great-warnovel Chapter 203 The Price of Choosing Sides
Chapter 203 The Price of Choosing Sides
Chapter 203 The Price of Choosing Sides
McGonagall pulled out a long list and began reading out all the expenses from the previous year.
From the food consumed in the kitchen to the brewing and tea making, down to the details of how much purified water, rye, and tea leaves were used.
The students' seasonal clothing supply, dyes, fuel, and the castle's maintenance costs—parchment, crucibles,
Discarded telescopes, quill pens, and ink.
The list included everything from razors and soap that students needed for washing and trimming their hair, a meticulously detailed and exhausting list that made listeners drowsy.
No wonder Dumbledore was reluctant to participate before; these entries almost put Hermione to sleep.
However, all the school board members at least tried to appear attentive, since they were the ones who provided the money.
They need to know where the money went.
Of course, most of the expenses were reasonable, and their attention was not on that; the nobles were all focused on waiting for the budget review later.
Finally, just as McGonagall finished reading the long list and was about to begin the budget section for the next school year, old Nott coughed and interrupted her.
"I think there's something we need to let Hogwarts know before the budget is reviewed." He said seriously, taking out a roll of parchment from his pocket.
"They're here," Hermione thought to herself. The nobles' underhanded tricks never come late.
"Because of the recent uproar over the Aurora Messenger prophecy, many parents in Malfoy Castle are worried about the safety of Hogwarts next year, and they are hoping to have their children take a year off to see how things go."
He unfolded the parchment, which contained a formal leave of absence application, followed by dozens of children's names, and then their parents' signatures.
Hermione glanced around and saw that the majority of the students were Slytherin, but there were also quite a few from other houses. Although they were not nobles of Malfoy Castle, they all lived in Malfoy Castle and would probably have a hard time withstanding the pressure from all sides.
Leaders from other regions exchanged surprised glances, not expecting Malfoy Castle to act so quickly. The Aurora Messenger had only just been published in the newspapers, and they immediately took action based on this incident. In fact, many parents in their communities had also expressed concerns, but had not yet made any immediate plans to have their children drop out of school.
However, people are prone to blindly following others. If this trend spreads from Malfoy Castle, parents there might also apply for leave of absence. If left unchecked, Hogwarts might lose half its students immediately.
Old Selwyn interjected at the opportune moment, with a somewhat troubled but kind smile: "Judging from the current situation..."
The number of students at Hogwarts will decrease sharply next school year, resulting in a much smaller overall budget. Therefore, the amount of aid needed next year may have to be reassessed.
McGonagall kept a straight face but didn't say a word. She always kept quiet and hidden herself when Dumbledore was around.
Hermione turned her gaze to the White Wizard, who showed no anger at the nobles' behavior and remained smiling.
"That's not a big deal. Letting these children go north with the castle would just cause the professors too much trouble."
He readily agreed with what he said.
"Hogwarts itself doesn't have many expenses, and besides, the compensation from last year's Lucius incident is more than enough to cover its current costs."
He suddenly looked at the nobles with feigned surprise: "You wouldn't be thinking of reneging on the compensation agreed upon last year, would you?"
An invisible pressure was exerted on the wizards; everyone seemed to feel Dumbledore watching them, and they quickly lowered their heads. "Of course not!" Old Selwyn echoed.
"Aid is aid, and compensation is compensation; they are two different things. The monthly compensation will still be delivered to the castle on schedule!"
Dumbledore nodded in satisfaction, then turned to the leaders of other regions: "Have other parents also submitted applications for leave of absence? It's normal for you to have concerns, and you're perfectly free to bring them up. Letting your child rest for a year isn't a bad thing."
Everyone looked at each other, but no one spoke.
At that moment, a wizard sitting next to Hermione spoke up: "No child on the Emerald Eagle has to drop out of school, and there are no cowards among Irish men."
"Thank you, Scrimgeour." Dumbledore nodded to him. Hermione remembered that Wood's home was in Ireland, perhaps in this settlement called Emerald Eagle Island, whose air column was quite famous.
"Godric Cliff also supports Hogwarts moving north," a witch whose name Hermione recognized but whom she couldn't quite place said. She was probably representing Cliff and was likely a colleague of Lily and James.
"Oh, by the way, Mrs. Potter has something for me to pass on," the witch said, turning her head toward the wizards of Malfoy Castle.
"Due to increasingly busy orders, Hogwarts and Vagado will soon be engaging in in-depth cooperation, and may no longer accept potion requests from the families of Malfoyburg. We hope for your understanding."
Selwyn's expression immediately turned sour. Lily had clearly been prepared; while taking care of the children on Cliff Street, she had immediately prepared a counterattack as soon as she saw the newspaper.
As the inventor of the improved Wolfsbane Potion, Malfoyburg buys a lot of finished products from her every year. Although his own family also has a Potions Master, Slughorn, the old man doesn't like to work around the cauldron all day, and he's even less willing to brew the works of other Potions Masters every day, especially since this was his former student.
Although for Lily, rejecting the Malfoyburg order would be tantamount to self-inflicted damage, the cooperation with Vagado could make up for some of the losses, and the impact on Cliff Street would not be too great.
Next, leaders from various places, including the Greek community, the Sardinian community, and Transylvania in Eastern Europe, expressed some concern about Hogwarts' actions, but did not suggest that their children take a leave of absence.
Overall, the large-scale suspension of school attendance by a large number of children in Malfoy will indeed have some impact on the school.
But that's all. The deducted portion of aid funds won't cripple the school; at most, the food will just be a little worse.
However, Dumbledore wasn't entirely silent. Seeing that no one else spoke, he cleared his throat and said, "In order to prepare for the challenges that may arise in the next school year, Hogwarts plans to add a Brilliant Stone Assistant position under the Defense Against Wizarding Technology class. The assistant will be mainly responsible for teaching students how to master Brilliant Stone magic, which will be beneficial for them in combat in high-radiation areas."
He smiled and looked at Hermione, who looked surprised: "Miss Granger, the founder of the Brilliant Stone Magic, will take up this position."
Hermione had no idea that Old Man Dumbledore had this backup plan, but it was fine, since she had originally planned to enhance the combat capabilities of the school's teachers and students. It's just that next school year she would have to work with the defense professor, whose identity she didn't even know yet.
The nobles were also surprised. They wanted to say, "This little Mudblood is only in the third year!", but they had just been taught a lesson by Hermione and were powerless to fight back, so they didn't have the confidence to speak.
Dumbledore's actions were undoubtedly telling them that while the school couldn't stop them from taking their own children out of school, they shouldn't expect to be the first to learn the latest magic.
As a school, Hogwarts has always upheld the principles of tradition and openness. Dumbledore could not possibly refuse the children of Malfoy Castle from studying there forever because of this. However, since they have made their choice, it is reasonable for them to be treated differently in the future.
When it comes to taking sides, once you make a choice, you have to bear the consequences.
The Nott and Selwyn factions didn't really feel the impact of Dumbledore's decision, but the Burke faction was furious. They had the most combative wizards and the best understanding of Brilliant Stone magic. Hermione's latest paper on Fallen Angel was already being studied by many top wizards, who were said to be very optimistic about its performance in battle.
For wizards who make a living through combat, new and powerful magic is key to maintaining their status. If they are excluded from the new fighting force, it is probably not something to be happy about.