Old Mulciber The amputated finger finally grew back, but the part that grew out was darker, like a dead charcoal strip, hanging crookedly on the hand.
Old Mulciber stood up from the armchair, his legs and feet were trembling a little.
He looked down at his newly grown severed finger, then took a dark gray wool scarf from the coat rack and put it around his neck, and grabbed an old felt hat and put it on his head.
"Let's go." he said.
Lin Ze asked Barty Crouch Jr. to take the documents and wooden box back to the ministry first, while he escorted Old Mulciber out of the back door.
Mia and Weiqi were already waiting in the back alley. When they saw Old Mulciber, Mia just nodded slightly.
Four people crossed two streets in the rain, and Lin Ze launched "Boundary Break" on a deserted street corner.
The blue electric arc opened a crack in the wet brick wall, and he grabbed Old Mulciber's arm and stepped in.
The noise of Ministry Atrium rushed towards us at the moment when the cracks closed.
The fountain was splashing, several night shift clerks were pushing carts filled with documents through the corridor, and an owl overhead fluttered its wings through the hall, holding sealed letters in its talons.
Lin Ze took Old Mulciber and went directly to Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
The lights in Crouch's office are still on.
Lin Ze knocked on the door, and a brief "come in" came from inside.
Crouch was sitting behind the desk, with three or four documents spread out in front of him. He was making comments with a quill in his right hand, and a cup of cold black tea on his left hand.
He raised his head and when he saw the old man wearing a felt hat behind Lin Ze, the pen tip stopped on the paper.
"Old Mulciber? How did you bring him here?" Crouch asked in confusion.
"He came willingly." Lin Ze shrugged.
"Voluntary?" Crouch raised his eyebrows, obviously not believing it.
"He asked to cooperate with the investigation." Lin Ze pulled out the chair opposite Crouch and sat down. He tilted his chin towards Old Mulciber and motioned for him to sit on the other side.
Old Mulciber was not in a hurry to sit down, but bowed slightly towards Crouch first.
"Director Crouch, long time admiration."
"Sit down." Crouch remained unmoved and tapped his fingers on the table twice.
After Old Mulciber sat down, Lin Ze briefly explained the whole story.
From Dark Night Society to the vampire Targaryen, from the Number Forty-Eight experimental subjects of Fearn·Burke to the history of blood division among the six major families, to the experimental records and parchment scrolls found in the wooden box at Old Mulciber's home.
He spoke quickly but clearly, and every node filled in the key evidence.
Crouch There were no interruptions throughout the process.
He just listened, and when Lin Ze finished speaking, the silence in the office lasted for a long time.
"To put it simply, Primordial Vampire's incident at the dock that night was not an isolated incident. There was a complete historical chain behind it, and Mulciber's family is a link in the chain."
Crouch put down the quill, leaned back in the chair, and folded his hands on the table.
He stared at Old Mulciber for a long time, his eyes sliding from the other person's thin face to the newly grown severed finger.
"Mr. Mulciber." Crouch's voice was neither salty nor light.
"I remember that your son has been sent to Azkaban. Now that you have come in, who else is in the Mulciber family?"
"No more." Old Mulciber said calmly.
"It's all here."
Crouch didn't look at him anymore and turned to Lin Ze: "What are you going to do with him?"
"Detention first, specific charges, list of materials, and scope involved, I will ask you to compile them and submit them to Department of Magical Law Enforcement." Lin Ze paused.
"I have another clue that I need to follow up on."
"What clue?"
"The second generation vampire Amycus was assigned to Gaunt family. Later he escaped from Gaunt family and may be hiding in the core area of Muggle London." Lin Ze spread the last page of Old Mulciber's notebook in front of Crouch.
"St James's Palace, 19 King Street."
Crouch glanced down at the address and moved his eyebrows slightly.
"Muggle's territory."
"Yes, Buckingham Palace, one street south."
Crouch was silent for a few seconds and tapped his fingers slowly on the table twice.
"This matter must be handled with caution. A little carelessness will cause serious consequences. After all, the Muggle government is not a vegetarian."
"Understood, I need Wizengamot to give me a direct authorization. That place is Muggle's territory. Once there is a disturbance, the Muggle government is very sensitive." Lin Ze said seriously.
Crouch thought for a moment, pulled out a blank authorization letter from the drawer, wrote a few lines with a pen, signed his name, and stamped Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
"This is a temporary authorization, valid for seven days. During this period, you have independent investigation rights within the scope of Muggle London for incidents involving the vampires, but there is one thing."
He pushed the authorization letter to Lin Ze.
"You can't hurt Muggle, you can't expose the magical world, and you can't have any unexplained sightings. If something happens, you have to deal with it yourself."
"Understood."
"Also." Crouch called him.
"How deep have you gone in this matter?"
Lin Ze took the authorization letter and thought about it.
"It's very deep."
Crouch stared at him for several seconds and finally waved his hand.
"Go ahead."
Coming out of Crouch's office, Lin Ze handed Old Mulciber to Auror, who was on night shift, and specifically gave instructions on the conditions of detention: single cell, do not touch the severed finger on his right hand, and check vital signs regularly every day.
When Old Mulciber was taken away, he looked back at Lin Ze.
Under the light of the corridor, those turbid gray eyes flashed with something indescribable, like resignation, but also like the last trace of inquiry before leaving.
"Mr. Lin."
"Hmm."
"What you promised me."
"Don't worry, I remember."
Old Mulciber nodded, turned around and followed Auror into the depths of the corridor.
Lin Ze leaned against the wall, folded the authorization letter signed by Crouch and put it in his pocket.
He took out his communication badge and contacted Mia.
"Old Mulciber has been handed over. Next we need to check 19 King Street."
"When?"
"Tomorrow during the day, let's go check out the terrain first. That place is next to the Buckingham Palace. There shouldn't be too much movement. Just you and me."
"Okay."
There was silence on the other side of the badge for a moment, and then Mia's voice sounded again, "Lin."
"Huh?"
"Are you feeling well?"
Lin Ze was stunned for a moment.
Mia rarely asks questions like this.
"It's okay."
"Okay, see you tomorrow."
Communication ends.
Lin Ze stood against the wall of the corridor for a while, thinking about the last words of Mia. She was not the kind of person who would greet casually. Since she asked, she noticed something.
He touched his head and felt nothing unusual.
Forget it, maybe Mia is neurotic?