Hogwarts Legacy sparked speculation about the first transgender Harry Potter character

Despite repeated debates over Harry Potter creator JK Rowling’s views on the transgender community, it seems the wizarding world has debuted its first transgender character.

In Hogwarts Legacy, the open-world role-playing game debuting this Friday, Cyrona Ryan is a witch who owns and runs the Three Broomsticks in the village of Hogsmeade. At one point, the character describes her interactions with a goblin and her own classmates’ misconceptions about her gender.

“We met when I was here as a student waiting tables — way before I bought the place,” Sirona said. “He was cordial enough, but we weren’t friends then. His distrust of wizards ran deep… he hadn’t seen them when he came home months ago. But, he recognized me immediately. Which is more than I can say for my own classmates. It took them a second to realize I was actually a witch, not a wizard.”

The game reportedly allows players to mix and match any variety of voices in addition to the suggested male and female character appearances.

The Hogwarts Legacy “We know our fans are in love with the Wizarding World, and we believe they are for the right reasons,” game director Alan Tew told IGN. We know that this is a diverse audience. For us, it’s ensuring that viewers, who have always dreamed of having this game, get a chance to feel welcome again. They have a home here and it’s a good place to tell their stories.”