Hypersonic
May 10, 2023
Hogwarts Legacy: Book and Movie References
>By: Alexis Askew
The creators of Hogwarts Legacy, Avalanche Software, were heavily inspired by the Harry Potter movies' adaptation of Hogwarts while also including other features straight from the books. There are plenty of familiar places within Hogwarts to explore, from the Great Hall to the Quidditch Field, but the developers took the attention to detail to the next level.
Along the way, book readers and movie watchers will notice a few easter eggs here and there throughout the castle. We’ll be looking at some of the easiest to find and most notable references that potterheads can’t help but love.
Follow the Butterflies Quest
The “Follow the Butterflies” Quest is a reference from the second installment of the series, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. At one point in the movie, Hagrid tells Harry and Ron to follow the spiders. Ron, who is deathly afraid of spiders, makes the comment of: “Why spiders? Why can’t it be ‘Follow the butterflies?’”
You will be given this quest from a girl named Clementine Willardsey in the Three Broomsticks. The quest will lead you to the entrance of the Forbidden Forest. From there, you will literally follow the butterflies the same way Harry and Ron followed the spiders deep into the forbidden forest.
The Chamber of Secrets
This is another reference from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Within Hogwarts Legacy, you can find the namesake itself. Deep within Hogwarts, at the bottom of the Lower Grand Staircase, there is a girl’s bathroom. It looks exactly like the bathroom Harry, Ron, and Hermione brewed the Polyjuice Potion in and the one Moaning Myrtle would haunt.
Minus Moaning Myrtle, this bathroom in Hogwarts Legacy looks exactly like the one from the film. If you look very closely at one of the sink’s faucets, you can see the engraving of the sake. You can also collect a field guide page that reads “Scratched into one of the copper taps on this seemingly ordinary sink in the girls’ toilets is a small snake. No one knows what it means.”
This isn’t the only time the oh-so-secret chamber is alluded to either. During a relationship quest with Sebastian Sallow and Ominus Gaunt, you discover Salazar Slytherin’s Scriptorium. Inside is a letter written by Salazar himself, which mentions placing a creature in the chamber that “can be awakened by one who shares my views”.
The Secrets of the Dark Arts
While sneaking into the restricted section of the library with Sebastian Sallow near the beginning of the game, the two of you pass by a book called The Secrets of the Dark Arts by Owle Bullock. While mysterious sounding, book and movie fans know from Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince that this book is the only reason why Voldemort is still alive.
When Tom Riddle was young, he came across this book in the restricted section. We see him mentioning this book in Horus Slughorn’s memory when he is asking about its contents. Inside contains the secrets of how to separate one's soul and create Horcruxes. It is very dark magic, but now we understand how Tom Riddle was able to get his hands on it so easily.
Sirius Black's Cell
After unlocking all three Alohomora levels, the player can proceed up the stairs in the Charm’s Classroom to find an easter egg from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the third installment in the series. On the roof is a mysterious cell that doesn’t look to be holding much. Using Alohomora III, the player can enter the cell and find a Field Guide page that tells you that it was once used to house a troll. The very last line, however, alludes to Sirius Black. It says, “One can only wonder what it may be used for in the future.”
At the end of the Prisoner of Azkaban, Sirius is captured and locked inside that very same cell, nearly 100 years after the events of Hogwarts Legacy. Harry and Hermione use Bombarda to break down the door and save him.
Polyjuice Potion in Bathroom
In the girls bathroom near Mr. Figs classroom, the player can find a pot of brewing Polyjuice Potion sitting in the last bathroom stall. This is another reference to Harry Potter in the Chamber of Secrets. Hermione brewed Polyjuice Potion in the bathroom during the trio’s second year in order to get information out of Draco Malfoy.
While not the very same bathroom, since she brewed it in the bathroom with the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, this easter egg is still pretty cool and rewarding if you take the time to check every stall.
Professor Fig later gives you Polyjuice Potion, and one can’t help but wonder if this pot belongs to him or a student up to no good.
Deathday Party
The player can find Nearly Headless Nick’s Deathday Party in the Slytherin Dungeon. After getting past a locked gate, you can find a group of ghosts dancing together. Nearly Headless Nick himself is even a part of the crowd.
In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry, Ron, and Hermione attend the 500th anniversary of Nearly Headless Nick’s death. Although the anniversary of Nick’s death is on Halloween, you can come across the Deathday Party at any point in the school year, as long as you have Alohomora I.
The Grave
Outside of Hogwarts’ South Exit, down the hill, and behind the building that resembles Hagrid’s Hut from the movies, the player can see a headstone with a statue of a hippogriff proudly sitting in front of it. This reference is a little bit different. While it isn’t as obvious as a Polyjuice Potion pot or a direct quote, those that get it will leave with a heavy heart.
The actor that played the beloved Hagrid, Robbie Coltrane, passed away in October of 2022, four months before the initial release of Hogwarts Legacy. As a tribute to the actor and his character, the developers put up a headstone right behind Hagrid’s future home, with a hippogriff to represent Buckbeak and Hagrid’s love for creatures.
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