Harry Potter and the Candy Factory

“I told you guys, when you were copying, to change it a bit... Now it's all over, there's not even a chance to argue. In two days, they'll be enjoying a feast on Halloween, and we'll be stuck cleaning toilets!”

After class, Draco, holding his books, cast a resentful glance at Harry and Ron, his tone tinged with discouragement. It was clear that, although he didn't often mention it, he actually had high expectations for his first major holiday at Hogwarts.

But now, he never expected it to end up like this... It was truly full of irony and helplessness.

Staring at Draco, Harry lowered his head sheepishly, scratching the back of his head where his hair stuck up, saying nothing.

But Ron, still adhering to the admirable virtue of being stubborn as a mule, his cheeks slightly flushed, muttered dryly,

“How were we supposed to know Quirrell would suddenly pull something like that! Usually, even if our homework was half-assed, there wouldn't be any problems, but it just had to be this time...”

As Ron spoke, he seemed to gradually imagine in his mind the scene of himself cleaning toilets with tools while others feasted at the table, his mouth drooping severely.

“Professor Quirrell must have had some kind of brain fart... and started lecturing us with all sorts of grand principles.”

By the end, even he himself seemed unable to continue, and could only hang his head, the thousands of words in his heart finally converging into one sentence: “So unlucky.”

In front of the three, Hermione rolled her eyes speechlessly, scolding them as if she wanted to beat them into shape,

“Isn't it because you two were being lazy? Professor Quirrell's homework actually isn't that much, it's worlds apart from Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration essay! You two can even hand in the Transfiguration essay, but you slack off on the Defense Against the Dark Arts homework, I really don't understand what you're thinking.”

After scolding Harry and Ron, Hermione, seemingly still not satisfied, once again directed her criticism at Draco.

“And you, Draco... you can't keep copying their homework like this. Look at these two poor fellows—”

Hermione then opened her palm, pointing to the two who were drooping their heads and slouching.

“They've been in class for a whole semester, but they haven't learned anything! All they do all day is eat sweets and play Wizard's Chess! How can this be? When the exams come, they will definitely pay a heavy price!!”

Draco raised his eyebrows, his eyes following the direction Hermione pointed, casting a scrutinizing gaze. After scanning them up and down for a moment, he couldn't help but nod in agreement.

Indeed... Harry seemed much more dull than when school first started, and Ron, needless to say, had maintained a consistently stable performance, sliding towards the abyss of stupidity as if there were no limit, with no possibility of being pulled back up.

At this point, he couldn't help but sigh, and for some reason, he inexplicably recalled his previous two cronies, Goyle and Crabbe...

Returning to the present from his memories, Draco nodded, took out a licorice wand from his pocket, broke off a section and put it in his mouth, then retracted his gaze and said,

“Indeed... you're right.”

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

Meanwhile, in the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts, Dumbledore was, as always, leaning back comfortably in his office chair, his eyes shining as he gazed ahead, a kind smile on his lips, nodding occasionally to show that he was listening attentively.

At this moment, in the center of the office, Dabu was sitting on the tall stool originally prepared for Hagrid, barely managing to keep his line of sight parallel with Dumbledore.

He was subconsciously swinging his dangling feet while earnestly introducing his newly obtained project to the other party.

“...Just as you hoped, to bring something special to the young wizards of Hogwarts during such a special holiday.”

Dabu took a deep breath, and as he spoke, he reached into the small satchel he was carrying, taking out a box that he had already prepared.

With a muffled thud, Dabu jumped down from the tall stool, his nimble legs quickly scurrying, taking a few steps to the desk.

Then, with some difficulty, he stood on tiptoe, stretched out his arms, and presented the box to Dumbledore.

“What's in here?”

Dumbledore moved his office chair forward slightly, then reached out and carefully took the box from Dabu's hands, asking curiously at the same time.

“It's an idea that Mr. Black came up with!”

Dabu straightened his back, quite proud, and replied in a loud voice, as if he could accommodate everything.

“Based on the data from the candy vending machine, he selected the five candies that are most popular with the young wizards, besides the Sniffing Violets, and processed them to launch a limited Halloween edition!”

“Limited Halloween edition?”

Clearly, Dabu's words immediately aroused Dumbledore's strong interest.

His white and thick eyebrows rose slightly, and a brilliant light flickered in his eyes.

Indeed, as someone who is extremely fond of sweets, it is difficult not to be curious and interested in Charlie's so-called limited holiday edition... After all, this has never happened before.

“May I open this box and take a look?”

But even though he was so curious, Dumbledore did not impatiently open it right away, but looked at Dabu again and asked politely,

“Of course!”

Dabu nodded busily, then took two steps back, returning from the desk to the tall stool, and continued,

“This was originally a sample that Mr. Charlie prepared specifically for you. If you think it's good, then on Halloween, we'll fill the candy vending machines with new products according to this style!”

“That's really great... Thank Charlie for me, for being able to fulfill my almost unreasonable request at this time.”

As Dumbledore spoke, he opened the box with anticipation.

The box, as always, was made of the brown cardboard box that was most commonly used by Charlie's Candy Factory, so it didn't take much effort to open it.

When it was slowly opened, a dazzling array of candies appeared in Dumbledore's eyes.

“This is... Licorice Wands, Ice Mice, Hazelnut Chocolate, and Fizzing Whizbees, Fruit Sherbet Bombs?”

As a loyal user who can be said to be the most familiar with Charlie's products besides the employees of Charlie's Candy Factory, Dumbledore only glanced slightly, and through their respective shapes and colors, he could easily say their respective names without packaging.

