Hogwarts Legacy’s Phineas Black fixes Harry Potter plot hole
At this stage, most can agree that Hogwarts Legacy is a "magical" adventure. Away from its controversies, boycotts, and views of J.K. Rowling, Avalanche Software has tried to build a game faithful to the lore of the Wizarding World.
Despite being set around a century before Harry Potter became the Boy Who Lived, Hogwarts Legacy's setting of 1890 still has plenty of ties to the wider Wizarding World. In particular, Headmaster Phineas Nigellus Black is the great-great-grandfather of Sirius Black.
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Hogwarts Legacy fixes Harry Potter plot hole
Click to enlargeAs pointed out by Screen Rant, Hogwarts Legacy fixes a potential Harry Potter plot hole from the Warner Bros. movies. Notably, the Patronus of Severus Snape (Alan Rickman) appearing in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 created a potential plot hole.
This isn't the only time Hogwarts Legacy has clashed with the Harry Potter movie canon. Only recently, we wrote about how the school's layout doesn't match up with Dumbledore's infamous death during the Battle at the Astonomy Tower.
It's no secret that the Harry Potter movies cut a lot from the books as they went on, with the character of Phineas Black completely missing from the live-action adaptations. In the books, Black's portrait in the Hogwarts Headmaster's Office and Grimmauld Place was crucial in helping Harry defeat Voldemort.
In Deathly Hallows Part 1, Snape's doe Patronus appeared to Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and Hermione (Emma Watson) in the Forest of Dean. As the pair used everything in their power to hide from the Death Eaters, it's never made clear how Snape knew where to leave the Sword of Gryffindor.
Ron had Dumbledore's Delumninator to guide him to the pair, but Snape didn't - leaving a confusing plot hole for Potter purists. The books expanded on it and had Harry learn how Snape found them through his memories in Dumbledore's Pensieve.
Phineas Black is important to the Potterverse
As a refresher, Hermione took Black's Grummauld Place portrait and placed him in her charmed bag. She later told Harry where they'd Apparated to, with a sneaky Phineas overhearing the conversation.
After learning where Harry and Hermione were, Phineas Nigellus Black reported their location to Severus Snape - who was Hogwarts headmaster at the time. Thankfully, Snape was secretly on their side and gifted them the Sword of Gryffindor.
Phineas Black is vile in both the books and Hogwarts Legacy, with him famously calling Hermione a "mudblood." Black's Slytherin lineage and hatred of non-wizards suggests that he would've been Team Voldemort if he'd been around during the Second Wizarding War, but clearly not.
We know Black died in 1925, and it's suggested he was Hogwarts Headmaster until Armando Dippet took over. Either way, you can bet he'll be back in the inevitable Hogwarts Legacy sequel. Here's hoping we'll see more of his softer side next time around.