Harry Potter and the Candy Factory

When the awarding ceremony concluded, the remaining time belonged to the reporters who had been waiting eagerly below the stage… The Aurors, who had been blocking them, silently retreated to the rear.

The old wizards of the Wizengamot also left the venue first, leaving Charlie Black, the protagonist, behind.

As Dumbledore was about to walk out of the venue, he suddenly paused. He turned his head and his eyes met Charlie's, who was looking in his direction.

Both of them smiled at the same time. Without saying anything, Dumbledore nodded to Charlie and turned to walk out the door.

"Mr. Black! As the recipient of the new Order of Merlin, Third Class, do you have anything to say?"

"Mr. Black! What do you think of Gilderoy Lockhart, who also received the Order of Merlin, Third Class, before you? He mentioned you in a recent interview with 'Witch Weekly' and said you almost beat him to win the Most Charming Smile Award! What do you think about that? Can you answer that?"

"Some people say that you obtained the Order of Merlin, Third Class, this time using the same method as your grandfather. Do you have anything to say about that?"

"Mr. Black! My name is Xenophilius Lovegood, editor of 'The Quibbler'. What do you think about Crumple-Horned Snorkacks…?"

… … … … …

The wizarding media, in a sense, is even stranger and more abstract than Muggle journalists.

Complex, sharp-angled questions, even those completely unrelated to the awarding ceremony, were thrown out one after another, directly hitting Charlie in the face.

He didn't even have a chance to speak for a moment, often interrupted by another question as soon as he tried to answer one.

Even Charlie, who had experienced many interviews with various newspapers and magazines, couldn't help but feel a little headache from this situation.

Finally, with the help of Fudge and the Aurors, he managed to control the scene and restore the most basic order.

… … … … … … … … … … … … …

After a long time, Charlie, who had spent a lot of effort escaping from the reporters, came to his office with Fudge.

"I thought the awarding ceremony would be a relaxing affair…"

He closed his eyes and couldn't help but pinch his temples, sincerely sighing.

"I didn't expect the most tiring part to be at the end."

Charlie was still sitting on the sofa in the Minister's office, while Fudge had returned to his seat behind his desk… seemingly deliberately keeping a distance from him.

"I thought you would take this opportunity to have me fulfill another promise I owe you."

Fudge nodded, listening to Charlie's words. At the same time, he smiled stiffly, took off his top hat, and placed it on the side of his desk.

He was not much more comfortable than Charlie at the moment. Beads of sweat were already faintly oozing from his forehead, and his once neatly combed hairstyle was a bit more disheveled than before.

"That's not urgent…"

Charlie reopened his eyes, looked at his "old friend" and revealed a familiar smile, saying unhurriedly,

"Actually, compared to that matter, I have something else that I need Minister Fudge's help with…"

For some reason, when he heard this sentence, Fudge's heart couldn't help but jump. Looking at the smile on Charlie's face, Fudge felt his mouth was a little dry. The Adam's apple on his thick neck moved.

"What… what is it?"

He took a deep breath, hesitated for a moment, and finally opened his mouth to continue asking Charlie.

"I plan to expand the scale of the Charlie's Chocolate Factory."

Charlie didn't beat around the bush with Fudge and said it directly.

His tone was casual, as if he was talking about something too small to be small, a light feeling that even made Fudge feel like he had misheard.

Fudge couldn't help but widen his eyes, looking at Charlie in disbelief. Caught off guard, he even stuttered slightly as he spoke.

"You… what did you just say!? Charlie's Chocolate Factory is going to expand? I don't think I misheard!"

The expansion of Charlie's Chocolate Factory was undoubtedly a great thing for him, and could even be called a political achievement. Because the expansion of scale represents more jobs, and the increase in jobs also represents an increase in social satisfaction…

Whether it is the Muggle government or the wizarding government, the issues that need to be considered in this regard are the same, nothing more than these few situations.

Originally, Fudge had also considered this issue and persuaded Charlie Black to increase the scale of his factory. But in the end, he regrettably gave up because of the special nature of Charlie's factory.

However, he didn't expect that this time Charlie would actually propose this suggestion to him in person, how could he not be surprised for a moment?

"You didn't mishear."

Seeming to have anticipated Fudge's state, Charlie's smile remained unchanged, and he nodded calmly.

"That's really a big deal!… So what do you want me to do? Or rather, is there anything I can do to help you?"

Looking at Charlie nodding and confirming again, Fudge's heart beat even faster. His eyes flashed with light, and even his originally stiff smile became kind again, and he hurriedly continued to ask.

However, facing Fudge's kind attitude, Charlie did not immediately make his request to the other party, but changed the subject and began to talk about another matter that seemed completely unrelated.

"When I was in the American wizarding world, I met a great guy… His name is Old Mueller, and he is one of my business partners."

Fudge listened to Charlie's words and couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, feeling inexplicably confused, but thinking about what the other party had just said to him, he still patiently listened.

"Old Mueller is a very remarkable person. He is not a wizard, or rather, he is a Squib living in the wizarding world, but he has completed many things that wizards cannot do through his own efforts… His experience told me one thing: Even in the wizarding world, there are many things that only wizards can do."

Speaking of this, Fudge's gaze towards Charlie changed again, and the eagerness in his expression slowly disappeared. His brows furrowed slightly, as if he had a bad premonition.

Sure enough, in the next moment, Charlie said his true intention.

"This time, I will not recruit wizards into my factory. But those Muggles who have close ties with the magic world… and Squibs."

.