HP: The Arcane Thief-Novel

"Honey, we could just go to Hogsmeade if you want. We don't have to watch the match," said Evelyn to Daphne as they sat in the VIP box. She was just gauging her reaction.

Daphne shook her head at her mother's answer. "No, I think I'll watch this one. I want to see how Slytherin fares." she said casually, though Astoria and Evelyn exchanged knowing glances.

"Why?" Asked Astoria playfully. "Are you scared Ravenclaw would be beaten the same way as Gryffindor?"

Daphne scoffed. "Our house team isn't as stupid as others. They've already come up with various counter measures."

*Cheers*

At this moment, the crowd began hollering as the players arrived into the pitch.

Daphne looked at the guy who had just arrived in like he owned the stadium. With the broom in his hand and dressed in his Quidditch gear, he walked in like he owned the field.

'Arrogant.' she thought while making a face, as she heard the audience reaction intensify at his entry. It didn't go past her notice that the majority of the audience cheering for him were females. She had seen many players like him, and she doesn't like any of them. Putting their heads into the sky because they are a little good. She has yet to see anyone who truly has enough skills to back it up.

When the recap began, Daphne winced in pain, as her mind once again tried to recall the past, giving her an intense sense of loss. She had to intensify her Occlumency in order to stop her mind from trying to think of the past.

"Daphi?!"

"Honey, are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Daphne waved off their concern. Whoever taught this to her, her occlumency was increasing at a dramatic rate due to them.

'Looks like she's better now.' Evelyn sighed in relief, a small smile coming to her face. In the beginning, her pain would start whenever anything remotely related to Axel was brought up. That's why, Axel had become a forbidden topic at home. So she was really glad that Daphne could now see him without much problem.

On the other hand, looking at the recap, Daphne's brows furrowed at the news about his engagement, even with her Occlumency on. "Why the hell did he say he's single?" She muttered, recalling her very first memory after waking up. The guy was clearly engaged. With Martina Valentino at that. Yet, he still is… scummy enough to flirt with her like that.

"He really is single," said Evelyn.

Daphne looked at her mother in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Evelyn sighed, recalling what Axel had told her. "The Valentinos used him as a shield to dodge the marriage alliance offer from the Mikhailov family. It was either that or war." She said, glad to be finally able to talk about it now her daughter's condition was better.

"So, he really isn't engaged…" muttered Daphne, as she watched Axel beating the Mikhailov heir into a pulp in the recap. This was big news, and she had so many questions! If he's really not engaged, then why did he fight the heir to the one of the most dangerous wizarding families? Does he actually like Martina or did he just do all that for her even when they are just friends? And, about him being single… why did he… specifically tell her that?

And most importantly… why the hell is her heart beating so fast?!

But, before she could give it much thought, she saw the picture of a young Axel appear on the screen, and the Commentators describing his Muggleborn Orphan past in detail.

"What the heck? Why are they showing this?" She couldn't help but murmur. Hunt was already facing enough problems at school as it was, and now this matter has been brought up again, and in front of the whole world at that. Blood supremacy is a problem in many wizarding communities. It would definitely get him a lot of haters.

Looking at Axel's reaction which was displayed on the screen, sure enough, he looked quite annoyed about the whole thing as well.

"Are they not going too far?" she asked.

Evelyn patted her on the back. "Don't worry, honey. He has a lot of backing," she said reassuringly. Not to mention the full support of the Valentino family and house Greengrass, he also has another powerful backer. That's why, even though Evelyn was also angry, she could contain her fury. "He'll be fine," she promised.

Daphne paused as she realized something. "Wait. Who said I'm worried about him?! Why would you think that? I don't like him at all! He's so arrogant, and... scummy!" She exclaimed, embarrassed by her mother's assumptions. "He was the one who was in my bedroom saying he was single! I didn't do anything!"

Daphne had read all the articles about him. He was such an arrogant, egoistic, self absorbed person. She has yet to see anything that justifies that amount of attitude.

Just take this situation for example. For all his arrogance and bravado, he can't do anything when his privacy was destroyed right in front of his eyes. He'll still have to play the game and entertain the audience, just like the sponsors want him to.

