Harry Potter: Charlie's Candy Factory

Chapter 154 The Last Fireplace

"What are you kidding?"

Located in the Gryffindor lounge on the third floor of Hogwarts, George Weasley stopped the homework he was writing, and then couldn't help but widen his eyes, with a look that seemed to be a joke, He stared at the youngest brother in front of him at this moment.

"Fred! Come here, your brother is crazy!"

Suddenly, he stood up from his seat abruptly, put down the pen and paper in his hand, took two strides at a time, and ran towards the dormitory where he and Fred shared while shouting.

With a muffled sound of "Peng", the door of the dormitory was closed, leaving Ron alone, standing there, looking dumbfounded at the place where George left.

what happened?

Ron's mind was a little overwhelmed for a while.According to his thinking, after hearing the news, George and Fred would behave in two ways.

One is the deep jealousy of himself, and the sour envy in his words.The other was frantically showing his favor to him, currying favor with him while begging him to bring something for the two of them...

However, the naive Ron would never have imagined that his two elder brothers would even sneer at his words, failing to achieve even the most basic trust.

And not long after the door of the dormitory closed, he clearly heard a burst of laughter coming from it.Along with the laughter, there were noisy voices one after another.

You don't need to think about it. After George returned to the dormitory, he definitely took what he told him as a joke and told others!
"I'm not crazy!! I'm telling you very seriously!"

After reacting, Ron's face turned red with anger, and he also ran to the door of the dormitory, knocking on it, and gritted his teeth while walking towards the inside.

"I'll tell you guys! You two won't believe it! When I actually go there and get Charlie Black's autograph, you all stay in your room and cry.

Because, I will not help you with anything! ! !Just wait and see! ! ! "

After finishing speaking, probably still feeling that he was not relieved enough, Ron kicked the door twice again angrily, then turned his head and left, looking for the traces of the three of Harry depressed.

With Ron's departure, outside the dormitory, the Gryffindor lounge became quiet again.

"Squeaky..."

The wooden door opened, and Fred and George poked their heads out slowly.

Their faces were inexplicable. They first glanced at the direction Ron left, and then looked at each other.

"How to say, Fred, I don't think Ron is joking like a fool this time."

George asked.

"Who knows..." Fred raised his eyebrows and shrugged himself.

After the two of them retracted their heads, they returned to the room and looked at the picture hanging on the wall with the figure of Charlie Black printed on it. They fell into deep thought for a while.

"You know what... if Ron is telling the truth, we're at a loss."

Holding his chin, for some reason, a faint sixth sense made George fall into deep thought at this moment.

"After all, I really want Charlie Black's signature! He is the only legendary wizard who has defeated Filch in all aspects...Compared to him, our behavior is like a small fight."

"Then what do you say we should do, George."

Fred came to the bed, sat down skillfully, then bent down, and pulled out a box from under the bed, which was full of candy.

And outside, the wind-smelling violets that all the little wizards could hardly afford to buy were nearly half a box full in their hands.

After a while of selection, he tore open a bag of fruit-flavored gummy bears, and continued to ask while eating.

"Maybe we can give Ron a little advantage... Do you know what I mean? To use an old Chinese saying, it's better to believe what you have than to trust what you have."

After thinking for a moment, George's eyes lit up, and he gave his thoughts.

He moved his eyes away from the charming smile on Charlie Black's painting, and looked at the box full of candies.

"How about... we go get some violets to Ron? What do you think, Fred?"

"It doesn't matter, we still have a lot anyway." Fred shrugged without objecting.Just nodded, then bent down skillfully, took out two bags from behind a lot of candies, and threw them to George.

"Ha... It looks like our little brother has finally grown up."

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

Time flies, especially inside Charlie's factory.

With wave after wave of Muggles or Squibs, they successfully entered here with recruitment notices, and the originally expanded assembly line has completely begun to play its original role and is on the right track.

Gradually, the elves seem to have gotten used to the existence of these new employees, and no longer regard their appearance as a big event that can stand talking.

Only when he saw Kobe, the supervisor, tucking the lesson plans under his arm and hurriedly walking towards another newly built factory building, would he laugh and joke to his companion beside him, "Ha, from now on, I will call Kobe a professor. It's gone." There was nothing else.

After all, the two factories are separated by a long distance, and according to regulations, although Muggle employees can work here, they cannot enter the living area to use basic facilities or interfere with their normal life like other elves.

Perhaps for Muggles, their life here is no different from that in the outside world, except that the money they get has changed from pounds to more "advanced" Galleons.

Go to work every day and leave every day, and there are Saturdays and weekends.

In your spare time, such as after get off work, you can also go to the Leaky Cauldron Bar in Diagon Alley with your well-connected co-workers and spend a few Knuts to drink a glass of refreshing "Wizard World Specialty" beer.

Everything is perfect...

At least for Vernon Dursley, that was the case.

Although every time he returns home, he always has to work hard in front of his wife.His brows were tightly furrowed, his expression was gloomy, and he tried his best to put on an appearance that he didn't like it there, but he still voluntarily sacrificed for Dudley.In order to show Petunia that she still did not "betray the enemy"

But in fact, gradually, a lot of changes have taken place in his state of mind.
Whether it is a relaxed job, a friendly environment, or a group of workers who are easier to get along with than before, his heart can't help but adapt and even be intoxicated.

