Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery’s Year 5 Chapter 1 is finally available, and it features some rather significant story developments. Besides revealing the identity of the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher as Madam Rakepick, it also teased that one of the game’s main characters is going to be killed off at some point during the year. Before reading on, be warned that this article will have spoilers for Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery through Year 5 Chapter 1.
Near the end of Year 5 Chapter 1, the player character goes to speak with Ben Copper in the courtyard. Ben, as fans may recall, was revealed to the be mysterious Dark Wizard that attacked everyone earlier in the year. Despite Rowan Khanna’s suspicions, there is evidence that suggests Ben wasn’t acting on his own accord, and in fact, may have been being controlled by the Imperius Curse.
Year 5 Chapter 1 offered more evidence for that theory when Ben and the player character were attacked by someone else dressed in the Dark Wizard robes. It’s probable that this individual was the real Dark Wizard all along, and that Ben was only wearing the cloak at the end of Year 4. After the attack, the real Dark Wizard teased that one of the player character’s friends was going to die at Hogwarts that year due to the Cursed Vaults, though stopped short of revealing who.
One theory is that Ben himself will bite the dust at some point in Year 5. His death would be meaningful in that he was one of the first people that the player character befriended at Hogwarts, plus it could make Rowan feel guilty for suspecting Ben of wrongdoing, which could be an interesting direction to take his character. Another possibility is that Rowan himself will be on the chopping block, especially since the Dark Wizard had the chance to kill both Ben and the player character, but chose not to do so.
If Ben Copper and Rowan Khanna are spared, then any of the other friends in Hogwarts Mystery could potentially be the character that gets killed off. Alternatively, it could be a character that players interact with but isn’t an official friend, like the Slytherin student Merula Snyde. Merula’s popularity with the fandom would make her death especially meaningful, and the developers could kill her off without removing anyone from the Friendships feature.
Of course, it’s also possible that Jam City is misleading fans and none of the characters will be killed off in Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery’s Year 5. However, considering how much death is a theme in the Harry Potter novels, don’t be surprised if a major character is killed by the end of the year.
Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery is out now for iOS and Android mobile devices.
