The Path to Hogwarts

1. The Carriage and the Vault

You begin on the road to Hogwarts with Professor Eleazar Fig, a fifth-year starting four years behind everyone else. The journey is interrupted almost immediately: the carriage is attacked, and you and Fig are pulled through a portkey into a Gringotts vault.

This stretch is the game's tutorial. It teaches movement, basic casting and the use of Revelio, the spell that highlights points of interest and which you will lean on for the rest of the game. Follow Fig and cast it whenever the game suggests.

The vault sequence introduces ancient magic and, with it, the goblin leader Ranrok — the thread that runs through the whole campaign.

2. The Sorting Hat

You arrive at the castle and are sorted. The Hat asks a couple of questions, then offers a house — and you are free to overrule it. All four houses are equally viable; the choice affects your common room, a handful of house-specific quests and some dialogue, not your power.

If you care about the differences before committing, our house breakdown covers what each one actually changes.

• 1

  The Hat can be overruled

  Whatever it suggests, you get the final say. Pick the house you want.

• 2

  One house per save

  You cannot change it later, so if you are chasing house-specific content you will need a second playthrough.

3. Your First Classes

After the Sorting, Welcome to Hogwarts settles you into the castle. You attend Charms with Professor Ronen and Defence Against the Dark Arts with Professor Hecat, meeting the teaching staff and the classmates who become your companion questlines.

The castle opens up as a hub from here. There is no rush to push the story — the Field Guide pages, the Room of Requirement and the surrounding region all become available over the next few hours of play.