Harry Potter and the Candy Factory

“Listen! Land, sea, sun, moon, stars.

On this joyful Christmas day, the whole world rejoices!

Our hearts are like a paradise, full of flowers of love,

Our mouths are like clear springs, flowing with sounds of praise.”

… …

The tall Christmas tree swayed gently to the cheerful and exuberant carols of the house-elves, its bells and ornaments tinkling softly, as if providing accompaniment.

Although not as luxurious as the one in the Malfoy's manor, it was still a level or two above those found in ordinary households.

In the fireplace, the firewood crackled softly as it burned, spreading light and warmth, dispelling the chill that Charlie and the others had picked up on their way from the dining hall.

People sat around on soft, comfortable sofas, chatting idly with those beside them, while eating freshly baked pastries.

Although they had come to listen to the house-elves sing Christmas carols, in reality, except for Draco and Aberforth, no one really paid attention; they were just taking this opportunity to catch up with relatives and friends they hadn't seen in a long time.

However, even so, the house-elves still sang with extra effort, their flushed cheeks adding a few more colors under the illumination of the Christmas tree lights, appearing lively and kind…

Charlie and Lucius sat very close together, and it seemed that only now had they finally dispelled their mutual wariness in their hearts, their expressions softening with a hint of tenderness that hadn't been there before.

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They chatted casually, sometimes even bursting into laughter, as if they were old friends who had known each other for many years.

During a break in the conversation, Charlie suddenly seemed to remember something.

“Oh right, I almost forgot.”

As he spoke, he raised his hand and snapped his fingers crisply once again.

Immediately, with a “whoosh,” Russell, who had disappeared, reappeared beside him out of thin air, holding a wrapped gift box in his hands, presumably having gone to prepare something for Charlie in advance.

Charlie took the box from Russell's hands, his smile unchanged.

He leaned back against the backrest as casually and easily as before, stretching out his crossed legs…

“Here, Merry Christmas, Lucius, this is a gift I prepared for you.”

With that, he reached out and handed the gift directly to the other man.

Lucius's expression stiffened, his eyes focused, regaining some of his serious demeanor. His lips pursed slightly subconsciously.

He didn't speak, looking at the gift presented to him, he hesitated for a moment before slowly reaching out and taking it into his hands.

The gift box was not small, about thirty centimeters square, and felt heavy in his hand, weighing about 5 kilograms.

As soon as he held it, sensing the various data of the box, Lucius's heart suddenly trembled.

After all, as a former Death Eater, and even Voldemort's right-hand man, he had seen far too many things.

Even though he hadn't done it for more than ten years, the weight and size of the box suddenly awakened his past memories.

Charlie, who was sitting beside him and paying attention to him, could clearly sense that Lucius's breathing was becoming more rapid than before, and his emotions were gradually becoming more tense.

After a long while, Lucius finally took a deep breath and asked,

“Can I open it now?”

Charlie raised his eyebrows, seemingly a little surprised at how quickly he had adjusted his state, but he quickly nodded and replied,

“Of course…”

Lucius didn't hesitate any longer, lowered his head, expressionless, pulled open the ribbon on the gift box, slowly tore open the layers of tightly wrapped colored paper, and finally completely opened the box.

At this moment, Narcissa was carefully exchanging stories of the past decade with Lyonne, while Russell, along with Draco and Aberforth, were attentively acting as the audience for the other house-elves.

No one noticed this, noticed the conversation between the two men and the gift in their hands.

Looking at the opened box, Lucius's expression completely broke down, his pupils shrank sharply to the size of pinholes, and the color on his face churned, as if he had seen something extremely disgusting, and was about to vomit in the next second.

Charlie quickly leaned over, patting him on the back as needed, while quietly closing the gift box again, and explaining helplessly,

“Originally, I wanted to bring you back a… uh… clearer one, but because it caught fire in the battle with Voldemort… by the time we were done fighting, it was, it was rotten into a lump, and I had a hard time getting someone to bring it back to you.”

Lucius turned his head stiffly, looking at him in disbelief.

Looking at Charlie's innocent expression, he seemed to recall the scene he had just seen when he opened the box, and in an instant, his expression, which had recovered a little, became ugly again, lowering his head and covering his mouth with his hand, it took a long time before he finally recovered.

But he no longer had the strength to pick up the box, and helplessly had to let Charlie temporarily pick it up for him, cast a spell to re-wrap it tightly, and put it aside.

When Lucius raised his head again, his face was much paler than before, and his eyes were filled with a deep resentment as he looked at Charlie.

However, he was still sincerely grateful for what Charlie had done.

He extended his hand and clasped Charlie's hand tightly, leaning forward so that his voice was limited to the range that only the two of them could hear, and said in a low voice,

“You have fulfilled the promise you made to me before, and for this, I will sincerely express my gratitude. From now on, the Malfoy family will advance and retreat together with Charlie Black, becoming the right-hand man in your great plan…”

Listening to Lucius's words, the expression in Charlie's eyes flickered, but in the end, he didn't say anything immediately. He smiled and patted the other man on the back as kindly as before. Only the strength was a little greater than before.

After a moment, Charlie shook his head and said sincerely,

“You are my sister's husband, my brother-in-law, my few remaining relatives… the relationship between us is already inseparable, why say this…”

After speaking, without waiting for Lucius to reply, he changed the subject.

“What do you think of these little guys in the factory, how are they singing?”

“Very good.”