HP: The Arcane Thief

Chapter 31: A Letter and Reunion

In the past decade, the Wizarding Britain and Hogwarts have experienced changes in various fields. One of these fields also happened to be Quidditch.

The popularity of the sport is at an all-time high. And with the huge population at Hogwarts, the Quidditch field needed some changes. The stands are nowhere to be seen as there is a stadium all around the pitch now, to accommodate all the audience.

And today was a special day. Because today was Gryffindor V/s Slytherin and the start of the season. So even the bigger stadium was bound to be packed.

After breakfast, Rose and her friends made their way to the Quidditch stadium. And of course, since Axel had already given his word, he had to join them for it. Hermione had chosen not to come though.

(I have so much to study!)

"Hey Susan, is your Aunt Coming?" Asked Daphne as they walked.

A question mark popped up on Axel's head. He didn't know why Susan's Aunt would be coming.

Susan nodded excitedly.

"Yep, she is! Though, not for the match of course. She's just coming to see me. I don't even know if she'll be able to stay for the whole match. What about you, Rose?" She asked Rose who was walking ahead of all of them.

'What the heck?' Axel didn't like where this was going. Not one bit.

Rose, who was decked out in her Quidditch attire, nodded excitedly.

"I know for a fact that Sirius is definitely coming. He's such a Quidditch fanatic. Little Jamie would also be coming since he misses his big sister a lot. I don't know about the rest,"

"Hey, what are they talking about?" Axel asked Daphne in a low voice.

Daphne looked at him in puzzlement.

"What are 'you' talking about?"

"I mean, how are their relatives coming to Hogwarts? He whispered.

Daphne blinked,

"Wait, you didn't know? Today is also the Meeting Day. Outsiders are allowed entry into the Quidditch stadium on matches. That's always half of the reason why everybody's been waiting for this day," she said, looking surprised that he didn't know that.

With such a large stadium, anyone was welcome on the match days. Parents, Quidditch fanatics, and even the selectors of league teams looking to sign up promising players.

"Really, how can you not know any of this?" she muttered in exasperation. It was even brought up in the announcements by Dumbledore.

Axel just shrugged.

"Well, at least that explains why you're dragging me half an hour early.

He rarely goes to the Great Hall these days and the only person he ever talks to is Daphne. So it wasn't a big deal if he didn't know.

"My dad is busy. But my gran is coming. And of course, I met my mother only this morning,' offered Neville.

"What about you, Daph? Are Astoria and Mrs. Greengrass coming?" Asked Rose.

Daphne checked her Magi-mirror once again,

"Hm? No… no they can't make it today, they're out of Britain," she said a bit anxiously.

"What? What do you mean out of Britain?" AskedSusan.

Axel didn't pay attention to the rest of the conversation as he was too distracted in understanding the implications of the information he had received.

They reached the stadium where there was a long stream of people entering the stadium. The scene around here was quite heartwarming as many parents were coming here from Hogsmeade and reuniting with their children after a long time.

As they reached the entrance, Axel saw everyone taking out tickets.

"Wait, did we have to buy tickets?" He asked.

Daphne waved the two tickets in her hands,

"Don't worry. I already bought two for us days ago," she said proudly.

Axel looked at her in bafflement,

"But… you only asked me today,"

Daphne tilted her head,

"So...?"

"Hey! Isn't that Potter?"

"Yeah, that's her!"

Axel couldn't continue the conversation since they had to quickly go in as Rose's Gryffindor Quidditch attire was too eye-catching among the crowd.

"So, where are our seats?" Asked Axel after seeing that they were not separating from the rest. He had thought that in such a huge stadium, they would be able to sit away from the rest since everyone would be going to see their relatives.

"The VIP box, of course. It's the best place to see the match," said Daphne, making Axel pause his footsteps.

"Hey, why don't we sit somewhere else? I don't want to sit there," said Axel. VIP box is going to have all kinds of people.

"No!" (Rose)

"Why?" (Daphne)

Axel and Daphne both looked at Rose who had an unexpected outburst.

Upon being stared at by the two, Rose looked away,

"I mean, it's none of my business," she muttered.

Daphne then looked at Axel funnily,

"All seats of this stadium have already been booked. And why do you want to sit somewhere else?" She asked, but she then remembered his habit of avoiding people.

"Or are you saying you don't have the balls?" She asked, quoting his words.

'... May be I should tone down with profanities. She learns fast,' he thought. His words were now being used on himself now.

That pissed Axel off. He wasn't scared, he just wanted to avoid the Black family. But now that he thought about it after putting away his dislike, going there also has its advantages.

"You know what? Let's go," he said as he began walking once again.

