Harry Potter: The Arcane Thief (Litrpg)

Chapter 84: *Snap*

During the amazing Axel V/S Gryffindor match, the VIP box had been quite eventful. So much so that it deserves its own chapter.

—before the start of the match—

Inside the VIP box, the scene was a bit peculiar.

Aside from various influential families, there was another group of people present, attracting a lot of attention. They were scouters, the people looking to sign talented prospects into their team.

Scouters are here every match, so what's the big deal? Well, the big deal is that, usually, they're from local minor leagues, looking for talent. But today, aside from these, there were the real deal here as well, the big leaguers. And not just one or two from Britain, but from foreign clubs as well, which is quite surprising for a school Quidditch match.

And, there's only one reason why they're here: Rose Lily Potter.

Usually, the big leaguers don't need to do this kind of grunt work. They can poach whoever they want directly from the minor league teams and even other Major league teams quite easily. But this time, the situation is a bit different.

The viral clips of Rose were really impressive, which is not surprising considering that she's extraordinarily talented and has been training from an early childhood. She's even suspected to have what these people call a once-in-a-century level talent.

Another advantage is her young age. There are no age rules, so most of these people like to have them young, because they're cheaper and they can be taught all the pro techniques, grooming them to perfection.

(We're talking about Quidditch)

So, here they are, to confirm her talent in person and sign her up quickly before the other predators get their hands on her.

But, when the match finally started, something unexpected happened.

"Did that guy just—?"

"The snitch!"

"H-How…?"

"The match just started, damn it! Isn't this a record?!"

"But how did he even do it? Did anyone see?"

None of them did. All of them were only looking at Rose, it would seem. As people who called themselves Quidditch experts, they were quite embarrassed.

"Is it only me or no one else saw what just happened just now as well? Let's see the replay of the catch!" said Lee.

But when the replay was played—

"A Fucking Launching Boom…"

"Merlin's Eyeballs!"

"For the love of Quidditch—"

"Merde…"

"Did that guy just casually pull off a launching Boom?"

"You sure we were here for the girl?"

These guys had the most intense reactions. Because they knew the significance of what Axel had just done.

On the other hand, the situation was completely different on the other side of the VIP box.

"Suck it, Neville!" That's what Daphne had said, soon after Axel's first catch was replayed, to Neville in a low voice, flipping him the bird. Neville's ears turned red out of embarrassment and anger. He was sitting with his father and gran, both of whom certainly didn't appreciate her extreme politeness.

Frank Longbottom frowned. Just now, he had been listening to his son complain about how Daphne had gone dark and was supporting the Slytherin team today due to some random guy, even fighting with Neville over it. Frank had a hard time believing that, since Daphne used to be a very polite and sensible girl in his memory, but seeing her right now he figured his son was indeed speaking the truth.

"Mrs. Greengrass," he said, looking at Evelyn. "I know it must be hard on you after Cyrus, but you have to pay better attention to your daughter's behavior."

Evelyn was embarrassed, "I apologize on my daughter's behalf. I'll have words with her." she said before turning to Daphne. "What was that about?" She asked in a low voice.

"That jealous git is always talking bad about Axel," said Daphne glaring at Neville, and that was all the explanation Evelyn needed, her attitude towards the situation changing 180.

Unaware that he was no longer going to receive the same courtesy twice, Mr. Longbottom nodded patronizingly. He truly believed that the Catch just now was a fluke and Axel was no good. "It's better that you understand. That kid has no family background , and he was still sent to Slytherin and no matter how good he plays, he can't match prodigies like Rose. Kids like that have no future to speak of and will only have a negative influence on your daughter. It's better to nip the bud in the early bloom," he said helpfully. The girl has no father figure to look out for these things, so he might as well help them out as a common courtesy to their children's friendship.

Evelyn's eyes turned cold. Axel was the savior and benefactor of their family. And someone insulting him is someone insulting her family. She was going to say some choice words to Frank Longbottom, but something happened.

Boom*

"ARE YOU SHITTING ME RIGHT NOW?! ANOTHER ONE?!

While Mr. Longbottom was giving his valuable opinions on Axel, Axel had once again caught the snitch in just a minute after his first catch, making Mr. Longbottom eat his words.

"AXEL HUNT HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH YET AGAIN! Has one minute even passed yet since the release of the snitch?! How many records did he break this time?! It Has Been Confirmed, BOTH OF THOSE CATCHES AND SKILLS ARE NO FLUKES. WE MIGHT ACTUALLY BE WATCHING THE DEBUT OF A FUTURE QUIDDITCH LEGEND!"

Evelyn smiled kindly at Frank, "I think I would know better what's best for my daughter, Frank. Please keep your long bottom out of it."

"...!" Mr. Longbottom's patronizing smile vanished.

