Sirius was exactly the man Tom had settled on.
Money, free time, boundless energy, and no shortage of connections besides. Sirius may have once carried the stain of being a blood-traitor, but with his name cleared, all his old Gryffindor classmates, upperclassmen and underclassmen alike, had reconnected with him since.
Tom didn't keep in close contact with him directly, but he caught glimpses of Sirius's life through Harry now and then. The Ministry had invited him to do a few publicity appearances, which Sirius had turned down once he decided they were more trouble than they were worth.
Of course, for all his strengths, two flaws alone were enough to guarantee Sirius would only ever be a stopgap: his loyalty to Dumbledore, and a temperament far too impulsive for the role. Once Tom found someone more capable and more trustworthy down the line, Sirius would be quietly eased out of any real authority.
Not that Sirius would likely mind. The man held no real hunger for power. Give him something that genuinely interested him, and he'd happily hand off every scrap of responsibility that came with it.
"There isn't much to the early stages."
Tom explained patiently. "The Wizard's Guild is really just a platform, meant to serve every wizard who needs it."
"A platform?" Sirius eyed him, baffled by the concept.
"Right. A platform for exchange, or for trade. Anyone with a need can post a request through the Guild. Missing an ingredient, looking to buy something specific, it can all go through here, whether that means paying a commission or posting a job."
Sirius hesitated. "That... doesn't sound much different from a shop, does it? Your headquarters is right in Diagon Alley. If you're already there, what exactly can't you buy?"
"The difference is enormous." Tom made a face. "Say I want dried wormwood, heart-eater blossoms, and the shed skin of a runespoor. Can you get me any of that from a shop in Diagon Alley?"
Sirius laughed awkwardly. "That... might be a bit tricky."
All three items Tom had named counted as restricted goods, and British wizarding law had a peculiar quirk to it: selling most contraband was illegal, but buying it, so long as you weren't caught in the act, technically wasn't. Which meant plenty of things could be displayed openly in a shop window while still having no legitimate way for anyone to actually purchase them.
Sirius's eyes lit up, and he dropped his voice with sudden excitement. "So you're planning to steal business right out from under that lot in Knockturn Alley?"
"They're not even worth the comparison." Tom scoffed. "What I've described is just the most basic layer of trade. Down the line, the Guild will offer a library, continuing education for adult wizards, information gathering, even contracted commissions from Ministries themselves. You think Knockturn Alley's rat's nest could ever manage any of that?"
Sirius stared, thoroughly stunned by the scale of Tom's ambition, and at the same time felt something stir in his chest, restless and eager. A massive, transnational organization operating entirely outside Ministry control could accomplish far more than the Order of the Phoenix he'd once belonged to, and it sounded a great deal more exciting besides.
Excitement was exactly what he craved.
But Sirius knew his own limits well enough to hesitate. "You're really comfortable handing me something this big? I'm not even sure I trust myself to run it well. Tom, are you sure you don't want to think this over a bit more?"
Sirius's reaction fit precisely the read Tom already had on him. The young man smiled. "That's all further down the road. Right now the Guild's barely off the ground. There won't be much to handle yet, mostly ordinary job postings and pickups, and dedicated clerks will manage most of that."
"Your job is finding people to complete those requests, or taking them on yourself when you feel like it. On top of that, you'll keep in contact with other countries' Wizard Guilds, coordinating between them."
Tom took the opening to plant the idea of mercenary work in Sirius's mind, and he could see the man growing more drawn in with every word.
Sirius was bored half out of his mind these days, spending his time either buried in the newspaper or tinkering with Muggle appliances at home, picking up new recipes to cook for Harry whenever the boy came home on break.
He'd considered taking a job before. The Ministry had extended an offer. But even the most exciting position they could offer, an Auror's badge, still didn't suit him. He hated being tied down by anyone's rules.
The concept Tom was describing, this "mercenary" idea, fit him perfectly. Take whatever job interested him, pass along whatever didn't, let someone else handle it, and pick up plenty of entertainment along the way.
"Tom, I'm in!" Sirius slapped his own thigh, decision made. "You're bound to need plenty of funding to get something like this off the ground, and since you trust me enough to offer this, I'm not about to let you down. Tell you what, I'll put up thirty thousand Galleons as starting capital, more once things get moving!"
Tom's eyelid twitched.
Sirius was bringing his own capital into the deal, paying to work for him? That was almost too considerate for words. If more employees like this existed, he'd happily take a dozen.