Chapter 63: "Games in Schools?"
Sorry if you don't like video games in Harry Potter, but I need to get this out of my system, hahaha.
If you don't like it, I'll go back to the main story. If you do, I'll change The Prisoner of Azkaban storyline and keep the games.
I hope you like the chapter, though it's more of a technical and explanatory one.
"Games in Schools?"
"So, you could make it so that students with better grades get more playtime. For example, each passing grade could add 20 extra minutes, and the more subjects they pass, the better," Stephen explained in front of the headmaster and the five heads of houses, who had been called for a meeting just as he arrived.
"This is a school, Mr. Flamel, not a gaming center," Snape said dryly, though the other professors seemed to hesitate.
"Wait, Professor Snape. I see a point in Stephen's idea. If we also establish a rule that students with punishments can't enter to play, it could reduce the rate of bad behavior," McGonagall commented thoughtfully.
"Not only that. We could make it so that the house with the most points gets additional benefits, though that might create a bit of competition," Flitwick said, excited about the idea.
"Anyway, during their free time, students do whatever they want. Maybe, thanks to virtual games, they'd be a little more controlled," Sprout said with a smile.
Seeing that the professors were about to agree—except for Snape—Stephen gave them one final push.
"We'd also need a professor to supervise the students, and I wouldn't mind giving them one of the cabins with full access. They could even create their own world, as long as they're competent in Occlumency," Stephen suggested, watching as Snape had a brief lapse in his expression.
"And most importantly, the Flamel family will cover all the expenses," Stephen added, looking at the headmaster, noticing that the four heads of houses were almost convinced.
"It does sound interesting, Mr. Flamel. How about we try it for a month? If student performance increases as expected, we'll make it permanent. Otherwise, it will be removed. What do the heads of houses think?" the headmaster asked, seeing that they all quickly agreed.
"I'm in favor. I'm also interested in trying these games."
"It sounds wonderful."
"First, we need to make sure it's safe," McGonagall said.
"Since the headmaster has spoken, I have nothing more to say," Snape replied, as always hiding his emotions.
Stephen, pleased, brought out the cabin so the professors could review the safety mechanisms. He also, for some reason, brought Harry, who was nervous among the four heads of houses and under Snape's dark gaze.
"Basically, it's all about spatial magic and playing with distances. Harry, come here," Stephen said, calling Harry over.
Harry stood in front of Stephen, unsure of what to do. Then, Stephen suddenly threw a punch, making Harry quickly cover his face. But after a moment, nothing happened, so he peeked out and realized Stephen was a few centimeters further away than he had appeared, and the punch hadn't landed.
"Before a hit connects, spatial magic moves the person to a safe spot, while an illusion appears in front of me, making me believe I landed the hit," Stephen explained calmly, surprising the heads of houses and the headmaster.
"They will feel a percentage of the impact to make it realistic, and the magic will move their body accordingly," Stephen continued.
"Now, if we climb a staircase, for example," Stephen said, as a staircase of floating platforms rose from the ground.
"Harry," Stephen called, and Harry started climbing. However, in reality, he was only moving 20 centimeters forward while the platforms shifted, making it seem like an endless staircase. When he reached the seventh platform, it let go, leaving him floating in mid-air.
"That's what happens when you climb to high places. Even if it feels like you've gone up, you actually haven't," he explained with a smile.
"And the most foolproof safety measure is that magic cannot be used inside," he added.
"It's incredible. It really takes safety into account, so I have nothing more to say," McGonagall said cheerfully.
"It's settled then. Professor Snape, would you like to be in charge? After all, it is Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets," the headmaster said with a smile, knowing that Snape wanted control but wouldn't admit it.
"It would be my pleasure, Headmaster... to be the one to decide who gets access to these benefits," Snape said slowly, staring intensely at Harry.
Meanwhile, Stephen was internally mocking his suffering.
And so, the trial of the gaming cabins was decided, and Stephen was sure they would become permanent. He would also use this as an opportunity to get free functionality evaluations—killing two birds with one stone.
In a few days, the cabins arrived, and in the meantime, Stephen was playing with Astoria and Luna. Astoria had asked to learn summoning magic, which led to a curious encounter.
"No. A rhinoceros is stronger than your weird hippopotamus," Astoria argued with Luna, who was quite stubborn, causing them to bicker over trivial things.
"Enough, you two. We're supposed to be learning," said Stephen, a bit tired of their occasional meaningless battles.
""Sorry.""
As they continued practicing, the Weasley twins arrived cheerfully.
"Boss, the cabins are here!" "They're in front of the old bathroom!" they said quickly.
"Good. You two, get along, and I'll show you something cool," said Stephen to the girls, who followed him along with the twins.
"Boss, are we going to have to enter the girls' bathroom every time we want to go to the Chamber of Secrets?" Fred asked, feeling a bit uncomfortable.
"No. The bathroom was separated by the Magitech architects. They created a direct entrance to the Chamber of Secrets and left the bathroom intact, but don't mix up the doors," Stephen explained with a smile.
Once through the correct door, an elevator took them straight down, eliminating the need to slide down.
