HP: The Arcane Thief

Chapter 81: One vs All: The beginning

A.N.: Yep, it's here.

...

In the stadium, Bellatrix and Andromeda Black appeared one after another in the VVIP room through the Fireplace.

They were here and not in the VIP box with the other Blacks who were supporting Rose because they wanted to see the match discreetly, without being seen by anyone.

"It's been a while since I attended one of these," said Bellatrix nostalgically, looking down at the stadium.

And as she removed the cloak, the reason for their discretion became visible. For today, the majestic Minister of Magic persona was gone, replaced by a girl in a black jeans, green silver-green t-shirt that said "Go Slytherin!" and matching scarf, with the snake insignia on it. In her hands she held a tray containing a big bucket of popcorn and various drinks.

Yep, as it can be seen, Bellatrix Black had come fully prepared for the occasion, not as the Minister of Magic, but a hardcore fangirl. She had worked nonstop in the past few days to clear her schedule for today, postponed everything so that nothing can disturb her today, brought popcorn, booked a private vvip room at the stadium, and even wore the Slytherin Quidditch merch that she had always thought was stupid.

Why did she do all this? Certainly not because she liked watching Quidditch, at least not since her cousin Reggie stopped playing. Nor was it because she was a Slytherin Supremist. There's only one reason why she's like this: Because Axel was playing in today's match. And since it was his first match, she ought to come and support him, right?

"Where IS he? When will it start?" She muttered anxiously, looking down at the pitch with her omni-occulars.

"In a few minutes," said Andromeda, who had also taken the day off from her master healer shift. "But... Bella, don't expect him to play very well. He was… he used to be permanently disabled not too long ago," said Andromeda, who couldn't share the same enthusiasm as her sister.

It was good that Bella had been too busy to check up on the recent news about Hogwarts. If she had, she might have exploded due to rage. Andromeda was quite outraged herself at how harsh the students can be over a simple match. And more importantly, Axel had only recently suffered from severe trauma in all of his nerves. So, even after he's healed now, (Merlin knows how), his motor skills might not be as sharp as they used to be. So, she was quite apprehensive about today's match, especially since it's against Rose. That girl won't pull back her punches.

Bellatrix shook her head. "No matter how he plays, I'll still support him," she said calmly, looking down at the stadium. "It's not like there's no nepotism in Quidditch. I'll even make him a pro player if he wants to."

Bellatrix casually said some crazy stuff and Andromeda was glad her sister hadn't seen the news yet.

….

Meanwhile, in another VVIP private room, the Valentino Family, Italy's biggest magical mafia family, was present.

"Did we bring everything?" Asked Alessandro Valentino, Martina's father and Wizarding Italy's Godfather. He was a handsome middle-aged man, with purple hair, blue eyes, and a scar on his forehead. Wearing the suit, hat and accessories like gold chain, watch and rings, he cut an intimidating figure, even though he was soft as a sponge with his family.

"Yes we did," said Francesca Valentino, Martina's mother with a slightly peeved look. "But you and your son overdo things when it comes to her."

Martina's mother had auburn hair, violet eyes, and a calm and collected temperament. Seeing her parents' looks, people will be surprised by Martina's beauty.

"We do not!" denied Alessandro in sinc with his son, Enzo. Enzo's facial features matched Alessandro's. Only, his hair was auburn in color, matching his mother. He had piercings on his eyebrows and ears, and his curly hair was long and wild.

At their blatant refusal, Francesca calmly handed out her rebuttal. "She only asked for specific materials for her research. Not the delicacies of half the world."

"What?" Alessandro shrugged, as if he didn't find anything wrong with it. "Our daughter is growing. She needs good food that'll at least last a year. What if the food here doesn't suit her taste, right Enzo?"

Enzo nodded, "Besides, she's all skinny now. She's clearly not eating properly."

Francesca didn't know why she even bothered. These two were a lost cause when it came to her daughter.

At the moment, the door to the room opened, revealing Martina, who smiled as soon as she saw her parents.

"My Martini!" "Lil' Tina!"

She was quickly hugged by her father and brother, making her smile wryly.

"Mom." After she was freed, Martina quickly hugged her mother.

Being an orphan in her previous life, Martina genuinely cherished her family and thought of them as her real family, unlike some other reincarnators who are more connected to their previous lives' relations.

"How have you been?" Asked Francesca, her stern eyes softening as she caressed Martina's hair. No matter how much she tried, she could not be her usual strict self with Martina. It helped a lot that Martina didn't need it.

"...Same as always," Martina replied. Even though she was not. Especially not yesterday's incident with the scary Demegorgon. She couldn't sleep well last night. But, she couldn't tell them since that would mean her transfer from Hogwarts. Feeling safe and relieved, Martina hugged her mother a while longer.

She then began her enquiries. "How are you guys doing? Has there been any trouble? Are the businesses doing fine? There are no new gangwars, are there?"

Alessandro laughed, "Everything is fine, boss," he said jokingly. "Now, let us handle these things. You focus on enjoying life a little."

