Harry Potter: The Arcane Thief (Litrpg)

Chapter 46: The Revelation

"Rose Potter... the daughter of that Mudblood... we finally meet..." said the voice.

Rose and Daphne, who were only expecting Umbridge or Snape, were understandably taken aback upon coming across a ghost-like creepy existence.

"What the fuck are you?" Asked Daphne and Rose also wanted to know the same.

"YOU!"

Umbridge pointed her wand at Daphne and Daphne's legs gave away as she fell to her knee.

"Foolish girl! You don't know who you're talking to!" She yelled with a deranged expression. You have to thank Daphne's lucky stars for being a Pureblood or she'd have eaten a crucio by now.

"You are in the presence of the most powerful Dark Lord of all time, Lord Voldemort! Show some respect!"

"?!" X3

Axel paused in his actions as he looked back at the snake-faced existence in shock after listening to Umbridge. This is Voldemort?! How?! Wasn't that guy supposed to be in the Netherworld?

'System?'

[He is indeed Lord Voldemort. As explained, he has his means of influencing the world.]

'Fuck...' Axel cursed. As if this wasn't difficult enough.

Rose also shook her head in denial,

"Voldemort is dead! I vanquished him a decade ago!" She declared, examining the ghost-like existence in front of her. How could he be Voldemort?

Voldemort cackled, looking amused.

"Don't be delusional, girl. Lord Voldemort is very much alive! And you had no hand in anything that happened a decade ago, it was all 'that woman's' doing! Oh, how I wish I could torture her!" He said, spitting out the last part with venom in his voice.

Rose couldn't understand what was happening,

"W-What the hell—" she began, but Daphne had heard enough.

"Expelliarmus!" She yelled, pointing her wand at Umbridge. She was here for the stone and she was going to get it.

Axel, who was tinkering with the mirror, trying to get the stone out cursed under his breath. Can this girl not court death for a moment and let him steal in peace?

The spell did hit Umbridge, but it hit her cloak and fizzled out, having no effect. Following her lead, Rose also tried to fire her spells, but to no avail.

"Hehe, that was cute, dear," said Umbridge, after which, she pointed her wand at the girls.

"Tenebris Ligare!" Two dark ropes got conjured as they snaked towards Rose and Daphne. The girls tried to avoid, even tried firing spells at it but it was all in vain as they soon got tied up.

She then proceeded to fire two disarming spells at them, making their wands fly out of their reach.

"That should do for now," she said before turning her attention to the mirror.

She came to stand in front of it and tried moving it in order to store it, but it wouldn't budge. Axel didn't do anything since he had already tried storing it to no avail.

"Of course, it couldn't have been that easy," she murmured, "What shall I do, master?"

""Try using the Potter girl,"" came Voldemort's voice, ""It will show her something different.""

Umbridge did as she was told and Rose, who was still bound by the ropes, found herself being hauled to face the mirror when Umbridge pointed her wand at her.

"Look into the Mirror!" Umbridge ordered as she all but shoved Rose's face in front of the mirror.

Rose looked into the mirror and her eyes widened just a fraction, letting Axel deduce that it actually worked.

"What do you see?!" Demanded Umbridge, not quite sure if Rose got anything.

But Axel already could tell by noticing Rose's minute reactions that something was up.

[Arcane Eyes]

Having no choice, he once again used Arcane Eyes and suffered the headache. But... It was worth it! Just as he'd expected, there it was! A Glowing mass of energy, bright enough to make him close his due to glare, just lying in the pocket of her robes.

But even after getting the stone, Rose feigned ignorance,

"I… I see that I'm the Quidditch Captain… I have the Philosopher's Stone in my hand… there's a certain annoying boy prostrating in front of me, acknowledging my superiority…"

""Lies! She's lying! Lord Voldemort knows...he always knows..."" Exclaimed the ghost-like apparition and Axel's eyes widened as he realized how this Umbitch knew he was lying when he told her he was a Pureblood.

Umbridge waved her wand and Rose's head got banged onto the mirror,

"Tell me now! Or you'll be in for a world of pain, girl!" She yelled, pointing her wand at her.

Rose shook her head, remaining stubborn through the pain.

"Tell me now, Rose. And I can consider giving you and your mother an easy death," said Voldemort in a sinister tone. He didn't seem much bothered at Rose's futile resistance.

Rose paused in her struggles as she comprehended Voldemort's words.

'Didn't he already kill her mother?'

"What... did you mean by that?!" She asked.

