Harry Potter and the Candy Factory

Even though Halloween was still a few days away, the lively and mischievous young wizards of Hogwarts had already begun to anticipate and look forward to it.

Remember the original website domain name 𝕥 𝕨 𝕜 𝕒 𝕟 . 𝕔 𝕠 𝕞

Jack-o'-lanterns with lit candles began to appear in every corner of the castle.

The expressions on the faces of the ghosts who traveled back and forth in the air were no longer as numb as they used to be, and began to become more and more colorful.

Even Professor Binns, these past few days, had unprecedented emotion in his voice during class, and he seemed more enthusiastic when lecturing.

Although there wasn't much change for the other young wizards, and those who wanted to sleep still buried their heads on the table and fell fast asleep, Hermione was thrilled, her eyes shining.

Harry would bet that if there was a way to find Professor Binns, she would definitely chase after him with her notebook, asking questions non-stop.

In these past few days, the person who had the most comfortable time should have been Ron.

His twin brothers, Fred and George, after inquiring and confirming that their younger brother wasn't boasting, immediately changed their attitude one hundred and eighty degrees.

So much so that every time they went to class, Draco could see his robe pockets bulging. They were filled with all kinds of delicious candies... Even the licorice wands were stuffed into his mouth as if they were free, making the other three twitch their eyelids and feel speechless.

… … … … … … … … … … … …

In Defense Against the Dark Arts class, the four of them, as usual, each held their thick copy of 'The Dark Arts: A Guide to Self-Defense,' standing in the bustling crowd.

However, unlike the other young wizards who were in groups, their red and green school uniforms were always an oddity that surprised people in the first year…

Quirrell was still wearing his black, spacious cloak and a thick turban. He habitually shrank his neck, lowered his head, and timidly looked at the textbook. He slowly spoke in a stuttering voice full of garlic…

“V-vampires are, w-without a doubt, dangerous. If, if you don't handle them properly… you, you will become one of them.”

Even though it was already autumn turning to winter, the sweat on Quirrell's forehead was still the same as before, constantly flowing down the edge of his turban, forcing him to raise his arm again and again during the lecture to wipe it clean with his sleeve.

This made the already not-so-smooth lecture even more difficult.

“What did you prepare for Halloween, licorice wands or chocolate frogs?”

“Fizzing Whizbees! I bought a lot of Fizzing Whizbees last time, and I haven’t finished them yet… But actually, I’m planning to get some more licorice wands later, I can give them to Derl, he seems to like them.”

“I ran into Dab before class, he said that the supply should increase a lot these days!”

“Really!?” A little girl in Gryffindor red robes heard her companion's words, her eyes lit up instantly, almost shouting out in excitement.

… …

… …

Amidst the crowd, sparse and endless conversations and exchanges had never stopped since the beginning of class.

And this was the norm for Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Because Quirrell, as a professor, rarely stopped the behavior of talking or daydreaming below. Most of the time, unless it was too excessive, he would give a large degree of tacit approval. As a result, the students became more and more unscrupulous.

Even Draco didn't have the intention to continue listening to Quirrell's lecture, only Hermione, under the influence of the surrounding environment, pursed her lips and desperately supported herself with wide eyes.

Ron stood on tiptoe, peering out through the glass on the classroom wall not far away.

He saw the older students riding their brooms, hiding jack-o'-lanterns filled with candy in various corners outside.

They also hung rags and old bandages, which they had been preparing for a long time, on the castle's spires and attics, creating a terrifying atmosphere.

“Do you guys know?”

Suddenly, Ron withdrew his gaze and said abruptly,

“Today Fred and George told me another secret.”

“Oh, how rare.”

Draco maintained his usual attitude towards Ron's so-called "secret", sneered, rolled his eyes, and turned his gaze to the other side.

Just as Ron glared again for a moment, Harry, as a peacemaker, quickly asked.

“Uh… what is it?”

Getting the response he wanted, Ron smiled contentedly. He first looked around, especially glaring at Draco.

After confirming that no one was paying attention, he leaned his head to Harry's ear and said seriously,

“Speaking of which, you might not believe it… Actually, the candy vending machine in the Headmaster's office is different from other vending machines—it's a special edition!”

“Special edition!?”

Harry was stunned for a moment, then turned his head in surprise to look at Ron beside him.

“Yeah!”

Ron nodded solemnly, his eyes flashing with wisdom, and continued,

“Fred said that when he was called to the Headmaster's office by Headmaster Dumbledore last time, he actually took a serious look at the candy vending machine.

That candy vending machine has two more compartments than the others…!”

As soon as these words came out, not only Harry, but even Draco, who had been pretending to look away but was actually listening, couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

“Really!”

Seemingly to make his words more credible, he quickly added,

“Fred originally thought he had seen it wrong, and then he went back and told George about it. As a result, George deliberately found a reason to go and take a look, and then confirmed that there were indeed two more compartments!

I think this news should be the most credible part of what they said.”

“Whether it's true or false, we'll know when we see it with our own eyes one day.”

Finally, Draco turned his head back, sighed, and said to Ron.

However, just as Ron pondered for a while about the credibility of this matter, intending to say something more to Draco, suddenly, in front of the podium, Ron heard Professor Quirrell call out his name.

And not only him, Harry and Draco were all mentioned.

The three of them were stunned for a moment, then subconsciously raised their heads and looked towards the front where Quirrell was.

