HP: The Arcane Thief

*ring*

The chime echoed in the silent room, sounding louder than it should.

Theron frowned. "Hey Nerio, can you shut that thing? It's annoying."

But Nerio didn't register Theron's words at all. His attention was focused on Axel, whose face had shown some new emotions for the first time.

Nerio stood up. "What was that?!" He asked, pointing at Axel with a triumphant look.

"What was what?"

"That reaction. As soon as the sound came, you reacted."

Axel shrugged. "Well, you might want to consider the existence of a deadly venom inside my body that you guys so kindly administered. I'm really sorry if I react even a little bit to that," he said sarcastically.

"Fuck, I totally forgot about that! How are you not dead right now?!" Asked Theron in shock. The victims would be long dead by this time. He couldn't wrap his head around how Axel was still alive without the antidote.

"Shut up, Theron. This monster can somehow detoxify the poison," he said, rummaging through Axel's space pouch. He fished out Axel's magi-mirror which was still ringing and chuckled. He glanced at the screen. "Daphne. So, it's that girl, huh? I thought you had already left her."

There were a few girls with whom Axel seemed close with. One of them was a girl named Daphne Greengrass. Nerio had neglected her since it seemed that she wasn't very close with Axel anymore.

Axel seemed impressed. "You've done your research, huh? Are you a fan? If not then it's a very suspicious thing to do," he said, giving Nerio a dubious look.

Nerio chuckled. "You're really good at controlling your emotions. But just when the bell rang, I saw it." It was quite a brief moment, but with his glasses, he was able to see it.

What was that emotion? It was primarily worry, mixed with annoyance and... apprehension.

"Let's see what you've got."

He connected Axel's magi-mirror with his screen and he was able to access everything on it. "Wow, you have a lot of missed calls. We didn't hear any of them. Why is it that only this girl's call actually rang?"

'Well, shit,' thought Axel. After not picking up her calls last Christmas, Axel had come to find the hard way that it's better not to ignore Daphne's calls, lest something like that happens again. At least until he finds a cure to her curse.

That's why he had set it so that even when on silent mode, his magi-mirror would at least chime when Daphne contacts him. He could only blame his shitty luck again that her call just happened to arrive only at this moment.

Axel sighed. He was busted.

Nerio quickly found out that Daphne Greengrass was much more than just any friend. "Wow, Theron, look at this," he said, as if he'd found gold.

There were Hundreds of calls, and even more messages. He opened the message history and read the latest messages.

Daphne:

-Hanging out with Luna, Hermione and Rose.

-Rose won't stop bitching about the other day.

-I got away from my previous friends because they were all drooling after you, but this isn't any better ????

Below was a selfie of Daphne, along with Hermione, who had her head buried in her book, Luna who was looking at the camera with a dreamy look, and Rose was pouting her lips, though not for posing, but out of annoyance.

[Yesterday]

Daphne:

-Today has been another weird day.

-Woke up to find that the plants in my room had another explosive growth.

-Contacted mum.

-Said I must be growing up. Now what the hell does that mean?

-Anyways, when are we meeting again? I need some more advice with training.

You:

-Wait for a few more days, I'm busy.

Daphne:

-????

A few days earlier

Daphne:

-Don't wanna eat the diet. It's yuck (⁠T⁠T⁠)>⁠.⁠<

Axel:

-Eat it.

Daphne:

Can't. Give me a cheat day. How do you eat this stuff everyday?*⁠⁠0⁠/⁠*

Axel:

It makes me strong.

Daphne:

How do I look? Mom sent this dress for the Celebration Party that will be held at the end of the year. (⁠◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍⁠)

[Pic shy Daphne in a black sleeveless dress]

Axel:

There's a party?

Daphne:

…. Why am I not surprised you don't know.

Nerio scrolled further, to the start of the messages.

Daphne:

Is it okay if I start messaging you? It might sound weird but I feel something missing without talking to you.

Axel:

It's alright. We used to talk a lot before you lost your memories. But then your mum had to delete the messages since you'd feel pain whenever you tried to remember me.

Nerio slowly looked up from the screen, a shit eating grin coming to his face. This was it. This was jackpot! He was so happy he could dance right now!

Theron laughed sinisterly, also reading the messages."So, you've got a girlfriend, huh? She really seems to love you."

60%

Axel didn't say anything. His eyes were closed and he was concentrating like usual. But now, there was a sense of urgency on his face.

Nerio slapped Theron's head. "You tin box, is that all you read? There's much more important things hidden here," he said, going through the chats again.

He looked at Axel. "From what I can gather, you've been teaching her, right? And there's something about a special diet too. 'It makes me strong' you've written." He read. There was so much information here! A special diet, this could definitely explain some of his freakishness. And the training. It must be how he got so skilled. And if he's training the girl as well, then it must mean…

"You really care about this girl, huh?"

66%

Theron whistled, looking at Daphne's photo. "I totally understand why. Just look at her! Do girls in Britain mature quickly? I can't believe she's only 13."

78%

Nerio nodded, "We had a similar surprise when we first saw you, Axel. The two of you look much older and mature for your age. Is it because of the 'diet' and 'training' you mentioned?"

*Cling*

At this moment, Axel's magi-mirror chimed again.

"Oh, looks like there's another message from her," said Nerio, looking at the screen that was now beginning to be covered with water do to the sheer humidity in the room.

Daphne:

-Hey, you didn't pick up your call. Are you alright? The minister of Magic came to see you, but you couldn't be found anywhere. You've been declared missing. There has been a school wide search for you. I know I shouldn't bother you, but a month ago you said there's an organisation called the Kraken that will come for you, and now you've vanished. That's why I'm getting really worried. If you're alright please reply.

-Oh! You've seen my messages!

-Thank Merlin!

