The events of the upcoming Hogwarts Legacy is set to revolve around the 1890s. There have been many events that happened in the 1800s Wizarding World, including yet another Goblin Rebellion to mar the history books. Despite the 1800s being known for bettering relations between human magic wielders and their goblin neighbors, as with the case of Gringotts Bank returning to goblin hands, one goblin had other ideas.
Hogwarts Legacy's main antagonists is the goblin Ranrok, who's formed an uneasy alliance with the local Dark Wizards led by the notorious Victor Rookwood, another antagonist. With Hogwarts Legacy adding a whole new chapter to the canon of the Wizarding World, these two names have not been mentioned during the events of the Harry Potter books and movies. With that, it's worth a look at just who these two are and what their agenda (or agendas) may be.
Hogwarts Legacy's Ranrok
Like other goblins, Ranrok can wield magic without the need for a wand. Goblins do have the potential to channel their magic through wands, but possession of wands by goblins were outlawed by the Ministry of Magic through the Wand Ban that passed in 1631. One of the main reasons that provoked the infamous Goblin Rebellions during the 17th and 18th centuries is the belief that human witches and wizards are deliberately keeping goblins from learning wandcraft as a method of discrimination against them. Ranrok's rebellion is no different, but this goblin is doing things differently compared to his rebellious brethren from days past.
The relationship between the goblins and wizards have always been rocky, and despite things looking up within the 1800s, there is one goblin who believes otherwise. The main controversial antagonist of Hogwarts Legacy is the goblin Ranrok, who is responsible for yet another Goblin Rebellion that kicked off in 1890 which has shaken relations between goblin and wizard yet again. Ranrok has a deep-seated hatred for human magic-wielders and has discovered a powerful ancient magic hidden from wizardkind themselves – one believed to be attached to the protagonist of Hogwarts Legacy. But, to achieve his wicked goals, he's enlisted the help of a Dark Wizard.
Hogwarts Legacy's Victor Rookwood
Victor Rookwood is the leader of the yet-unnamed group of Dark Wizards that are assisting Ranrok with the latter's rebellion against wizardkind. Although the term 'Dark Wizard' tends to be interchanged with 'Death Eater' within the original Harry Potter canon, the term actually refers to a broader group of witches and wizards who primarily study and practice the Dark Arts – including the use of dark magic. Victor's intentions for helping the goblin with his rebellion are unclear, although the reveal of the Dark Wizard's name in the recent Hogwarts Legacy trailer has had Potterheads buzzing with a possible Hogwarts Legacy secret to be discovered.
The Hogwarts Legacy antagonist shares his family name with another Dark Wizard from the Harry Potter books and movies – Augustus Rookwood. Augustus was a prominent Death Eater from the Hogwarts Slytherin House who fought alongside Voldermort during the First and Second Wizarding Wars, after which his fate is unknown. Before being outed as a Death Eater, he acted as a spy within the Ministry of Magic, feeding Voldermort and his Death Eaters valuable information regarding ministerial events. Although the familial connection hasn't yet been confirmed or denied by Avalanche Studios or the Wizarding World, one can't deny the visual similarities between the two. Plus, a preference for dark magic tends to run in families within the Harry Potter series, shown by the likes of the Lee and Lestrange families.
Hogwarts Legacy is scheduled to release holiday 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
