HP: The Arcane Thief
chapter-118

"Then let's settle this…" said Dumbledore, making Axel smile.

"But, if we're really doing this, then I need to add a small favor as well," he added, making Axel's smile vanish.

"What favour? Professor, isn't everything already in your favour?" Asked Axel, looking as if he was being taken advantage of.

"Don't worry, my boy. The deal is already settled. This is a simple request outside of the contract," said Dumbledore, intertwining the fingers of his hands over the table as he leaned forward. "Axel, It would be greatly helpful if you decided to give a small interview."

Axel frowned. "Professor, you know I don't do all those things."

"I'm not forcing you, my boy. It is just a suggestion. You need to clarify your intentions of wanting peace yourself. For all you know, people might think you've made a permanent comeback. As long as you don't speak up for yourself, others will speak for you."

Axel didn't say anything to that. Even though he knew Dumbledore had a point, Axel knew that what the old man wanted most was for him to confirm his participation himself.

Dumbledore just smiled. "Just think about it, my boy. It's your choice. For now we can proceed with the original terms," he said, giving him a piece of parchment. "You can contact me directly in case you changed your mind."

'Wtf?' Axel was a bit surprised. In the whole world, how many people could actually directly contact Dumbledore?

"I'll think about it." Axel pretended to agree. What's the loss in saying it? It won't be added to the contract anyway.

…

After Axel had gone…

*Crunch*

Yamazaki crushed the arm of his chair with his bare hands. "Arbus-san, why did you let that child walk all over us?!"

Dumbledore shook his head, smiling leisurely. "Yujiro, my friend, you are being impulsive. You have to understand that Axel Hunt is a special student. If he's going to play, it is in our best interest to keep him happy."

Yujiro shook his head. "I fail to understand why. In the end, isn't he just a 13 year old child? There were ways we could just get him to agree."

"You would be wrong to think that, Yujiro. You underestimate the boy too much. Did you know he had your Granddaughter waiting downstairs in case he needed protection from you?" Asked Dumbledore, making Yujiro's perpetually closed eyes open wide.

"What...? That brat—"

"Calm down, old friend. All I'm saying is, Axel Hunt is not any ordinary 13 year old. He has wits beyond his age, and he can hold a grudge. So, unless you are willing to go as far as using magic to influence him into doing your bidding, it was the best option to just give him the money and the flower instead of provoking him. We're old men with plenty of money and resources. Why risk him ruining the event and our subsequent plans for so little?"

Yujiro sighed, calming down. "You are right, of course, Arbus-san. Money and resources have little meaning to us at this point anyway. I shouldn't lose my temper over such things."

And even using magic will be a ticking time bomb, because the boy would definitely hold a grudge if he finds out even 20 years later.

Dumbledore smiled. "We both know the real reason why you lost your temper. But I can't blame you, old friend. Matters related to family evoke far stronger emotions than slight irascibility," he said as he snapped his fingers, causing two cups of piping hot tea to appear in between them.

Yujiro, who knew a little about Dumbledore's past, nodded. "Of course, who would know it better than you, Arbus," he agreed, picking up the tea.

"Though, do you think the boy will give the interview?"

Dumbledore just smiled. "To be honest, I don't. The boy simply doesn't care," he said sipping his tea.

"But, it would be good to have a close relation with him. I see something special in the boy. It would be better to keep a close eye on him."

Both the old men drank tea in silence. But then, Yujiro set his cup down as he got serious.

"But Arbus-san, are you sure that increasing the viewers will help us in our plans?"

There was no doubt that Axel's involvement, and with it being an open format match, would massively boost the number of spectators. But there was no guarantee if it would help in further plans.

Dumbledore sighed. "I know not, Yujiro. But we have to try. I showed you the memories and you have certified their authenticity yourself. We have to start preparing for the worst, and you are the only one I trust. This is just the start."

....

The next day, something happened, and it was not the news of Axel's participation.

Even before that, the paparazzi had gotten their hands on a different video. It showed Axel, the retired genius, being touched all over by Akiko Matsushima.

At this point, Axel's relationship with multiple women was already no secret. So, it did not cause much of a reaction on the internet.

But inside Hogwarts, things were completely different. Because all the Mahoutokoro students saw their goddess favouring Axel yet again. The last time, they could still think it was a misunderstanding or a coincidence. But now? It was clear that their Miko Akiko was getting trapped by Hunt.

It was made even worse by the fact that there was nothing they could do to Hunt. They were strictly forbidden from using violence against any Hogwarts student.

