In this part of Hogwarts Legacy, players find themselves once more investigating Ancient Magic, uncovering more of the secrets of Hogwarts Castle in the process after breaking into the Library's Restricted Section. Players are introduced to the game's stealth mechanics, spend more time with Sebastian Sarrow, and take another step towards understanding Ancient Magic.
This part of Hogwarts Legacy begins with players checking in with Professor Fig in his office and letting him know about the Troll attack in Hogsmeade and learning that the Professor has uncovered a map concealed in the Locket via an enchantment. It's a map of Hogwarts, but Fig cannot see where it leads. Luckily the protagonist can see traces of Ancient Magic on the map indicating something is hidden in the Restricted Section of the Library. Fig is concerned about the potential danger and asks the player to work with Professor Hecat a bit more before they continue.
Professor Hecat's Assignment
Professor Hecat wants to teach the player the Incendio spell and tasks them with winning the first two rounds of Crossed Wands along with one of Lucan Brattleby's spell combination practice tasks. Unsurprisingly, Hecat is fully aware of the unsanctioned dueling club.
The first round is fairly simple, requiring players to make use of Levioso to break yellow shields on a pair of targets and make good use of Protego and Stupefy to keep the opponents off balance.
In spell combination practice, players will have to string together combinations of spells, obviously. This is designed to help players learn how spells can be used in combination for greater effectiveness in combat. It's a good opportunity to learn how long players can wait between steps in a combo without the enemy recovering, as there's more time than players might initially expect, and messing up the combo here just means having to retry.
For the second round, players get to choose their partner or go it alone, and having a partner is preferable as the player will be outnumbered here. This round is against three opponents and introduces Violet Shields. These shields can be broken by using Force spells, like Accio. Pay close attention to the enemy and be ready to deflect spells with Protego, and the fight will be over soon enough.
Return to Hecat with everything completed and finish the minigame to learn Incendio, which can be used to create a short ranged flame blast.
A useful tip is to use Accio to pull a foe into range before casting this, as it can be hard to gauge the range sometimes, and this puts the foe directly in front of the player.
The Forbidden Section
Now that Incendio has been learned, players can head back to Professor Fig to prepare for visiting the Restricted Section. Unfortunately, Headmaster Black interrupts the conversation, and Fig has to leave, so the player character decides to have a chat with Sebastian about getting into the Restricted Section. Luckily, Sebastian is entirely willing to assist in breaking in tonight.
That night, Sebastian and the player meet in the Central Hall, and he teaches players the Disillusionment Charm. This handy spell makes players transparent and difficult to see, though they'll still be detected if they get too close.
This serves as the game's introduction to the stealth mechanics, and players will have to evade a few Prefects to reach the door and enter the Library. From there, follow Sebastian's instructions and head behind the bookcase, then wait for his distraction and steal the key.
Meet up with Sebastian and head deeper into the Library, then use the Basic Cast to lure the first ghost past the entrance to the hallway and slip behind it. In the next room, use the Basic Cast to lure the ghost away from the door and head through since the chest on the opposite side is locked, and players don't yet have the spell to open it.
After hitting the bottom of the stairs, players are safe to remove their Disillusionment Charm for now. Sebastian reveals his reason for constantly sneaking into the Restricted Section: he's looking for a cure for his sister's illness.
Unfortunately, this moment of calm and conversation is ruined by Peeves, and Sebastian rushes off to try to stop him from tattling on the pair or at least try to talk down the Librarian. This forces players to continue alone, using Reparo to mend the broken statue and clear the path forward.
Make sure to open the chest before heading through the door and down the stairs to a strange archway. Use the glowing Ancient Magic spot to activate the archway and open a path forward, and grab the chest on the left of the archway for some good loot.
Heading through the portal and down the stairs, a chest can be found to the left of a door that leads further in. Past the door is a huge chasm with another door on the far side, and shooting the rune above the door with Basic Cast will cause a path forward to appear. In the next room is a battle with more Sentries like the ones from Vault 12, but they're much easier now that players have access to more combat spells.
Hogwarts Legacy players will also get a quick tutorial on how to restore the Ancient Magic meter by performing combos and then head into the next room for a precarious follow-up fight. Players can use Levioso and Basic Cast to hurl enemies over the edge with good positioning and combos, then use Lumos to reveal a hidden path on the left side and grab a hidden chest. After that, stand at the edge and shoot the rune, then sprint across and prepare to jump since, this time, the path won't stay for long.
In the next room, down the stairs, hit the rune and look right to see a platform that appears. Jump to it, cast Lumos, and run to the end of the path that appears, then hit the rune again and keep following to reach the other hidden chest.
Backtrack to the room and use the rune to create a path across and keep moving. Grab the chests and head on in for another combat sequence with the Sentries. The same strategies as before work here, especially knocking them over the edge.
In the next room, players find the book they were looking for, along with a Pensieve that shows more memories of Percival Rackham, revealing a time they used Ancient Magic to restore a village suffering a drought, and showing their conversation with someone else who joined as a 5th Year and could see traces of Ancient Magic, a girl named Isidora Morganach. Players then return to the Library, where they see Sebastian make good on his promise to cover for them with the Librarian.
Heading back to Professor Fig completes this section, as he leaves to visit the Ministry of Magic, taking the book with him to study and asking the player to work hard as a student until he returns. He also notes that some pages have been ripped out of the book, suggesting that someone got to the book before we did.
Hogwarts Legacy is available for PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S and is coming soon to PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.