Harry Potter and the Candy Factory

“Albus Dumbledore! This matter, no matter what, you must give me an explanation!!!”

Compared to the lively and clamorous atmosphere among the young wizards of Hogwarts, the atmosphere in Dumbledore's office had plummeted to freezing point…

On the walls, in the ancient picture frames, the headmasters were silent, not one of them saying a word. All of them tacitly lowered their eyes, looking at the extraordinary man with long golden hair who was standing in the center of the headmaster's office.

Never before had they seen anyone dare to question the white-haired old man behind the desk in the headmaster's office in such a way.

Although they didn't want to admit it, in their hearts, the past headmasters would give extremely high evaluations of Albus Dumbledore's strength and status.

You must know that the title of "White Magic Master" was not just chanted by admirers… It was the uncrowned crown that Albus Dumbledore had won in countless battles in the past!

Even Fudge, as the Minister of Magic, could only barely maintain himself at the same level as him, so as not to be overwhelmed by his aura. But to point his finger at the other party and demand an explanation… even if Fudge were given ten times the courage, he would never dare to open his mouth.

Looking at this scene, Dexter, with his long fiery red beard, seemed to have thought of something in the rows of headmaster portraits, and a bit of restrained smile appeared on his originally silent face.

“Hey!” He couldn't help but snort, glanced at his old rival Phineas Black beside him, and provoked in a low voice,

“Look, Phineas! It seems that someone more promising than your descendant has appeared… Just right, he also has golden hair!”

Compared to last time, Phineas seemed to have learned a lot. He was no longer easily angered by Dexter's simple words, but glared at the other party fiercely, then shifted his gaze back to the two people below, ignoring him.

… … … … … … … … … … … … …

Behind the desk, facing Lucius Malfoy's anger, Dumbledore did not choose to say much, nor did he defend himself. He just sighed, shook his head, and drooped his eyelids, so that his gaze did not meet Lucius's angry eyes, silently accepting all the other party's accusations.

After all, from any point of view, this matter was a dereliction of duty on the part of Hogwarts… Because of an accident and negligence, three first-year students were almost killed by a giant's club.

If they hadn't happened to meet Dabu, then the consequences that would have occurred would have been predictable…

As the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Dumbledore must bear the main responsibility for this negligence.

And Lucius Malfoy, standing in front of him at this moment, whether as a member of the Hogwarts School Board or as the parent of a student who was almost killed, undoubtedly had the right to make such accusations against him…

The scene fell into silence again for a time… After a long time, Dumbledore pondered and slowly opened his mouth, answering what Lucius had said at the beginning.

“First of all… Malfoy, as the current headmaster of Hogwarts, I feel very guilty… Because of our negligence, the young wizards who study and live here have been put in such a dangerous situation. In this regard, in some respects, I still have an undeniable responsibility. Facing you as Draco's parent, I want to say I'm sorry.”

As he spoke, Dumbledore finally raised his head and looked back at Lucius Malfoy, who was staring at him like a sword.

In his eyes, the shimmering blue pupils had now changed from their usual gentleness and kindness, filled with inexplicable sorrow and sadness.

“……”

Lucius didn't speak, but pursed his lips, raised his head, and quietly listened to the other party continue.

“Secondly, I will guarantee to you that, no matter what, I will investigate the whole story of this matter clearly, and give all the children who have been harmed by this matter the explanation they deserve…”

“…Albus Dumbledore.”

After Dumbledore finished speaking, Lucius took a deep breath and slowly exhaled it. Although his attitude no longer had the anger of the initial questioning, his tone still carried an indelible indifference.

“Draco is my son… and he also represents that he is the only heir of the Malfoy family in the future—do you know what it means if he is really seriously injured or even dies because of your negligence?”

He crossed his hands in front of him, calmly pressed on the head of his cane, and then crushed it a few times with force.

Without waiting for Dumbledore to really open his mouth to answer his question, he continued what he had just said.

“It means that the Malfoy family, as one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight pure-blood families, is very likely to become extinct!!!”

Lucius's voice became more and more impassioned, and in the end, he almost shouted it out loud.

The office suddenly became quiet again, even the past headmasters on the wall subconsciously held their breath and couldn't help swallowing when they heard Lucius's words.

Lucius shook his head gently, paused, and said in a deep voice,

“So… you don't have to say anything nice to me here. Because no matter how well you say it, my attitude will not change in the slightest. I can't afford things that have already threatened the inheritance of the Malfoy family, and neither can you… not even the Minister of Magic!”

After the words fell, he stopped looking at Dumbledore's figure, turned his head resolutely, waved the cloak behind him, and walked towards the door of the headmaster's office with his cane.

“Peng…”

“Peng…”

“Peng…”

The cane tapped on the thick carpet, making a muffled sound again and again. But it was as if it was hitting everyone's heart, causing them to rise and fall with its rhythm, feeling quite uneasy.

With a "creak", Lucius pushed open the half-hidden door of the headmaster's office.

“I will discuss this matter with the other members of the board… I think you are too old, too old to be competent for this job.”

After saying that, he left the headmaster's office directly, walked down the stairs, and gradually disappeared from Dumbledore's sight.

“Seriously… don't listen to his nonsense, Dumbledore. I've always thought you were a pretty good headmaster.”

After Lucius left, Dexter took the lead in speaking in the office, offering a rare act of consideration and comforting Dumbledore sitting in the office chair.

