Harry Potter and the Candy Factory

Chapter 144: Next Stop, the Candy Factory (Happy Children's Day)

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The revelry continued from day to night, and from night until midnight.

It wasn't until the early hours of the morning that the wizards, thoroughly satisfied with their drinking, staggered out of the Leaky Cauldron and returned home via fireplace or other means.

As for the remaining Muggles, they were sent directly to the second floor, grouped into sets of a few people, and stuffed into the rooms of the Leaky Cauldron to begin their rest.

The cost of using the rooms was, of course, entirely borne by Charlie Black, providing a truly considerate, all-in-one service…

The night deepened, and the second floor was filled with thunderous snores, accompanied by the strong smell of alcohol and the sounds of vomiting, making one hesitant to go up there casually.

Old Tom skillfully picked up a broom and a rag, silently cleaning up the wreckage of the "battlefield" under the dim light.

After all, he was getting old and couldn't sleep for long. So, even without today's events, Old Tom was accustomed to cleaning his beloved pub at this time.

One could see that when the smoke cleared, the noise disappeared, and the empty pub, with no one in sight, was still beautiful under the warm light… bearing an ancient charm. From its decorations and layout, one could still feel the unique colors of the last century.

Old Tom loved this place dearly, so when cleaning, he never used magic to cut corners. Instead, like a Muggle, he meticulously wiped every corner and cleaned every crevice, inside and out.

He had been doing this work for countless days. It seemed that he had been doing it since he wasn't so old, even before he had the nickname Old Tom.

He had been doing it until now, as if he had become one with the entire pub. Old Tom dared to say that even with his eyes closed, he could clearly find every glass, every bottle of wine, every stool…

The rustling sound of the broom sweeping across the floor, accompanied by the passage of time, became the only music in the entire pub.

Suddenly, with a burst of unexpected doorbells, this peaceful rhythm was disrupted.

The door of the Leaky Cauldron opened again, but Old Tom didn't even look up. Without pausing his hand movements, he said,

"Sorry, the Leaky Cauldron is closed. The rooms are also full, so we can't provide any service."

The person who came in didn't speak, but walked forward on their own, finally stopping in front of Old Tom.

Old Tom, who was sweeping the floor, finally stopped. The light above his head was completely blocked by the figure in front of him.

Almost without looking up, just by looking at the large shadow on the ground, he could recognize who it was.

Sure enough, when he looked up, Hagrid's smiling face was immediately presented in front of him.

"Good evening, Old Tom."

Hagrid waved his hand and, as before, casually found a comfortable spot to sit, plopping down and causing the chair to make a series of ear-piercing grinding noises.

Old Tom also smiled, but he didn't speak right away. Instead, he squinted his eyes and carefully looked Hagrid up and down.

The Hagrid who appeared in front of him now had undergone a great change compared to before.

His hair was no longer as messy as before. Although it was still long and fluffy, one could see that it was much smoother, with every strand having a specially maintained sheen.

And his thick beard had been trimmed, and he had even tied them into a beautiful bow at the bottom…

"I haven't seen you come to the Leaky Cauldron for so long, but you look much more energetic than before… Good, very good."

Having received praise from his old friend, Hagrid's simple mind couldn't help but blush a little. He reached out and scratched his hair, grinning and saying embarrassedly,

"I've been trying to give up drinking lately. I'm also taking advantage of the time I used to spend drunk and drowsy to do something else meaningful."

"Very good."

Seeing Hagrid getting better and better, Old Tom, as a friend, would naturally be happy for him, even though his pub had lost a big spender… But what did that matter?

Hagrid reached into his pocket, felt around, and then pulled out two candies. He skillfully placed them on his palm and handed them to Old Tom.

"Here, try them. You can't even buy these on the market yet."

Old Tom raised his eyebrows and carefully looked at the candies in front of him. One was a purple petal shape with a thin coating of sugar, and the other was a golden yellow with a liquid seemingly flowing inside.

