Harry Potter and the Candy Factory

Only four words escaped his lips, but they stirred up a storm in Draco's heart.

After Lucius returned the needle to his hand, Draco took it.

He paused, unable to resist raising his head, seemingly for the first time in his life, to look his father in the eye with his chest held high…

“Thank you… thank you, Father.”

He opened his mouth, finally uttering those few words.

His voice was pitifully soft, so quiet that even Narcissa, who was sitting on the sofa not far away and watching them, didn't hear him.

However, Charlie, standing at the door, couldn't help but smile…

He subconsciously touched his nose, then leaned against the door, taking a deep breath.

Lucius lowered his eyes, sizing up his son as if seeing him for the first time.

However, this time, Draco appeared remarkably calm under Lucius's gaze.

He didn't lower his head or subconsciously step back, but instead looked directly at Lucius with bright eyes.

“Hmph…”

After a long while, Lucius retracted his gaze, grunted noncommittally, and then slowly said,

“Go eat dinner…”

Afterward, dinner began…

Inevitably, dinner was another of Narcissa's creations… Not that it was terribly bad, after all, simply pan-frying a steak and mashing some potatoes didn't require much culinary skill.

But it had to be said, Narcissa might be a different kind of genius…

Charlie looked at the colorful, mashed-up mess in his spoon, unable to identify what it was, and his eyelids couldn't help but twitch.

He was sure… she must have added something strange to it.

At least, it definitely wasn't green peppers or carrots.

The only thing Charlie could identify in this mashed potato dish was potatoes.

However, when he turned his head, something surprising happened. Draco, sitting next to him, was eating with particular relish.

Draco put the mashed potatoes into his mouth bite by bite, then cut the steak on his plate with a knife.

Although cutting such a potentially lethal steak might not be easy for an eleven-year-old, he remained calm and slowly broke it down piece by piece, then swallowed it in large mouthfuls, appearing to enjoy it immensely.

Even Narcissa, sitting across from him, couldn't help but look delighted at the sight.

“He's probably just too tired from training today…”

Charlie couldn't help but think.

After watching Draco for a while, he turned his attention back to the food in front of him.

Perhaps influenced by Draco, looking at these slightly strange dishes, Charlie, who had been unsure where to start, couldn't help but feel a little hungry.

So, without hesitation, he picked up the knife and fork in front of him and began to concentrate on filling his stomach.

Charlie enjoyed this meal very much, even more than the lavish dinner he had had when he first arrived yesterday.

Not because of the food, but because of Draco and Lucius…

In this excessively pure-blood-obsessed, proud family, he had actually caught a rare glimpse of something that didn't belong to pure-bloods… For Charlie, this was extremely interesting.

… … … … … … … …

When dinner ended,

Without much conversation, Charlie, already somewhat tired, said goodbye to the remaining three and returned to his guest room.

He took off his clothes. This time, however, he didn't just throw them haphazardly on the chair.

Instead, he hung the trench coat back on the hanger and neatly folded the rest, placing them flat on the stool.

Then, he went to the en-suite shower room and began his pre-sleep cleaning routine.

… … …

“Swish…” Water flowed slowly from the copper faucet with relief carvings on the bathtub.

After it filled the tub about halfway, Charlie slowly stepped in, then carefully lay down, resting his arms on the edge, and took a deep breath.

The rising mist dampened his hair, causing the golden strands to cling tightly to his head.

Charlie tilted his head back, quietly enjoying the process of the water enveloping his body, feeling the fatigue in his limbs gradually dissipating with the rising heat, and couldn't help but close his eyes…

However, just as Charlie was bathing, a bright light suddenly flashed inside his room!

Immediately afterward, as the light dissipated, a small, skinny house-elf, hunching over, appeared in the center of the room.

It shrank its neck, seeming somewhat afraid, its large eyes darting around, surveying everything in the room… Only after confirming that the room's owner was not present did it heave a sigh of relief.

“Dobby didn't see Mr. Charlie… Dobby just appeared in Mr. Charlie's room.”

The house-elf, Dobby, tilted its head and muttered to itself.

The fingers of its two hands intertwined, proving the unease and entanglement of its current mood.

“Dobby didn't disobey Master's orders… Dobby didn't disobey Master's orders…”

It repeated the mantra, seemingly hypnotizing itself, even though its subconscious clearly knew that the Master would certainly not allow this behavior.

“Dobby won't see Mr. Charlie, Dobby is just… writing a note!”

Saying this, Dobby lowered its head and quickly pulled out a notebook and pen from the pillowcase it was wearing, from who-knows-where.

Then, it jumped onto the chair Charlie used to put his clothes on, not caring at all that the neatly folded clothes were now wrinkled.

Leaning on the table, it picked up the pen and began to scribble.

“Then, Dobby's written note…”

After finishing writing, Dobby said, as it decisively tore the written note from the notebook and lightly threw it on the table.

“Accidentally dropped it… dropped it on Mr. Charlie's table!”

Having said this, the rambling words finally stopped.

It turned its head and glanced at the bathroom door… a kind of longing that shouldn't appear in its eyes surfaced.

Immediately afterward, it shook its head, snapping itself out of this longing.

With a determined heart, with a "swish" sound, it disappeared into the room with a flash of light.

Soon after, Charlie, who had been soaking in the tub, finally came out.

He opened the bathroom door, carrying a cloud of heat, while wiping his hair, and strolled out.

Charlie flicked his hair, squinting his eyes, just planning to go to bed and have a good sleep when suddenly a voice came from nowhere.

“Look on the table!!”