Summary

• In Hogwarts Legacy, players are faced with the choice of freeing Penny the house elf or keeping her in their service.
• Penny is a part of the "Minding Your Own Business" quest, which is found in Hogsmeade.
• After the quest is completed, Penny will stay and run the shop whether freed or asked to stay, with minimal differences.

While concluding the "Minding Your Own Business" quest, players will be faced with the decision of freeing Penny or keeping her around in Hogwarts Legacy, and it can be difficult telling which choice is ultimately the best. After all, to get to this point, they will have had to survive a lengthy, mind-boggling quest involving Fastidio the poltergeist and his psychological games, and so it might be tricky for some students to think straight when faced with this conversation.

This originally Playstation-exclusive Hogwarts Legacy quest is dark enough as it is with its horror-esque aspects, but choosing whether to free Penny is arguably the most grim part of "Minding Your Own Business." As a house elf, Penny unfortunately has no free will in the wizarding world, and thus she's completely reliant on the kindness of the master she's bound to. With Cassandra Mason out of the picture, the protagonist has the opportunity to finally release Penny from the constraints of servitude - but in of gameplay, is it better to free Penny in Hogwarts Legacy, or to ask her to stay and run the shop?

What Happens If You Free Penny In Hogwarts Legacy

Is Freedom Better Than Working In The Shop?

In actuality, there is very little difference between setting Penny free in Hogwarts Legacy, and requesting that she help manage the shop. If players choose the latter option, she will happily oblige, but the same result can be produced by choosing to set her free. Upon giving her the floppy straw hat from Fastidio's dungeon, Penny will be audibly overjoyed at the fact that she's a free elf, and yet she claims that her lifelong dream is to run a store with a friend and sell to the residents of Hogsmeade. Thus, she will insist on staying and helping the protagonist out nonetheless.

Do Any Choices Matter In Hogwarts Legacy?

Surprisingly, Few Choices Make A Lasting Impact

Throughout Hogwarts Legacy there are many choices that players can make, such as whether to free Penny. In the long run of the game, however, even some of these moral dilemmas are simply for roleplaying purposes and do not change much for the game itself other than the occasional dialogue. This can be disappointing, as having a morality curve in the game or presenting various paths that players could go down for some choices would have added a lot to the game as a whole. In fact, having so many decisions hold so little importance, it makes it more difficult and surprising for players when they stumble into one that does have consequences.

Even using an Unforgivable Curse is handled much less seriously than it should be.

Generally speaking, there are only four choices that have weight to them. Among these is the very recognizable decision that leads to which final ending of Hogwarts Legacy a player sees. Others are picking which of the four houses to , Sebastian Sallow's fate following his final questline mission, and whether to use an Unforgivable Curse. Even using an Unforgivable Curse is handled much less seriously than it should be, considering the magnitude of what is happening. Players do not get arrested and sent to Azkaban, but are merely viewed negatively by others.

Choosing Whether To Free Penny In Hogwarts Legacy Is Inconsequential

But It Can Provide A Lot From A Roleplay Perspective

In the end, it doesn't matter all too much whether players free Penny in Hogwarts Legacy, as she will remain at the player's side regardless of which dialogue option they choose. There will be no differences in how the shop is run; in fact, the only feasible distinction between the two outcomes is that freeing Penny will prompt her to wear her hat from that point onward. The cutscenes, of course, will also be slightly different based on which choice the player goes with.

Freeing the house elf is obviously the better moral decision for a "good" character.

If the student doesn't care much for the elf's sense of style, then they should feel free to choose whichever option they feel best suits their character's moral alignment or personality. Those looking for a roleplaying playthrough may choose which option would work best for their character, and freeing the house elf is obviously the better moral decision for a "good" character. As Hogwarts Legacy takes place in the 1890s, there isn't much discussion about elf welfare and Harry Potter's infamous Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare (SPEW), yet that doesn't mean that a player cannot choose to help better an elf's situation wherever possible.

At the end of the day, choosing whether to free Penny comes down to personal preferences, as the decision has no impact on gameplay, the shop in Hogsmeade, or character relationships whatsoever. This illusion of choice is a common theme within the RPG, thanks to the lack of a morality system in Hogwarts Legacy, but this predicament in particular can easily trick players into believing otherwise. Since the decision is ultimately inconsequential, though, witches and wizards should choose as they please between freeing Penny in Hogwarts Legacy, or kindly requesting that she stick around.

Editor’s Note: Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling has been accused of transphobia by those in the LGBTQ+ community. Although not directly involved in the development of Hogwarts Legacy, Rowling does stand to earn royalties from the game. We would like to reiterate our for trans rights and that trans identities are valid. services are listed below for trans people impacted by discussions of transphobia.

In the USA:

• Trans Lifeline: (877) 565-8860
• The Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386

In Canada:

• Trans Lifeline: (877) 330-6366
• Youth Line: 1-800-268-9688

In the UK:

• Switchboard: 01273 204050
• Mermaids: 0808 801 0400