….

The next morning, the atmosphere during breakfast was volcanic. All the Mahoutokoro students were throwing murderous looks at Axel, who had actually showed up, boldly sitting at the Slytherin table as if nothing was wrong.

Their rage from last time had been renewed after knowing that the guy was still messing with Akiko ever after having a fianceé.

"Good that you got out of the team, mate," said Theodore, shaking slightly even though the looks weren't directed at him.

Tracy agreed. "You would have been in trouble if you had to play the next match."

Axel, who had already agreed to play the next match, just shrugged. He was, of course, unaffected by everything that was going on. He had other things on his mind right now.

He looked at Daphne, who was sitting at the Ravenclaw table. Usually, he would catch her looking at from time to time and their eyes would sometimes meet. But today, the girl seemed determined to look anywhere but in his direction.

Axel frowned. This bothered him.

'Is it time yet?' He thought.

Ever since losing her memories, Daphne would feel pain whenever her mind tried to recall them. That's why, he had been staying away from her until now so that she doesn't experience the pain. But he felt more and more distant with her with the passage of time.

He had planned on waiting a little more just for good measure, but he just couldn't wait more.

'Her mind should have become stable by now.' he thought. After all, she had the information of the System's Occlumency in her mind. She should have reached a considerable level by now.

*nnnnnn*

At this moment, his wand hummed, making him frown. 'Shut up.' he ordered.

This thing had gained more sentience after the upgrade.

…

After Daphne was finally free of classes, she began making her way over to the Greenhouses. She was tired. Even though she had forgot where she had gotten them from, but Daphne had still continued her training according to the information in her head.

What to say? She really liked how it improved her physical, mental, and magical abilities. And attending classes along with that? Yep, she was tired. Especially today.

"Hey, did you hear anything about Hunt yet?"

While walking, she couldn't help but overhear the conversation of the students walking ahead of her.

"No man, I heard the guy attended the classes like usual. Not a single Mahoutokoro student has confronted him yet. Not even a sneak attack."

"Damn. Maybe they're planning their moves right now. I'm sure they wouldn't let him off this time."

"Yeah. Going for Akiko Matsushima? The guy has guts. Especially when he already has Martina."

"H-Hey… d'you think it's suddenly quite chilly here?"

Daphne quickened her footsteps, leaving the gossiping students behind.

'That guy… serves him right,' she thought in irritation. He already has Martina, the dream girl of many. Then why the hell is he going for Akiko as well? Truly, men are all pigs.

But the hell is he doing openly wandering around the school? Does he not fear retaliation?

'Though, what does it matter to me?' She thought with the mental scoff, as she reached the Greenhouse.

Daphne walked through the rows of plants, her hands running through the leaves and flowers, stopping all annoying thoughts. Breathing the air of the Greenhouse, she instantly felt much better as her tiredness washed away. Nature was the best.

She sighed. Nothing can bother her here. "How peaceful," she murmured.

"Isn't it?" Someone asked, making her jump.

Turning around, she found herself face to face with none other than Axel Hunt himself. "The fuck?!" She exclaimed, stepping away from him.

Axel could help but smile hearing her curse. He knew he would find her here. The girl loves nature after all. Back when they were still friends, she would sometimes drag him here to accompany her as well.

Daphne realized that her word choice had slipped up due to how startled she was, and the guy had definitely noticed. But she still glared at him. "What? Never heard a girl swear before?"

Axel's smile only turned into a grin of amusement as he just shook his head. "Oh, you have no idea," he replied.

'Girl, I was the one who taught you how to swear.'

Daphne unconsciously crushed petals of the flower in her hand. Her peace had been ruined. Her thoughts were going haywire in his presence and her mood was getting progressively worse. This is NOT why she was here.

She looked at the guy calmly admiring the plants and couldn't help but slightly stomp her foot. "What are you even doing here?" She demanded.

"Nothing." Axel shrugged. "I just… really like nature," he said, looking into her eyes.

Daphne looked at the guy with a somewhat surprised look. "Nature? You?" She couldn't help but snicker. "Impossible."

Axel sighed. "I never saw it coming either. But, it is what it is," he said with a shrug.

"Oh really?" Daphne raised her brows. "What plant is this then?" she asked, pointing at a particular plant.

"Zingiber officinale," answered Axel without blinking. "Widely used as spice and a folk medicine. It is a herbaceous perennial which grows annual pseudostems about one meter tall bearing narrow leaf blades."

