Harry Potter and the Candy Factory

British Ministry of Magic — Lobby

As the core of the entire British magical world, the Ministry of Magic seemed to be busy at all times.

In the lobby, every civil servant was hurrying, carrying various documents and files, shuttling between elevators leading to various levels. Like small gears, they meshed together, forming a huge and precise machine, providing it with a constant stream of power, supplying it to continue moving forward, never stopping.

Umbridge liked this picture very much. She put her short, thick arms behind her back with a serious look, her eyes, faintly revealing shrewdness and boredom, half-closed, and her face still wore that annoying smile.

Standing there at this moment, she surveyed the people coming and going with a sense of arrogance, seeming out of place with everything around her, making people notice her existence at first glance.

However, this was exactly what Umbridge wanted. She extremely enjoyed this wonderful feeling of being different from others.

Every time she saw those people running around busily, not even having time to catch their breath, while she could stand here so leisurely, looking at all of them with a scrutinizing gaze, she would feel more and more excited and happy.

A distorted sense of pleasure arose from this, crazily filling her whole body, occupying every cell in her fat body.

Whether it originated from nature or not, Umbridge had an almost crazy obsession and desire for this invisible power called authority.

Ever since she entered Hogwarts and obtained the position of prefect by snitching, that heart that desperately pursued power began to grow wildly, spreading recklessly, becoming more and more uncontrollable.

Umbridge clearly knew the meaning represented by this power and the energy it possessed. She flattered and fawned on her superiors, showing respect and desire for higher-level power. To her subordinates, she was a completely different person, displaying cruelty and ruthlessness to the fullest. It seemed that only in this way could her already rotten heart be satisfied.

Just as she was still immersed in her own world, enjoying this pleasure and unable to extricate herself, suddenly, the elevator that went directly from the ground floor slowly descended, attracting her attention.

"Hmm, outsiders?" Umbridge's originally half-closed eyes narrowed even more. She muttered to herself, then subconsciously looked towards the slowly opening elevator door.

Soon, when the elevator doors were fully opened, and two figures, one tall and one short, walked out unhurriedly, Umbridge's eyes, which were originally narrowed to the size of mung beans, suddenly widened to the maximum.

She looked at the tall, thin man in the trench coat among the two figures in disbelief, her whole body seeming to be electrocuted, giving her a jolt.

"Mr. Black~!"

Charlie, with Russell, had just walked out of the elevator when a slightly sharp and nauseatingly pretentious voice stopped him.

Russell couldn't help but shudder the moment he heard the voice. Even Charlie's expression stiffened a bit, almost being directly broken by this voice.

After experiencing almost a second of blankness, Charlie cast his gaze in the direction the voice came from.

Almost the moment he turned his head, he saw it. That short-handed, short-legged, fat, fleshy pink figure was waddling towards him quickly, accompanied by the "thud, thud, thud, thud" sound of her heels hitting the ground, and her face was full of a bright smile.

It's just... for some reason, looking at that increasingly approaching fat face, Charlie couldn't help but clench his fists, and a thought of wanting to punch it inexplicably rose in his heart.

Fortunately, his composure was amazing, and he finally suppressed this thought, and gave the other party a "gentle" smile.

"Hello, Umbridge... Deputy Director."

After Umbridge stopped in front of him, panting, before the other party could say anything, Charlie took the lead in greeting.

The smile that originally filled Umbridge's face became even brighter, her eyes gleaming as she looked up at Charlie, and for a moment, she even showed a bit of emotion.

"Oh my!" Umbridge's voice was still a bit sharp, and this "exclamation" almost made Russell, who was beside Charlie, break out in goosebumps all over his body.

Russell quickly turned his face away, no longer looking at this sudden, strange woman, so as not to reveal his gaffe at this moment.

But fortunately, Umbridge's attention was now completely focused on Charlie, and she didn't spare any attention to him at all.

"I didn't expect that a busy man like you would still remember my name... It really surprises me too much, Mr. Black." Umbridge continued to say, while taking the lead in extending her hand to Charlie to express her respect for him.

"Of course..."

Charlie also extended a hand to shake the other party's hand, his face unchanged, and continued to say

"I remember you once came to visit me with Minister Fudge."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Umbridge was even happier, shaking Charlie's hand vigorously before letting go.

Charlie retracted his hand, wiped it inconspicuously, and then, without any more pleasantries, said directly

"Actually, I'm here to see Minister Fudge this time... I wonder, can you help me pass a message to the Minister?"

"This..."

The bright smile on Umbridge's face showed a bit of embarrassment.

She looked at Charlie, then lowered her head and pondered for a while, and then said hesitantly

"Although I would also like to help you... but Minister Fudge should be in a meeting right now. You know, sitting in his position, there are really too many things to do, especially since the Minister himself is a model of dedication, and he has to handle everything, big and small..."

As Umbridge spoke, she "inconspicuously" flattered Fudge.

At this point, her words stopped, and she raised her head again, looking at Charlie with a flattering smile, and asked again

"Otherwise... if you have anything to look for Minister Fudge, you can tell me, and I will convey it to him for you, how about that?"

Charlie raised his eyebrows and lowered his head to exchange glances with Russell beside him... From each other's eyes, Charlie and Russell both saw a bit of amusement.

"Hmm..."

Charlie pretended to think for a while, then slowly nodded

"Alright... Actually, things aren't that urgent. If you're willing to help me convey it to Minister Fudge, then it's not impossible."

"Please tell me, what is it?" Seeing that Charlie was so easy to talk to, Umbridge breathed a sigh of relief and continued to ask

"A while ago, I promised Minister Fudge that I would donate a sum of money to the Ministry of Magic, in order to upgrade the equipment for the Aurors, and to thank the Ministry of Magic for its great contribution to maintaining the stability of the British magical world."

Charlie paused deliberately, then continued to say

"Originally, taking advantage of the free time today, I planned to send the money over and chat with Minister Fudge... Since Minister Fudge is busy, then let's do it another day."

After saying that, he turned around and led Russell towards the elevator he had taken when he came down.

"Wh... Wait, wait a minute, Mr. Charlie!!! Mr. Charlie!"