HP: The Arcane Thief
chapter-44-30041322

M: This chapter is hardcore

Chapter 43

Days went by as Axel trained, planned, plotted, and brainstormed.

In one of the rooms in the Noble suite he had been staying in, the walls were covered with sheets of messily drawn diagrams, plans, and charts, all connected by lines. Most were of the third-floor corridor, but many were also different Houses dorms.

This was his planning room, the place where he plans all his thefts.

Why do all this? Well, these are here to help him visualize. Hogwarts is his battlefield. And it's best to know every nook and cranny of it. Things don't always go according to his plans so it's best to be prepared and have all the escape routes, obstacles, and props memorized.

In his one hand, he had a Hand gripper which he was continuously compressing and relaxing, training his weak-ass grip strength. While he held a coffee in the other hand as he looked over at the plans.

These days, he has been just too busy. So busy that he's been neglecting sleep. Right now, he was feeling so tired that he felt like passing out.

"I should sleep now," he murmured, putting down everything. He really couldn't skip it anymore. He can feel it. He really needs to sleep or his body wouldn't be able to take it.

But just as he lay down on the floor, a clock sounded, signifying that it was time for class.

"The fuck? It's morning already?" He muttered with a frown. The time flew so quickly. It seems like he'll have to sleep in the classes today instead of training. As Axel stood up, he felt a bit dizzy for a moment. Shaking his head he ate his breakfast and went for classes.

The first class turned out to be of DADA which is held with the Ravenclaws.

"Wake me up if Umbitch comes," he told Daphne as he slept with his head resting on his hand. His elbows were propped up on the table and his eyes were obscured by his hair. It truly looked like he was just reading the book on the table and he would have easily gotten away with it as well. But, for some reason, after some time, his hands gave away as his head fell down on the table with an audible "thunk". And, despite being the lightest of sleepers, he didn't wake up even after that,

"!!!"

Axel woke up to someone violently shoving him like crazy.

"The fuc—" he yelled out in surprise… before he became aware of the situation he was in when he saw a toad staring at him. Correction, it was a toad-like woman staring at him with a creepy smile.

"Detention, Mr. Hunt. I expect you to be in my office, Friday at 5 pm sharp. No excuses," she said cheerfully, as if she was really anticipating it.

Meanwhile, all Axel could think was...

'Am I having a nightmare?'

...

After class, Axel cursed repeatedly due to the predicament he found himself in. Usually, he's a very light sleeper and he should have woken up just by the distinct sound of Umbridge's heel's sound approaching, let alone his head falling on the desk like that. But earlier, he didn't even wake up after Daphne tried shoving him multiple times.

There was only one conclusion: He had passed out.

Seriously, of all the times his body had failed him, did it have to happen in that creepy bitch's class?! Damn it, he usually would never even sleep in her class, to begin with. But today he straight up passed out, damn it. And that has earned him detention now, meaning more time waste.

"What the hell was wrong with you?! I shook the fuck out of you but you didn't wake up until the bitch was standing right in front of us! I was scared out of my mind!" Exclaimed Daphne as soon as Umbridge had left.

Axel grimaced. It's not like he enjoyed waking up to the face of Umbitch staring down at him. For some reason, a troll seemed to be a much better alternative. And this is coming from someone who's had the misfortune to actually experience both the cases.

"I might have been…a bit tired," he replied evasively.

Daphne gasped, looking horrified.

"It must be really bad if you're actually admitting to it," she muttered to herself then looked at him seriously, "What the hell has been going on with you lately?! Can you please tell me?!" she asked in genuine distress.

Axel sighed. How could he tell her the truth? If he ever successfully stole the stone, Daphne and her friends would be the first of the people whose minds Dumbledore would check considering their open involvement in the matter. So, telling her anything related to that would be asking for trouble.

