The morning Harry was meant to leave for Diagon Alley, he woke to a new interface prompt blinking at the edge of his vision.
[System Sync: Magical Network Detected]
[Syncing Wizarding World Framework: 12%...]
A soft hum vibrated in the back of his mind as if gears were aligning, real-world magic slowly being parsed and catalogued by whatever engine powered his interface. It was happening—the two systems, magic and Minecraft, were beginning to merge. Hogwarts wasn't going to know what hit it.
He stood before the Dursleys, who were begrudgingly preparing to drive him to London. But as Uncle Vernon droned on about "no funny business," Harry's mind wasn't on the conversation—it was in the menus.
A new function had unlocked.
[Skill Tree: Ars Nouveau - Scribe Pathway Initiated]
Three new nodes gleamed before him:
Rune Attunement (Passive)
Mana Font (Active)
Summon Familiar (Locked)
He hovered over the first.
Rune Attunement: Enhances your ability to draw and activate Ars Nouveau glyphs manually. Required for spell-circle inscription.
He accepted. A surge of golden light flowed through his fingers. When he blinked, faint traceries of geometric light danced across his fingertips—glyph-tracing lines, ready to be activated.
As they drove, Harry distracted himself by watching the ambient magic outside. His Mana Lens let him peer beyond the veil—he saw spells hanging in the air like cobwebs, residue from centuries of spellcasting. And deep below the roads, hidden ley lines pulsed like ancient arteries.
[New System Prompt: Mana Nodes Identified]
He couldn't wait to tap into them.
When they arrived at the Leaky Cauldron, something unexpected happened. The moment Harry stepped through the door, a jolt passed through him—not physical, but metaphysical. The interface flared.
[Warning: Magical Field Density Surging]
[System Calibration: +Thaumic Energy Detected]
"Fascinating," Harry murmured, rubbing his temple. "This place is overflowing with latent mana."
The patrons didn't notice him slip away, eyes fixed on their pints and parchment. Hagrid hadn't arrived yet, so Harry wandered into a quiet corner and summoned his Workshop tab. Inside, the Scribe's Table glowed gently, and now, new glyphs were available.
[Glyph Unlocked: Ignite][Glyph Unlocked: Harvest][Glyph Unlocked: Light]
He crafted a new spell: Ignis Touch. Designed to project a short-range flame from his palm.
He tested it on a patch of crumbling wood near the fireplace. A faint spark flared—and died.
"Not enough ambient fire mana. Seek stronger sources."
Harry grimaced. Okay. So the mods had rules. No spamming fireballs indoors. Noted.
Outside, the gateway to Diagon Alley shimmered as Hagrid tapped the bricks. Harry's interface chirped again.
[Waypoint Unlocked: Diagon Alley][New Quest Available: Gather Arcane Components]
Objectives:
Purchase wand (Optional)
Collect glowstone dust
Acquire parchment
Locate Thaumic Crystal (Hidden)
He smiled. He was still playing the same old game—find resources, craft tools, level up. But the stakes were real. And the rewards?
He was about to find out.
Inside Ollivanders, the air was thick with a different kind of magic.
Ancient. Heavy. But wild—like untamed redstone energy.
Mr. Ollivander's eyes glittered as he examined Harry. "You've got a strange resonance about you, boy... not unlike an echo in the weave."
Harry narrowed his eyes. Did he see it? Did he know?
Ollivander handed him wand after wand, but each one fizzled. Harry checked his interface with each attempt.
[Compatibility Scan: Reject][Compatibility Scan: Inert Core][Compatibility Scan: Overlap with External System: Ars Nouveau]
Then, finally, a reaction.
The wand was alder, 10 inches, with a core made of a crystalline sliver of some unknown gem. Not unicorn hair, not phoenix feather.
[Thaumic Catalyst Detected]
The moment he touched it, his spellbook glowed in his inventory. The interface flared.
[Custom Wand Bound: Arcane Integration Achieved]
"Curious," Ollivander whispered. "That wand... it wasn't even supposed to be here. Came in a shipment by mistake."
Harry left the shop with a wand that wasn't really a wand—it was a conduit, a bridge between worlds.
He added it to a new inventory slot.
Slot: Arcane Focus Equipped
With his shopping done, Harry walked past the Apothecary and glanced down a narrow alley—the air buzzed with magical energy.
His Mana Lens pulsed.
[Hidden Pathway Detected: Arcane Distortion Present]
He followed it.
It led him to a small, abandoned shop. No sign, no door handle. But the wall was covered in glyphs—half erased, half rewritten. Like someone had been experimenting.
Harry reached forward and traced the glyphs with his new Rune Attunement active. They pulsed.
He recognized one.
[Rune of Transposition]
A gateway shimmered open.
Inside was a pocket dimension—no larger than a small shed, but brimming with crystals, plants, and floating books. It was a forgotten modder's den.
[Workshop Expansion Unlocked: Arcane Hideaway]
On a pedestal lay a note:
"To the next one who sees as I did: the worlds are code. The ley is logic. Craft your spells, forge your truth. -H"
Harry touched it—and the entire space synced to his interface. Storage. Crafting. Experimentation. This was home now.
Back in the Leaky Cauldron, Hagrid finally found him. "Ready, Harry?"
He nodded, still processing everything. "More than ever."
As they prepared to leave, a final notification blinked to life:
[Chapter Complete: Glyphs and Gateways]
Reward: +1 Mana Regen/sec | +New Glyph Slot Unlocked
Next Quest: Survive the Train Ride. Meet the Familiar.
Harry closed the interface with a smile.
The game had truly begun.