Astoria looked at her sister innocently. "But Daphi, when did mum say anything about you liking him? And why are you trying to explain yourself in such detail?"

"I----" Daphne had no words to say to her sister, though at this moment, a sharp sound interrupted the silence, attracting everyone's attention, and Daphne hid her face in her omni-oculars, suddenly very interested in the game.

Another whistle sounded, signifying that the snitch had already been caught.

"!!!!!" Daphne's jaw dropped. Right before the match started, she saw Axel look right into her eyes, as if he could see right through the lens of the omni-oculars.

And even after the whistle had been blown, she didn't see him searching for the snitch at all, as he held eye-contact, seemingly in leisure. She felt as if he was telling her to watch the match, and daring her to question him again.

And then he was gone, without even looking where he was going. Before she could even find him again, he had already caught the snitch.

!!!

Just... what the hell?! As some who's had a huge interest in Quidditch from a childhood, Daphne still couldn't understand how he managed it.

She had already been thinking that the past performance was a one time thing. No, she had been trying to convince herself of that. But looking at what he just did, she really had to acknowledge him.

Though... Axel didn't seem to be satisfied doing just that.

"He caught it again!" Astoria announced in triumph just a minute later, raising both of her hands in celebration, as Madam Hooch blew the whistle again.

"Really? But I can't even see though?" Asked Evelyn, looking around.

"...." Daphne looked at her mother and sister in bafflement. These two...

"Since when have you started taking interest Quidditch?" She asked, feeling absurd. For the longest time, she had been the only Quidditch fanatic in the family despite all of her attempts at getting them hooked. It had made it very difficult for her to go watch specific matches. And now, looking at the two of them, you'd think they were a pair of fan girls gushing about the game.

Evelyn and Astoria avoided her eyes at that question. "We just..." Evelyn was saying, but Astoria suddenly exclaimed while pointing at the screen, also successfully coming to her mother's rescue as everyone turned their attention to it.

They saw a green blurr speeding all around the stadium.

"So fast!" Exclaimed Astoria.

"By Merlin's socks! Isn't that dangerous...?" murmured Evelyn covering her mouth.

As they saw the blurr fly around, they heard another whisle, meaning the snitch had been caught again.

"He really is awesome!" Exclaimed Astoria with stars in her eyes, while Evelyn's brows knitted due to the danger of the situation.

They both even forgot Daphne, who had her eyes wide, as he looked Axel in pure amazement. Unlike Evelyn and Astoria, she knew the magnitude of what he was doing right now.

"This guy..." She muttered, unconsciously leaning forward. She had never seen a guy as crazy as him. 'Is he really going to do it?'

"He really is crazy," she said, shaking her head as her heartbeat kept increasing. She thought of her words just a while ago. When his privacy was violated, she had thought he wouldn't be able to do anything about it. But this....

'Is he really going to go so far just to fuck with those who tried to advantage of him?'

Daphne just kept looking at the scoreboard, her anxiousness rising right along with the score.

The field became completely still, with no players moving.

"Why is no one moving?" Asked Astoria.

"Because they're afraid to die if Axel crashes into them," explained Evelyn.

Astoria frowned. "Then, isn't he in danger?"

Daphne shook her head. "That's the thing. He can either dodge those people at that speed, which is highly unlikely, or he simply doesn't give a damn. Whatever the case, no one else has even tried doing what he's doing right now. If they did, they'd already be in Saint Mungos or six feet under by now in this much time."

Just handling the broom at this speed is already a challenge that no one has ever done before. And dodging someone who suddenly comes into your way… it would be out of the realm of human possibility. That's why she thought he was crazy. He's simply betting on the fact that no one would be crazy enough to come in his way.

"Sister, are you alright? Why are you biting your lip?"

Daphne ignored Astoria, her eyes trained on Axel. She was feeling a mess of emotions right now. 'You've already made your point. Isn't this enough?'

'How far are you willing to go?' She thought, her hands unconsciously wringing the omni-oculars she was holding.

