Harry Potter and the Candy Factory

Inside Charlie's hotel room,

A flash of light appeared, and the figure that had quietly disappeared returned, enveloped in a faint wisp of smoke.

He looked up at the clock on the wall, the hands pointing precisely to four o'clock.

"Four hours…" Charlie murmured to himself, the smile on his lips finally becoming more genuine.

The stone that had been weighing on his chest seemed to vanish along with the Blind Pig Bar, now reduced to ruins.

As for Dab's leg… Charlie hadn't bothered to bring it back; it was burned to ashes along with that filthy place…

After all, even if he had brought it back, it couldn't be reattached. It was better to just let go of that memory and leave it at that particular point in time.

That way, the past would truly be past, and the hope represented by the pixie could continue to move forward.

As for the chain reaction that his actions might cause, that was no longer Charlie's concern… He had already given Fudge twenty-five thousand Galleons, and Fudge knew what to do.

He shook his head, feeling slightly tired, his eyelids drooping slightly, and then he couldn't help but yawn.

He slowly took off his black trench coat, then took out his wand and cast a "Cleaning Charm" on it.

After thoroughly removing the heavy smoke and traces, he finally put it away with a flash of the ring.

With a "thump," Charlie fell headfirst onto the soft bed, not even bothering to take off his shirt and pants. In a state of unprecedented relaxation, he drifted off to sleep.

… … … … … … … … … … … … …

The next day, when Charlie woke up groggily, it was already half-past nine in the morning.

He changed out of his rumpled clothes and took out a pre-prepared set of clothes from his ring.

Standing in front of the mirror, after checking that everything was neat and tidy, Charlie finally nodded in satisfaction and set off for Peter Muller's company.

… …

The office building where Old Muller and his employees were located did not belong to him. To be precise, they rented one of the floors as their office space.

Apart from the office area where the Mullers were located, the rest of the office building was used by Muggles.

It was hard to believe that they could actually hide among the Muggles without anyone noticing, as if they were not wizards at all, but truly belonged to this ordinary American society, one of the millions of Muggles around them.

"Good morning, Mr. Black!"

As Black strolled into the office area, Old Muller's quirky and cheerful voice came from ahead once again.

"Morning, Mr. Muller."

Charlie smiled and nodded at Muller, who was holding two cups of coffee, then responded.

“Hahahaha, today is a good day, don’t you think, Mr. Black?”

Muller always seemed so cheerful. He laughed, not with the polite smile that Black offered, but with a genuine grin that revealed his pearly white teeth.

However, before Charlie could answer his question, he raised the two cups of coffee in his hand slightly, then raised an eyebrow, gesturing to Charlie.

"Come on! Let's go to my office; I've prepared some coffee for you."

After saying that, he stepped forward energetically, turning to lead him to his office.

Charlie was slightly taken aback, and then the smile on his face couldn't help but grow a bit, seemingly influenced by the happiness radiating from this quirky old man. At that moment, his mood couldn't help but become more relaxed.

The two quickly passed through the outer office area and entered the office.

When Charlie came in, Andre was already sitting inside.

In front of Andre was also a cup of coffee, and next to the coffee was a square paper box.

Charlie recognized the box; it was the packaging specially prepared by his factory for trial products.

At that moment, there was no doubt that the contents were the product for opening up the American wizarding market—the liqueur-filled Icy Plum Sweets!

"Actually, I secretly opened the box and ate a few before you came."

Muller handed the coffee to Charlie, then pulled out a chair and invited him to sit down.

After Charlie sat down, Muller also plopped back into his chair and continued.

"How should I put it… … …"

He put down the coffee in his hand, then frowned slightly, as if pondering something.

However, before long, Muller's brow suddenly smoothed out, and even his eyes sparkled.

"—This is simply the best candy I've ever eaten!!!"

He said excitedly, slamming his thick palm heavily on the table with a "bang," causing the coffee on the table to ripple slightly.

"Compared to this! Those local products in the American wizarding world! They can't even be called candy!! They're like… they're like chemically synthesized industrial products. This is completely a dimensional strike!"

As Muller spoke, his face and neck flushed red again.

It could be seen that he was not deliberately flattering Charlie, but genuinely expressing his most direct feelings.

Even Andre didn't think there was anything wrong with Muller's words. He nodded in agreement, echoing him.

"Especially the idea of injecting liquor into the candy is simply a miracle. Compared to it, those American candies I've eaten before really seem like inferior products. 【】"

Charlie took a deep breath, facing the two's attitude with a calm smile.

He gently picked up the coffee cup on the table, his eyes still shining, never changing.

"Thank you for your recognition of our products… This is just the first product. If this candy can successfully open up this untapped market as a stepping stone and make Charlie's Candy famous… then I think this is just the beginning of our cooperation."

As he said that, he lowered his gaze and drank his coffee, giving the two of them time to react and think.

Muller and Andre were first stunned, and then turned to look at each other, seeing each other's surprise and excitement in each other's eyes…

"Then… let me first talk about our marketing plan for this candy!"

After all, Muller was much more mature than Andre. Although he had already heard Charlie's hint, he quickly suppressed the excitement in his heart.

He understood that these were all future considerations. If he really wanted to win the general agency rights for Charlie's Candy in the American wizarding world, then the sales plan for the upcoming Icy Plum Sweets was the most important thing!

Standing up and loosening his tie a bit, Muller's expression became a bit more serious, and he officially began the discussion.

… … … … … … … … … … … … …

“Ding-ling-ling-ling.”

The familiar sound of the doorbell rang in the Magic Emporium.

However, Katie behind the counter didn't bother to pay attention.

