"Where... where the hell is Hunt?!"
What the hell?!
Bagman suddenly had trouble breathing properly as he began to realize what had happened.
'Don't tell me… he's not coming?' He thought, feeling his world collapsing around him. He couldn't begin to imagine the consequences of him doing that.
'No! That can't be possible!' He denied vehemently. Hunt was called to Dumbledore's office after his last stunt of leaving the match and causing the school massive losses. How… how can he do something like that again?! Does this guy not fear even Dumbledore?!
Besides, the whole wizarding world had its eyes on Axel right now. This was the most critical time of the boy's career! His response to all the controversies related to him is really crucial, or his situation would only get worse if he runs away now.
'Then why did he leave?!' Bagman couldn't understand at all.
Actually, Ludo Bagman had made a huge mistake. He had somehow gotten in his head that Hunt reminded him of his younger self, making him think he could understand and predict Axel's every action.
But he didn't know. Axel was nothing like him. The difference in mindset of the two was like comparing a mortal trying to predict a god's actions.
"WHERE IS AXEL?!"
"WHAT THE FUCK? I SPENT FIVE TIMES THE USUAL PRICE TO GET THIS TICKET!"
"DON'T TELL ME HE'S NOT PLAYING?!"
"NO WAY! HOW CAN HE JUST RUN AWAY FROM THE WHOLE SITUATION?!"
"DOES HE NOT WANT THE CARRIER ANYMORE?!"
?!
Bagman came out of his thoughts as the crowd began to express their outrage at the situation, causing him to hurriedly turn on his mic.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, please calm down. We're trying to get a handle on the situation…" he said, trying to appease the crowd, but…
""""BOOOOOOOO!"""
"NO WAY HE CAN RUN AWAY LIKE THAT!"
"I WANT TO SEE HIM APOLOGIZE!"
"YES! BRING HIM OUT!"
'"BRING OUT HUNT!"'
'''''''BRING OUT HUNT!"'''''
''''''''''"BRING OUT HUNT!"'''''''''
The stadium was soon filled with this outcry, as everyone shouted in unity for Axel to come. They had worked hard to get these tickets, some even getting them at highly exorbitant prices from the black market. There were many people who had prior commitments of today as well which they had left as well.
And why did they do all this?
No matter what, the main reason was definitely Axel. Most of the people wanted to see his response to all the criticism he was put under. And they wanted to see him play again.
And now, not seeing him among the players playing in the match made them feel like they had been ripped off big time, causing such a reaction.
"Everyone, calm down… no need to yell…" Bagman began to sweat profusely, trying to think of what to do. But no matter how much he racked his brain, the only thing he could think of was that—he was in deep shit.
*Knock knock*
At this moment, Bagman turned his head to the knocking sound, only to be bewildered by whom he saw. It was Patricia Afonso, the Captain of the Slytherin Team entering through the door. Apparently, while everyone was looking for Hunt, the Captain had mounted her broom and flown up directly to the commentary box.
Bagman's eyes widened as he saw a way out to get the crowd under control. Patricia was Axel's captain! Of course she would know Axel's whereabouts!
"Everyone, we have Patricia Afonso, the captain of the Slytherin Team in the commentary box. Let's ask her where Axel's situation," he announced hurriedly. In his eagerness, he didn't even notice that currently, Patricia no longer looked like her usual charming confident self. There was still a smile on her face, but if you look closely, you would notice that the smile screamed bloody murder.
Ignorant of his plight, Bagman quickly put away the mic and glared at Patricia. "Where the hell is the boy?!" He demanded in a hushed voice.
Patricia didn't even bother answering Bagman's question. Instead, she just smiled.
"Mr. Bagman, I would need the mic for a moment," she said politely. But, her actions were anything but, as she directly yanked it off of Bagman's hands. With her other hand, she drew her wand and cast a petrification charm on the man before the camera could turn towards them.
"For once, keep your mouth shut and listen, you fool," she murmured faintly.
As the camera turned towards her, Patricia finally began to speak.
"Everyone, this is Patricia Afonso, the Slytherin Captain, and I am here to address all the issues related to my teammate Axel Hunt," she said into the microphone.
"Where is he?!"
"Yeah! Bring him out already!"
"Is he going to run away from all this?!"
When they saw her on the big screens, though the crowd was no longer hollering like earlier, there were still several shouts from some of the members.
Looking at these people, Patricia tried to control her anger. 'If only all these people had not been so edgy over everything and left Axel alone…'
Patricia sighed as she finally answered.
"Everyone, Axel is not coming. He has already quit Quidditch," she said, getting the satisfaction of seeing the crowd's reaction at the disastrous news she delivered.
—Silence—
Following her words, there was a moment of absolute silence, as everyone was too stunned to even make sound.
And then,
BOOM
Pandemonium started in the stadium, as everyone, even the professor stood up from their seats in surprise.
