Lin Ze leaned against the brick wall of the narrow alley, holding the silver badge in his palm and infusing it with a touch of magic.
After a few seconds, the badge became slightly hot.
"What's wrong?" Rodna's voice came from the badge.
"Can you find Muggle's file there?"
"What do you think I am, Muggle Archivist?"
"E. Hargreaves, 19 King Street."
There was silence on the other side of the badge for a few seconds.
"19 King Street?"
"Do you know this place?" Lin Ze asked immediately.
"I know." Rodna said.
"That's a special agency in the Muggle world that specializes in handling some 'unexplainable' matters for the Muggle government."
Something that cannot be explained? Isn't this the so-called special investigation bureau or something like that?
"Britain Is there such a department here?"
"Of course, you think Muggle are all fools? They have just been watching us quietly in the dark, and 19 King Street is one of their eyes."
"What about E.Hargreaves?"
"I've never heard of it. I only know this address."
"Okay, thank you." After saying that, Lin Ze removed the magic power from the badge.
He thought for a while and decided not to rush into 19 King Street.
It is not a wise move to rashly invade the territory of a Muggle intelligence agency, regardless of whether the other party knows about the existence of the magical world.
What if those people in suits have special means to deal with wizards?
It was almost noon when we returned to Ministry of Magic.
Ben was lying on his desk chewing a sandwich, his mouth full of crumbs. When he saw Lin Ze coming in, he mumbled "You're back."
"Where is Mia?"
"I haven't seen him, maybe he went to Muggle Liaison Office."
Lin Ze nodded and sat back in his partition.
Around two o'clock in the afternoon, Mia came back.
She put a thin file on Lin Ze's desk.
"There are very few public records on Muggle. E. Hargreaves, full name Edgar·Hargreaves, is in his early sixties. He graduated from Oxford and later joined Home Office. He resigned from the government more than thirty years ago and took over the family's library in King Street."
"So clean?"
"It's so clean." Mia sat down opposite him.
"In Home Office's employment record, there was a blank period for him, which lasted about four years. There was nothing written in the file about where he was or what he did during those four years. According to public information, he should have been inspecting overseas during that blank period, but there was no record of any departure."
Lin Ze picked up the file and flipped through it.
The photo shows a man with gray hair, wearing a three-piece suit, with a thin face, high cheekbones, and deep eye sockets. He is not a kind man, nor is he sinister. He is the kind of appearance that not many people will remember even if he stands in a crowd for ten minutes.
"I just learned that this place is an institution established by the Muggle government to deal with some special things." Lin Ze looked at Mia and said.
"Then tell me, is it possible..."
"You mean Amycus is hiding in this organization as an employee?"
Lin Ze nodded, "This possibility cannot be ruled out."
"Let's go and meet the curator for a while." Lin Ze closed the file.
"How do you plan to get in?" Mia asked.
"Use the phone number given by the front desk." Lin Ze waved the off-white business card.
He took out the Muggle mobile phone he had prepared in advance and dialed the number on the business card.
The phone rang three times and then was answered.
The person who answered the phone was a female voice with a smooth voice, and the greeting was as standard as an automatic response template.
Lin Ze reported his name and only said that he was a "potential member interested in private collections" and hoped to make an appointment to visit.
The person on the other end of the phone flipped through the schedule for a while and arranged for him to go to three o'clock in the afternoon the next day.
After hanging up the phone, Mia looked at him. "Shall we go?"
"There are too many people and it will be irritating." Lin Ze leaned on the back of the chair.
The next afternoon, the two of them appeared at the door of 19 King Street on time.
Today Lin Ze changed into a more formal dark coat, while Mia is still wearing the gray suit skirt from yesterday.
When I pushed the door open and walked in, I saw the same front desk person wearing a vest in the front hall. He nodded when he saw them and stood up to lead the way.
Passing through the front hall and passing through a narrow corridor, in addition to landscape paintings, there are several black and white portraits on the walls on both sides.
At the end of the corridor was a double door covered in dark green leather. The front desk gently knocked on the door twice and pushed it open.
Behind the door is a reading room with a very high ceiling.
The entire wall of bookshelves extends from the floor to the ceiling. The shelves are filled with hardcover leather-bound classics. The gilded characters on the spines glow softly under the chandelier.
On the other side are several long floor-to-ceiling windows with semi-transparent gauze curtains hanging down. After being filtered by the gauze curtains, the afternoon light becomes warm, as if it has been washed by water.
There is a huge long mahogany table in the center of the room. The light on the table top is discernible, reflecting the broken light of the crystal chandelier on the ceiling.
There is a person sitting behind the table.
Edgar·Hargreaves.
She looks almost the same as in the file photo, just a little thinner.
His hair is gray and neatly combed, he wears a three-piece suit and a meticulous tie.
He was wiping a pair of silver-rimmed reading glasses with a piece of suede when he slowly raised his head when he heard footsteps.
His eyes stopped on Lin Ze's face for a moment, then turned to Mia, and finally looked back.
"How do you do, sir?" He stood up, his voice was low and grainy.
"I am Edgar·Hargreaves."
He shook hands with Lin Ze, his palms were dry and the strength was neither light nor heavy.
"Lin Ze."
"This is my friend, Mia." Lin Ze said.
"Welcome." Hargreaves nodded slightly towards Mia, then raised his hand to signal the two of them to sit down.
"Tea or coffee?"
"Just tea." Lin Ze said.
Hargreaves pressed the brass bell on the corner of the table, and a few seconds later a young waitress in gray uniform came in pushing a trolley. The tea sets were neatly arranged, including bone china cups and saucers, a silver tea drain, and a few neatly cut butter biscuits.
The three of them sat down, and the waitress left and closed the door.
Hargreaves pours the tea himself.
His movements were very steady. The spout of the teapot hung three inches above the mouth of the cup. The water flow was thin and even, and the tea soup in each cup was of the same depth.
"I heard from the front desk that you two are newly moved to the office building opposite?"
"Yes." Lin Ze took the teacup.
"I work for an investment consulting company over there. The office has just been renovated. I want to find a quiet place to read a book."
"Investment consultation." Hargreaves repeated the word, with an imperceptible curve at the corner of his mouth.
"A lot of young people nowadays are engaged in finance."
"The adults in my family are not very rich, so I came here to give it a try." Lin Ze said without changing his expression.
Hargreaves picked up his teacup and took a sip.
In the next ten minutes, several people talked about superficial topics such as the library's collection size, membership system, and opening hours.
Hargreaves has been introducing his library very patiently.