Harry Potter with Technology System-Chapter 404: Not Found

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They arrived at the hidden entrance to the magical side of Chichen Itza... a far cry from the bustling Muggle tourist site. This place looked almost untouched, with dense vegetation creeping around ancient stone structures. The humidity hit harder here, clinging to them like a damp blanket.

Harry noticed that security was tight around the site. Mexico's version of Aurors patrolled the perimeter, keeping a watchful eye on anyone coming or going. They wore faded green robes with patches marking their rank, blending well with the jungle around them. A few of them were checking wands at the entrance, verifying the paperwork of those wanting to enter. This wasn't the usual tourist spot... definitely not a place just anyone could wander into.

Miranda approached the guards calmly, pulling a small, neatly folded document from her coat. One of the Aurors, a burly man with a thin mustache, took it and unfolded it carefully, squinting at the Ministry seal and the signature at the bottom. After a moment, he nodded and handed it back, stepping aside without another word. Miranda gave him a polite nod and motioned for Harry and Selena to follow.

Once they were clear of the guards, Selena gave a small, satisfied hum. "You weren't kidding when you said they would tighten security," she said to Miranda, glancing back at the Aurors.

Miranda shrugged lightly. "With the northern tribes acting up, it's no surprise. I didn't expect it to affect Chichen Itza directly, but I suppose someone decided to be cautious for once."

The jungle seemed to fall away as they entered the inner complex, stepping over vines and scattered stones. The temple rose up ahead, towering over the rest of the ruins, with moss creeping up its steps. Harry took in the carved symbols etched into the stone, recognizing some of the more basic protection runes from his own studies.

"You two worked here last year?" Harry asked, keeping his voice low as they walked.

Selena nodded, adjusting the strap of her bag. "Mostly cataloging runes and examining some of the spellwork on the older structures. The magical signatures here are ancient... way older than most European sites. We found a few inconsistencies with known history, and we've been trying to piece it together since."

Miranda led them around a half-collapsed stone wall, gesturing to a series of carvings along the base. "The problem," she explained, "is that many of the spells here don't match any known magical traditions. Some of them seem entirely unique... particularly the containment spells around the main temple."

Harry raised a brow. "Containment? For what?"

Miranda gave him a thoughtful look. "That's the question. We suspect it has to do with ancient rituals performed here, but the exact purpose is unclear. The wards are layered in a way that implies something dangerous was kept inside, but nothing remains. At least, nothing we've found so far."

Selena pulled out a small, leather-bound notebook and flipped it open. "Last year, we found traces of elemental magic interwoven with blood-based wards. Whoever set them up was powerful... definitely not a novice. And the patterns are... different. More chaotic than anything we are used to."

Harry glanced at the carvings again, his mind picking apart the structure of the runes. He could see the complexity of it... layers of ancient spellwork that had eroded over centuries but still held a faint pulse of power.

"Any signs of residual magic? Curses or enchantments left behind?" he asked.

Selena shook her head. "Not recently. Three years back, someone tried to tamper with the wards. Idiot got blasted halfway across the clearing. Barely lived."

Harry smirked. "Amateur."

Miranda gave a small chuckle. "Quite. Since then, the local Ministry has increased security and restricted access to only approved researchers. Fortunately, my connections were enough to get us clearance."

Circling the temple's base, they followed a path of worn stone, half-buried beneath creeping moss. As they moved past the overgrown stone pathways, Harry noticed how the runes etched into the ancient walls pulsed faintly, like they were still holding onto some lingering power.

Selena stepped closer, brushing her fingers over a weathered carving. "You would think the magic would've faded completely after this long. Most places like this lose their strength centuries before anyone gets around to studying them."

Harry shrugged. "Maybe it's because the magic was made to last. You said the wards were designed to keep something contained. Makes sense they would hold up better than the ones just meant to protect from intruders."

Miranda glanced back at them. "That is one theory. We are also considering whether the magic here has been sustained by something deeper underground. A natural source of power or a feyline. It's not uncommon in places where rituals were repeated over generations."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "And no one is bothered digging to find out?"

Selena gave a small smile. "Would you dig under a pyramid covered in ancient curses? Plenty of fools have tried. None made it far."

Harry snorted. "Fair point."

