Note to the Readers.: Today was my best friend's birthday, hence I got delayed. I hope you guys still have your Powerstones.
Happy Birthday S.M., you know this delay is on you.
****
Potter, Black, Bones, Longbottom, Abbott, and Greengrass. According to the basic knowledge he's gotten from the system, these are all part of the Sacred Twenty-eight.
Rose turned out to have quite a 'powerful' friend circle, huh? Though it kinda makes sense, since Rose might be politically the second most powerful witch, right after Bellatrix.
And after knowing that having a good relationship with her means having a good relationship with Minister Black as well, they'd try any method to get acquainted with her. The easiest being— to let their children become childhood friends with her.
But, Axel had gotten into a complicated situation now. He was in the same compartment as six of the Sacred Twenty-eight Familys' members.
And if that wasn't enough, he looked at the girl whose surname was Greengrass.
She certainly had the same gray eyes. He can never forget those eyes. And there was a slight resemblance in the facial features as well.
So, it was safe to assume that this girl was related to that man, most likely her father. Now, the question is, what to do with this girl? Her father or uncle had tortured him into a cripple. So there is a lot of unvented hate inside him. But, he was also feeling a bit guilty that he'd killed her father.
Just as Rose was done introducing everyone to him, he received a quest.
*Ding*
[Quest Activated]
[You are heading down the path of a loner. It would not have been a problem under ordinary circumstances. But, your foes aren't entities that you can handle alone.
You'll need allies and you'll need to have communication skills and charisma befitting of a leader.
Mission:
Make friends, make allies, and make a good impression with the wizarding world.
Rewards:
•Making a good impression on the people in this compartment:
->+1% Approval
->Information on your Enemy
•Rewards on every successive steps you take towards building a reputation for yourself such that people willingly follow you one day.
->+Approval rates
-> Other rewards]
[Do you accept the mission?]
[Y/N]
After telling him the name of everyone present, Rose pushed Axel into a seat and folded her hands.
"Why the hell did you leave yesterday?" She asked, as if he'd committed some capital crime.
Axel raised his eyebrows, "Why are you even asking me that?" He asked, confused as to why his leaving would affect anything. He was more focused on the quest right now.
The reward was quite tempting. He really wanted to know just what calamity can bring so much destruction that AR would have to go to such lengths to save it.
But, the problem was:
'Oi system, how am I supposed to make friends?! I've never had one my entire life! And how am I supposed to make a good impression? And also, what if I accept and can't complete it? Can I refuse?'
[The knowledge in your head given by the system also has common knowledge and adequates of the wizarding world. That's how you knew how to eat with a knife and fork. Just try, you won't even realize that you're using them. Though you of course, have the option to deny since the system can't force you to do anything. And there is no penalty on refusing or failing. System is not that kind of system.]
'Well, I'll accept then,' Axel saw no reason to deny it. He just accept it since at most, he'll only fail.
Realizing that she was not being taken seriously, Rose brushed her hair back in annoyance,
"Why, you ask? You left without saying anything! And then Aunt Bella came, handed Aunt Andromeda a vial, said something to her, and left as well! Do you have any idea how sad and heartbroken Aunt Andromeda looked? She had even started yelling at Aunt Bella!"
Axel scoffed. 'That woman must be sad that her husband can't be cured,' he thought. What else could it be?
"Look, I don't know what you're talking about. I was just busy and had to leave. You should ask Minister Black why she left and what she said to Mrs. Tonks to make her sad. I should have nothing to do with it," he answered, feigning ignorance.
It seems like this girl here doesn't know that he was called for the dinner only because they wanted to get a memory from him. Once they'd gotten the memory, of course, he wouldn't go back to be kicked out.
Bellatrix had clearly spelled out just how unwanted he was.
But he didn't tell any of this to Rose. That dinner with the Blacks was his Black history.
There he was, enjoying himself, feeling happy and hopeful, and even having thoughts like how good it is to hang out with these people.
And there those two sisters were, watching him with amusement, knowing exactly how he was feeling and still doing it just because one wanted to find a clue to cure her husband while the other just wanted to keep her sister happy.
After leaving that place, he was feeling hurt a lot, but more than that, he was feeling ashamed. He was proud of everything he'd done in his life, even the murder. But this moment… This moment was something he didn't want to share with anyone.
Rose was not at all satisfied with his reply. She wanted to refute, but at this moment, Susan interjected,
"Rose, who's this? You still haven't introduced us to him!" She asked Rose. This guy looked too cool with those scars and hairstyle! She wanted to be friends with him.
"Yes, who is he?" Asked Neville as well. For some reason, the thought of this intimidating boy being friends with Rose made him uncomfortable.
Rose realized that even though she had introduced everyone to him, she had forgotten to introduce him to others.
But, she didn't know much about him, to begin with.
Axel sighed. If not for the mission, he'd have left this place right now.
"The name's Axel. Nice to meet you," he said, nodding at everyone.
Susan was instantly excited as she held out her hand, "Oh! Hi! My name is Susan. Rose never mentioned she had such a cool friend."
Axel looked at the hand she offered. If he didn't shake it, would he be making a bad impression?
Looking at Axel's hesitation, Rose couldn't help but speak out.
