

Before Dumbledore actually opened his mouth to answer his question, he continued what he had just said.

"It means that the Malfoy family, one of the twenty-eight pure bloods, is likely to become extinct!!!"

Lucius's voice became more and more passionate, and in the end, he almost shouted outright.

There was a sudden silence in the office again. Even the former principals on the wall subconsciously stagnated their breathing and swallowed after hearing Lucius's words.

Lucius shook his head gently, paused, and said in a deep voice

"So...you don't have to say nice things to me here. Because no matter how nice you say it, my attitude will not change at all. I can't afford the things that have threatened the Malfoy lineage.

You can't afford it either...not even the Minister of Magic can afford it!"

After the words fell, he no longer looked at Dumbledore's figure. He turned his head resolutely, waved the cloak behind him, and walked toward the door of the principal's office with his cane.

"Peng..."

"Peng..."

"Peng..."

The cane touched the thick carpet, making a muffled sound again and again. But it seemed to be a pestle in everyone's heart, causing them to rise and fall with its rhythm, making them feel quite uneasy.

With a "squeak" sound, Lucius pushed open the half-open door of the principal's office.

"I will discuss this matter with other members of the board of directors... I think you are too old to be qualified for this job."

After saying that, he left the principal's office, walked down the stairs, and gradually disappeared from Dumbledore's sight.

"Seriously... don't listen to his nonsense, Dumbledore. I've always thought you were a pretty good headmaster."

After Lucius left, Dexter was the first to speak in the office. In a rare act of thoughtfulness, he comforted Dumbledore who was sitting in the office chair.

"Yes, yes...although I am a little incompetent."

"I don't like to deal with official business..."

"I still don't always have a cool look..."

"But at least you have won so much compared to Phineas!"

"Those students like you, they love you. They respect you more than all of us, and that's enough!"

………

………

………

As Dexter opened his mouth, the rest of the principals also spoke out words of comfort. Although the effect seemed a bit unsatisfactory...

"Okay, thank you, principals. If you really want me to feel better, then please be quiet!"

Helpless, Dumbledore could only sigh again. While pinching his eyebrows, he closed his eyes and spoke to the portraits on the wall with a little tiredness.

………………………………

Lucius walked along the stairs and towards the exit of Hogwarts in the direction he came from.

From the beginning to the end, he did not go to see how his son was injured.

After quickly telling Dumbledore all this, he left in silence.

Just as he had never expressed his "love" to Draco on the surface before, this time, he had never expressed any concern for Draco on the surface...

While looking down at the road under his feet, Lucius began to think about what kind of method he should use to convince the other board members when he was waiting for the school board of directors, and to explain Dumbledore's negligence and carelessness deeply.

, in order to remove him from the position of Headmaster of Hogwarts.

Just as he was lost in thought for a moment, suddenly, a figure walked towards him without hesitation. It seemed that he had done it intentionally and stopped in front of him, blocking Lucius's original path.

This incident made Lucius pull his attention back from his thoughts.

There was a gloomy look on his face for a moment, and he was about to have an attack. When he slowly raised his head, he saw a particularly familiar face, which immediately caught his eye.

It was a handsome and profound face, with a somewhat trademark smile hanging on the corner of his mouth. Coupled with the blue eyes and golden hair on his head, it was almost unnecessary to think about it, and he subconsciously saw it.

, he called out the other party’s name.

"Charlie!?"

He blinked twice first and looked carefully at the other person's face, which was no different from his impression. After a moment, he finally confirmed that it was not his imagination.

The person standing in front of him at this moment is indeed Charlie Black - his brother-in-law.

In an instant, the voice came out, and Lucius's gloomy expression suddenly changed, turning into a bit of surprise and joy.

"Long time no see, Lucius, is everything okay?"

Charlie still smiled, nodded, and greeted softly.

Compared to Lucius' surprise, his reaction seemed very calm, as if he had already expected to meet him here.

"fine."

Lucius responded, then changed his cane from his right hand to his left hand, then patted the other person's shoulder cordially and said with a smile.

"Everything is the same as usual, there is nothing different..."

Suddenly, Lucius paused for a moment. He looked at Charlie, raised his brows slightly, as if he had thought of something, and couldn't help but ask.

"By the way Charlie...why are you here?"

"Me..."

Charlie still smiled, and then continued in the same tone as before

"Principal Dumbledore wrote to me, hoping that I could come over..."

………………………………

Without wasting too much time with Lucius, Charlie quickly arrived at the door of Dumbledore's office.

"Knock knock knock..."

I knocked gently on the office door, and everything was as it was before, nothing changed.

In the office, Dumbledore's voice, which was still noisy and comforting, suddenly stopped when there was a knock on the door.

In an instant, all eyes turned away again, converging from Dumbledore to the door.

"Please come in."

Dumbledore also opened his eyes again and spoke softly.

As Dumbledore finished speaking, the next second, the door to the principal's office opened, and Charlie's figure appeared in front of him.

"Good afternoon, Headmaster Dumbledore."

Charlie said and walked in. Ignoring the many complicated looks on the wall, he closed the door skillfully and walked to the front of the desk.

"Oh my god...what kind of day is today!?"

Dexter's face showed a bit of emotion. He stroked his beard randomly and said dryly. However, I am afraid only he can know the meaning of it.

"Ha... I guess it's a good day. Because I get to see my wonderful child again."

Phineas sneered, the expression on his face was somewhat soothing, with a rare softness and kindness. He looked at this outstanding heir from the Black family and said nothing more.

"Ah...you're here, Charlie."

With the appearance of Charlie, Dumbledore's original fatigue finally disappeared.

A smile appeared on his face again, and he nodded towards Charlie.

"I just met Lucius on the road...his face didn't look very good."

When he came in front of his old principal, Charlie was no longer polite. He chatted casually with the other party, then found the chair placed in the corner and moved it to the front of the desk.

He raised his head and looked at Dumbledore's face at this time.

"It's because of the troll thing..."

Dumbledore did not hide anything from his most outstanding student. As he spoke, he leaned down and skillfully took out two candies from the drawer of his desk.

He put one in his mouth and the other in front of Charlie.

"That's it..."

There was a slight change in Charlie's eyes...but he still didn't say anything more, just nodded.

"Then why you called me here this time is because..."

He reached out and carefully took the candy from Dumbledore's hand, but instead of eating it immediately, he asked the other party why he called him here this time.

"No……"

However, what he didn't expect was that Dumbledore shook his head.

"The main reason I asked you to come this time is because of this——"

As he spoke, Dumbledore slowly took out something from the pocket of his robe, placed it gently on his desk, and showed it to Charlie.

It was a hollow ball about the size of a palm. It was the one Dumbledore picked up from the rubble under the troll that day...