HP: The Arcane Thief

"Well, I wouldn't know. After all… I was never engaged to Martina in the first place," said Axel, causing chaos to suddenly erupt in the hall.

!!!!!!

"Wait WHAT?!"

"Did I hear that right?!"

"What the fuck does he mean by that?!"

"Never engaged with Martina? Is he under a spell or something?"

"How can he not be engaged?!"

Everyone was absolutely flabbergasted by this piece of news that came out of the left field. What was Axel saying? That he was never engaged?! It was so absurd that most of the people thought that he was on dope or something.

"He… he's actually doing it…" Daphne could not believe it. She wondered if he had gone mad or something. She had wanted to believe him of course, when he said he wasn't engaged but she didn't to raise her hopes for nothing. But right now, he's actually announcing it to the world. Could there still be any doubt?

'But… why?' That's all she could wonder. Why was someone like Hunt going so far? Why would he renounce the engagement with a girl like Martina? And why would he invite her personally? Why would he go so far for someone like her?

And… why… why was she feeling such overwhelming relief right now? Daphne didn't know why, but a crystal clear tear slipped out of her eyes, appearing quite contrasting at her cold face. She felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off her chest.

…

Meanwhile, the reporters once again couldn't wait for their turn as they began firing questions once again, only increasing the chaos. Patricia had a blank look on her face, as if trying to ascertain whether she heard what she heard. Even Dumbledore also turned to regard Axel with some astonishment.

"Mr. Hunt, what did you mean by that? Can you please elaborate?!" Asked one of reporters.

"Axel, the whole world knows that you're engaged to Martina Valentino. Why are you denying it now?" Fired another.

"Mr. Hunt, did you perhaps mean that you are no longer engaged to Martina? Does that mean that your engagement is broken?!"

"Axel—"

"Mr. Hunt—"

And amidst all this chaos, Axel sat nonchalantly in his seat. "No, you heard it right. I was never engaged to Martina. I was just used as a shield to block off the proposal of the Mikhailov Family," he explained to the staggered crowd, causing more mayhem.

"Breaking News! Axel Hunt has just claimed that his engagement with Martina was false! I repeat—"

"Witches and wizards, we have another shocking revelation—"

"What am I hearing?! Axel Hunt is actually not engaged to Martina—"

"Mr. Hunt, is your claim really true? If yes, then why are you only revealing it now?"

"Axel, is it possible that you were threatened into silence by the Valentino Family?"

"Mr. Hunt—"

"Axel—"

The hall was once again plunged into chaos. Dumbledore had to step in yet again to calm the crowd.

"Everyone, please calm down. Reporters, it would be much appreciated if you follow the rules," he said into the mic. Only then did some semblance of order return to the place.

Axel shook his head as he answered the questions. "I was not threatened into silence. I just didn't really care at that time. But as I said, it's causing me problems now, so I'm clearing things up. That's all," he said with a shrug. "Oh, while I'm at it, I'd also like to make it clear that I don't have romantic relations with any of the girls who've been mentioned with me. I don't really care about my image, but don't damage their reputations just for petty gossip," he said, surprising everyone once again.

What the hell? Axel Hunt, who has been known to have relations with several high profile girls is actually claiming that all that news was false? It would completely change a lot of things.

"Mr. Hunt, does that include Miss Akiko Matsushima?! If yes, then does that mean that the students of Mahoutokoro have been angry at you for no reason?!"

Axel rolled his eyes. "Of course. But I would still crush some annoying bugs for her at the match," he said, glancing at Takeshi. "She doesn't appreciate delusional weaklings bothering her."

""""Ooooooooohhhh!""""

The students of Hogwarts cheered while the students of Mahoutokoro got even more angry at Axel.

Asuma Takeshi got so angry that he stood up from his chair. "You scum! Who are you calling delusional?!"

Axel looked at Takeshi in confusion. "Who were you again?" He asked, causing an eruption of laughter from Hogwarts students. From beginning to end, Axel has treated Takeshi like air, and it was absolutely hilarious.

The veins on Takeshi's forehead bulged due to extreme anger. "You're done for," he declared, before he began forming handseals. But before he could succeed, he fell unconscious, courtesy of Principal Yamazaki, who was sitting right beside him. "You are an embarrassment," said Yamazaki, shaking his head. The questioning continued while Takeshi was escorted out.

