HP: The Arcane Thief

"Nope. Not doing it." Axel flatly rejected Patricia's request for making a showy entrance with everyone. Again. For the love of magic, why would the girl even think that Axel would take part in something like that?

Patricia sighed, seeming not expecting much. "Well, one can at least hope. You know, our fans would have been thrilled to see you make a flashy entrance, or show off some tricks."

Axel deadpanned. "Do I look like I care? Besides, they'll get plenty to watch when I destroy Mahoutokoro."

At this moment, the commentators made the announcement, which was the cue for them to enter. Patricia clapped her hands.

"Alright, everyone. Do the entrance as we planned. Axel... do whatever you want." With that they were off, wands in hands, with Patricia in leader.

Axel shrugged, also about to enter, but he glanced behind and stopped. "Why are you here?"

The one who revealed herself from the invisibility cloak was none other than Rose Potter, who was startled upon being discovered. "H-How did you detect me?"

Axel clicked his tongue. "You're too sloppy, that's how. And you still haven't answered why you're here," he reminded her, starting to walk out. It was time.

"Wait!" Rose followed him. "You... are you sure you will be alright?" Rose couldn't wrap her head around why Axel was playing this match. He was in second year for Merlin's sake. Even she, as a Gryffindor wouldn't play in a match like this where those dangerous and angry ninjas are allowed magic.

Axel smirked. "So, you're worried about me? Is that it?"

Veins popped on Rose's forehead. "You... who's worried about you?! I... fine! Go ahead! Why did I even bother?!" She exclaimed, stomping away.

Axel nodded his head. This was a bit fun. "Hey," he called out, making her stop. "Just watch. I'll show you how to truly 'fly'," he said, making her widen her eyes. With that, he was off.

...

Outside, the stadium, which had been extended to International standards was fully packed. A mix of Wizards and Shinobis had filled the place till the last person. Various banners could be seen waving in the stands in support of both teams.

Right now, whether it was Mahoutokoro supporters or Hogwarts supporters, both were making a commotion since they couldn't see Axel among the Hogwarts players.

Just when everyone was getting worried, a silver-green blur shot out from the Slytherin Entrance, making everyone stand up and yell like crazy.

"AND HE'S HERE! WITCHES AND WIZARDS, THE GAME IS ONNN!!!"

"SAVAGE HUNT!"

"SAVAGE HUNT!"

"SAVAGE HUNT!"

The crowd made so much noise that it couldn't be matched by the entrance of both the team combined.

Axel came to a halt in the middle of the pitch, hovering in the air, surrounded by his teammates. Facing him was the Mahoutokoro team, all of their eyes focused specifically on him.

Patricia breathed a sigh of relief upon his arrival. "You had me panicked for a moment," she whispered.

"Well, I can't bail on this match even if I want to," he answered back.

Asuma Takeshi, the captain of Mahoutokoro, glared at him from the other side. "You should have stayed inside, Hunt," he said dangerously.

Axel glanced at him. "Oh, you're here? Your Headmaster called you an embarrassment after you feinted at the interview. Thought you should know..." he informed helpfully.

Takeshi almost rushed Axel again, but Enzo stopped him. "Just let the match start. Then we'll answer."

Madam Hooch flew out of both the teams' firing range. "This is madness," she muttered, imagining the fight that would start as soon as she blew the whistle.

"This is the unrestricted format," she announced in a sonorous voice. "The only rule is that life threatening spells are forbidden. There will be no substitution. If your teammate is down, you play with the ones you have. Am I clear?" She asked, getting nods from both sides. "Get ready!"

"Everyone, prepare the spells!" said Takeshi as lightning flashed in his hands which were already forming hand seals. Everyone else in the team Mahoutokoro also readied their magic.

'Damn...' Axel was a bit alarmed. These guys meant business. They were loading up the hand seals so that it's instant casting as soon as the match starts.

"Everyone, prepare the shields," said Patricia, raising her wand as well.

Axel sighed, looking at the two sides glaring at each other. As someone who had already killed many, all this intensity. "Guys, can we not do this more peacefully?" He asked.

"What? Are you scared of us now?" provoked Takeshi, who had a serious grudge with him due to what happened at the interview. Axel had made him so mad that he had ended up making a fool of himself.

Axel just shrugged. "Well, I'm just saying that I, for one, don't need to use such methods. I have better ways to win this match."

This only fired them up further, with both sides glaring at each other more.

"Woah, look at the aggression! Is this really a Quidditch match or a duel?" Asked Jordan from the commentary box looking at the situation.