Even without eating them, just looking at them and smelling them, a great sense of satisfaction arose spontaneously in his heart, giving him a wonderful feeling that he hadn't had in a long time.

It was the first time he had seen that candy could actually be made to look like this? No wonder Hagrid could give up his decades-long addiction to alcohol because of it…

Old Tom finally chose the yellow candy… As for the reason, it was because he preferred the taste of lemon.

He put it in his mouth, quietly feeling the sweet and sour sensation spreading on his tongue, stimulating his taste buds and causing him to involuntarily salivate…

"Not bad…" Old Tom's smile became even more obvious. He casually asked,

"Are these also Charlie Black's products?"

Unexpectedly, these words reminded Hagrid of the real purpose of his trip.

He couldn't help but pat his head, seeming a little annoyed at his memory.

"Oh… you mentioning Charlie reminded me."

Saying that, he took out a heavy bag of Galleons from his other pocket and casually placed it on the table.

Then he explained to Old Tom,

"This time, Charlie asked me to bring you the money… He's busy at the factory with some new assembly line or something, and can't get away for a while.

Then I happened to meet him when I was delivering something to Headmaster Dumbledore. He asked me to specifically help him give the money to you."

"I see…"

Old Tom's expression was understanding. He casually put the broom aside, then picked up the money bag on the table, weighed it in his hand, and without carefully counting how many there were, he slowly walked back behind the counter and put it away.

After all, Old Tom naturally didn't believe that a character like Charlie Black, who dared to have his family pay for damages after a fight when he was in school, would take advantage of him…

After carefully putting away the Galleons, he returned to Hagrid's side and continued to talk about the topic they hadn't finished discussing.

"Have things been quiet these days?"

Old Tom brought a stool, sat next to Hagrid, and continued to ask under the dim light,

"It should be considered leisurely."

Hagrid casually threw the remaining candy in his hand into his mouth, shrugged his shoulders, and said frankly,

"Besides feeding my few lovely little fellows and patrolling the Forbidden Forest every day, there's nothing else."

"Moreover, things have been quiet in the Forbidden Forest these past two days. No strange occurrences, making the forest patrol duty much easier. Even Fang could take two misbehaving students and complete the task perfectly."

Old Tom nodded, listening attentively to Hagrid's words.

Unlike his usual hazy, drunken state, where he seemed ready to start a brawl, Hagrid, now with clear thoughts and articulate speech, was undoubtedly more likable.

"What time are you planning to stay until today?"

He continued to ask.

Hagrid thought for a moment, scratched his head, and after hesitating, said,

"Probably until noon… Even though he's not here, just smelling the air, I can tell there was an alcoholic frenzy.

Charlie not only asked me to deliver the money to you, but he also hopes that once those drunk Muggles sober up, I can help him bring them to his factory."

"Really?"

Hearing this, Old Tom couldn't help but be a little surprised, his eyelids slightly raising, and couldn't help but say,

"I never knew you and this wealthy wizarding businessman were on such good terms… After all, you know. You're a Forbidden Forest keeper, and he owns the largest candy brand in the entire British wizarding world."

"Of course!" Hearing this, Hagrid couldn't help but feel a sense of pride, puffing out his chest and explaining,

"Charlie is a good lad. Even after graduating so many years ago, he still remembers Headmaster Dumbledore and all the professors' teachings.

So whether by letter or in person, he often contacts Hogwarts. And as someone who's always been running errands for Professor Dumbledore, I naturally have frequent contact with Charlie. One thing led to another, and we became familiar."

"So how much money did he give you this time?"

Old Tom squinted and jokingly asked.

"Nothing." Hagrid shook his head. "Even if he offered, I wouldn't take it. After all, we're friends, and he often sends me so much candy.

So within my capabilities, if I can help him with something, I'm naturally happy to do so."

