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As the potions master of Hogwarts, Severus Snape was in charge of procuring potion ingredients. He conferred with Minerva on the budget based on recent market values at the start of every summer. She then petitioned the school board for the funds. They hemmed and hawed, but always granted it.
After that, there was no oversight.
Severus, like many in the teaching profession, was underpaid and overworked.
Worse yet, he was paid a third of what his colleagues made. Dumbledore called it a part of his penance. Severus called it economic abuse.
But he was a Slytherin and happy to exploit a weakness. He would not be shackled. Instead, he harvested the easier ingredients instead of buying them.
And if the leftover money steadily built up in his bank account? Well, that was no one else’s business.