Disclaimer: I do not own Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Veruca, unsurprisingly, was the first one to rush into the hallway, and also the first one to discover that it was a dead end. By this time, everyone was crowded into the tiny hallway and the door was closed behind us. As chaos ensued, and everyone was shouting and writhing around, I folded myself back into the corner by the door, wrapping my arms around myself, trying to stay as out of the way as possible. Charlie was separated from me by a snappish Mrs. Teevee, who was glaring around her with her pinched face and making sharp comments to anyone that came near here.

Wonka didn't seem to have a care in the world as he navigated through the crowd, tapping on the walls in a certain way. He made it around the room, and as he neared me, Mr. Salt yelled, "Now look here, Wonka!"

"Excuse me, question time will come at the end of the session," Wonka replied. I laughed quietly at his response from my corner. Wonka heard it, and his eyes flashed to me, taking in my huddled form in the corner. He continued talking to the group, looking away. "We must press on. Come along, come along." He reached the door we came through, standing right in front of me. "Ah, here we are!"

"Oh, don't be a darn fool, Wonka! That's the way we came in," Mr. Beauregarde snapped.

Wonka feigned innocent surprise. "It is? Are you sure?" he asked, glancing up at it.

"We've just come through there," Mr. Salt protested, what little hair he had in a fluffy mess.

"Huh. How do you like that?" Wonka murmured. He leaned against the door, and it opened. My eyes widened in disbelief as it opened up into a different hallway than the room we just vacated.

"Wow," I whispered, my eyes widening in amazement as Charlie joined my side again. I put my hand on his shoulder, squeezing it slightly, seeing my amazement mirrored on his face.

Mr. Wonka started walking down the hallway, and I began to follow with Charlie. "What is this, Wonka?" Mr. Salt called. "Some kind of fun house?"

Wonka paused, turning around. "Why, having fun?" He glanced at us, seeing that we followed him into the hallway while the rest of the group still huddled in the strange dead end hallway.

"I've had enough. I'm not going in there," Mrs. Teevee said, and I could see the other adults agreeing with her.

"Come on, Violet," Mr. Beauregarde, said. "We're getting out of here." He began glancing around the hallway, trying to find another exit, but Wonka's voice made him pause.

"Oh, you can't get out backwards. You've gotta go forwards to go back." He grinned and started to walk forward again. "Better press on."

The rest of the group filed out of the hallway as we all followed Wonka down the hallway. I blinked when I saw him start to bend down, and Charlie voiced my thoughts. "Hey, the room is getting smaller!"

"No, it's not; he's getting bigger!" Mrs. Teevee contradicted. I furrowed my brow and glanced at her. We were all starting to bend over, clearly the room was getting smaller!

The group was mumbling crossly, and I could hear Mike complaining about the lack of chocolate. Mr. Salt seemed more nervous than annoyed, like Mr. Beauregarde was, as he voiced his doubts that we would get out of here alive.

Wonka, who was crouched by a small door, said, "Oh, you should never, never doubt what nobody is sure about." I grinned slightly, appreciating the rhyme.

Huddled down by Charlie, I tuned out the parents' objections to the door. I was grateful that I hadn't inherited my father's height. Augustus Gloop was next to me, smelling strongly of chocolate, and I wondered how much he had eaten before coming to the factory.

I looked up as Wonka began speaking. "My dear friends, you are now about to enter the nerve center of the entire Wonka Factory. Inside this room, all of my dreams become realities. And some of my realities become dreams." I perked up at that, excitement building in me. "And almost everything you will see is eatible. Edible. I mean, you can eat almost everything."

"Let me in, I'm starving!" Augustus piped up from beside me.

Wonka reached forward, his arm invading my personal space slightly as he patted Augustus's cheek. "Now don't get overexcited! Don't lose your head, Augustus! We wouldn't want anyone to lose that." He turned towards the door, adding, "Yet" over his shoulder. Charlie glanced at me wide-eyed, and I winked at him. He smiled, reassured.

"Now, the combination," Wonka said. "This is a musical lock," he added, as a small piano appeared from the door. My eyes widened as he played the opening notes.

"Mozart!" I exclaimed, speaking for the first time since we left the coat room. "From the 'Marriage of Figaro'!"

Wonka regarded me, surprise on his face, as Mrs. Teevee snapped, "That's Rachmaninoff, not Mozart."

Charlie looked at me in question, and I shook my head slightly, trying to ignore that Wonka was still looking at me.

He looked back at the door. "Ladies and gentlemen," he began, "boys and girls... The chocolate room."