"Pffft!" A snicker was heard from near a seat beside them and the group turned to see Sirius Black sitting along with his wife Marlene and son Jamie. "Frankly speaking, got your long bottom kicked, Frank," said Sirius with a chuckle.

Frank scowled at his friend. "Thought we were on the same side here," he gruffed, feeling even more annoyed. He had been speaking against the person who's currently kicking his friend's god-daughter's bottom right now.

Sirius chuckled, "Why so sirius, Frank? And I didn't say you were wrong. The kid's skilled, I gotta admit, insanely so, but we ARE gonna kick the Slytherin's bottom today. Launching Boom has its flaws after all," he said assuredly. Being the best friend of a seeker and a Godfather of another makes you know your Quidditch. So he could already see how this was going to play out.

"The boy's in danger, people. One more launching Boom, and he's going to the infirmary," said Sirius, his deep, far-seeing eyes set on the pitch, giving off the impression of an expert. "Oh look, it's already starting." He added, and indeed, something had indeed started on the pitch, as the Gryffindor had changed their composition.

"What?" Daphne became worried. Axel was already looking a bit under the weather ever since he returned last night. She was worried he might not be ready for whatever was coming.

Seeing Daphne like that, Neville was of course glad. "You suck it now." But daphne was too worried to him pay attention.

"They're going to take him down. If he uses that trick again, he's going to crash. So if he has any sense, he should stop doing it now." Explained Sirius. "Oh no, he's doing it again. Sigh….As expected, he's good, but seems like he's still too green," he said, feeling more relieved than he sounded at the knowledge. The Scouters were here so Rose needed to perform well today. And this Axel was currently stealing her thunder.

Sirius's words of wisdom made all the Greengrasses worried while in the pitch, Axel had been loading his energy, about to shoot off. Suddenly, they saw George Weasley get in his way and understood what was going to happen. "NO!" Daphne stood up from her seat, but it was too late.

Boom*

Axel disappeared from their view, and Evelyn had to hold her daughter back to stop her from rushing to the stadium. But then,

"WHAT?! WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!"

CHEERS*

They saw Axel appear on the other side of George, his hand held high in a familiar gesture, with the Golden Snitch safely held within his grasp. Daphne finally took a deep breath, her heart still hammering her chest due to the earlier scare.

"He's fine!" Said Astoria, hugging her mother.

On the other hand, Sirius sat there like a statue, his words stuck in his throat as he tried to clear it while the Greengrass sisters gave him matching judgy glares. 'Don't talk if you don't know anything,' they seemed to say with their eyes. They had thought he was an expert. On the other hand, their mother was pure savage. "Your gift of foresight rivals the psychics of knockturn alley, Mr. Black. I am most impressed."

"Ahem… he—uh…. Oh he did that…," tried Sirius, pretending to understand, though he had no idea what the fuck had just had happened out there. The expert image he had was shattering to bits. "It's the least likely outcome, huh? He must be really lucky," he said, nodding his head to himself while his wife Marlene tried to hide her face out of second hand embarrassment.

At this moment, the replay was shown, in which Axel masterfully swerved around the twin, dodging him by a hair's breadth very calmly, and then catching the snitch.

"HE ACTUALLY DID IT! AXEL HUNT HAS SOMEHOW MANAGED TO TURN HIMSELF ACCURATELY AT THAT SPEED! WHAT AN AMAZING SHOW OF SKILLS!"

Sirius: *slap* *slap* His cheeks felt swollen.

"Mum, is this person really an expert?" Asked Astoria, pointing at Sirius.

Evelyn shook her head, "No Tory, he's a prankster. He likes to scare and bother people. Don't listen to him."

"Oh…so he's like those bad twins?" Astoria asked, pointing at Fred and George.

Evelyn nodded. "Exactly."

Astoria looked at Sirius with a pouty glare before turning away.

Sirius: ? "..." 'I really am an expert…. You have to believe that. I haven't spent all these years supporting Reggie, James, and Rose in vain!' Sirius was Siriusly hurt. "Oh, something must have caught my eyes," he said, rubbing his eyes. He wasn't trying to hide his tears. Nope, not at all.

At this point, even Frank pretended he did not know this guy. It's not like he did not have the same thoughts, but at least he did not say them aloud anymore. But, he and his son could really sympathize with the man. These Greengrass women are brutal with their words.

On the other side, the selectors: "OHHHH"

"H-How?

"God… I've seen god."

"Dayyumm! That was smooth as butter! How IS he doing this?"

"Hello sir… yes I'm seeing this too, sir. Yes I'll try my best. Offer anything? Even that much sir? Yes sir. And sir, about Rose… forget her? Alright…"

Everyone of these scouts was already out of their seats, their attention focused solely on Axel. Once in a Century talent? This was a talent that's never been seen in the history of Quidditch. Screw Rose. They can't miss someone like this.

