Harry Potter and the Candy Factory

For a young wizard who was only a teenager, the destructive power of a Nimbus 2000 was considerable.

In almost half a minute, the already lively and noisy Slytherin common room became even more boisterous.

A group of students, whether acquainted or not, had eyes shining with excitement, unanimously flocking towards Harry's direction like stars surrounding the moon, hoping to have the chance to reach out and touch this legendary "high-end broom."

Even Marcus Flint, the captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team, couldn't resist joining the excitement, staring intently at the brand-new broom before offering Harry a heartfelt compliment:

"Nice broom… Potter."

Helpless, Harry, who had suddenly become the center of attention, had no choice but to abandon the idea of unwrapping the last gift here.

Forcing a smile, he dealt with the crowd while gathering his other things, and hastily broke through the encirclement, escaping back to his dormitory in a somewhat disheveled state.

"Bang!"

As the dormitory door slammed shut, the clamorous noise completely dissipated, and Harry couldn't help but breathe a long sigh of relief.

Immediately, he carefully wiped a few newly appeared fingerprints from the Nimbus 2000 with his robe, feeling a bit distressed.

He glanced at Theodore in the distance, who was lying on the bed, flipping through an unknown magazine, quietly enjoying his solitude, not paying any attention to who had just re-entered. → Just like before…

Harry withdrew his gaze without saying anything and walked back to his bedside.

After tidying up the Nimbus 2000 and other trinkets, he looked at the only remaining unopened gift in his hand.

"What… is this?"

Raising an eyebrow, Harry sat down on the bed and, after examining it carefully, muttered thoughtfully to himself.

The gift was wrapped very tightly, with no writing or name left on it.

Judging from the feel and weight in his hand, Harry guessed that it was probably a folded piece of clothing.

After hesitating for a moment, he skillfully began to unwrap it.

However, when the outer wrapping paper was peeled away layer by layer, the scene that appeared before him completely astonished him.

The inside of the wrapping paper was empty… or rather, at least Harry couldn't see anything in front of him.

But as he felt the slight weight and subconsciously reached out to tentatively stroke it, he could clearly feel an extremely smooth fabric sliding across his fingertips.

It could be easily picked up, but he couldn't see it at all…

Harry blinked hard, as if his vision and touch had become confused, or as if a huge joke had been played on him, leaving him feeling inexplicable.

After a long while, Harry slowly lifted the folded "invisible garment" and draped it over his hand. In the next second, from the forearm down, that hand suddenly disappeared before his eyes.

"Gulp…"

Harry swallowed, and couldn't help but think of the spell Draco had once cast on him.

"Is this also a kind of Disillusionment Charm?"

… … … … … … … … … … … … …

"Dashing through the snow, in a one-horse open sleigh…"

"O'er the fields we go, laughing all the way…"

Inside the factory, the roar of machinery that should have been heard had disappeared today, replaced by joyful and high-pitched singing.

Welcoming the Christmas holidays, every little elf seemed especially cheerful amidst the swirling snowflakes.

They had changed out of their usual work clothes and put on new outfits.

Under Russell's direction, they held hands, one after another, forming a large circle under the Christmas tree, singing songs praising the holiday loudly.

The loud singing floated in the air, spreading far and wide to every corner of the factory.

Even Charlie and Aberforth, who were stretching their muscles in a remote clearing in the corner, could hear it clearly.

Aberforth, who had just finished a battle, had slightly flushed skin. His sturdy arms were exposed to the air, showing no sign of cold, but rather faintly releasing heat outwards.

He first habitually flicked away the white smoke that slowly appeared at the tip of his wand, then lowered his raised sleeves, looked up into the distance, and couldn't help but complain:

"Good heavens… aren't these guys tired? They've been singing all morning…"

"The elves like this song."

Charlie replied with a smile, and while speaking, he leisurely reached out and summoned the nylon robe hanging in the distance, draped it over his body, and flipped the wand in his hand.

Instantly, the ground and trees, which had been pitted and scarred by the fierce battle, were once again restored, becoming the same as before.

With a "snap" of his fingers, two cups of hot cocoa that had been prepared in advance appeared out of thin air in front of him.

Charlie gently picked up one of the cups and pushed the other towards Aberforth.

After taking a gentle sip, he let out a long breath and continued unhurriedly:

"Ever since I sang it for them at the Christmas dinner five years ago, they've had this song firmly imprinted in their minds, and they have to sing it every Christmas… and they sing it for hours."

After saying that, Charlie shrugged, putting on an expression of "you'll be fine as long as you get used to listening to it," which made Aberforth's teeth ache.

"Hmph…"

Aberforth rolled his eyes fiercely and, after putting his wand back into the pocket inside his cloak, let out a heavy grunt.

"I can't stand this lousy song… singing praises to Christmas, singing praises to that guy named Jesus, it's too outrageous in my opinion… If they want to sing so much, why can't they sing more about Merlin?"

He turned around and walked away into the distance without looking back.

"What are you going to do?"

Charlie asked.

"Going to play with my precious car!"

He replied without turning his head, his thick white hair fluttering in the wind, as if merging with the falling snowflakes.

He walked along the blurred path towards the distance, until his figure disappeared.

Ever since Charlie gave him a modified brand-new car, Aberforth had put all his energy into it.

During the day, besides training with Charlie and resting, he devoted almost all of his energy to the new car, taking it out of the factory from time to time for a thrilling speed run on the Cheshire roads…

"Alright, have fun."

Without stopping him, Charlie didn't linger in place until Aberforth's figure completely disappeared from sight. In the blink of an eye, he flashed away and returned to his office.