"Even though I don't like it, I've stopped fighting as well," added Enzo with a pout.

"That's great." Martina smiled, "Mom, did you bring the things I asked for?" She asked Francesca.

"Yes, everything is here. Though I still don't understand why you would need them. Just promise to be careful," said Alessandro

"Yeah, yeah, I know," said Martina distractedly, checking the contents.

At this moment, the noise from the commentary and the crowd sounded from outside, signifying that the match was about to start.

Enzo frowned, "Oh, I forgot to soundproof it," he said, taking out his wand.

Martina stopped him. "No, don't! I want to see the match today," she said as she looked out the stadium through the window.

Enzo was confused for a moment but then a shit-eating grin slowly stretched on his face.

"Hm? Since when have you taken an interest in Quidditch? It's not even Ravenclaw's match today."

"It's because…" Martina paused as she stomped her feet, "It's not what you think!" She snapped.

"Oh, so it's not because of that boy playing?" Asked her father. "I heard it's quite a big match for him."

".... It actually is... but how does that translate into him being my boyfriend?!"

"We never mentioned anything about him your boyfriend though, did we Enzo?" Asked Alessandro innocently.

"Not at all. I think we need to 'talk' more with this guy,"

"God… just kill me now," muttered Martina, burying her face into her hands.

….

Axel headed down to the Slytherin Lockers when it was time for the match. The atmosphere inside the Slytherin Locker room decorated with Sliver and Green was depressing, to say the least. Which wasn't a surprise, considering their situation.

All the players on the previous Slytherin Quidditch team were Alaric Malcolm's lackies, so on Alaric's orders, they wouldn't play for Patricia. As for any other player with decent enough skill to make it on the professional field, they stepped down since they didn't want to damage their track record. That's why, most of the players here were amateurs and they knew they were going to lose.

So, when Axel, one of the major reasons for their current situation, came into the changing room, many glaring eyes were cast on him.

"Look who finally decided to show up,"

"The one who's supposed to 'win us the game'."

Axel didn't pay attention to these people. They aren't even named characters for him yet, just people whose sole existence is to fill in the numbers of the team."

There were two girls, the ones who behave like Patricia's attendants all the time, and three guys, all of whom weren't looking particularly friendly with Axel.

"You're here," said Patricia who had just emerged from behind the adjacent room. "Here's your uniform. Quickly get changed! We don't have time," she said, handing him the Slytherins Quidditch uniform.

Axel checked it out. There was a silver green jersey and matching robes for the upper body. There was no lower body uniform so he didn't need to change the joggers he was wearing. Aside from this, there were leg guards, shin guards, fingerless gloves, and a helmet.

Axel looked at the other three guys in the room. Since they only had to change the upper body clothes, they were changing into their uniforms in the locker room itself but Axel still didn't want to change here if he could help it.

"Where do I change?" He asked Patricia.

"Oh, the boys' changing room's on that side," she replied.

The guys exchange glances and sniggered. "What's the matter Hunt? Too shy to change here?"

"I think he might secretly be a girl," said the other one. Of course, the team members didn't have any good impression of him, so they weren't going to miss any chance of taking shots at him.

Axel sighed. He had no problems changing in front of others. He was just being considerate here. But if they didn't want his kindness then so be it. Amidst the sniggers, Axel casually took off the loose full sleeved tshirt he was wearing.

—Silence—

And suddenly, everyone went quiet for a second. Jaws dropped, gasps were heard, and eyes went wide as they caught a glimpse of Axel's bare torso. Due to his relentless training and diet, Axel had the peak human male physique. He wasn't bulky, but he was absolutely ripped, with well-defined chest, shoulders, arms and sculpted abs. Each and every movement caused his muscles to visibly contract, making for a fascinating view. But, on that perfect body, light and faded scars from all kinds of injuries like, cuts, gouges, lesions, and lacerations were spread randomly, displaying the struggles and damages the owner of the body had gone through.

Though, before the onlookers could get a better view, Axel had already changed into his jersey, snapping the female audience out of their trance and drawing out sighs and awkward coughs from them as everyone went back to what they were doing.

"Cough...Everyone, it's time!" said Patricia, her eyes lingering on Axel a few moments longer. It was no wonder her threat and intimidation were useless against him. If someone has gone through all that… what she did would appear nothing more than mere child's play to him. She wanted to ask a few questions to Axel but she knew it would be no use.

While the team made their way into the stadium, the Commentator also began to speak.

"Ladies, Gentlemen, and Hogwarts Students! The match that we have all been waiting for has finally arrived! Amidst the touching reunions of families, an extremely savage and vicious showdown is going to take place! The clashes between these teams have always been the talk of the school. Because it has more than a thousand years of intense rivalry, GRYFFINDOR VS SLYTHERIN!"

*CHEERS*

"Today, this Match is being displayed across 7 different magical communities, a big achievement for us! And as we can see from the crowd's response, everyone has been looking forward to this match. But this time, there's something more to this match than the usual rivalry! Those who are still in the dark, let us bring you up to speed with what's at stake today!"