The game continued like that, with these experts not moving their eyes away from Axel. They were already discussing the amount and terms they were going to offer with their bosses. Like this, the half time arrived, and Sirius got up from his seat. "Excuse me."

To his credit, he had managed to keep his mouth shut until now with much difficulty, which turned out to be a good thing, since he would have been wrong again with the last catch in which Axel magically outflew Rose.

Going out, he took out his Magi-mirror and typed a message.

"Take out the seeker. At any cost." He sent it to someone he had saved as "New Marauders". He also sent out a few hundred galleons. This much was like chump change for him.

The other side replied instantly, "Lord Padfoot has spoken. It shall be done!"

What? He can't let his daughter be a slave to a Slytherin boy, right? Oh, and these two were his successors. Their pranks are hilarious.

Whistling a jolly tune, Sirius pocketed his magi mirror. Now, to save his expert's image…

Returning to his seat, he confidently looked at the Greengrasses. "I have some sirius predictions for the second half. And I think it'll be for the best if your hero sits this one out," he said, waiting for them demand an explanation.

But at this point, the Greengrass women just nodded perfunctorily giving him a lukewarm glance before turning their attention back to the match.

Sirius shrugged. And within the first few minutes of the match, one of the Weasley Twins directly took a swing at Axel with his beater's bat!

"THAT BLOODY —" yelled Daphne almost at the top of her lungs, but paused mid-curse, realizing she was in the presence of many influential people of the society. Covering her face, she buried herself in her seat, completely mortified. Her perfect pureblood heiress image was ruined. 'Axel Hunt! You'll be the death of me!' She thought furiously, her cheeks burning. The problem was, she was okay with that…Seriously what is happening to her?!

Sirius sipped on his drink leisurely, sitting with his legs crossed. "Ladies, is this the part where I say, 'I told you so'?" He said calmly, though he was quite surprised, disappointed and annoyed that the boy somehow dodged, similar to how you feel when you smash a cockroach, only for it to spring up and run away without damage. For the next few minutes, the Greengrasses were constantly on edge, with the Twins attempting everything to take him down, and Sirius passing out ominous comments, making them quite anxious.

Not too long after, Axel was met with an inescapable situation! A Bludger was headed his way and one of the twins had drawn his wand, approaching close to him.

Daphne was extremely angry right now. And she didn't even know who. But she knew one thing: This man needs to shut up. She has absolute faith in Axel's ability, but she can't help but worry. And this man's constant "predictions" aren't helping.

"Let's see if he can escape this…" said Sirius excited.

A few moments later… Sirius Black sat with a blackened eye, looking at Axel, who had somehow managed to pull off something incredible. Only now did he wish he had kept his mouth shut the whole time. But today, he had at least learnt a few life lessons.

Firstly, 'I'm never betting against that kid again... whatever the situation. He's a monster.' and second, 'That girl packs a Sirius punch.'

…

The match finally ended, with Gryffindor's or any team's worst defeat in the history of Quidditch. The point margin had never been this huge in the History, even back when the rules hadn't changed and the games sometimes had to be stretched for days because the Seekers couldn't catch the snitch.

"Sigh... It's finally over..."

Axel's head was feeling very heavy towards the end of the match, maybe because he was mysophobic and the crowd was just too damn loud. But his headache persisted even after he turned down his hearing using his [Super Sense].

When he finally landed on the ground, he wobbled a bit as his feet felt shaky. 'System, the heck is up with my body?'

[It's not only because of your body, Axel. But the cause is the skill [Limit Break]. A long break is necessary to recover from that skill, depending on by how much you have broken past your limit. But you have only pushed your body and senses to work intensively after that, only getting a few hours break. You need immediate rest.]

While he was still struggling to keep standing, with his vision blurring, Axel felt someone jump on him, almost making him fall as they hung onto him like a koala.

"AXEL! Banaca! I finally got my hands on you! Holy Diana, you were amazing!" It was Patricia, who had landed not long after he did. But before he could muster enough strength to push her off, the rest of his team members had arrived, also leaping onto him.

"Get away from him, you all! Let the guy breathe!" Though someone came at the right time, right before he was about to snap, pushing away his team members much to his appreciation. Only, this person wasn't any better. Axel was suddenly dragged into a side hug, as the man seemed to parade him along. And Axel realized who it was:

'Lockhart?'

Why this fool of all people?

"Ladies and Gentlemen, my Student, Axel Hunt! Came to me for some Quidditch tips. He's learnt a lot from me. So proud of you, Axel." He felt the person rubbing his head as if they were very close. "I think your parents must be proud, huh? Tell them that they don't need to thank me much, I was—"

Okay, that was it for Axel. A could only take so much before he—

Snap*

...

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