Daphne wasn't satisfied. "What's that one?"

"Epipremnum aureum. Also called Devil's ivy. It's a—"

"D'you know this one?"

Axel sighed. 'Of course I know all of them. You told me yourself.'

"Artocarpus integra. It's a magical fruit with—" But before Axel could even finish, Daphne was already walking away.

"Hey, where are you going?" He called out after her.

"I'm going somewhere where I can have peace," she said in irritation, not stopping her footsteps.

"Hey, wait! Isn't it peaceful here?" asked Axel, following her.

Daphne turned around in irritation. "Is there something you want, Hunt?"

Axel thought about it seriously. "Actually, there is." He answered, stepping forward.

"W-What?" Asked Daphne, taking a step back. She didn't expect this. "What do you want?"

Axel looked at the girl in front of him. Even though they were standing so close, there was still a huge distance between them. And he did NOT like that.

He recalled the words she had spoken to him a long time ago and knew what he wanted. "I… want to be friends with you," he said, looking at her sincerely.

These exact words… She had said to him so many times in the past. Axel, who had finally agreed after the umpteenth time, didn't think he would have to repeat the same words to her again.

Even though she doesn't have her memories, she's still the Daphne he knows. And he doesn't want to be distant with her.

Daphne's eyes widened at those words and looked at Axel in bafflement. She stood there, frozen for a long time. But then, her face turned cold. "No thank you," she said before she began walking away again.

"What the—?" Axel couldn't help but frown. "Hey, why the hell not?" He asked, following her.

Daphne turned to glare up at him. "Because, you are a scumbag."

Axel frowned. "Scumbag? How am I a scumbag?"

"How are you not?" Daphne Stomped her foot. "You already have a fianceé. And yet you are going after other girls! And what's to say you only want to be friends with me? I don't want to be involved with a scumbag who's already dating multiple women!"

"What the hell? Didn't I already tell you I was single? Martina is not my fiancee. And I'm not involved with any of the other girls either. I'm not a scumbag!" Said Axel defensively.

Daphne looked at the guy's wronged look and almost gave in. Being in such close proximity with him, her heart was already beating very fast. At this point, she had to acknowledge it.

She had a crush on Axel Hunt.

But could she be blamed? She wakes up after a comma, with a large chunk of her memories gone, and sees the absurdly handsome face of the guy smiling down at her saying he's single. That was the start of it all. She researched the guy, of course, and was completely impressed when she saw the clips of his match. Even more impressive was his attitude. But only after researching more had she found out that he was a scumbag with relations with multiple women. That had crushed all thoughts in her mind.

But of course, her heart had its own plans. No matter what, she always found her eyes drawn to him. She would feel disappointed whenever he wouldn't show up for breakfast or dinner.

She tried to deny it, multiple times. But today, she has to accept, she likes him. Even right now, her heart had already believed his words when he said he was not a scumbag.

Which is exactly why she must stay away from him. She doesn't want to end up as yet another one of his conquests.

"Oh? You are not engaged with Martina?" She asked. "Mr. Hunt, your engagement is already announced to the world. Everyone knows you're engaged. How am I supposed to believe you on that, let alone about your relationships with other girls? And why have you never denied your relationships with any of the girls? You think I'll believe you when you just say it to me like that? So, I'm really sorry, I can't really be friends with you." Saying her piece, Daphne left the greenhouse, practically running.

And this time, Axel had no words to stop her. He actually was expecting her to believe him. Why had he not clarified the world? Because he didn't really care what others said of him. If he went about clearing every rumour, there will be no end to it. He thought that it would be fine as long as he told Daphne. And at that time, he didn't know it would be so important to tell her.

But before he could even clear it with her, she had already lost her memories, postponing the explanation. After that, there was no need to explain it to her anyways since they were strangers, and she would feel pain whenever he was even mentioned. So, the matter was just left hanging until now.

But, if it really bothers her even after losing all her memories...

Axel took out his Magi-mirror and dialled a number. He didn't even need to think about it before making his decision.

"Hello? Professor Dumbledore, this is Axel."

"Yeah, I changed my mind. I'll do the interview."

"No, I also had a few things to clarify."

"Yeah, I'll hang up now."

*beep*

Axel put away the Magi-mirror and looked in the direction where the girl had left.

She wanted explanation? He'll give her one hell of an explanation. And not only to her, but to the world. so that she has no doubts left. He'll clear everything.

....

A.N.: POWERSTONES