HP: The Arcane Thief

Chapter 48: It's not the end, but a new beginning

"Look, I'm telling you it's him! I'm SURE it's him!" Said Daphne impatiently.

Evelyn sighed in exasperation,

"And how you know that sweety? It's unsigned, and you haven't even seen his writing. Besides, I've tried examining it and the only conclusion I can reach is that it's too powerful and can be harmful," she said rationally.

With Cyrus's death, the number of hungry eyes on their family had increased. So, this wouldn't be the first time anyone tried to pull shady tricks on them. Besides, the Potion they'd received was rather... unique. Evelyn hadn't ever seen it in her life. They couldn't just blindly let Astoria try it as it might further aggravate her condition, or worse.

While the two of them were arguing, they didn't even see when Astoria had come skipping into the room to ask her sister to play.

Astoria rolled her eyes when she saw her mother and sister arguing. There's nothing new in that. She thinks it's their way of showing their love to each other.

'What is that?'

Her eyes caught sight of a very small vial of potion containing a shimmering silver liquid sitting at the table in the corner.

'So pretty!'

Looking at the potion, she saw her name written on it.

'So, it's this pretty potion today,' she thought.

Astoria has forgotten the number of times she's tried new potions and procedures that were arranged to cure her. So, this wasn't anything new to her. Quite habitually, she uncorked the bottle and drank it down with one gulp.

"Coughcough! Cough!" As soon as she drank the potion, Astoria coughed violently as the vial slipped out of her hands and fell to the floor.

While arguing Daphne and Evelyn were alarmed to see Astoria coughing and the empty potion vial.

"Astoria!"

"Tory!"

By the time they reached her, Astoria was already unconscious.

Daphne began panicking,

"NononononNO! Tory!"

Evelyn quickly diagnosed Astoria.

"Call the Healer! Now!"

Daphne tried not to panic as she quickly fished out her Magi-mirror and call the Healer.

At this moment, they heard a screeching sound from Astoria's chest, alarming both the ladies further.

!!!

In the next moment, dark fumes began to rise out of Astoria, as if being forcefully expelled.

The screeching slowly died down as the effects of the potion subsided, leaving Astoria covered in ashes.

"Tory? Tory!" Called out Daphne as she tried shaking the unconscious Astoria.

...

A few minutes later Evelyn and Daphne waited anxiously as the healer, Mrs. Catlleberg diagnosed Astoria.

The old witch with thick glasses gasped as soon as she began running her diagnosis.

"What in the world..." she muttered, looking shocked.

Her surprise only seemed to intensify as the seconds passed and she ran different tests.

"How is it?! Is she fine? What happened to her?" Asked Evelyn anxiously while Daphne sobbed uncontrollably.

Mrs. Catlleberg stood up quicker than her old age should allow her.

"What in the world did you give her, Evelyn?!"

Evelyn shook her head,

"I have no idea. How is her condition?!" she asked urgently.

But the healer seemed equally anxious.

"You don't know?!" She repeated outrageously, "This thing managed to cure the incurable blood Malediction of the Greengrass family! How can you not know?!"

Daphne's teary eyes widened and Evelyn gasped.

"C-Cured?"

"What... did you say?"

Both the ladies were couldn't believe what they heard.

Mrs. Catlleberg realized that her duty ought to come first, no matter how groundbreaking this could be for the medical history.

She patted the sleeping Astoria.

"This little Missy here, is completely healed. Her blood and organs are as good as new and the curse is nowhere to be found!" She revealed.

"++++++++++"

Daphne's brain stopped working for a moment as she tried to make sure she didn't hear it wrong. Her mom was in a similar state.

All these years, all those times they'd cried when Astoria would smile through her pain. All that time they'd try to be happy while knowing that she wouldn't live long...

All that... can actually go away now?

Evelyn tightly gripped the hands of the old lady.

"Is...Is that true?! Mrs. Catlleberg, this matter—" she began, but her old healer cut her off.

"Merlin's beard Evelyn, Of course it's true! I know how important this is so I'm not cruel enough to lie about it. Not only your daughter is cured, but she's bursting with vitality! Whatever you gave her must have cost you every single penny you have, if you paid a fair price," said the old witch reassuringly.

