diff --git a/compiler/gengo/gengo.go b/compiler/gengo/gengo.go
index 4b7ddf6..4d43076 100644
--- a/compiler/gengo/gengo.go
+++ b/compiler/gengo/gengo.go
@@ -2420,8 +2420,11 @@ func (g *Generator) emitExpr(expr ast.Expr) {
 		// Already converted to fmt.Sprintf CallExpr by parser
 		g.emitExpr(e.Parts[0]) // shouldn't reach here normally
 	case *ast.MacroExpr:
-		g.writeln("t.MacroPush() // runtime macro compilation")
-		g.writeln("t.PushNil()")
+		// &ident / &(expr) — evaluate the inner expression to get the
+		// source string, then MacroPush compiles and runs it via the
+		// hbrtl-installed evaluator hook.
+		g.emitExpr(e.Expr)
+		g.writeln("t.MacroPush()")
 	case *ast.AliasExpr:
 		g.emitAliasExpr(e)
 	case *ast.RefExpr:
diff --git a/hbrt/macro.go b/hbrt/macro.go
index a8b9165..747339c 100644
--- a/hbrt/macro.go
+++ b/hbrt/macro.go
@@ -85,9 +85,36 @@ func (t *Thread) MacroCompile(expr string) Value {
 	return MakeString(expr)
 }
 
+// macroEvalHook is installed by hbrtl at init time. It handles the
+// real work: parse the source via compiler/parser, compile to pcode
+// via compiler/genpc, execute with ExecPcode. We can't call those
+// directly from hbrt because genpc imports hbrt — the hook pattern
+// keeps hbrt's core independent of the compiler packages.
+//
+// Stack contract matches MacroPush: pops the source string value,
+// pushes the evaluated result.
+var macroEvalHook func(*Thread)
+
+// SetMacroEvalHook wires in the full macro evaluator. Called by
+// hbrtl.init(). Without the hook installed, MacroPush falls back to
+// the legacy stub that only resolves bare identifier names.
+func SetMacroEvalHook(fn func(*Thread)) {
+	macroEvalHook = fn
+}
+
 // MacroPush compiles a macro and pushes the result on stack.
 // Harbour: HB_P_MACROPUSH
+//
+// Stack: [sourceString] → [result]. The caller emits the expression
+// that yields the source string first — gengo produces
+// `emitExpr(e.Expr); t.MacroPush()` for &<expr>.
 func (t *Thread) MacroPush() {
+	if macroEvalHook != nil {
+		macroEvalHook(t)
+		return
+	}
+	// Fallback: legacy simple-ident lookup. Kept so hbrt tests (which
+	// don't init hbrtl) still function for trivial cases.
 	exprVal := t.pop()
 	result := t.MacroCompile(exprVal.AsString())
 	t.push(result)
diff --git a/hbrtl/pcexpr.go b/hbrtl/pcexpr.go
index 9e94eb5..a1096ad 100644
--- a/hbrtl/pcexpr.go
+++ b/hbrtl/pcexpr.go
@@ -55,70 +55,88 @@ func PcCompile(t *hbrt.Thread) {
 	defer t.EndProc()
 
 	source := t.Local(1).AsString()
-	if source == "" {
+	fn := compileExprSource(source)
+	if fn == nil {
 		t.RetNil()
 		return
 	}
+	t.RetPointer(fn)
+}
 
-	// Cache hit — skip parser/genpc entirely.
+// compileExprSource compiles a PRG expression string to a PcodeFunc,
+// memoising the result in pcCompileCache. Returns nil on parse or
+// empty-source errors. Shared by PcCompile (the RTL function) and
+// the macro evaluator (hbrt.MacroPush hook) so both paths benefit
+// from the same cache.
+func compileExprSource(source string) *hbrt.PcodeFunc {
+	if source == "" {
+		return nil
+	}
 	if cached, ok := pcCompileCache.Load(source); ok {
 		if fn, ok := cached.(*hbrt.PcodeFunc); ok && fn != nil {
-			t.RetPointer(fn)
-			return
+			return fn
 		}
 	}
 
-	// Wrap expression in a function stub so the parser can handle it.
 	wrapped := "FUNCTION _EXPR()\nRETURN " + source + "\n"
 
-	// Preprocess
 	pre := pp.New()
 	processed, _ := pre.Process("_expr.prg", wrapped)
 
-	// Parse
 	file, errs := parser.ParseWithGoDumps("_expr.prg", processed, pre.GoDumps)
 	if len(errs) > 0 {
 		for _, e := range errs {
 			_, _ = os.Stderr.WriteString("PcCompile: " + e.Error() + "\n")
 		}
-		t.RetNil()
-		return
+		return nil
 	}
-
-	// Extract the RETURN expression from the first function
 	if len(file.Decls) == 0 {
-		t.RetNil()
-		return
+		return nil
 	}
 
-	// Compile the whole wrapped function to a PcodeModule, then extract
-	// the _EXPR function. This reuses all of genpc's mature emit logic.
 	mod := genpc.Generate(file)
 	if mod == nil {
-		t.RetNil()
-		return
+		return nil
 	}
 	fn, ok := mod.Funcs["_EXPR"]
 	if !ok {
-		// Try uppercase / case variations
-		for name, f := range mod.Funcs {
-			_ = name
+		for _, f := range mod.Funcs {
 			fn = f
 			ok = true
 			break
 		}
 	}
 	if !ok || fn == nil {
-		t.RetNil()
-		return
+		return nil
 	}
 
-	// Populate the cache. sync.Map.Store handles concurrent writers —
-	// duplicate compilations of the same source waste a few µs but
-	// don't corrupt the map; whichever compilation finishes second
-	// overwrites with an identical value.
 	pcCompileCache.Store(source, fn)
-	t.RetPointer(fn)
+	return fn
+}
+
+// init registers the full macro evaluator with hbrt. Without this
+// hook, hbrt.MacroPush falls back to a stub that only resolves
+// bare identifiers.
+func init() {
+	hbrt.SetMacroEvalHook(macroEval)
+}
+
+// macroEval implements Harbour `&var` / `&(expr)`. Stack: [source] →
+// [result]. Compiles the source string to pcode (with the same cache
+// PcCompile uses), runs it, pushes the return value. Errors fall
+// through as NIL so malformed macros don't crash the VM.
+func macroEval(t *hbrt.Thread) {
+	srcVal := t.Pop2()
+	source := srcVal.AsString()
+	fn := compileExprSource(source)
+	if fn == nil {
+		t.PushNil()
+		return
+	}
+	hbrt.ExecPcode(t, fn, nil)
+	// ExecPcode's RetValue opcode stores the result in the retVal slot;
+	// PushRetValue copies it onto the operand stack for our caller.
+	t.PushRetValue()
 }
 
 // PcEval(pFunc) → xValue