They saw that he had put down the lesson plan in his hand at some point, and instead flipped out a thick stack of yellowed parchment.

“We, Weasley, Potter, Malfoy…”

Quirrell wiped the sweat from his brow, reached out, and shuffled through the yellowed parchment papers, then precisely pulled out three sheets.

“This, this is the essay I left a few days ago… How, how should we, should we deal with vampires when, when facing them…?”

As he spoke, Quirrell finally slowly raised his head. For some reason, looking into the other's eyes, Draco felt a sense of unease.

Subconsciously, he once again superimposed Quirrell's gaze at that moment with the scene he had seen that night.

Draco's brow furrowed slightly. But soon, remembering what his uncle had said in that letter not long ago, he suppressed the various anxieties in his heart and continued listening to Quirrell's unfinished statement.

“Gentlemen, in your, your three essays, I have discovered a suspicion of plagiarism.”

Hearing this, Ron and Harry's faces turned pale in an instant, and they couldn't help but shrink their necks guiltily, carefully avoiding Quirrell's scrutinizing gaze.

Their performance was almost as if they had blatantly written the words "I copied this assignment" on their faces.

Watching the two's performance, Quirrell sneered inwardly. But the expression on his face was still no different from before, as he continued gently and kindly,

“Whether, whether it's the title of the essay, or the format of the sub, subheadings, they are very similar. Not to mention, you in…”

Quirrell acted very convincingly, stuttering but meticulous, which made even the carefree Ron feel a bit of a toothache.

His face flushed red, but he didn't say the following words. He simply reached out and heavily circled a large paragraph in the essay.

“Id, identical!”

“I’m sorry, Professor…”

Harry lowered his head somewhat ashamed, and walked out of the crowd like a penguin, facing Quirrell directly, and sincerely expressed his apology.

“Sigh…”

Sighing, seeing that Harry had already walked out, Ron and Draco had no choice but to follow, coming to Harry's sides one after another.

Quirrell took a deep breath, frowned slightly, and the cowardice on his face diminished, replaced by a hint of resentment.

“This, this is a very, very serious act.”

He raised his arm slightly and threw the three parchments into the air.

A breeze arose out of nowhere, wrapping them up and sending them back into the hands of the three.

“Ve, very sorry, gentlemen, I must bring you some, some punishment.”

He held out two fingers, facing the crowd, and continued,

“I, here, there are two choices.”

“One, is for Slytherin to lose fifty points, and Gryffindor to lose twenty-five points…”

As soon as these words came out, there was an uproar among the students. Whether it was Gryffindor or Slytherin, or even Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, they all looked "possessed," and began to discuss noisily.

After all, the severity of this punishment was unprecedented! Even Professor Snape, who loved to deduct points the most, had never deducted such a huge number of points in class at once.

“Qui… Quiet!”

But even in the face of the many students' dissent, Quirrell seemed to have no intention of taking back what he had just said. He righteously stopped the crowd and continued,

“The second… is, is on Halloween, which is the dinner time on November 1st, to find Mr. Filch and accept the arrangement to clean the toilets there!”

“Halloween!?” Ron wailed. “Why can't it be another day? Why does it have to be Halloween!?”

“Professor, can I go a day early? Please, I beg you.”

However, obviously, facing Ron's request, Quirrell still pursed his lips tightly and stubbornly shook his head.

At the same time, Harry and Draco, who had not spoken, looked even more ugly.

Quirrell paused, looked around the crowd, and sighed. Then, in a sincere tone, he slowly confided,

“I, I know, most of you, probably, probably can't understand why, why such a big punishment is given to them… That's because, Defense Against the Dark Arts, is a very important course. It is not limited to exams or theoretical knowledge in books, but also the skills that can save your lives at critical moments.”

“I know, perhaps you scoff at what I say and cannot understand… But, as, as your professor, I must be responsible for you! Although this punishment is only for these three, I want all the young wizards present to remember this… You will all grow up one day, beco, become the new vitality of the wizarding world, and the role of Defense Against the Dark Arts is to protect you from the invasion of those evil forces. I hope that in the future, when, when facing me, facing this 'Dark Arts: A Self-Defense Guide,' you can maintain a serious attitude… Seriously attend every class, seriously comp, complete every assignment.”

Quirrell's remarks were impassioned and insightful, and even made the originally noisy little wizards lower their heads in shame, not daring to look at him.

Hermione was even moved to tears, with tears faintly appearing in her eyes.

Seeing this scene, Harry and the others felt a bitter taste in their mouths, but they could only lower their heads like everyone else, pretending to be deeply taught, and dare not say anything else.

“Huff…”

Letting out a breath slowly, Quirrell wiped the sweat from his forehead again and asked.

“Alright… Now, now, you say, do you choose to deduct points, or, or to clean the toilets?”

Draco tried hard to press his head down, concealing his twitching嘴角 (zuǐ jiǎo - corners of the mouth) and clenched brow.

Although it sounded like Quirrell had given two choices, in reality, he knew clearly that the only thing the three could choose was to clean the toilets.

You ask why? Look at the pairs of eyes behind them. Draco was sure that if the three of them chose to deduct points under such circumstances, then, in less than half a day, titles like "coward," "shame of the house," and "burden" would be thrown at them by a group of angry little wizards without hesitation.

And what followed might be "silent treatment" or worse…

“We choose to clean the toilets.”

Taking a deep breath, the three looked at each other and then gave the final answer.