The Pacifist Necromancer of Hogwarts

With Ms. Green’s encouragement, everyone held a piping bag and struggled to draw various patterns on the baking paper. The classic milk chocolate, which has been best-selling in this country for more than ten years, has been transformed into letters (Who wrote OWLs?), numbers, suns, stick figures and some kind of geometric pattern (That's a pumpkin!) .

Then what? Zelma asked.

Then we wait for them to cool down. Ms. Green said. In most cases, visitors will skip this period and come directly here... She led them to a glass door on the side of the hall. Buy Some prepared chocolates as a souvenir.”

Through the glass door, they can see a spectacular sight. Various colors of chocolate are displayed in categories: black, white, brown, embedded with almonds or dried fruits; attractive diagrams are placed next to the sandwiched chocolates, showing the colorful contents between the thin black shells; There are button-sized chocolate beans in a glass cabinet, colorfully packed in bags in the hands of children, and several staff are helping to weigh them.

But we still have time, Ms. Green said. You are scheduled for a group tour, so there is another place waiting for you to visit...a place that regular visitors cannot see.

Instead of leading them into the store, she continued walking forward, eventually stopping at a small door that said Keep Out.

Dear chocolate lovers, she said, please allow me the honor to show you the heart of this factory - she flung open the door with dramatic effect, the assembly line.

After everyone was inside, Ms. Green asked Anthony to help close the door.

In front of them was a narrow corridor with a wall on one side and a huge glass window on the other side, displaying steel machines and employees wearing white work clothes and white hats.

The laughter and laughter in the Magic Chocolate Room suddenly faded away, and there was no longer a soft, chocolate-colored carpet under their feet, but off-white floor tiles. A low humming sound seemed to come from all directions, accompanied by the clicking sound of machinery. They were swallowed up by the factory.

What you are in front of is already downstream of the assembly line. Ms. Green said, You can see that the chocolates have been made and the staff are checking their integrity. After that, the intact chocolates will be packaged and sent in Shelves, ultimately, desserts in your hands and pockets.”

They move forward.

This is the chocolate forming area. This is where the melted chocolate goes into the cooling unit - just like the unique chocolates you just created are going through right now, and my colleagues will take care of them - and by the time they're delivered... Dang! Chocolate!”

The chocolate on the conveyor belt moves forward slowly and steadily, like a mighty river.

The students watched them with fascination. Under the leadership of Ms. Green, they swam upstream and retraced the processes they passed through: the thin streams of liquid chocolate dripping down from above, and the dark chocolate crispy shell that formed the sandwich chocolate shell. ;The pink white chocolate, which is flavored with berries, wraps the sandwich with exposed dried fruit; and moves forward——

What are these people doing?

They're putting the fillings in the right places so the machine doesn't pour the chocolate where it shouldn't be, Ms. Green said.

The students stood outside the glass window for a while, looking at the group of workers in overalls. Several women were talking as they placed the red dried fruit fillings on the conveyor belt with precision. One of them suddenly looked up and saw Ms. Green and the teenagers next to her. He was stunned for a moment, touched the person next to him with his elbow, and motioned her to look out the window. He showed a faint smile, but his men still did not stop working.

“They don’t even have to look!”

“Can’t a machine do this?”

Why don't they eat a few pieces?

Ms. Green said: Machines can indeed do it, and I know that some factories have begun to replace workers with machines. But, dear, if they are replaced by machines, where should they go?

“They could build machines, or continue working in a chocolate factory, but it would take less time,” one student said. “I don’t see the problem with that.”

Anthony put his hand on his shoulder and shook his head at him when he turned around.

I'm afraid this is a very complicated topic, Anthony whispered, and unfortunately we haven't found a solution that makes everyone happy.

…

When leaving the assembly line, the students seemed more thoughtful than when they entered. Factory, a word that does not exist in the magical world, is lying quietly beside them.

