Harry Potter and the Candy Factory

Since the founding of *The Daily Prophet* in 1743, it seems that no one has ever been able to have their name plastered on its front page twice.

Neither the numerous dignitaries, nor the political celebrities, nor even Albus Dumbledore, hailed as the "Strongest White Wizard in the World," had ever had such an opportunity.

Of course, according to Albus Dumbledore's personality, he certainly wouldn't care too much about such meaningless things...

However, regardless, with the arrival of the next day, when the familiar name "Charlie Black" reappeared on the masthead of *The Daily Prophet*, he became the first wizard to receive this honor...

It turned out that after Gufert handed the recruitment advertisement to Skeeter, Skeeter used it as a basis to write a very high-quality news article with great enthusiasm.

The richness of its content and the length of its narrative occupied nearly one-eighth of the entire newspaper. It also included two photos.

One was of Charlie Black wearing a dress robe, sitting in his office, smiling and looking calmly at the camera—due to the urgency, there was no time to go to the factory to take a photo of Charlie, so Gufert specially cut it out from a newspaper interview with Charlie a few years ago.

In terms of temperament, he appeared a bit more flamboyant than he does now, lacking his current restraint, but it unexpectedly matched this news, which was obviously a bit "rebellious."

As for the second photo, it was none other than the recruitment advertisement.

It has to be said that Skeeter deserves to be called the most outstanding reporter of *The Daily Prophet*. When she abandoned her most skilled "historical writing" this time, and truthfully and accurately presented the matter to the world as it was, without any procrastination, her impressive professional level could be seen.

The next day, Gufert sat in his office, without turning on the lights.

It was extremely quiet all around. Apart from the constant ticking of the clock, there was no other sound. The ticking was like the beat of his heart, one beat after another, making him inexplicably flustered.

His cheeks looked a little swollen at this time, and the drooping eye bags and clearly visible dark circles undoubtedly proved that Gufert did not rest well last night...

In fact, he didn't rest much. After returning home that night, he took a quick shower, then lay back on the bed, turned off the lights, and prepared to sleep.

However, he couldn't fall asleep no matter what. As soon as he closed his eyes, he thought of the earth-shattering "big news", which made him feel excited and his brain flooded with dopamine, without any sleepiness at all. He could only toss and turn in the lonely, hazy night, unable to fall asleep for a long time.

The next day, at three thirty, he finally ran out of patience. He opened his eyes, turned over and got out of bed, dressed quickly, came to his office, sat in the office chair, and didn't turn on the lights. He just waited slowly... intending to be the first witness to this "major event."

Not far away, the blinds were not completely closed, leaving an opening angle of about thirty degrees, which could barely allow a view of the scenery outside the window.

However, the time was still early at the moment, and the familiar scenery outside the window was also so different for the first time, as quiet as a delicate oil painting, making people unconsciously fascinated.

"Tick, tock, tick..."

Gufert admired the scenery outside the window in a daze, and the hands of the clock were still moving non-stop. The minute hand circled around and around, running on the dial, driving the heavy hands behind it, moving with difficulty.

Slowly, the rising sun poked its dazzling light out from the horizon.

It broke the original silence and turned the delicate oil painting into a flamboyant and unrestrained watercolor painting.

The sunlight shone in quietly through the blinds, warm and gentle. It also left evenly arranged zebra-striped stripes on Gufert's desk.

Finally, as time passed, the hour hand pointed to the "6" position.

Gufert, who had been looking out the window, suddenly seemed to have been touched by some mechanism. His originally dazed eyes suddenly became agile, shining with light, and a bright smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"Come on... Today, *The Daily Prophet* and my name will both be recorded in magical history."

........................................

Copies of the newspaper disappeared from *The Daily Prophet*'s offices through various channels and methods. Either through newsstands or owls... In any case, they were passed into the hands of others.

From the moment they got the newspaper, an ordinary morning, no different from usual, would inevitably be rewritten.

And the British wizarding world, which had been silent for I don't know how many hundreds of years, like a pool of stagnant water, was completely activated by the stone thrown into it by Charlie Black, setting off ripples that spread outward...

"Mom!!! Dad!! Look, it's Uncle Charlie again!!!" Nymphadora Tonks screamed, scanning the contents of the newspaper with wide eyes, while not forgetting to tell the other two.

And such things were not only happening here. Nymphadora Tonks's reaction can be said to be the epitome of thousands of wizards.

"Look!! Tris, there's big news!"

"My Merlin!! What's going on?"

"Oh my god... We should tell your father about this news and ask him to go quickly!"

"Charlie Black! I knew he was a complete lunatic! That Fudge is also a lunatic, and the reporter who wrote this damn article is also a lunatic! Lunatics, lunatics, lunatics! They all are..."

Surprise, astonishment, disbelief, anger, sneering, contempt... At this moment, countless emotions rose spontaneously, filling the hearts of every British wizard, but undeniably, they were all shocked, deeply disturbed by this attack that broke through everyone's common sense.

And this originally ordinary day will eventually be imprinted into history along with Charlie and his "major event", becoming the key content outlined by a certain professor at Hogwarts in class in the future.

And let the little wizards use this as a basis to write an assignment of more than 2,000 words to elaborate on the landmark significance of this event for the future "coexistence of the wizarding and Muggle worlds", as well as Charlie Black's own identity and role in the historical development...

...................

