Chapter 137: Hogwarts Honorary School Board Member

"Ah."

Lockhart's question stunned Professor McGonagall for a moment, making her a little surprised. After a second thought, she understood what Lockhart was thinking.

But...

It would be nice if Lockhart did join the school board. Considering his title at Hogwarts and his usual generosity, Professor McGonagall secretly nodded in approval.

However...

"Of course, Lockhart. However, if you want to join the school board, I'm afraid it will be very difficult," Professor McGonagall replied slowly.

"Minerva, there's no rush. Please introduce me to the school board first," Lockhart asked directly. He was curious about the Hogwarts school board.

His knowledge of the Harry Potter world was limited to the movies he had watched in his previous life. The school board had little screen time.

However, one thing he knew very well was that when Hogwarts was founded, there was no such thing as a school board. He didn't know when it was established, but it was said to have considerable influence.

Judging from today's events, the future might hold some challenges. If he could address them early, it would be better.

Responding to Lockhart's request, Professor McGonagall recalled information about the school board and introduced it directly: "The School Board is officially called the Hogwarts School Board. Actually, there was no such thing as a school board before at Hogwarts. However, at the end of the last century, Hogwarts had a financial crisis and almost closed down. Later, Principal Armando Dippet thought of a way to solve the crisis, which was to obtain support from resources such as gold galleons through the channels of the Ministry of Magic. This is how the school board came into being. There are a total of 12 wizards on the school board, all of whom are wizards from pure-blood families."

"Only they have the ability to donate a certain amount of funds to Hogwarts every year to ensure the operation of the school. Therefore, they can supervise the operation of Hogwarts and also have certain rights to appoint or temporarily suspend the principal."

"So, their influence on Hogwarts is not small," Lockhart concluded simply after listening to Professor McGonagall's introduction.

"Yes, indeed," Professor McGonagall nodded slightly. "After all, the school needs galleons; otherwise, it cannot operate normally, let alone teach the students."

In response, Lockhart nodded slightly, expressing his understanding.

No matter where in the world, those with financial power always have a greater say, especially in non-profit institutions such as schools. Financial power becomes even more critical. The more funds are consumed, the more dependent one becomes on the need for funds, and those with financial power have more influence.

Otherwise, why would the school board be able to remove Dumbledore from his position later? In the final analysis, Hogwarts still relies too much on the funding from the school board.

Thinking of this, Lockhart was thoughtful.

Suddenly...

"Minerva, how many galleons does the board provide to Hogwarts each year?"

Regarding Lockhart's question, Professor McGonagall's expression changed. After thinking for a moment, she roughly said, "Lockhart, Hogwarts itself also has some profit channels."

"But despite this, the school board still provides approximately 3,000 gold galleons to Hogwarts every year."

Hearing Professor McGonagall's answer, Lockhart took a breath. 3,000 gold galleons, paid every year. Is the cost of education at Hogwarts so high?

He made a rough calculation and found that based on his original wealth, he would only last four to five years at most before becoming a pauper. And that school board has persisted for almost a hundred years. No wonder it is composed of 12 pure-blood families. Ordinary families can't afford it.

Don't forget, Hogwarts is not a for-profit institution; it is a school that can only swallow up everything.

However, this school board would be a real nuisance for him. The school board will never give up on his research, let alone the Ministry of Magic. The twists and turns will only make it more troublesome.

After thinking for a moment, Lockhart's eyes lit up as he thought of a good plan.

"Minerva, if I donate a certain amount of galleons to Hogwarts, can I get some honorary title?" Lockhart asked, explaining to Professor McGonagall, "In this case, if the school board wants to use this as an excuse later, I can also have something to deal with them."

With this explanation, Professor McGonagall instantly understood and secretly praised Lockhart's intelligence. With the donation, there would be room for justification for the subsequent use of the recruitment of assistants in the name of Hogwarts as an excuse.

After all, if Lockhart donated money, so what if he used the name of Hogwarts? Doesn't the school board gain corresponding influence because of donations? To deny this would be equivalent to denying the very basis for the existence of the school board. In this way, there is room for wrangling. Once the wrangling occurs, it can only be shelved.

However...

"Lockhart, how many gold galleons are you going to donate?"

"This year, I will donate 600 gold galleons first, and 300 gold galleons every year thereafter," Lockhart replied according to his own idea.

Since he had to do something, he decided to do it to the extreme so that no one could find an excuse. 600 gold galleons, equivalent to 1/5 of the annual donation of the school board. The next 300 pieces per year are basically equivalent to the amount donated by a pure-blood family, or even slightly higher. In this case, let's see what those pure-blood families say.

As for galleons, don't forget, he had just ransacked Bellatrix's treasury. There were not only Bellatrix's, but also some wealth accumulated by the Lestrange family over the years, and some of Voldemort's wealth. He estimated that there were more than 100,000 galleons, not to mention those precious magic items. He wouldn't have to worry about galleons for a while. Not to mention, if his plan succeeded, galleons would be the least of his concerns.

When Professor McGonagall heard the amount of Lockhart's donation, her eyes lit up instantly, and a bright smile appeared on her face. Lockhart is indeed known as a rich man at Hogwarts. This is really generous, not to mention providing 300 gold galleons every year. She had already figured out what to buy with this batch of galleons. What materials should she buy? It seemed like the school's Quidditch pitch could use some repairs, and there were some magic broomsticks, some of which were in tatters.

The thought flashed through her mind, and Professor McGonagall smiled and said, "In that case, Lockhart, I'll go back and discuss it with the headmaster. Let's see if we can get you the title of honorary school board member. Although it won't come with corresponding rights, I believe it will be more beneficial to you."

Hearing Professor McGonagall's reply, Lockhart had a bright smile on his face. Professor McGonagall can be trusted!

Well, he remembered that Professor McGonagall liked Quidditch games, so he could give her some Quidditch tickets or other gifts.

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