But no matter how much they wanted to believe it, the mother and daughter pair were still having a hard time coming to terms with it. Especially since they didn't even know what exactly they gave her.

"Hm..."

Though at this moment, the sleeping Astoria moaned a little as she slowly open her eyes and looked around.

Astoria blinked repeatedly.

"Mum... sister..." she said, her cute face scrunching up in confusion.

"There is... no pain. How? Am I dreaming?"

Before she could speak more, Astoria was hugged from both sides by Daphne and Evelyn whose happiness knew no bounds.

"You're healed, Tory! Healed! There'll be no pain anymore... It's gone!" said Daphne softly.

'Thanks to him,' she added in her mind as the silhouette of a person came to her mind.

She couldn't wait to see him.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Catlleberg sighed. This doesn't seem the right time to ask about the potion.

*******

- a Month later-

*BOOOM*

A loud explosion rang out as a number of men wearing skull masks chased a person in a dark hoodie, jeans, and sneakers.

If this person didn't have a mask on his face, one would be able to see that his expression was quite relaxed despite the odds being stacked against him.

"Kill Him!"

"How did he get here?!"

"Don't let him get away!"

"Looks like it's the wrong address," muttered Axel as he saw multiple spells heading his way.

-Pause-

It seems like a bit of context is needed here.

How did he end up in this situation?

Good question. The answer will be a bit long.

After getting healed, there was no limit to the things Axel could achieve in his life. The only thing that was going to be a problem was Voldemort. And the best way to handle Voldemort is supposed to be with the help of the pendant around his neck.

So, this whole summer, he'd been trying to find the mysterious organization that had killed his parents so that he could get the information on this pendant. But much to his disappointment, he couldn't find anything. Nothing. He'd tried everything, every source. He even found out that the ministry had also been trying and failing to locate this organization for years.

So, when he saw several sus looking individuals wearing cloaks and masks entering and exiting this place, he'd gotten a bit hopeful. After being healed, his confidence was on a different level so he got in gangster style. But, they turned out to be a different secret organization!

Which is how, he found himself in the current situation where a number of spells were headed his way.

-Resume-

Under the onslaught, Axel remained calm as he smoothly activated his skills.

[Arcane Footwork]

[Arcane Eyes]

Whisps of blue light started to swirl around his legs and his eyes under his mask started to glow.

Under his glowing eyes, the spells seemed to slow down as he weaved his body through the volley of curses of all kinds at an incredible speed.

"What the f—"

"How is he so fast?!"

"No way!"

The men were understandably surprised when the person they all attacked together person had miraculously survived the attacks. But they were in for more surprises.

"My turn," muttered Axel as he pointed his wand at the ground in front of the men.

[Erase Trace]

"Bombarda!"

Magic shot out of his wand with such a rush that the spell was shot like a bullet.

KABOOOM!!!

The result was a loud explosion, the shockwaves of which swept him back a few feet. Cold sweat ran down his back as he looked at the damage.

"....Damn it. I still forget that I'm already healed," he mumbled to himself as he felt the huge drain in his magic.

During the time he was crippled, he had to exert an insane amount of effort just to cast weak magic. And during that time, he'd also done other things to increase his output.

If an ordinary person has to exert x effort to cast a spell, then he'd have to exert 100x effort to cast the same spell. And reaching that 100x amount would be considered impossible, if the caster wasn't a freak like him. That's why he was told he wouldn't be able to cast magic when he got those injuries. And now that he's healed, it's like the limiters on his magic have been removed.

And the result is the destruction spread out in front of him.

Looking at the chaos he'd created, Axel shrugged his shoulders.

"That's what you get for trying to kill me," he muttered.

*Snap*

Just as he was about to leave the place, a snap sounded as a person appeared at the far end of the room. Axel paused as he looked at the new figure. This person's skull mask was golden unlike the silver masks of the other members. And, he also gave off different vibes than the few men who were chasing him just now.

"A boss, huh?" Muttered Axel as he saw the other members relaxing as if their saviour had arrived. Just as Axel was wondering if this guy would know anything about the other organization,

[Axel, run.]

