The Oldest Harry Potter Characters Hogwarts Legacy Can Still Use

With the recent news that Hogwarts Legacy will likely not be releasing until Fall 2022, fans have started theory-crafting with the little information that is officially available regarding the game's setting, characters, and storyline. When the game was announced, it was also revealed that Hogwarts Legacy's story would have no relation to the narrative from the Harry Potter series or subsequent Fantastic Beasts saga. Hogwarts Legacy's narrative will be a completely new story from the studio, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the characters will be completely reinvented.

Set in the 1800s, Hogwarts Legacy will have players fill in the shoes of a 5th-year student who goes to Hogwarts after receiving a late admission letter. Players take on the role of a witch or wizard who turns out to be the only one able to understand and wield an ancient kind of magic that will uncover a hidden truth about the Wizarding World. The narrative will revolve around the player's choices through a series of events and missions that will guide Hogwarts Legacy's player character into a 'good vs evil' kind of story.

According to the Hogwarts Legacy website, the core of the game will be based on J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World lore. Unsurprisingly, most of the characters developed in the Harry Potter series and Fantastic Beasts saga won't make an appearance. However, there are numerous references throughout the books, films, and extra pieces of lore content released by J.K. Rowling that suggest some character and side stories that could very well make it into the game. Dozens of characters that are mentioned in Harry Potter lore were alive during the 1800s, but due to the fact that players don't know the exact years that the game will take place in, the possibilities are close to endless. Most of the theorized candidates are mere mentions in lore, while others possess a powerful backstory, but they all represent good opportunities for the studio to develop some narratives and explore popular Harry Potter locations that fans would genuinely be excited about.

Early-1800s: Go To School With Famous Potioneers in Hogwarts Legacy

If Hogwarts Legacy takes place in the early 1800s, there are several Hogwarts students that players could encounter that won't be completely new. Alberic Grunnion, for example, who prominently featured on a Chocolate Frog card mentioned in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, was born in 1803 and attended Hogwarts from 1814 to 1821. Grunnion was the nineteenth-century wizard that invented the Dungbomb, a magical stink bomb that prominently features in the books and films as one of the 'Weasley & Weasley' shop products.

Laverne de Montmorency is another Harry Potter character players could see as a Hogwarts student. She was a famous potioneer known for the creation of love potions who could make it into the game as an interesting, talented potions student at Hogwarts. Montmorency was a Ravenclaw student that typically got mentioned by prefects in later decades when introducing new Ravenclaw first-year students into the legacy of their house. Other students players could encounter at Hogwarts include Dorcas Wellbeloved, the famous politically-inclined witch who founded the Society For Distressed Witches, and Licorus Black, the earliest known member of the House of Black that so prominently features in the books and films.

However, it's worth noting that Hogwarts Legacy will extend far beyond the limits of the school grounds, and as such players could see other characters appear like the Minister of Magic. According to Harry Potter lore, there were three different Ministers in the early 1800s. The first one was Grogan Stump, who held office from 1811 to 1819, and a big part of his legacy was the creation of the Being, Beast, and Spirit divisions within the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. If this character is included in the story, players could expect some side missions related to taming or battling magical creatures, as this is one of the main features that was unveiled in the Hogwarts Legacy trailer.

Other Ministers for Magic that could appear include Josephina Flint, famous for an anti-Muggle bias in the office, and Ottaline Gambol, famous for proposing the train as transportation to and from Hogwarts, which inevitably led to the building of the Hogwarts Express. The latter would be the most likely to appear in Hogwarts Legacy since the inauguration of the Hogwarts Express would make for a great Wizarding World gameplay event.

Mid-1800s: Ministers of Magic & Famous Squibs in Hogwarts Legacy

The later the events in Hogwarts Legacy take place, the more likely it is that the characters who appear in the game will feel familiar to players and fans. One of the most complete lore backstories players have from J.K. Rowling's writings is the story of Angus Buchanan. Angus was the first and only squib to get to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry after his older brother Hamish flew him in on his broomstick in a desperate attempt to trick the school into letting him stay.

The Buchanans were a pure-blood family and Angus the only squib, which was seen as a disgrace to his relatives. The Buchanans were a family of pure-blood wizards from Scotland with a reputation for aggression and drunkness. As the story goes, his brother was able to get him inside, but when the Sorting Hat was placed on his head, the hat announced that he was "a good-hearted chap, but no wizard," and Angus had to return home on foot. Upon his return, his father banished him from the family home, and Angus, at just 11 years old, hitched a hike to Edinburgh, where he lived among muggles, finding out that they weren't all the terrible things his father had taught him to believe.

As an adult, Angus Buchanan became a famous player for the Scottish rugby team, and published the best-seller "My Life As A Squib" in the Wizarding World. Due to all the details available on this backstory, the studio could decide to incorporate this line of events into a side story of the player's journey at Hogwarts, and have the player make a choice between exposing Angus as a Squib or helping him stay at Hogwarts just a little longer.

Aside from the peculiar Buchanan family, there's a more prominent character fans could meet as a Hogwarts student: Kendra Dumbledore. Kendra was Albus and Aberforth's mother, and is believed to have lived from 1851 to 1899. Although what is known about Kendra is limited to the events that led to her death in the late 1800s, it is possible Hogwarts Legacy producers will use the opportunity to develop her character as a Hogwarts student, and the struggles of being a Muggle-born witch during a time in which the prominence of pure-blood families was far more significant than in more modern times.

