Chapter 861: Civilized Debt Collection
Chapter 861: Civilized Debt Collection
On the south side of Diagon Alley, a new magazine publishing house had set up shop, serving as the office for the newly launched magazine, "The Defense Guide."
At this moment, Remus Lupin, the newly appointed editor-in-chief of "The Defense Guide," was reviewing their recent development plans. He set down the parchment and slowly sipped his tea, his eyes drifting to the shops across the street—the office of the "Daily Prophet" and the adjacent WhizzHard Books.
Compared to the well-established companies across the street, their new magazine office seemed rather humble, with many aspects still in the early stages of development.
Across from Lupin, Sirius Black was lounging in his chair, legs casually propped up as he perused the latest issue of the "Daily Prophet," seemingly unconcerned about the current dismal state of their magazine venture.
It had been almost a month since the launch of "The Defense Guide," and while the situation was much better than Lupin had anticipated, they were still operating at a loss, and this situation seemed likely to persist for a while.
This troubled Lupin greatly. He knew that Sirius had started the magazine to give him a job, and the fact that the magazine was losing money was becoming a source of growing concern for him.
Just then, an owl flew in through the reserved window, dropping a letter into the mailbox before flapping its wings and taking off.
"A letter from Albert?" Sirius asked nonchalantly without looking up from his paper.
"No, it's from Mr. Jordan, probably wanting to discuss how to collect the debt from Bagman," Lupin replied as he opened the mailbox, retrieved the letter, glanced at the sender, and placed it on the desk in front of Sirius.
"That guy still hasn't given up, huh? Seems like Bagman has really annoyed him," Sirius said with a laugh, setting aside his newspaper, unbothered by the fact that Ludo Bagman owed him several thousand Galleons.
"This month, we sold a total of one hundred and forty-five copies of 'The Defense Guide,'" Lupin said, pulling out a piece of parchment from his desk and speaking to himself, "Fifty of those were given out for free, so we actually only sold ninety-five. Twelve people subscribed for four months, but once this month is over, I doubt we'll have sold even two hundred copies."
No wonder Lupin wore a bitter smile; each copy of "The Defense Guide" was priced at 10 Sickles, but after deducting printing costs, discounts, owl postage, and various other miscellaneous expenses, they were operating at a loss this month. On top of that, Sirius had intended to pay him a decent salary, which Lupin had refused, but the situation still looked bleak. They also had to pay rent for the space they were using, and Lupin doubted whether "The Defense Guide" could survive a year if they continued to operate at a loss.
"Don't worry," Sirius said, lowering his legs and offering reassurance, "Didn't Albert prepare several marketing strategies for us? I think his ideas are pretty good. Operating at a loss is only temporary; in his words, we need to focus on building our reputation first." He continued, "Once we increase our magazine sales, we can start making money through advertisements. Besides, I suspect Albert never expected 'The Defense Guide' to turn a profit for him from the start. That guy is shrewd; he definitely wouldn't engage in a losing business venture. He probably has another motive."
"Another motive," Lupin echoed, unable to fathom what Albert's purpose might be. "Could it be that Albert intends to sell the magazine to Hogwarts students?"
Lupin didn't think the students at Hogwarts had the money to purchase it; 10 Sickles was not a small amount.
All he could see at the moment was the magazine losing money and wasting a lot of effort. If "The Defense Guide" didn't pick up, Sirius would likely end up losing a significant sum of Galleons.
"You don't need to worry about that," Sirius said, tossing aside the letter he had finished reading. With a smile, he added, "I'm going out for a bit. Our friend Mr. Jordan is planning to ambush Bagman and try to get back the principal he's owed."
"Doesn't Bagman not have any money left?" Lupin inquired, well aware of Bagman's predicament. The unfortunate fellow had all his gold coins taken by the leprechauns to repay his debts, leaving his pockets barren of any Galleons.
"Ludo Bagman is indeed penniless at the moment, but that doesn't mean he won't have money in the future," Sirius replied with a slight twist of his lips. He suspected that Albert might have something to do with this situation.
