HP: The Arcane Thief

Chapter 90

"So, Axel. How old are you exactly? Is it still 12 or is it 13?" She began her interrogation, looking at Axel with even more critical eyes. It was the eyes of a mother looking at her prospective Son-in-law.

Axel was stumped on the very first question. "I… don't know."

Everyone on the table paused, surprised at Axel's answer. How can you not know your own age?

"You… don't know?" At this absurd situation, Francesca couldn't draw conclusions on her own. So she asked. "Could it be that you have forgotten or…?"

Axel shook his head, "No, I've never known when I was born."

"Oh..."

Francesca's line of natural conversation that she had planned beforehand was completely broken after this answer.

"How can someone not even know their birthday?" Asked Enzo insensitively, getting a kick from Maria from under the table. (Ouch!)

Francesca continued, ignoring Enzo's question. "What about your family? Who is your guardian?" She asked the main question, hitting two birds with one stone. First, it was important to know about his family background before deciding anything and second, she wanted to know what kind of guardians he had who hadn't even told him his date of birth.

Axel almost laughed in derision. Family? Guardian? Him? Hell no. But he was once again stumped at what to say. With all eyes fixed on him, he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. Everyone other than Martina was looking at him with some sort of calculating, judging eyes, as if wondering how much he would sell for. Axel hadn't forgotten that he was currently in the house of a Mafia family. Martina was good, but the rest of her family could not be trusted. They seemed like good people but you cannot really know for sure in such a short time.

Axel coughed, "I'm sorry, but I'd rather not talk about my family," he said, trying to look apologetic. This lady here is going to fix his wand and he'd rather not disappoint her. But really, openly saying that, 'I have no one to look after me, so making me disappear will not create any waves', in front of a Mafia family is just not a wise decision.

"Yes mom, he doesn't like to talk about his past," said Martina, shooting a warning look at her mother which said, 'knock it off! She had already guessed what was going on here. Her mother was interrogating Axel!

There was a good reason why Axel doesn't talk about his past. In their second meeting, Martina had tried to read Axel's surface thoughts, but by accident, she had ended up getting glimpses of Axel's worst, most horrific memories. She had already broken down when the scar part had come, forcefully breaking the connection. With such a past, it is already a surprise he isn't going all Voldemort mode until now. Thus she has always respected Axel's boundaries, making sure not to push them. And now her mother is just insensitively asking Axel uncomfortable questions just because she has delusions of engaging the two of them? Not on her watch!

Francesca inwardly heaved a sigh. The duo's response had already broken away any possible route for her to enquire further without making Axel uncomfortable and drawing Martina's ire.

She looked a bit taken aback and apologetic. "Oh, is that so. I'm sorry if my question made you uncomfortable," she said naturally. "But whether you are 12 or 13, I'm just glad that you are getting along so well with Martina."

Alessandro nodded, "I know right? Usually, she doesn't even let us into her room.

Martina looked into her plate, not speaking. A girl needs her space, right? Her family is just clingy and overprotective. Back when they were allowed entry, at least one of them would always be in her room. If it stayed like this, then how was she supposed to do her research all the time which also involves dangerous accidents, explosions, and other risks in front of them?

"Yeah! And I haven't seen her this happy in a while," added Enzo, to which everyone agreed. The moment Martina and Axel had come out of that room, Martina had the brightest, most relaxed and genuine smile on her face. It was almost as if-

Francesca put on a serious look, "You two, I know it might be difficult to control it since you're at that age, but you need to show restraint on what you do in the bedroom. I don't want my daughter to be pregnant this early," said Francesca, dropping a bomb.

!!!!!

"What?!" (Enzo) "What the hell?" (Alessandro) There was sound of cutlery dropping.

"Cough! Coughcough!" Martina choked on the juice she had been drinking. "Mom! What are you talking about?!"

"Yeah! Was Tina doing…that?"