He yawned while rubbing his eyes tiredly,

"Well, I can't tell you exactly what is going on, but I can tell you that I'm very close to healing myself. So, taking rest is very low on my priority list," he said, revealing as much truth as he could.

Daphne's eyes widened,

"Really?! You're actually going to be healed?!" She asked overjoyed. It could be seen that she understood just how big of a news this was.

Axel shrugged,

"Well, I wouldn't say I'm sure, but there's hope," he said dismissively.

Daphne nodded in understanding,

"Well, then I can certainly understand why you are trying so hard, even I would do the same. But," she sighed, "I might sound like my mum but you need rest as well. Take sick leave and go rest, please?" she said imploringly.

"....Fine."

Axel didn't say anything more. But instead of going to his next class, he decided to go and rest.

'So… that's what moms usually say, huh? How naggy,' he thought as he saw Daphne leave. He would never accept that he was a bit envious.

"Um... e-excuse me?"

Just as he was about to leave as well, someone's voice caused him to stop. Axel turned around to see a short boy looking at him nervously.

"What is it?" He asked the mousy boy. Axel remembered seeing him in the classes. This guy is just as much unsocial as Axel, though for different reasons.

The boy shifted uncomfortably,

"I just… I just came to warn you about the detention from Professor U-Umbridge. It can be… It can be tough," he said, rubbing the back of his hand.

Axel tilted his head,

"Oh? What did she do?" He asked. It wouldn't hurt to know before how he was going to be wasting time for his idiocy.

The boy tried to speak, but words seemed to have stuck in his throat. Looking panicked, the jittery boy fled away, leaving Axel with question marks on his head.

"...What was that about?" Muttered Axel. Shrugging, he went on his way. He wasn't particularly worried about the detentions.

…

Today was Friday and Axel was currently on his way to Umbitch's office. It was time for Axel to serve his first-ever detention at Hogwarts.

That is not to say that he was a good student, or that he didn't do anything wrong yet. It only meant that he was just that good at not getting caught.

And this time would not have been any different. But he wasn't in the right condition that day, both physically and mentally, thus getting falling unconscious. It wouldn't have been an issue had he not passed out instead of going into his alert-sleep mode as he had planned.

He would admit that it was a mistake to not rest properly despite being in a desperate situation. But the thing was, he really didn't know it could lead to such consequences since he'd always thought himself above 'normal' people who sleep on time. He was only 12, so he was allowed some 8th-grade syndrome.

Besides, no one was there to tell him that not resting could lead to such disastrous consequences. So, he can only learn these lessons on his own and not make the same mistakes again.

'Here it is,' Thought Axel as he looked at the office in front of him.

~Doloris Umbridge.

Professor D.A.D.A.

*Knock* *knock*

As he knocked on the door,

"Come in," came a sugary voice. Axel entered cautiously, looking around. Though looking around only caused him to cringe at the sight.

The surfaces had all been draped in lacy covers and cloths. There were several vases full of dried flowers, each residing on its own doily, and on one of the walls was a collection of ornamental plates, each decorated with a large Technicolored kitten wearing a different bow around its neck. These were so foul that Axel had to make an effort to not look disgusted. And on one end of the room, there were piles of papers stacked up together neatly.

"Good evening, Mr. Hunt," spoke Umbridge, causing Axel to look back at her.

"Evening," replied Axel expressionlessly, inwardly thinking if it would be a good idea to ask her to make it quick. Can he just bribe her to let him leave quickly?

Umbridge smiled,

"You know, Mr. Hunt, I've been rather keen to talk to you," she said, making Axel have a bad feeling about this detention.

"I don't understand why, Professor," said Axel, not giving out anything.

Umbridge relaxedly mixed a few spoonfuls of sugar in her tea.

"You see Mr. Hunt, you're the only person I don't know the blood status of. So, I've been waiting for you to slip up and give me the chance to give you detention. And now, I want to know whether you are a Half-blood or a Pureblood," she said, taking a sip of her tea.