He lowered his head, intently flipping through a Muggle fashion magazine, and casually said,

“Sorry, dear customer, Katie's Magic Emporium isn't open yet. Please come back after midnight~”

However, the visitor didn't leave because of his words. With a somewhat hoarse voice, he directly asked,

“Have you read the morning newspaper?”

“Huh?”

Katie's hand, which was turning a page, paused slightly at the sound.

Gu Yan

His eyes flickered for a moment, and then he raised his head to look at the person in front of him.

The visitor was Tust… …

He was still wearing the same clothes from last night. It was obvious that since returning to the Major Crimes Investigation Division of the Magical Congress, he hadn't had a moment to spare. In addition to receiving various calls and inquiries from his superiors, he also had to lead a group of people to search for clues everywhere… …

As a result, the traces of being smoked and scorched on his body hadn't yet had time to be cleaned, making him look even more disheveled on top of his already tired appearance.

“Isn't this Officer Tust… … Why, why do you have time to visit my little shop? I remember the money I owed… … I paid it last week… …

Obviously, Katie knew him. The moment he heard the voice, he had already confirmed the other party's identity.

At this moment, he smiled, while looking at Tust, and quietly closed the Muggle magazine, putting it under the counter.

However, Tust didn't pay attention to Katie's question. He took out a cigarette from his pocket and put it in his mouth.

“I'll have a smoke… … You don't mind, do you?”

His lips moved, and then he glanced at Katie, asking without any sincerity.

“Of course, I don't mind… …” Katie's smile was a little forced, but he still nodded and quickly replied.

“Snap.”

A flame sparked on the cigarette, lighting it.

Tust took a deep puff, then slowly exhaled the turbid smoke.

Quietly watching the white smoke disappear into thin air, he then continued,

“Around two o'clock this morning, the Blind Pig Bar was destroyed… … Including the owner, Fields, we found a total of forty-eight charred corpses in the ruins of the Blind Pig Bar.”

Speaking of this, Tust paused, then turned his head, his sharp eyes staring straight at Katie.

Hearing the other party's words, Katie's heart jumped.

He instantly recalled the strange customer from last night, and the words he had said to himself before leaving… …

For a moment, an ominous premonition surged from his heart.

Even so, on the surface, Katie still didn't reveal anything. His smile disappeared, his expression was confused with a hint of fear, and he exclaimed.

“Oh my god! How many years has it been since the American magical world has encountered such a big case? It's terrible… … I have to close the door before going to bed these days.”

Tust's gaze still didn't move away from Katie. He took another puff of smoke, squinted his eyes, and continued,

“We found a wand broken in two at the scene.”

As he spoke, he reached into his pocket, took out the transparent evidence bag containing the wand, and shook it at Katie.

Sure enough! ! ! !

Katie cried out inwardly, unable to help but inhale a breath of cold air into his lungs, and his brain quickly began to calculate.

“This is an unregistered wand… … In the entire American magical world, not many people can get this.”

With a meaningful look in his eyes, Tust walked forward with the evidence bag while saying this, and finally stopped two meters away from the other party.

He faced Katie directly and slapped the evidence bag on the counter with a "snap" sound.

“Do you recognize it?”

Pointing to the broken wand with his chin, Tust asked directly without wasting any more words.

“I recognize it! ! ”

Katie's eyes changed several times, and finally he nodded readily.

“I got this from a wand maker who claimed to be from Texas. It cost me thirty Galleons. It's a cheap item… …”

Katie's aura was obviously weaker, and he said in a low voice with his head down.

A gleam of light flashed in Tust's eyes, and his expression relaxed a little, revealing a "just as I thought" look.

“You sold it?”

“Yes… …” Katie said quite honestly and cooperatively.

“It was bought a few days ago… …”

“What did the buyer look like?” Tust immediately continued to ask.

“I don't know… …”

Katie lowered his head, looked at the two-section wand, and shook his head.

“Don't know?” Tust was stunned for a moment, then raised his eyebrows.

“You also understand… … What kind of people come here to buy things.”

Katie quickly raised his head, looked at Tust again, and explained in a low voice.

“Most of those people don't show their faces… … After all, it's safer.”

Tust frowned slightly, without speaking, seemingly thinking about something.

After a long time, he continued to ask,

“What about the voice?”

“Uh… …” Katie also frowned, he closed his eyes, pretending to be thinking hard, and after thinking for a while, he described with a somewhat uncertain tone,

“A little hoarse, and a little deep… … Sounds like over sixty years old… … Of course, I don't know if he was disguising his voice.”

“Tsk… …”

Tust clicked his tongue softly, took the cigarette from his mouth, and pressed it on Katie's counter, extinguishing it.

“Let's leave it at that for now… …”

He then said,

“Since you have admitted that you sold the thing, then come with me… …”

“Ah?”

Katie was a little dumbfounded when he heard this.

“Go… … Go? But, officer, my business is with Officer Mbappé… …”

“Mbappé?” Tust smiled contemptuously, interrupting Katie before he could finish speaking.

“Do you think Mbappé will be useful in such a big matter? Let me tell you, the investigation order was issued directly from the council, all the way smoothly to the Major Crimes Investigation Division office… … Anyone involved in this matter, no matter who they are, will be arrested first.”

Katie's eyes widened, and his originally heavily made-up face was a little purple due to the sudden news.

After a long while, he finally squeezed out a sentence quietly.

“Then can I ask a question… …”

“Say it.” At this time, Tust had already turned around unhurriedly and began to look at the goods in Katie's shop, responding casually.

“When the time comes… … Are you going to put me in a male prison… or a female prison?”