…

The VIP box turned out to be...quite VIP-ish. The whole place was air-conditioned, with a big balcony overlooking the stadium and lots of screens inside. The people inside seemed all rich and high class.

And the Black family was also among these people.

"When is big sister coming?" Asked a cute chubby boy with black hair.

"She'll be here any minute, Jamie. Just wait patiently," said Marlene in a gentle tone.

"Still can't believe it's already her first match. James will be proud," said Sirius proudly.

"And what about Lily?" Asked Andromeda in amusement.

Sirius barked out a laugh,

"Oh, Lily would definitely Jinx the shit out of me. I tell you, that women would go to scary lengths to protect Rose," he muttered as he sipped the drink in his hand.

Andromeda shook her head,

"Well, you shouldn't have egged her on so much in the first place," said Andromeda as she looked at the door yet again.

She was also waiting to meet Rose but, there was another person who took priority.

Axel hunt.

She was filled with regret about the whole series of events that have happened concerning him.

First of all, the boy was the son of Bellatrix's benefactor and lifesaver. But he has had to live an orphan and miserable life until eleven. But, the boy somehow managed to get by despite the hardships.

And after that, he suffered from the worst torture possible and had to survive by Killing his adversary. Going through this, at the age of eleven, he'd have to be an enigma if he came out sane. But the fact is, he somehow managed to pull it off.

But he had to pay the price. It made him crippled for life. Still, the boy didn't show weakness. He didn't break. He didn't lose the fight in him.

But...it doesn't end here, because a certain thoughtless woman had to get some information out of him about how he managed to pull it off. But, without even trying to, the boy managed to make her realize just how wrong her actions were and change her mind.

But unfortunately, even that wasn't enough. Because that thoughtless woman had a mad sister who thought it would be fun to torture this boy further.

She managed to break him… for a few seconds. But against all odds, the boy managed to build himself up once again, stronger than ever.

This should be it, right? There should be nothing more, right? Sadly no.

Andromeda sighed.

Her idiot sister, in her desperate moment, had sent out a letter to the boy who hates her with passion. What's worse, the words might have made him more enraged than calm his anger down.

And she was right. Because the reply he had sent in response to that Letter… had managed to cut through Bella like a knife through butter.

Andromeda shuddered as she recalled the contents of the Letter.

"Minister Black,

I will have to respectfully decline your help. And there are several reasons due to which I've come to this decision.

First of all, I was, but a gullible kid who was very easy to manipulate. But… you have enlightened me, minister.I am not that kid who would take anything for granted.

Like Andromeda, you are a Black. And thus, you are no kind woman.

You have slapped me awake to the reality of the world, Minister. That is why, I know that you can't be doing this out of the kindness of your heart.

How long have I known you for? Enoughto understand that you are as trustworthy as my parents. And my parents left me at the orphanage with a man who kicked me out. Trustworthy indeed. It would certainly explain why you know my dad. And from the bottom of my heart, I want to know nothing more about the man, or you. I am simply unworthy.

As you said, what am I to you? Just a nobody. A cripple with nothing to his name. But, thanks to you, I am at least no longer naive and gullible. 'Throw some money and some kindness to a homeless kid and he'll give you anything you want and still thank you afterward' — these are the words of a great person which have taught me a lot. Thus, I would simply like you to tell me what it is that you want from me.

And needless to say, I don't want any help from you. You see, I may have nothing materialistic to my name, minister, but I have something else I value more: My Principles. I am very happy as I am and I would sooner die than accept help from a person as great as you. So I say from the bottom of my heart, that leaving me alone would be the greatest help you can provide me.

That will be all.

Forever grateful to you

Axel"

Bellatrix was broken after reading the letter. Turns out, they were right in only providing him help from the shadows. After reading this, Bellatrix had simply decided not to bother Axel anymore. Or rather, she couldn't. She was too ashamed to even face him. And too scared to receive any more hatred from him.

'I want to kill myself,' that's what she had said to Andromeda. It had taken a lot of persuasion to stop her from doing that. Andromeda was just glad she was there when Bella had received the letter. Needless to say, Bella hasn't come today, and instead sent her to see Axel. She'll just have to do by watching Andromeda's memories of today in the highest quality pensieve.

So, Andromeda had decided to take it upon herself to see that boy. She had asked Rose to bring him and Rose had reassured her that he'll be there.

She was still unsure about what exactly she was going to do and frankly, she was also probably too scared to do anything. But she at least had to see him. Because her fears had come true and it was worse than she had expected. Axel Hunt hadn't forgotten and he hadn't forgiven. Not one bit.