They continued to circle the temple, stepping over cracked stones and weaving through vines that had crept into the gaps between the ancient bricks. The structure loomed overhead, its steps almost glowing with a faint greenish hue in the early light. As they rounded a corner, the entrance finally came into view... a dark, yawning archway flanked by stone jaguar heads with gemstones for eyes.

Harry glanced at the jaguars, noting how the light seemed to bend around the gems. "Those look newer than the rest," he muttered.

Miranda nodded. "Restoration work from about seventy years ago. The Ministry here tried to replace the original stones after a curse broke them. Local scholars claim it disrupted the balance of the warding spells."

"Let me guess," Harry said dryly. "They never fixed it."

Miranda shook her head. "They didn't dare after the last team vanished without a trace. Instead, they declared it 'stable enough' and left it alone."

--

Majority of the day was spent deciphering the carvings and trying to make sense of the runes. Selena had set up a small workstation by the temple entrance, spreading out parchment and sketching out runic sequences while Miranda cross-referenced them with old notes. Harry moved between the sections, comparing patterns and making mental notes.

The whole place had a strange aura... like it was waiting for something. The runes covering the stone walls seemed to pulse faintly, almost as if reacting to their presence. The language was a mess of ancient scripts, and while some parts were obvious-protection, preservation-others were more obscure, almost experimental in nature.

"What is with this formation?" Harry muttered, tracing one of the spiraling sequences. "It's too chaotic to be just a containment rune. Almost like it's trying to draw something in and trap it."

Miranda glanced over, pushing her spectacles up her nose. "Possibly. Some of the runes hint at magical convergence, like they are trying to draw in ambient magic and focus it here. Could be related to the rituals performed at the peak."

Selena paused, tapping her quill against her notebook. "But why the pyramid structure? It's not just here... every ancient civilization with any semblance of advanced magic had something similar. Egypt, Mesoamerica, even in Mesopotamia. Were they all just mimicking each other, or was there an underlying reason?"

Harry raised a brow. "The practical reason would be stability. Pyramids can handle weight without collapsing... basic architectural sense. But this isn't just structural. There's something more to it. It feels... necessary, like the shape itself is reinforcing the magic."

Miranda nodded thoughtfully. "Perhaps the shape is the key to sustaining the enchantments. Like how certain wand movements are necessary to cast specific spells. The foundation might serve as a magical anchor."

"Or," Selena added, "it's something simpler... like a focal point. Maybe it just naturally enhances whatever ritual is performed on top. Some sort of amplification effect."

"Could be both," Harry said. "A structure that stable might keep magic from dispersing. If that's true, then whatever they did here wasn't meant to be temporary. It was supposed to last."

Selena smirked faintly. "You are getting the hang of this."

Harry just shrugged, moving to another set of runes. He crouched down, tracing his fingers over a particularly dense section. These ones seemed older, etched deeper, and were nearly worn smooth from time. Unlike the others, they seemed less refined, harsher, almost rushed. Maybe something added after the original construction.

The same question circled back. Was it all coincidence that different ancient civilizations came up with similar structures and even similar magical approaches? Was there some common influence, or was it just that certain needs led to similar solutions? Pyramids made sense as a stable shape, just like basic elemental spells made sense for survival, fire for warmth, water for drinking, light for seeing. But the similarities felt too consistent to be just chance.

Miranda stepped over, examining the section with him. "Looks like an attempt to reinforce a weaker spot. Someone must have worried about that part giving out."

"Or it did give out," Harry countered. "And they patched it up later. Doesn't look like the original craftsmanship."

"Agreed," Miranda replied. "But that raises more questions. Who did it, and why? There aren't any records of modifications since the site was abandoned."

Selena scribbled something in her notes, her eyes focused. "If the northern tribes have been acting up, they might know something we don't. Either they have sensed a change in the magic here, or they are after something they believe is hidden within."

Harry hummed, not entirely convinced. "You said they are restless, right? Maybe they know more than they are letting on. If they are guarding something related to this place, they might not take kindly to us poking around."

Miranda shook her head. "They are far up north, within the States' magical territories. We will be moving south from here."