The Chamber was divided into two sections: the outer part, where the basilisk's skin used to be, and the inner part, where the creature had lived. The outer section, accessible via the elevator, was beautifully decorated like a grand hallway filled with open wooden crates, probably the ones that had contained the cabins.
The twins ran toward the inner section without waiting.
"Amazing!" "Fantastic!" "Incredible!" "Sublime!"
Stephen ignored the twins, who were practically pulling out a dictionary to keep describing what they saw.
The Chamber of Secrets, now without its original door, had been completely remodeled into a gaming center, with at least 500 cabins being installed. There were also magical televisions displaying what the players were doing.
He had opened the first gaming hall in the magical world within a school. Stephen felt a bit proud and was already planning how to connect other schools for competitions or idea-sharing.
"Brother, what are those things?" Luna asked, curious.
"In these cabins, you can enter new fantasy worlds and have fun," Stephen explained.
"Prince, are you serious?" Astoria asked, excited.
"That's right. These are magical or virtual reality gaming cabins, whichever way you want to see it. Come on," said Stephen, spotting some machines that were already connected.
In the cabins, they could play together or separately, but if they wanted different games, it was better to choose individual cabins.
"Hello, Professor Snape," Stephen greeted as he approached Snape, who was in charge of overseeing everything.
"Mr. Flamel, always a pleasure to see you," Snape said sarcastically. Though they often exchanged sharp remarks, Stephen considered Snape a reliable friend. He also knew about Snape's past and future, which made him feel some affection for him—but not without reservations, as Snape was no saint.
"Here, Professor. These are the stones you need to create a world from scratch, and here are the instructions," Stephen said, handing him the items without hesitation.
"Thank you," Snape replied, something unusual for him, but he quickly left before Stephen could make a sarcastic remark.
Stephen, having a rough idea of what Snape might do, was glad he hadn't brought the mental-connection cabins, as he felt Snape would be one of those who wouldn't want to wake up.
"Well, have fun. I have something to do. Take the girls with you and look after them," Stephen said, looking at the twins.
"Don't worry, boss, we'll have fun" "and we'll take care of them too," the twins said, making Stephen doubt them slightly.
But, trusting the safety measures, he relaxed and left.
That Saturday, Stephen had planned to meet with Madame Maxime, which was why he left quickly. Fortunately, on weekends, students were allowed to visit Hogsmeade, something Stephen took advantage of to go to his mansion, leaving his wand at Hogwarts to avoid any magical trace.
At the Flamel mansion, Madame Maxime had been waiting for a while, having a serious conversation with Perenelle, until they saw Stephen arrive.
"Hello, Aunt Maxime," Stephen greeted softly.
"Hello, dear Stephen! It's been so long!" Maxime said, standing up to give him a hug. Of course, she had to lean down a bit to do so.
Although Stephen was quite tall, Madame Maxime towered over him by several meters, making the situation feel a bit strange.
"What's wrong? Why do you both look so serious?" Stephen asked, noticing his grandmother's grave expression.
"It's nothing, child. An old friend passed away and left her granddaughter alone, so I was thinking of going to see if she needs anything," Perenelle explained with a hint of sadness.
"I see. I'm sorry, Grandma," Stephen said, trying to comfort her a little.
"It's alright, don't worry. I'll be leaving now, you two can talk," Perenelle said, affectionately ruffling her grandson's hair before departing.
"So, why did you want me to come?" Stephen asked Madame Maxime.
"It's about Hogwarts and some magical virtual reality cabins," Stephen began explaining, detailing what was happening at the school.
Stephen's plan from the start was simple: he needed to convince one school and then use it as an example to make others feel like they were falling behind. He chose Hogwarts first because, obviously, he was a student there and knew the professors and the headmaster, not to mention that his family was part of the board.
The second school he considered easiest to convince was Beauxbatons, for similar reasons. After all, the Flamel family had been shareholders of the institution for nearly 600 years, and Madame Maxime treated him like a nephew.
The real challenge would be the other schools. Stephen didn't know much about them, though he had a vague idea of how Durmstrang operated. Even so, securing two of the best schools in the world from the start would be a huge advantage. If necessary, he would settle for just Hogwarts and Beauxbatons, but if he wanted to expand his magical-tech empire, he had to aim higher. And there was no better way to break into foreign markets than through the schools that trained the most promising young wizards.
Stephen had to admit he was copying Tony Stark a little, but he wasn't about to say that out loud.
"So, what do you think? Just like at Hogwarts, the Flamel family will donate everything, and the trial month will be the same," Stephen concluded after explaining everything to Madame Maxime, who listened thoughtfully.
"Alright. Though it's a little sad that, once again, Hogwarts was your first choice," Madame Maxime joked with a touch of mock disappointment.
After chatting for a while longer and listening to Madame Maxime's playful complaints about how 'traitorous' he was, she left in good spirits.
At that moment, Stephen's phone rang just as he was about to return to Hogwarts.
"Hello?" Stephen answered.
"Sir, we found him," a voice said on the other end of the line.
"Great. Just keep an eye on him," Stephen replied cheerfully.
--------------- End of the chapter.
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