Out of nowhere, a red alert came from the system.

?!?

That managed to surprise the hell out of Axel. The last time the system had given him a warning against a potential enemy, it was against Martina. And say what you will about her dorkiness, but she was one hell of a dangerous witch if she could casually blow off a magic-resistant troll's head. Axel hadn't thought that this group would actually turn out to have such a member.

The person studied the situation as the coward members all hid behind him while reporting the situation. The man nodded as he fixed his gaze on Axel.

"You... You can die now," he declared calmly his voice coming distorted through the mask as he raised his wand.

!!!!

"Fuck."

Suddenly, goosebumps rose on Axel's skin and he took the system's warning seriously.

[Light Armor]

He activated his newly learned skill just in time to be surrounded by Darkness which had emerged from the ground.

'This cheater!' Thought Axel in outrage as he saw the layer of flimsy golden light was going to be destroyed. The skill proficiency was too low!

Activating all his stealth skills, he disappeared from the area, already appearing several meters away. He looked back, only to see that the area he was standing was covered in darkness.

"Fuck indeed," he muttered as he fled the hell out of there. It's not worth it to stay.

....

Later that day, Axel sighed as he walked through the streets of London, quite far away from the crazy place he'd been in.

"What the fuck was that place?" he asked as he grabbed a newspaper to check the news.

[That was one of the places where the wizard are being taught the ability to Wield and control dark magic.]

Axel paused,

"What the hell? Isn't that bad?"

[It is and it is not. But you can't do much about it with your current power.] Informed the system.

"Darn," Axel couldn't deny the system's words. That golden mask guy was fucking scary.

"Looks like I got a bit ahead of myself," he mumbled, flipping through the newspaper in his hands.

After getting healed, he'd gotten a bit reckless with the way he handled things. After all, what's the use of being so powerful if he still has to sneak around? But the encounter with the man told him that he still had a long way to go.

Anyways, the summer break is almost over and he couldn't find anything about the organization in the end. And now there are only two options left for him: Plan B and C, both of which, he'd rather avoid.

"What a waste,"

It seems like he has wasted his whole summer on a useless endeavor when he could have spent more time training his magic or Legilimancy.

'Well, not a complete waste, at least,' he relented, looking at an article in the newspaper he had been flipping through.

It featured a case where a wealthy family of three was robbed clean of all of its possessions in one night, including everything they had in their bank accounts.

"Spoiling your son to the point of making an orphan boy homeless just to satisfy your kid's vanity..." he muttered, shaking his head. Axel wouldn't argue whether they were morally correct or not. But... since the orphan kid they chose to antagonize was him... let's just say this is not the first time they're going to be robbed.

He dumped the newspaper after checking the date on it. The holidays were almost over. It's time he returned to Hogwarts.

....

Lily Potter waved her wand around in a particular area while chanting different spells.

"Lily, I don't see how you can find anything here. Why don't we just leave?" Asked Icitra, the chocolate-skinned dark elf queen.

Lily didn't reply to her. Instead, she fell to her knees looking to be in shock.

Icitra quickly rushed to her side.

"Hey! What's wrong?!"

Lily slowly shook her head in regret.

"This is bad..." she muttered, her breathing quickening as she lost her calm.

"What is it?" Asked Icitra.

"It's my daughter. He somehow managed to reach her and that re-created the phenomenon that happened 12 years ago," she explained.

Icitra sighed, once again not understanding the situation clearly.

"Lily, you need to realize that everything may not be as obvious to others as they are to you,"

Lily looked far into the distance her grip on her wand tightened.

"It means that he now knows that he can use my daughter to open the portal to mid-world," she clarified, making up her decision. The situation has gotten more urgent. So, she'll have to take drastic actions.

Light and Dark. Both types of magics exist on mid-world. If the darkness comes from the Netherworld, the light comes from another. Voldemort wants to conquer all the three worlds. So, the other world can't be allowed to stay out of the conflict forever.

.....

A.N.: The other worlds wouldn't come in the pictures until later. The main focus would still be on exploring the wizarding world with snipets of information on the other two worlds.

POWERSTONES!!!!

: Axel meets Daph

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