Harry Potter and the Candy Factory

At this moment, the candy factory's kitchen, located behind the house elf living area, was a hive of activity.

House elves wearing chef's hats and aprons bustled back and forth in the already crowded aisles, darting between ovens and stoves, excitedly preparing the many delicacies they would soon enjoy together.

"Where's the turkey? Hurry, it's time to brush the third layer of honey on the turkey!"

"Don't cut the beef so thin! Mr. Black is hosting VIPs this time, the texture is the most important thing!"

"Lai Lai?! Shouldn't you be frying the fries? What are you doing standing here!"

… … … … …

… … … …

At the very center of the kitchen, on the counter that should have been used by the head chef, Chafcha, usually taciturn and stern, had his sleeves rolled up, chopping parsley while issuing commands with practiced ease, as if he had already made this his workplace.

And Spi, the actual head chef here, could only stand respectfully by his side, with a flattering smile, carefully assisting with the cooking.

"What's going on?"

At the kitchen entrance, Dabu, who had just returned from Hogwarts, stared wide-eyed, looking at the scene before him in disbelief, a strange look flashing in his eyes, as if he had seen something extremely abnormal.

It was no wonder Dabu reacted like this. He usually saw his father sitting at his desk in a suit and leather shoes, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, flipping through accounts while pursing his lips in thought. He exuded an invisible aura of tension.

But the sight of him in the kitchen, chopping vegetables and shouting orders, was something he had never seen since he was born.

If you had to make a comparison, it would be like an Italian ordering an iced Americano at Starbucks... You can't say it won't happen, but when it actually does, it just looks weird no matter how you look at it.

"Mom, why is Dad cooking in the kitchen? Isn't that Uncle Spi's job?"

Then, Dabu turned his head, looked at Anke, who was smiling, and couldn't help but ask.

"Your father is the best cook in the entire factory… Because the people Mr. Black is hosting this time are very important, he's worried that something might go wrong, so he's preparing the formal dinner himself. ♚ ♞     ♦ ♦"

Anke looked affectionately at the man in the kitchen, who handled any ingredient with artistic elegance, her eyes filled with happiness, but also with a bit of emotion and reminiscence.

"You know, before your father met Mr. Black, he was already the manager of the Hogwarts kitchen! Your Uncle Spi was the sous chef he brought out back then…"

Anke paused here, then continued,

"Later, after being attracted by Mr. Black's philosophy and following him, Mr. Black believed that he could better display his talents in management, which is why he went from being an extraordinary chef to the head of the finance department."

Hearing this, Dabu was completely speechless with surprise. He had never heard his parents talk about the things that happened before they met Mr. Black and built the factory. He didn't expect that the first time he heard about it today, it would be such shocking news.

Then, he immediately realized something.

"So… me returning to Hogwarts this time, in a sense, is also following in my father's footsteps?"

Instantly, Dabu looked at Chafcha with a strange look in his eyes, as if he had a new understanding of his usually serious and awe-inspiring father.

Soon, under Chafcha's orderly command, the turkey, with its glossy color, crispy skin, and stuffing bulging from its belly, was carried out of the oven by two house elves working together.

The moment the turkey left the oven, its aroma, mixed with honey and many spices, swept through the entire kitchen in an instant, along with the rising white mist.

All the house elves who had been busy a second ago stopped their movements at the same time, greedily smelling the wonderful scent.

Chafcha, who was standing on a small stool simmering mushroom soup, raised his head and glanced at the wall clock. After simply estimating the time, he instructed the two house elves,

"Wait a moment, Mr. Black's guests shouldn't be here for a while yet, put the turkey aside first!"

Then, smoked ham, steak, Christmas pudding, gingerbread, fried dough balls, and so on… were also gradually completed in the final cooking stages, and each was placed in delicate silver plates, just waiting to be served.

"Phew…"

Seeing that the work was coming to an end, Chafcha finally breathed a sigh of relief, put down his rolled-up sleeves, patted Spi beside him, and signaled,

"Alright, everything that needs to be prepared is almost ready, I'll leave the rest to you."

"Understood!" Spi nodded quickly, took the spoon from Chafcha's hand with a look of admiration, and couldn't help but exclaim,

"As expected of you, boss! Even after so many years, your skills are still terrifyingly steady…"

A smile appeared on Chafcha's face, he waved his hand casually, just about to be modest, but was suddenly stopped by a voice.

"Dad!"

He was stunned for a moment, then reacted and turned his head in the direction of the voice. Sure enough, he saw his son Dabu, who had entered the kitchen at some point, looking at him with a smile.

"Why are you back?"

