Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Sword Art Online. I'm writing this for fun.
AN: A knowledge of Harry Potter or Sword Art Online are not required to enjoy this story, though some of the more subtle nuances may be missed without that background. Either way, I hope you enjoy the story.
This is set in the year 2022, when Sword Art Online was supposed to launch. Instead of SAO, however, the game being released is Alfheim Online, the world of Fairies. Wizards have been working on the game alongside "muggles" to incorporate a lot more features and to allow better integration of the user into the game. More details will come to light as the story progresses.
"A video game, Hermione? You want me to help you test out a video game?"
"This is much more than just a video game, Harry. This is something that the technomancers have been working on with the overseas divisions in Japan. Most of the advances we've made in integrating magic and technology has been because of this project." Hermione huffed for a moment, brushing a stray strand of hair from her eyes. It had taken her a number of years, but she'd finally broken down and tried those cosmetic charms that Lavender was always raving about. Not that it had helped things with Ron… she deliberately pushed those thoughts aside as she considered the other man in her life. Such as it were.
Shaking his head, Harry looked down at the box in his hands. Completely unadorned, it seemed too light considering that it was supposed to hold a portal to another world. His knowledge of computers was limited to daily use, considering there was no way to get around in the world without them. Even with Magic. Should a man in his early forties even be playing video games?
Turning his attention back to his best female friend, he made to decline again when she cut him off. "Harry. You aren't the first magical to be playing this. We've had this game in the testing phases for almost the entirety of the summer. The feedback we've gotten from the systems has been really good and now that it's ready to launch, I want to share what I've been working on for the past few years."
Hermione reached out and took the game from his hands. "This box contains years of my life. Years that I've mostly kept separate from you and the others. With the kids all moved out and Ron and I… well, this is what I've dedicated my life to. And it's finally time to share it with you. So please, will you take a look at the game and let me know what you think."
Reaching up to run his hand through unruly locks, Harry considered his best friend. She'd really been the only one to stand by him through the years. The decades. Everyone had left him at some point. Either lost in the war. Or lost through time. Or like Ginny, lost because reality wasn't quite up to the hype of legend. Even when he went traipsing around the world for several years, she was always there with her letters.
Still though… he opened his mouth to decline again when Hermione preempted him. "You can fly in the game. Really fly. Without needing a broom. And because of the system, you'll feel everything like it was real life."
Harry blinked in surprise. Even now his favorite thing about Magic was flying. Oh sure, he'd enjoyed playing Quidditch and had even tried his hand at playing professionally for a couple of years before deciding that it was flying he enjoyed more than being a Seeker. The freedom to explore the world, the feel of the wind sweeping over him.
Sighing, he nodded his head. She always did know him best. "Fine, fine. I'll play your game. But only for a few days. I'm supposed to be heading out to take care of a nest of nasties in Brazil later this week."
Hermione's blinding smile of gratitude warmed his heart, though the gush of words following threatened to overwhelm him. At least that hadn't changed over the years. He listened as she explained the system, the NerveGear, as well as a slight background into the game world itself.
It seemed that each of the nine races had their own unique personalities, their own look, their own magic specialties, their own pros and cons. They even had their own areas of the game world where they would start. Their own territories to defend and control. Their own agendas.
Harry turned to look at Hermione as she beckoned him towards her computer, pulling up pictures of each of the races. The cat eared Cait Sith. The brown-clad Gnomes, so different from the gnomes of the Wizarding world, with their large stature. The purple-clad Imps. The golden Pooka. The red-clad Salamanders. The black-styled Spriggans. The green Sylphs. And the blue Undines.
While he listened to Hermione explain about the backgrounds and territories of each of the nine races of Alfheim Online, Harry let his mind wander, while still storing the information for later study, a trick he'd picked up during a hunt in India. What was he really doing with his life at the moment, besides going from one fight to the next? One hotspot to the next. It had been that way for the last decade. Maybe this would be the diversion he needed to drag himself out of the routine and back to socializing with people. Even if was only with Hermione to start. He could think of worse things.
As Hermione started winding down, Harry returned his full attention to his no longer bushy haired friend. That had been a shock after not seeing her for several years. Shaking away those distracting thoughts, he focused on the tablet that his friend was extending towards him.
