If you think you’d be a great army general… your Battle of Hogwarts inspiration would be Professor McGonagall

She was the undisputed Queen of Transfiguration, and Professor Minerva McGonagall certainly used that skill to great effect during the Battle of Hogwarts. In fact, one of the very first things McGonagall did after Harry caught her up on the whole Voldemort-is-coming situation was cast a spell to animate the Hogwarts statues and suits of armour. Then, like a general marshalling her troops, she sent them off to guard the castle, brandishing swords and spiked balls on chains as they clattered and clashed through the corridors. Later, we also witnessed McGonagall shepherding a herd of galloping desks, hair askew as she screamed ‘CHARGE!’, and that is something we won’t forget in a hurry.

Whether in battle or at the front of her classroom, Professor McGonagall was always at the top of the Transfiguration game. You could also say the same of another Hogwarts Transfiguration teacher and Deputy Headmistress, Professor Matilda Weasley. Professor Weasley, who taught at Hogwarts in the 1890s, appears in Hogwarts Legacy – and if you’ve ever fancied yourself as a star Transfiguration student, she might just be the one to help you realise those ambitions. We cannot promise galloping desks, but if you like the idea of turning one thing into something else then Hogwarts Legacy could be your ticket to ride.

If you’d focus on protection before attack… your Battle of Hogwarts inspiration would be Professor Flitwick

Whilst his fellow teachers readied for battle, Professor Filius Flitwick’s complicated charms focused on layering up Hogwarts’ defences. He might have worked from a distance, but his spells were by no means insignificant. Quite the opposite: when he pointed his wand through the Snape-smashed window and began muttering his complex incantations it was, as Harry noted, as if he had ‘…unleashed the power of the wind into the grounds…’

And although he understood the importance of defence, Flitwick was also prepared to fight when needed. He was actually the first to attack Snape – also by animating a suit of armour – when he, Sprout and Slughorn discovered McGonagall and Snape mid-duel. Later on in the battle, he duelled Death Eaters with the rest of them and even felled Dolohov, the Azkaban escapee who’d previously murdered Molly Weasley’s brothers.

But Flitwick's protections were Hogwarts’ first line of defence, and they bought Harry valuable time. So if you, too, are able to think calmly under pressure and focus on the bigger picture, Flitwick would be your battle guide.

If you’re a creative thinker (with a love of plants)… your Battle of Hogwarts inspiration would be Professor Sprout

As Professor Pomona Sprout said when Flitwick worried they couldn’t keep Voldemort out for long: ‘…we can hold him up.’

When McGonagall explained the impending battle situation to her fellow professors, Professor Sprout knew what was what. She didn’t panic or dwell on anxieties but immediately turned her attention towards possible solutions. She also drew on her extensive subject knowledge to identify plants that could be used defensively – Venemous Tentacula, Devil’s Snare, Snargaluff pods. Now that’s someone who knew her subject inside out, and was not afraid to use her knowledge in unexpected ways.

If you’re also able to think on your feet, and particularly if you’ve ever wanted to throw Venemous Tentacula at an enemy and watch it reel them in, we know a way to channel your inner Professor Sprout. Hogwarts Legacy allows players to experience the Herbology style of fighting just as Professor Sprout (and Neville) did during the Battle of Hogwarts. You can take down enemies using combat plants including Chinese Chomping Cabbages, Mandrakes, and – yes – Venomous Tentaculas. So put those wands away, get your Herbology thinking hats on, and arm yourself with some of the wizarding world’s best defensive plantlife.

If you’d be willing to use whatever tools were at your disposal… your Battle of Hogwarts inspiration would be Professor Trelawney

Professor Sybill Trelawney’s credentials as a Seer might have been as foggy as the future she attempted to interpret, but her crystal balls did have one clear use: they made great weapons. During the Battle of Hogwarts, Trelawney’s tennis serve of a throw saw her hit Fenrir Greyback squarely on the head, right after Hermione’s spell had blasted him away from Lavender Brown. Knocked out cold by a crystal ball. Nobody saw that one coming, now, did they?

But desperate times call for desperate measures, and for all her vaguely hysterical and often inaccurate predictions, Trelawney knew when to cut the act and join the action. The fact that she used her precious crystal balls as weapons in order to help defend her home shows she knew where her loyalties were. And if you, too, would use whatever means necessary in defence of something or someone you loved: well, grab a crystal ball.

If you’ve ever secretly fancied trying out an Unforgivable Curse… your Battle of Hogwarts inspiration would be the Death Eaters

Look, we’re not judging – at the beginning of the Battle of Hogwarts even Harry tried out an Unforgivable Curse, using Crucio on Amycus Carrow after he spat in McGonagall’s face.

Think you could cast an Unforgivable Curse and really mean it? Get on Hogwarts Legacy – you can try out curses and all manner of other of Dark Arts-infused spells and charms. Because we get it. Sometimes you’ve just got to try these things for yourself. After all, seeing someone spit in the face of the Queen of Transfiguration herself, for example: well, that would really get our blood boiling.