Harry Potter and the Candy Factory

Having left Yndell, Sanchez Jr. walked alone among the bustling shops of the Place de la Carrousel, utterly silent, without uttering a word. Juxtaposed with the joyful and noisy atmosphere around him, everything seemed so out of place.

He walked with his head down, pondering something in his mind, weaving through the crowd, heading deeper into the Place de la Carrousel.

As he walked, the crowd in front of him thinned out, and the glittering signs gradually moved away from him, leaving only those wizards who couldn't afford to decorate their shops or rent better locations, standing weakly at their doorways, looking with hope at the strangely dressed, seemingly wealthy young man walking along the street. They hoped he would spend a large sum in their shops, allowing them to earn more money in one go.

Unfortunately, Sanchez Jr. had no desire to spend any money at the moment. He didn't even glance at the shops on either side. His eyes were fixed on the ground, and under the cover of shadows, no one could tell what he was thinking.

Pain? His father was about to pass away, so that was to be expected.

Fear? The thought that Mr. Charlie Black might actually agree, and he would be taking his place, wielding the power of Charlie's Candies in the French wizarding world, able to decide the trends of the entire industry in this region with a single word. At the same time, countless people would be looking up to him, hoping he could bring more profit to the company so they could live better lives. And around him, local candy brands such as "Florens," "King Neller," and "Carnival Time" would be like vipers, greedily watching him from the shadows, waiting for this young, inexperienced child in their eyes to make a mistake, then seizing the opportunity to deliver a venomous bite, ending Charlie's Candies' life in France and replacing its current position.

Resentment? His dream was so close, he had even prepared to pursue it. However, due to the sudden turn of events, everything was disrupted, making that once-reachable dream now seem even further away. He didn't want to be a rich man. He wanted to be a world-renowned fashion designer like Ms. Bonavile.

… … … …

The chaotic emotions formed by these seemingly unsolvable problems would overwhelm not only a young wizard fresh out of school but even a middle-aged person who had already experienced the harsh realities of life.

And all of this, all the problems, were caused by one thing: Nakel Sanchez's dwindling life.

"I am dying," his father's words in the room and his emotionless expression appeared simultaneously in Sanchez Jr.'s mind.

In the darkness, the tall figure was still hunched over, heedlessly walking forward with his head down, even faster than before.

Finally… … … … After walking for an unknown amount of time, there were no lights on either side of the Place de la Carrousel, and not even a shadow of a person could be seen. As the increasingly narrow path reached its edge, Sanchez Jr. stopped.

He knelt down weakly, and his shoulders began to tremble.

"Patta," tears flowed from his eyes, slid down his straight nose, and finally fell to the ground.

A faint sob rose from the young man's mouth and gradually became uncontrollable as his emotions were released until the tears could no longer be held back, and the sob turned into a complete cry.

It seemed that only in this deserted corner could he cry so unreservedly. Crying for his dream, crying for his father, crying for the future that made him grit his teeth and hate it… …

In this place, only the bright full moon hanging high in the sky witnessed everything, lovingly scattering its light, diluting the bottomless darkness, silently comforting the sorrowful Sanchez Jr.

However, just as Sanchez Jr. was venting his pent-up emotions and crying uncontrollably, a faint rustling sound suddenly came from the narrow corner that could be seen at a glance.

"What's that?"

Noticing the sudden movement, Sanchez Jr. stopped crying and raised his head vigilantly, looking in the direction of the sound while trying to suppress his somewhat hoarse voice and calmly asking.

【To be honest, I have been using the Huanyuan app to read and update books recently, switching between sources, with many reading voices available on both Android and Apple.】

"Patta!"

In the darkness, something like a wooden board seemed to have been hit, and with a muffled "thud," it fell to the ground. Then, just as Sanchez Jr. became more alert and took two steps back, a creature resembling a mouse suddenly darted out of the darkness and stopped directly in front of Sanchez Jr.

It was a small creature less than the size of a palm, with a body like an oval sphere, but with a pair of rather conspicuous thin legs and a fluffy, long, and flexible tail. Its two small eyes were particularly round, like black gemstones, shining with intelligent light.

"Jerboa?"

Sanchez Jr. was stunned for a moment and then subconsciously called out the name of the creature in front of him. But then, he frowned again.

"If I remember correctly, there are no such creatures in France… … … Little guy, are you a pet that got lost from some wizard?"

Sanchez Jr. said to himself, seemingly because of its non-aggressive appearance, which made him lower his guard for a moment. He subconsciously raised his hand to touch the fluffy little creature.

However, the jerboa in front of him seemed to sense his movements, nimbly jumping to the side, dodging his hand, then turning around and hopping a few times in the direction it had come from.

"Squeak, squeak."

Just as it was about to re-enter the darkness, the jerboa paused and called out to Sanchez Jr. behind him, as if telling him to follow it.

Sanchez Jr. was speechless for a moment, slowly stood up, and just watched it disappear from sight again.

After hesitating for a moment, he raised his foot and walked towards the visible edge of the Place de la Carrousel's surrounding wall. As a French wizard who had lived in Paris since childhood, he knew that there was no road ahead, only a stone wall of unknown centuries.

However, when he actually followed the jerboa's footsteps forward, he strangely found that the original stone wall had, at some point, appeared to have a hole in the bottom, about fifty centimeters high, just wide enough for an adult to pass through.

And in front of the hole, there was a wooden board lying down to block it, presumably the jerboa had pushed open the board to get out.

"Strange… … … … I don't remember there being any hole here."

Sanchez Jr. murmured to himself, looking at the opening in front of him that led to an unknown place.