The door was incredibly larger than I previously thought, and as usual Veruca was the first one out. We all followed her, and I slowed to a stop, my mouth falling open as I took in the room.

Beautiful, I thought, my eyes wandering over what looked like a beautiful candy meadow. I saw all manner of colorful giant mushrooms, candy bushes, pots filled with giant lollipops, and more. My gaze was drawn to the waterfall where a brown liquid poured over the side, making a river. Is that...chocolate?!

"Hold your breath," Wonka said softly, and in awe I looked up at him to see him staring out across the chocolate room, his blue eyes far away. "Make a wish."

I wish that Grandpa Joe can see this factory as well.

"Count to three." To my surprise, Wonka took a breath and began to sing.

"Come with me

And you'll be

In a world of pure imagination."

We all started creeping closer to the edge of the stairs, Charlie and I in the back of the crowd, but Wonka whipped his cane around, stopping Veruca and Violet in their tracks as he continued singing.

"Take a look

And you'll see

Into your imagination."

He started down the stairs, doubling his steps back, and tentatively we all began to follow him. I was too busy staring out across the room in wonder that I almost smacked into Mrs. Teevee's back when she stopped to avoid Wonka whipping his cane.

"We'll begin

With a spin

Traveling in the world of my creation

What we'll see will defy

Explanation."

I nearly laughed when Veruca and Violet, who were shoving each other in an effort to be first, nearly got hit by his cane. Wonka looked at them, and they stopped their actions.

Wonka started down the stairs, always making sure to hop backwards on the steps. The people in front were wary about going in front of Wonka, their eyes on his cane. As we turned the corner, I found myself to the far left, at the front of the crowd with Charlie to my right. Wonka began to sing again, his cane stopping Veruca and Violet in their tracks.

"If you want to view paradise

Simply look around and view it."

He glanced to his left, and my heart jumped as we made eye contact. Once again, I was aware of the wide smile that I had on my face, and that my eyes were wide with wonder at the beautiful room in front of us. I saw a hint of a smile at the corner of Wonka's mouth as he looked at me, before he looked away and continued to sing.

"Anything you want to, do it

Want to change the world?"

I nearly laughed as he pulled some hairs out of Mike's head.

"There's nothing to it."

He went down the last part of the stairs, kicking his legs out as he went. At the bottom he paused us for a moment, before bringing his cane down and bowing slightly. Everyone immediately began to scatter, and Charlie grabbed my hand. "This way, Amie!" he cried, tugging me down one of the paths.

A bright laugh escaped me as we hurried on, past Wonka who had straightened up. I flashed a smile at him before Charlie pulled me to a candy cane tree. Distantly, I could hear Wonka continuing to sing his song as I pulled at some of the bark of the tree, sampling it. It was a very light and flaky chocolate, and absolutely delicious.

Charlie grabbed some large candy canes handed me the smaller one. I immediately swapped candy canes with him, and got the bigger one. When he realized what I did, he looked up. "Hey!" he protested, a grin on his face.

"Too bad!" I teased. We both laughed and I tried a bit of the candy cane, loving the flavor. He had somehow perfectly combined blue raspberry with peppermint.

Charlie took my hand again, and we continued to explore the chocolate room. We passed Veruca eating chocolate syrup out of a giant ball, and Mrs. Teevee, eating the white frosting off of a mushroom. I grabbed a marshmallow lollipop and took a bite. It was perfectly gooey, and I passed it off to Charlie, who eagerly finished it.

Charlie veered off to the right, but I continued walking down the path, admiring the room. I paused to take in the chocolate waterfall, my grin becoming larger. No wonder his chocolate tastes so good! The waterfall is sure to mix it well enough!

"How do you like my factory so far?"

I nearly jumped a foot in the air, turning around in surprise to see Wonka sitting amongst tea cup bushes. He smiled slightly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"No, it's fine," I said, laughing slightly at myself. "Your factory is amazing so far. This room is incredible!" I looked away from his bright blue gaze to glance around the room again. "I love that you mix your chocolate by waterfall. It's no wonder that your chocolate turns out delicious!"

A pleased smile crossed his face. "I'm happy that you caught that. This is the only factory is the world that mixes their chocolate that way."

"I doubt that other factories have an edible room as well," I said, laughing. "I'm so glad that we're able to come. This is definitely worth losing my job over." As soon as the words left my mouth, I froze. Oh, no, why did I just say that?! I blushed, highly embarrassed as I mumbled something about seeing what Charlie was up to, and quickly hurried away, managing to avoid seeing his reaction.

I joined Charlie as he grabbed a balloon-like lollipop that was larger than his face. "Try it, it tastes like a banana!" he said, grinning.