Of course, it was merely a guess.
When Sirius arrived at the designated meeting place, he found that the number of wizards who had been swindled by Ludo Bagman was quite substantial—a total of eleven had shown up.
Among the group, Sirius also spotted Arthur's son.
"Alright, everyone, let me first brief you on our situation and our upcoming target," Mr. Jordan, the instigator of the debt-collecting group, stepped forward and began, "As we all know, Mr. Bagman's Galleons were taken by leprechauns, and he doesn't have a single Galleon on him now. So… we can't expect Mr. Bagman to return our principal immediately. However, the fact that he's broke now doesn't mean he'll always be broke. We can wait for five years, or even ten. We can't let Mr. Bagman get away with not paying us back."
"That guy is the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports; he earns a decent salary every month. We can take that money as repayment," someone suggested.
Everyone agreed that this was a good idea.
"You're right," Mr. Jordan concurred. "We're not expecting Mr. Bagman to repay us all at once, but taking a portion of his salary each month to repay us is a reasonable solution."
"Won't that be too lenient on him?" a plump witch asked indignantly.
"Also, we don't have that kind of time to keep an eye on him," Percy interjected, furrowing his brow. "Five years? Ten years? We can't afford to waste that much time on this matter."
"Perhaps we should report Bagman's actions to the Ministry of Magic," a half-bald wizard proposed.
"This is a private gambling matter and is not protected by the laws of the Ministry of Magic," Percy shook his head. If reporting Bagman would have gotten them their money, he would have done so already. There was no point in wasting time discussing strategies when a solution was already available.
"Moreover, there's another issue," Sirius, who had been silent until now, spoke up. "How do you plan to ensure that the scoundrel will pay up?"
Even if they came up with the most agreeable terms now, it would be meaningless if they couldn't guarantee that Bagman would follow through with the repayments.
"I've already thought of that," Mr. Jordan said as he pulled out a piece of parchment covered in writing from his robe pocket.
"A magical contract," he introduced excitedly. "Within ten years, as long as Bagman repays us according to the agreement, the magical contract will automatically be lifted, and we'll leave him alone."
"That's impossible!" the plump woman shrieked. "Bagman swindled away half of Agatha Tims' shares in her eel farm. He must have money! If not, we'll just take matters into our own hands and seize everything of value he owns as compensation."
"That's illegal," Mr. Jordan reminded them.
"And what you're holding isn't?" Sirius couldn't help but mock.
"This is a settlement agreement," Jordan shrugged, not knowing how thick his face was to say such a thing so righteously.
"Everyone, I must remind you that Bagman owes us money, but he can't pay it back and doesn't want to. So what we should be doing now is cutting our losses instead of ending up with nothing later on."
"What if Bagman defaults and runs away?" someone asked.
"If Bagman dares to default, then he will become the unluckiest wizard in the world." Mr. Jordan replied with an insidious smile: "Also, once we sign the settlement agreement, we can locate Mr. Bagman's whereabouts at any time through this contract. If Mr. Bagman dares to run away, we can sell his location to the fairies who are looking for him and even make some Galleons to compensate for our losses. As a consequence of his default, Mr. Bagman will be haunted by the fairies forever. At least for the next ten years, he will never be able to shake them off."
"Very well, I have no objections. We'll go with your plan. That scoundrel must pay the price for his actions."
Speaking of which, Bagman indeed owed quite a number of witches and wizards a lot of Galleons.
There were a total of seventeen signatures on the settlement agreement, although some of them were owed a limited amount.
The first was the plump woman, followed by Black, then Jordan, and the rest added up to about 3000 Galleons in principal amount.
If you included the Galleons wagered and won, the amount would probably be several times more.
"I have a question. According to your magic contract, you can only recover a maximum of 2400 Galleons in ten years. What happens to the remaining amount?" The plump woman questioned Mr. Jordan.
"Those of us who are owed the most can take a smaller portion." Mr. Jordan replied without hesitation, "Or we can deduct it according to a ratio."
