boyutpedia Chapter 120 The Responsibilities of a College Principal
Chapter 120 The Responsibilities of a College Principal
Chapter 120 The Responsibilities of a Junior College Principal (Another Two-in-One)
A school is a place for learning, and Hogwarts today is more like a school than it used to be.
Previously, whenever it wasn't during class time, there were people everywhere in the castle. They would chat leisurely in groups of three or five, or just stay in one place playing games. Apart from a few ambitious students, the others didn't focus on their studies.
But things are different now. Everyone who appears in the castle runs along, no longer carrying wizard chess pieces, but books or notebooks.
Magic schools are essentially specialized schools, with relatively limited curriculum. Students don't work hard because they can't track their progress.
But things are different now. Owen used Muggle technology concepts, combined with alchemy, to create a magic-guided statistical device. This thing is three meters tall and stands in the center of the unfinished garden behind the castle. As long as the students input magic into it, they can get a general value. The higher the value, the stronger the power.
At first, the students were a little confused by this device, but when Owen input magic power, the value on it reached four digits, and when the top student in the seventh grade stepped forward and input magic power, the value displayed only just broke through to three digits. The students throughout the school were excited.
This tool allows you to see your progress. Even if today's value is only three or five points higher than yesterday's, that's still progress!
The visible improvements will naturally ignite students' great enthusiasm for learning, and this thing is right there, anyone can go there anytime, anywhere, without any restrictions.
So now, even if it's just to make my stats a few points higher than my friend's, that would be great.
The students were busy, and the professors were even busier. With Professor McGonagall as the vice-principal and Dumbledore overseeing the Ministry of Magic, the fact that Professor McGonagall still had time to go to Hogsmeade Village for a drink on the weekend was naturally because someone was in the headmaster's office, and that person was taking over all of the headmaster's responsibilities.
Owen didn't like the old wizard's chair; it was too soft, and sitting in it for too long made him feel tired. He switched to his own hard chair and buried his head in the pile of documents.
The principal's duties are not numerous, but they are extremely varied, ranging from purchasing a single item to submitting financial applications for each department's professors.
Irving had been learning these things from Professor McGonagall for a long time, but he also had his own ideas.
He tapped the table three times lightly, and after a soft sound, a house-elf appeared in front of him: "Wenger, from now on you will be in charge of purchasing food for Hogwarts. You don't need to send the expense statistics to me anymore. Just record them and then come to me."
"My esteemed Lord Owen, this—"
"I'm the one who calls the shots at Hogwarts now."
Owen's tone was neither domineering nor harsh; it was as gentle as ever. But his words made Wenger's body tremble. Then he smiled and nodded, saying, "Your will is our will."
Wenger is the head elf of the school kitchen. He was promoted after Dumbledore took office. Owen didn't need to bother replacing him at all, because the old wizard's connections at the school were all his advantages.
Regarding the funding applications from each professor —
This is a bit of a headache. Some payments are indeed inappropriate, so he can only send them back and ask the other party to revise them in more detail. And some payments—
Owen sighed deeply. Ever since Snape was captured in America, his personality had become even colder. Apart from attending classes, he had been staying in the potion-making room. It hadn't been long, and the usual potion ingredients were already running out again.
But Owen had no choice but to support it, because potions were indeed more practical in some situations, so he readily signed his name. This large sum of money would be transformed into various medicinal herbs within three days and appear in Snape's alchemy room.
As for the source of the money...
Owen wrote a letter to all the gentlemen of the board of directors, inviting them to come to Hogwarts in ten days. Of course, it wasn't just the board members who came; the kind-hearted people who had been donating to Hogwarts also received the letter.
Returning to Hogwarts felt completely different. Mr. Malfoy arrived in grand style, only to be shown a new map of the castle by Filch, leaving Malfoy completely bewildered!
This castle is the same one he went to school in, but it's completely different from what he remembers. By the way, this meeting will last for three days, so their board members and guests will be staying on the seventh floor of the castle.
The stairs will still move on their own, but on the first floor, there is a sign explaining how to use them: Please pay attention, it will take you to where you want to go.
Malaysia was stunned for a long time!
He only realized now that the erratic staircase wasn't a prank at all, but rather a product designed to teach students how to concentrate. If your mind is confused, the staircase will also become confused, taking you anywhere you don't want to go, but never to your destination.
So, it means that all seven years of schooling here was for nothing?
Just as he was stunned, the staircase suddenly turned into a straight line, and then he saw a little wizard dressed in black with gold embroidery walking from the end of the staircase. He was extremely familiar with this person—Da Ma—even though they had only met a handful of times.
"Mr. Owen, it's an honor to meet you."
"Mr. Malfoy, it's a pleasure to meet you at Hogwarts."
The two gave each other a friendly hug, and Owen laughed, "I didn't expect you to arrive so early. I was going to greet everyone, so I apologize for my rudeness."
Da Ma sighed inwardly. Both were exceptionally powerful, but Voldemort was far inferior to this young wizard. He immediately replied, "No, that's not it. I was just excited to be back here after so many years, so I came a little early."
Owen smiled and said, "Hogwarts welcomes friendly visits at any time. Draco has made great progress, and with your encouragement as his father, I think his progress will be even more obvious."
This is not just polite talk; the gap between students has already emerged. Overall, students from pure-blood and wizarding families are progressing significantly faster than Muggle students. Educational resources are fair in school, but school also has holidays, and the home environment has a significant impact on students after they return home.
