Harry Potter and the Candy Factory

Charlie Black was thus "brought to justice" and sent directly to the interrogation room. Delano and Sierra's mission was finally complete, allowing them a moment's respite from the tense atmosphere…

The two walked side-by-side in the corridors of the Magical Congress, surrounded by silence.

Because of this incident, almost all relevant personnel of the Magical Congress were mobilized. The once lively Magical Congress building instantly became much quieter. Everyone was either hiding in their offices, overwhelmed by paperwork, or dispatched to investigate various leads.

Few people, like Sierra and Delano, could walk instead of run.

"I don't understand!" Finally, Sierra spoke in the silence.

She looked at her senior colleague, her brow furrowed, her small face full of confusion.

"What?" Delano replied casually, continuing to walk.

"I don't understand why you were so…" Sierra seemed to be searching for an adjective to express her current thoughts when speaking to those two people.

"Humble?" Delano stopped and said.

"Yes!" Sierra nodded and stopped as well.

"Hoo…" Delano's expression couldn't be seen under his sunglasses. He simply exhaled and said softly.

"Then what do you say? What should I have done?"

"We are Aurors! We should severely punish evil and protect the safety of the magical world. Based on this principle, no one should be able to shake our will! That's what we should be doing, not flattering those guys… Do you know? You looked like… you looked like…"

Sierra ultimately didn't say the last word, but her meaning was clear.

Delano turned to face Sierra.

His tone remained unchanged, still calm, and he didn't answer Sierra's question.

"Do you know who that old man is?"

Without waiting for Sierra to answer, he continued.

"His name is Peter Mueller. He's a famous tycoon with countless businesses under his control. He's also an honorary partner of the Magical Congress, providing substantial financial aid to the Ministry of Magic every year. Even the council members at the top have to greet him warmly as dear old Mueller."

Sierra didn't speak, but the doubt in her eyes clearly hadn't diminished.

"I know what you want to say… Sierra Stewart."

Delano laughed, his smile filled with sarcasm… He took off his sunglasses, his eyes filled with complex emotions, and looked at the young woman before him, slowly saying,

"But you have to know, I'm not like you. I'm just a wizard from an ordinary family. Being able to get to where I am today, to become an Auror in the Magical Congress, is already my greatest luck! I don't have the ability to consider anything else…"

"You know what? If my father's name was Stewart, I could be like you, pursuing the justice in my heart, being a naive idealist."

Delano finished speaking and ignored Sierra, walking forward. His back was still the same, but it seemed a little more lonely.

Sierra's expression froze, unsure of what to say… She looked in the direction Delano left, opened her mouth, but in the end, said nothing.

Delano left, and the corridor of the Magical Congress returned to silence.

… … … … … … … …

In the interrogation room of the Serious Crime Investigation Division, Charlie sat on the interrogation chair, which was not much different from those in TV dramas, feeling not at all apprehensive, but rather quite curious.

Due to his special status, the Aurors didn't even put the simplest shackles on him. They simply had him sit down and be interrogated.

In the dim, narrow, and silent space, only the desk lamp on the interrogator's table provided the limited light.

This was a common interrogation technique, relying on the setting and atmosphere to increase the pressure on the person being interrogated, thereby achieving the goal of breaking through their psychological defenses more quickly… Although very simple, and the principle is easy to understand, it must be said that this is still an extremely practical method.

"Charlie Black?"

Sitting across from Charlie was a burly black Auror.

He held newly printed, still warm documents in his hand, glanced at Charlie, and asked in a deep voice,

"It's me," Charlie nodded, cooperating with a gentle reply.

"Do you know why you were brought here?"

The Auror in charge of the interrogation didn't take his eyes off the documents in his hand, seemingly wanting to be fully prepared before formally confronting the other party.

"No…" Charlie spread his hands, shaking his head truthfully.

"In fact, the two Aurors left after bringing me here. They didn't say anything else to me… Until now, I still don't know why I'm here."

"Using large-scale destructive magic, possessing and using unregistered wands, murder, seriously endangering the order of the magical world… … …"

The interrogating Auror was clearly prepared, flipping through the documents and casually listing a series of charges.

After listing nearly a dozen charges, he finally stopped.

He took a breath, and with a "slap," he dropped the documents on the table, not too hard, with a somewhat sarcastic smile on his face, and continued,

"You've committed almost every serious crime in the American magical world…"

However, hearing the other party's words, Charlie laughed.

Smiling, he shook his head, his tone unchanged, still replying gently,

"Sorry, sir… I don't understand what you're talking about. I'm just an ordinary businessman who happened to come to America for a business visit. You can't forcibly pin these charges on me."

"An ordinary businessman? Forcibly pin? !" The interrogating Auror narrowed his eyes, his gaze shooting out from the slits of his eyelids, staring straight at Charlie, as if he had heard some great joke.

He first repeated Charlie's words in a strange tone, then retorted,

"The files in my hand record quite a few of your deeds… Charlie Black. Or rather than an ordinary candy merchant… the title of founder of the House-Elf Liberation Front seems more suitable for what I'm about to say."

"First of all, as the leader of a third-party force in the Second Wizarding War in the British magical world, you have enough ability to kill nearly forty dark wizards in a short period of time!"

"Secondly, not long ago, according to our information, a house-elf from England was involved in a conflict at the Hog's Head Pub, resulting in serious injuries... According to our careful investigation, he is an employee of your factory."