There are also several Ministers of Magic that players could encounter from this era, such as Evangeline Orpington, remembered as the Minister who proposed the initial idea of having a dedicated, concealed station for Hogwarts students to safely depart for school on the Hogwarts Express. Orpington was also known to be good friends with Queen Victoria and was believed to have had a role in the Crimean Wars of the muggle world, intervening illegally with magic. Lore details such as this which would make for an interesting series of challenges and mentions of real-life events of the 1800s within Hogwarts Legacy.

Other Ministers of the era include Dugald McPhail, who came up with the idea of the Knight Bus, an emergency means of transportation for stranded witches and wizards, and Faris Sparvin, the longest-ever serving Minister for Magic. Sparvin survived an assassination attempt and introduced one of the most significant pieces of legislation of the wizarding world: the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery. Although this wasn't enforced until 1875, which could be considered the late 1800s, it would make sense for this Minister to make an appearance, as there is reason to believe that the events that take place in Hogwarts Legacy are the ones that lead to this legislation being enforced.

Late-1800s: Could The Dumbledores Be In Hogwarts Legacy?

The late 1800s would be the most interesting years for Hogwarts Legacy story to take place in, as these are the years in which numerous events which affected the modern wizarding world took place. These are also the years in which more known characters would have attended Hogwarts, such as Albus, Ariana and Aberforth Dumbledore, or Thomas and Mary Riddle, Lord Voldemort's grandparents. The Dumbledores at Hogwarts would make for an emotional side narrative due to the events that led to Ariana's death at the age of fourteen, as well as the death of their mother, Kendra. Ariana's troubles controlling her own powers could tie into the main story and theme of Hogwarts Legacy, and have players decide to help - or ignore - Ariana. Taken a step further, there are a number of 'what if's' the story could explore, such as creating a more detailed backstory to Ariana by giving her the ability to wield the ancient magic players already know will take center stage in Hogwarts Legacy's story, and have this be the reason for the tragedy that befalls the Dumbledore family with her death.

A number of other Hogwarts students could very likely appear during this late stage of the era, such as Norvel Twonk, who later in life became famous for saving a Muggle child from a Manticore. Norvel could be introduced as a student obsessed with magical creatures who might offer the main character some guidance on taming and interacting with manticores, or offer side missions to earn special rewards by learning and caring for Harry Potter's magical creatures.

Harvey Ridgebit, who becomes a renowned dragonologist, could easily become part of the story. Ridgebit was the one who established the largest dragon sanctuary in Romania, which fans hear about at the beginning of the Harry Potter series as the place where Ron Weasley's older brother, Charlie, lives and works. Ridgebit could be a character to introduce players to battling - or taming - dragons, which players already know from the reveal trailer will be a significant part of Hogwarts Legacy's gameplay.

The characters players will encounter at Hogwarts won't be limited to other students, however. The school headmaster and different teachers will likely have important roles, and one of the characters that is likely to appear is Phineas Nigellus Black. In the Harry Potter series, the portrait of Phineas Black actually plays an important role, so it would be nice to see that referenced in some way in Hogwarts Legacy. Phineas could be included in the game as both a teacher or in his later role as Headmaster of Hogwarts, both positions which he loathed. Later in the series, fans see another portrait of him at Grimmauld Place. During Harry, Ron, and Hermione's quest to find the Horcruxes, Hermione keeps his portrait in her beaded bag to avoid him telling Snape of their whereabouts. Phineas went down in history as the most hated Hogwarts headmaster, and players could experience a very different character from the gentle and wise Dumbledore they might remember from the books and films. Phineas as a character would likely be more similar to experiencing caretaker Argus Filch as a headmaster.

There are dozens of characters and storylines that could develop and stem from J.K. Rowling's existing lore from the wizarding world, but it is too soon to have a more specific prognostic of which of these characters will make it into Hogwarts Legacy. Even outside of the realm of Hogwarts students and staff, there are a number of characters that could be used for some engaging side stories, such as Sir Herbert Vaney - a London vampire with a Jack-The-Ripper vibe - or Violet Tilliman, a witch who disappeared for twenty years after an accident using floo powder to go home. Elias Grimstone, the famous broomstick-maker of the late 1800s, could also be used to introduce some new gameplay features for Quidditch, such as giving players the possibility of acquiring Brimstone's Oakshaft 79 broomstick as the era equivalent to the more modern Nimbus 2000 or the Firebolt.

Regardless of how much lore the game producers decide to draw inspiration from, Hogwarts Legacy will introduce new characters and fresh storylines. According to the Hogwarts Legacy website, the new story in this game will be completely in line with existing Wizarding World lore, even if it is a new story free of J.K. Rowling's writing. The lore that is currently available stems not only from the initial Harry Potter novels, but also from excerpts written by J.K. Rowling that have been released online over the last few years.

Although some of the stories and characters will be completely created by the studio, the writing that already exists is the best source of unofficial material fans should go to if they wish to come up with their own theories and predictions. It is likely players will receive a sneak peek and further details into gameplay features and story direction before the official release of the game, but until that happens, the possibilities will seem endless to any theory-crafting fan well-versed in the Wizarding World lore. Hogwarts Legacy doesn't have an official release date yet, but it is likely that it won't be available until the second half of 2022.

Next: What Hogwarts Legacy Can Learn From Games Like Skyrim

Editor’s Note: Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling has been accused of transphobia by those in the LGBTQ+ community. Although not directly involved in the development of Hogwarts Legacy, Rowling does stand to earn royalties from the game. We would like to reiterate our support for trans rights and that trans identities are valid. Support services are listed below for trans people impacted by discussions of transphobia.

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