Trying to take my mind off of my careless words, I looked fully at Charlie and took the outstretched lollipop and tried it. "This tastes like an apple for me," I said, surprised.

"Really?" Charlie tried it again. "Hey! Now it's a pear!"

"What a disgusting, dirty river," I heard Mrs. Gloop say in distaste. I looked up, surprised. Did the others not realize it was chocolate?

"It's industrial waste, that," Mr. Salt said, coming to stand next to the river. "You've ruined your watershed, Wonka. It's polluted."

"It's chocolate," Wonka corrected. By this time, we were all standing next to the river.

"That's chocolate?" Veruca asked in disbelief.

"That's chocolate," Charlie breathed, an awed grin on his face. I squeezed his shoulder, smiling slightly.

"Ten thousand gallons an hour," Wonka said proudly. "And look at my waterfall. That's the most important thing. It's mixing my chocolate. It's actually churning my chocolate. You know, no other factory in the world mixes its chocolate by waterfall." He glanced at me suddenly and winked. I blushed, glad he had seemed to overlook my careless comment, and watched as he turned to Mr. Salt to say, "But it's the only way if you want it just right..."

Charlie tugged on my arm. "Amie, look over there across the river! They're little men!"

"What?" I asked in confusion, looking up in confusion. My eyes widened when I saw little orange men with bright green hair cheerfully working by the riverside. I heard the others gasping over them as I said to Charlie, "Now we know who's helping Mr. Wonka with the chocolate!"

"What are they doing there?" Mrs. Teevee asked in surprise.

"It must be creaming and sugaring time," Wonka said.

"Well, they can't be real people," Violet said, grimacing.

"Well, of course they're real people," Wonka replied.

Mr. Salt snorted. "Stuff and nonsense."

"No, Oompa Loompas."

Everyone repeated that, and we all turned to face Wonka in surprise. "From Loompaland," he clarified.

"Where's that?" I asked, fascinated, but Mrs. Teevee quickly added her two cence.

"Loompaland? There's no such place."

Wonka didn't like that much. "Excuse me, dear lady-"

"Mr. Wonka," Mrs. Teevee interrupted, "I am a teacher of geography."

"Oh, well then you know all about it and what a terrible country it is," Wonka fired back. I giggled slightly at Mrs. Teevee's sour face as Wonka continued. "Nothing but desolate wastes and fierce beasts. And the poor Oompa Loompas were so small and helpless, they would get gobbled up right and left. A Wangdoodle would eat ten of them for breakfast and think nothing of it."

I bit my lip as I looked back at the Oompa Loompas working behind us. They had to live there?

"And so I said, 'Come and live with me in peace and safety, away from all the Wangdoodles and Hornswogglers and Snozzwangers and rotten Vermicious Knids."

My respect for Wonka had risen, but the others in the group didn't feel the same. "Snozzwangers?" Mr. Salt questioned. "Vermicious Knids? What kind of rubbish is that?"

"I'm sorry, but all questions must be submitted in writing," Wonka said, not looking at him. I looked down, fighting a large grin, but looked up as Wonka continued his story. "And so, in the greatest of secrecy I transported the entire population of Oompa Loompas to my factory here."

"Hey, Daddy," Veruca piped up. "I want an Oompa Loompa. I want you to get me an Oompa Loompa right away!"

I looked at her in disbelief. They were people, not pets. They were working for Wonka, they weren't owned by him!

"Alright, Veruca, alright," Mr. Salt gave in. "I'll get you one before the day is out."

"But I want an Oompa Loompa now!" Veruca whined.

"Can it, you nit!" Violet snapped at her.

I shook my head at them, but turned in surprise when I heard Augustus say, "Mmmm... this stuff is terrific." I paused, seeing him by the side of the chocolate river, scooping the liquid up to his mouth to drink.

Mrs. Gloop hurried towards him. "Augustus, sweetheart, save some room for later."

Wonka's panicked voice made me look back. "Oh, uh, Augustus, please, don't do that. My chocolate must never be touched by human hands." He was fighting to make his way through the group, and I quickly stepped to the side to be out of his way. "Plea- Don't do that! Don't do that, you're contaminating my entire river!" He was nearly to the German boy, but just as he reached him, Augustus had bent over a little too far and fell in with a yell.

I surged forward, my heart jumping, but there wasn't anything I could do. I couldn't swim very well, and I didn't want to harm Wonka's chocolate even further by touching it.

The man in question was in distress. "My chocolate! My beautiful chocolate!"

"Don't just stand there; do something!" Mrs. Gloop cried, hearing her son call for help.

