During the sidequest “In the Shadow of the Study”, players are called to explore Salazar Slytherin’s Scriptorium. Within it, they will have to solve certain puzzles involving certain Slytherin locks.
Each Slytherin lock will have two symbols on it, which correspond to a nearby door. Players will need to change the symbols on the snake, to make them match the nearby door.
Keep in mind that each time you fail to solve it in time, the snake will bite you and damage your health. Make sure to come prepared with enough healing potions for this quest, since your health won’t regenerate.
In this guide, I will explain how to open Slytherin locks in Hogwarts Legacy and showcase how to complete the sidequest “In the Shadow of the Study” quest.
How to Start The Shadow of The Study Quest
For this side quest, players should have completed the “In The Shadow of the Bloodline” quest first. To begin this quest, interact with Sebastian and Ominis, and use Confringo to light the three braziers near the mentioned location.
After entering the Scriptorium, players will have to open four doors protected by snake locks, known as Slytherin locks. Let’s examine how to open these doors.
How to Open Slytherin Locks in Hogwarts Legacy
Each door is connected to a nearby Slytherin lock. Here’s how to open all four doors:
- Check the two symbols on the door.
- Find its corresponding Slytherin lock. For the first door, the lock is right next to it, while for the others it’s a bit further away.
- Rotate the symbols on the Slytherin lock to match the symbol on the door.
- Make sure to rotate the symbols on the snake quickly. If you’re too slow, the snake will attack you and you’ll have to try again.
And that’s all. Keep in mind that the second and third doors are a bit further away from their locks.
Should You Learn and Cast Crucio?
After opening all four doors, the players will be met with another locked door. This time, to open it someone will have to cast Crucio. Specifically, players have three options based on the dialogue choice they select:
| Dialogue Option | Result |
| Very well. I don’t want to learn the Cruciatus Curse. | The player does not learn the Crucio spell. |
| I want to learn the Cruciatus Curse. But you must cast it on me. | The player learns the Crucio spell. |
| Teach me the Cruciatus Curse and I’ll cast it on you. | The player learns the Crucio spell. |
The only difference is whether the player will learn Crucio or not. It doesn’t make any difference if the player casts it on Sebastian, or if Sebastian casts it on the player. Only the cutscene will be different. The story afterward will be the same.
Since you won’t have any other opportunities to learn Cruucio afterward, it’s important to think carefully before making a decision here.
I recommend learning Crucio since it’s an extra spell in your arsenal. And if you change your mind, you can always unequip and stop using it.
Wrapping up
To summarize, players can open Slytherin locks by matching the symbol on the lock with the symbol on the nearby doors. This way, they can progress and complete the sidequest “In the Shadow of the Study”.
With this quest completed, consider checking out our guide on to complete the next quest “In The Shadow of Time” which awards the Imperio spell.
Did you decide to learn Crucio? If yes, did you cast it on Sebastian, or did you have Sebastian cast it on you? Let us know in the comments below.
He has a Master’s Degree in Philosophy, which allows him to always come up with a fresh approach to solving in-game puzzles and challenges, but also to create content that’s to the point, clean and easy to follow.
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