Harry Potter and the Candy Factory

“Buzz…”

The silent night swirled around them, and on the empty highway, only Charlie's Aston Martin continued to speed along.

Russell was still sitting in the passenger seat, shivering all over.

However, compared to his initial reaction when they first arrived, he was undoubtedly much better now.

His hands gently pressed against the car window, and he couldn't help but widen his eyes, starting to carefully observe the scenery flashing past, leaving only fleeting afterimages.

“Master…”

Suddenly, out of the blue, Russell turned his head and spoke to Charlie.

“Hmm?”

Charlie didn't speak, but as usual, responded with a short nasal sound.

“The ignorant Russell hopes to receive enlightenment from his master, to have his master's rich wisdom bestowed upon his loyal servant, in order to answer the doubts in the servant's heart.”

“…” Charlie's eyes remained fixed on the road ahead.

His foot didn't ease off the accelerator, and the engine roared wildly.

“Speak like a human.” Charlie said bluntly.

“…I really don't understand, Master, what exactly are we doing coming all this way?”

Russell scratched his head, abandoning that strange tone he had just used, and expressed his meaning clearly and concisely.

“I told you, don't imitate that damn tone of Kreacher's when there's nothing to do. Don't you know how much I hate his family?”

Charlie glanced at Russell in the passenger seat out of the corner of his eye.

It was clear that he didn't quite understand his master's elaborate actions.

He also didn't understand why a Muggle child of less than eleven years old could make the great master lower himself, personally come to meet him, and waste so much time sitting on the dirty steps chatting with him.

You should know that even last time, when the so-called Minister for Magic, Jorkins, wanted to have dinner with the master, he was turned away… Even though as a house-elf, he didn't really care about the so-called status of humans in the wizarding world, he knew that the Minister for Magic was an important official.

So what made this child so special?

Sighing, the benevolent Charlie ultimately didn't want his curious servant to be tormented by his inner doubts.

So he casually replied:

“I'm just curious about what kind of magic the baby who defeated Voldemort and even caused him to disappear possesses.”

Upon hearing this, Russell's eyes immediately widened, looking at his master in disbelief, his expression even more horrified than when he thought Harry Potter was Charlie's illegitimate son.

“That child is the baby who killed Vol… the Dark Lord back then!?!?!?”

Almost at the same time as Charlie's words fell.

Russell seemed to have received some great stimulation, and suddenly jumped up from his seat.

The result was predictable. With a “thump,” Russell's head slammed hard into the roof of the car.

Charlie narrowed his eyes, looked at Russell, who had returned to his seat, holding his head and whimpering, and sighed helplessly.

“Be careful, this car is a limited edition.”

It seemed that he had really been hit hard, and he clutched the bump on his head, writhing on the seat like a stranded carp, even forgetting his original fear of cars.

“I'm sorry, my master. Forgive Russell's gaffe, Russell just didn't expect… I was too excited.”

When he sat up again, his eyes were already full of tears, and he didn't know if it was because of the pain or something else.

He wiped the tears from his eyes with his wrinkled fingers, couldn't help but sniffle, and his emotions finally became stable again.

Russell took a breath, looked at Charlie, who was still driving quietly and unmoved, and then looked at the rising full moon outside the window, his voice becoming much more melancholy.

“I really didn't expect that Russell was just less than five feet away from him just now. So close, and Russell didn't even realize… didn't even have a chance to say thank you!”

“Look at the clothes that poor child is wearing! I'm sure that little pig and his family haven't abused him any less! How dare they do such a thing…”

“Oh, Russell is such a bad house-elf… Russell's expression when he looked at him just now didn't seem very friendly, oh dear… I hope that Mr. Harry doesn't hold a grudge against me.”

“Wuu wuu wuu…”

… … … … … …

Charlie turned his head slightly, looking at Russell's expression, sometimes excited, sometimes frustrated, sometimes angry, sometimes sad…

Constantly babbling incoherent and fragmented words.

But this time, Charlie didn't stop him, but chose to be a quiet listener.

Although he couldn't empathize with Russell's mood at this moment, he could still understand it.

Russell was rescued by Charlie from a group of werewolves.

When Charlie first met him, this little guy was like a walking corpse.

His whole body was skinny, with numerous scars, hiding in a broken bamboo basket. The first look he gave Charlie, the uncontrollable fear and despair in his eyes, made the then-young Charlie unable to breathe.

After Charlie killed the werewolves who came to capture him and took him away.

Russell, who had finally recovered, told him the whole story.

Those werewolves were all guys gathered by Voldemort. They came from a hidden Voldemort lair nearby.

That was Voldemort's testing ground for researching new magic, and he was the test subject who desperately escaped from it.

He told Charlie in a trembling voice about everything that was as suffocating as a nightmare.

The countless wails that surrounded his ears every night, the unbearable stench of decay, and the despair that could never be escaped.

Perhaps in Voldemort's eyes, Muggle wizards, who were scorned as mudbloods, should be completely eliminated.

But as a house-elf servant, in his ideology, they were even lower in status than Muggle-born wizards.

They were consumables, slaves, toys that could be killed and amused at will, and could not even be called life.

It was from this moment that an immature idea sprouted in the young Charlie's heart, and later, gradually became a towering tree.

… … … … … … …

“Mr. Charlie…”

Suddenly, just as Charlie was lost in his memories, Russell's cry pulled him back to reality.

“Speak.”

Charlie turned his head and looked at Russell.

Russell widened his pitiful eyes and looked at Charlie, his eyes filled with pleading.

“Will I have another chance to see Mr. Harry again? I want to say thank you to him in person.”