Harry Potter and the Candy Factory

Chapter 142: A Toast to Mr. Charlie Black (Happy Children's Day)

“Wait a minute.”

A Muggle, about to gulp down a mouthful of beer, suddenly seemed to realize something, his mind clearing slightly.

He placed his glass, still half-full of beer, back on the table, and with eyes that seemed drowsy from too much beer, he looked towards the bartender behind the bar, who was drooping his eyebrows and concentrating on wiping glasses, as if the noisy atmosphere around him had nothing to do with him.

He licked his lips, hesitated for a moment, and then cautiously said,

“I… I don’t seem to have any of your wizarding currency… or do you accept pounds here?”

As soon as these words came out, several Muggles who had been drinking happily beside him also sobered up a bit.

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

So they quickly stopped what they were doing and looked at Old Tom, waiting for his reply.

Old Tom paused in his wiping of the glass, without raising his head, and said slowly in his naturally hoarse voice.

“Drink without worry! Charlie Black came to see me specifically yesterday. He will cover all expenses for Muggles drinking at the Leaky Cauldron today.”

Only when he spoke the last words, could a hint of pleasant expression be vaguely seen on Old Tom's wrinkled face.

You should know that this is a big business.

Since early this morning, the Muggles or Squibs who have come to the Leaky Cauldron, these new faces, have already exceeded twenty people.

These Muggles seem to have a high enthusiasm for things from the wizarding world, not minding tasting these cruder alcoholic beverages compared to modern cities, and they can quickly integrate with some of the wizard regulars in the Leaky Cauldron, forming an extremely cheerful atmosphere.

After all, this is the Leaky Cauldron. The main target service group is the ordinary wizards of the lower and middle class in the wizarding world. Most of them are Muggle-born wizards and half-blood wizards, so their attitude towards the news published in the newspapers is only surprise, and they will not be as disgusted and protested as the upper leaders.

This is also why Charlie specifically gathered these Muggles here, who probably have never formally come into contact with the wizarding world in their lives, only hearing about its existence from their children or partners…

Sure enough, after hearing Old Tom's words, everyone couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief first, and then, with slightly flushed faces, they began to show unrestrained smiles.

“A toast to Mr. Charlie Black!!”

A Muggle, who was obviously already a bit excited from drinking, stood up directly, raising a large wine glass in one hand and tearing off the tie that was originally tied around his neck with the other, shouting loudly.

His words were quickly echoed, and one by one, the guys who had completely let go of their minds for the same purpose raised their glasses over their heads and clinked them in the air.

Ignoring the amber-colored wine splashes caused by the trembling movements, which sprinkled on the originally neat suits, dyeing them with faint marks.

“A toast to Mr. Charlie Black!!!!”

For a time, such sounds rose and fell in this not-so-large small bar, and even those wizards, in a drunken state, were touched in their hearts and also shouted loudly along with them.

Old Tom had a faint smile on his face. He put the wiped glass back in its place, raised his head, and looked around. Instead of continuing to wipe the remaining things as usual, he put his hands on his hips and quietly watched his tavern become a gathering place for Charlie Black's believers.

He couldn't help but sigh in his heart… How old was that boy when he saw him?

His memory is not very good. If it weren't for a feeling, Old Tom wouldn't even be able to match this name with the boy in his distant impression who was wearing a Slytherin school uniform, combing his smooth black hair into a meticulous slicked-back hairstyle, with arrogant and rebellious eyes.

He only remembers that it was when Voldemort's power had not yet reached its peak, when the contradiction between pure-blood wizards and Muggle-born wizards was not so great…

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

Holding a stick in his hand… but not a wand. (Probably because it was summer vacation, so they had no way to use magic outside of school)

After entering, without saying a word, he overturned a round table. Then, before anyone could react, he raised the stick in his hand high and swung it mercilessly at the four teenagers of the same age who were drinking drunkenly beside the round table.

After a violent beating, after confirming that all four people were lying on the ground and could no longer get up, he and another little wizard leisurely put away the murder weapon in their hands, and unhurriedly tidied up the expensive clothes on their bodies under the gaze of the crowd.

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

“This is the money to compensate for that table and the things that were accidentally broken just now, plus the cleaning fee. If it’s not enough, go to the Black family, just mention my name, Charlie Black!”

After speaking, he left the Leaky Cauldron with his friend, without looking back, leaving only him and the customers looking at each other. As well as the four little guys lying on the ground, still faintly wailing…

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

“Ding-a-ling…”

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

Then, the door opened, and a round figure suddenly crashed in before everyone could react, and then, accompanied by a heavy thud, slid a few meters and lay on the floor.

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

But after the silence, what followed was an even more chaotic sound.

One by one, the wizards who were already staggering from drinking squinted their eyes, grinned, and shook their heads without hesitation, laughing, “Look! Another Muggle friend has come here!!!”

“Welcome to the best wizarding pub in the world—the Leaky Cauldron!!”