Axel frowned,

"Why is that important, Professor?" He asked, but he could tell just by how she said the word 'muggleborn' that he was in trouble.

Umbridge tilted her head, still smiling,

"How is that important?" She repeated the question to emphasize her bafflement.

"It is of paramount importance, Mr. Hunt. I only give harsh detentions to muggleborns. Though sometimes Half-bloods with lowly backgrounds also have the fortune of experiencing it. Purebloods' blood...is much too precious to be spilled for a mere detention,"

"!...?"

'Harsh punishment? Blood?' Axel had goosebumps hearing that. He was already beginning to plan what actions he should take if things went south.

"Well, I'm actually a pureblood," he said simply.

"My family is quite secretive, so I've kept my background a secret. But they're very powerful," he lied without batting an eye. Anything to get this creepy woman off his back.

Umbridge did react for a moment as she put a hand on her chest. Though after that the smile came back on her face with full force, giving off a sinister vibe as she looked at him.

"You lied? Hehe…Tut-tut, that can only mean one thing, right dear?" She asked, looking as though her favorite moment had come.

"!!!"

'How did she know?!' Axel couldn't understand.

"Professor, what I said was the truth! How can you accuse me of lying?!" He asked heatedly, still not giving up the act.

But Umbridge seemed to just ignore him,

"Whatever you say, Mr. Hunt. Your punishment is to write lines. Now sit over there and start writing," she said jubilantly as she fished out a few pieces of parchment and a quill from her desk drawer.

"Uh… professor, I can't really write. My hands don't work very well," he said, showing her his trembling hands.

The toad's smile widened,

"Then that's even better, isn't it? After all, this IS supposed to be a punishment, right?" She asked with her unusually wide smile.

Axel sighed. He was now having difficulty keeping up his polite facade any longer. His hands were very sensitive ever since the torture incident, and doing anything with them hurts like a bitch.

"Punishment for what? Sleeping in a class where you weren't even teaching anything? I already know everything about first-year Defense Against the Dark Arts," he said, his politeness slipping away.

Seriously, what the fuck was wrong with this woman?! He was just minding his own business, sleeping peacefully, and she comes and gives him detention. Ok, he didn't mind and even came to the detention on time as any polite person should. But she gives him such a difficult punishment for just sleeping in the class?!

"....Tut-tut. That's no way to talk to your teacher, Mr. Hunt. Your detention has been extended by two days. Now, do your lines," she said, still maintaining that damned smile.

"You B—" Axel was about to call her exactly what she was being right now. Increasing the duration while he is struggling to even sleep in his busy schedule?!

[Occlumency]

But, he stopped himself using Occlumency as he breathed in deeply. Okay… to force him to use Occlumency, this woman had some real skill in getting under people's skin.

'It's just lines, right? Let's just get this over with,' he thought.

"What am I supposed to write?" He asked, picking up the parchment and quill and sitting down.

"Hm… let's see. How about, "I must know my place" ?" She asked pleasantly, "It would certainly help you in your future."

*Grit* *Grit*

[Occlumency]

His Occlumency worked overtime as he gritted his teeth. This annoying bitch…

"How long do I have to write them for?"

Umbridge looked at him and smiled.

"As I long as take to stick,"

'Occlumency... Occlumency…' he thought as he tried Occlumency once again. He was incredibly pissed. And if it had not been for Occlumency, he would have given this woman a piece of his mind by now. How can someone be this annoying?!

In fact, he actually had no problem writing lines as punishment. If it had been Mcgonagall, Flitwick, or any other professor who had given him this punishment, he wouldn't have minded so much.

Because those professors actually teach something in their class and he was wrong to sleep during it. But this bitch… she doesn't teach anything in the class. Just passes time. And he had seen many other students who were Purebloods sleeping peacefully in her class on multiple occasions. So why only him?! Not to mention she's so infuriating! 'I must know my place?!' Seriously? Does he need to remind this bitch of HER place?

