Harry Potter and the Candy Factory

“Slytherin!!!”

With the Sorting Hat's loud pronouncement, Goyle, Crabbe, and the Slytherin students were the first to applaud as a matter of course. (っ ◔ ◡ ◔ ) っ

Charlie raised an eyebrow, also clapping silently, his gaze turning to Draco once more, a hint of curiosity rising in his heart.

Professor Flitwick was visibly disappointed, his hand stroking his beard paused, but he still smiled.

“What a pity.”

He turned his head, looking at Charlie, and said as such.

Charlie merely responded with a smile, not saying much else.

“Huff…”

Draco's expression finally began to relax as he stood up from the chair, reaching out to wipe the beads of sweat from his forehead caused by the earlier tension.

Then, gently placing the Sorting Hat down, Draco straightened his chest, striding forward, the wind caused by his movement lifting the hem of his robes, fluttering slightly behind him.

After taking his notebook from Goyle's hand, he suddenly paused.

Immediately, Draco stopped and turned his head, looking towards his uncle instead of heading directly to the Slytherin table.

Charlie sat at the table, smiling like the other Slytherin students, gently clapping his hands to congratulate Draco.

When he saw Draco turn to look at him, he was also looking at Draco. ♦ ♕     ♦ ඏ

Charlie nodded with a smile, saying nothing more… but everything, all that he wanted to express, was perfectly conveyed in that silence.

Draco took a deep breath, straightened his back even more, and turned back around, holding his notebook, his eyes filled with hope and determination, as he walked towards the Slytherin students who were also watching him.

Among the few remaining first-years, Harry, who hadn't dared to look up, noticed Charlie at the head table by following Draco's gaze.

A look of surprise appeared on Harry's face, his eyes widening as he stared at Charlie, carefully taking him in.

At that moment, Charlie gradually merged with the person who had sat with him on the steps that day.

A wave of overwhelming emotion surged from his heart, causing his entire face to flush red with excitement.

“Look, Ron!”

He tugged hard on Ron's sleeve, his voice filled with suppressed joy.

“Mr. Black is there too!”

“Huh!?”

Ron, who had been looking elsewhere, seemingly lost in thought, was immediately drawn in by Harry's words.

He quickly turned his head, his eyes wide as he looked around, hurriedly asking Harry,

“Which one?! Which Mr. Black!? Is it Charlie Black?”

Harry was startled by his attitude, and while reaching out to turn Ron's head, he asked in a strange tone,

“I thought you didn't like Mr. Black very much…”

However, Ron waved his hand dismissively at Harry, looking at the now calm Charlie Black at the table, his eyes almost sparkling.

“How could that be…” Ron retorted to himself.

“He's the creator of the world's greatest candy factory… and a powerful wizard himself, who wouldn't like him?”

Harry was taken aback by his answer, then felt somewhat confused.

“Then what about on the way here… how could you…”

Ron withdrew his gaze, rolling his eyes at Harry dismissively, and replied truthfully,

“I just didn't want to see Draco being too smug. You know, that guy has been bragging about his uncle being Charlie Black since the beginning. Honestly, we're all pure-blood families, who doesn't have some kind of family connection?”

After speaking, his eyes regained their sparkle, and he leaned close to Harry's ear, as if sharing a groundbreaking secret.

“To be honest… if you really look at the family tree, my grandmother Cedrella Weasley is actually Charlie Black's cousin!”

“Really!?”

Harry almost couldn't help but shout, quickly lowering his voice and continuing to ask.

“Of course!” Ron nodded matter-of-factly, continuing,

“Her father, Arcturus Black, was the brother of Charlie Black's father, Cygnus Black.”

“Then that means Draco is your…” Harry stopped there, seemingly afraid of upsetting Ron, and didn't continue.

“Actually, you can't really count it that way…” Ron seemed quite normal as he shrugged his shoulders.

“It's just that after my grandmother married my grandfather Septimus Weasley, she was removed from the Black family… so in name, that connection was broken.”

… … … … … … … … … … …

After Draco's unexpected moment, the remaining Sorting of the new students became much smoother.

Except for Harry, who took more than ten minutes at the end, everything was extremely normal.

“Harry Potter… Gryffindor!!!!”

As the Sorting Hat announced Harry Potter's house, Gryffindor erupted in cheers that almost lifted the roof of the hall.

Amidst the voices of every Gryffindor student shouting "We have Harry Potter," the Sorting Ceremony officially ended.

Dumbledore slowly rose from his seat, not speaking, but first looking around the room.

Only after all the young wizards' eyes were on him did he begin the speech that he gave every year at this time.

Dumbledore didn't say anything profound or lengthy, just a simple explanation.

“It is strictly forbidden for any student to enter the Dark Forest, it is the Forbidden Forest…”

“The corridor on the right side of the third floor is also forbidden. Our caretaker, Mr. Filch, has asked me to specifically remind you of this.”

“Uh… Mr. Filch is the gentleman who first greeted you… He is feeling unwell, so he did not attend the banquet…”

As he spoke, Dumbledore paused unconsciously, his gaze unintentionally falling on Charlie, who was sitting upright not far away.

“But, I guess you should be able to recognize him… If you don't want to die a terrible death, don't go there.”

… … …

“Alright… that's all.” Finally, after Dumbledore finished speaking, he slowly raised both hands.

“Now, I declare, the feast begins!”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Dumbledore waved his hands forward forcefully, his wide sleeves billowing.

Instantly, the originally empty tables, devoid of anything at all, were filled with a dazzling array of delicacies, filling every available space in the blink of an eye.