Harry Potter and the Candy Factory

Night fell, but the clouds still hadn't dissipated, growing darker and heavier, like a curtain draped across the sky, making it hard to breathe.

"This isn't a good sign… I think it might rain, don't you, Hermione?"

In the dim corridor, Ron glanced out the window and couldn't help but mutter.

Hermione, who was about to walk forward, also stopped, giving him a big eye-roll, unsurprisingly.

"If you're scared, you can go back. I'll go find Draco and Harry myself. They're still waiting for us!"

"Scared!?"

That word seemed to strike a nerve with Ron, making him bristle instantly. He widened his eyes, looking at the girl in disbelief.

"You think I'm scared!? Remember when we ran into the troll? Who was it that bravely shoved a mop into its mouth—it was me!"

"Uh-huh… whatever!"

Hermione shrugged, not wanting to argue with Ron about it. After all, she'd heard his heroic tale at least ten times…

It had been better these past few days, but before that, almost every time class ended, Ron would dash back to the Gryffindor common room to brag about his experience to the other young wizards.

Rehashing the same story in dozens of different ways had practically become his daily routine.

So, ignoring Ron, Hermione turned and quickly walked towards the meeting place agreed upon with Draco and Harry.

"Hey! Don't walk so fast, wait for me!"

Seeing that Hermione was ignoring him and leaving, Ron quickly lowered his voice and called out, then hurried to catch up with her.

Soon, with the help of the faint moonlight shining through the windows, the two of them arrived at the meeting place with ease.

Sure enough, when Hermione and Ron arrived, Harry and Draco were already waiting for them.

Seeing that the two of them had finally arrived, Draco didn't waste any time. He looked at Ron and asked,

"So, how many Violet Sweets do you have?"

Hearing this, a triumphant smile appeared on Ron's face.

Without a word, he pulled open his robes, revealing the bulging backpack hidden beneath his Gryffindor uniform.

"About fourteen packets! And some other candies, like licorice wands, lemon sherbet, and stuff…"

"Good."

Draco carefully considered it for a moment, figuring it was probably enough. He nodded, then looked at Harry and continued,

"Harry and I went to find some older students this afternoon. They told us there's definitely a secret passage to the Forbidden Forest, but it's on the fourth floor. We need to be careful. Wingdings : ♦ ︎ ♦ ︎ ⬧ ︎ ♦ ︎ ◆ ︎ ⌧ ︎ ♦ ︎ ♦ ︎ □ ︎ ❍ ︎"

With that, the four of them, led by Draco, hurried up the stairs towards the fourth floor.

The reason they had to be more careful than usual was because the fourth floor was where Filch's office was located.

Although none of them had ever been caught by him, it would be foolish to underestimate the caretaker who had been watching over Hogwarts for decades…

… … …

Sure enough, as the group reached the fourth floor and cautiously approached the secret passage, a familiar footstep sound just happened to come from around the corner.

Instantly, the four of them froze, silencing themselves and pressing against the wall.

Then, Draco and Hermione simultaneously drew their wands and quickly cast a "disillusiocharm (Disillusionment Charm)" on Ron and Harry, as well as on themselves.

The icy feeling spread throughout their bodies once again, and the colors on their bodies began to gradually disappear, completely vanishing the second before Filch arrived.

"Cough…"

The oil lamp in Filch's hand swayed slightly with his steps, causing the handle to rub against the body, making a grating sound.

He hunched over, coughed softly, and looked around suspiciously.

After surveying the area, he lowered his head, looked at Mrs. Norris, who was as thin as a rake, and asked thoughtfully,

"Did I hear wrong… Mrs. Norris, did you notice any footsteps just now?"

Hearing this, Mrs. Norris gently raised her head, sniffing the air. She seemed to have noticed something, and the cat perked up, searching for traces…

Finally, following the scent, Mrs. Norris stopped in front of the four people leaning against the wall, and a hint of human-like doubt appeared in her expression.

Draco and the others were immediately alarmed, so frightened that they didn't dare breathe, staring intently at the skinny cat in front of them, hoping it would leave quickly.

After all, the effect of the Disillusionment Charm was like an optical camouflage. It could make you blend in with your surroundings, but it couldn't erase your existence… Your scent, your body, the sounds you make, could still be easily detected.

The doubt in Mrs. Norris's eyes grew stronger. She hesitated, raising her paw, hovering in the air, intending to test the situation.

At the same time, Draco, staring intently at her, also raised his wand, ready to petrify her if she discovered anything amiss. He decided to solve the problem at hand first, no matter what.

Fortunately, Filch, as her owner, didn't notice anything unusual about Mrs. Norris. Perhaps it was too late, and his old, dim eyes couldn't discern any subtle changes with the meager light.

"Let's go! Mrs. Norris."

He called out to the skinny cat in front of the wall, then swayed forward.

The paw that was about to land was retracted, and Mrs. Norris turned her head and meowed before abandoning her confusion and obediently returning to Filch's side, continuing their nightly patrol.

After they had walked away, Draco and Hermione finally released the spell on themselves and frantically inhaled fresh air.

Ron's face had turned red because he had been holding his breath too hard.

While desperately gasping for air, he looked in the direction Filch had disappeared and said fiercely,

"That mangy cat! I'll roast it one day…"

Harry naturally knew that Ron was just letting off steam. He patted him on the shoulder and gently comforted him.

"Okay, don't argue with a cat… Let's go!"

"Yeah, let's go, lest something else happens," Hermione echoed, then directly pulled Ron and Harry and continued forward.

