The Dark Horse

Hello everyone, welcome to our Walkthrough for The Dark Horse Side Quest for Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery. This quest is available for students of Year 3 and above. It is one of the side quests for increasing Hagrid’s friendship level and completing it will award you 300 friendship experience points, which should be enough to raise his level to 4. This quest is not time-limited, so you don’t need to rush it, but in order to complete it, you need to have max level Thestral in Magical Creatures Reserve. Once you start the quest, head to the Dark Forest to meet Hagrid.

Upon arriving, you’ll notice that Hagrid is not the only one waiting for you. As it appears, he also invited Merula.

And by the looks of it, she is very curious to know why.

Apparently, Hagrid was given a special assignment by Professor Dumbledore.

However, he has yet to explain why he needs your help.

Talking with Hagrid requires earning five stars within three hours. One star is needed to pass.

There is only one 5-cost action available here and it is tied to your character, so prioritize it if you want to save some energy.

Once you’re done, you’ll learn what Hagrid intends to do.

He’ll also mention why he needs your help.

And you’ll learn that Merula can actually see Thestrals.

Your character will be very surprised by this.

Eventually, both you and Merula will agree to help Hagrid.

However, in order to help Hagrid, you’ll need a Thestral.

This exactly is your next task. To adopt Thestral, you’ll need 75 Red and 15 Blue Notebooks.

Next, you should proceed to the Training Grounds to start preparing your Thestral.

Shortly upon arriving, you’ll introduce your Thestral to Hagrid and Merula.

While Hagrid will be happy to meet your Thestral, Merula, on the other hand, won’t share his enthusiasm.

As usual, you’ll try to reason with her.

However, she only seems interested in earning some House Points.

Soon after, you’ll get to prepare your Thestral. Doing that requires earning five stars within three hours. All five stars are needed to pass, so avoid starting this task if your energy is low.

Both Merula and your Thestral have 5-cost actions tied to them, so prioritize them in order to save some energy.

Hagrid will praise your Thestral when you complete the task.

Sadly, Merula still thinks that Thestrals bring bad luck.

You’ll then get to choose whether you want to side with her or Hagrid. Other than a few dialogue lines, this choice won’t have any influence on the story, so feel free to pick the option you prefer.

Regardless of your choice, Merula will get very angry.

Apparently, she recalls some quite unpleasant memories every time she sees a Thestral.

Her outburst will upset your Thestral quite a bit.

The most powerful witch at Hogwarts will decide that the House Points aren’t worth it, and she’ll leave.

Hagrid will be very disheartened by this.

This will give you an interesting idea.

However, in order to win her over, you’ll need to hone up your persuasion skills.

To do that, you need to complete 15 social encounters. These include Meal with a Friend, playing Gobstones, and drinking Butterbeer.

Once you are done, proceed to the Courtyard to meet Merula.

When you arrive, you’ll notice the speech bubbles above some of the characters. Tap on these if you want to see what they have to say.

Hagrid will once again thank you for your idea.

Still, he’ll be worried a bit. You have two options to react to this. These won’t impact the story in any meaningful way, so pick whichever one you prefer.

Shortly after, you’ll approach Merula and tell her you need to talk. Still, she isn’t really interested in helping Hagrid.

Eventually, you’ll manage to convince her to listen to you at least.

Persuading Merula requires earning five stars within three hours. All of the stars are needed to pass.

You’ll notice that both Hagrid and Merula have 5-cost actions tied to them, so focus on these to save some energy.

Once you complete this task, Merula will agree to help you.

Hagrid will then suggest spending some time with your Thestral before letting Merula near it again.

To do that, you need to reach maximum trust level with the Thestral. This may take a while, but since this side quest is not time-limited, you don’t really need to worry about it.

When you’re done with leveling your Thestral, proceed to the Training Grounds to meet Merula.

Hagrid will be very happy to see you and your Thestral.

You’ll suggest letting Merula take the lead this time.

She won’t like that idea very much. You can choose to antagonize or encourage her. While both of these options will lead to the same outcome, it is somewhat recommended to encourage her.

Eventually, she’ll agree to help.

Working with your Thestral requires earning five stars within three hours.

The only 5-cost action here is tied to Merula, so prioritize it if you want to save some energy.

Once you’re done, Merula will admit that she was wrong about Thestrals.

Apparently, your Thestral seems to like her now.

Not long after that, Professor Dumbledore will arrive and mention the unpleasant memory of Merula’s past.

She’ll be surprised to see the Headmaster knowing things about her past.

Once again, Professor Dumbledore will share his words of wisdom.

Merula will even agree with him.

Shortly after, Professor Dumbledore and Hagrid will take their leave.

Before they leave, you’ll ask Hagrid to meet you in the Magical Creatures Reserve when he returns.

For the next task, proceed to the Dark Forest to catch up with Hagrid.

Your Thestral will happily greet you once you arrive.

You’ll then get to talk to Hagrid about his demonstration on Thestrals.

Doing so requires earning five stars within three hours.

There is 5-cost action tied to your Thestral, so focus on that one to save some energy.

As it appears, his demonstration was a huge success.

Hagrid will thank you for being kind enough to help him. You have two options to respond to him. These won’t have any significant effect on the story, so feel free to pick the option you prefer.

He’ll thank you once again for everything you’ve done.

This will mark the end of the quest. Hit the collect button to claim your rewards. This will grant you 300 friendship experience points with Hagrid.

Slowly but steadily, you’re becoming one of Hagrid’s closest friends. Who knows, maybe one day he’ll teach you how to make his famous rock cakes.
Thank you for reading and see you soon with more exciting adventures!