The cinema hall smelled faintly of buttered popcorn and cold air conditioning.
Thaddues leaned back in his seat, arms loosely folded as the lights dimmed and the massive screen flickered to life. Around him people were settling into their chairs, whispering to companions or rustling snack wrappers.
He wasn't particularly excited. To be honest, Thaddues had never been much of a fan of Harry Potter. The books were fine. The movies were fine but he had never understood the obsession people had with the wizarding world.
Magic schools, chosen ones, dark lords—interesting concepts, sure, but nothing that ever pulled him deeply into the fandom.
Which was why he had initially refused the invitation.
"Come on, bro," his friend Marco had insisted earlier that afternoon. "It's Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. I got an extra ticket."
Thaddues barely looked up from his phone. "Not interested."
Marco leaned closer, lowering his voice like he was sharing a dangerous secret. "It's free."
Thaddues stared at him for two seconds before sighing. "…Fine."
Now he was here.
The theater gradually quieted as the movie began. Light from the screen reflected across rows of faces, illuminating people watching with eager attention. Thaddues rested his chin on his hand and watched lazily.
The film progressed—wand duels, magical creatures, political tension within the wizarding world. It wasn't bad, but it also wasn't particularly gripping to him. Still, he paid more attention when the conflict escalated.
Magic, after all, was always interesting.
The idea of people wielding unimaginable power with simple flicks of a wand carried a certain appeal.
On screen, the confrontation between the characters had reached its peak. The music swelled as voices dropped into tense whispers, every line heavy with unspoken danger. The entire theater seemed to hold its breath.
Then the ground shook.
At first it was subtle, a faint vibration beneath the seats, like a truck rumbling past the building. A few people glanced around in mild confusion.
The shaking didn't stop.
It grew stronger.
The floor trembled violently, and the massive screen flickered as the projector struggled to stay steady. The seats rattled. Popcorn buckets tipped over, scattering across the floor as drinks rolled down the aisles.
Gasps erupted across the theater.
"What the hell—?!"
Thaddues straightened in his seat as the tremor intensified. The walls groaned as if the entire building were being twisted by invisible hands.
Then the real quake hit.
The floor lurched sharply, throwing people sideways. Someone screamed behind him as another person fell into the aisle. The ceiling lights flickered wildly, casting chaotic flashes across the panicking crowd.
"It's an earthquake!"
The words barely finished echoing before the lights went out.
Darkness swallowed the entire hall.
Panic erupted instantly.
"Ahhh!"
"Is the world ending?!"
"Run!"
People rushed toward the exits, stumbling over seats and each other as the ground continued to shake violently. The theater groaned like a dying animal.
Thaddues tried to stand, but the floor suddenly tilted beneath him. The violent motion threw him against the row in front. A deafening crack echoed somewhere above.
Then something collapsed.
A section of the ceiling came down with a thunderous crash.
Here is a smooth transition version connecting the earthquake death scene → awakening on the ship, keeping it detailed but compact like a real novel page:
For a brief second, Thaddues felt something heavy slam into his body. The impact crushed the air out of his lungs as pain exploded through his chest. The world tilted violently. He couldn't breathe. Dust and debris filled the air as people screamed somewhere in the darkness.
Then another collapse followed.
Something massive struck his back, pinning him against the broken seats. His vision blurred instantly. The roaring of the collapsing theater faded into a distant ringing inside his ears.
Thaddues tried to move.
He couldn't.
The weight was too heavy. His limbs refused to respond, and the pressure on his chest grew tighter with every second.
His thoughts slowed.
The screams around him gradually faded until there was nothing left but darkness and a strange, sinking sensation—as if he were falling somewhere deep beneath the world.
Then even that sensation disappeared.
Everything went silent.
Time seemed to stretch endlessly within that void. There was no sound, no light, no sense of direction. Only a cold emptiness that swallowed all awareness.
Until suddenly—something returned.
The first thing he noticed when consciousness returned was the smell.
Salt.
Strong and sharp.
It filled his lungs the moment he breathed in.
The second thing he noticed was pain.
His entire body felt like it had been slammed repeatedly against stone. His head throbbed violently, and something warm trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Thaddues coughed.
Liquid splattered onto wooden planks beneath him.
His eyes snapped open.
Above him stretched a pale blue sky dotted with drifting clouds. For several seconds his mind struggled to process what he was seeing. The air carried the steady rhythm of waves.
Wind brushed against his skin.
He slowly turned his head.
He saw an ocean an endless ocean.
Water stretched across every direction, glittering beneath the sun like a boundless mirror.
Thaddues froze.