Alright, it was decided.

'Bitch, you are officially on the shit-list now,' thought Axel as he picked up the pen with much difficulty. This was so humiliating.

"Don't forget to write your name on the column first. We don't want to get the papers mixed up, do we?" She said, pointing at the long piles of paper at the far end of the room.

And Axel realized what those piles of papers actually were: Other students' detentions.

'Whatever,' he thought as he made to write his name.

[Axel, don't write your name on it.] Came the system's prompt in red.

Axel frowned,

"Why?" He asked.

[Every paper is a binding contract that says you won't knowingly or unknowingly reveal any information on what happened in this office along with some other clauses.]

'The fuck?!' Axel actually knew how to check whether a paper is a contract or not. You just have to cut a corner and if even a small amount of light is generated, it would be a contract.

To his horror, he found out that it was true. Cursing himself for not checking, Axel decided not to write his name completely and only wrote Axe Hut. His handwriting was so messy that no one other than him would be able to tell the difference anyway.

After this, he began to write the line he had been given as quickly as possible. But….as soon as he was finished with one line—

"!!!!!" The Quill dropped out of his hand as a huge amount of pain exploded from the back of his hand. As explained, his hands were so sensitive that even doing normal work with them hurt. Whenever he moves them the damaged nerves still corrupted with dark magic still get stimulated and reproduce the pain from Cruciatus based on the amount of movement and strain his hand has been put under.

Now imagine it being stabbed into by a sharp but insufficiently sharp object and then the object is dragged along all those overly damaged nerves filled with the residual dark magic of the Cruciatus.

'WHAT THE FUCK?!' he thought as he tried not to yell out feeling a pain that reminded him of that day.

'What is this thing?!'

[The quill in your hand is called Blood Quill. It is an object of torture that is a type of quill that does not require ink, as it writes with the blood of the person using it. What the user writes will be carved onto the back of his or her hand, and the blood from the words sliced into the hand will be magically siphoned and be used as ink on the parchment.]

"This Bitch…" he muttered as he looked at the piles of papers stacked against the wall. He also recalled how that mousy boy had tried to warn him of something while he was rubbing the back of his hand. He then looked at the smiling appearance of the Bitch and realized.

'The bitch has been torturing Children for her entertainment…'

With red-hot rage bubbling inside him, Axel looked down at the words inscribed in the back of his hand—"I must know my place,"

They were etched into his skin in a very messy, barely recognizable writing. Looking at them increased his anger further as he felt something rising inside him:

Killing intent!

One similarly powerful compared to the one he felt for the man who had tortured him with Cruciatus.

This bitch... she is going to die. It has been decided.

But ironically, those words were also the ones to bring some rationality to his mind.

"I must know my place,"

...That's right, he must know his place.

He was a student with no background. Everyone knows that he is currently the only other person in her office. Once he kills or even assaults a Professor, he was doomed to be expelled from the school. Which would mean he wouldn't be able to steal the stone and heal himself.

Slowly, the desire to kill and take revenge was overpowered by the desire to be healed. To not ruin the plans he had already formed. With everything thought through, Axel finally looked at Umbridge.

*Shatter*

Umbridge flinched as her teacup fell out of her hand which had suddenly gone weak just by looking into those glowing pair of amber eyes.

Axel promised the woman her death with his eyes. Whether it is a year later or a hundred. If she dies by his hands.... he'll make sure it is painful.

Then, he left without saying a word and Umbridge, who had peed herself in fear, couldn't say or do anything to stop him.

Though even as he left, he couldn't help but wonder...

'How the hell did she know I was lying earlier?'

****

A.N.: Posted this one even before the promised time. Another coming in a few hours since it's double chapters. It's title is: The Final Day

Just gimme those POWERSTONES!!!

MC would be healed in around 4 chapters.

It's a new month! Read ahead and support me on Pàtreon!

Pàtreon.com/Snollygoster