The Floo Network hall stood on the east side of the Ministry Atrium and was one of the busiest areas in the Ministry.
Dozens of fireplaces lined the curved wall, green flames flaring and dying out one after another.
Witches and wizards of every description stepped in and out of the flames.
Lin Ze, Moody, Kingsley, and Ben spread out across the four corners of the hall, pretending to be waiting for someone.
Ben leaned against the wall, holding an open copy of the Daily Prophet in front of his face. The only problem was that the newspaper was upside down.
"Ben, your newspaper," Kingsley reminded him from a distance.
"Huh? Oh, right." Ben hurriedly turned the newspaper the right way up, then continued hiding his face behind it, leaving only his eyes exposed.
Moody stood beside the fountain in the center of the hall, his magical eye spinning rapidly.
Lin Ze, meanwhile, wandered in small steps in front of the fireplaces.
"Heads up." Moody's gravelly voice reached everyone's ears through their miniature magical communicators.
"It's almost time. Keep watching for the target."
Ben instinctively sprang up from the bench and stood straight, but his movement was so abrupt that he startled an elderly wizard passing nearby, sending the documents in the old wizard's arms spilling across the floor.
"Sorry, sorry..." Ben hurriedly crouched down to help the elderly wizard pick up the scattered documents.
Six o'clock sharp.
A tall, slender wizard in dark gray robes appeared.
He walked at an unhurried pace, carrying an old briefcase.
Augustus Rookwood.
He looked no different from his portrait.
"Target confirmed. Get ready to move." Lin Ze's wand slid from his sleeve into his hand.
The next moment, Lin Ze fired a Full Body-Bind Curse at Rookwood from a little over ten meters away.
As luck would have it, Rookwood seemed to trip over something just then, stumbling forward a step.
The red light of the Body-Bind Curse skimmed over Rookwood's head and hit a young wizard eating ice cream nearby.
"Fuck," Lin Ze swore.
"Move!" Moody bellowed, pointing his wand straight at Rookwood.
Kingsley circled around from the side, holding his wand steady, ready for any violent reaction.
Ben, however, was still scrambling to help the elderly wizard pick up the documents on the floor.
The Floo Network hall erupted into chaos.
The young wizard Lin Ze had accidentally hit fell rigidly to the floor. The ice cream in his hand traced an arc through the air and landed squarely on the head of a witch beside him.
The witch screamed, her shopping bag flying from her hand and spilling fruit that rolled across half the hall.
Rookwood reacted extremely quickly.
Almost at the exact moment Moody shouted "Move," he hurled his briefcase at Kingsley, who was charging toward him, then turned and dashed for the nearest fireplace.
With a slight flick of Kingsley's wand, the briefcase bounced away in front of him, its documents spilling out like snowflakes and fluttering through the air.
Rookwood rushed toward the fireplace closest to him.
His right hand had already grabbed the Floo Powder beside it.
The next moment, a dragon-hide boot appeared at his side.
Lin Ze's kick was both accurate and vicious, striking Rookwood squarely in the small of his back.
Rookwood flew sideways, knocking over a row of waiting chairs in the hall. Their legs scraped across the stone floor with a string of piercing screeches.
"Sorry, this way's blocked." Lin Ze withdrew his leg and casually brushed off his sleeve.
Rookwood scrambled to his feet.
He fumbled for his wand and drew it, but before he could raise it, Kingsley was already behind him, his wand tip pressed against the back of Rookwood's neck.
"Put down your wand, Mr. Rookwood."
Rookwood's hand froze in midair.
"You... who are you people?"
"The ones here to arrest you, of course." Moody appeared in front of Rookwood, his voice gruff.
Screams rose one after another throughout the hall.
"M-Moody?" Rookwood's eyes widened.
"What grounds do you have to arrest me?"
"You're suspected of supplying confidential Ministry intelligence to the Dark Lord." Kingsley's voice came from behind him.
"What evidence do you have? I'm an Unspeakable with the Department of Mysteries! You're exceeding your authority! I'll file a complaint with the Wizengamot! You can't..."
"Enough. You know perfectly well what you've done. Don't play innocent here. Whatever you have to say, say it to the people at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement." A Binding Charm shot from Moody's wand, securing Rookwood's hands at his sides.
Kingsley took the opportunity to confiscate his wand.
"Make way, make way, Special Operations Team business... sorry, ma'am... let me through..." The late-arriving Ben was struggling to squeeze through the crowd of onlookers.
Rookwood's face visibly paled.
His lips trembled, but in the end, he said nothing.
Kingsley pulled a Special Operations Team badge from his pocket and held it up to the crowd. "Special Operations Team business. Move along, everyone. Nothing to see here."
A buzz of conversation rose from the crowd.
"Wow, is this that team the Ministry just set up specifically to crack down on Death Eaters?"
"Look, that's Mad-Eye Moody. I heard you couldn't count all the Death Eaters he's put away on both hands."
"Hey, that black-haired young man is so handsome. Was he the one who kicked that fellow just now? That kick was so cool."
"Come to think of it, I remember that black fellow used to be with the Auror Office. What was his name..."
"Kingsley."
"Oh, right! Kingsley! He looks so strong!"
"Tsk... don't tell me you..."
The crowd slowly dispersed amid the chatter.
"Hey, Ben, do me a favor and lift the curse on the fellow I accidentally hit."
"Sure!"
Ben jogged over to lift the curse on the unfortunate wizard still lying on the floor.
Lin Ze gave his wand a slight flick. The documents scattered across the floor slowly rose, then flew in an orderly line in front of him, arranging themselves into a neat stack.
Most of the documents were internal meeting minutes from the Department of Mysteries, bearing red stamps marked "Confidential." Lin Ze did not look at them any further.
Lin Ze put away his wand and neatly packed the automatically sorted stack of documents into Rookwood's briefcase.
Moody was pressing his short, thick wand into Rookwood's lower back, urging him forward.
Rookwood's face twitched, his lips trembling as though he wanted to say something, but in the end he merely lowered his head and followed the others in disgrace under the onlookers' gazes.
"Oh, please make way... let me save this poor... ow..."
Ben jogged toward the young wizard still lying like a corpse on the floor, but unfortunately stepped on a fallen apple halfway there. He flipped halfway over in midair and landed hard on his backside.
A few restrained laughs came from around him.
Ben got up, rubbed his backside, and limped over to the accidentally injured wizard. He drew his wand and tapped him with it.
The curse lifted, and the wizard sneezed and sat up.
"Oh... where's my ice cream?" The wizard stared blankly at his empty hand.
Then he saw the witch beside him, cream still dripping from her head. "Uh... sorry?"
Lin Ze was about to follow Moody when he caught sight of a familiar face in the crowd out of the corner of his eye.
Quinn Travers.
He was no longer wearing that conspicuous purple outfit, having changed into dark brown robes instead. He carried a net bag containing two plant seedlings wrapped in newspaper.
"Hey! Lin!" Quinn spotted Lin Ze too and waved at him enthusiastically.
"I was waiting for a fireplace across the hall just now, so I saw everything clearly. That kick of yours was beautiful! Just as cool as the way I kick goats in Godric's Hollow!"
"You keep goats?" Lin Ze couldn't help asking.
"No, but my neighbor's goat keeps running into my yard and chewing on my lemon tree. I have to kick it back every time." Quinn walked over carrying his net bag.