Travis laughed. "Unrestricted format Quidditch is nothing but a vicious fight disguised as a Quidditch match. That's what makes it so interesting. We also call it a high mobility duel."

"Ohhhh! The fight while flying at that speed... I can't wait for it to start!"

At this moment, Madam Hooch blew the whistle, starting the match. And.... chaos began.

At least that's what it looked like. Team Mahoutokoro fired their best magic straight at Axel, and Team Hogwarts put out the best shields they had practiced in front of them. Fire, water, lightning, rocks, wind, everything was used.

*BOOM*

The resultant impact blew both the team backwards out of sheer force.

"WHAT THE HELL AM I SEEING?! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WHAT AN EXPLOSIVE START TO THE MATCH!!!! I can feel the impact even from here in the commentary box! exclaimed Jordan.

"Mahoutokoro is Hunting for Hunt while Hogwarts is shielding him to the best of their ability. They didn't even pay any attention to the Bludger, Quaffle or snitch," said Travis

"Hunt is the main piece in the game. Once he's taken out, it's a win for Mahoutokoro." said Jin.

Everyone had their eyes glued on the site, trying to see what happened. As the magic cleared, they saw that the Hogwarts students had somehow withstood the impact, though they didn't come out unscathed.

But...

Something wasn't right.

"Where's Hunt?!"

Yep, the centre of the storm, the main target of attack and defence, Axel... was nowhere to be seen.

Everyone started looking around. Even the cameras which were supposed to be projecting were frantically moving left and right. Hell, even his teammates who were protecting him didn't see what happened due to the blinding spellworks.

"""...."""

Both the team paused. Axel had disappeared. The Slytherins didn't know what to do without him, and the ninjas only had Axel as their threat. There was a moment of awkwardness between the two who looked at each other.

The stalemate was finally broken when Madam Hooch blew the whistle, attracting everyone's attention.

"What the—?!"

"H-How...?"

Exclamations were made all around at that moment.

Hovering right beside Madam Hooch, was Axel... With the golden snitch in his hand...

"WHAT AM I SEEING?! HUNT HAS ALREADY CAUGHT THE SNITCH! MERLIN! DID ANYONE SEE HOW HE DID IT?!"

"This... " Jin was even more stunned than most people. Because he could comprehend more precisely what had happened. 'But how?!.' He thought.

While the whole Mahoutokoro team was hell bent on taking out Hunt, he was actually able to rather focus on the snitch.

Travis was also similarly shocked.

"Damn it.... while other seekers can't even catch the snitch under normal circumstances..." he didn't need to finish his sentence.

While others can't catch the snitch even under normal circumstances, Hunt was somehow able to catch it WHILE he was facing an all out barrage like that.

At this moment, something else happened.

"Oh no, oh no, and Patricia has taken this moment to pick up the Quaffle! Mahoutokoro players try to stop her... but it's too late! PATRICIA SCORES!!! Hogwarts in lead 60 to 0!"

Patricia had once again taken the opportunity to score while everyone's attention was focused on Axel. The Hogwarts' supporters were cheering like mad while there was a complete silence at the Mahoutokoro supporters' side.

The members of the Team Mahoutokoro were currently at a loss. This... was not how they had thought the match would go. Considering that this was an international broadcast, this situation put a lot of pressure on them.

Takeshi gritted his teeth as he glared at Axel.

'It's all because of that guy!' He thought in fury.

"Everyone! On to him!" Said Takeshi, forming handseals.

Instantly, all the Mahoutokoro players flew towards Axel from all directions, sealing his escape.

The first one to reach him was the seeker Endo, who had used wind to enhance his speed. He cast a massive barrage of wind blades at Axel at very close proximity, making it impossible to fly out of range.

Axel didn't shy away. He also flew towards Endo.

"What's Axel doing?!' Yelled Jordon. It seemed like Axel was going to be hit. Just when the blades reach him, Axel twisted him at an odd angle.

*znnnnn*

When he emerged from within the blades, part of his fluttering robes was cut off, left flying behind him, but Axel was unscathed.

Endo, who hadn't expected Axel to dodge everything, was surprised when he came face to face with Axel, who had already taken out his wand.

"Flippendo," he said, almost as a greeting.

!!!!

The spell hit Endo at point blank range, with no time to shield. Due to his forward momentum, the guy was flipped off his broom as he began to freefall.

Endo was temporarily down. But... at this moment, the rest of the players had also begun catching up.