A day at Hogwarts.

Chapter 558 The Fairy's Flame

In the night in Hogsmeade, laughter and chatter emanate from the Three Broomsticks pub, mysterious wizards come and go from the Hog's Head pub, and a warm, ambiguous light shines through the newly installed pink lace curtains of Madam Patif's Tea House.

The Dancing Grass Restaurant has closed down. Some of the working elves went home to rest, while others went to the bar to drink and chat. Dobby stayed in the office to tally up today's sales figures.

Since the launch of the delicious tablecloth, sales have increased by 35%, and there are no signs of the growth slowing down.

Now, in addition to the UK and Ireland, a small number of customers have emerged from Iceland, Norway, and northern France.

"But the pressure in the kitchen is too great."

Dobby started having headaches about management issues.

There are too many orders. The kitchen staff are practically bursting with energy, they need to work harder to maximize efficiency.

Following his boss's instructions (actually, Charles gave him a stack of management books taller than himself), Dobby broke down the kitchen problems into four levels from a professional perspective: whether the process itself is reasonable, whether the staff arrangement is scientific, whether the equipment and tools are efficient, and whether the overall coordination is smooth.

In terms of the cooking process, meat can be uniformly cut and marinated, while sauces, dough, etc., can be pre-made in batches daily; junior staff receive multi-skill training, and idle positions support busy positions; new equipment has been added, including large ovens capable of batch processing steamed and roasted dishes, as well as equipment for washing ingredients; in terms of overall management, advance reservations can be introduced, and dishes can be prepared in batches according to the number of reservations to avoid concentrated operations before peak hours. During the daily meal times, "chef's recommended set meals" and "discount set meals" can be offered to guide customers to focus on a small number of dishes, reducing the complexity of ordering individual items...

Dobby would jot down every idea he had in his notebook to discuss at the next group meeting.

As the saying goes, "Three elves are as good as one (Aberforth) Dumbledore," meaning that when problems arise, discussing them together can always solve them.

"Buzz!"

Dobby's gold watch suddenly vibrated violently, and a line of text appeared on its surface.

Beneath the calm night sky, undercurrents are stirring up waves.

The goblins at Gringotts received new intelligence: Charles goes to Farbatton Castle every evening after dinner to handle official business and doesn't return to Hogwarts until very late.

This intelligence convinced Gronk to act ahead of schedule.

"We can't miss this opportunity. We can't wait to hire wizards to do illegal work any longer. Let's do it ourselves!"

Gronook's decision delighted the young fairies, including the Golden Ring; it was certainly best to do it themselves.

“Fifteen minutes!” Gronook emphasized. “We must bring Charles Smith back within fifteen minutes!”

……

"'Potato' is here?" Charles walked alone on the streets of Hogsmeade, his shadow shifting with the changing lights.

Dobby's voice came from the sword-shaped lapel pin on his left collar: "There are 11 potatoes surrounding the restaurant, and I can't use the pixie's Apparition to get away."

The Dobby gold wristwatch features a ring of 11 bright dots that surround the watch face.

Charles said in a low voice, "Use the door key. If I can't get out, I'll go over there."

The next fifteen seconds felt like an eternity before Dobby's voice rang out: "I'm at the safe house."

Charles then called to Falbatton Castle: "How are the preparations?"

Blake immediately replied, "I'm inviting everyone to my house, including Axe Pwett."

A while ago, the entire staff went on vacation to the Caribbean. After the fairy suffered a setback in the vault, he went to the magic ministries of neighboring countries to discuss a lot of business.

He didn't care about commissions or anything like that; what he really couldn't resist was the unprecedented sense of accomplishment he had never experienced before.

He kept saying he wanted to invite everyone to his house for a dance party, and he was usually quite popular. This excuse was perfect for his escape, and those few nerdy guys and girls were forcibly dragged away.

The unfortunate Lupin, after a day of dealing with werewolves at St. Mungo's Hospital, was called to set up a ballroom right after finishing his shift.

Charles said, "Notify me when everything is evacuated."

A Death Eater infiltrator suddenly said, "Ready."

Charles simply responded, saying that they had to create a bombshell tonight, a bombshell that the wizards couldn't tolerate.