The two of them, in the unusually quiet Leaky Cauldron, chatted about this and that until it was quite late. Old Tom, who still had work to do, yawned, found a place for Hagrid to stay upstairs, and then went back to sleep himself.

… … … … … … … … … … … … …

The next day, around ten o'clock, accompanied by buzzing in his head and a sense of dizziness, Dudley Dursley woke up on the bed in the pub room.

The old wooden room was furnished very simply, without any modern feel. In a daze, he almost thought he had traveled back to 16th-century England.

"Ugh…"

Accompanied by a groan filled with pain, Dudley opened his bloodshot eyes.

Barely propping up his round body from the bed, he began to sort out his chaotic thoughts, while recalling the events of last night.

Dudley only remembered drinking many pints of beer, one after another, endlessly.

This was also due to the fact that the brewing technology in the British wizarding world was not as professional as in Muggle society, so the alcohol content of the beer was not very high. It only looked intimidating, but in reality, it was far from what he had drunk before…

However, even so, he couldn't withstand the sheer quantity. Even though Dudley didn't remember exactly how much he had drunk, he estimated that he had at least seven or eight pints…

And after drinking, for some unknown reason, the crowd erupted in bursts of exclamations, and then they surrounded him, toasting him with enthusiasm and shaking his hand excitedly… It seemed that he had never been so respected in his life.

Dudley thought, a smug smile involuntarily appearing on his lips.

But soon, the smile suddenly stiffened… because as he became more awake, he gradually remembered the reason for their excitement—it was because he was Harry Potter's uncle!

"How could this be?" Dudley, until now, finally had the opportunity to consider the crazy behavior of those guys.

"Could it be that Harry Potter, that little… kid, actually has such great prestige in the wizarding world?"

Just as he was thinking, a "knock, knock, knock" sound suddenly came from outside the door.

"Brother, are you awake yet?"

Helpless, Dudley had no choice but to interrupt his thoughts and respond,

"I'm already awake…"

There was obviously more than one person outside the door. They were talking, and their voices sounded very cheerful.

"Wow, brother, you are really amazing!! I've never seen anyone who can drink fifteen pints of beer in one go…"

Before this person could finish speaking, another person interrupted him, and then said,

"And after drinking fifteen pints, you could actually hold it until the end of the party before going to relieve yourself! Are you a monster?"

"Hehe…"

Listening to the crowd's exclamatory praise undoubtedly made Dudley feel much better.

He immediately put aside the question of Harry Potter, quickly got out of bed, and while putting on his clothes, replied,

"There's still a lot you haven't seen! This is just child's play for me. Anyway, there's still a long time to work together in the future, so wait and see!"

Then, he opened the door and joined a group of Muggles who, like him, were wearing wrinkled suits and whose faces still showed the lingering effects of last night's revelry, and together they walked downstairs to the first floor of the Leaky Cauldron.

When they arrived, Hagrid, who had also just woken up, was unhurriedly yawning.

Then, he rubbed his eyes and looked around at everyone.

"Wow… this guy is really tall!"

Most of the Muggles who didn't recognize Hagrid, like everyone who saw him for the first time, exclaimed sincerely.

Only Dudley, with a smirk on his face, chuckled twice with a knowing look.

"I know him… When our Potter went to school, he was the one who took him away!"

Dudley's unique figure was very conspicuous in the crowd. Soon, Hagrid, who was aimlessly scanning them, quickly noticed this male Muggle in the crowd who he remembered very well.

But he didn't say anything, just his expression became a bit strange.

After everyone had arrived and no other Muggles came down from the second floor, he didn't waste any words, but directly said,

"We should go, the next stop is Mr. Charlie Black's candy factory, which is where you will be working."

"What about the interview?"

One guy raised his hand and asked the question.

"Interview? No interview! Charlie Brand Candy Factory welcomes everyone, as long as you get here, he will accept you all. Yesterday's revelry was Charlie's onboarding gift to you!!"