Harry Potter and the Candy Factory

The towering Hagrid stood in the headmaster's office, yet still resembled a student who had made a mistake.

He lowered his head, not daring to look at Dumbledore before him.

His two large hands were clasped together in front of him.

Fingers as thick as carrots unconsciously intertwined, anxiously awaiting his fate.

However, Dumbledore did not reprimand Hagrid as he had imagined.

He simply sighed softly, inhaling the scent of alcohol that wafted into the office along with Hagrid.

Dumbledore could naturally guess where he had just come from...

He merely lowered his eyes again.

Reaching out and pulling open the half-open drawer completely, he rummaged around inside before taking out a few crystal-clear hard candies.

Holding the hard candies in his hand, Dumbledore stood up from his seat and walked over to Hagrid.

Gently prying open those palms as large as a brown bear's paws, he placed the candies inside, under Hagrid's ashamed gaze.

"Charlie sent me some of their specialty products a few days ago..."

As he spoke, Dumbledore paused, thinking for a moment before continuing,

"You can try this... it tastes quite good, although I still prefer their Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans."

With that, he patted Hagrid's hand, raised his head, and looked at him.

In those eyes that had witnessed a century, there was an indescribable gentleness and wisdom.

...

Little Whinging, Privet Drive

Night.

In Harry's room, the lights were off.

The curtains were drawn tightly, not letting in a single ray of light.

In the darkness where one could not see their own fingers, there were only slight whispers and the occasional sound of bumping into the table or bed, which proved that the owner of this room was not yet in dreamland, as he usually was...

Harry sat cross-legged on an old rug, listening to Dobby, who was fiddling with something not far away, feeling a mix of excitement and amusement.

"Dobby... you really don't have to do this, you already gave me a present."

Harry said softly.

"No!"

Dobby's voice came from directly in front of Harry.

"Dobby wants to give Harry Potter... an unforgettable birthday!!"

Dobby tried to keep his high-pitched voice down, deliberately creating a sense of mystery.

As he spoke, Harry could clearly hear him fiddling with something in his hands, making faint noises.

Even though he said, "You don't need to prepare any more surprises for me," Harry couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation.

"Okay! Harry Potter! Please close your eyes!"

Listening to his voice, Harry took a deep breath, nodded, and obediently closed his eyes.

Soon, Harry heard a crisp snap of fingers from beside his ear.

"Was that you snapping your fingers, Dobby?" he asked, pursing his lips.

"Yes! That's right!" Dobby's voice sounded again.

"Come on! Open your eyes, Harry Potter!"

Hearing Dobby's permission, Harry suppressed the wild thoughts in his heart and slowly opened his eyes.

The moment his eyes opened, Harry's pupils couldn't help but shrink, and he instinctively held his breath.

All he saw before him was a wisp of orange flame.

The flame trembled faintly in the air, and after a moment, it finally stabilized.

The flame emitted a weak and warm light, shining on Harry's innocent face.

It also cast a hazy glow over the originally dark room.

It was a cake—a small birthday cake with a candle stuck in it.

Dobby carefully held the cake in his hands and handed it to Harry.

"Happy birthday, Harry Potter!!!"

A brilliant smile appeared on his dirty face, and even though it was still pathetically ugly, it was the most beautiful thing Harry had ever seen.

"Dobby! Where did you find this!?"

Harry's eyes were slightly red.

He tried to suppress the shout that was about to escape his lips, and couldn't help but ask with a slight tremor.

"Dobby... Dobby is a clever elf! A clever elf naturally has its ways."

Dobby raised his head and said with a proud expression.

Of course, he couldn't tell Harry that today was his young master's graduation banquet... His master had specially ordered a three-tiered cake for his young master!

And this piece was what he had secretly cut off when no one was paying attention, sneaking back into the house.

As for the candle, he happened to run into Mr. Charlie on the way back.

After hearing his idea, Mr. Charlie casually picked up a silver fork, kneaded it in his hand, and transformed it into the candle currently stuck in the cake...

Harry probably had no way to imagine what a three-tiered cake should look like, even though what he was holding at the moment was just a piece of it.

Because even his cousin only ate deluxe versions of cake with double cream and chocolate on his birthdays.

But none of that mattered... Harry didn't know any of this, and even if he did, he wouldn't care at all.

Because right now, his heart was completely filled with this pitifully small piece of cake, with no extra space to hold anything else.

No matter how precious those things might be...

"Come on, Harry Potter! Let's blow out the candle!"

Dobby carefully placed the cake on the floor between the two of them as he spoke.

The joy in his tone sounded as if it were his own birthday.

"Yeah!"

Harry nodded earnestly, then leaned over and approached the cake.

Whether it was because he was too excited or because of the candlelight, Harry's face was particularly flushed at the moment.

He solemnly gazed at the tiny flame, as if trying to deeply imprint it in his heart.

Then, Harry closed his eyes again.

He took a deep breath...

"Whoosh!"

The candle went out...

And at the same time, the moment the candle went out...

With a snap of his fingers, the light that had been extinguished was lit again, restoring its former brightness.

"We can share this cake!"

Harry couldn't wait to stand up, take the extinguished candle off the cake.

He directly broke it into two pieces, one large and one small, and handed the larger piece over.

Dobby took the piece of cake from Harry's hand, and his eyes couldn't help but turn red for a moment.

"Dobby is very happy to know Harry Potter."

Dobby looked at Harry with sincere eyes.

"Although I have to leave soon, Dobby will definitely come to see Harry Potter again, I promise! Harry Potter and Dobby are friends forever!"

"Me too, we are friends forever."

After saying that, the two of them bit into the cake in their hands at the same time.