He then activated the shield-shaped lapel pin on his other collar and said, "Zeta, the farmer is here."

The voice of the Siberian fairy came: "There are 45 farmers around the farm, and 14 farmers on both sides of the farm road."

Charles said in a deep voice, "Proceed according to plan." The communications were shut down, and the streets remained as quiet as ever, save for the sounds of laughter and conversation coming from the Three Brooms pub and Charles's footsteps.

At the Pig's Head Bar, Aberforth's most hated customers are those who come to commemorate the 1612 goblin rebellion, but he won't drive them away because they give too much.

Gronook disguised himself as another goblin and opened a room on the second floor, where he felt it was very ceremonial to command from there.

The crystal ball on the table finally caught a glimpse of Charles as he walked across a nearby intersection toward Farbatton Castle.

"The fanatics danced in madness."
Falalalalalalalala,
The festive season has arrived!

Falalalalalalalala

They killed and disemboweled.
"Fala la la la la la la la"

Charles hummed a song as he left Hogsmeade and stepped onto the dark village path, heading towards Farbatton Castle.

Gronook heard the voice coming from the crystal ball and immediately felt dizzy, as if he were in a raging storm with countless tentacles waving around him.

He couldn't tell for a moment whether this was Charles's counterattack after realizing he was being monitored, or simply because he sang badly.

Suddenly, he recalled a legend about English fairies: long, long ago there was an indescribable, unseen wizard who had killed countless fairies with his wand…

Gronk didn't know why he remembered this legend, but his intuition told him that great danger was approaching, otherwise the fairies would once again be doomed!
“S…”

He wanted to stop the operation, but it was too late. Charles walked into the ambush area, and Malajak, who was in command at the front, gave the order to move in.

A green signal flare rose into the sky, filling the crystal ball with green light.

Gronouk suddenly noticed that Charles looked up and met his gaze, a mocking smile on his face.

……

A group of working elves were drinking at the Pighead Bar when a wizard suddenly burst in, shouting, "Fire!"

Fire wasn't a big problem for wizards. Aberforth picked up his wand and asked, "Where's the fire?"

The wizard said, "It's the Dancing Grass Restaurant!"

Not long ago, 11 Gringotts fairies rushed out from the shadows. Some smashed the windows in front of the Dancing Grass restaurant, some were responsible for the back door, and there were also fairies on the roof.

After a series of ear-piercing explosions, torches burning with bluish-green flames were hurled into the building like raindrops.

The flames were extremely strange; they ignited fiercely the moment they touched the tables, chairs, and walls, emitting a pungent burning smell. The fire suppression system activated automatically, but ordinary water spells had no effect on them; instead, they exploded with a "sizzle" and produced even more sparks.

The working elves, realizing they couldn't teleport back to the Dancing Grass Restaurant, screamed and ran out, and the wizards rushed to help.

But the fire spread too quickly; the bluish-green flames, used by fairies to craft magical items, resembled a greedy and hungry fire dragon devouring everything.

Even more terrifying, the flames spread rapidly, burning through its own wooden walls and then the wooden walls of Madame Parthoff's teahouse.
"what--!"

Terrified screams came from Lady Patif's Tea House.

The pink lace curtains were instantly set ablaze, and the sweet refreshments and delicate porcelain crackled in the flames. Madame Parthus desperately tried to extinguish the fire with a spell, but to no avail.

Aberforth rushed into the teahouse and pulled the frenzied Madame Parthus out of the fire.

In just one minute, the two connected buildings were engulfed in flames, and the fire continued to spread, with the shop selling communication laptops on the other side of the Dancing Grass Restaurant being the next to be swallowed up.

Greenish-blue flames shot into the sky, illuminating the night sky of Hogsmeade as if it were a ghostly realm.

Thick smoke billowed, and cries, explosions, and roars of flames mingled together.

The villagers ran out of their homes in terror, helpless as they watched the horrific scene unfold.

The person who started all of this stood indifferently in the shadows at a distance, and after confirming that the fire was beyond extinguishing, prepared to disappear in the direction leading out of the village.

Just then, a loud explosion shattered all the glass in Hogsmeade, blasting many wizards away. Even Hogwarts felt the tremor, and Dumbledore, who was secretly eating a chocolate roll, was startled.

(End of this chapter)