Axel, on the other hand, couldn't care less about these things. His eyes were focused on the pocket of Rose's robes, where the most valuable treasure was hidden.

He looked down at his hand which wasn't stable at all. Nowhere near good enough to be able to take the stone while Rose is still on guard.

Voldemort chuckled at Rose's cluelessness.

""You don't know anything, do you? You're not as bright as your mother, Rose Potter,"" he said in amusement.

While Voldemort was amusing himself, Axel had already made up his decision. Even with these crippled hands, it's not that difficult for him to get the stone.

"Electrica Impulsa!" x5

He charged his Electrical Zap five times in very quick succession, generating a massive amount of charge begging to be unleashed.

Right after which, he stuck it into Umbridge, right into the exposed area around her neck.

"!"

Overwhelmed with agony, Umbridge screams like a dying pig, distracting not only Rose, but everyone else in the room as well. Though she wasn't the only one who screamed. The cloak which was wrapped around her also somehow produced a sound as it left her body and escaped.

"This was for the torture, you bitch!" Muttered Axel even though no one could hear him through [Soundless] as he quickly extracted the stone from Rose's pocket while she was distracted.

The stone, after being in physical contact with him, got cloaked in the invisibility magic through [True Invisibility] and Axel quickly pocketed it still not quite believing he had actually gotten the stone.

'Finally, I can be healed…I can be healed... I can be healed...' he thought repeatedly in disbelief.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" On the other hand, Voldemort grew enraged at Rose, thinking it was her who did this while playing dumb. Not wasting any more time, he plunged straight into Rose's head, trying to burrow into her mind to find out the location of the stone.

"Rose!" Screamed Daphne who was still bound and Axel also thought that Rose Potter was done for, but…

SNAP*

"What?!" Came Voldemort's shocked voice.

As soon as Voldemort tried to touch Rose, her eyes went pitch black as a vortex of dark magic began swirling around her. And then,

BOOM*

An explosion happened with Rose at the center while Axel got thrown off as he defended the stone with his life.

Black lightning crackled as a deep cut appeared in space, which sucked Voldemort straight into it.

Umbridge, who had Voldemort's Locket around her neck also started to get dragged into the crack.

"No, you don't, bitch!" Exclaimed Axel who made to stop her. One little shock was not nearly enough to satisfy his revenge.

"Aaah!" But at this moment, a scream sounded, making him turn immediately before he knew who the screamer was. He saw that the cloak which had been wrapped around Umbridge had now its tentacles out as it captured Daphne.

It didn't even take a second for Axel's mind to deduce what was more important: Killing Umbridge, of course.

There's no telling whether that bitch would be dead or alive after going through that hole and there's no telling how many she'll torture if she's alive. While Daphne could be saved even a few seconds later, right?

But… even before he had made his decision, his body was already moving towards Daphne.

Daphne, who was already bound, was trying to back away but the creature already had its tentacles wrapped around her.

Axel already knew the creature could absorb normal spells and he didn't trust his aim enough to not accidentally hit Daphne. Thus, he got in close range and began cutting it with the Valentino knife, making blue streaks of light with it as he cut through the tentacles.

But… the knife strikes he delivered using the system's magic skill, went right through it, giving no damage at all!

"Expecto Patronum!" A familiar voice came from behind him and Axel saw a huge Owl, swooping down, helping him tear off the cloak-like creature using its talons.

Though, unlike Axel's knife, the creature seemed to be affected by the Patronus.

'That's it! Light magic!' He realized.

Znnnnn*

His knife got ignited with intense golden light which soon cut through the creature with an audible sizzle.

"!"

The creature shrieked in terrible pain as it quickly let go of Daphne and tried to run.

"Not you too!" Muttered Axel as he did a series of slashes, all leaving burning golden trails on the dark cloak of the creature. By the time Axel was done with it, the creature had already dissipated.

Done with his business, Axel looked around the room, this time with Arcane Eyes. The crack was gone, and so were Voldemort and Umbridge. But that's not what he was looking for. Other than himself, Rose, and Daphne, there were not one, but two other presences in the chamber. And Axel could tell who exactly they were.

Not wasting any time, with the Philosopher's Stone still in his possession, he left the room after making sure Daphne was okay.

…

As soon as he had returned to the safety of his room, the quest window popped up.

[Special Quest Completed!]

[Get the Elixir of Life:

Elixir of Life, also known as the Elixir of Immortality, is a substance that can extend a person's life indefinitely as long as they keep consuming it regularly. It can only be created through a Philosopher's Stone. You need to get the Elixir of Life in order to complete the recipe.