After experiencing this not-too-major setback, the group successfully reached the entrance of the secret passage and, passing through it, successfully escaped the castle, standing on the smooth, moist soil… …

… … … … … … … … … … … … …

Unlike the cold and dampness outside, Hagrid's cabin was dry and warm.

Inside the fireplace, orange flames crackled as they consumed the firewood.

The warm yellow light illuminated the entire cabin, making it feel particularly cozy and pleasant.

Beside the fireplace was a set of huge wooden tables and chairs, which appeared to be custom-made furniture to suit Hagrid's size.

At that moment, Hagrid was sitting on the chair, holding a slender quill pen in his hand, meticulously writing a letter to Charlie on the paper.

Next to the letter was a beautiful bracelet—woven from the mane of a Kelpie. He planned to send it to Charlie along with the letter tomorrow.

Under the table, Fang, the massive Neapolitan Mastiff, was nestled at Hagrid's feet, comfortably basking in the warmth of the fire while snoring contentedly.

It was truly a beautiful scene… …

Suddenly, as if noticing something, Fang, who had been fast asleep, twitched his ears and quickly stood up, looking towards the door.

Sensing the sensitive change in Fang beneath his feet, Hagrid's pen stopped at the same time.

"What's wrong, Fang? Did you hear something?"

He stroked Fang's broad back and asked in a low voice, then couldn't help but look towards the door as well.

Soon, a series of knocks, "Knock, knock, knock," sounded.

Hagrid frowned slightly, a hint of doubt in his eyes. He was puzzled as to who would be knocking on his door at this hour.

But even so, he still called out loudly:

"Who is it! ?"

"Hagrid! It's me, Harry!"

Harry's voice, carrying a hint of tremor, came through the thick wooden door.

Hagrid's slightly furrowed brow relaxed, and he couldn't help but raise it. He then stood up from his seat and quickly walked to the door, opening it.

As the door opened, he saw four young wizards, led by Harry, standing at the door with their arms crossed, shivering, looking as if they were completely frozen.

"Harry, and Ron, Hermione, and Draco… … What are you doing here?!"

Hagrid looked at the pitiful four young wizards in surprise and couldn't help but ask.

"Sorry… … Can we talk inside? I'm freezing to death, Hagrid… …"

Seeing the door open and feeling the warm air blowing on him, Ron, without regard for propriety, squeezed inside while saying this.

Seeing this, Hagrid, although still doubtful, couldn't stop them, so he had to take a step back and let the four enter, then close the door, blocking out the damp cold and chill.

Seeing that it was a few young wizards who had come in, Fang, who had originally stood up, lay back down, his heavy eyelids drooping, obscuring his vision, and continued to sleep.

… … … … … … … … … … … … …

"… … … Alright, now you should tell me, what exactly are you doing here?"

Hagrid sat back in his seat in a grand manner, looking around at the young wizards huddled around Fang with cups of hot tea in their hands with a scrutinizing gaze, and asked.

"If I remember correctly… … You should be sleeping in bed at this hour! Instead of running to my cabin for tea… … Isn't that right?"

The four looked at each other, and finally, Draco nudged Ron beside him with his elbow and then gestured with his eyes.

Ron understood and quickly stood up, a flattering smile on his face as he opened his robe, revealing the bulging backpack inside.

"Hagrid… … Actually, we brought you a gift."

As he spoke, he opened the backpack, revealing the full load of violet candies inside.

"Look! A whole backpack of candy, and most of it is violet candy!"

The group thought that such a "generous gift" would make Hagrid very happy, at least on the surface, he would show some surprise.

After all, it is not easy to buy so many of these limited-purchase candies.

However, unexpectedly, Hagrid didn't even raise his eyelids… … He just politely looked at Ron's backpack, then turned his head and pulled out a huge sack from under the table that was as tall as a person.

Before the four could react, they saw him open the sack on his own, then put his thick giant hand inside, casually took out a handful of candy, and placed it in front of the four.

"Thank you for your kindness… … But, Charlie just gave me a lot not long ago. If you want to eat, you can come to me."

Hagrid said blankly, his tone extremely calm, but it inexplicably gave people a hint of Versailles.

Ron's eyes widened even more, staring at the sack that was taller than him, then looked at his small bag, and immediately lost the desire to continue talking, silently took two steps back, put down his cloak, and slumped back into his previous seat.

"So… … what exactly are you here to do?"

Hagrid sighed, re-tied the sack, and repeated the question he had just asked.

Seeing this situation, Draco had no choice but to stand up and said with a serious face:

"Actually… we're here to investigate some things."

"Investigate?"

Looking at the immature little face with a seriousness that was not equal to his age, Hagrid couldn't help but find it funny. He patted his knee and couldn't help but ask:

"Quirrell!"

Harry also stood up and said seriously:

"We think Quirrell definitely has a problem!"

Hermione also added:

"He has a premeditated plan for the thing hidden in the room on the third-floor corridor! Although we don't know what it is, I can guarantee it! He definitely came for it."

"Also! Also, the time we were attacked by the troll, he did it too!"

Ron, not wanting to be left behind, hurriedly took over the conversation.

This time, it was Hagrid's turn to be stunned.

He was a little overwhelmed by the amount of information and the slots in the words of the four young wizards, opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

"You, can… …"

Just as he finally recovered and was about to speak, a loud explosion outside the house once again interrupted his organized language.

"What's that sound! ?" Ron was startled and quickly turned his head to look in the direction of the explosion outside the window—only to see a burst of green light suddenly blooming from the depths of the Forbidden Forest, appearing particularly dazzling in this lonely night.