The news had hit everyone like a sledgehammer. They could understand if Axel just ignored the issue and played like usual, they could accept if Axel played even better and broke a few more records, they could even accept Axel to make another Savage Mark in the stadium just to fuck with everyone.
But… quitting the game?
They had never expected him to do something like that. He had special talent in Quidditch and he had the opportunity to reach to top and surpass even the current and all time Legends. How can he throw that all away and just quit?!
"THE FUK?"
"WHAT IN MERLIN'S VAGINA IS SHE TALKING ABOUT?!"
"HOW THE FUCK IS THAT POSSIBLE?"
"HE CAN'T QUIT! HOW CAN HE QUIT?!"
"HEY! BRING HIM BACK!"
"YEAH! WHAT KIND OF CAPTAIN ARE YOU?!"
As the noise slowly subsided, Patricia sighed again as she shook her head. "You guys don't understand him. No one does. Not even me. But, there are a few things I've come to learn about him..." she said, as she began to explain.
"Axel Hunt is a guy who likes to keep out of trouble and not attract attention, unless necessary. Even getting him to join the Slytherin team took me months!"
"He didn't want to play because he thought it would be troublesome. I had to go as far as begging to get him to play! And he had only joined saying he would quit as soon as it got annoying!" she said, her frustration leaking into her voice.
The crowd had slowly gone quieter with Patricia's every word. This... this was something completely out of their expectations. Axel... never really wanted to play Quidditch? And he would quit as soon as it got annoying?
Well, looking at the situation... they really had made it quite a bit annoying to him..
"Months! It took me months of convincing to get him to consider joining! I had to try everything I could think of! And why wouldn't I?! He had so much talent, so much potential that only I had the chance to see. I couldn't see all that talent go to waste, could I? So I tried. Persistently. Even after he had rejected me multiple times," said Patricia, with everyone's attention on the big screen where her tired and frustrated face could be seen. She was merely ranting at this point, but no one could say anything in her opposition. All they could do was listen.
"Even after he agreed to play, it wasn't easy. Everyone in school, including House Slytherin was skeptical about his skills and he refused to give any trials. So, I was the happiest person in the world when he finally played the game and showed his talent to the world!
But... as he had expected, it didn't last. He rose up too fast and shined too bright. Too many people took him for granted. Too many cursed him based on rumours, and too many judged him on every step. It got to the point that people began demanding for him to apologise and change his behaviour," she said, making the crowd feel ashamed. If they look at it from that perspective, it's no wonder he left.
"From the beginning, we already had him on borrowed time. But no one understood that. Axel never really had anything to gain from playing Quidditch. It was just something he was trying out of curiosity. And what did he get in return? Nothing. Not a single dime. People started making hundreds of thousands of galleons off of his gameplay, and everyone got to see things they never witnessed, and yet, he was offered nothing but a whole lot of unhealthy attention, having his past dug out, and getting criticized for his every action." Patricia sighed.
"It's no wonder he left the team. And now, Slytherins will have to represent Hogwarts against Mahoutokoro without him. And you all, might never see anyone with that level of skill play again, if Axel doesn't change his mind."
"To summarize, all I want to say is that Axel… is not the someone who needs Quidditch. Not anymore. But… Quidditch... needs Axel instead. That's all," she finished, looking into the camera with a firm gaze.
And yet, no one could claim that her bold words were wrong. It was indeed the case. Axel Hunt was done with Quidditch. The question was, were they done with Axel Hunt? Were they ready to give up seeing those skills? Were they ready to give up seeing the miracles he could perform so casually? The stadium was filled with a deathly silence.
"Oh, I also have a message from Axel as well in response to all the controversies going on about him. As can be expected from him, he isn't the least bit affected by all this. His words are, "The only change would be saving 180 minutes which I was going to waste in the next two matches. And as for whatever they're asking from me, I'm not apologizing for shit. Tomorrow you go and tell them to "f" off. I'm done with Quidditch. It's not worth it."
With those words, Patricia dropped the mic and walked out of the commentary box after unfreezing Bagman.
Only after she came out, she realized just what she had done. She had just ranted and dissed everyone opposing Axel on a live international broadcast. And, what was even more astonishing was… she didn't regret it at all. In fact, she felt quite refreshed right now.
She had so much frustration piled up because of what was going on with Axel, and after he left the team, she completely lost it. So, for once, she ditched all of the rules and courtesies and just did whatever she wanted, just like she had seen Axel do all the time. And it was absolutely amazing.
"Is this why he does it…?" She wondered. If it is always this thrilling and satisfying then she might also join Axel in his savage way of living.
Taking a deep breath of satisfaction, she went to play the match.
…
A.N.: Patricia understood the assignment.
POWESTONES!!!
Next: Axel Vs Mahoutokoro
Come read ahead on Pàtreon. This is an amazing arc ahead. it's also the new month!
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