"Oh! There she is!" Exclaimed Sirius, bringing her out of her thoughts as he began rushing in one direction.

"Big sis!" Exclaimed Jamie, the miniature version of the man as he too rushed out.

Andromeda followed their line of sight to Rose and her friends coming over.

"Sirius! Jamie!" Rose quickly ran up to the two and hugged them.

Andromeda smiled when she saw Rose. The girl seemed to have grown up a lot in the past three months. She was a bit taller and the baby fat on her face had gone, maybe due to the Quidditch, making her look more beautiful rather than cute.

Marlene and Andromeda also hugged her.

"Rose, where is Axel?" Asked Andromeda as she hugged her.

Rose's smiling face became annoyed.

"Why do you want to see him? Well, he's right there," she said, pointing towards Daphne as she became busy chatting up with Sirius and Jamie.

"Where?" Muttered Andromeda as she looked in the pointed direction. She could only see Daphne. But then, she saw Daphne tapping someone beside her as she pointed out somewhere while saying something.

And with a start, Andromeda realized that it was Axel!

Sweet Merlin! What's wrong with her! He had been standing right there and she didn't even see him!

"!!!"

Andromeda was quite surprised when she saw him. It was definitely him, she could tell, but he had changed a lot!

The originally short and skinny boy was nowhere to be seen. He had grown a lot taller than he originally was. Almost too much for just 3 months. His emaciated frame had turned into a fit one, almost too fit for just 3 months. His face was much brighter now and his skin much healthier, as opposed to his originally pale and sickly look.

And that wasn't the only thing that had changed. His aura seemed to have changed. Just standing there relaxedly, he somehow seemed to give her a similar feeling as those of the special forces hit wizards. But it must be her imagination.

Now that she was finally seeing him, Andromeda just stood there frozen, unable to move. She was too apprehensive to approach.

After three months at Hogwarts, he almost seemed…ok? He was just standing there, with his hands in his pockets, exchanging words with Daphne and even having a hint of a somewhat amused smile at the corner of his mouth. Although he still had that somewhat annoyed expression on his face but no one could tell that this boy had been tortured and had to kill a man just three months ago. This made her even more hesitant to approach him and remind him of the past.

She saw as the rest of Rose's and friends went to their own families and Axel and Daphne went to their own seats.

He had totally ignored her presence and yet, she could only keep observing his every action.

As soon as he had sat down, she saw him taking out his wand and... smile while looking at it. A genuine smile. Something she hadn't seen him doing at all.

'What a pity,' she thought as she saw his trembling hand and recalled his condition. With nerve damage like that, even doing the smallest bit of magic would make a grown man cry and the magic would be incredibly weak.

She saw him take out a handkerchief and wave his wand over it. And to her surprise, the handkerchief started to change!

'Transfiguration? At that level?! How is this possible?!' He shouldn't be able to do this!

He was practicing magic! Andromeda almost rushed over and stopped him. Because, doing magic in his condition was nothing but torture!

"Andi? Hey Andi!" Just at this moment, she felt Sirius tugging at her, making her snap out of her shock.

"Yeah? What is it?" She asked, trying not to show her emotions.

Sirius pointed in the direction of the entrance.

"Look who's here," he said with a disgusted expression.

Andromeda followed his direction, only to have a frown on her face as soon as she saw the person.

It was a beautiful woman with Blonde hair and features similar to Andromeda and Bellatrix.

"Cissy," whispered Andromeda.

"Traitor," uttered Sirius.

The joyful atmosphere they'd going around them vanished as they saw her. Narcissa Malfoy Black was the Black history of Black family. It would ruin both Andromeda's and Bellatrix's mood whenever Narcissa is mentioned.

Not because of the things she did, but because SHE was the one who did those things. Her change had disappointed the sisters a lot.

"Mother,"

Upon seeing Narcissa, a boy came forward in a hurry. He tried to hug her but Narcissa stopped in his tracks.

"Draco," said looking down on him, "I've heard of your deeds in these past months,"

Draco looked puzzled,

"Uh… I'm sorry, mother. I wouldn't do those things now," he said uncertainly.

*Slap*

"That is not the problem, boy. If you challenge someone to a duel, make sure you win next time. Don't embarrass me next time," she said strictly.

That's what Andromeda was talking about. The Narcissa of the past would never do that. Their dear sister had changed. She'd become, a bitch.

***

A.N.: As you can see, he hasn't forgiven nor forgotten.

title: Meeting with the Valentinos. Yep, why wouldn't they come to see their daughter. Especially after seeing that photo...

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Also, people have gone all put in suggesting the skills. He won't be getting all of them instantly, but I have selected a few.