The man in gray robe was smashed against the wall, making a muffled sound.
Lin Ze didn't give him a chance to get up. He grabbed his lower back with his right hand, clasped the back of his neck with his left hand and slammed him against the wall.
The man in gray robe was immediately hit and his face was covered with blood. Lin Ze took him by the back of his collar and turned him over and pushed him to the ground, with his knees on his chest.
"Legilimency"
The man in gray robe has obviously practiced Occlumency, and the barrier in his mind is very strong.
Lin Ze ran over it with extra force, the barrier cracked, and memory fragments poured in.
He saw the man in gray robe standing in the basement of the St Ives warehouse drawing blood from several "consumables". The glass bottles in the boxes were neatly numbered.
I saw the man in gray robe delivering the bottle to the back door of an old house London. The recipient was a woman in a dark green robe, and the receipt was printed with the words "Klein Trading".
I saw that the men in gray robes regularly receive instruction letters from owls, with only the symbol Ouroboros at the end of the letters.
Scroll forward further and the picture gradually breaks down.
The man in gray robe was standing in a spacious study room. There was a person sitting behind the desk. He couldn't see his face clearly. He could only see that the person's right hand was resting on the table, with a Ouroboros ring carved from ebony on his middle finger.
The man's voice when talking to the man in gray robe was obviously processed. "You-Know-Who is down, go collect all his things, move quickly, don't keep the master waiting for too long..."
Until the whole scene became flickering and unstable, Lin Ze regained his mental power.
But they saw the man in gray robe paralyzed on the ground, with blood foaming from his mouth and his eyes extremely distracted.
He stood up and dragged the man in gray robe to the corner and tied him up with "Binding Charm".
Then he went downstairs to put the wands of the two followers into his arms, and then went back to look through the suitcase of the man in gray robe.
In addition to a dozen glass bottles filled with blood, there was also a thin account book stuffed in the mezzanine, which recorded the entry and exit dates of all "consumables" in the past six months, the amount of blood drawn, and the codes of three different delivery points.
One of the delivery points is clearly marked Hogsmeade.
Lin Ze put away the account books and notified Scrimgeour, asking him to send someone to finish the matter.
Lin Ze put the account books into Undetectable Extension Box. The three imprisoned Muggle and the wizard were still huddled in the innermost room. He did not touch them and waited for Scrimgeour's people to arrive before handling them together.
Scrimgeour arrived not too slowly, with four therapists from Auror and two St. Mungo's.
When Lin Ze handed over the gray robe and the two followers, Lin Ze and Scrimgeour mentioned Hogsmeade in the account book.
Scrimgeour frowned. "This place is a bit eye-catching. If you go there to investigate the case, you'd better be careful. The people in the village are not simple."
"Of course." Lin Ze nodded.
The next morning Lin Ze went to Knockturn Alley, and when Poison Dragon Bar opened the secret door in the back alley, Mr. K was placing wine bottles on the shelf.
"Ask you something."
Mr. K put the bottle of wine in his hand on the shelf and asked, "Every time you come to ask about something different, what is it this time?"
"After Voldemort fell, has anyone touched the places where he hid his things?"
Mr. K's expression did not change, but the hand wiping the cup stopped for two seconds.
"Why are you asking this?"
"I am checking an organization called Ouroboros. They are collecting some things, some of which are left behind by Dark Lord."
Mr. K put down the cup, walked to the bar and lowered his voice. "I've heard about this. Someone here Knockturn Alley is spreading the word that last year someone offered high prices to collect Dark Lord's used items. They collected everything from utensils to clothes to letters."
"The items were handed over to Galleon in one hand, and the payment was very simple, and there was basically no counter-offering."
"At that time, several shops thought it was strange and didn't dare to accept it, but there were also a few greedy ones who sold the items at the bottom of the box."
"Can you confirm who is collecting it?"
Mr. K shook his head. "The other party is very cautious. The people who come to collect the items are a few retail investors who usually like to dump items. There are no real buyers at all."
Lin Ze took out a handful of Galleon from his pocket and placed it on the bar. "Help me check which stores have sold the goods, what they sold, and who the buyers are."
"Hey, when you said that, I really knew it." Mr. K grinned.
Then he put Galleon on the table into his pocket, took out a piece of parchment from under the bar, and then used his wand to conjure a quill.
He began to write on the parchment with his crooked handwriting.
After a while, Mr. K pushed the parchment to Lin Ze.
The names of three shops are listed crookedly on it.
"Although these companies have produced items, they are said to be ordinary items."
Three Broomsticks, Zonko's Joke Shop, Dervish and Banges.
The first two are Hogsmeade's time-honored brands, and the latter one is engaged in second-hand magic items trading in Knockturn Alley. The scale is not large, but it is said that the business is quite wild.
"Dervish and Banges sold it three times over there." Mr. K added.
"Okay." Lin Ze nodded to note it down, and then pushed the parchment back to Mr. K.
It just so happens that the bars Dervish and Banges and Mr. K are on the same street, so let's stop by and have a look.
Dervish and Banges's shop is sandwiched between an old crucible recycling shop and a small shop selling cursed antidote. Most of the gold paint on the signboard has fallen off, and there are a few dusty old goods in the window. It looks like there has been no business all year round.
There was only an elderly wizard in the store who was dozing off behind the counter. He was awakened by the sound of the door opening and rubbed his face.
"Collect used goods or sell used goods?"
"Ask something." Lin Ze flashed the Auror badge, "Last year you sold goods related to You-Know-Who three times. Who was the buyer?"
The old wizard's face changed. He took a look at Lin Ze's clothes and appearance, and quickly regained his slickness as a businessman. "Sir, my business here is all serious business, and every transaction is registered. If you want to check the accounts, I will get you a ledger..."
"I don't want to read the books. I want to know who the buyer is."
The old wizard hesitated for two seconds and reported his name: "Albert Crane. Every time he comes, he takes cash. He doesn't pay on credit, and he doesn't talk too much. He just collects his things and leaves."
"What does it look like?"
"He is tall and thin, wears a gray hat, and speaks with a northern accent."
Lin Ze Write down the name.
There is only one letter difference between the surname Crane and St Ives's Klein Trading Company. This kind of word play is not new to the veterans in the wizarding world, but it is too coincidental to appear on this occasion.
He didn't stay in the store for long, and went directly back to the department after going out. Ben had already compiled the briefing notes on all Group Three's cases and sent them to Crouch's office as he requested. When Lin Ze came back, Ben was struggling with a pile of newly delivered materials.