Charles Rookwood’s Trial is a mandatory Hogwarts Legacy main quest in the Harry Potter-inspired video game published by Warner Bros. Games, and it is only a bit more difficult than Percival Rackham’s Trial you already completed.
That’s because Charles Rookwood’s Trial main quest introduces some new gameplay elements and puzzles. However, unlike the previous Trial quest, Charles Rookwood’s Trial offers more freedom, meaning that if you know how to use the Spells you have unlocked, you can complete it faster. Furthermore, the Rookwood Castle Trial has multiple Treasure Chests containing Gear, but you’ll need to think outside the box to reach some of them.
Where To Find Rookwood Castle in Hogwarts Legacy
Charles Rookwood’s Trial becomes available after you complete the Back on the Path main quest. At the end of the previous quest, Rookwood asks you to visit Rookwood Castle as soon as possible, and Professor Fig agrees to accompany you.
Your first objective is to get to Rookwood Castle and find Fig, so open your Field Guide and navigate to the World Map. Then, check the western side of the map, looking for the Feldcroft Region. You should be able to see the quest icon near the Rookwood Castle Floo Flame.
If you have unlocked the Rookwood Castle Floo Flame, feel free to use it to reach the above location faster. If not, you must use one of your flying mounts to get there. As you get close to the Rookwood Castle, you’ll see a glowing circle on the ground southwest of the Floo Flame. Interact with it to start the quest or wait for Professor Fig to arrive.
When talking to Fig, he’ll tell you that Charles was right and that Rookwood Castle is filled with enemies looking for something. Even if Victor and Ranrok are allied, Fig observed that it’s not a friendly alliance. This requires further investigation.
How To Enter Rookwood Castle
To enter Rookwood Castle in Hogwarts Legacy, first, you must deal with some of Ranrok’s Loyalists and clear a camp. From your current location, head north until you find the Rookwood Castle Floo Flame, then turn northwest and clear the camp.
Keep following the path along the Castle’s wall, and eventually, you’ll get ambushed by more Loyalists. Deal with them, and you’ll see a wooden platform on the left side of the path. Opposed to the platform is a wall you can climb, but first, you’ll need to pull the wooden crate close to it. Make sure you equip Accio, pull the crate towards you, and place it near the Castle’s wall.
Climb the box, then the wall and you’ll trigger an interesting cutscene showing Victor confronting Ranrok. The cutscene reveals that Ranrok and Victor’s alliance is far from friendly, all because of you. You can also learn that Ranrok is looking for something known as stores of magic, and one of them is pretty close to you.
Once you talk to Professor Fig, you’ll have to deal with all Loyalists inside the castle camp. Once you clear the area, thoroughly explore the Castle’s courtyard, looting all items of interest.
When you are ready to continue the quest, climb the northern stairs to reach the Castle’s wall, then head right. Follow the path along the wall, and you’ll enter the Castle. Now, head right and step on the wooden planks that eventually collapse. Once on the ground floor, there is a small puzzle you’ll need to solve to progress.
The Rookwood Castle Door Puzzle requires hitting three seals as fast as possible. Cast Revelio and you’ll see two of them on the right side of the door you need to unlock and one on the left side of the door, behind some planks (pictured).
The third seal is the trickiest because you must cast Depulso to destroy the wooden planks first. Next, quickly hit the three seals with your Basic Cast, then head through the door that unlocks.
Charles Rookwood’s Portrait Location
Once you enter the Castle, your objective changes, and you’ll be asked to find Charles Rookwood’s portrait. Charles Rookwood’s Portrait is found deeper inside the Castle. From your starting location, follow the tunnel ahead until you find the store of magic Ranrok is so interested in.
Then, head through the southern door and follow the linear path descending the stairs that will take you to a small room. Above the chimney, you should see the portrait of Charles Rookwood.
After talking to Charles, he’ll rush the discussion and send you to complete the trial. If you pick “I deserve to know more first” instead of “I’m ready,” he won’t tell you anything, so now it’s time to connect with the ancient magic. To do this, head toward the western wall and move closer to find an ancient magic pool. Investigate it, and the Hogwarts Legacy Charles Rookwood’s Trial starts.
How To Complete Charles Rookwood’s Trial
After passing through the first gate, head forward and start the Second Trial by interacting with the next door. Keep pushing forward, and in the first room, follow the stairs on the right side and place yourself on the balcony on the left side.
Interact with the pool of magic, and on the ground floor, you’ll see a portal. Head back downstairs, and without stepping through the portal, pull the cube on the left side of the room, outside its location, using Accio.
If you don’t want to struggle with this puzzle, position the cube marked above in front of the other balcony (also pictured below). This trick will help you save a lot of time.
Now, go around the portal and step through the blue side, and then you’ll see the cube turning into a treasure chest. Make sure you open it, then step through the portal again (via the red side), turning the Chest back into a cube. While the game forces you to use the invisible pillar to reach the balcony, you can actually use the cube without too much effort simply by casting Levioso on it.
Since you placed it near the balcony, cast Levioso, hop on it, then climb to the balcony. Next, you’ll want to cross the first moving bridge, and when you reach the second one, you should stop and turn left (east) to see a seal. Enter aim mode by pressing L2/LT and R2/RT to hit it with the Basic Cast, then cross the bridge that appears and loot the Treasure Chest inside the room to the left.