-Are you alright?!

"What the—" Nerio's eyebrows rose up in an odd sense of bewilderment. Something was wrong with what he just read.

"Haha," Theron didn't notice. "She's asking if you're alright. Shouldn't we send her a picture of you right now? All beaten and bloody. I bet she'll be reassured. Let's tell her to come out of the ward if she wants to see you alive."

"Theron, shut up for a moment," there was something that Nerio couldn't understand at all. "You," He said, dropping the Magi-mirror, focusing only on Axel. "You told her about our arrival a month ago. How the hell is that possible?!" Nerio couldn't understand how that was possible.

Axel still did not react. "You both are dead very soon," that's all he said.

"A direct threat. You are getting agitated," said Nerio. He wasn't much fazed if Axel didn't answer right away. Since they now had his weakness, it was only a matter of time before he cracks and tells them everything.

Theron laughed. "What do you say, brat. Shall we go and pick up your girlfriend? She's rather pretty. It'd be a pity to ruin that cute face."

82%

Axel sighed. "I shouldn't be bothered by dead people's talk."

Nerio raised his eyebrows. "Oh? And how would you kill us? Just look at yourself. One of your hands is cut off, you have lost a lot of blood, you got attacked by the most powerful being in the world and survived, so you have no physical and magical strength to speak of."

"You are currently bound by the chains made from Neptunium. They're unbreakable and they're restricting your magic. And even if you break through somehow, you shouldn't forget how strong we are. You haven't seen our full power yet."

Axel stopped reacting.

"How do you think Daphne will react to the Tormentacle?" Asked Nerio, trying to get a response.

Theron laughed. "You might be immune, but I bet she's not."

85%...86%...87%

"It'd be pretty easy to kidnap her. I just have to message her using your Magi-mirror. I bet she'll come running," said Nerio, fidgeting with Axel's Magi-mirror. "We'll call her to a remote location, open a portal, and bring her in. Won't even take 5 minutes."

87... 88 ... 89%

"It's good that you didn't tell us your secrets. Now I get to torture her," said Theron gleefully. "She'll pay for your smart-assness."

93... 94... 95... 96… 97… 98%

Nerio suddenly noticed that everything was appearing blurry in the room.

???

He wiped his sweat and realized that it was due to the vapour present in the air. With his glasses he realized that it all seemed to be converging around Axel.

"Wait… It's you, isn't it? What are you doing?!"

Something was incredibly wrong here, and Nerio could feel the hair on the back of his neck stand.

Axel's eyes were still closed in concentration, but the corner of his mouth lifted a bit. "Well, I've been fishing."

100%

The atmosphere in the room suddenly shifted. The humidity reached a level where it was difficult for them to breathe.

Theron wiped his sweat. "Why is it so sweaty?" He panted.

Meanwhile, alarm bells rang in Nerio's mind. But before he could do something.

*Shin*

!!!

Suddenly, both of Nerio's arms fell to the ground, along with his Relic. It was only then did Nerio notice the blades of water hovering in the air.

"Seventh!" Exclaimed Theron, alarmed by the sudden development.

Nerio fell to the ground in agony as Theron rushed to help him.

"Don't move!" Theron said. Losing both arms is a precarious situation. Nerio would die of bloodloss if Theron didn't help him. That's why, he couldn't do anything about Axel, who was leisurely sitting on the chair. But inwardly, he swore he was going to end the bastard's life. He might have

gotten Nerio, but Theron is invincible.

Axel finally opened his eyes. They were glowing blue.

"Didn't I say, you'll both be dead soon," he said, moving his hands to the chains which were binding him. "Well, the process starts now."

"H-How…?!" Meanwhile, even in the excruciating pain, Nerio's primary emotion was confusion. Everything was in their favour. He'd made sure of that. Axel shouldn't even be able to use magic while bound by those chains. And even if he somehow could, there's no way he could have recovered his magic so fast after the severe drain he went through earlier.

Then, how the hell did he end up losing his hands?!

*Clang*

At this moment, the Neptunium chains, which he was so confident in, fell to the ground, freeing Axel. But Axel remained sitting on the chair. Only this time, he gave off an air of royalty, rather than a prisoner as he looked at the two Kraken overseers, both of who were on the ground.

"How, you ask?" Axel smirked, tilting his head as it rested on his hand. "Simple, I'm not using my own magic. I'm using external power," he explained.

"It's something I picked up from Voldemort," he said in amusement.

That's right. The magic he had just used. It manifested through his extreme affinity with water. Until now, he had been using his water affinity with his own magic. But Voldemort didn't need to do that for his Darkness. That's why he was able to wield such tremendous power through Lockhart's body.

Well, if that noseless bastard can do it, why can't he?

"It was quite difficult though."

He had been struggling to make a proper connection with the water in the surroundings. He couldn't afford to half ass it, since he was dead if he failed. But he couldn't even properly try with Nerio observing him with those glasses. That's why he said those glasses were annoying. He had to summon water, but he couldn't, otherwise Nerio would see it and shoot him.

"The rise in humidity... you didn't notice anything odd about it, did you?" Asked Axel, causing Nerio's eyes to widen in realisation.

Since he couldn't directly bring the water into the room, he summoned it in vapor form little by little, gradually increasing the humidity of the room.

'Damn it, he got us... No, he had us since the very beginning,' Nerio realized. Axel had been planning his escape since the very beginning. All this while, he was only stalling for time. He was just playing with them.

Now that he looked at Axel again, he felt it. How could he have missed it until now? This overwhelming sense of danger. It's like—

'The First...'

It was an overwhelming danger, the likes of which he had only felt from one person. But how?! He has no relics, and he's only 13!

Now there was only one thing he couldn't understand. "Y-You... How did you... manage to control water?"