"Alright, everyone! Time to start, is everyone here?" Edward clapped his hands in the middle of the classroom. "Let me count..."
"...thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three—we're missing a few. Looks like some people are busy, but this is a come-and-go as you please club, so that's fine. Come on, let's divide into teams."
Thirty-three people had shown up tonight, and Edward divided them into three teams. The numbers weren't exactly even because some students had come with their own groups.
Like Cohen's group of four.
They were put on a team with other Gryffindor students, while the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws made up another, and the Slytherins formed the third.
For some reason, only two or three Ravenclaws showed up. They probably thought that studying at night was more important than joining a game club.
"I'm just going to teach you how to use this, and the rest is for you to experience on your own. First, you need to hold your wand and insert it into the hole on the side of the box. That's it." Edward instructed.
"Merlin's beard!" Fred exclaimed in surprise.
As soon as they inserted their wands, they felt a real-time feed being transmitted into their minds.
Now they could control a clay figure that looked just like them and could even see everything the figure saw.
This new experience and the brand-new world in front of them made the students incredibly excited.
Fred and George looked at Edward with fiery eyes, as if they'd just discovered a huge business opportunity.
After learning how to "create a character" and "start an adventure," they were completely lost in the vivid, otherworldly journey.
Cohen also noticed the specific modifications Edward had made to these boxes.
For instance, in addition to the original Dungeons and Dragons rules, Edward had also added wands and spells, like a cheat code.
If you knew certain spells like the Unlocking Charm or the Fire-Making Spell, you wouldn't need to level up in the "game" to learn spells like the Knockback Jinx or Firebolt for locked doors or places with vines that needed to be burned.
"Of course, no Dark Arts or Unforgivable Curses. You'll be logged off automatically," Edward said to a Slytherin student whose wand was suddenly shot out of the box. "Just like that."
The Slytherin student's face went red with embarrassment.
...
"That was really interesting!" Hermione said excitedly when the activity ended. "We can actually use all the spells we've learned! Did you see the monster that was petrified?"
"I couldn't even get a good look at it before Cohen took it down," Harry said.
"I couldn't help it. When I saw that person get petrified, my Holy Smite spell just lit up on its own," Cohen said. "And don't even get me started on the two D8 radiant damage you get on a first-level spell."
"So you don't think this club is a waste of time anymore?" Ron asked Hermione with a grin.
"Oh, I never said this club was a waste of time, Ron," Hermione retorted. "I was just curious about how Professor Norton would teach us more spells. This method is quite clever."
"And it's a real brain-drain," Cohen said. "Just thinking about how many spells I'd have to cast on that box gives me a headache. You guys should be happy. Other professors wouldn't spend their time playing games with you like this."
The two hours of game time was far too short for the students. They couldn't find a chance to fight monsters and bad guys so freely in the real world.
When Edward told them it was ten o'clock and time to go to bed, many of them let out reluctant groans.
"Professor, curfew isn't until eleven!"
"Will there be another one tomorrow, Professor? We're still on holiday tomorrow!"
"How about during the day, too?"
"Alright, alright, don't get addicted. Once a week is enough," Edward said. "Practice your spells more so you'll be more comfortable when you play next time."
"Aww..." The students let out a very disappointed sigh.
"Professor," one student asked, "will there be club meetings during Christmas? We have a long and boring Christmas holiday."
"Christmas, huh..." Edward said. "I might not be teaching here after Christmas. There's been a temporary change; you know how it is. I have other things to be busy with, but your next Defense Against the Dark Arts professor has already been found."
"What!"
"No way!"
"You're the best Defense Against the Dark Arts professor we've ever had! You can't leave!"
"It hasn't even been a full term!"
"There are only two months left!"
"At least teach for a year!"
Their pleas, however, couldn't change the outcome. And the boxes wouldn't be staying at Hogwarts either, because unlike the one Edward had given Cohen, these boxes needed to be magically recharged by him regularly. Otherwise, they would become just ordinary, lifeless sandbox models.
"Now I really wish Professor Norton would stay," Hermione said on the way back to the dormitory. "Cohen, do you think you could..."
"Don't say the next thing, I don't want to hear it," Cohen said, covering his ears. "I can't do it. It's too much of a hassle."
"No wonder you never played chess with us in your first or second year," Ron said, still thinking about how Cohen had been playing this all along. "We kept asking you, and you'd never come... So it was because..."
"The version of the box I have doesn't have a rule for bringing wands," Cohen said. "You can't use magic in it."
"That's even better," Ron said with a longing look. "That way I wouldn't have to expose the fact that I'm only halfway decent at a lot of my spells."
"What is your dad going to be busy with? Is it something for the Order of the Phoenix?" Harry asked, curious. "I remember Mr. Norton was always..."
"...always unemployed, and he hasn't had any Muggle kids to play Dungeons and Dragons with lately," Cohen nodded. "But that's about to change. He has a very difficult and important task to do. It concerns the Ministry of Magic, Voldemort, me, and those escaped Dementors."
By the look on Harry's face, he had assumed it was an Order of the Phoenix mission, but Cohen didn't plan on telling him the truth.
It would be awkward if Edward wasn't chosen for the job.
"Cohen!" As they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, the Weasley twins came running up behind them. "Guess what we just did?"
"You bribed my dad," Cohen said, raising an eyebrow.
"Close enough," Fred said.
"We worked out a deal with Professor Norton," George said.
"A twenty-five percent cut, and he'll be our technical consultant," Fred said happily. "You have no idea how well this thing is going to sell."