“Hurry! Newcomer, quickly order a delicious beer from Old Tom, and then cheer for your future boss, Mr. Charlie Black!!”

All kinds of voices with different tones and dialects poured into Dursley's ears, making him, who had already tripped and fallen unexpectedly, and whose mind was a little dizzy, even more confused.

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

A sense of inexplicable panic surged into his heart again, making his heart beat faster.

Wizards, everywhere he looked were wizards... Each one looked like they were straight out of a TV show, wearing strange cloaks, their faces filled with eerie and evil smiles, staring at him with ill intentions, as if he were a lab rat...

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

Before he could even pat off the dust that had just stuck to him, he quickly took two steps back, subconsciously raised his hands in front of him, assumed a defensive posture, and stared warily at those "ill-intentioned" wizards with a hint of alertness in his eyes.

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

Just as Dursley was cautiously observing everything around him and taking steps towards the door, a voice suddenly came from the crowd.

A man in a suit, just like him, staggered over with a wine glass in his hand, squeezed through the round tables full of wizards, and reached Dursley.

Before he could say anything, he hooked his arm around Dursley's shoulder and mumbled with his mouth reeking of strong alcohol.

"Nice to meet you... for the first time! I'm Andrew."

Dursley was overwhelmed by the alcohol fumes from his mouth and moved his head back imperceptibly.

Although he didn't want to pay attention to the other party, out of politeness, and because the other party might be his future companion, Dursley still patiently responded with a lukewarm sentence.

"Nice to meet you, Vernon Dursley."

"Look... this is Louis, that is Gianna, friends, hic, all friends!"

As he spoke, he勉强 stretched out his hand and pointed to several wizards who had been chatting happily with him.

Those wizards were also very obliging, grinning and smiling, and although they didn't say anything, they raised their glasses to greet the two of them.

"Are you crazy?" Dursley listened to his words, his eyebrows almost reaching his hairline, and asked in disbelief.

"You made friends with those wizards?"

His voice was not soft, and in this bar, whether upstairs or downstairs, anyone who wanted to hear could hear clearly.

But no one cared about these things, after hearing it, they just smiled and whispered a few words to their companions, and then ignored it.

After all, from the very beginning, many Muggles had already entered here... Although most of them immediately expressed their goodwill because of their relatives, there were also a very small number who, like Dursley, still had many stereotypes about wizards in their first impression.

But so what? In almost less than ten minutes, they collapsed in front of the counter, and like the others, joined in the special carnival today, drinking, smoking, and truly integrating into this wizarding world that was completely opposite to Muggle society.

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

"So you still came here? What's wrong, is it hard to earn British pounds in London, so you have no choice but to come to the Charlie's Chocolate Factory to earn some Galleons?"

Faced with the other party's question, Dursley's face flushed slightly.

"That, that's different! I came here for..."

His tone took on a bit of a tough color, as if he wanted to argue something. But before he could speak, he was interrupted by Andrew.

He waved his hand randomly, stopping Dursley from continuing, then turned his head and shouted loudly at old Tom, who was watching the fun at the counter.

"Bartender! This guy is so drunk that he's starting to talk nonsense! Hurry, he needs a pint of beer to sober up!!"

As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere, which had been a little quieter because of Dursley's entry, returned to its climax.

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

It was difficult to refuse the enthusiasm, and although Dursley still had resistance in his heart, he didn't show any strong refusal after all. Looking at the lively crowd around him, and the Muggles and wizards who were chatting happily, for some reason, a wonderful feeling arose in his heart.

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

As he spoke, Dursley's unwilling steps gradually opened up a bit, and finally, half-pushed and half-embraced, he came to the counter.

At this moment, old Tom had already poured a glass of beer and placed it in front of him. He didn't say anything, just raised his chin with a smile, indicating that it was for him.

"...Okay, thank you." Dursley licked his lips, looking at the amber beer in the large wooden beer glass, still with some white foam. Even before it entered his mouth, he could guess that it was really refreshing.

No middle-aged man could refuse a glass of iced beer in this atmosphere, even if this beer came from a wizard, but at this moment, it was not so important.

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 the crowd.

"Drink!!"

"Drink!!"

"Drink!!"

The overlapping voices became unified and rhythmic. At this moment, Dursley became the protagonist among them.

It seemed that even he himself did not realize that an uncontrollable smile hung on his face piled with fat.

"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 into his mouth.

"Glug... glug..."

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

Finally, under the watchful eyes of everyone, the last drop of wine in the beer glass entered his mouth.

With a "Bang!!!", the beer glass was heavily smashed on the counter, the force of which made old Tom feel a little distressed about his antique.

"Hic!!!!!" A loud and long hiccup gushed out of Dursley's mouth, resounding throughout the bar.

At this time, his wary eyes had disappeared completely, and his eyes seemed brighter than ever.

"Delicious! Another one!!!"