"Here. This is one of my tablets, another project that benefited from the research behind this project. The tablet is not online completely unharmed by Magic, in fact, it can slightly recharge itself from the ambient magic friend of your body, as long as you're holding it. As long as you're using it in your hands, it will never run out of power. If you just set it up to watch movies though, it'll still only last like a normal tablet."
"Wait, you can watch movies on this thing?"
"Honestly Harry, where have you been for the last ten years?"
"Africa and South America mostly. They're the places with the most wannabe Dark Lords."
Hermione opened her mouth to reply before slowly letting it close. Sometimes she could forget what her best friend did for a living, then all of a sudden it came crashing back that Harry was essentially a killer for hire. A mercenary. Sure he only went after what could be considered the bad guys, but that didn't change the fact that he took lives for a job. Maybe, just maybe, she could drag him away from that and give him something else to focus on. Not to mention she really needed the feedback from someone she trusted. Interns and Beta Testers were all good and fine, but someone who would tell it to her bluntly would be greater help in refining the system after it fully went online tomorrow.
Pushing away those thoughts for later, she continued with her explanation. "The tablet has all the information I just gave you, in addition to more in depth descriptions for each of the races and regions in the game. It also explains the magic system and combat system. I want you look that over while I get things setup. When you come back tomorrow, we'll be fully ready to go. I'll have everything setup here at my flat and I'll be diving into the game with you to begin with so I can give you a better tutorial than the game would."
Nodding absently, Harry stood to take his leave. He had some studying to do.
***
Tablet tucked under his arm, Harry knocked on the door to Hermione's flat. He was dressed completely mundane for the occasion, having decided to walk most of the way there that morning as he digested the information in the tablet. He had thought that learning about the Wizarding world all those decades ago had been strange. This world of Hermione's seemed even more set apart from reality. Then again, that was supposed to be the point, wasn't it? To bring a fantasy world to life in such a way that you could feel, taste, touch, hear, and see it in a way that had never before been realized.
During the evening, he'd taken the time to look up some information about the NerveGear system and VR games in general. The NerveGear was being heralded as both a gaming miracle and a marvel of technology. There were rumors of so many more implications to the system than just gaming, with the possibilities being endless.
Harry could definitely see some of the possibilities just from the description. He wondered how programmable the system was and if they could make specific scenarios. Imagine being able to train the mind in a system using potentially fatal situations and being able to learn from those encounters. Training that awareness without having to worry about slowing down the body would have a huge impact on training for Aurors and Hit-Wizards alike. They could learn to recognize spells and curses without having to worry about the effects. If they could mimic the system to accurately represent the spells, they could even train wand gestures and spell casting. The possibilities were limitless.
The more he looked into the program and the system, the more intrigued Harry became. Now that he was standing at the doorway to the future, he let the excitement build within him. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door, then stepped back as it swiftly opened.
Hermione stood in the doorway dressed in a pair of loose slacks and a simple blouse that did wonders for her without being too overt. The happy smile on her lips was the most attractive thing about the ensemble and Harry found himself returning the gesture. He was glad he was taking her up on the offer, no matter how opposed he had been to it at first.
Following her into the house, he got his first glimpse of the NerveGear system with his own eyes. The helmet was simple enough, and if anything, just looked like a flight helmet to him. Wires connected the helmets to the more easily recognizable computer towers setup side by side. The helmets themselves were set upon side by side lounge chairs.
With an amused smile, Harry allowed himself to be guided onto the chair, the NerveGear onto his head, then settling down into a comfortable position while Hermione got herself setup. After a few moments, all was in readiness.
Together, the longtime friends said the Magic Words.
"Link Start!"
AN: Welcome to the start of a new story. This one kind of ambushed me and demanded to be written even though I have no idea where I'm going to go with the story. On the bright side, it's got me back into writing again, so you can expect updates to all of my stories to come slowly creeping in.
With that note in mind, I'd love to hear opinions on what race you think Harry would choose. I know my preference but I'm open to discussion. I'd love to hear what people think Harry would chose and why. Same goes for Hermione.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the story. Leave a review and let me know what you think. Future chapters will be hopefully be bigger.