After looting the Treasure Chest, return to the main bridge and head south, moving toward the gate. In this section, there are three additional Treasure Chests you don’t want to miss. To get them, first, step into the pool of magic on the right side of the portal and investigate it.
Then, hit the seal that appears on the wall in front of you, and you’ll activate the portal. Go around it and enter the portal through the blue side, looting the Chest on the other side of the gate. Now, hit the seal again to spin the portal, and while looking through the red side, use Wingardium Leviosa to pull the cube on the other side toward you, turning it into a column.
Without moving the column, head east, and behind a gate, you’ll see another cube. Cast Wingardium Leviosa again and pull it toward you, then up. Basically, you’ll want to pull the cube through the space above the door.
Now drop it on the ground, return to the portal, head through it, and then return to the main room. You should see that the column has turned into a cube again. Cast Wingardium Leviosa on the cube (former column) and place it at the edge of the gap, near the balcony, close to the northern wall, and cast Levioso on it. The idea is to make the cube float and jump on it, then jump on the balcony where another chest is found.
After you collect the loot, head back to the portal, step through the red side, and collect the loot from the Treasure Chest behind the gate. Finally, rotate the portal by hitting the seal until you see the corridor behind it, and continue forward. In the next section, you must deal with several Pensieve Protectors.
After you clear the central platform, keep moving south, and you’ll reach another pool of magic in front of a door. The next Charles Rookwood Trial Puzzle is a bit easier. After you activate the pool of magic, step to the right and hit the seal found behind the gate.
This will rotate the portal, revealing a chest in the area under the seal. Open it, step through the portal (blue side), and look to the right to spot a cube. Pull it up using Wingardium Leviosa and place it on the central platform behind the gate. Now, step through the gate (red side) and open the Treasure Chest.
Step through the gate again, then turn around and hit the seal to return it to its initial position. At this point, you can move east and get to the next section. Upon moving up the stairs, hug the right side of the chamber, and you’ll find another pool of magic you can investigate.
Follow the stairs down, and in the area behind the portal, you’ll find two Protectors. One of them is invisible. First, kill the one you can see, then step through the blue side of the gate to see the other one. Once you deal with him, you’ll see a seal you can hit on the southwestern wall using Basic Cast. After the gate rotates, if you look through it, you should see that the column on the other side of the room has turned into a cube.
Get close to it, cast Levioso, and while the cube is floating, jump on it, then onto the platform above, where another Chest awaits. While standing on the upper platform, facing the upper gate, hit the seal on the right side to rotate the platform. Now that the path is clear, head east, following the moving stairs. When you reach the lower floor, turn left to spot another chest in a side room
After you find the Chest, return to the main corridor, and you’ll find a rather large hall. Here, you’ll want to deal with the Protectors first; then, before moving forward, you’ll want to check the western room, where you’ll find another Treasure Chest. To see it, activate the magic pool on the left side as you enter.
This Chest is the trickiest because you’ll have to be fast. Basically, what you want to do here is hit the seal behind the gate and then quickly pull the curve on the upper ledge behind it, using Wingardium Leviosa.
Make sure you move fast, pull the Chest to the ground, and then go behind the gate and loot it. Now, it’s time to complete the trial, so head back to the main path and move north. On your way to the last room, there is one Treasure Chest on the left side of the second door you’ll open.
After you reach the boss room, remember to step through the portal to see all invisible Pensieve Protectors. Finally, deal with the Pensieve Guardian before heading east to reach the Pensieve room.
Before interacting with the Pensieve, loot the last Treasure Chest found on the right side of the giant stone statue. Now, let’s see what memories are being held by the Pensieve. The memory within Charles Rookwood’s Pensieve reveals the events that occurred when the four Hogwarts professors visited Isidora Morganach.
Despite Percival Rackham’s warning not to use Ancient Magic on humans, Isidora went ahead with her plan and used it to remove her father’s pain, storing it in a jar. As Percival notices, the magic inside the jar differs from the Ancient Magic, and nobody knows its powers. After you watch the cutscene, return to the Map Chamber via the northwestern wall and approach Percival and Charles.
The two professors are happy to see you completed the second trial, so ask them what Isidora stored in the jar. They’ll tell you it was pain, but they are not ready to share the whole story. Tell them you are ready to proceed, and you’ll be introduced to a new professor you saw in the Pensieve memories. Her name is Niamh Fitzgerald, and she’s also one of the Keepers.
Since Professor Fitzgerald’s Trial is not ready yet, you are asked to continue your classes while also investigating the activities of Victor Rookwood and Ranrok. Once you talk to Fig one last time, you’ll automatically return to your House’s Common Room.
Completing the Legacy Charles Rookwood’s Trial main quest unlocks a plethora of new side quests. To name just a few, Professor Howin’s Assignment is now available, as well as Foal of The Dead and Beeting A Curse. If you want to focus on the main story, then the Fire and Vice quest also unlocks after the second trial, or you can start gathering collectibles using our Hogwarts Legacy Wiki guides.
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