At the same time, in a rather exquisite villa, located in the dining room, its owner is currently sitting at the long dining table, tasting the food in front of him.

His back was ramrod straight, never cracking a smile. The hands holding the knife and fork didn't waver in the slightest. Even when eating a cherry tomato, he meticulously cut it open and placed it in his mouth in two separate bites.

His very presence seemed to be a model, reminding everyone how the rules of the world should operate and how they should be created.

Even if he didn't speak, just sitting there, he exuded an invisible pressure that prevented anyone from feeling relaxed, subconsciously making them emulate his rigid behavior.

However, directly across from him sat a completely different character.

It was a thin young man with a hunched back, vacant eyes, and arms resting carelessly on the table. He moved his utensils mechanically, stiffly shoving food into his mouth and chewing with the same rigidity. He resembled a mindless zombie, his actions inexplicably inspiring fear…

This was the Crouch residence… and seated at the dining table was the current number two in the Ministry of Magic, the Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, Barty Crouch.

As for the person across from him, it was his son, Barty Crouch Jr. – a Death Eater controlled by the Imperius Curse.

Meals between the two were always like this, completely silent, filled with a pressure that made it hard to breathe.

“My newspaper.”

Having finished his own meal, Barty Crouch ignored his son on the other side, stood up, and, as he headed towards the living room, issued a concise command.

“Yes, Master!!”

A high-pitched, almost feminine voice responded.

Immediately, the house-elf Winky, wearing a pillowcase, skipped forward with light steps, rushing to Barty Crouch's side and reverently presenting the newspaper with both hands.

“Good morning, Master! Winky has brought your newspaper.”

Taking the newspaper, without even glancing at the servant beside him, he settled onto the sofa as usual, unfolded the paper, and began reading the contents from the front page.

However, little did he know, one glance was all it took for Barty Crouch's perpetually stern expression to change, shifting again and again, becoming incredibly complex.

His brow furrowed into a knot, and as he read further down, it only deepened.

The atmosphere, already far from relaxed, became even more oppressive, causing the sensitive Winky to instinctively hunch over, barely daring to breathe, gazing cautiously up at her master, her eyes filled with a mixture of fear and curiosity.

She seemed to want to know what could possibly make her master so serious.

After finishing the first page of the newspaper, the furrowed brow slowly relaxed.

He didn't read any further. Instead, he simply put down the paper and turned his gaze to Winky, who was attentively serving him.

“Winky.”

Barty Crouch spoke.

“Yes, Master! Does Master need Winky to do something?”

Called by name, Winky immediately perked up, straightening her hunched posture and responding quickly, albeit with some unease.

“You know the name Charlie Black, correct?” Barty Crouch asked, his tone no different from usual.

Hearing his words, a hint of surprise and fear flickered in Winky's eyes, but she quickly nodded and said,

“Heard of him.”

“Can you tell me? From your perspective, what kind of person is Charlie Black…?”

“He…” Winky lowered her head, seemingly hesitant.

After a long pause, she finally raised her head again, her expression resolute.

“In my opinion, Charlie Black is a demon! A rogue, a shameless villain! And the wizard Winky hates most in the whole world!”

Even Barty Crouch couldn't help but show a hint of surprise on his face at these words.

He raised his eyebrows and continued to ask,

“I thought you would admire him. After all, many house-elves consider Charlie Black to be the savior of house-elves, a great philanthropist…”

A subtle look of contempt and resentment flashed across Winky's face. Of course, this did not escape Barty Crouch's notice.

“Those house-elves are all bad things! They are all traitors! Miserable creatures who don't deserve to be called house-elves! Seduced by Charlie Black, they cruelly abandoned their masters, their work, and their mission! Throwing themselves into something empty and illusory, wasting their lives meaninglessly. Winky hates them! And disdains to associate with such creatures!”

Winky looked at Barty Crouch from the bottom of her heart, the admiration and awe in her eyes surpassing even that of Luo Su when facing Charlie… Every word she spoke was deeply felt, spoken with certainty, without the slightest hesitation.

Barty Crouch didn't speak immediately, but narrowed his eyes, quietly looking at Winky, scrutinizing her from head to toe, and finally gazing into her large eyes.

After a long time, a rare hint of a smile appeared on his face, and he nodded with clear approval. He didn't say anything else about it, but changed the subject and ordered,

“Go prepare the Floo Powder for me… Today, I will go to the Ministry of Magic a little earlier. I suspect, today at the Ministry of Magic will definitely be a busy day.”

Having gained her master's approval, Winky seemed particularly happy, prostrating herself with a joyful expression and pressing her huge head to the floor to express her utmost respect. Then, accompanied by flickering light, she disappeared from the living room to fetch the Floo Powder.

… … … … … … … … … … … … …

Soon, Barty Crouch disappeared from the villa, following the flames rising from his own fireplace.

At the dining table, Barty Crouch Jr., who had been slowly eating the food in front of him, paused as he heard the “boom” of the Floo Powder exploding in the living room.

A different kind of light flashed in his vacant eyes, and a struggling expression faintly appeared on his face.

However, as soon as Winky re-entered the dining room, both the light in his eyes and the struggle on his face quickly disappeared, becoming no different from before, and he continued to eat the food on his plate stiffly and sluggishly.

Winky noticed nothing, only glanced at her young master as usual, and continued her work, clearing Barty Crouch's plates and cutlery.

The huge villa was eerily silent.