A young boy groaned as his eyes fluttered open slowly.
"Uh, what the hell?" He mumbled, his eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness he found himself lying in. A piercing pain radiated through his entire body, which felt completely foreign to him.
Blinking his eyes slowly to adjust to the darkness, he slowly swiveled his head, trying to discern his location.
'This can't be the hospital room; I can't hear the mechanical beeping of the machines anymore. Did they move me into another room?' His mind whirred with confusion as he ran through his recent memories.
Before waking up in this undisclosed location, he had just settled down in his hospital bed. The latest round of chemotherapy had done nothing to alleviate his terminal condition. He'd spent the last three years of his young 18 years of life living in the hospital with no hope of ever escaping.
Pushing his aching arms through the darkness, he began to feel just how small the room was. Barely half of his arm's length was spread before he felt the slanting roof, the indentations oddly reminding him of a staircase.
"Weird," He muttered, his hands tracing along the sides of the room as realization dawned upon him. "This is a cupboard. What the hell am I doing here?"
As he attempted to analyze the small room further, a stinging pain shot through his head, and he closed his eyes, wincing at the sensation.
Foreign memories began flooding his mind, as his breath became ragged and laborious. Memories of a green flashing light, a motorcycle in the night sky, a long beard, and then the torturous beatings he had survived throughout his childhood.
Choking out a laugh as the pain subsided, he leaned back.
"I'm fuckin' Harry Potter?" He said, a deep-seated fear rising through his chest.
The sheer absurdity of the situation washed over 'Harry' as he reeled back, thinking about how he had arrived here.
"Is it a medically induced coma, and now I'm dreaming?" Pinching his skin, 'Harry' winced before shaking his head. The pain was so real that it couldn't have been.
"That only leaves some scuffed type of reincarnation, and into one of the most unfortunate children that I know of."
Wondering how he had somehow integrated his mind, or soul, into the orphan, he sifted through the newly acquired memories until he stumbled upon a horrifying scene.
Vernon Dursley, his 'uncle,' had beaten the boy so bad due to a broken vase, which he was blamed for thanks to Dudley, his overly rotund cousin. The beating was so bad that his uncle threw him into the cupboard in the hopes that the child would die silently.
Shuddering, he pushed the memory away.
'This is definitely some AU version of Harry Potter; the novels and books weren't anywhere near this cruel. I'll need to be careful; if Vernon can be this vile, who's to say Dumbledore isn't worse. I need to figure out magic fast and get stronger than anyone else.'
DING
Harry paused his thoughts at the mechanical sound. Swiveling his head around the dark 'room,' he tried to find its origin.
As he attempted to push his body into a sitting position, a bright light harshly illuminated his eyes, as a blue panel appeared.
[System Bound!]
[Welcome to the Thematic Gacha System.]
Harry's hand shook as he reached out to the translucent screen. He attempted to touch it, but his hand phased through it, as if it were a figment of his imagination.
"No way..."
Eyes wide with a large grin on his face, Harry realized exactly what was going on. Thinking to himself, and in turn, to the system, he posed a question.
'System? If you can hear me, please tell me your exact functions and limitations.'
He'd read too many novels and fanfictions in his past, and even though he had not obtained the 'Gamer' system he loved, this was the next best option in his opinion.
[The Thematic Gacha System has been bound to the host's soul. The system will grant you monthly Gacha based on the world, or universe you are in. This means that any powers, abilities, items, bloodlines, and even genetics will be granted based on the Harry Potter Universe.]
[Gacha pulls are once a month from the date the system is bound. Your first-time Gacha will grant you two rewards as a first-time bonus.]
Pausing to re-read the words, Harry couldn't help but grin from ear to ear as he read the words displayed on the panel.
'There go my worries about not being able to get stronger faster. Though, I wonder if I'll actually gain anything useful.'
Looking back at the panel, Harry began reading through the limitations, though they seemed pretty standard. It stated that though the system could answer questions, they would only be answered regarding the system functions or rewards. Anything questioned about the world would be ignored.
One tidbit of information was pleasantly surprising, though. Thinking 'Status,' Harry willed the panel to shift and show him a basic interface, with his information present.
[Name: Hadrian 'Harry' James Potter
Age: 10
Status: Malnourished (Stunted Growth), Physically Near-Death (Healing), Soul Fragment (Horcrux), Magical Bindings (75% Bound), Blood Ward (20% Syphoning Magic), Mail Blocker, Elf Blocker, Compulsion and Loyalty Charmed/Potioned.]
Harry couldn't help but gape as he stared at the panel, his mind in turmoil as the truth of his new existence came crashing down.
'I'm so fucked.' He thought.
Somehow, this orphaned child had been surviving on a sliver of life for the last ten years. It was no wonder he had finally succumbed to his beatings and passed away, giving a new soul a chance of taking over.
Shaking his head in exasperation, Harry focused back on his thoughts.
'I've read enough fanfictions to know what I can do. Hopefully, some of the tropes or cliches still apply to me.'
Cracking his neck, Harry took a deep breath and pushed out his first mental command.
'System, do my first Gacha pull.'
The panel changed; gone was the information, and in its place was an image of a roulette wheel spinning at blinding speeds. Harry tried to read the words, but it seemed as though they were shrouded in obscurity.
Clenching his tiny hands, he waited patiently for a couple of minutes as the spinning slowed down, before coming to a complete stop. Blinding light flashed, as words replaced the roulette wheel.
[Congratulations on your first pull! You have received Phoenix Tears of Rebirth.]
Harry slowly swallowed the lump in his throat as he read the description of the item.
[Phoenix's Tears of Rebirth: A single, shimmering tear from the original phoenix, this is the ultimate panacea. When consumed, it instantly purges all magical curses, hexes, and dark enchantments, regardless of their strength or origin.
It simultaneously dissolves all forms of magical and physical bindings. Beyond that, it enacts a complete cellular regeneration, healing every form of bodily damage. Crucially, it also instantly reverses the effects of malnutrition, magical exhaustion, and any long-term physical debilitation, restoring the user to absolute peak health and magical vitality.
Think of it as a complete, magical system reset.]
Harry couldn't help but let out a childlike giggle as he realized how incredible his first boon was.
'Maybe this won't be so bad after all.' He thought, though he tempered down his excitement as he realized he still held no real strength or power in the world.
At those thoughts, he focused back on the system once again, his mind excited, but apprehensive at the same time.
'Do the second pull.' He commanded, as once again the roulette wheel spun at blinding speeds, before slowing down.
Blinking once, then twice, Harry rubbed his eyes before slapping a hand over his mouth to stop the excitement that escaped his lips.
'This is insane!'