“Yes, yes… although a bit incompetent.”

“And doesn't like to handle official business…”

“And always doesn't have a reliable look…”

“But at least you have won so much more compared to Phineas!”

“The students like you, they love you. Their respect for you surpasses all of us, and that's enough!”

… … …

… … …

… … …

As Dexter spoke, the other headmasters also chimed in with words of comfort. Although the effect seemed somewhat unsatisfactory…

“Alright, thank you, headmasters. If you really want me to feel better, then please be quiet!”

Helpless, Dumbledore could only sigh again. He pinched his brow and closed his eyes, wearily speaking to the portraits on the wall.

… … … … … … … … … … … … …

Lucius followed the stairs, heading towards the exit of Hogwarts in the direction he had come.

From beginning to end, he did not look at his son's injuries.

He simply finished speaking with Dumbledore as quickly as possible, then silently left.

Just like he had never outwardly expressed his “love” to Draco before, this time, he did not outwardly express any concern for Draco… … …

While looking down at the road beneath his feet, Lucius began to ponder. When the school board meeting came, how should he persuade the other board members to deeply explain Dumbledore's negligence and carelessness, in order to remove him from the position of Headmaster of Hogwarts.

Just as he was lost in thought, suddenly, a figure walked towards him head-on, seemingly intentionally, stopping in front of him and blocking Lucius's original path.

This sudden change could not help but bring Lucius's attention back from his thoughts.

His face momentarily turned gloomy, and just as he was about to explode, he slowly raised his head and saw a particularly familiar face, which immediately caught his eye.

It was a handsome and profound face, with a smile that seemed to be his trademark. Coupled with those blue eyes and golden hair, he almost subconsciously called out the other person's name without thinking.

“Charlie!?”

His eyes blinked twice, carefully looking at the other person's face, which was no different from what he remembered. After a moment, he finally confirmed that it was not his illusion.

The person standing in front of him at this moment was indeed Charlie Black—his brother-in-law.

Instantly, the sound came out, and Lucius's gloomy expression suddenly changed, turning into a few traces of surprise mixed with joy.

“Long time no see, Lucius, how are you?”

Charlie was still smiling, nodding, and softly greeting.

Compared to Lucius's surprise, his reaction seemed very calm, as if he had already expected to meet the other person here.

“I’m fine.”

Lucius replied, then switched his cane from his right hand to his left, and then patted the other person's shoulder in a friendly manner, smiling and saying,

“Everything is still the same as usual, there is nothing different… … … ”

Suddenly, Lucius's words paused. He looked at Charlie, his eyebrows slightly raised, as if he had thought of something, and couldn't help but ask,

“By the way, Charlie… … why are you here?”

“Me… … ”

Charlie still smiled, and then continued to say in the same tone as just now,

“Headmaster Dumbledore wrote me a letter, hoping I could come over… … ”

… … … … … … … … … … … … …

Without wasting too much time with Lucius, Charlie soon skillfully arrived at the front of Dumbledore's office.

“Knock knock knock… … ”

He gently knocked on the door of the office, everything was the same as before, nothing had changed.

Originally, the noisy voices in the office comforting Dumbledore stopped abruptly as the knock sounded.

In an instant, all eyes shifted again, from Dumbledore to the door.

“Come in.”

Dumbledore also reopened his eyes and said softly.

As Dumbledore's voice fell, the next second, the door of the headmaster's office opened, and Charlie's figure appeared in front of him.

“Good afternoon, Headmaster Dumbledore.”

Charlie said, walking in. Ignoring the many complex gazes on the wall, he skillfully closed the door and walked to the front of the desk.

“Oh my… … what kind of day is today!?”

Dexter's face showed a bit of emotion. He stroked his beard randomly and said dryly, but only he himself probably knew what the meaning contained in it.

“Ha… … I guess it's a good day. Because I have seen my excellent child again.”

Phineas sneered, his expression somewhat relaxed, with a rare gentleness and kindness, looking at this excellent heir from the Black family, and said nothing more.

“Ah… … you're here, Charlie.”

With Charlie's appearance, Dumbledore's original fatigue finally disappeared.

A smile reappeared on his face, and he nodded to Charlie.

“I just met Lucius on the road… … he doesn't seem to be in a good mood.”

Arriving in front of his old headmaster, Charlie was no longer polite. He casually chatted with the other person, then found the chair placed in the corner and moved it to the front of the desk.

He raised his head and looked at Dumbledore's face at this time.

“Is it because of the troll… … ”

Dumbledore didn't hide anything from his most outstanding student, saying, he leaned down and skillfully took out two candies from the drawer of the desk.

He put one in his mouth and sent one to Charlie.

“I see… … ”

A few changes appeared in Charlie's eyes… … but he still didn't say anything more, just nodded.

“Then, did you call me here this time because… … ”

He carefully took the candy from Dumbledore's hand, but he didn't eat it immediately, but asked the other person the purpose of calling him here this time.

“No… … ”

However, what he didn't expect was that Dumbledore shook his head.

“This time I called you here mainly because of this—”

Saying, Dumbledore slowly took out something from the pocket of his robe, gently placed it on the desk, and showed it to Charlie.

It was a hollow sphere about the size of a palm, exactly the one that Dumbledore had picked up from the rubble under the troll that day… …