"I have no objections."
"Neither do I."
The plump woman seemed like she wanted to say something more, but Mr. Jordan interrupted her, "Let's talk about it after we get the Galleons from Mr. Bagman."
Sirius couldn't help but curl his lips in disdain for the foolish woman before him. This group intended to use their numerical advantage to force Bagman into signing the contract.
In fact, many of the witches and wizards gathered here who were cheated and owed money by Bagman did not come solely for the purpose of collecting their debts. They were all aware of his situation and knew that even if they found Bagman, they wouldn't be able to get their Galleons back. However, they were infuriated by the fact that Bagman had played them with fake and duplicate Galleons, especially his terrible attitude towards them to avoid repaying his debts.
This undoubtedly angered them, and they wanted to teach that deadbeat a lesson.
"Alright, let's go find Bagman. That guy has been hiding to avoid the harassment of the fairies. Follow me!"
Mr. Jordan led everyone in a series of Apparitions.
In a remote village on the British coast, Bagman was dragging his tired body towards a seaside house. It was a Muggle villa, usually unoccupied, making it a suitable place to lay low temporarily and escape the annoying fairy mob.
Bagman was somewhat regretful for provoking that group of fairies. They had been following him around, trying to get their money back, to the point where Bagman was developing a nervous breakdown.
However, he had finally managed to shake them off.
As Bagman walked into the villa's hallway and attempted to turn on the light switch, he froze. The lights suddenly turned on, and sitting in the hall was a group of "familiar" faces.
"Y-you... How did you..." Bagman tried to turn around and flee.
"Don't be alarmed, Mr. Bagman. We're just here to discuss with you how you plan to repay your debts to us." Mr. Jordan appeared from behind, disarming Bagman and placing a hand on his shoulder to prevent him from Apparating away.
"I really don't have any money." Bagman's smile was more pathetic than crying.
"We know you don't."
Mr. Jordan nodded in understanding. Just as Bagman was about to breathe a sigh of relief, he continued, "So, we just want to get back our principal. You know, we can forgo the winnings, but you can't take away our initial investment as well."
"But I..."
"Perhaps we should teach him a lesson." The plump woman brandished her wand, ready to inflict the Cruciatus Curse.
"I really don't have any money, not a single Galleon."
"Alright, we know you don't have any money now, but you will definitely have money in the future. After all, you're the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports, and your monthly salary is substantial. Paying back 20 Galleons a month shouldn't be a problem." Mr. Jordan smiled and placed the parchment in front of Bagman, "We're giving you ten years to pay back a total of 2400 Galleons. There won't be any interest, and we won't ask for anything more after that. How does that sound?"
"Alright."
Bagman knew he had no choice. He quickly scanned the contents of the parchment and noticed that everyone he had scammed was present. No wonder they hadn't sent any more letters demanding repayment. They must have gathered together to come after him.
After Bagman signed his name, Mr. Jordan took the parchment with a smile and handed it to the plump woman, "You should keep this safe, preferably in a vault."
"I will."
"By the way, Mr. Bagman, I forgot to remind you earlier. There's a curse on this contract. If you fail to repay the 2400 Galleons within ten years, well, I think you wouldn't want to know what will happen." Mr. Jordan smiled sinisterly, "I really don't know what would happen to someone who's extremely unlucky. Perhaps one day he might choke to death while drinking water."
"I understand." Bagman said dryly.
"Then we won't bother you further. Goodbye, Mr. Bagman." Mr. Jordan returned Bagman's wand, turned, and walked out of the villa, Apparating away.
"Damn it, what an annoying bunch. This place doesn't seem safe anymore." Bagman muttered to himself. Without hesitation, he turned around and left the wretched place.
As for the magic contract, Bagman didn't take it seriously.
"Damn ten years." He had no intention of using ten years to pay off his debt. Whoever came up with this idea must be a devil, a true devil.
"This won't do. I need to come up with another plan." Bagman muttered to himself.
(End of Chapter)
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