But Axel seemed to have no problem continuing. He flew like that for a total of 25 minutes, completely destroying those who had doubted him.

"WHAT THE—"

And, as if his message wasn't clear enough, he raised a giant middle finger to everyone, just to say ,'I can, so I did it. So what?!'

And then, he walked out of the stadium casually, like he hadn't just pulled the most savage stunt in the Quidditch History.

*!!!!!!*

As soon as he walked out, the crowd came out of their stupor. And then, the biggest uproar arose into the stadium, with everyone going wild. Even the people sitting in the VIP box stood up, as they realised what had just happened.

They had been on the edge of their seat from the moment the match started. But then, all of a sudden, Hunt walked out in the middle of the first half, while giving them the finger.

His message was clear: "In this game, I can control everything. If I don't want it, you guys can't enjoy the match. So don't piss me off."

And he was indeed right. Everyone felt like they had been blue-balled. And it seemed completely useless to watch the rest of the match after what they had just witnessed.

"Yayyyy!!! Wohooo! Axel! Axel! Axel!" No matter what, Astoria was definitely enjoying herself.

"Daphi, can your Ravenclaw team come with countermeasures for this?" She asked teasingly. But Daphne did not respond. Her cheeks were flushed and her breathing uneven, but her face was ice cold.

She got up from her seat. She was having trouble breathing. Without saying anything, she stalked out of the VIP box, her face expressionless.

"Daphi?" Astoria got up to follow, but Evelyn stopped her, shaking her head.

Out of the VIP box, Daphne's stepped kept getting faster, until she found herself running.

"That guy... does he not want to live?!" She fumed while running. "But what do I care?! Let him die."

She had no purpose, no destination and no plan in mind. She wasn't even thinking. All she wanted to do was to get this stuffiness out of her system.

Before long, she found herself right in front of the Slytherin Locker room, her fist raised knock on the door.

?!?

Daphne paused as she realized where she was and what she was about to do. The Slytherin Locker room?! She didn't know what she was thinking when her legs brought her to this place. "What am I even doing here?"

Confused, Daphne put a hand to her head. She had just watched a spectacle that would normally have her cheering even more than Astoria. If the past her had seen such a player, she would definitely have become a complete fan of that player.

And this time, she did feel all of those emotions. But... everything was overpowered by the feeling of anxiety upon seeing him perform something so dangerous. What if he crashes? What if he dies or gets injured? These thoughts kept coming to her head, causing her to bite her lip. That's why, she didn't know what to do right now.

Before she could clear her head, though, the door of the changing room was opened, surprising the hell out of her.

"!!!"

"Are you alright?"

When she turned her head, her eyes caught sight of a worried Axel, who had opened the door.

And, more importantly, he was shirtless, a t-shirt hanging in his other hand. Apparently, he had been in the process of changing.

!!!!

Daphne's eyes widened upon catching a glimpse of his physique, her eyes following the muscles laced with all types of scars, the sight of all those injuries making her heart ache.

If she had thought she might have been physically the fittest student at Hogwarts, that delusion was instantly removed from her head. She was so surprised that while backing away from him, she tripped on her own feet, causing her to fall backwards.

"Watch out," Axel stepped forward to quickly catch her, his hand circling her waist, closing the distance between them.

"What—!!!!!!!!"

Daphne went into shock, blankly looking up at Axel as her hands ended up on his bare shoulders for support. She was so surprised that her occlumency slipped out of her control. An intense feeling overpowered her, which felt like a mixture of sweetness, loss, and hundreds of other emotions. Overwhelmed by emotions, her grip on his shoulders tightened, as she looked up at Axel in a daze.

"Daphne?" Axel called out. "Are you alright?"

Daphne blinked, her eyes slowly coming into focus.

*Slap*

Her hands slammed against his shoulders, which only ended up hurting her hands more, as she moved away from him.

"I don't care!" She informed him, before she ran off, with twice the speed she had come.

"????"

Left standing in the corridor, Axel shook her head wryly. There's definitely progress. But...

'As expected, it's still too early,' he thought. He has to bring back those memories fast.

…

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