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To start Minding Your Own Business—also called the Haunted Hogsmeade Shop quest—finish the main-story progression through Fire and Vice, reach the in-game winter season, and visit the boarded-up shop in Hogsmeade. Speak with Penny, the house-elf sweeping outside. She directs you to Cassandra Mason, who offers the shop for 1,500 gold.
The quest was originally exclusive to PlayStation, but the June 2024 Summer Update made it available to Hogwarts Legacy players on all supported platforms. If Penny is absent, check the update, your season, your Fire and Vice progress, and your gold total.
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What unlocks Minding Your Own Business?
Minding Your Own Business is a side quest built around a boarded-up shop in Hogsmeade. It is also promoted as the Haunted Hogsmeade Shop quest. The game does not place Penny at the shop immediately after a new save begins. Her appearance is tied to both story progress and the in-game season.
The documented conditions are:
- You must complete Fire and Vice, the third Keeper-trial stage in the main story progression.
- Your save must have reached the winter season.
- Your game must include the June 2024 Summer Update or a later version that contains the same content.
- You need 1,500 gold available when Cassandra Mason offers the shop.
There is no consistently established universal character-level requirement. Some community references mention level 18, but the stronger availability guidance is based on the story gate and season rather than a guaranteed level threshold.
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- EXPLORE AN OPEN WORLD. The wizarding world awaits you. Freely roam Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, the Forbidden Forest, and the surrounding Overland area.
- BE THE WITCH OR WIZARD YOU WANT TO BE. Learn spells, brew potions, grow plants, and tend to magical beasts along your journey. Get sorted into your house, forge relationships, and master skills to become the witch or wizard you want to be.
- EXPERIENCE A NEW WIZARDING WORLD ADVENTURE. Experience the wizarding world in an unexplored era to uncover a hidden truth from its past. Battle against trolls, Dark Wizards, goblins, and more as you face a dangerous villain threatening the fate of the wizarding world.
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Start the quest step by step
1. Complete the Fire and Vice story progression
Continue the main quest until you finish Fire and Vice, identified in walkthroughs as the third Keeper trial progression. If you have not reached that point, travelling to Hogsmeade will not make Penny appear early.
Use your quest log to confirm that the relevant main-story objective is complete. The wording of objectives can vary slightly with your current quest-log state, so the important checkpoint is completion of the Fire and Vice stage, not a particular character level.
2. Wait for winter in your save
After the required story progression, advance the campaign until the in-game season changes to winter. Penny is documented as appearing shortly after winter begins. This is an in-game seasonal trigger, not a real-world date or a calendar event outside the game.
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If you have finished Fire and Vice but your save is still in an earlier season, the shop can remain boarded up without Penny outside. Continue the main story until winter starts, then return to Hogsmeade.
3. Find the boarded-up shop in Hogsmeade
Travel to Hogsmeade and search the town’s eastern or southeastern area for a boarded-up storefront. The building is visually distinct because it is not operating as a normal shop. Penny stands outside, sweeping near the entrance.
Approach the house-elf and look for the interaction prompt. You do not start this quest by entering through a normal shop menu; Penny is the start NPC.
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- EXPLORE AN OPEN WORLD. The wizarding world awaits you. Freely roam Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, the Forbidden Forest, and the surrounding Overland area.
- BE THE WITCH OR WIZARD YOU WANT TO BE. Learn spells, brew potions, grow plants, and tend to magical beasts along your journey. Get sorted into your house, forge relationships, and master skills to become the witch or wizard you want to be.
- EXPERIENCE A NEW WIZARDING WORLD ADVENTURE. Experience the wizarding world in an unexplored era to uncover a hidden truth from its past. Battle against trolls, Dark Wizards, goblins, and more as you face a dangerous villain threatening the fate of the wizarding world.
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4. Speak with Penny
Talk to Penny and accept Minding Your Own Business. The objective then points you toward Cassandra Mason. Follow the active quest marker rather than searching other Hogsmeade merchants for a separate activation option.
5. Meet Cassandra Mason and bring 1,500 gold
Cassandra Mason offers the shop for 1,500 gold. Have that amount in your character’s currency before beginning the purchase conversation. Paying the stated price starts the haunted-shop sequence.
The 1,500-gold figure is the shop price reported in the walkthrough guidance; it is not described as a recurring fee, subscription, or daily charge.
6. Clear the shop sequence
Continue through the objectives that follow the purchase. Completing the quest awards ownership of the Hogsmeade shop and the Shopkeeper cosmetic set. The official description also identifies a practical benefit: the shop lets you sell items and gear at better rates than elsewhere.
Where exactly is Penny?
Penny is outside the boarded-up shop in Hogsmeade, in the town’s eastern or southeastern section. Look for the elf sweeping in front of the closed storefront rather than for a marker inside another building.
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Why the quest is not showing up
Your story progress is too early
The most important story check is Fire and Vice. Earlier Keeper-trial progress does not substitute for completing this third stage. Open the main quest log and verify that the mission is finished rather than merely active or available.
Your season has not reached winter
Winter is a separate trigger from the story gate. Even after completing Fire and Vice, Penny is expected to appear only shortly after the winter season starts. Check the seasonal state of your save before treating the missing NPC as a bug.