The big screens that were installed on both sides of the stadium displayed a short clip in which the Twins in clown costumes threw a ball at Axel and Patricia, painting them both in Gryffindor colours.

Laughter erupted from the stadium, while all the Slytherins were offended.

"This is a Clip of last night which is quickly going viral on the Magi-hive. The two identical clowns in the clip are the Weasley Twins, infamous for their pranks. And their latest prank included painting the Captain and the Seeker of the Slytherin team into Gold and Scarlet, the colour which signifies the Gryffindor House, which is a great humiliation to many a Slytherin. And through the match today, the Slytherin team is supposed to take its revenge today."

Meanwhile, standing opposite Axel in the middle of the pitch, Rose looked between a mixture of amused and guilty. "I tried to stop them, don't blame me for this," she offered to Axel. She didn't know why, but she had had a bad premonition as soon as the Weasley Twins had come up with the idea. She had tried to stop them, but of course, since when had the twins listen to anyone?

Facing the humiliation from the crowd and the gloating looks of the twins, Axel remained unmoved. "You should have tried harder. Don't blame me for what I'm going to do next," he replied calmy, making Rose's bad premonition come back in full force.

The Commentator wasn't done yet, as another clip was shown on the screen next, of Rose and Axel facing each other. "And this is a clip of the challenge between Seekers of the Teams. The new Slytherin Seeker, Axel Hunt, has challenged the Gryffindor Seeker Rose Potter, the Girl-who-lived herself. The Gryffindor seeker has been reported to be the best and the youngest seeker at Hogwarts, winning Gryffindor the Quidditch cup and House Trophy in her very first year here. There are talks of her getting offers to play in the Major leagues already, which is definitely going to be an unheard of feat. And such a seeker has been challenged by the Underdog Axel Hunt. The word is, the losing party will have to do anything the winner asks! So, ARE YOU EXCITED TO SEE THE OUTCOME?!"

"""""YEAH!!!"""""

Axel frowned. The Commentator has been in favour of Gryffindor from the beginning, and passive aggressive towards the Slytherin. Like right now, he is all but stating that Axel is a reckless idiot, while trying to stay neutral to not get into trouble for it since the match is being broadcast internationally. But then again, the Commentator, Lee Jordon, was a Gryffindor and bosom pals with the Twins so it shouldn't be a surprise.

"Alright then, so let's begin this very exciting match, brought to you by BigOwl, your shopping made easier, and Grapes, premium Magi-mirrors and other Magitronics!'

Facing each other, both the teams were handed standard broom sticks, to ensure fair competition. If the players are allowed any broom, the richer side always has the unfair advantage. And to stop this, the School provides the teams with standard identical broomsticks with the same specs, checked by Madam Hooch herself. As already mentioned, Hogwarts was rolling in money. Just the promotions of those two brands had raked in enough money to fund the entire school for a year or two, let alone providing students with brooms.

"I want a clean and fair match," said Madam Hooch as she blew the whistle, starting the much awaited match.

Jordan began again, "And the match has started, with both the teams kicking off the ground, taking positions! Madam Hooch is going to release the balls any moment now. One thing to be noted in today's match is that it is a debut match for most of the players in the Slytherin Team. Yeah, Captain Patricia Afonso had this brilliant idea of making a team out of a bunch of inexperienced noobies for this important match, surprising us all. Let's see if her strategy works," said Lee, once again passively dissing the Slytherin team.

Madam Hooch released the ball, starting the match.

"And the Balls have been released, and Gryffindor is immediately in possession, the Quaffle in Angelina's hands,—Captain Patricia tries to Intercept but blocked by the twins!—Good Strategy, the rest of the Slytherin team are almost all amateurs anyway—Angelina to Katie—Slytherin player trying to defend, but in vain!—Katie to Alicia Spinnet—Alicia takes a shot—AND SCOOORRE!!! Gryffindor has scored one of the most one sided goals in Hogwarts history. I was reserved in my judgement earlier, but it is clear now, the Slytherin team is really weak this tim—Wait—" Lee Jordon suddenly paused in mid commentary in surprise.

"The Slytherin seeker is waving his hand in the air. When did he even get there? WAIT! IS THAT WHAT I THINK IT IS IN HIS HAND?!"

Sure enough, high above in the air, looking down at everyone, with the sun's glare falling from behind him, Axel sat casually on his broomstick, his hand held high. And clutched in his hand, was a shiny struggling golden ball with wings attached to it.

"In your assholes, doubtful people," he muttered, waving the Golden snitch, surprising everyone.

He was not being overconfident when he said he would win easily. And, he is not being overconfident when he is saying, "This is just the beginning."

The series of events from Yesterday night till now have left him more than a bit annoyed. And since he has free reign to go wild today, he is going to take this chance with open arms.

"So begins the ass-kicking," he said, releasing the snitch.

.....

A.N.: Let it begin.

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