"Mr. Hunt, but why did you go along with it?"

Axel looked at the reporter. "You want a war between the Valentino family and Mikhailov Family?" he asked, causing the reporter to quickly shake his head in denial.

"Me neither. That's why I went along with it. Besides, Martina is my friend and I was also appropriately compensated. Can we talk about something else now?"

That was an unintentional bomb, but a bomb still. To avoid the war?! The reporters were quick to realise the implications.

"Mr. Hunt, are you saying that you were used as a fake fiancee in order to avoid the proposal from the Mikhailov family?"

Axel clicked his tongue. It's really difficult. No matter what answer he gives, they will only interpret it however they like. So he just shrugged. "No comment."

"One more question Mr. Hunt. Are you not disappointed that the engagement is not real?" Asked a daring reporter. Axel's fake engagement was too big a topic to be glossed over just like that.

"No, I haven't thought about it. I'm thirteen. Let me live a little," said Axel with some annoyance.

The reporters hesitated to ask the next question. Because none of them wanted to let this topic go, but they were afraid to anger savage Hunt.

Though, one of the reporters seemed to have a lot of courage, or foolishness, as he asked the question in the rudest way possible.

"But Axel, as you just said, you were used as a shield to block off potential suitors. You even fought off the heir to the Mikhailov Family for Martina. Then why is it that the engagement between the two of you can't be real and you are just a shield?" He asked, causing murmurs to spread into the crowd.

Axel frowned. This was getting annoying. "As I said, Martina is a friend. I was just helping her. It is also none of your business. Next." he said, skimming over the question. He would have done more, of course, but he was sitting right beside Dumbledore right now, representing Hogwarts to the whole world. Some restraint has to be exercised.

But, before the next reporter could ask his question, the same reporter spoke up again.

"But Mr. Hunt, my question is, why are you guys only friends? Is it because of your low background, or is it because you already have someone else you like?" He asked, causing everyone to be alarmed by his question. Discussion spread everywhere, and everyone watched with bated breath what would happen next. The reporter even had the nerve to smirk at Axel, knowing that the question would be difficult to answer.

Axel's face went blank for a moment as he looked at the reporter with a neutral expression. His expression literally seemed to say, 'You actually wanna die? Fine, I'll help you.'

'Screw restraint,' thought Axel. The man was clearly trying to mess with him. And if Axel let him get away with it, it would only cause more reporters to get adventurous.

The hall suddenly went quiet as everyone looked at Axel. At this moment, everyone at the Hall just knew, the reporter fucked up.

"You wanna know about my love life?" Asked Axel, looking at the reporter with a raised eyebrow. He leaned forward to speak into the mic. "Then go ask your wife. I'm sure she knows."

"'"""OOOOOOOOOHH!!!!"""""

The students began making noise and all the cameras suddenly pointed at the victim reporter, who looked like he had just licked a sour lemon.

"Savage Hunt! Hahaahahah"

"He really destroyed the guy."

"Damn, this guy is not scared of anything! Dumbledore is sitting right there!"

"Yeah, even after getting canceled, he still doesn't give a damn to the rules."

Meanwhile, the victim reporter, who realized that he had forever become the butt of a never-ending joke, couldn't control his anger. Especially because… his wife was actually a crazy fan of Hunt. That's the reason he was harsh in his questions. He wanted to embarrass Hunt in front of his wife.

"You little bastard—!" The reporter murmured in a low voice, drawing his wand. "Bombarda!"

He actually fired a blasting spell straight at Axel!

Boom!

A shield appeared in front of Axel, blocking the spell, but the pandemonium spread into the hall.

"Oh Merlin! Witches and Wizards, a destructive spell was just fired in the Meeting Ceremony—"

"Did you guys see that?! That's the second time Hunt angered someone to the point of hexing!"

"Audience, it was to be said that Savage Hunt has one bloody poisonous mouth on him, and he has the balls of dragon hide. Saying what he said in front of the whole world, the controversies related to this are going to be endless —"

"Viewers, there it is, the Controversial Hunt! In the Meeting Ceremony, representing Hogwarts in front of the whole wizarding world, Axel Hunt has destroyed the rude reporter. But, the true savagery lies in the fact that, he can actually get away with it! If people made a fuss, Hunt might just withdraw from the next and leave us blue-balled yet again!"