"…What?"
He pushed himself upright, wincing as dizziness struck immediately. Wooden planks creaked beneath his weight.
Only then did he notice where he was.
He was in a ship, not a modern vessel. Not even close.
The deck was made of rough timber, ropes coiled around thick wooden masts, sails hanging slack in the wind but that wasn't the worst part.
Dead bodies, they were everywhere.
Men dressed in rough seafaring clothes lay sprawled across the deck, limbs twisted unnaturally. Some were collapsed near the railings. Others had fallen beside crates and barrels.
None of them were moving.
His stomach twisted violently.
"What… the hell…"
He wiped his mouth, staring at the blood on his fingers. The copper taste lingered on his tongue.
Then pain exploded inside his head, memories that were not his own crashed into his mind like a tidal wave.
Fragments.
Images.
Voices.
A ship sailing from a distant port. Cargo holds filled with exotic goods. Crew members laughing beneath the moon. A cup of wine.
Bitter.
Burning.
Agony spreading through veins like fire.
Men collapsing one after another.
Screams.
Foam at the mouth.
Darkness.
Thaddues gasped and clutched his head.
"…Poison."
The realization came slowly.
The original owner of this body had died from poison.
Whatever had been mixed into the drink had killed everyone aboard even him.
Thaddues lowered his shaking hands.
"I'm… not in the cinema anymore."
The memories told him enough to understand the situation. The body he now occupied belonged to a merchant traveling aboard a trading vessel but even the original owner hadn't known exactly where they were. Only that they had left a distant port and were sailing toward another land across the ocean.
Also this was supposed to be the original owner's first voyage after coming of age. Who would have thought he would die before reaching another shore?
Thaddues slowly stood up.
The ship creaked softly as waves rocked it gently. The wind tugged at the torn sail overhead.
The ocean stretched endlessly around him.
No land in sight.
No living crew.
Just a drifting ship full of corpses.
His heart pounded violently in his chest.
"I… got transmigrated,"
There was no other explanation.
One moment he had been watching a movie.
The next moment—he was here in another world.
A laugh almost escaped him.
"…You've got to be kidding."
This kind of thing only happened in novels.
Transmigration.
Reincarnation.
The idea would normally sound ridiculous but right now he was standing on an ancient wooden ship surrounded by dead sailors.
Reality had already shattered.
Then a faint light suddenly appeared before his eyes.
Thaddues blinked.
At first he thought it was just the sun reflecting strangely but the light formed into something clearer.
Words, floating in the air before him.
——
System Activation Available
J.K Rowling Wizard System Detected
Host Compatibility Confirmed
Activate System?
YES / NO
——
Thaddues stared.
"…A system?"
He slowly reached out as if the screen were something tangible. His finger passed through it.
Not real but definitely visible.
His heart began beating faster again.
J.K Rowling.
Wizard.
Those words immediately reminded him of the movie he had just been watching.
Harry Potter.
His thoughts raced.
If this was a wizard system based on J.K Rowling's magic…then that meant—
"I'm in the wizarding world?"
The possibility struck him like lightning.
A world filled with magic.... but also danger.
Dark wizards. Political conflicts. Magical creatures. Powerful wizarding families.
Thaddues swallowed.
He wasn't a hero. He wasn't brave or reckless.
He was just an ordinary man who wanted a salted fish life but if he had truly arrived in the wizarding world, being weak meant dying early.
In stories like Harry Potter, powerful individuals shaped history. Those without power were simply casualties.
His gaze hardened slightly.
If he had a system, then he had an advantage.
Something that could allow him to survive.
The floating screen remained silently before him.
——
Activate System?
——
Thaddues didn't hesitate any longer.
"Yes."
The moment the word left his mouth, the screen flashed brightly.
——
System Activation Complete
Welcome, Host!
[J.K Rowling Wizard System Online]
Primary Function: Assist Host in mastering wizarding magic
Features Available:
• Skill Proficiency Upgrade
• Daily Sign-In Rewards
——
Thaddues stared at the information as it scrolled past.
Magic.
A strange mixture of excitement and fear stirred in his chest.
He slowly looked around the silent ship again—the corpses, the endless ocean, the uncertain world he had entered.
Survival would not be easy but if this truly was the wizarding world…
Then learning magic was the most important thing he could do.
Thaddues clenched his fist.
"If I'm really here…"
His voice carried quietly across the empty deck.
"…then I'll become strong enough to survive."
The waves crashed softly against the hull as the ship drifted across the vast ocean.
Above him the sky stretched endlessly and somewhere in this unknown world....magic awaited.
TBC
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