If you grew up reading Harry Potter, you know the "Unforgivable Curses" are the big no-nos of the wizarding world. In Hogwarts Legacy, players eventually get the choice to learn and use these three spells:

Here’s the thing: these aren't just handed to the player. To get them, your kid has to follow a specific, optional side-quest involving a Slytherin student named Sebastian Sallow. It’s a multi-hour storyline that is arguably the best-written part of the game, but it’s also the darkest.

Let’s be real—the "Dark Arts" have always been the "edgy" part of the fandom. It’s the same reason kids want to play as the villain in Roblox or pick the "renegade" options in Mass Effect.

In Hogwarts Legacy, the Dark Arts are essentially a "power fantasy." Avada Kedavra is the ultimate "cheat code" spell—it ends a hard boss fight in one click. For a kid who has been struggling with a difficult combat encounter, that green light is very tempting.

But beyond the power, there’s the narrative. The Sebastian Sallow questline isn't about being "evil" for the sake of it. Sebastian is trying to find a cure for his cursed sister, Anne. He starts using Dark Magic because he feels the "good" wizards have given up on her. It’s a classic "ends justify the means" scenario that really resonates with teenagers who are starting to navigate complex moral gray areas.

This is where I’m going to be a bit of a "no-BS" critic: Hogwarts Legacy has a bit of a narrative disconnect.

In most RPGs, if you go around murdering people, the world reacts. In Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, the struggle with the Dark Side is a central theme. In older games like Fable, your character would literally grow horns if they were mean.

In Hogwarts Legacy, you can cast Avada Kedavra in front of your professors, and they basically just keep walking. There is no "Karma" system. Your kid can be a total Dark Wizard and still win the House Cup and be celebrated as a hero.

As a parent, you should know that the game doesn't provide the "moral guardrails" that media often does. If you want your child to understand the weight of these choices, that conversation has to happen on the couch, not on the screen.

Learn more about how to talk to kids about moral choices in video games

The game is rated T for Teen. While a 10-year-old who has read all the Harry Potter books can certainly handle the mechanics, the Dark Arts questline pushes the boundaries of that rating.

If your kid is talking about "Sebastian," they are deep into the Dark Arts lore. Here is the "spoiler-lite" version of what happens so you can keep up:

Sebastian becomes obsessed with an ancient relic to save his sister. Along the way, he kills his own uncle (who was trying to stop him) using the Killing Curse. The player then has to decide: Do you turn Sebastian in to the authorities, or do you keep his secret?

Turning him in means he goes to Azkaban (wizard prison) and disappears from the game. Keeping his secret means he stays at Hogwarts.

Interestingly, many kids choose to keep his secret. Not because they support murder, but because they’ve spent 20 hours "bonding" with this character. It’s a fascinating look into how kids prioritize loyalty over abstract justice.

Instead of "Why are you using the bad spells?", try these conversational entry points:

Ask our chatbot for more questions to ask your gamer kid

Hogwarts Legacy is a fantastic game, but its treatment of Dark Magic is purely "player choice" with very little narrative pushback. It won’t turn your kid into a dark wizard, but it does miss an opportunity to teach about the consequences of power.

If your kid chooses the Dark Arts, don’t panic. They aren't "failing" a morality test; they are exploring a complex story. The best thing you can do is be the "morality meter" the game forgot to include—not by banning the spells, but by talking through the heavy stuff.

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