"My daughter is… already grown so much?" Both father and son couldn't accept it, and Axel suddenly got two piercing glares directed at him.

'Good thing I didn't reveal my background…or the lack there of,' thought Axel, as Alessandro and Enzo looked at him like he had, well, fucked their daughter and sister respectively.

Francesca rolled her eyes, "Oh come on! What might the two of you be doing if not making out, with your clothes and hair in a mess and your face practically glowing?" She asked in exasperation.

"T-That was because we were… we were…" testing out dangerous magical weapons and blowing off one dummy after another? No way she could say that. "Playing," She finished lamely. The reason why she was so happy was that, with Axel, she didn't need to hide anything. She was able to finally freely show someone the things she had been working on her entire life, and he liked it! How could she not be happy? Sadly, she couldn't explain all this to her parents, resulting in her lame response just now.

"You were… playing…" repeated her mother in understanding. Martina never played. Even as a child.

"...Yeah, we were playing" Martina didn't sound convincing even to herself, let alone her parents. She realized that she might have further solidified their suspicions instead, as her father and brother were now looking positively murderous.

She quickly changed the subject. "Why didn't you guys tell me that we've gotten into trouble with the Mikhailovs? I could have helped!"

That managed to divert everyone's attention as they looked at Martina in surprise. "How do you know about that?"

"Yeah, who told you that they're coming tomorrow?"

Martina's suspicions were confirmed. "So, they really ARE coming?!" She had only known that there was some trouble related to Mikhailovs. But them coming over? For tomorrow's party? It's much worse. "Why? Will that guy Maksmilian also be coming?"

Her family exchanged glances. Maksmilian Mikhailov, the future heir of Mikhailov family, was the most arrogant, cruel, and insufferable guy they had seen. And incidentally, he also happened to be the guy whose marriage proposal had come from the Mikhailov family to the Valentinos.

The discussion shifted towards the Mikhailovs as Martina's father and brother were successfully distracted, letting Axel have his dinner in peace by just lowering his presence a little.

"Mom, when will you fix Axel's wand? It's really inconvenient for him," said Martina to her mother after everyone was finished eating.

"Oh, that," Francesca nodded in acknowledgement as she sighed, "I haven't forgotten about that, but currently, I'm swamped. It's been very hectic lately. There's a party tomorrow, and there are some other problems as well," she said, casting an apologetic look at Axel. "I'm sorry, young man. Repairing a wand is a delicate work that can take hours to days to get done. I'll try to do it as soon as I can."

"I understand," Axel would be lying to say he wasn't disappointed. But he really couldn't blame her. She was already doing a huge favor to him by even agreeing to do it.

"But," she said, putting her cutlery down and putting a sanitizing spell on her hands, even though they were pristine. "I can see examine wand right now and tell you how long it'll take to repair it." She said, holding out her hand.

Axel's wand suddenly appeared in his hand, as he handed it to her. He had forgotten to tone it down, drawing raised eyebrows from around the table due to his quick draw. If he attacks someone like that, wouldn't they not even have time to draw their own wands?

Taking the wand, Francesca examined it closely but her eyes widened immediately. "By gods, how did it even get like this?" She asked, looking up at Axel in surprise. "Were you the one who cast this spell?"

"What's wrong dear?" Asked Alessandro.

"Did he cast an illegal spell?" Asked Enzo excitedly.

Francesca's eyes went back to the wand, "I can't be sure since I don't know the wand's endurance, but the spell which did this… it had enough power to take down even a dragon," she said, surprising everyone.

Axel didn't bother answering her, "Can it be repaired?" He instead asked the main question.

Francesca gave Axel a deep look, as if looking at him for the first time. The spell was most likely cast by none other than the boy in front of her. With the bond she was sensing, no one else could have used that wand. Her evaluation of Axel was raised. To be able to cast such a spell at his age… he's certainly now ordinary.