"Ladies and Gentlemen, what an amazing event this has been! In just a few minutes, Hunt managed to provoke people to the point of using magic, rejected a serious challenge, and nonchalantly made jaw-dropping revaluations that we are still having difficulty comprehending. Truly, coming all the way here has been absolutely worth it!"

Overall, the place was a mess. The reporters were speaking non-stop, the assailing reporter was being apprehended, and the students had gotten completely rowdy. Fights were breaking out here and there.

In such an out of control situation, Dumbledore stood up, looking as if everything was under control.

"Everyone, I think that concludes the Meeting Ceremony. It was definitely… eventful. Thank you all for joining, and I hope you are eager for the match." he said jovially.

And like that, the meeting ceremony came to an end.

….

Though... even if the event had ended, but the implications had only just begun.

Axel Hunt had gone and done so much in a single Meeting Ceremony. And now, the world had to slowly process it.

First of all, he was actually going to be playing the next match. Only this confirmation was enough to cause massive waves in the Wizarding World. People all over the world were now looking forward to the Hogwarts vs Mahoutokoro match to see Axel play.

But that was not all. The news about Axel's fake engagement came out as an even bigger surprise to the world. It had become a topic of massive debate and discussion, with various people putting forward their own views on the matter. And this article was the most viral.

"AXEL HUNT: THE SHIELD"

"Dear readers, as everyone is aware, Axel Hunt's engagement with the Princess of the Valentino Empire has been a controversial subject. The beautiful and rich Martina Valentino has been considered the dream girl among young men all over the world. And when such a girl was engaged to someone like Axel Hunt with no family background, it seemed like an event straight out of a fairy tale. Due to this, Hunt has had to face the jealousy and hatred of the whole young wizarding population.

And now, it has been revealed, that the engagement was actually fake all along! Axel Hunt was just used as a shield by the Valentino Family to ward off the engagement offer from the Mikhailov family and also prevent a war.

While the young men all over the world are celebrating the single of their dream girl Martina Valentino, we try to look at things from Hunt's perspective. There's no question that being engaged to Martina is like a dream come true. But Axel had to go through that dream, while knowing that it would never actually come true.

The ideal girl was so close to him, and yet so far. He silently took the jealousy and hatred of young men all over the world while knowing that revealing the truth might actually start a war. And that, would have been disastrous.

The Valentino Family and Mikhailov Family... There are very few superpowers in the world that match the might to these two behemoths. And a clash between these two would have been absolutely calamitous. Thankfully, during this time, due to some mysterious circumstances, there has been a change in the leadership of the Mikhailov family, and the new leader is actually much better. Thus, a full on war has been avoided.

It has to be noted that this might not be possible without Hunt's contribution. So, while the young men all over the world are celebrating his loss and gloating over his misfortune, we would like to celebrate the unsung hero who prevented what could have been the biggest Wizarding War of the century."

—The Next Morning—

Sitting at the breakfast table, Axel blinked his eyes in bewilderment as he read this absurd article.

"The fuck is this bullshit?" He asked.

Theodore looked at him in confusion. "You don't know? You've become the tragic hero who prevented a war. Articles and Videos like this are currently trending everywhere. The Valentino Family has confirmed what you said yesterday and thanked you for your help."

"Really?"

Theodore deadpanned. "Mate, look around you."

Axel looked around. As always, people were looking at him. But this time, he noticed a difference. Everyone's gaze was a lot friendlier, and for some reason, most of the girls were looking at him with this dreamy look mixed with pity that gave him goosebumps.

Tracy looked at him with sympathy. "Are you alright? You kept such a secret to yourself all this time. You could have atleast told us."

Axel raised an eyebrow. "I don't understand. Why is everyone making a big deal out of this?"

Theodore shrugged. "Well mate, you did fake your engagement. And the war didn't happen. Of course everyone would be grateful."

'Damn…' Axel bit his tongue. In the interview, when asked why he had faked the engagement, giving the real reason, which was his wand, was not an option. So he had just lied that it was to prevent the war.

That was all bullshit.

Actually, he didn't give a shit whether the world was at war or not. He had just said it to dodge the question.

In actuality, the war did not stop because of his engagement. The war actually stopped because... Axel had killed the Head of Mikhailov Family.