He has even blurred all his impressions of the wizarding world at the beginning, and even his feelings towards Harry have become slightly different.

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

In the past few months, if we say what is the busiest job in the entire British magic world, then the Floo Network Administration, which belongs to the Department of Magic Transport, dares to say that it is second, and I am afraid that no one can really claim to be the first. ...

According to the original situation, the Floo Network Management Bureau whose basic duties are to monitor and build the fireplace network should be regarded as an idle job among idle jobs.

After all, the entire British magic world is so big, and the foundation of the Floo Network is there. Even if it has been more than ten years, there will be few problems.

In a year, apart from bringing several new wizard fireplaces under the management of the Floo Network, they also dealt with some idiots who successfully blew themselves up by imitating Floo powder without authorization.Even if you are a kid who hasn't graduated yet, you can handle it easily.

It can be said that, except for the centaur office under the Department of Magical Beasts Control, they should be the most leisurely... (Since no centaur will ever accept their so-called services. Therefore, if a Ministry of Magic official is transferred to Horseman’s office, which means that he is not far from being fired.)
However, ever since Fudge, who was the Minister of Magic, waved his hand and agreed to Charlie Black's recruitment plan, the original leisure life and paid fishing have completely left them...

Since most of the Muggles who came to apply for the job are far away from the location of the factory, if they are really required to go to work in the usual Muggle way, I am afraid that some of them will not be able to come from home even if it takes half a day. .

So there is no doubt that Charlie found the Department of Magical Transport and hoped that they could develop the Floo Network for their employees, a service that was originally only provided to wizards.

At the very beginning, George Pakalin, the director of the Department of Magical Transportation, did not agree.

Because there are nearly a thousand recruitment notices issued by Charlie Black.And the number of employees who actually come to apply for the job can be at least a hundred... You know, the number of fireplaces built by the Floo Network Administration in the past five years is far from reaching this number.What's more, he also asked to solve it all within a few months...

Basically, every time a new batch of employees is recruited, the Floo Network Administration will connect all the Muggle fireplaces to the Floo Network within a week.

In George Pakalin's view, Charlie's idea is undoubtedly ridiculous and absurd, and can be described as whimsical.

However, not long after, when Charlie re-entered his office and placed the mission document signed by the Minister of Magic Fudge on his desk,
George Pakalin feels... this is not impossible.

After all, people's potential comes from force. If you don't force it, how do you know that the Floo Network Administration can't fill more than 30 fireplaces into the Floo Network within a week?

Anyway, if he didn't do it himself, he had to do it if he couldn't!
So, just like that, after a long period of time like animals working 24 hours a day and working day and night, all the civil servants in the bureau of Floo.com finally managed to catch up with the Charlie card. The recruitment speed of the candy factory.

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

"Okay...the last step is left."

In an ordinary-looking house in Inverness without any characteristics, Cowley Moshili slowly straightened up in front of an old fireplace.

He exhaled a long breath, and said weakly.

At this moment, the beige-brown windbreaker on Cowley's body was already badly stained by furnace ash, and his hands and face were also dirty and messy.

However, when he turned his head and looked at the other two colleagues who came here with him, he didn't see any trace of unhappiness or boredom in his expression.

In those eyes covered by exhaustion and numbness, there was a faint light of life.

And hearing what Cowley said, the other two were instantly moved.

The corners of their mouths twitched slightly, but they couldn't say a word, tears of excitement swirled in their eyes, and they were about to flow down on the spot, smearing the ashes on their faces.

After a long time, one of them asked tremblingly

"Is this the last one?"

"Ok!"

Cowley couldn't hold back any longer, and nodded heavily.

"Come on... as long as the last step is completed, we will be liberated."

Another colleague took a deep breath, and his expression became enlightened.

He put his hand into his pocket and skillfully took out a small round silver box.Its appearance looks a bit like the cream of China in the last century.

A colleague opened it slowly, revealing the Floo powder inside.Then put it in the palm of his hand, raised his eyes and nodded solemnly to Cowley standing in the front.

"Um……"

Cowley naturally responded, and then put his hand in his pocket, and squeezed out a medicine spoon.

The hand holding the medicine spoon stretched out, steadily dug out a full spoonful, then turned around and threw it towards the fireplace.

At the same time, the three people who were waiting for this scene shouted in unison

"Ministry of Magic!!!!"

With a sound of "Peng!", there was a muffled sound like an explosion in the originally lonely and empty fireplace.

In the next second, a bunch of dark green flames rose out of thin air, spit out tongues of flames quickly, and spread towards the interior of the fireplace and other directions.And it drove the surrounding light to change, briefly reflecting the green firelight on their faces, and then disappeared without a trace in the next second.

Although due to the dosage, the flames disappeared quickly, and the size was not as violent as the usual ones.

However, this is enough, it means that this fireplace has entered the Floo network and has become one of thousands of connection points.

At the same time, it also means that the mission of the three of Cowley is now over...

"Bada..."

Tears flowed down his face in spite of himself, and fell on the floor of the house, smearing his face with soot.

"finally……"

Cowley closed his eyes, opened his arms, and faced the fireplace, as if piously facing an unknown god.

"it is finally over."

This will be a perfect end to their work over the past few months.

Because it was the last Muggle recruited by Charlie's and the last fireplace they would add to the Floo network.

(End of this chapter)