Here, in stirrers larger than the largest cauldrons in the Crucible Shop, ground cocoa beans are churned into silky, glossy liquid chocolate. Powered by electricity—some power beyond the grasp of magic—countless gears, gates, and robotic arms assemble rows of chocolates with an efficiency and accuracy that bewilders anyone. Chocolate slurry flows through stainless steel tubes above visitors' heads, like another kind of viscous blood that keeps factories alive, workers paid, and sweetness exploding on the tongues of people around the world.

However, another thing soon grabbed their attention. After walking past the machines that were separating cocoa beans and stones, and under the leadership of Ms. Green, they opened the small door next to them and found themselves in another corridor, where all types of chocolate since the brand was founded were displayed. and all the packaging in which chocolate has ever been sold.

I've had this before! A student exclaimed in surprise, pointing to the display cabinet next to him, A distant cousin gave it to me!

Ah, a very classic Easter chocolate egg. Ms. Green glanced at it, I'm not surprised you've eaten it.

Claire said, No, ma'am, you have no idea how difficult it is for us to eat this chocolate.

Ms. Green maintained a professional and friendly smile and nodded. As the students gathered in front of a particularly fancy package, she whispered to Anthony with irrepressible curiosity: I have a casual question, Mr. Anthony. Do they need to learn circus?

What?

“I’ve heard that circus performers have certain weight and shape requirements,” Ms. Green explained.

…

Passing through the corridor displaying past chocolates, a beautiful glass door appeared in front of them. No need for Ms. Green to introduce it, the pile of chocolates behind the door already told everyone where they had arrived.

This is the store they saw when they set out. After visiting an extra part of the assembly line than regular visitors, their group of group visitors finally arrived here. There was already a queue in front of the checkout counter, and visitors who didn't want to buy anything were frowning, murmuring apologies, and trying to squeeze through the crowd to get out of the store.

If you want to take back some souvenirs...as students, you can enjoy a 10% discount. Ms. Green said, smiling as she watched Zelma rush towards the chocolate chip cookie balls that she liked very much during the visit - a kind of A snack that can be poured directly into your mouth or sprinkled into milk or yogurt.

I'm going to mix it into my oatmeal, Anthony heard Zelma tell her friend, and add a tablespoon of peanut butter.

If you make the porridge too sticky, it will be harder to pick out the feathers, the friend warned.

Anthony stood in the doorway, scanning the shop in case any student realized that the three pounds he had been issued was not enough and wanted to ask him for more coins, or suddenly decided to pull out his wand and shout Pounds flying!

Only then did he realize that the store sold more than just chocolate. Right next to him, there were various chocolate-related things: cocoa powder, chocolate milk, chocolate molds, chocolate-shaped refrigerator magnets, keychains, postcards from chocolate factories... Further away, he even saw chocolate ice. For the ice cream, the promotional slogan shows that the cocoa powder used in the production process and the dark chocolate chips mixed in the finished product come from this factory.

And among all chocolates, the most popular are milk chocolate bars. In the middle of them is a standing sign with words said by the brand founder, probably from a speech or interview: They are physical expressions of joy and comfort... Just like the knight holding the sword, I hold the chocolate bar. Fight back despair.”

…

Probably because the students had already eaten a lot, a lot of chocolate, they weren't that keen on purchasing. On the other hand, for the little wizards who are used to Honeydukes, Muggle chocolate is better in terms of rich taste, but after all, it lacks some familiar and friendly magical flavor.

For example, syrup that suddenly explodes, or gummy fillings that stick to your teeth... a student said, stuffing a lot of chocolate balls into a paper bag.

That sounds awful, honey, Ms. Green said sympathetically.

What? No, actually, it's quite fun.

Yeah, his classmate muttered, and your favorite frog eggs.

What's that? Ms. Green asked with a smile, probably thinking they had a weird name for a particular product.

It's just...um... They looked at Anthony standing next to them.

Anthony was staring at the student who was talking to a Muggle teen. The student touched his pocket several times, seemingly hesitating whether to flick the jelly slug over the other's head.

