"Someone told me that Fudge went to Leaky Cauldron alone last night and met with Lucius Malfoy in private."
Lin Ze's pupils shrank.
"But it is said that Malfoy didn't stay too long and left in less than ten minutes." Moody said pointedly.
"I didn't say anything to him." Lin Ze explained.
"It's best that way."
Lin Ze nodded without further explanation.
After leaving Moody, Lin Ze felt it was necessary to talk to Fudge.
When Lin Ze pushed open the door of Fudge's office, he was holding a glass of honey water.
When he turned around and saw it was Lin Ze, he was so frightened that his hands trembled and he sprinkled half a cup of honey water on his pants.
Then he hurriedly took out a handkerchief and wiped it on his crotch a few times. His movements were quite awkward, and then he looked up at Lin Ze and tried his best to smile.
"Deputy Team Leader Lin... Why are you here? Sit down, sit down!"
Lin Ze did not sit down, but closed the door with his backhand and leaned against the door with his arms folded.
"Mr. Fudge, was the Firewhisky served by Leaky Cauldron last night delicious?"
Fudge's smile froze on his face.
"What... what are these words..."
"Tell me about you. You managed to run away last night, but you still had the leisure and elegance to go find Malfoy for a drink."
"Um... I... I actually... went... I went to find out information..."
"Prying for information?"
"Yes! After I came out of that store, I suspected that there was something wrong with Lucius, so I wanted to ask him to find out..."
"Ask for clarification?" Lin Ze tilted his head and looked at Fudge like a kindergarten kid trying to explain why he stuffed a frog into his deskmate's pencil case.
"Why don't you just go to Lucius Malfoy to 'ask for clarification'? Guess what, I believe it, I almost believe it."
Fudge's face was sweating faster than yesterday, and he wiped his forehead with the handkerchief, making his round face shiny.
"Really! Deputy Team Leader Lin, you have to believe me! I... I was so excited at the time that I thought I couldn't let it go, so I went to Leaky Cauldron..."
"My brain is hot? Then why didn't the water in your brain evaporate?" Lin Ze dragged a chair and sat down, staring at him.
Fudge swallowed his saliva, looking like he was hesitating to speak.
Lin Ze didn't rush him, just stared at him blankly.
Lin Ze looked at Fudge's round face that was flushed with nervousness, and suddenly felt that this person was quite interesting.
"Then what? What did you find out?"
Fudge hesitated. "No... I didn't find out anything... He... We had a few drinks, and then I drank too much... He asked someone to send me home..."
"..."
"But... I think he was in a bad mood last night. When I saw him, he looked quite angry..."
Lin Ze took a deep breath and tried hard not to roll his eyes on the spot.
It is normal for Lucius to be angry. No one else would be happy if someone cast the same spell as Dark Mark.
Lin Ze nodded, said nothing more, and turned to leave.
"Deputy Team Leader Lin!" Fudge suddenly called him.
"Huh?"
"It's... what happened last night... were you injured afterwards..."
Fudge's eyes fell on him.
Lin Ze's injury had long been cured by Rodna, but he still moved his shoulder subconsciously.
"It's okay, skin injury."
Fudge opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something else, but in the end he just rubbed his hands and said, "That's good... that's good..."
Lin Ze Without further delay, he opened the door and walked out.
When he returned to his work station, there was another document on the table.
It is the Newt·Scamander file sent by Harper.
Lin Ze Sit down and open it.
The file is not thick, but it contains many newspaper clippings and handwritten records with yellowed edges.
Newt·Scamander, born in 1897, studied at Hogwarts Hufflepuff House.
While in school, he was expelled for raising dangerous creatures, and later devoted himself to the research and protection of Fantastic Beasts.
He is the author of "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them", which is currently listed as the designated teaching material for Hogwarts.
The whereabouts records show that he travels back and forth between Europe, Africa and South America all year round. The last time he appeared was deep in the tropical rain forest of Brazil.
Lin Ze turned the file to the last page and found a photo on it.
In the photo, a young man in his twenties is holding a snow-white Niffler, standing under a huge baobab tree, smiling a little shyly.
Lin Ze looked at the young face in the photo and suddenly felt a little emotional.
It's just that this information stayed in 1945, and has never been available since then.
Maybe...Dumbledore knows?
But he was not familiar with that old guy, and when he thought about having to face an old wizard who was far stronger than him, Lin Ze felt a little nervous.
Slowly, when it was time to get off work, Lin Ze did not go back to his small rental loft, but instead went to Knockturn Alley's Poison Dragon Bar.
Mr. K grinned when he saw Lin Ze pushing the door open.
Lin Ze walked to the bar and sat down on the high stool.
"A glass of lemonade, and I want to ask you something."
Mr. K slowly turned around to mix lemonade, humming an unknown tune.
"Tell me, what's the matter?"
"Newt·Scamander, is there any news about him?"
Mr. K paused for a moment.
He pushed the mixed lemonade in front of Lin Ze, then leaned on the bar and wiped his hands with his apron.
"What are you doing with him?"
"It's a bit of a personal matter."
"Private matters..." Mr. K repeated the word.
"Not many people are asking about Scamander recently. That old guy is like a wild ass, running around all over the world. Today he is at Brazil, but tomorrow he will be gone."
"You don't have any news either?"
Mr. K did not answer directly, but stretched out a finger to draw a circle on the bar.
"Well, there is a little bit of news, but it depends on whether the price you offer is enough."
"Just tell me, how much is it?" Lin Ze picked up the lemonade and took a sip.
Mr. K stretched out five fingers. "Fifty Galleon."
"Why the hell didn't you go grab Gringotts?" Lin Ze knocked the cup on the bar.
"How risky is it to snatch Gringotts?" Mr. K wiped the cup with a smile.
"The intelligence business is all about information gaps. If you're not in a hurry, just go and find it yourself."
Lin Ze and Mr. K looked at each other for several seconds.
"Okay, fifty is fifty." Lin Ze took out the money bag from his arms and counted fifty coins Galleon slapped it on the bar.
Mr. K As soon as he collected the money and was about to speak, the door of the bar was suddenly pushed open.
A figure wrapped in a dark gray cloak walked in.
The man walked up to the bar and took off his hood, revealing a thin and pale face.
Lin Ze looked at that face and his pupils shrank slightly.
Barty Crouch Jr.·Crouch.
He seemed to be fine, but his face was unusually pale, as if he had stayed up all night to dig himself out of the ground.
"A cup of Firewhisky." Barty Crouch Jr.'s voice was very soft, with a strange magnetism.
He sat down on the high stool next to Lin Ze, with only one seat between them.