0147 Cooperation

What is called 'having a foot in the door', this is it! 

In the wizarding world, the wizarding public was still uneasy about the whereabouts of Sirius Black after he escaped from Azkaban, the most secure prison for dark wizards and witches. But Remus Lupin, who had a close relationship with Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, had already figured out the real purpose of Black's escape and took action! 

"Uh–" 

Lupin held his breath, blinked in confusion, and after a few seconds, his brain finally figured out what Bryan Watson was talking about. 

"Yes, Bryan, " Lupin's eyes flickered, pursed his lips and said, "Cough…just like you said, the Ministry of Magic's Fifty Thousand galleon bounty, such a large sum of money. Well, if I could get it, I probably wouldn't have to worry about eating for the rest of my life." 

Bryan nodded approvingly. If it wasn't for a very lucky situation, his annual 'output' was probably only five or ten thousand galleons. Fifty thousand! Since graduating three or four years ago, he might not have earned that much money in total! 

"By the way–" 

Bryan tapped the table lightly again, looked at the werewolf in front of him who would soon be admitted to the 'VIP ward' of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, his eyes sparkling, and a wonderful idea suddenly popped into his head. 

"Hey, Remus, how about we cooperate?" He whispered eagerly.

"Cooperate? You mean–" 

Looking at Bryan Watson who suddenly became eager, Lupin suddenly felt a chill in his heart. Now, the one who became alert was him. Bryan leaned forward to the table, as if afraid of leaking important business secrets, 

"We all know that Black escaped from Azkaban for revenge. He will go to Harry Potter sooner or later–" 

Bryan Watson who was so eager didn't notice that his words made Lupin's hand under the table tremble. 

"–It can be foreseen that he will try his best to get close to Harry Potter. Although Hogwarts has Dumbledore, he is not omnipotent. Just like last year's Chamber of Secrets in Slytherin, Dumbledore failed to stop the plot in time," 

Bryan continued with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "My point is, since you can appear in Hogwarts openly and honestly as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, you can help keep an eye on Potter. You are very alert, Remus. If Black really tries to approach Potter, you will definitely find some clues. At that time, you give me the clues and I will track down Black. If we succeed, we can split the 50,000 galleons into seventy and thirty!" 

Lupin remained quiet with a strange silence and didn't say a word. And his attitude caused Bryan some misunderstanding. 

"You think it's too little?"

Bryan frowned and his tone became unpleasant. "You know, Black is a very dangerous dark wizard. With your skills, even if you find him, you may not be able to deal with him." 

"No, I'm just–" 

Lupin seemed to have something stuck in his mouth and spit out one word at a time. 

"I'm just confused, Bryan. Dumbledore appreciates you very much, you can write a letter to him. He will definitely not stop you from returning to Hogwarts. But you–"

"I have my own reasons, Remus," Bryan said regretfully. "I plan to stay in Hogsmeade village near Hogwarts. If something happens at school, you can notify me at any time by owl." 

Lupin fell silent again for a long time before slowly asking in a very tired voice, 

"If -, If You really catch Black someday, Bryan Watson. What will you do with him?" 

Bryan twitched his eyebrows and was a bit surprised by Lupin's question. 

"Of course I will hand him over to the Ministry of Magic for a reward, Remus. Isn't that the purpose of our cooperation?" 

He said matter-of-factly. 

"You don't intend to kill him?" Lupin looked gloomy. "He is guilty of heinous crimes. He betrayed James and Lily to Voldemort and killed Peter Pettigrew and twelve Muggles with a single curse." 

"Judging sin is Wizengamot's business, not mine," Bryan said lightly. 

Then he added, "And besides, he might be worth more alive."

Looking at Bryan Watson who had already made up his mind to make a fortune in front of him, Lupin suddenly felt deep sadness in his heart. This sadness was not for Bryan Watson or himself but for his old friend Sirius Black.

Back then when he decided to betray their friendship and defect to Voldemort, that evil madman, and offer James and Lily's location to him, he must have thought that he would surely gain Voldemort's trust and be given unprecedented glory by him. But did he ever think that one day he would fall into this situation because of that sin and be regarded as prey by newcomers who wanted to make a name for themselves in the wizarding world? 

"I have a condition, Bryan Watson, if you agree then we'll cooperate." 

Lupin's expression became solemn and he said in the coldest tone, "If Sirius Black ever falls into your hands someday, I hope you can hand him over to me." 

Noticing Bryan Watson's confusion, Lupin gasped and said, "He killed three of my friends. Very good friends. I have to kill him myself." 

He clenched his fists and looked down trying to hide the pain in his eyes. 

Silence.

Bryan stared deeply at the vicissitudes of Lupin and realized that he had made a mistake in his previous guess. This werewolf suddenly agreed to go to Hogwarts as a professor not for money but for revenge. He wanted to face Black himself and end their tragic history. 

"Okay, I agree to your request. If I catch Black, I will hand him over to you and let you kill him." Bryan nodded. 

"But after that, you can only take 20% of the reward." He added with a cunning smile. 

In the end, Bryan and Lupin reached an agreement and signed a magical contract. Bryan Watson who had been cheated once before by 'someone' clearly stipulated in the contract that Remus Lupin was not allowed to tell anyone about the cooperation between the two. He also made sure that the contract was bound by blood magic, so that any breach would result in severe consequences. 

"I noticed something–" Remus's mood stabilized a lot. "The contract only restricts me from revealing the plan but not you?" 

He asked suspiciously. Bryan stood up and stretched, waving his wand to put away the contract. 

"My mouth is tight, Remus, but I'm not sure if you'll turn around and tell Albus Dumbledore. After all, there is a precedent for this." He said sarcastically, referring to Lupin's confession about his identity to Dumbledore. 

After this was done, the two talked for a few more hours, not about Black but about the little wizards at Hogwarts. 

Although he went to Hogwarts as a professor for a large part of the reason to catch Black, as Bryan said before, this was indeed also a good opportunity to improve the negative image of werewolves in the wizarding society. 

Lupin hoped that by showing his kindness, intelligence and courage, he could change the prejudice and discrimination that many people had against his kind. If he could do well then in the future when these children enter the wizarding world and learn that one of their impressive Defense Against the Dark Arts professors was a werewolf they might not hate werewolves so much. They might even respect them and treat them as equals. 

Time passed quietly in the plain and cozy room of the Leaky Cauldron where they met. The sun set and the stars came out. Soon the day of school will come.

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Author's Note: Hello, everyone. I hope you are all doing well. I want to thank you for your kind words and support, I feel better and I'm ready to resume writing for you. I appreciate your patience and understanding during this difficult time.

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