Hogwarts Legacy is a bit of a different beast. You see, while nearly all the mainline Harry Potter video games have simply adapted a storyline from the books and movies, Hogwarts Legacy features an entirely original storyline and — save for a few ghosts, poltergeists, and talking paintings — new characters. For many, this has been a nice change of pace, seeing as how it’s been over a decade since fans have been treated to a fully-fledged triple-A console game from the franchise, as opposed to a free-to-play mobile title.
Unsurprisingly, there was a lot of mystery surrounding the game’s story, with Warner Bros. and developer Avalanche Games remaining tight-lipped, offering only a few scant plot details. Luckily, since the game’s release on Feb. 10, we’ve been able to play through the main story in its entirety, which means we can share some important details about the Hogwarts Legacy‘s plot. Consider this an official warning: spoilers ahead!
What is Hogwarts Legacy about?
As we detailed in our full review, you play as a newly accepted Hogwarts student starting their education a bit late as a fifth-year. On your way to Hogwarts, accompanied by your soon-to-be mentor, Prof. Eleazar Fig, your carriage is ambushed by a massive dragon. Narrowly escaping with the help of a Portkey, the player and Fig discover a mysterious, ancient form of magic that only you can see and feel.
Before long, you’ll be accosted by the game’s two baddies, who are both out to harness and use this power for themselves. There’s Ranrok, the vicious leader of the Goblin rebellion, and Victor Rookwood, who has formed an uneasy alliance with Ranrok, though it’s unclear why that is.
After chasing down several magical MacGuffins, you and Fig gain access to the Map Chamber: a secret vault of sorts residing deep below Hogwarts, which houses portraits for the four members of the Keepers: Percival Rackham, Charles Rookwood, Niamh Fitzgerald, and San Bakar.
This group of former Hogwarts professors (who, for the record, have since passed away and now exist as talking paintings) dedicated themselves to keeping the existence of the aforementioned ancient power a secret from the wizarding world. And in case you were wondering: no, tragically, this mysterious power is never given a proper name.
The Keepers’ Trials
As you complete the Keepers’ four trials, which center around dimensional shifts and magical portals, you eventually learn the truth about the mysterious, ancient magic, thanks to a series of memories you relive via a Penseive. At some point, after saving a nearby hamlet from a terrible drought, the Keepers end up meeting Isidora Morganach, who, much like Percival and the player character, can also tap into and sense this ancient magic. The game also goes out of the way to point out that all three have another thing in common — they all started at Hogwarts as fifth-year students. As you should expect by now, the reason for this is never explained.
In an attempt to cure her father of his crippling depression and grief — brought on by the death of his son — Isidora uses her unique abilities to extract and remove the pain that has consumed her father, which physically manifests as a glowing, pulsating mass of energy that looks incredibly similar to the ancient magic you’ve encountered throughout the game. While Isidora is chastised by the Keepers for her actions, she continues removing pain from other wizards, eventually moving on to students after she becomes a professor at Hogwarts. Over time, she becomes addicted to the “pain” that she extracts from her subjects, inhaling some of it for herself.
She’s eventually caught by the four Keepers, and the five face off in a repository built deep below ground, which houses a giant reservoir of ancient magic that Isidora extracted, kept safely in place through technology built by famed Goblin craftsman Beagbor. The encounter ends with Niamh and Isidora dying, with the remaining three Keepers left to pick up the pieces.
How does Hogwarts Legacy end?
As the player character begins tracking down other ancient magic repositories buried deep underground, they eventually learn that Ranrok is looking to reclaim them for Goblinkind, backed up by the notion that goblins own the items they make, as opposed to the person they make it for. Having discovered Beagbor’s journals, he’s been tracking down these reservoirs one at a time in an attempt to extract the ancient magic within and use it to rise up against the wizarding world, which has historically mistreated and oppressed goblins (along with several other species, for what it’s worth). The connection between Victor and Ranrok is also made clear. It turns out that the Rookwood family property sits atop one such reservoir, leading to the formation of an uneasy alliance. Also, if it wasn’t clear by now, Victor Rookwood is a descendant of one of the keepers, Charles, though it seems his apple fell far from the tree.
After destroying one of Ranrok’s mines (which was being used to extract energy from the reservoirs), the player character narrowly escapes after Ranrok murders his brother, Lodgok. The two had a falling out after Lodgok refused to support his brother’s uprising, eventually deciding to aid our player character instead. Unfortunately for all involved, Lodgok let slip the location of the final (and largest) reservoir, which turns out to be directly under the Map Chamber.
Stopping Ranrok
Racing to stop Ranrok once and for all, our protagonist and Prof. Fig make a mad dash for the last remaining reservoir, with the other Hogwarts professors lending a hand to wave off the incoming goblin invasion. Unfortunately, Ranrok reaches the reservoir and is able to absorb it all, turning into a massive, energy-loaded dragon intent on destroying the entire school. Thankfully, our hero is able to defeat Ranrok and contain the energy, but Prof. Fig suffers a fatal injury during the final fight.
While it’s been reported that choices you make throughout the game can subtly impact the ending, we’re fairly confident that the major plot points shake out the same way, regardless of your decisions. During our playthrough, we made it clear that we would keep the source of this ancient magic a secret until a safe method to destroy it is found, which also explains how the events of Hogwarts Legacy are self-contained and, in all likelihood, won’t impact any future storylines, or even be mentioned.
Of course, this story recap only touches upon the main plot points, and for those looking to give Hogwarts Legacy a go, you can rest easy knowing there are plenty of side quests and other storylines to discover.