My Hogwarts has a serious problem.

Chapter 381, Section 378: Seats on the Board of Directors

Old John is in a meeting.

This was his 12th meeting this month, but it was slightly different from the previous 11.

These long-established pure-blood families in the British magical world gathered once again to respectfully invite him to this meeting.

They had actually extended two invitations to old John before, but he declined both times, citing his busy schedule with the company.

This time, feeling that he had left these people hanging for too long, he finally accepted the invitation to attend the meeting.

The United Company is now completely finished. These pure-blood families have lost everything, but at this meeting, they still wore smiles and didn't dare to give Old John the slightest bit of a hard time.

"We always felt that you went to so much trouble to pull us into this scheme, and spent so much time on it, it couldn't really be just for our little bit of business in the UK, could it?"

Malfoy was chosen as the representative to lead the negotiations with John the Elder.

"Your businesses are almost all over Europe, and even in the former British magic market, you had at least 10% market share."

The magic market in the UK may seem large to us, but you probably wouldn't even consider it a piece of your mind, or even if you did, you wouldn't need to spend so much time and effort to get it.

So, Mr. John, what exactly do you want from us?

Upon hearing Malfoy's question, old John slowly sipped the hot tea on the table.

"I've already said, I didn't try to trap you. That's how business is; for every winner, there's a loser. You can't expect to always have a sure-fire way to make money, can you? If it were that easy, why would anyone bother with the hassle of running a business?"

Even at this point, old John still refused to admit that the United Company was actually his trap.

He's not stupid at all. In business, he can get away with scheming as long as he doesn't get caught red-handed. But if he were to admit that he set up the scheme, it would be tantamount to self-destruction.

If someone were to record something at this time, it wouldn't affect the already settled matter, but it would still be a problem.

The people sitting on either side of the table gritted their teeth at Old John's feigned ignorance, secretly cursing him as an old fox, but there was nothing they could do.

Malfoy, however, remained very composed, showing no sign of displeasure, and went along with Old John's words.

"Okay, we admit defeat!"

You're right. In any business, there are gains and losses. This time, we were unlucky and ended up losing everything. But we still have to live our lives, and we all have families to support.

We wanted to consult Mr. John about how to recover our losses and allow us to live a normal life again.

He adopted a very humble posture, and his tone made it sound like Old John was a tyrant who forced women into prostitution.

In a sense, this analogy is not wrong.

Old John tapped the table lightly with his fingers and spoke slowly and deliberately.

"Everyone here has lost money, and I understand your difficulties and situation. After all, even if I lost everything, as long as there are no problems with the parent company, it wouldn't be a crippling blow. But you have indeed lost your entire fortune."

He seemed to be thinking, or perhaps weighing something.

The mood of these pure-blood family heads was just like Old John's fingers tapping on the table—up and down, and it took them a long time to calm down.

After a moment of hesitation, old John finally spoke.

"I do have a way for you to recover some of your losses."

Everyone present held their breath, listening to him explain his solution.

"After this failure, I became very interested in the senior management of Lungad Company, so through an introduction, I met with their chairman."

Although he caused us significant losses, it's undeniable that he has a keen business sense and considerable ability, so we had a very pleasant conversation.

The others who heard what he said felt as uncomfortable as if they had swallowed a fly.

I've never heard of anyone having a pleasant conversation with themselves.

"After that, I mentioned your current situation to him and explained that you are both local bigwigs in the British magical world. If he wants to do business here in the future, he would better make friends with you."

After all, we'll be in the UK from now on, and we'll see each other all the time. He agreed with my point and decided to return some of the markets that originally belonged to you, and even provide you with some funding.

Upon hearing his words, none of the heads of the pure-blood families showed any joy; instead, their brows furrowed even deeper.

The conditions are so favorable that it's impossible for Old John to have had a change of heart. If he had such good intentions, things wouldn't have turned out this way.

The more he returns to them, the greater his ambitions become.

"Such a good thing can't be without conditions, right?" Malfoy asked tentatively.

"Of course not." Old John did not deny it. He stated his request directly, "The chairman likes children very much, especially helping children improve their education, so he wants all the seats on the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Board of Governors held by everyone here in exchange."

Only then did these people truly understand what Old John's ultimate goal was.

He came to England for this very reason from the very beginning. Everything before that, whether it was tricking them into joining the United Company or swallowing all their assets, was just a prelude to getting a seat on the Hogwarts Board of Governors!

The heads of the pure-blood families remained silent for a long time, none of them speaking first.

Because the seats on the board of directors are not something they can easily give up either, making such an exchange is a difficult decision for each of them.

"We agree."

Finally, when everyone was silent, Malfoy spoke up for them.

Old John was not at all surprised by this.

A seat on the Hogwarts Board of Governors is important, but if one loses their family fortune, they simply cannot afford to support that position.

Anyone can see the choices involved.

Old John smiled and immediately took out several parchments, distributing them to everyone.

"In that case, everyone, please take a look at this contract. If there are no problems, please sign it."

Malfoy took the contract, read it carefully, and then turned his gaze back to old John.

"In this deal, we don't want any assets or market share; we just want money—Gallons that can be stored in Gringotts vaults!"

(End of this chapter)