Ministry of Magic.
Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement Office.
Barty·Crouch is sitting at his desk correcting documents.
There are files half as high as a person on the table. On the left are the three appeals sent by Wizengamot, and on the right are Auror Office's action reports for this week.
His quill made a rustling sound on the paper.
"Dong dong dong"
There was a knock on the door.
"Come in."
Crouch said without raising his head, the quill continued to scratch the document.
The door was pushed open and Lin Ze walked in.
Crouch glanced at it with his peripheral vision, and then continued to approve his documents, "What's the matter?"
"There's something I want to show you."
Lin Ze walked to Crouch's desk.
He took out a dusty, soft thing from his pocket and threw it on the open file of Crouch.
Crouch's quill stopped in mid-air.
He looked down at the mass.
A mouse.
An absurdly fat gray mouse was slumped under his nose in an extremely inelegant posture.
The four short legs were stretched out in four different directions, the tail was resting on the lid of the ink bottle, and the mouth was slightly open, revealing two yellowed front teeth.
Crouch frowned and stared at the mouse, then raised his head and looked at Lin Ze.
"Why are you giving me a dead rat?"
"Oh, no, he's not dead, he just passed out." Lin Ze corrected.
"He?"
Crouch keenly captured the difference in the wording of Lin Ze.
He looked at the mouse on the table again.
At this time, Scabbers was turning his belly. When he breathed, the layer of fat on his belly would tremble slightly. Other than that, there was nothing special about him.
"I can't see any difference between it and the ones in Diagon Alley's sewers." Crouch said, "Except that it's a little fatter."
"Look carefully at its front paws."
Crouch put down the quill and looked closer.
The mouse's right front paw is missing a toe, but other than that there is no other difference.
Crouch had some guesses in his mind, but he still leaned back in his chair and crossed his hands on the table.
"Tell me, what is this."
"Animagus." said Lin Ze.
"You mean... he is..." Crouch said.
"You don't mind if I use my wand in your office?"
"Of course." Crouch nodded.
So Lin Ze took out the wand from his pocket.
Lin Ze tapped the mouse with the wand.
"Finite incantatem"(Revealing Charm)
A light blue light poured out from the wand and completely enveloped the mouse.
After a few seconds, the light dissipated.
The mouse's flesh and blood began to squirm little by little.
As the sound of "crack, creak, creak" continued to sound, the documents on the desk were kicked to the ground by the growing figure and scattered all over the floor.
One minute later.
A short man wearing a wrinkled gray robe lay slumped on his desk.
"Peter·Pettigrew?" Crouch looked at the man in front of him in surprise.
Lin Ze used the wand to disarm him Stunning Spell.
The man suddenly trembled and opened his small mung bean eyes.
He blinked blankly at first, then saw the ceiling above his head, the bookshelf behind Crouch's desk, and Crouch's livid face.
His pupils suddenly contracted.
Then it jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
But because his limbs were completely out of control, he fell back onto the table as soon as he raised his body half up.
The back of my head hit the ink bottle of Crouch. The ink bottle was knocked over and ink spilled all over the table.
Crouch fiercely pulled out the wand, and with one Binding Charm, the struggling Peter was tied up tightly, and then he was thrown to the ground.
All the blood on Peter's ugly round face was completely gone.
At this time, his lips were trembling, trying to force out a smile, but the expression that came out was uglier than crying.
"K...Mr. Crouch... Hello... Hello... Long time no see..."
Crouch said nothing.
He waved his wand with a livid face, and the documents scattered on the floor flew up, automatically lined up in the air, and landed on a wooden bench on the other side of the room, where they were stacked.
The ink that was spilled on the table was put back into the ink bottle as if it were turned upside down.
"Lin Ze."
"Yes."
"Next time you want to show me something on my desk, let me know in advance."
"Okay." Lin Ze nodded obediently.
Crouch breathed a sigh of relief, and then turned his attention to the short, fat wizard lying on the ground shivering.
"Peter Pettigrew." he said.
"I guess what Black said in court is true."
Peter's lips trembled even more.
He wanted to say something, but only a few muffled syllables came out of his throat.
"Lin Ze, find a way to get him to straighten his tongue."
Lin Ze smiled and waved his wand after hearing this.
Peter's tongue flicked wildly in his mouth twice, and then he finally regained the ability to speak.
"I... don't kill me... please... don't kill me..."
Crouch leaned back in the chair and rubbed his temples with his fingers.
"Black said in court that he is not Secret Keeper of the Potters. The real Secret Keeper is you, right?"
"Yes... yes... but... but..."
"But what?" Crouch said.
"Black...Dark Lord he... he is too powerful... I..."
"Are you scared?"
Crouch's voice turned cold. He hated this kind of traitor the most.
"Yes... I... I'm just an ordinary wizard... I don't have the abilities like James and Sirius, nor do I..."
Peter swallowed, and his big mung bean eyes moved wildly, his gaze bouncing back and forth between Crouch and Lin Ze.
"You... you have never faced Dark Lord... He just looked at me... I... am nothing... just a bug that can be stepped on at any time... I... I'm too scared..." Peter's snot and tears dripped on the ground in handfuls. However, his body was restrained and could not be wiped, and they became mixed with crystal pendants hanging on his face.
Lin Ze leaned against the wall, crossed his arms, and looked at Peter in front of him, crying bitterly, as if watching a circus performance.
This guy's acting skills are really good. When he spoke, his voice was split, and his face was covered with tears and snot. He looked as pitiable as he could.
Peter's fears may be true.
But he did betray his friends.
Although Lin Ze and the Potters don't know each other, I still find this kind of person disgusting.
Crouch obviously thinks so too.
He has no interest in seeing Peter sell miserably here.
"You told Dark Lord where the Potters was hiding, and you also framed Black."
"I..."
Peter's face twitched.
"I didn't frame him... it was... he chased him here on his own..."
"He's crazy... He chased me all night... He wanted to kill me... I could only..."
"You can only blow up a street, kill a dozen Muggle, and then turn into a mouse and run away?" Lin Ze interjected.
"Believe me, I didn't mean it... I... I really didn't mean it..." Peter still planned to continue his disgusting trick of begging for mercy.
Crouch stood up, walked to Peter, and looked condescendingly at the short, fat wizard who huddled up in a ball.
"Peter·Pettigrew."
His voice was not high, but it had a strong sense of oppression.
"I am now officially arresting you in the name of Department of Magical Law Enforcement. If you have any questions, please wait until Wizengamot talks to the congressmen."
Then he nodded to Lin Ze.
Lin Ze rewarded Peter with understanding Stunning Spell.
When Lin Ze was carrying him to the door with Levitation Charm, the voice of Crouch came from behind.
"Lin Ze."
Lin Ze stopped and turned around.
Crouch stood behind the desk, with his hands on the table, and a rare trace of fatigue appeared on his always tense face.
"You bastard, you probably already knew that Black was wronged, right? Just hide it from me, huh?"
"Ah... there is no evidence... if we bring the evidence today, won't this case be easier to handle?" Lin Ze scratched his head and chuckled.
"Okay, just give it to Auror Office yourself. The credit will be yours alone."
"Then thank you very much, Mr. Secretary." Lin Ze said with a smile.
Crouch snorted and waved his hand to signal him to get out.