After hesitating for a moment, Dumbledore ultimately chose the classic hazelnut chocolate from the assortment of sweets as the first candy to taste.

He slowly picked up a piece of the meticulously cut chocolate and placed it in his mouth.

His eyes slightly closed as he began to control his tongue, quietly savoring the difference between this hazelnut chocolate and those he had tasted before…

Upon entering his mouth, the roasted aroma of hazelnuts was still the first to emerge, quickly filling his oral cavity.

Dumbledore's lips curled into a slight smile. Without saying anything, he became even more expectant of the flavors that would follow.

As the chocolate gradually melted in his mouth, he wasn't disappointed. However, the honey notes, which should have blended with the roasted hazelnut flavor, suddenly changed, transforming into a unique and indescribable taste.

The heavy, cloying sweetness was reduced to the extreme, replaced by a faint bitterness mixed with a subtle sweetness, and even a hint of refreshing fragrance could be discerned.

"Hmm?"

Dumbledore made a sound of inquiry, his eyebrows slightly furrowing, indicating that he was beginning to ponder where this flavor originated.

However, to his surprise, even after the chocolate had completely melted and disappeared without a trace, he still couldn't figure out what this peculiar taste came from.

He reopened his eyes, which had been closed, and looked at the candies in the box. After a moment of contemplation, Dumbledore gave his assessment.

"Very interesting… This is as if the taste is completely opposite to that of the original hazelnut chocolate. But I don't dislike it; this other flavor is quite distinctive. I know Charlie must have changed the honey added to it, but I have no idea what he changed it to…"

Hearing Dumbledore's words, Dabbs also laughed happily, but didn't say anything, seemingly planning to keep it a secret and reveal the added ingredient to him later.

He smacked his lips, savoring the lingering taste of hazelnut chocolate. Dumbledore seemed to be still somewhat unsatisfied.

Soon, he reached out a second time, picking out the most distinctive-looking licorice stick from the candies, and then, as before, slowly placed it in his mouth.

Sweet. This time, Dumbledore felt the sweetness that had disappeared from the hazelnut chocolate…

Also changing the previous characteristics of the licorice stick, Charlie had added extra honey to it, completely masking its original fragrance and refreshing taste.

It could be said that if Dumbledore could barely find a connection between the hazelnut chocolate and his previous candies when eating one candy, then by the time he reached this one, the two would have truly had nothing in common except for their similar appearance.

Compared to a licorice stick, a honey stick or toffee stick seemed more suitable for it…

When this licorice stick was chewed and swallowed, the smile on Dumbledore's lips had become radiant.

This time, he didn't speak, but instead directly picked up the third one and put it in his mouth.

By this point, he was already able to guess the uniqueness of these five candies as a special Halloween edition.

Their current taste was a completely different experience from what they originally gave people!

The originally fragrant and sweet hazelnut chocolate was given the opposite refreshing sweetness and bitterness.

And the fragrant and refreshing licorice stick was full of a honey-toffee-like sweetness.

Dumbledore's interest had been completely piqued.

It must be said that most people, including himself, actually liked this feeling of uncertainty, just like tasting Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. They knew very well that it contained bizarre flavors such as "booger" and "vomit," but they couldn't help but pick one up and put it in their mouth, hoping that they would get "strawberry" or "pineapple"…

Are Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans really delicious? To be honest, they're very average. Even if you take out the best-tasting flavors, none of them can compete with the same-flavored products from Charlie's. But it is one of the few candy products that can achieve good sales under the cover of Charlie's behemoth.

And the key to its success is this unique sense of anticipation…

… … … … … … … … … … … … …

Dabbs said nothing, just standing beside the high stool, quietly waiting with a smile.

It wasn't until Headmaster Dumbledore swallowed the last melon-flavored Zizzle and showed a satisfied expression that he finally began to explain the flavor that Dumbledore had not tasted in the very first hazelnut chocolate.

"Mr. Black said that he specially added osmanthus powder to the hazelnut chocolate to neutralize its original sweetness and to mix in some unique and special flavors on top of the original hazelnut aroma."

"Very interesting…"

Dumbledore's eyes sparkled with a childlike light, genuinely praising.

"I even think that this shouldn't just be a special edition candy for Halloween… Even on ordinary days, it would definitely be very popular."

As he spoke, Dumbledore picked up a broken piece of licorice stick again with some lingering interest, put it in his mouth, and began to re-experience the honey-toffee flavor that was so sweet that it was outrageous.

"Then…" Dabbs paused, raised his head and looked at Dumbledore, tentatively asking,

"Shall we make the Christmas candy next time like this?"

"Yes."

Dumbledore smiled and nodded.

"Let's do it this way! I believe the little wizards will like these candies very much… … …"

Having received a definite answer, Dabbs also breathed a heavy sigh of relief, as if he had completed some arduous task.

"Don't worry! Headmaster Dumbledore, I'll go talk to Mr. Black right away. When Halloween comes, we will definitely send enough candy to ensure that those little wizards have a surprise that fits the atmosphere!"

After saying that, without waiting for Dumbledore to say anything more, Dabbs turned his head directly and rushed out of the headmaster's office with his two small legs, disappearing quickly in front of Dumbledore.

Dumbledore was first stunned for a moment, then chuckled to himself.

Shaking his head, he slowly stood up from his position, picked up a hazelnut chocolate again, put it in his mouth, and carefully savored the taste he had not tasted just now.