The Board of Directors Needs More Funding

Chapter 10: The Board of Directors Needs to Allocate More Funds

"Do you really have a talent for Divination?"

Ron asked Charles for what felt like the hundredth time.

Charles saw the train slowing down and said, "You'll know later. Now, we should change into our robes."

Harry and Ron also noticed the train slowing and hurriedly took their trunks from the luggage rack, opened them, and took out their school uniforms.

It was much simpler for Charles. With a flick of his hand, a school uniform appeared before him. He just had to catch it before it landed.

"Wow!" Ron's eyes lit up. "Is that... that... a Bag of Holding?"

Charles nodded. "Yeah, have you seen one before?"

Ron, while changing into his school uniform, replied, "I heard Fred and George... my twin brothers... muttering about it. They wanted to make one themselves, but they couldn't afford enchanted fabric."

Charles began to explain the bag's origins: "This is quite expensive. When that wizard sold it to my grandpa and me in an alley next to Diagon Alley, he asked for three hundred gold coins. Later, we asked Master Ollivander to authenticate it, and he helped us bargain it down to two hundred gold coins. Then, we treated the master to a meal, which cost thirty gold coins."

Ron listened, dumbfounded, as if hearing a story from another world.

What Charles said wasn't entirely false. Yesterday, Jack had found a reclusive old wizard and cast the Imperius Curse on him, then went to Diagon Alley to get Ollivander's endorsement.

The main reason was that they had bought quite a few books in Diagon Alley. While reading, Jack noticed that the manufacturing process for the magic-infused fabric had changed significantly. The method he used to make this bag was a hundred years old, and it was easy for an expert to spot.

The train arrived at the station, and students poured out. The few of them were quickly swept away by the crowd.

Fortunately, Hagrid was like a lighthouse in the sea of people, giving the first-year students a rallying point. In that regard, he was quite competent.

Charles glanced at the Thestrals already pulling carriages into the sky in the distance, pursed his lips, and turned to board the boat.

Each small boat could not hold more than four people. Charles jumped into an empty boat and stood at the bow, quietly gazing at the castle under the starry sky in the distance.

For him, having died once already, every second he breathed in this second life was a bonus. The most important thing in life was to be happy. He had chosen to come to Hogwarts instead of a magical institute closer to Yui Aragaki's home primarily because the events that would unfold here in the coming years were very interesting.

The small boat automatically sailed towards the castle on the other side of the lake and soon reached the middle of the lake.

Charles suddenly asked the three classmates in the same boat with a calm tone, "You all know how to swim, right?"

Malfoy and his two cronies, who had just been about to work together to push Charles off the boat, stopped abruptly. Their six outstretched hands hesitated, unsure whether to retract or continue.

The three exchanged glances and decided to push him overboard.

They couldn't just take a beating on the train and not retaliate. If they couldn't deal with Potter, couldn't they deal with him?

Someone's hand touched Charles's school robe. The next moment, there was a loud "crack," followed by three exclamations of shock.

The boat suddenly broke. The wooden planks beneath Malfoy and the others shattered, and the three of them fell into the water, getting stuck in the broken hole.

Charles shouted, "Oh no, the boat is sinking!"

He seemed to be in a panic, leaping from the bow of the boat towards the lake's surface.

Everyone else in the lake was startled. The broken boat was secondary; the main thing was that someone was running on the lake's surface as if it were land.

Someone tried to imitate him by jumping onto the lake, but was frantically pulled back by someone else in the same boat. Hagrid's blood pressure soared with anger.

By this time, Charles had not only run to the other side of the lake but had also climbed a high cliff. The Hogwarts castle and Dumbledore appeared before him.

Charles hurried forward, grabbed Dumbledore's sleeve, and anxiously shouted, "Headmaster, the boat broke and someone fell in! Please save them quickly!"

Dumbledore took out his wand, pointed it at the ground, and with a "biu," a giant stone arm instantly grew from the edge of the cliff, reaching into the lake and lifting the broken boat and the three occupants to his side.

Charles watched, stunned. Although the old man had demonstrated advanced spells like the Unforgivable Curses, the visual impact of this feat far surpassed them.

The Malfoy trio was so scared they were dazed. The lake water was probably quite cold, as they shivered like vibrating mobile phones.

Malfoy stared blankly ahead, muttering, "I'm going to tell my father..."

Charles said earnestly to him, "I heard from Mr. Ollivander that Mr. Malfoy is a member of the Hogwarts Board of Directors, right? It seems that many things at Hogwarts are in disrepair now. Even the boats are decaying. The Board of Directors should increase the funding."

Dumbledore was examining the broken boat. The break around the hole was not neat; it wasn't cut. Hearing Charles's words, he stopped his inspection and kindly said to Malfoy and the others, "This was an accident. I will personally write to your parents to apologize."

After speaking, he pointed his wand at the three of them, and the water on their bodies vanished without a trace.

Charles recognized this as "Scourgify." The old man had used it to clean his diapers and wipe his bottom before, saving a lot of paper and being very environmentally friendly.

After dealing with the three, Dumbledore turned to Charles.

Charles returned a smile, realizing the Headmaster was suspicious of his earlier actions.

Just then, the first-year students had disembarked. Harry, at the forefront, ran up from the dock below. Seeing Charles, he burst out laughing, "Hahahaha! I knew it was you! Just like that time you were chased by a dog, you panicked and ran onto the roof... Ow!"

Charles gave him a tomahawk chop to the crown of his head and moved aside to make space for Dumbledore, saying with a serious expression, "The Headmaster is here, why didn't you greet him first? How rude!"

Upon seeing Dumbledore, Harry immediately bowed and greeted him, appearing quite polite.

Dumbledore looked at Harry, then at Charles, and nodded slightly. "Welcome to Hogwarts. I hope you have a pleasant stay here. They've arrived, let's go to the Sorting Ceremony first."

With that, he turned and vanished instantly.

Harry's eyes behind his glasses widened. "What magic is that?" he asked Charles.

Charles replied, "Read it yourself."

"That's Apparition," Hermione said, walking over at that moment. "This spell allows a wizard to go wherever they wish, but only the Headmaster can use it within Hogwarts. It's mentioned in 'Hogwarts: A History'."

Harry joined the group of first-years and curiously asked Hermione a professional question: "Why is it called 'A History,' not the complete history?"

Hermione didn't know either. She just said, "I found that the records for about three years, around 100 years ago, are blank. I don't know why."

She turned to Charles and asked, "Charles, do you know?"

"Huh? What did you say?" Charles pretended not to hear clearly. "We've arrived at the castle."

At this point, the first-years had reached the castle gates. Hagrid was pounding heavily on the wooden door with his fist.