But then again, he's Martina's friend, of course he couldn't have been simple. It is even more impressive that the boy is capable of so much and yet the thing he's actually known for is Quidditch, something harmless and non-threatening. He's hidden himself very well.

She nodded, coming out of her thoughts. "Don't worry, it can be repaired. I would just need time." she said reassuringly.

Axel felt like he could suddenly breathe again as the load on his chest lightened a little. "Thanks. I'll owe you for this," he said, though no one other than Martina truly knew the value of this favor.

...

The next morning, it was Christmas.

Early in the morning, Axel woke up in the extremely luxurious guest bedroom of the Valentinos. The bed was quite comfortable, and the room was spacious enough for him to exercise and train so he was very satisfied. He did his exercises and took a bath in the swimming pool-like bathroom.

'Am I forgetting something?' He wondered. He had a feeling that he was. 'Must be nothing, I even removed the owl post restriction,' he thought. He had removed the magic that had been blocking the owl posts so that he could receive the few gifts he was going to get from the few people he had managed to know in the last two years.

As he left the room, he didn't notice the fact that his Magi-mirror, which he had forgotten to remove from silent mode, had been ringing for a while.

When he came downstairs, he thought as if he had taken the wrong route, as the manor looked quite different with all the Christmas decorations.

In the spacious living room, there was a giant Christmas tree, finely decorated with everything decoration baubles, Christmas Lights, Stockings, Wreaths, Tree skirts, Garlands, Tinsels, you name it. Axel had never seen a Christmas tree this big. And under that tree were the gifts. Hundreds upon hundreds of them. Axel had never seen so many gifts either. Since he got delayed due to his exercise, the family was already there.

Martina was the first person he saw. Aside from her purple skirt, she was also wearing a santa hat, and long red socks on the occasion. She was currently sitting on the ground, with her presents opening around her by her magic.

The rest of the family was also there. Alessandro sat in his pyjamas between a pile of different types of gifts, opening them one by one with his wand while Francesca sat on chair with a pen and note book floating by her side, noting down who gave which present, her hair tied in a messy bun until her usual uptight appearance. Enzo and Maria sat with a pile of their own, as Enzo opened the gifts with his knife.

It was quite a peaceful harmonious scene, one which Axel didn't feel himself adequate to witness, let alone interrupt. He wanted to return to his room and come back later, but Martina spotted him before he could leave. "Oh you're awake? Merry Christmas!" she said, turning her attention away from the gifts she had been opening. "Come fast! You have a lot of gifts to open!" She said, beckoning him excitedly. The rest of the family, who had seen him by now, also welcomed him warmly, giving him Christmas greetings.

As Axel looked at his pile under the tree, he doubted his eyes. "Are those..?"

Martina nodded, looking at the Hundreds of gifts and letters he had received. "Yep, everything that is addressed to us has been passed down to the wards and stored here in different piles. The harmful ones have already been removed so you can open them.

"..." Axel randomly picked one.

"Dear Axel,

Merry Christmas! I'm your biggest fan. let me have your babies!

Love

Xxxxx xxxx"

"What the heck?" Sifted through at the pile and found that a lot of letters were like that. But, he suddenly ignored everything as he found the gift he had been unconsciously looking for.

"From Daphne Greengrass." It was a neatly wrapped box with a ribbon on top. Opening it, he found a Letter, a card, a rolled up piece of paper and a strange box. He first opened the letter.

"Dear Axel,

Meeting you has been the best thing that has ever happened to me, or my family. Thankyou for being you. Here are gifts from me and my family.

There's a gift card that we didn't have much use for from my mother. You can order any ingredient from BigOwl for free for a year. The rolled up piece of paper is a drawing Astoria made for you, and lastly, the strange box is from me. It has some wood that's been lying in our family treasury forever. It has quite powerful magical properties. It's been used for wand making in the past but then the method was lost, so it's just been lying for centuries. Ask Mrs Valentino if she can use it in your wand. They are, after all, the best at Wandlore. Hope your wand is successfully repaired.