The student next to Anthony asked for help: Professor?

He came back to his senses and answered: Oh, a kind of white chocolate beans. If you soak them in hot milk, you can get a small chocolate frog and a cup of milk with a weird taste.

…

More students just spent their money carefully and bought some flavors that they didn't usually see (grapefruit, orange, sea salt caramel), and then turned their attention to souvenirs that were more likely to be preserved. Many people followed the advice of classmates who had already participated in the practical activities and got refrigerator magnets, while others squatted next to the shelves to study keychains.

Thomas turned directly to Anthony and asked: If it were you, what would you buy, Professor?

Hmm... Anthony looked around, The postcard looks pretty good.

Postcards? Thomas repeated in confusion, already pulling out a postcard from the shelf, Can they be sent to our school?

Anthony also took one, which showed a giant chocolate waterfall. He said with absolute certainty: Yes.

There must be some kind of magic in Hogwarts - or some magical house elf - that's monitoring all the packages in the post that say Hogwarts received.

This was how he contacted Mr. Linde: from time to time he would put letters in the mailbox when he went home on Saturdays, and then a few days later he would find Mr. Linde's reply on his desk, stamped with the Muggle postal stamp. System postmark. He believed that the postman must have noticed that some letters were missing, but could not find the reason, and he couldn't help but feel a little sorry for them.

…

The postcards in Thomas's hand immediately attracted the attention of other students. After hearing that they could be sent to Hogwarts, they all took some postcards with great interest. Some wanted to send them to brothers and sisters, and some wanted to send them to friends. .

Hey, what happens if I send it to the professor? Thomas asked quietly. He was lying on the small table with his classmates writing postcards.

Professor Anthony said that he can receive the postcard. Claire said that she had just gone to Anthony to confirm the problem of receiving the postcard, But why do you want to send it to the professor? You can just turn around and send it to him directly.

It's not Professor Anthony. Thomas said, quietly turning over the page and showing the postcards he had chosen to his classmates.

It was a picture, with a deflated piping bag lying next to it, and in the center were the words written in all caps in melted chocolate on a marble countertop: GO EAT CHOCOLATE, YOU BASTARD!

I originally wanted to send it to Fred and George, so they could shake me awake before training in the morning, he said. But I suddenly felt that they would prefer me to send it to Filch or Snape.

Try sending it to Professor McGonagall or Professor Dumbledore. The classmate next to him encouraged, Or Lockhart.

Thomas grimaced: No, that would be a waste. It would be lost in the letters he gets from readers.

…

After buying souvenirs, they walked outside the factory gate accompanied by Ms. Green. Anthony counted the number of people one last time and turned around to ask them to say goodbye to Ms. Green. He saw Ms. Green smiling and taking out a very large plastic bag from behind.

You've forgotten something, chocolate lovers, she said.

Anthony took the bag from her hand, opened it and looked at it: Indeed, we forgot.

The chocolate slurry that students crowded into the Magic Chocolate Room has cooled down and been made into various shapes of chocolate, which are carefully wrapped. Employees at the chocolate factory even squeezed a ring of white chocolate around the edges of the extra fragile shapes for reinforcement.

Thank you very much. Anthony said, shaking hands with Ms. Green, Thank you for your explanation and companionship. This has been a wonderful journey.

You're welcome, Ms. Green said, Well, I hope you enjoy the chocolate and enjoy every day. I wish you all the best in your future magical endeavors.

A student looked at the chocolate in his hand and suddenly stopped Ms. Green who was about to leave: Madam, can I perform a magic trick for you?

Of course. Ms. Green paused and said in surprise.

The student showed a slightly painful expression - because his classmates were kicking his shoes, poking his back, and twisting his flesh - and then stuffed the chocolate into his mouth.

The chocolate is gone, he slurred, chewing the chocolate and smiling widely, but - the joy is there! Thank you and your colleagues, ma'am, for a wonderful afternoon.