'This must be a dream… Just a nightmare.'
That was what she was thinking as she lay collapsed on her knees right after she first saw the dementors.
"Electrica…Impulsa…"
She had found them scary even when she had seen them in the movies. But, seeing one in real life, and in such a theatrical fashion as she had looked up while already feeling panicked from the atmosphere, and seen those scary rotten creatures swooping down on Axel…It was just too much.
"electrica impulsa…"
She had reincarnated in this world and had been treated like a princess by everyone, always being protected and cared for. She had never suffered any hardship here, making her forget the darker aspects of this world.
She had forgotten that this world wasn't just sunshine and daisies but a dark world where terrible dangers were waiting to surface. She was dimly aware that she had to do something, but she was in a state of shock. Just the rebound of the dementors' attack on Axel had left her frozen in fear.
"ELECTRICA IMPULSA!!!"
!!! At that moment, she heard Axel's loud voice which snapped her back into reality. She saw his amber eyes blazing with fire as he stabbed the two dementors with wands that were crackling with blue magic.
Martina came to her senses with a start as she witnessed this scene. There he was, an 11-year-old boy fighting desperately against the dementors while they were clearly attacking him with all they had. And here she was, frozen in fear and denying reality despite being a reincarnator and a so-called genius. This was the first time Martina Valentino realized the massive difference between the two of them.
'I can't just cower in fear! Not after the countless hours I've spent practising magic!' She thought, raising her wand.
She recalled all the good memories she had made in this world after living as an orphan in her previous life. Her father and older brother, who were feared by everyone but were very sweet-tempered and overprotective of her. And she recalled her mother who would always try to be strict but would cave into her every demand.
"Expecto Patronum!"
With the powerful memories, she chanted incantation for the Patronus charm, and her patronus, a big bright owl burst out from her wand and drove away the already writhing dementors.
Right after that, she saw Axel lying unconscious on the ground with his two wands fallen by his side.
"Nonononono. Please be fine, please be fine…" she muttered as she tried shaking him but he was out like a light. Martina didn't know if he was in danger or not, but she did know that if anything happened to him, she was going to blame herself forever.
'So much for a genius,' she thought self-mockingly. When it actually came down to it, she couldn't even deal with two Dementors in time.
She didn't even know what would have happened if the Dementors had targeted her first. Would she still have had the clarity and concentration left to cast the Patronus? Or would her tasty reincarnated soul be the Dementors' meal?
…
"How is it?" Martina asked anxiously to Madam Pomfrey who was critically diagnosing Axel with all kinds of machines. She had ended up turning both of them invisible and flying them both to the Hospital wing.
The medi-witch raised her eyebrows in surprise after her examination was complete.
"This boy just keeps surprising me. He has managed to change a lot in just two months," she muttered as she checked some past records of Axel she had in a bundle.
Martina frowned,
"What does that mean? Is he not okay?"
Madam Pomfrey looked at Martina like she was talking absurdly,
"Okay? With his body's condition, he's not "okay" by any stretch of the word. But if you're asking if he'll gain consciousness soon then yes, he will. There's no harm done right now. He's just really exhausted. Poor boy, he's been pushing himself a lot. But I'm talking about his previous injuries," she muttered as she prepared a syringe and gave him a shot through his arm.
With Madam Pomfrey's cryptic answer, Martina was now more curious than relieved. She did already have her doubts about his physique already from various indicators.
Frowning, Martina couldn't help but ask her what was wrong with Axel's body in the past, to which the Healer just shook her head,
"That's confidential, dear. You can only ask him if you want to know," She said before she began noting down further details in his file.
'But… I really want to know…' she thought with a sigh.
She had seen him being beaten and injured in the memories she'd seen and even when she'd first seen him when he was sneaking out in the dark, his movements seemed to indicate that he was having difficulty moving. She had also seen his hands shaking a lot as well.
What was wrong with him? And why was he still not cured? Does he need help?
Her gaze lingered on the folder in Madam Pomfrey's hands.
'No, that's wrong,' she thought as she shook her head. She shouldn't look into it without his permission. It looks like she would have to wait for him to wake up to find out.
She looked at Axel's sleeping face. Right now, it didn't have the constant frown and the annoyed expression it always has. Without it, his face looked quite handsome.
Martina wondered how long it'll take for him to wake up. It was only 10 o'clock right now. She can afford to wait for a few hours.
Though while waiting for him to wake up as she browsed through her Magi-mirror, Martina, after being tired from the incident, found herself falling asleep.
…
Axel woke up to an unfamiliar ceiling. He didn't feel like moving at all. His brows furrowed as he recalled last night's events. First the troll then the Dementors. Man, this school is really hardcore. To think he had heard it being called the safest place in Britain after Gringotts…
He examined his surroundings. He was in the hospital wing.