A glint flashed in his eyes.

"And shortly after the incident, within a week, you entered the American magical community under the guise of a business visit."

"In my opinion, your motive is extremely strong. Furthermore, at the time of the incident, you were alone in your hotel room until nine o'clock the next morning when you arrived at Mr. Muller's company. During this time, no one can prove what you were doing..."

"You see, it's incredibly simple, requiring no further deductions."

The Auror interrogator spoke, his expression relaxed, leaning back in his chair in an almost arrogant posture, gesturing to Charlie with his hands and smiling as he said:

"Whether it's the motive, the time of the crime, or the corresponding ability to commit it... you perfectly fit the bill. What else do you have to say?"

Charlie listened to him calmly, never interrupting, and not even the slightest change occurred on his face.

After the other party stopped, he slowly opened his mouth:

"So what?" Charlie smiled, as if nothing had changed.

"So what?"

"Where is the evidence? These are all speculations... Even if it fits perfectly, how can you prove that I did it?"

For a moment, the narrow and dark room fell silent.

The Auror interrogator, whose expression was originally relaxed, furrowed his brows and straightened his upper body, as if he truly recognized Charlie before him.

"Okay... The opponent is a master. It seems that the next step will be a battle of attrition."

He thought silently in his heart.

Time passed by, and the two of them endured the night until dawn.

...

With a "click," the Auror interrogator pressed the switch of the desk lamp, turning it off completely.

The light disappeared, and so did the initial radiance on his face.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, his eyes bloodshot, and his exhaustion was undisguised.

Looking at Charlie, who was sitting opposite him, he still had that smiling expression, which had not changed in the slightest.

"Huff..." A breath of stale air escaped from the Auror interrogator's mouth. He closed his eyes to give himself a break and avoid seeing the man in front of him.

"...Are you really not going to say anything?"

Perhaps even he himself didn't realize the sense of frustration in his voice when he said these words.

Charlie's neck was a little stiff. Hearing the black man's words, he barely moved and then lightly left a sentence:

"I don't know what you're talking about..."

This sentence was like a fuse, directly igniting the powder keg in his heart.

With a "bang!", the Auror interrogator jumped up directly from his seat, knocking over the stool beneath him...

"..." Charlie's eyes were extremely clear at this moment, even with a sense of detachment, quietly watching the Auror's every move.

Watching him stare at himself, his chest heaving, watching him clench his fists, the veins on the back of his hands bulging. Watching his accumulated irritability reach its breaking point after a whole night...

To be honest, Charlie was happy to see the Auror interrogator so emotional. It would be best if the other party actually hit him, which would help him end this lengthy farce with a predetermined result in advance, and he could vehemently condemn the Magical Congress before being forcibly taken back to England by the Ministry of Magic.

Even the rhetoric could be slightly controlled in newspapers and publications, causing no small dispute... There was also the possibility of using this wave of events to hype up the unsold Ice Plum Sweets.

Unfortunately, Charlie's idea was good, but the other party was not a fool.

He took a deep breath, and after a long time, he barely managed to stabilize himself and unclenched his fists.

"Hmph... Good luck to you, Charlie Black," the Auror interrogator said coldly before turning his head and opening the small door behind him that led to the outside world.

"It's no use being stubborn... I'll apply to use Legilimency directly with the higher-ups in a moment."

After saying that, he walked straight out of the interrogation room without looking back.

With a "bang!", the interrogation room door closed.

Charlie's smile gradually faded as he stared at the door the other party had left through, seemingly pondering something.

As usual, he stroked the ring on his hand for a long time before muttering:

"One night... should be about enough."

Then he closed his eyes, no longer hiding the exhaustion on his face. He leaned against the horizontal table in front of the interrogation chair and began to rest...

At this point, he could be said to be free of any pressure... Because someone would naturally step in to help him out of this predicament.

Whether it was Muller, Fudge, or even Ryan, who had prepared a backup plan from the very beginning... they would not sit idly by and watch him be locked up in such a place.

Perhaps these three people, who were completely unrelated, would never meet under normal circumstances, but under Charlie's plan, everything seemed to have a new trajectory.

...

In the office, Muller raised his head and looked at the clock hanging on the wall.

"It's morning..." The mouth under his beard moved, and he said to Andre, who was also in the office:

"They still haven't released Mr. Black." Andre didn't have Muller's level of sophistication. As he spoke, he paced anxiously in the office.

Ever since Charlie was taken away by the two Aurors, Muller had been waiting, not sleeping for even ten minutes.

You should know that this is not an easy thing for an old man.

Not long ago, he had also spoken on the phone with those funded congressmen, asking them to get Charlie out directly.

But the replies he received were surprisingly stagnant—"I'm very sorry, dear old Muller, I can't do this."

"Like this—"

Suddenly, Muller had an idea. His eyes lit up as he took an Ice Plum Sweet from his pocket, put it in his mouth, and instructed Andre:

"Go to England! Go to England immediately! Go to Mr. Black's factory and tell that Ro... Ro..." Muller paused for a moment, not remembering the name.

"Russell!" Andre quickly reminded him.

"No matter who it is! Anyway, you must pass the message!"

"Is this... useful?" Andre hesitated.

"Even you couldn't get those congressmen to release him. That Mr. Black's personal assistant... what can he do?"

"You wouldn't understand even if I told you! Anyway, set off immediately and be sure to pass the message in the shortest possible time!"