So, these are the gifts. If they seem excessive or annoying, please just take it as us being bothersome. You've already given us a lot. The only thing we want in return is that you remember us.

Love

Daphne

P.S.: Can you be back by New Year? Please drop by if you can, we had something planned for you.

He had just closed the letter when Francesca and Alessandro came over. "Axel, here's a small gift from us," she said, passing him a delicate wooden box.

Axel was surprised. "You don't need to. Helping me out with my wand is already too much," he said, trying to decline. But the Valentinos wouldn't have it.

"Just take it already, boy. It's for Martina," said Alessandro. He still seemed a bit gloomy after last night's misunderstanding.

Axel thought it would be better to just accept it, lest this Mafia boss flips out. Francesca opened the box as she offered it to him, and inside was a beautiful wand which had a "V" engraved on it. "This?" He asked in confusion, picking up the wand.

"It's a substitute wand. You can't just rely on one wand. It'll also prove to be useful till I repair your original wand. Put a drop of your blood on it," Francesca told him.

"Thanks. It's a welcome present," said Axel as he did as he was told, dripping some of his blood onto the wand. The result was immediate. He felt a click, signifying that the connection had been established, and a powerful shockwave erupted from it, blowing back everyone's hair as Axel's eyes widened from the power he felt.

!!!!

'What the...'

Axel could feel that this wand was different. Not in terms of bond, but in terms of power.

"This wand…" he began, completely taken aback. He had been expecting just some ordinary wand, something you can get for quite cheap at Olivanders. But this thing… "It's quite…"

"Powerful?" Asked Francesca understandingly. "It is. I especially handpicked it from amongst our finest collections, after considering what would be the best fit for you. It's 12 inches, the wood made from the Manna Ash tree, exclusive to Italy, and a hybrid core made using our family secrets. There is no trace, and the Valentino crest, that grants you special privileges in 10 magical countries including Britain. But, your original wand will be even better," She said, casting a glance at Martina.

The girl was going all out for the boy's wand. Even Francesca couldn't understand why. What mag ical had the boy cast on her daughter to make her fall so deep? She just hoped that this will all be worth it. "It should be a good substitute while I'm fixing your original wand."

"It IS a great wand," said Axel in agreement, waving the wand experimentally, "But, I don't think I can accept it. It's too precious, and you're already doing a lot for me," he said, offering it back with much reluctance. It really was a great wand and it was certainly a much, much better alternative to Cyrus Greengrass's wand that he was using right now. The power alone was astonishing. Axel was sure it wouldn't be damaged by even the 30xElectrica Impulsa, unlike his original wand. But he couldn't really accept it. It's not a good thing to owe a Mafia family. He had no choice in the case of his precious Cherub wand, but in this, he had a choice.

Francesca shook her head, refusing to take it back. "It's already bonded to you, Axel. And it won't work for others once it's bonded to someone, just like most Valentino weapons. Just accept it, it's useless to anyone else now." she told him matter of factly.

"... Alright." Axel sighed. So there was no choice after all. "I'll take it. Thank You very much, Mrs. Valentino. I owe you another favor. Please let me know if you need anything," he said, once again giving out a favor they didn't know the value of.

"Will do." Francesca nodded perfunctorily, but then she smiled, "Actually, there is something you can do."

"What is it?"

"Come to the Christmas party tomorrow. Martina could use some company."

Axel sighed. Again, no choice, right? There's no way to reject this invitation without coming out as a complete asshole. "Alright, I'll be there." He said with reluctance. He just hoped it would pass peacefully.

…

A.N.: Peacefully? Does that even exist?

Next: Christmas Party

Next next: Christmas Party Gone wrong, New enemies, the Mikhailovs

Next....next: Angry Axel: Going Super Savage defending Martina

Next.....next: A Massacre

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