"All was well." At least, that's what we were told at the end of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". The seventh book was said to be the final installment, concluding the epic tale of Harry Potter, but this past year, his story has been continued. In collaboration with Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, J.K. Rowling has developed a stage play entitled "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" which picks up where "Deathly Hallows" left off. Rowling did not write the script (this is important) but did approve what was written. While the play opened in London back in June, the script was released in book format on Harry Potter day, July 31st. Fans around the world gathered at their local bookshops and Barnes and Nobles to experience the release of a new "Potter" book one more time. I devoured it in a total of a few hours, and now that I've read it and thought about it, let's talk about it.

I want to start this off by saying I'm at war with myself when it comes to my feelings on this story. There is a lot that I wasn't a fan of, however I am going to focus on positive aspects so hang on tight for the end, because there are some saving graces to this story.

"Cursed Child" opens exactly where we were promised. The train station where "Deathly Hallows" left us. We learn Albus, Harry's youngest, feels extremely resentful towards his father and his fame, and feels pressured by the idea of being Harry Potter's son. Once on the train, Albus befriends Scorpius Malfoy, the son of Harry's school rival, Draco. After overhearing Amos Diggory accuse Harry of not doing enough to stop the murder of his son (he claims Harry has a Time Turner) Albus takes pity on Amos, and decides to do something that his father cannot. Together, Albus and Scorpius, with the help of a mysterious witch named Delphi, attempt to travel back in time and stop the murder of Cedric Diggory, so that Amos can be reunited with his son, but they soon learn the consequences of meddling with time...just a classic time travel story.

So let's break this thing down. If those weren't enough spoilers, warning: there are spoilers ahead.

So...Time Turners. It's common knowledge that the Ministry of Magic's entire stock of Time Turner's were destroyed in book five during the Battle of the Hall of Prophecies. Okay...maybe not common knowledge, but knowledge nonetheless. Rowling did this because it covered up tons of plot holes that she'd have to fix because of the pesky little devices. In essence, the Time Turners could have solved a lot of problems in the books, but they were destroyed, so problem solved. However, it seems one was saved, and this is the one that Albus and Scorpius use to travel back in time with. Fine, that's boring, but fine. BUT IT GETS WORSE. After theirs is destroyed, it turns out there is another Time Turner that can save them. Just how many of those are left? Where were they when Mad Eye died? When Dobby died? When Hedwig died? They just showed up for the play? Oh Time Turners...you truly do ruin everything don't you?

The Ablus/Scorpius relationship is wonderful. The two characters bond over the fact that they can't live up to their fathers' expectations and share heartfelt and meaningful dialogue because of it. Scorpius proves to be much more lighthearted and carefree than Albus, who often leads their adventures. We see Scorpius get jealous when Albus becomes too close with Delphi, and in this moment, the spark of a new generation of fan shipping was born. Scorpius and Albus are totally in love, but somehow, the writers missed this. All the signs are extremely prevalent in the script, from dialogue to scene direction, and yet the play ends with Scorpius wanting to ask out Rose (Ron and Hermione's daughter) again. Why? After Rowling's reveal of Dumbledore being gay, the fans awaited eagerly for a fleshed out openly gay character, and this play had the chance to give us that. While these two characters have exciting scenes and witty banter together (at one point Scorpius sings about his candy to Albus just because) it's sad that the writers missed that option.

And then there's Delphi. If you haven't read the play and are reading this to catch up on what goes on, I've got news for you. Delphi is Voldemort's daughter. Wait, it gets better! Bellatrix Lestrange is the mother! From Bellatrix's side of things, it makes perfect sense. She is constantly throwing herself at the Dark Lord, and wishes to serve him in anyway she can. Of course we can see her being honored to bear his child, but Voldemort would never do that for several reasons.

- Voldemort wouldn't think Bellatrix worthy enough to bear his child. He would never put that sort of trust to anyone. We see in "Deathly Hallows" that when Nagini is in danger, he decides that he alone would be enough to protect her and you're gonna sit here and tell me that he'd let Bellatrix protect his kid? Nah.

-Voldemort doesn't want an heir. Voldemort wants to be the singular ruler of the wizarding world, a child would be of no use to him. I'm sure he'd develop some sort of Kronos complex and devour his children (honestly guys, this is textbook bad guy mythology)

-Which would lead me to believe that the writers of this play...possibly thought Voldemort and Bellatrix did it out of...love? The thing Voldemort couldn't understand? The thing that, if he were to truly feel it, would most likely kill him? That doesn't work. Voldemort just isn't the kind of villain to use a child as his fallback. That's what Horcruxes are for.

But besides those points, it feels like such a boring idea for a villain. It reminds me of a lame Disney sequel where the writer's simply go, "Uh what if...they had....a relative!" ("Little Mermaid 2", "Lion King 2"). Did there even need to be a villain in this play? Couldn't the idea of Harry coping with nightmares from his past and dealing with a son who had deep insecurity be enough to deal with? Instead of this being the emotional and cathartic experience I wanted, the plot to this play seemed to get more ridiculous the longer it dragged on.

And yet...

This play is thematically beautiful. Sure, there's a part of me that hates to see Harry suffer more than he already has, but this play reminds us that hero's lives are never easy, that's a part of what makes them heroes. We can't expect Harry's life to be normal. Just like Frodo, who was haunted by the horrors of being the Ring Bearer after the War of the Ring, Harry must cope. The play touches on the themes of grief and death with the elegance and beauty that Rowling always seems to nail. At first, Cedric's death seemed like a random spot to fixate on. Who cares? Book 4? That seems like it was so long ago. But the more I think, the more I write, I realize that's where it all changed. That's when Harry saw death, and realized that life is fleeting, and worth fighting for. He saw the results of evil doers and their powers, and that's what he was fighting against all those years. The argument can be made that Cedric Diggory is who Harry was truly fighting for in the Wizarding War.

A few other saving graces: Ron's lines were mostly hilarious and I'd love to see those acted on stage. Draco was great and even, at times, was more likable than Harry in this story, and Hermione felt just as she had in the books. Level headed and wonderful.

So is it canon? No. I will not be accepting "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" as canon. Maybe I'll pick and choose what I like and what I don't like and accept that. Maybe my own canon will be that Albus and Scorpius end up together. I think I'll put my copy "Cursed Child" in a drawer for a while. Perhaps I need to grow, to have my own kids like Harry, to truly understand this story.

One final closing thought. This is a play. A play is not meant to depend on its script alone. This is where "Cursed Child" fails its fans. It's crippling us by giving us a weak story, even though I've heard that the play is phenomenal visually. The story may turn fans off completely and have them reject the notion of seeing the play, which would be sad indeed. Hopefully I get the chance to see it someday.

So now Potterheads wait for "Fantastic Beasts" which I think is gonna give us our money's worth of fun. What did you think of "Cursed Child"? Did you have any favorite characters? Are you also the love child of Voldemort and Bellatrix? Let me know! Until next time, I'll see you all back on the train to Hogwarts.