As it turns out, the upcoming Hogwarts Legacy video game is set at the perfect time for a clever Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire reference involving Ron Weasley. Whereas the Harry Potter books and movies are set primarily in the 1990s, the Hogwarts Legacy video game is turning back the clock by about 100 years.
Hogwarts Legacy is set in the 1890s. This way, the developers will be able to avoid continuity errors and other potential story problems, and it will allow the game to tell a story mostly independent of what's already been established in Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts. While this means that Hogwarts Legacy will be missing most of the franchise's recognizable characters (outside the ghosts that prowl Hogwarts castle), it does create the opportunity for some unique references.
As pointed out by Reddit user Mindless_Cat_, Hogwarts Legacy's 1890s setting makes it perfect for a reference to the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire novel. There is a moment during that book where antagonistic Slytherin student Draco Malfoy is mocking Harry Potter's best friend and Gryffindor student Ron Weasley about his dress robes. Malfoy remarks that the robes "were very fashionable in about 1890." Now, it's entirely possible that Malfoy picked a year at random to make fun of Weasley's old robes, but it's also possible that he was being accurate with his insult.
Ron wears his dress robes to the Yule Ball, a Christmas dance that's held during the Triwizard Tournament. The Triwizard Tournament was banned in the late 1700s due to the number of students that died participating in it, and so it won't be happening in Hogwarts Legacy. However, that doesn't mean the game can't incorporate Ron's dress robes into the experience, especially if Malfoy's 1890 remark is accurate.
While there won't be a Yule Ball, there could be other dances in Hogwarts Legacy where characters have to wear dress robes. And through a series of events, it would be great to see these dress robes end up in a Diagon Alley shop somewhere to eventually land in the hands of Mrs. Weasley a hundred years later. While most of Ron's belongings in Harry Potter are hand-me-downs from his older brothers, Mrs. Weasley is said to have acquired the dress robes at a second-hand shop, so this could be a fun nod to the Harry Potter books and movies.
Of course, it's entirely possible, and perhaps more likely, that Hogwarts Legacy will feature no such references to Ron Weasley's dress robes in Goblet of Fire. Fans will simply have to play through the game for themselves to find out, and luckily, the wait to do just that is nearly at an end.
Hogwarts Legacy launches February 10 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X with PS4 and Xbox One versions dropping April 4 and the Switch port releasing July 25.
Source: Harry Potter Wiki