The day Harry left for Hogwarts dawned foggy and grey, the kind of atmosphere that settled like static between one reality and another. Vernon grunted, Petunia fretted, and Dudley sulked because the train station didn't have a McDonald's.
Harry didn't mind. He had bigger things on his mind.
The train ticket in his hand wasn't just parchment—it pulsed with bound runes, a programmed key to a dimensional shift point. Platform Nine and Three-Quarters was a stable, low-tier rift gate. His Mana Lens picked up the enchantments immediately.
Node Identified: Dimensional Rift - "Hogwarts Express Gateway"
Status: Stable (87%) Access: Magical Blood Signature Required
Threat Level: Low Hidden Layer: 1 Detected
He moved slowly through King's Cross Station, subtly scanning ley energies. The wall between platforms Nine and Ten flickered faintly with stabilized void runes. Most people wouldn't notice. But Harry saw the underlying structure—how the barrier wasn't just magical, but scripted. Like a hidden redstone mechanism behind a stone pressure plate.
The twins—Fred and George, he remembered—plowed through the wall with practiced ease.
Harry stepped up, planted his feet, and whispered a new spell into the interface.
Spell Type: Utility Effect: Phase Glyphs: Self + Displace + Voidtrace
Spell Name: Riftstride
He cast it silently.
For a moment, the world inverted. The textures around him glitched—flashing with purple light—and then he was through.
He appeared on the other side, standing on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.
[Spell Successful. Mana: -6]
Steam hissed from the crimson engine of the Hogwarts Express. Children laughed. Parents wept. Owls hooted.
But Harry focused on something else.
The Hidden Layer.
Just behind the information kiosk near the far end of the platform was a data fragment. Not literal code, but something ancient, embedded in this reality like a forgotten datapack.
He drifted closer and cast Mana Lens again.
[Node Type: Forgotten Mod Hook]
Tag: "Thaumic Residue - Forbidden Codex"]
Status: Corrupted / Sealed
Access Requirements: Arcane Key, Knowledge Rank: 2+
He stared.
Thaumcraft.
The system was awakening. Hogwarts wasn't just the magical center of Britain. It was a hub—a compiled server where ancient mods layered over base magic like legacy plugins.
He reached out to touch the node, but it pulsed red-hot.
Locked.
That would require research. Power. Ranks. He needed to level up.
The train ride was noisy, chaotic, and wonderful. Harry retreated to an empty compartment near the back and summoned his spellbook to review new questlines.
[New Questline Unlocked: Year One - Magical Foundations]
Attend First Year Classes
Learn 3 Basic Spells via Hogwarts System
Gain 1 House Affinity
Discover Hidden Node in Library Wing
Optional: Defeat Minor Magical Entity (Pre-Boss)
Reward: Unlock Thaumcraft Codex + Alchemy Table Blueprint
A knock interrupted him. Hermione Granger stood at the door, her hair frizzing from static and mana discharge.
"Have you seen a toad?" she asked quickly. "A boy named Neville's lost one. I—"
She trailed off, eyes catching the faintly glowing book in Harry's lap.
"That's… not a Hogwarts textbook."
Harry smiled.
"It's… custom-coded."
She narrowed her eyes. "You're using freeform glyph syntax."
"You know about spell glyphs?"
"I read Advanced Theories of Wandless Magic last summer," she said, almost accusingly.
Harry couldn't help it—he laughed. "Sit down. I'll show you something."
By the time they reached Hogsmeade Station, Hermione was brimming with questions. Harry had shown her his spellbook's modular layout, explained the basics of mana flow, and even helped her craft a simple light spell with the [Illuminated] glyph.
"You realize you've reinvented Arithmancy," she whispered.
"No. I've rewritten it."
The boats carried them across the black lake in silence. Above them, Hogwarts glimmered against the night sky, its many towers crowned in golden light.
[Quest Step Complete: Enter Hogwarts Grounds]
Reward: +2 Mana Capacity | +1 Ars Nouveau Knowledge
Mana Pool: 22/22
Inside the Great Hall, the Sorting Hat took one look at Harry and froze.
"Oh… oh no," it whispered. "You're not just a wizard. You're—what are you?"
"Something new," Harry replied mentally.
"You… broke the binding spells."
"I debugged them."
"...well then," the Hat said, sounding stunned. "You'll make a mess of all four Houses. But let's be honest… only one values raw, unrestricted knowledge."
"Ravenclaw, then?"
"No," the Hat said with a chuckle. "You'd tear through their books and turn the Tower into a workshop. Better give you room to work."
"Where—?"
"Slytherin!" the Hat bellowed.
Gasps echoed across the Hall. Dumbledore's twinkle dimmed. McGonagall pursed her lips.
But Harry didn't flinch.
[House Affinity Established: Slytherin]+5% Stealth Bonus | +10% Research Speed | Unique House Node Unlocked
He slid into the green-and-silver table as whispers erupted around him. Draco Malfoy looked both intrigued and wary. Blaise Zabini simply nodded like he understood something no one else did.
Harry's interface lit up.
[New Location Unlocked: Slytherin Dorm – Arcane Workshop Hidden Room Available]
Next Objective: Begin Glyph Training | Find the Hidden Library Node | Prepare for Encounter: ???
That night, in the privacy of his bed, Harry tapped into the Arcane Workshop beneath the dorms. The stone rippled like water, revealing a secret passage even Salazar Slytherin had only half-completed.
Within, he found a Node Altar, its runes dormant. He placed his wand on it and let mana flow from his core.
The runes lit, revealing an arcane circuit designed for advanced crafting.
[Blueprint Discovered: Thaumic Analyzer]
Requires: Gold Ingot x2, Source Gem, Crystal Matrix, Blank Glyph Page
Side Note: "WARNING – Do not attempt while understaffed or underleveled."
Harry ignored the warning.
Tomorrow, Hogwarts would teach him charms and transfiguration.
But tonight?
He would begin researching how to crack the castle itself.