"Um...Susan, his hands…"
But Axel took out his tremoring hand and shook hands with her briefly.
He couldn't hide it at Hogwarts anyway. He'll have to write, flip pages, cast spells, and eat in public.
As soon as their hands touched, Susan felt his hand twitching abnormally as if vibrating. Her weak hand got trembled along with his and it felt quite painful.
"Ah!"
She recoiled back as if she'd been shocked. She looked at her hand and then at Axel's.
"What's wrong with your hand?!" She asked in concern and panic.
"It's weird," Neville commented, looking repulsed.
Rose was glad that someone else could also see his hands' abnormality, but she didn't like Neville's attitude. It's not Axel's fault, is it?
"Aunt Andromeda said someone cursed him with dark spells. She's the one who treated him," she informed Susan. This made Susan and Hannah gasp but Daphne narrowed her eyes.
At this moment, someone else spoke up as he heard a quiet but clear voice.
"You were tortured, weren't you?"
Axel was surprised to see Daphne looking at him with empathy like she could understand what he had suffered.
'She can tell…' he realized.
Though he couldn't quite say whether it was because she'd gone through something similar or because she'd witnessed or done something similar to a poor victim like him.
Axel just shrugged, neither affirming nor denying.
"It's just temporary. I'll find a way to heal myself," he said with certainty.
Rose really felt bad for when she saw him saying those words with such conviction.
That day, after Axel had left, Andromeda had pulled her aside and clearly explained Axel's circumstances. He won't be able to cast magic and even moving his hand would be painful every time.
That's why she'd all but ordered her to thoroughly take care of Axel at Hogwarts and not let him get bullied. That's the main reason why she had pulled him in here with her friends.
Rose had asked how long it would take for him to get healed. At that time, Andromeda had just shaken her head in regret.
There was no cure. His nerves were incurably damaged.
But right now, she didn't refute his claim. She didn't want to squash his hopes.
Susan was angry for Axel.
"Did your parents not complain to the DMLE? My Aunt would definitely send the culprit to Azkaban."
Axel laughed. This girl was quite innocent. He liked it.
"Uh… Susan. His parents..," Rose interjected.
Susan was an orphan too. So she could understand how insensitive she was when she had just assumed his parents are alive and mentioned them.
"Oh! I'm so sorry, Axel. I can understand. Rose and I are orphans too," she said in understanding.
Axel just nodded. Though he was quite sure they could understand nothing.
They grew up in a luxurious environment, never having to sleep feeling hungry as hell with their body aching all over from the beatings received and worrying about how to get food the next day.
Since they were talking about parents, everyone went back to their previous conversation about Daphne's dad before Rose had left to bring Axel. They had only just met and couldn't even get a chance to console their friend about her father's death yet.
"How's your mom and sister doing? Are they still very sad?" Asked Hannah.
Hannah was quite shy or intimidated facing Axel, a stranger with scars and a cold attitude. But it seems that she can actually speak normally with her friends.
To everyone's surprise, Daphne's answer was—
"No!"
She giggled and everyone except Axel's mouths fell open again. Daphne was usually quite cold and reserved. But unexpectedly, at this time, she smiled!
"I could never tell this to you guys before," she began, still smiling genuinely. "My dad was actually the biggest scumbag in the world! He had forbidden us to talk bad about him. He used to check our minds regularly and punish us if we ever stepped out of line."
"...."
Everyone except Axel was speechless. They had never thought that the always stoic man they had seen before was that kind of person.
"Oh, Daph… is that true?! We never knew!!" Rose quickly got up and hugged Daphne, Susan and Hannah also began fussing over her.
Though Axel was smiling, just like Daphne. It felt as if a burden had been lifted off his shoulders. Even though he had felt no guilt towards the man, he had felt bad for the man's family. What if his children have to live a life similar to his? But now it seems he was worried for nothing.
Soon, they had stopped bothering him with questions so Axel took out his wand and charms book to start practicing again.
Rose raised her delicate eyebrow, "What are you doing?" She asked curiously.
Axel's mouth twitched.
"What does it look like? I'm practicing magic, of course."
She frowned, "Didn't Aunt Andromeda say that you won't be able to do that unless your injuries are healed?"
Everyone was surprised. He can't do magic?! Even though they felt bad for Axel, their first foremost thought was: 'Thank Merlin it's not me!' If any of them ended up not being able to do magic, they'll definitely cry all the time.
Listening to Rose, Axel nodded thoughtfully as if he just remembered.
"Well, she did say that. But," he looked her in the eye, "That can't stop me from giving it my all." He said simply as if stating facts.
'I'll still be the best wizard in the world one day,' he added in his mind.
In the next moment, he flicked his wand, "Lumos," His wand tip lit up, producing a flickering light surprising Rose. That light seemed to represent him, fighting to stay bright despite all the attempts to extinguish him.
Looking at Axel, who was clearly struggling to keep up the spell, with the flickering light illuminating his serious and concentrating face, Rose felt her heartbeat increase for some reason.
***
A.N.: He's not really making friends. He's just making an impression. He won't let people in so easily.
What's the threat system is talking about? If it was just the old Voldemort, system wouldn't have needed to pick Axel. Many others could have finished the man off while he was still in his wraith form.
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