fter playing this game, my desire to read the final Harry Potter book has fluttered away into the night sky like a pesky golden snitch. I have no doubt that J.K. Rowling’s mesmerizing fiction will offer a thoroughly satisfying conclusion, but I don’t think that she’ll be able to pen a better future for Harry than this game does. Rather than grooming young Potter into Lord Voldemort’s ultimate opponent, Dumbledore is clearly prepping Harry to become the next janitor of Hogwarts. Through the majority of this game, you are asked to fix broken vases, straighten out rugs, open drapes, light torches, hang paintings, make beds, pick fruit, feed birds, and sweep up leaves. I just love the idea of this legacy ending, not with a Quidditch broom in hand, but a mop.

Outside of the occasional confrontation with Malfoy or a troubled student, this is mostly a non-violent video game. The number of wand fights that Harry gets into can literally be counted on one hand. For a world that is filled with magic and boundless imagination, you spend most of your time casting spells to tidy up Hogwarts, and running meaningless errands for your fellow students. Now, this may sound like a torture that only Snape could devise, but beneath the filth that you must clean, there’s a lot to like in this game.

Its main draw is its ability to bring you into the Harry Potter universe. Much like the lively scholastic atmosphere attained in Rockstar’s Bully, Hogwarts feels like a real school, and you are but one of its lowly students. As you navigate this architectural wonder, you’ll run into teachers who are quick to push homework on you, you’ll hear your name being thrown around in hushed conversation by other students, and in your down time you can put your Wizard Chess, Exploding Snap, and Gobstones skills to the test. Don’t expect much of a challenge, as most students aren’t smart enough to take out an uncontested queen with a pawn. This school’s unique charms are also in full effect. You’ll quickly learn that paintings love to talk, ghosts find great amusement in flying right through you, and that Moaning Myrtle may have a bit of a crush on you.

The game also does a great job of capturing what you would expect spell casting to be like in the real world. With the analog stick or the motion-sensing capabilities of the Wii and PS3, you are asked to move the wand in the directions required to cast a particular spell. As much fun as these actions are, there’s little you can do with the spells other than, you guessed it, clean up Hogwarts or – as I found – bash kids on the head with levitated objects.

Harry Potter’s latest adventure may be light on action, but it does replicate the Hogwartian life better than any game before it. Out of all of the books, games, and movies, it allows you to get closer to the school than ever before – all at the expense of actually enjoying your stay. It’s boring and tedious, just like a real school is. However, it’s also a place where your Harry Potter knowledge can bloom. On this note, only hardcore Harry Potter nuts should enroll.