Rewards:

•Elixir of Life

•3% approval

•Special Skill: Light Armor

•Further Information of Nether Dimension]

Axel frowned as new information got installed in his head. He didn't have time for this. Ignoring the critical information, he first took out all the potion tools and ingredients from his pouch with the urgency of a drug addict.

After giving it some thought, he had decided to make the Potions by himself instead of taking someone's help. The materials were too precious and too much was at stake that he wasn't willing to trust anyone.

"System, How do I extract the Immortal Elixir?" He demanded.

[You just have to melt the stone. It would be more than enough for making the Potion before it's finished.]

Axel frowned,

"Melt it? Finished? I don't understand... Shouldn't I have like, an unlimited amount?"

[It would have been unlimited if the stone was real. The one in your hand is just a copy made up of the Elixir of Life.]

The system unceremoniously dropped a bomb on him.

"...?..."

"What the fuck?! This is not real?! Then where the fuck is the real stone?! I thought the mission was complete?!" He fired rapidly.

[The real Stone is hidden under a Fidelius Charm somewhere so its location can't be disclosed. As for the mission, you only needed the Elixir of Life whose location system was disclosed to you and you have obtained it in sufficient quantity. Hence the mission is completed.]

"..."

Axel sat down in shock as he realized that system was indeed right. He was supposed to get the Elixir of Life and the System also gave the location of the Elixir of Life. It was his stupid ass that assumed that he'd only get the Elixer of Life directly from the Philosopher's Stone instead of finding the already extracted Elixer of Life.

But, wouldn't that mean the Stone was Fake all along?! No wonder the defenses were so lame.

Looking at it from another perspective, it's probably a good thing that it's fake though. After all, who knows what kind of traps that old man would set if he got serious?

Axel sighed.

So… his plans of being the richest man in the world will have to be postponed. Big deal. BUT! He's still going to be healed! And that's what matters the most!

He'll become a rich immortal some other day. It's not like the Philosopher's Stone is going to be destroyed. Just like how no one was stupid enough to put the real stone under such low security, no one would be stupid enough to destroy it, right?

Not really minding the small setback, Axel focused on the more pressing matter first. Yes, he was going to make the potion on his own, but he's not stupid enough to make it using his clumsy-as-fuck hands.

He has other methods to do that.

"Oppugno Totalis," he murmured just like he had practiced a hundred times using fake ingredients, the potion and tools began to move on their own under Axel's practiced control.

As he's already claimed, if given enough time, there's nothing he can't do even when crippled.

That's why he going to be healed and he DESERVES it!

…

After taking Miss Potter and Miss Greengrass to the Hospital wing, Albus Dumbledore sat in his office as he pondered on tonight's events.

"Extraordinary… indeed extraordinary," he murmured in amazement.

Lily Potter has truly outdone herself this time.

"To think she actually succeeded in anchoring the protection magic to the Dark Realm…"

But… that means his suspicions had been correct and his fears have come true. Tom was truly sucked into the NetherWorld, and with Tom's affinity, it can only be called adding oil to the already blazing flames.

That would mean that he'll now come after Rose with everything he's got. Because… After the loss of keys, Rose will be his only way back into this world world.

Unlike any other, Dumbledore could understand what happened today quite clearly. Because he knew what had happened a decade ago on that Halloween night.

Lily had been researching the Dark Dimension, also called the Nether dimension at the time. When Voldemort came for Rose as they had expected, Lily was prepared.

She made a Ritual, granting Rose protection against Voldemort.

When Dumbledore had rushed there and did find Lily's body in the wreckage, he had assumed that she sacrificed herself to power the Ritual.

But no... After further research, he had found that wasn't the case. To power the Ritual, she had used the energy from the Nether Dimension! And when Voldemort attacked Rose, he was caught totally off-guard as the Dark energy lashed back at him, almost destroying him. A rift opened and he got pulled in, transferred to the Dark Dimension.

But...he didn't go alone. Lily was somehow dragged in as well. Leaving Rose with a scar on her forehead where the Killing curse had hit.

"Genius... Pure genius," praised Dumbledore.

Putting the matter aside, Miss Valentino is yet another witch who has managed to surprise his old bones.

"To save Miss Greengrass by performing a Patronus and then killing a Lethifold, an amortal creature… all at the age of 14..."

Dumbledore sighed as he popped a lemon drop in his mouth.

Yes, new generations indeed surpass the old. First Lily and now Miss Valentino.

He just hoped Lily was doing fine in the Dark Dimension. . .

---

Next Chapter Title: HEALED!