Harry gave a slight nod. Although the Northern and Southern Tribes were often referred to as tribes, it was misleading. Both had developed into full-fledged civilizations over centuries—some even more advanced than the traditional magical governments of other countries. After the first wave of invaders came to the continent, many of the indigenous magical communities banded together, forming unified tribes to preserve their cultures and protect their lands. The continent was eventually divided into a few major factions: the Northern Tribe, the Southern Tribe, and individual magical communities belonging to each country. Some countries didn't have a dedicated magical government at all and were instead integrated into the tribes. Although Mexico was technically closer to the Northern Tribe's domain, it maintained its own Ministry, separate from either faction. So whatever had the Northern Tribe stirred up wasn't likely to affect them down here.

"Right," Harry muttered. "I doubt their problems will spill this far south. They are pretty territorial when it comes to their borders."

Miranda nodded, folding her map and tucking it away. "Exactly. Still, we will stay cautious. The local Ministry is keeping a close eye on the situation. We shouldn't have trouble unless some idiots decide to drag politics into it."

Selena straightened her bag, glancing toward the temple. "I doubt anyone will bother us. Most of the troublemakers aren't keen on ancient ruins. They will stick to more populated areas."

Soon, the trio left the ruins and set up a tent just outside of Chichen Itza, not too far from the temple. The ground was mostly uneven, but Harry found a patch that wasn't completely covered in vines and started clearing it with a few quick flicks of his wand. Selena set up the tent, making sure the canvas wasn't snagging on anything, while Miranda pulled out her notes and scanned through them, probably double-checking their plans for tomorrow.

They would be spending a week at most around Chichen Itza before moving further south. The place was impressive and definitely important, but it wasn't the only site worth checking out. There were other ancient structures that could shed light on their questions... were the similarities between magical communities across continents a coincidence, or was there a connection no one had figured out yet? It would make sense if ancient wizards had shared knowledge, but the lack of written records made it look like each civilization came up with similar ideas on their own. That was another mystery in itself—whether people created spells or just discovered them.

Once the tent was up, Miranda waved her wand in a smooth arc, locking the structure in place, making sure it wouldn't collapse if the weather turned bad. Selena slipped inside to set up the rooms and arrange their supplies. Harry double-checked the perimeter, setting up a few simple wards to keep pests away. There were enough magical creatures around that he didn't want anything crawling in while they were asleep.

"Dinner is on me tonight," Harry said, stepping into the giant kitchen inside the tent. He moved to the counter and started gathering ingredients, setting up a simple meal. Miranda's tent was more like a mansion, with two floors, multiple bathrooms, a spacious kitchen, living room, and even a small library tucked into one corner. It was well-furnished, nothing too luxurious, but comfortable and practical.

Miranda entered after him, shrugging off her outer coat and hanging it by the door. "Not many students cook for themselves these days," she commented, giving him an approving glance.

"Most don't have to," Harry replied, cracking a few eggs into a bowl. "Too used to the elves doing all the work. Or just plain lazy."

--

Hey guys!

Dropping a teaser for a new fic I've been working on... this Chapter was actually a preview of the setting.

Premise:

A soul from our world ends up in the wizarding world... not as Harry, not as a prodigy, but as a Rosier with just enough magic to not be declared a Squib.

To make it worse (or maybe more fun?), he is stuck with a system that only works when he teaches magic. Every time he teaches a spell, it unlocks ancient versions of it... sometimes powerful, sometimes forbidden, sometimes dangerous. And sometimes, they wake up things that should have stayed asleep.

Oh, and he doesn't even know this world.

Never read the books. Never watched the movies.

He only knows Harry Potter's name because his friends wouldn't shut up about it in his old life.

In that life? He was a history teacher. Which is kind of funny, because...

His new pureblood family force him to become Hogwarts' History of Magic professor to avoid embarrassing the Rosier name. (Thanks, mum.)

So now he is teaching magic he barely understands, unraveling forgotten magical civilizations, and desperately trying not to get possessed, cursed, or set on fire by ancient rituals gone wrong. Again.

He is not a genius, not edgy, not dark and brooding.

He is a laid-back, snarky, half-functioning caffeine addict who is mostly just tired and confused and very good at pretending he has a plan.

(He does not have a plan.)

More strategy than brute force.

More sarcasm than solemn monologues.

And way too many eldritch vibes for a man who just wanted a quiet job and a pension.

Already writing it, so keep an eye out... and let me know what you think!

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