As you know, in Hogwarts Legacy, you assume the role of a budding witch or wizard attending their fifth year at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. During this time, there are many experiences and activities scattered across the map for you, the protagonist, to go through.
You can attend classes, progress through the main quest lines, or just simply free roam and explore the school or the world beyond.
During your free-roam explorations, you may encounter other NPC wizards who require your assistance, and that’s how you get side quests that yield some interesting rewards. Among these side quests, there is one that a lot of players might miss for several reasons.
Most side quests can traditionally be found beyond the Hogwarts school premises, but this particular side quest happens within the school grounds.Players must also make an active attempt to find this quest, as it can easily be missed and the quest giver could easily go unnoticed.
This quest is called the Portrait In A Pickle, and just like many other quests in the game, it leads to several big decisions that the player will have to make.
This particular side quest tasks you with deciding what happens to the portrait upon your completion of the quest, and depending on what you choose, the outcomes are vastly different.
Many side quest decisions have no lasting effect on you for the rest of your playthrough; however, the Portrait In A Pickle quest is different. Even though the choice may seem small initially, it may have lingering effects on a certain character.
Let’s dive in!
Here’s How You Can Activate The Quest
To activate the quest, you must first fast-travel to the library and walk towards the portrait to the right of where you were spawned by the floo flame. Interaction with the portrait will introduce you to a character called Ferdinand Octavius Pratt.
Ferdinand Pratt, who can’t be classified as a ray of sunshine to interact with, will then claim that a group of students have wronged him.
Ferdinand will inform you that there was a portrait of him that was hung in the Three Broomsticks, but that portrait has been stolen and moved to a faraway location.
Ferdinand already has a suspect in mind and believes the mastermind behind this injustice is Astoria Cricket. Once the cutscene ends, your character will suggest that you go and have a conversation with Astoria before your search begins.
Locating Astoria Cricket
Astoria will be in The Three Broomsticks, and you can simply fast-travel to the South Hogsmeade Floo Flame and from there head north until you come upon the establishment.
When you talk to Astoria, you will learn that she did move Ferdinand’s portrait and that she moved it because he reports students’ conversations to the headmaster.
She will then reveal to you that she hired thieves who took the portrait to a ruin near the coast. Don’t fret about the vagueness of her description, the game will highlight the exact location on your map as soon as the conversation ends.
Poidsear Coast
Usually, you can just hop on your broom and make your way to whatever location you want to visit on the map. However, the southern reaches of the world of Hogwarts Legacy are a different story.
Some very adventurous players may have already made their way there at some point in time and unlocked a fast travel location on this part of the map. If you’re one of those players, then you can simply fast-travel there, if you’re not and you don’t have the floo flame unlocked, you would need to make your way there through a cavern filled with goblins until you reach Poidsear Coast.
You will find this goblin-infested cabin behind the medium bandits’ camp located south of Keenbridge. When you enter the cabin, you will immediately face an onslaught from the goblins in the cavern.
You can choose to fight the goblins, or you can just evade them and quickly make your way to the cave. However, if you choose to engage the goblins in combat, you will have a chance to face off against Ogbert the Odd, who is one of the twenty-one infamous foes present in Hogwarts Legacy.
Marunweem Ruins
Once you have come to the end of the cavern, you may fly your broom south and follow the shore until you get to Marunweem Ruins.
If you have already explored this area of the map before, then you know that you only need to fast travel to the ruins floo flame. The challenges don’t end there, as upon arrival you will encounter Ashwinders and Poacher, whom you must defeat before you can freely look for the entrance to the chamber below.
Once you have taken care of all the dark wizards, head to the northern part of the ruins, where there will be a stairway that leads below ground. At the end of the stairway, you will encounter a level two lock, which you must get past to reach Ferdinand.
These locks can be cracked after you have gained the Alohomora spell by collecting Demiguise statues and returning them to Gladwin Moon. You would need to have collected nine Demiguise moons to unlock level two locks.
The Portrait Of Ferdinand Octavius Pratt
Once you find the portrait in the final chamber and interact with it, you are given the choice of what should be done with the portrait. You could choose the “Let’s get out of here option”, which allows you to leave with the portrait and return it to the Three Broomsticks, or find a new home for the portrait over at Hog’s Head, an establishment Ferdinand hates.
If you return Ferdinand to the Three Broomsticks, then you can enjoy his gratitude. However, if you want a bit more drama, then take him to Hog’s Head. Once you arrive at Hog’s Head, a terrified Ferdinand will fret at the thought of being left at such an establishment, and the barkeep will even suggest that he would be excellent target practice for the patrons.
Let’s go back a few steps. What if, when you first found Ferdinand in the ruins, you went with the second option? The second option goes down a darker path and allows you to set the portrait ablaze.
Whichever option you decide to go with will reward you with 180 XP and the Oddities Shelf, which can be added to your room of requirements as a decorative item.
Whatever option you choose will not affect the main story and will only impact Ferdinand himself, so don’t be scared to go with whatever you deem necessary.
Similar Auest Lines
The quests in Hogwarts Legacy mostly require you to go out and locate something of value to the character who presented the quest, and upon completion, you are usually given the choice of what to do with the item you have just retrieved.
The choice at the end of The Portrait in a Pickle Quest seems to hold more weight than usual, as your choice directly affects the rest of Ferdinand’s existence.
If you wish to find quests that offer choices similar to this one, you should seek out Birds Of A Feather, Rescuing Rococo, and Take The Biscuit. All three of these quests allow you to acquire a special creature that you otherwise can’t find anywhere else.
There are a few quests that also affect how future interactions with the quest giver play out. Quests like The Lost Astrolabe and Gobs of Gobstones give you choices that cause a shift in the way the quest giver interacts with you based on the options you choose at the end.
Conclusion
And that’s everything you need to know about the Portrait In A Pickle quest in Hogwarts Legacy, plus a bit more information for those interested. Have fun finding all those quests, and please remember to enjoy your adventures in the wizarding world.
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