Wonka paused, staring at her. "Help," he said in monotone. "Police. Murder."

Charlie leaned forward, still holding the balloon lollipop from earlier. "Quick, Augustus, grab this!"

Augustus tried to grab the lollipop but his fingers slid off, and he disappeared below the chocolate.

"What's happening to him?" Mrs. Teevee asked.

"It looks like he's drowning," Mr. Salt muttered.

"Dive in!" Mrs. Gloop said in distress. "Save him!"

"Oh, it's too late," Wonka said, eerily calm.

"Too late?" Mrs. Gloop repeated in disbelief.

Wonka glanced at her. "Oh, he's had it now. The suction's got him."

"What suction?" Mr. Salt asked.

"Augustus, come back," Mrs. Gloop called in distress to the river. "Where is he?"

"Watch the pipe," Wonka said, motioning to the clear pipe in the middle of the river.

I heard the others still talking around me as I looked down to my younger brother. His face was distressed, and he was still holding the lollipop. I squeezed his shoulders reassuringly. I didn't want him to think this was his fault.

"He's stuck in the pipe there, isn't he, Wonka?" I heard Mr. Salt say, and I looked up in surprise to see Augustus in the pipe. "It's his stomach that's done that," Salt continued.

Distantly, I could hear Augustus calling for help in distress.

"He's blocking all the chocolate," Veruca noticed in surprise.

I looked at Wonka. "How are you going to get him out?" I asked in concern.

He glanced over at me, slightly surprised. "Oh, the pressure'll get him out. Terrific pressure is building up behind the blockage."

I blinked, staring at him. "This is the first time this has happened, right?"

Wonka opened his mouth to answer, thought better of it, and turned away. As the others continued to talk about Augustus's plight, I heard Wonka say, "The suspense is terrible. I hope it'll last."

The others continued to fret as I turned over Wonka's explanation in my mind. Grandpa Joe's explanation about shooting a gun came to my mind just as Augustus shot up the pipe.

"He's gone!" Mrs. Gloop cried. "He'll be made into marshmallows in five seconds!"

"Impossible, my dear lady, that's absurd!" Wonka cried. "Unthinkable!"

"Why?" Mrs. Gloop demanded.

Wonka stared at her. "Because that pipe doesn't go to the marshmallow room. It goes to the fudge room."

Mrs. Gloop began to insult him, but Wonka turned away and played a quick tune on a pipe whistle. I grinned slightly at his skill. Could he play any other instruments?

An Oompa Loompa came to stand in front of Wonka, and he began to give instructions about finding Augustus.

"You've boiled him up, I know it!" Mrs. Gloop shouted as the Oompa Loompa took her hand and started to lead her away.

"Nihil desperandum, dear lady," Wonka called after her. "Across the desert lies the promised land. Goodbye, Mrs. Gloop. Adieu! Auf wiedersehen! Gesundheit. Farewell."

I was torn between the desire to laugh at Wonka's antics or express my horror over the situation, but to my surprise, I heard the Oompa Loompas begin to sing.

"Oompa Loompa doompadee do

I've got a perfect puzzle for you

Oompa Loompa, doompadah dee

If you are wise you'll listen to me.

What do you get when you guzzle down sweets?

Eating as much as an elephant eats.

What are you at getting terribly fat?

What do you think will come of that?

I don't like the look of it."

I inched closer to the river, grinning at the Oompa Loompas' performance. My foot tapped along to the beat, loving the melody.

"Oompa Loompa doompadee dah

If you're not greedy you will go far

You will live in happiness too

Like the Oompa Loompa doompadee do!"

The last Oompa Loompa disappeared through the door, which closed behind them. As Mr. Salt expressed his annoyance over the factory again, I looked down at my brother. "That was a great song! They can all sing really well."

I glanced up to see Wonka smiling at my comment before he turned away. He began to speak in fluent French, and I only caught two words I recognized – 'voyage' and 'boat'. He asked a question in French, spreading his hand out. I turned, and my eyes widened as I saw a beautiful boat floating down the river.

This is the most incredible day I've ever had.

A/N

First off, I'm so sorry about the lateness of this chapter! I really have no excuse this time, so sorry again. But here's a longer chapter to try to make up for my absence!

Quick question: How does everyone feel about Amie? I'm trying to make her seem pretty natural, so please give me feedback about her character so I can improve her in later chapters.

A huge thank you to all of my reviewers! I'm really happy that you all are liking the story so far. Also, thank you to everyone that has favorited and followed (over a hundred followers now!).

Next chapter is my favorite part of the movie: the boat ride! I'll try to have the next one out soon.

Please review!

-SirAvery