While the two were chatting, the other invited guests arrived one after another. Owen chatted amicably with each of them for a while. Once everyone had arrived, he personally led them to the garden behind the castle. With a wave of his hand, a large round conference table and chairs rose from the ground.
This strength —
Everyone sat very carefully. They didn't know why Irving had called them there, but they figured it was probably for money, or for the school to request additional funding.
Owen sat in the main seat, took a stack of parchment from his pocket, and then the parchment flew to each person on its own. He said softly, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the catalog. It lists the research results of Hogwarts over the years. A large part of it can be turned into a completely new industry. You can take a look first, and then pick one that interests you, and then we can discuss it in detail."
The magical world is quite boring. Before, the most profitable business was actually similar to that of Muggles: the potion industry. Everything else was rather unremarkable.
Furthermore, since Britain itself was a gold-refining wasteland, the gold-refining business had not taken off. But now that Irving was here, things were about to change.
Alchemy prosthetics are designed for people with physical disabilities, and they can be used on Muggles as well, not just wizards. The difference is that for wizards, the prosthetics have magic circles that connect to the magical circuits in the wizard's body, while for Muggles, they are connected to the nerves, giving the prosthetics tactile sensation.
Magic Guardians are actually small sensors. They are small in size and placed in relatively hidden locations, so they are not easy to find. If a crisis is approaching, they will emit an audible warning, or the owner can control them to unleash a reasonably powerful knockback spell or a self-destruct attack.
The multi-functional double-sided mirror is actually similar to a mobile phone, except that it does not need to be charged but requires magic storage. After Owen solved the problem of excessive magic storage loss, the value of this alchemical item dropped sharply. It will inevitably relieve the owl's workload in a very short time.
However, Irving did not intend to make the owls unemployed, because the two-way mirror has a limited number of contacts, and the owls are still needed to send messages to people other than the contact person.
The catalog listed over a dozen property development projects, leaving the guests somewhat bewildered. Da Ma, however, was intrigued and spoke first: "Mr. Owen, what does this mean?"
"Cooperation—" Owen tapped the table lightly, and tea appeared on the table. Everyone had some, and the temperature was just right. He took a sip of tea and said, "Over the years, Hogwarts has received your kindness and a lot of funding. Now, it's time to give back to you. These projects are Hogwarts' way of giving back to you. All the projects will be managed by you, and Hogwarts will only receive 20% of the profits."
I'll give you the project, and we'll split the profits 20/80.
The benefits are so great that some people simply dare not accept them!
"Please rest assured, this is both a collaboration and a return. Hogwarts is a school, and it shouldn't be tainted by too much worldly affairs. However, the school also needs construction, equipment needs to be replaced, and the cost of textbooks is enormous. If we only ask for your donations, that's not a long-term solution. Taking 20% is to turn donations into collaboration and reduce your burden."
So that's how it is! Many people were relieved, and their hearts were filled with even greater joy!
The items in this catalog represent not just Galleons, but also a family business that can be passed down through generations!
"By the way, these projects are the intellectual property of the school, and some students are even experts in this field. So I would like to ask you all to let these students work under you after they graduate."
"No problem, Mr. Irving!"
Everyone agreed that there was no better solution!
We invited these people to help solve the school's funding problems and the employment issues of students after graduation. We can't let the students become unemployed people after graduation, as we have in the past.
Not everyone is suited to work at the Ministry of Magic—that's also the headmaster's responsibility. Even the headmaster of a seven-year college has to think about the students' future.
"Don't rush to make a decision. There's plenty of time. You've all come from afar, so you can rest on the seventh floor first, and then have your meal in the Great Hall. I suppose you haven't forgotten Hogwarts' mealtimes, have you?"
Everyone laughed.
That's right, all of these people are graduates of Hogwarts, and the vast majority of them are Slytherin students. So Owen had to mention it again: "Ladies and gentlemen, the dormitories for all four houses have been completely replaced. They are located in the four wizard towers of the castle. As for the basement, it is no longer suitable for living. It contains textbooks. Please take note."
Among these people, a large portion of their nephews and nieces were students at school, so they naturally knew something about it. As for those who didn't know, someone would naturally inform them what the so-called "textbook" was.
The meeting was adjourned, and just as everyone was preparing to part ways, an elderly woman called out to Owen: "Mr. Owen, I'd like to have a word with you."
Irving looked at her and smiled gently, "It's my honor, Mrs. Longbottom."
This was none other than Neville's grandmother, the current head of the Longbottom family. Without a word, the old lady gave her a tight hug: "My dear, no one is more grateful to you than I am—"
Owen gently patted the old lady's back and replied softly, "Madam, Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom are heroes. Helping them is what we, their younger generation, should do."
The old woman let go, took out a handkerchief to wipe away her tears, and said, "Not only that, but also Nawi."
In first grade, that slightly clumsy chubby boy is now the tenth most famous person in the whole school, much higher than Harry Potter!
As for the wand his father had in his hand, he naturally had to return it to his father after his father began to recover, and then replace it with one that was most suitable for him.
Of course, it doesn't matter now, Neville has learned hand gesture magic quite well.
"Madam, Neville is my friend."
Owen didn't say much, but the sentiment in those simple words moved the old woman deeply once again: "Neville is honored to have a friend like you."
"No, madam, do you know? In the prophecies, Harry wasn't the only savior. Neville was born at the same time as Harry, but Voldemort was just unlucky."
Because he's completely dead, no one uses "Mysterious Man" to refer to Voldemort anymore. Everyone can call him that and comment on him freely. There are even some dim-witted guys who are preparing to do some research and write a biography for him.
7