From what he could gather from Lupin, handymen like Filch at Hogwarts earned ten Galleons a week, or around forty a month.
If the professor was 60 Galleons a month, he would be able to get another ten Galleons a month!
In the original timeline, when Dumbledore hired Dobby, he was prepared to pay Dobby the same salary as Filch, which showed that the old professor treated Dobby equally and did not treat him as an elf.
However, these were all very decent jobs. They even provided food and accommodation!
If it were in Diagon Alley, normal employees would only have thirty to fifty Galleons a month, and they would not be able to save much money after deducting their expenses.
The salary at Knockturn Alley was even lower, as they were able to hire a dozen Galleons or even a few Galleons. The compensation of 100 Galleons was enough to last them a year.
Flan and the others were a good example of this. They were happy enough to get a relatively stable ten Galleons a month job, as it meant that they could eat a few meals a day!
However, it was apparently not enough to keep a mother without children alive in Knockturn Alley.
"That's right! It's a bit less!" Douggart agreed, and then suggested that Yvonne should pay him double or more this time.
After all, one could not just be intimidating to one's subordinates. After beating them up, one had to give them some benefits to show them a solid guarantee.
It came as a surprise to Doggett that Ivan was quick to realise this, as he thought he needed to be reminded.
Alicia had no intention of objecting. She had deliberately not dealt with Elfe in order to get Ivan to do her a favour.
As the three of them chatted, there was another knock on the door. This time, it was Fran, who came to inform them that everyone was present and waiting in the Council Chamber.
"Okay, we'll be right down!" Dougster nodded, then turned to Ivan and Alicia and whispered, "You'd better hurry up if you have anything to say, don't keep them waiting…"
With that, Dagget followed Fran downstairs.
After a few words of advice, Isiah dragged Ivan away.
"Mom, are you going to let me manage these people?" Ivan asked as they descended the stairs.
He was no fool. The underlying meaning of the conversation between Isiah and Daggett was clear and unambiguous, and Ivan could see that Isiah intended to put him in charge of the thirty or so men.
Yvonne, however, knew better, and had no managerial experience in her previous life, other than having been a class leader in school.
Ivan was overwhelmed by the sudden need to manage three dozen people, most of them restless wizards.
"Relax, just do what you think is best, like you did before!" Alicia saw Ivan's nervousness and tried to comfort him.
She didn't want to put too much pressure on Ivan if she could help it, but since her son had such thoughts, she could only give him encouragement.
Alicia, however, was convinced that these small venues were nothing to Ivan… who was always so clever!
As they walked down the stairs and out of the Council Chamber, Isiah released Ivan's hand and whispered a warning. "We're going in!"
Yvonne was nervous, worried that she was going to mess things up.
Ivan was under even more pressure when thirty pairs of eyes turned to stare at him with surprise, suspicion, amusement, and gratitude.
This was different from when he was disguised as Dumbledore, when he was dealing with young children and professors he knew well.
He also knew the trickier Fudge, and how to deal with the Minister for Magic, but this was different. He had to deal with these strange wizards by putting himself at the level of a leader.
Fortunately, his years of acting skills paid off. Ivan was nervous, but he did not show it. He walked straight to the head of the table and sat down.
It's over… What should I say now? Say hello? How exactly should I say it?
Ivan sat down and faced the crowd, not knowing how to begin. He tried to think of how Dumbledore and Voldemort had done it in the original timeline, but there was no matching scene.
Yvonne slowly drummed her fingers on the armrests of her seat. She was silent for a moment, her gaze automatically sweeping over everyone present.
Combined with the parchment he had seen before, Ivan vaguely realised that the thirty or so people in front of him could be vaguely divided into three camps.
First, there were seven werewolves, led by Flun, who relied on the improved Wolfsbane Potion.
Doggett and his friends came next, eleven in all. Most of them were not short of money, and they were probably there on Doggett's account, not necessarily following orders, and possibly the most difficult group to deal with…
Finally, there were the recent recruits from Knockturn Alley. They were the largest in number, and a few months were not long enough for them to feel any sense of belonging. They were more like mercenaries being paid to do something, and were very unstable.
Ivan was worried when he saw this. He did not know how powerful the Wizarding Market and the pure-blood families were, but it would not be easy to deal with the number of people that Alicia had to gather to fight them!
No wonder Alicia needed his help to establish her authority. It was probably because she was powerless to unite them.
While Ivan was thinking about this, the thirty or so wizards below were also looking at him.
From time to time there were hushed whispers.
A wizard in his thirties looked at Ivan for a moment, then turned to Dougatt and said, "Duggart, he's the Ivan Hals you were telling us about. He looks younger than you think!"
"I'm sure you're aware that age is not an issue here, Gleason!" said Dougett, glancing at him.
"Hales's power and cunning are unfathomable… even beyond that man! Just get to know him for a while and you'll be glad you chose…"
Dougeter looked at Ivan, who was sitting at the head of the table, and sighed with emotion. This child was very unpredictable. Every time they met, he exceeded his expectations.
He had previously believed that Ivan would need at least another ten years to become as powerful as Lord Voldemort, but now he realised that he had underestimated this child. Perhaps by the time he reached adulthood, he would be as strong as the Dark Lord!
As soon as he heard Doggett's words, Gleason was ready to retort. He had fought in the Wizarding War fourteen years earlier and knew exactly how terrifying You-Know-Who could be.
It was ridiculous to say that a brat could beat Voldemort!
Before he could retort, however, he was reminded of what he had just learned from his friends. If this young wizard in front of him could single-handedly defeat a group of Dark Wizards, then he was not wrong.
At the very least, Ivan had the potential to rival the Dark Lord!
The whispers in the Council Chamber grew louder.
Ivan frowned and was about to make a fuss when the side door of the Council Chamber opened again.
For a moment, everyone's attention was caught by the sight of Walker leading a group of Dark Wizards who had surrendered, as well as another wizard in a flamboyant robe.
When the Dark Wizards saw Ivan, they fell to their knees in fear and trepidation, crying and pleading for his forgiveness.
The wizard stood arrogantly, his expression one of disdain. He looked at Ivan, who was sitting at the head of the table, with slight surprise. He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out.
Ivan could tell at a glance that he was under the effects of the Silencing Charm, and gestured for Doggett to undo the spell. He was interested in hearing what Doggett had to say…