Lin Ze listened to the commercial exchanges for a while.
I felt that I would turn into a stone statue in the corridor if I stood any longer, so I turned around silently and slipped back to Special Operations Team's office.
Opening the door, Ben was lying on the table writing furiously.
Kingsley was sitting in his seat, flipping through a book called "International Magical Cooperation Regulations" that was thick enough to be used as a brick. The seats for Amelia, Everett and Reed were still empty.
"Lin, have you received the newcomer?" I asked without raising my head.
"Got it."
Lin Ze walked to his desk and sat down.
"Who is it? Scrimgeour asked you to pick him up personally?"
"Barty Crouch Jr.·Crouch."
Kingsley paused while turning the book and raised his head. "Director Crouch's son?"
"Yes."
"He's going to Auror Office?" Kingsley said with a hint of surprise in his tone.
"Well, I should start as an intern."
Kingsley nodded thoughtfully and did not continue to ask.
Lin Ze leaned back on the chair, took out a notebook from his pocket, turned to a blank page, wrote a few lines on it, then closed the notebook and stood up.
"I'm going out for a while."
"Going out again?" Ben raised his head.
"It's a bit of a personal matter."
Lin Ze walked out of the office and walked along the corridor in the direction of Records Management Office.
He needs to find someone, someone who is well-informed in Wizarding World and has inextricable connections with the underground black market.
Among the people he knew, the one most likely to know this kind of news was the old wizard who had worked at Records Management Office for thirty years and watched the theater with a cup of black tea every day.
Archie Bole de·Pick.
Records Management Office's door was ajar. When Lin Ze pushed the door in, Pick was sitting on his old chair and reading a book leisurely.
"Hey, isn't this Deputy Team Leader Lin from Special Operations Team?"
Pick poked half of his head out from behind the book, his eyes narrowed into two slits behind the lenses.
"What brought you from your office to my tomb of the living dead?"
"Mr. Pick, I miss you and come to see you." Lin Ze smiled and sat down on the chair opposite Pick.
"Don't do this." Pick closed the book, took off his glasses and wiped them with his sleeves.
"You have been at Records Office for more than half a month. Do I know your temperament? Tell me, what do you want to find out this time?"
"Do you know Igor·Karkaroff?" Lin Ze didn't beat around the bush.
Pick stopped wiping his glasses for a moment.
He put his glasses back on the bridge of his nose and stared at Lin Ze with his eyes hidden behind the thick lenses. "Why did you suddenly ask about him?"
"I heard that he is Death Eaters, and Dark Lord has been on the run since his downfall."
"Yes." Pick leaned on the back of the chair and tapped his fingers on the armrest.
"Karkaroff ran away immediately after Dark Lord fell. He was smarter than those Death Eaters who tried to resist. He knew that he would never be able to run away once Dark Lord fell."
"Then do you know where he is hiding?"
Pick stared at Lin Ze for a while before saying, "Karkaroff is not a small character."
"He is the nephew of the principal of Durmstrang. He has many connections in the east Northern Europe, more than you think. It is not easy to find him."
"I know it's not easy, that's why I'm asking you."
Pick lowered his head and thought for a moment, "Well, give me two days and I can help you ask my old friends. As for whether there will be a result, I can't guarantee you."
"Thank you very much, Mr. Pick."
"Hmph, you kid, you only think of me when you need me."
When Lin Ze came out from Records Management Office, I was in a good mood.
Pick agreed to help find out the whereabouts of Karkaroff, which made him feel a lot more relaxed.
Although he didn't expect Pick to be able to find the person within two days, he at least had a direction.
He put his hands in his pockets and walked back along the corridor, grabbing a cup of coffee as he passed the tea room.
Back in Special Operations Team's office, the communication badge rang as soon as he sat down.
Moody A gruff voice burst out from the badge.
"Lin, come to Crouch's office now."
Lin Ze was stunned for a moment, lowered his head to the badge and asked, "What happened?"
"Black's wand test results are out." After Moody said that, he cut off the communication.
Lin Ze put the coffee on the table, stood up and walked out.
Kingsley raised his head and glanced at him, but Lin Ze just waved his hand, indicating that it was nothing serious.
At the door of Crouch's office, Moody was leaning against the wall, with the magic eye still spinning back and forth.
Seeing Lin Ze coming, Moody moved his chin towards the door, "Go in, Crouch is waiting for you."
When Lin Ze pushed the door in, Crouch was sitting behind the desk.
"Sit." Crouch pointed to the chair opposite.
Lin Ze sat down and his eyes fell on Crouch.
"The test results are out." Crouch tapped his fingers on a document on the desktop.
"Black's wand has not cast any Exploding Charm in the past week, nor has it cast any spells of mass destruction."
Lin Ze said nothing, waiting for Crouch to continue.
"In other words, there is insufficient evidence for Wizengamot's accusation of blowing up the street and killing thirteen Muggle, and there are also doubts about his identification of betraying the Potters."
"Of course, this does not completely rule out the possibility that he carried out the explosion through other means, such as using someone else's wand, but for now, there is obviously insufficient evidence."
"Wizengamot's attitude is that since it can't be proven that he bombed the street, he can't be imprisoned on the charge of murdering Muggle, but the problem is..."
"He said he didn't want to go out."
"Don't want to go out?" Lin Ze raised his eyebrows.
"Yes, he asked someone to bring me a message, saying that he had a condition."
"What?"
"He wants to see you."
"..."
The bald wizard saw Lin Ze coming and stood up reflexively.
"Mr. Lin, you're here again."
"Open the door." Lin Ze shook the approval document Crouch gave him in his hand.
After a cursory glance, the wizard took Lin Ze and walked inside.
As the key turned twice in the lock, the cell door creaked open.
Sirius was sitting on the edge of the bed, with his back against the wall, one leg bent up to step on the bed board, and the other leg hanging down from the edge of the bed.
His posture was very relaxed, and the beard on his face was unshaven and thicker.
But those eyes were completely different from last time.
"You're here." Sirius said.
Lin Ze signaled the bald wizard to leave first, and then he cast Silencing Charm on both of them.
"I heard that you wanted to see me by name?"
"Yes."
Sirius put down his legs and stood up from the edge of the bed.
He put his hands into the pockets of his dirty prison uniform, tilted his head and looked at Lin Ze.
"They said the test results came out and there was insufficient evidence to accuse me."
"Congratulations, if there is no new evidence to identify you later, then you can leave here." Lin Ze said.
"No." Sirius shook his head.
He took two steps forward and walked to the center of the cell, only two steps away from Lin Ze.
They were about the same height, and their eyes were almost at the same level.
"You said last time that Peter Pettigrew might still be alive."
"I just said 'maybe'."
"No, your tone was very convincing, and after you left, I calmed down and thought about it. According to his character, he will not die so easily. He is the most afraid of death among us."