However, seeing Dabu, Chafcha's reaction was not the surprise of ordinary parents, but he frowned slightly and asked with a serious expression.

"Christmas is the peak sales season for Charlie's Chocolate, shouldn't you be at Hogwarts managing those vending machines? Don't forget what you promised Mr. Black! How long has it been, and you've already run back here?!"

"Mr. Black told me to come back."

Hearing his father's stern tone, Chaffcha's smile not only didn't fade but became even brighter as he replied,

"Mr. Black said this is the first time I've been away from home for so long, and you and Mom miss me terribly, so he specifically told me to come back and spend Christmas with you."

Hearing this, Chaffcha's brow relaxed a bit, but the sternness on his face didn't completely disappear.

Just as he opened his mouth, intending to say something more, Dabu, already knowing what he was thinking, spoke first,

"I found someone at Hogwarts to help me. He'll help me with the vending machines. It's just restocking when they're empty, very simple, nothing will go wrong."

Only after hearing this did the sternness on Chaffcha's face finally ease. His mustache twitched twice, and he glanced at his wife not far away, clearing his throat and saying,

"It's all your mom… I don't feel anything. In fact, it's much quieter in the house since you left… Mr. Black is good in every way, but he likes to exaggerate…"

… … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Meanwhile, inside Dabu's cottage at Hogwarts, Ron was sprawled out among a mountain of candy, a handful of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans in his left hand and several Ice Mice in his right, stuffing them into his mouth non-stop… … … …

After a long while, he finally burped, gazing at the ceiling with a dazed expression, muttering to himself,

"Heavens, this must be paradise…"

… … … … … … … …

At the same time, as a group of house-elves excitedly prepared to welcome Mr. Black's honored guests, a long-absent joy also enveloped the Malfoy Manor.

"Draco."

In the front hall, Narcissa looked up towards Draco's room on the second floor, calling out loudly,

"We're leaving for your uncle's factory in a little while, are you ready yet?"

"…Not yet, Mother! I need to find an outfit presentable enough!

To show how much I value Uncle's invitation!!"

Inside the room, Draco poked his head out and replied urgently to his mother downstairs before slamming the door shut with a "bang," leaving no gap.

"Alright."

Narcissa raised her eyebrows, not saying anything, just nodding and continuing to urge,

"Just hurry up, or your father will definitely scold you again later."

Speaking of which, suddenly, Narcissa seemed to think of something, her brow furrowing slightly as she turned her gaze towards the direction of the study… subconsciously muttering to herself,

"By the way, where's your father? It seems like I haven't seen him come out since he went into the study two hours ago."

… … … … … …

Unlike the bright lights elsewhere, the study was pitch black… Only a few streaks of bright moonlight shone in through the heavy curtains, becoming the only light here. Dissipating some of the darkness, adding a bit of tranquility and dynamism.

And by the faint moonlight, Lucius's figure was vaguely visible. He sat upright behind his desk, his thin lips pursed, his brow furrowed, his gaze complex and profound, focused on a single point, staring intently at the old wooden box currently placed on the desk, seemingly caught in some kind of internal struggle.

After a long while, he deeply exhaled a breath of air, as if making some kind of decision at this moment, he slowly raised his hand and gently tugged open the rusted iron lock on the box.

Immediately afterward, Lucius's hand exerted a slight force, and accompanied by the sound of the damaged hinge of the box, a small gap began to appear and gradually widened.

"… … … …"

The muscles on his cheeks twitched slightly for no reason, and even his fingers trembled as never before.

"Dear, what are you doing?"

However, just as the gap in the wooden box grew larger and was about to completely open, revealing the contents, a sudden voice startled him, causing him to slam the lid back down.

"Nothing!!"

Lucius shouted subconsciously, while suddenly raising his head to look in the direction of the voice.

Only to see that his wife was standing at the door at this moment, squinting her eyes, suspiciously scrutinizing her husband's unusually strange behavior.

After a moment of silence, she said,

"Dear, you scared me…"

"S-Sorry, dear."

Lucius breathed a sigh of relief, while subconsciously reaching out and wiping the nonexistent sweat from his forehead, while calming his emotions and responding softly.

Narcissa raised her eyebrows, not saying anything more, but slowly shifted her gaze to the conspicuous old wooden box, asking,

"What is this? I didn't know there was such a thing in the house."

"…An old thing from a long time ago, it's been in the storage room, I just found them today."

"What are you finding it for?"

"Um… … … …"

Lucius hesitated for a moment, then slowly said,

"I plan to give it to Charlie as a Christmas present… I guess he'll like it."