Just as he sat up, his gaze went to his side and he almost jumped out of the bed.
"What the—?!"
Right beside his bed, sitting in a chair with her head propped on the side of the bed, a girl was sleeping peacefully. Her long purple hair was spread all over the bed and her sleeping face looked much younger than her usual face, when she looks far older than her age.
Axel realized that she must be the one who brought him here, but… why is she sleeping here?!
With the disturbance caused by his reaction, the girl's eyebrows creased before she slowly opened her eyes.
Martina opened her eyes to see Axel glaring down at her.
"Aaaahhh—" she almost screamed out aloud before she clamped her mouth shut.
Last night, she had waited for him to wake up while browsing through the Hogwarts forums for the discussion on Troll. She had wanted to ask about his body's condition and help him out if she could. After all, with her family's resources, even phoenix tears could be arranged if they tried hard enough. But, she'd accidentally fallen asleep it seems.
Axel frowned, does he look that scary? Well, he was hoping he does.
"Did you bring me here last night?" He asked.
Martina quickly raised her head from the bed as she tried to compose herself, schooling her features and tossing her hair back. Though the drool at the corner of her mouth didn't help at all.
"Um… yes. Pardon my crude conduct, I fell asleep while waiting for you to wake up," she said after clearing her throat.
Axel shrugged,
"Well, thanks for saving me. I'm awake, so can you tell me what you want now," He said to her. It was clear she wanted something since she decided to wait but he couldn't imagine having anything that the Mafia Prodigy might want.
Martina shook her head.
"No, I don't want anything. I just—"
But she paused when both of them heard voices approaching from outside the partition screen.
"D'you reckon they might still be here?"
"Well, the photo was quite recent. I think we're the first ones to come here, so there's a chance."
"Well, I'm quite scared, to be honest. You two can go ahead and check. I don't want anything to do when the Valentino Family is involved."
"Oh... no..."
Martina's eyes slowly widened as she comprehended their words.
As she had fallen asleep without intending to, she had not even been able to set up wards around the place. On the off chance that someone peeked through the blinds, they would have been able to see her. And, it seems like that had turned out to be the case.
'Damn it!'
In her panic, she didn't even bother using her wand and simply put up the wards wandlessly, making it so that no one would be able to find this area so as to block those idiots.
She quickly took out her Magi-mirror and opened the Hogwarts forums.
"Shitshitshit!" she muttered as she found that the forums all blowing up with discussion. And the reason was just one damn photo, posted anonymously by someone.
*Ring* *Ring*
As if to make the situation worse, her Magi-mirror began ringing as she found her brother calling already and more calls and messages were starting to pop up with every second.
On the other hand, Axel had also heard those kids. And after two months of adapting, he had some idea what they could be talking about. He found his bag beside his bed. He fished out his Magi-mirror and quickly checked the forums as well.
!!!!
When he saw his photo with the beloved princess of the most dangerous Mafia family sleeping right beside him, he saw his life flash before his eyes.
"F."
Yep, he was dead. He was truly dead now….
He wondered if it might have been better if he had been left with the Dementors.
After checking to make sure all his belongings including his wands were with him, he simply got up as pain enveloped his body, indicating that his skills were activated.
Martina quickly answered the call of her brother.
"Fratello—" she began but was cut off as both her father's and brother's faces popped into view cramped together.
"Where are you right now?!"
"Are you alright?!"
"Who is he?! I just need the name!"
"He's only a friend right?... Right?!"
Martina didn't even have the chance to speak at all. Though it seemed that the Magi-mirror was suddenly snatched out of her brother and father's hands and her mother's stern face popped into view.
"Martina, what…were you thinking, sleeping unprotected at a place like that? Have I taught you nothing upto now?" Even though she didn't show it, Martina could tell that her mother was truly irate right now.
Martina pouted,
"Mum, I know it's my fault but we don't have time for that. I just need you to quickly get that picture deleted from everywhere,"
"Your father already has his men doing that. But the matter won't end here. I need to know… who was this boy and how did you end up in that situation?" Asked her mother, her tone leaving no room for evasion this time.
"He is–" Martina looked up from her mirror, only to find that Axel was nowhere to be seen. When did he leave? She still had not been able to know about his condition.
"Mum, don't put any of this on him. He was unconscious at the time. I was just waiting for him to wake up since I had business with him," she said quickly. For goodness sake, his life had been miserable enough from what she had seen in the memories. She didn't want her family making him go through more difficulties because of her fault.
"Martina Valentino—" began her mother, ready to launch into a big lecture, but Martina just cut off the call before that.
She sighed as she looked up at the ceiling. Her family had taken it well enough, considering the fact that her father and brother weren't already on their way to kill Axel. But… how would the rest of the school react to this?
…
A.N.: So, a brief intro of Martina's parents. There's going to be more about them very soon along with Bellatrix's reaction to the picture!
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