Noah Finniel stood on Platform 9¾, his eyes scanning the bustling crowd of witches, wizards, and families bidding tearful goodbyes. The air was thick with the scent of smoke from the Hogwarts Express and the faint hum of magical energy. Yet, despite the excitement surrounding him, Noah's mood was far from cheerful. His stomach churned with a mix of anxiety and disbelief. This was it—the legendary platform that transported countless young witches and wizards to the magical world. And today, it was his turn.
Noah's journey to this moment had been anything but ordinary. Nine years ago, he had been an ordinary adult, living an unremarkable life. But one fateful night, after a particularly rowdy evening with friends, he woke up to a horrifying discovery: he was no longer himself. Instead, he found himself trapped in the body of a child, abandoned in an orphanage in London. The shock of it all had left him reeling. Why had this happened? His life hadn't been perfect, but it hadn't been bad either. And now, here he was, thrust into a world that felt both familiar and utterly alien.
Over the years, Noah had come to terms with his bizarre situation. He adapted, as he always did, and tried to make the best of it. But in the past few years, Noah always found inexplicably that there seemed to be some strange energy in his body.
This made Noah a little overwhelmed. His first reaction was that he might have been reborn in some strange parallel earth.
And then there was the world itself. As Noah grew older, he began to notice things—things that didn't make sense. News reports about a company called Stark Industries, rumors of mutants with extraordinary abilities. It didn't take long for Noah to piece it together: he wasn't just in any world. He was in the Marvel Universe.
The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. The Marvel Universe? Seriously? Of all the places he could have ended up, it had to be one of the most dangerous realities imaginable. Supervillains, alien invasions, world-ending catastrophes—this was a world where chaos reigned supreme. Noah spent countless nights lying awake, wondering if he should try to embrace this madness or simply find a quiet corner of the world to hide in.
But just when he thought things couldn't get any stranger, they did. On his eleventh birthday, an owl flew into his room at the orphanage, carrying a letter sealed with a familiar crest. Noah's hands trembled as he opened it, his heart pounding in his chest. The words on the parchment confirmed his worst fears: he had been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Hogwarts. Harry Potter. Magic wands and broomsticks. Noah's mind spun as he tried to make sense of it all. How could this be? Wasn't he in the Marvel Universe? What was Harry Potter doing here? Was this some kind of twisted crossover? The questions swirled in his head, but there were no answers—only more confusion.
And then, as if the universe decided to pile on even more absurdity, a mechanical voice echoed in his mind.
"The Strongest Wizard System has been activated."
Noah froze. "What the—?"
Before he could react, a translucent status bar appeared in the corner of his vision, like something out of a video game.
Name: Noah Finniel
Age: 11 years old
Mage Level: Order: Rank:
Noah blinked, waiting for more information—health points, mana, skills, something. But the status bar remained stubbornly empty. "That's it?" he muttered. "No health bar? No mana? What kind of system is this?"
The voice in his head responded, calm and mechanical. "My purpose is to assist you in becoming the greatest wizard."
Noah rolled his eyes. "Great. Just great. So, you're supposed to help me become a powerful wizard, but you can't even give me a proper status bar? What's the point of you?"
The system ignored his sarcasm. "This is a multi-merged world. You will need to uncover its secrets on your own."
Noah groaned. "Of course. Why would anything be straightforward?" He paused, then asked, "If you're supposed to help me, can you at least teach me some magic? Or maybe how to meditate or something?"
"I have compiled a library of knowledge for you," the system replied. "As a novice benefit, you may access it while you sleep. Your soul will enter the library, allowing you to study and practice magic without wasting time."
Noah raised an eyebrow. "That's… actually not bad." He hesitated, then asked, "What's the catch?"
The system didn't respond. It seemed to have gone silent, leaving Noah to figure things out on his own.
Over the next few days, Noah made the most of the system's "novice benefit." While his body slept, his soul wandered through a vast, ethereal library filled with ancient tomes and scrolls. He devoured every piece of information he could find, from basic spellcasting to advanced magical theory. The restless energy he had felt for years finally made sense—it was magic, pure and untamed. And now, he had the tools to harness it.
During the day, Noah prepared for his journey to Hogwarts. With the help of a kind-hearted uncle he met in Diagon Alley, he gathered the necessary supplies: a wand, robes, books, and a cauldron. The orphanage's director, Ms. Heifen, had even managed to scrape together some money to help him get started. Noah was grateful, but he couldn't shake the feeling that his life was spiraling further out of control.
And now, standing on Platform 9¾, Noah felt the weight of it all pressing down on him. He didn't know what house he would be sorted into, what kind of classmates he would meet, or what challenges awaited him at Hogwarts. But as his eyes landed on a boy with messy black hair and a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead, Noah's heart sank.
Harry Potter. Of course.
Noah sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I just wanted to study in peace," he muttered. "Is that too much to ask?"
The whistle of the Hogwarts Express blew, signaling the final call for boarding. Noah took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, and stepped onto the train. Whatever lay ahead, he would face it head-on. After all, in a world as chaotic as this, there was no other choice.