The Summer Update is not installed
The Haunted Hogsmeade Shop content began as a PlayStation-exclusive quest. The June 2024 Summer Update expanded it to all supported platforms. On a current PC, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, or PlayStation installation, make sure the game has downloaded and applied the update before troubleshooting the save.
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You do not have enough gold
Penny can still start the quest when you are short of money, but Cassandra Mason’s offer requires 1,500 gold. Sell surplus equipment, gather currency through normal play, and return once your total reaches the stated price. The shop purchase is the point at which the gold requirement matters.
You are checking the wrong location
Hogsmeade has many merchants and interiors. The start point is the boarded-up shop in the eastern or southeastern part of town, with Penny outside sweeping. If you are standing at an operating store or searching inside a building, you have not reached the activation point.
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You are relying on an unverified level requirement
A level number circulated by community sources should not be treated as a universal unlock rule. The better-supported conditions are completion of Fire and Vice, the start of winter, and an updated game. If all three are satisfied and Penny is still missing, then investigate the update and save state rather than grinding solely for a particular level.
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Use this order so that each check eliminates a different documented cause:
- Open the main quest log and confirm that Fire and Vice, the third Keeper-trial progression, is complete.
- Confirm that the current save has entered winter.
- Check that the June 2024 Summer Update or a later equivalent update is installed.
- Travel to Hogsmeade’s eastern or southeastern area and identify the boarded-up shop.
- Look directly outside for Penny sweeping, then interact with her.
- Check your currency before following Cassandra Mason’s offer; the stated price is 1,500 gold.
- If the conditions are met but the NPC still does not appear, reload the save or revisit Hogsmeade after another normal quest transition. Do not assume a level-18 requirement is mandatory, because that threshold is not consistently established by the stronger availability sources.
This sequence separates progression problems from location, update, and currency problems. It also avoids wasting time searching for a different quest giver or repeatedly revisiting Hogsmeade before winter.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What happens after you start it?
The shop becomes part of your Hogsmeade activities
The purchase from Cassandra Mason begins the haunted-shop storyline. You must complete the associated objectives rather than stopping after the conversation if you want the shop rewards.
You receive shop ownership
Quest completion grants ownership of the Hogsmeade shop. The shop is therefore a quest reward, not a location that can be bought independently before starting Minding Your Own Business.
You unlock improved selling rates
The official quest description says the shop allows you to sell items and gear at better rates than elsewhere. This makes the quest relevant even if you are primarily interested in inventory management rather than its haunted setting.
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- EXPLORE AN OPEN WORLD. The wizarding world awaits you. Freely roam Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, the Forbidden Forest, and the surrounding Overland area.
- BE THE WITCH OR WIZARD YOU WANT TO BE. Learn spells, brew potions, grow plants, and tend to magical beasts along your journey. Get sorted into your house, forge relationships, and master skills to become the witch or wizard you want to be.
- EXPERIENCE A NEW WIZARDING WORLD ADVENTURE. Experience the wizarding world in an unexplored era to uncover a hidden truth from its past. Battle against trolls, Dark Wizards, goblins, and more as you face a dangerous villain threatening the fate of the wizarding world.
- Please note that although this game is Region Free or Region Unlocked and will work on all systems, this is the international version and may differ from the local version in age rating, labeling or instructions. DLC content may not work unless using an EU Playstation account as stated this is an EU Import Region Free Version
You receive the Shopkeeper cosmetic set
The Shopkeeper cosmetic set is another completion reward. It is tied to clearing the quest sequence, not merely meeting Penny or paying Cassandra.
Platform availability after the 2024 update
| Platform status | What applies |
|---|---|
| PlayStation | The quest was originally exclusive to PlayStation and remains available on updated PlayStation installations. |
| PC | The June 2024 Summer Update opened the quest to supported PC versions. |
| Xbox | The quest is available on supported Xbox versions after the update. |
| Nintendo Switch | The quest is available on supported Nintendo Switch versions after the update. |
Because availability changed, platform advice written before June 2024 can mislead players. Install the current update for your platform, then apply the story and winter requirements to the save.
How much should you prepare?
Reserve the purchase money
Keep at least 1,500 gold available when you plan to meet Cassandra. The amount is the stated purchase price for the shop. It is sensible to check your currency before travelling so that the conversation can lead directly into the quest sequence.
Do not plan around a published completion time
Available walkthroughs describe the quest as lengthy or substantial but do not provide a reliable measured completion-time statistic. Your progress, exploration, and pace can therefore affect the time considerably; there is no dependable single number to use for scheduling.
Use the active objective after Penny’s conversation
Once Penny starts the quest, follow the objective marker to Cassandra Mason. This keeps the sequence in the intended order and prevents confusion with ordinary Hogsmeade shop activities.
Quick answers to common start questions
Do I have to finish Fire and Vice first?
Yes. Completion of Fire and Vice, the third Keeper-trial progression, is the documented story prerequisite before Penny appears.
When does Penny appear?
She appears shortly after the in-game winter season begins, provided the story and update conditions are satisfied.
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How much does Cassandra Mason charge?
The shop purchase costs 1,500 gold.
Is the quest still PlayStation-only?
No. The June 2024 Summer Update made the Haunted Hogsmeade Shop quest available to Hogwarts Legacy owners on all supported platforms.
What do I get for finishing it?
You gain the Hogsmeade shop, better selling rates for items and gear than elsewhere, and the Shopkeeper cosmetic set.
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