A continuous stream of owls swooped through the grand doors of the Great Hall. It was finally Saturday afternoon, and the weekend post had arrived.
A rather dusty grey barn owl plummeted straight toward Charlie, gracefully slowing at the very last second to drop a greaseproof paper package from its thick, sturdy talons.
"Thanks, mate," Charlie muttered. He took the parcel, grabbed a spare chicken leg from his plate, and placed it gently on the floor behind him before lifting the owl off the table.
"Ah, your order arrived," Anthony noted from across the table.
Hector stared at the bird for a moment before turning to Charlie. "That owl looks entirely different from the one that came yesterday."
"Does it?" Charlie had not really paid attention. To him, all barn owls were just varying shades of dusty, unremarkable grey.
"The plumage is definitely off."
Charlie unwrapped the greasy paper. Inside lay three slabs of dark chocolate and a small piece of parchment. It took him a second to realize this was a delivery owl sent directly by the shopkeeper. It was not just here to drop off the goods; it was waiting to collect the coin.
"What do you reckon happens if I just do not pay?" Charlie mused aloud.
"That sounds like the start of a very evil villain origin story," Anthony replied with a grin.
"No, no, I am genuinely curious. Say I am out in the wilderness, the owl delivers the goods, and I shoo it away without paying. How exactly does the shopkeeper track me down?" Charlie rambled, clearly not taking the situation seriously.
He poured himself a goblet of water, swished it around to clear the savory taste of lunch from his palate, and broke off a small corner of the chocolate to taste.
Instantly, a cloying, artificial sweetness flooded his tongue. It melted agonizingly slowly, leaving a distinctly waxy and grainy film behind.
He grimaced, his eyes dropping to the bill the shopkeeper had included.
Three Sickles.
It was completely mind-boggling that such expensive chocolate could taste this horrific. The overwhelming flavor of cheap cocoa butter substitutes was practically screaming at his tastebuds. The only silver lining was that Charlie only had to pay for the single slab he had opened. He fully intended to send the remaining two back with the owl unpaid.
"What is wrong?" Anthony asked. "Looks like it did not meet your highly refined standards."
Charlie grabbed a napkin, frantically wiping his mouth, and pushed the slab toward his two friends.
"Look, my only magical trick right now involves melting down pre-made chocolate to infuse it with my own properties. But there is absolutely no way I am using this garbage as my base ingredient."
Curious, Anthony and Hector broke off tiny pieces for themselves.
"I do not see the issue. Tastes pretty good to me," Anthony shrugged.
Hector shot him a look of pure bewilderment before shaking his head. "If we are judging this by the standard of actual dark chocolate, it is objectively terrible. It tastes like those cheap galleon-store sweets sitting in glass jars on the pavement."
Anthony frowned. "Really? But every other chocolate I eat tastes exactly like this." He hesitated, then added, "Well, except for Charlie's. His is a lot more bitter."
"That is because Charlie uses premium Muggle dark chocolate," Hector explained patiently. "It is a very expensive raw material."
This was exactly why Hector had asked Charlie how much he planned to charge for his creations a few days prior. He had left the second part of his thought unspoken back then: he deeply admired Charlie's uncompromising standards for ingredients, especially considering his friend was not exactly rolling in Galleons.
"Looks like Diagon Alley is a bust," Charlie sighed, clinging to a microscopic shred of hope. "Maybe Honeydukes will have something decent."
If wildly popular treats like Chocolate Frogs used standard, unremarkable chocolate, sourcing premium dark chocolate in the magical world was going to be an uphill battle. Just look at Anthony. The poor guy did not even know what good chocolate tasted like.
"Actually, that is great news," Hector smiled. "If you introduce your premium products to the magical market, I guarantee you will find success almost overnight."
Charlie gave Hector a suspicious squint. "What exactly does your family do? Why do I get the feeling you are secretly an expert in literally everything?"
"I only know about chocolate because I eat a lot of it. My parents are in business, which is why they had the spare time and money to hire me a wizarding chess tutor."
"Right. A family of business tycoons," Charlie nodded, letting the subject drop.
***
Charlie thought that was the end of the Great Chocolate Dilemma. But the very next evening at dinner, Hector and Anthony's family owls returned.
Hector eagerly tore open his parcel to reveal ten pristine slabs of familiar, high-quality Cadbury dark chocolate.
"These are for you, mate," Hector grinned.
"For me?" Charlie blinked in surprise.
"Exactly. For some reason, I had a feeling you were going to need them. So when I wrote home yesterday, I asked my parents to owl over a batch."
"Alright, thank you so much. How much do I owe..."
"No, no, no, Charlie. We are friends, remember?" Hector waved off the question. "You shared your secret magical pranks with us, you let us see your chocolate workshop, and you even showed us the Room of Requirement. I would be completely embarrassed to take your money. If you really feel guilty about it, just let me be the official taste tester for your next batch."
Charlie nodded slowly. He was not the type to engage in endless polite refusals.
"I will accept them then. But seriously, if I need more down the line, you have to let me pay you."
"Deal. If you ever run out, just let me know," Hector agreed, turning his attention back to his dinner.
***
Back in the dormitory, Charlie stared at the towering pile of premium chocolate. He rolled up his sleeves, completely ready to get to work.
Tonight's experiment: combining Solar Essence and Lightning Extract.
He stuck to his tried-and-true method, but this time he abandoned the idea of a filled center. The highly volatile Lightning Extract was much better suited for a solid, thoroughly mixed chocolate bar.
Dosing was the tricky part, requiring him to divide the mixture into several test batches. The Lightning-infused chocolates had a glaring flaw that ruined their commercial potential. If the dose was too high, the initial bite triggered an aggressive, uncontrollable shockwave of electricity in the mouth. But if the dose was too low, the intended magical jolt vanished entirely.
Still, progress required testing.
He mixed the yellow Solar Essence with the purple Lightning Extract. The resulting color was a muddy, unappetizing grey. Thankfully, hiding it inside the dark chocolate would mask the visual horror.
About half an hour later, the first batch of Solar-Lightning Chocolate was ready to go.
"Maybe 'Solar-Spark Chocolate' has a better ring to it," he muttered to himself.
Before taking a bite, he preemptively cast a Cushioning Charm on himself, just to be safe.
He popped a piece into his mouth. As the chocolate melted, a violent, crackling burst of electricity detonated against his palate.
The shock did not stop there. It traveled down his throat, diffusing rapidly throughout his entire body. From his shoulders, down to his forearms, straight to the very tips of his fingers, he could feel raw lightning ricocheting violently inside his muscles.
"Bloody hell!"
Riley, who was resting on the desk, looked up in alarm. "Mr. Wonka, is everything alright?"
"I am fine," Charlie managed to shake his head.
Honestly, he had no idea what was happening to him. He took a step toward the dormitory door, intending to go find Anthony and Hector. He glanced back at Alice, who had also been startled by his outburst. "It is okay, buddy. Just go back to bed."
The very next second, Charlie slammed face-first into the solid wood of the dormitory door.
He rubbed his throbbing forehead, staring in utter disbelief at his desk across the room. He had only just turned his head, and somehow he had already crossed the entire floor.
"What on earth? Is my brain lagging? Can I not even calculate my own footsteps anymore?"
This was his own dormitory. He could navigate it blindfolded without stubbing a toe.
Then, the realization hit him like a rogue Bludger.
He was fast.
His body had accelerated to an impossible speed, but his brain simply did not have the processing power to keep up with the physical movement.
"Brilliant!" Charlie cheered loudly.
"Total physical overload! The Solar Essence successfully bridged the gap between the lightning and the human body!"