July 31, 2016, was the day all Harry Potter fans came together again.
"Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts I and II" was released on this day. (Which is also Rowling and Harry’s birthday… coincidence?...) "Cursed Child" is the eighth Harry Potter story that takes place 19 years later….
"Cursed Child" was originally announced by J.K. Rowling as a play. Fans gave such positive feedback that she released the script from it and here we have the eighth story. John Tiffany and Jack Thorne helped Rowling out. John Tiffany is an English theater director and Jack Thorne is an English screenwriter and playwright. These two men helped bring J.K.’s ideas to the stage.
Right now, the play, by Jack Thorne, is only being performed in England, but Rowling has said she wants to bring it internationally. It opened on July 30. The script is separated into two parts with four acts in total.
"Cursed Child" sold 2 million copies in two days in the US and Canada. The script is the fastest-selling book since the last Potter book, "Deathly Hallows," was released. The publisher said it is the fastest selling playscript ever and the fastest selling book published this decade. "Cursed Child" has the biggest single-week sale of this decade. It beat out the novel "Fifty Shades of Grey," which sold 665.000 in 2012.
"Cursed Child," tells the story of an adult Harry, now an employee at the Ministry of Magic and a father of 3. It picks up where it left off…. At the train station 19 years after the Battle of Hogwarts.
*From this point on, Potterheads, if you have not finished or read the book yet, you may want to be cautious. Spoilers are coming….*
The play starts out how the seventh book ended -- at the train station with Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, and their children anxiously awaiting to board the Hogwarts Express.
We finally get to meet the kids! James Sirius Potter, Lily Luna Potter, and Albus Severus Potter are Harry and Ginny’s 3 children. Rose Granger-Weasley and Hugo Granger-Weasley are Ron and Hermione’s children. Scorpius Malfoy is Draco and Astoria’s child.
Next we see Albus and his cousin, Rose, board the train and find a place to sit. There is only one spot open (Flashbacks!!) and Albus steps inside. He meets a boy who introduces himself as Scorpius Malfoy. Right away, Rose wants to leave, but Albus gives him a chance. They soon become very good friends.
Fast forward to the sorting ceremony, yes the Sorting Hat is back, and we see Rose sorted into Gryffindor and joins her cousin, James, and Scorpius is sorted into Slytherin (no surprises there). Albus steps up and is shockingly sorted into Slytherin. Scorpius is happy, but Albus and the rest of the school are in a bit of a shock.
Another surprise: Professor McGonagall is still alive and she is still headmistress.
The play jumps around a bit and now we are at the beginning of Albus’ second year. Rose is a brilliant and very popular Quidditch chaser. She and Albus are barely speaking. However, they do, Scorpius tries to impress and tease her, but she is having none of it. (Crushing much, Scorpius?)
We are then apparated into a scene with Harry and Draco talking (I know, shocking right?) Draco asks Harry to use his position as the Head of Magical Law Enforcement to shut down the rumors that a time turner was used to go back in time and have Voldemort impregnate Astoria, making Scorpius Voldemort’s son.
Albus overhears his dad and Amos Diggory talking. Diggory is asking if Harry can use the Time-Turner to go back in time and save his son, Cedric, who was killed by Voldemort in the Triwizard Tournament. Harry denies he has the Time-Turner.
While Albus is listening on the stairs he sees a girl, with blue and silver hair, listening on the other side. She introduces herself as Delphi, niece of Amos. Delphi tells Albus to come visit them at the nursing home, where she takes care of her uncle.
Albus and Harry’s relationship is strained. Harry is worried Albus is isolating himself at school, so he gives him his blanket from the night his parents were killed. They have a fight and Harry says he wishes he was not his son.
Back to the Hogwarts Express, and Albus tells Scorpius they need to go back in time and save Cedric. Almost getting caught by the trolley lady, they jump off the train.
Hermione, now Minister of Magic, calls a meeting because Harry’s scar has hurt for the first time since the death of Hogwarts.
Albus and Scorpius show up at the nursing home and offer to help the Diggorys because Harry has so much blood on his hands. They plan to go back in time and prevent him from winning.
Albus, Scorpius, and Delphi sneak into the Ministry of Magic and take the Time-Turner. They go back in time to the first task They succeed in their mission by disarming Cedric.
Their parents can’t find them and are worried. Harry and Draco discover the boys outside of Hogwarts when they are transported back to the present. This time turner has only a five-minute limit. While the boys are traveling back in time Albus breaks his arm.
While Harry is sitting next to Albus in the hospital wing, he talks to Dumbledore’s portrait. Dumbledore tells Harry that Albus is blinded by love and doesn’t see what is wounding him. Harry immediately accuses Scorpius and tells his son to never speak to him again.
When Albus wakes up everything is different. His uncle Ron is now married to Padma Patil, Hermione is the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and he is suddenly in Gryffindor. He immediately realizes it is because they went back in time and changed the past. They decide to go back and fix it.
Harry realizes he is wrong for keeping the children apart. He goes to find them and runs into Ginny and Draco. They find out the boys talked to Moaning Myrtle and used the Time-Turner to go back in time to the second task. They use an engorgement spell on Cedric that takes him right out of the lake.
Scorpius emerges from the water with Albus, not by his side. Professor Umbridge (yes you read that right) tells him to get out of the lake. She is now Headmistress. Umbridge tells Scorpius there is no student with the name of Albus Potter. There hasn’t been a Potter since Harry, who in this universe was killed in the Battle of Hogwarts. Draco is now head of the Magical Law Enforcement, and there are mud blood death camps. All of the girls refer to Scorpius as “Scorpion King” and hope to be asked out by him.
Scorpius seeks help from Severus Snape. Yes, you read that right. In this alternate universe, the Half-Blood Prince is still alive. Snape doesn’t want to help him/doesn’t believe him until he tells him that Harry named his son, Albus Severus. Scorpius explains there was another universe where Voldemort was dead and Harry was alive.
Snape puts him in a hidden room with Hermione and Ron. Hermione is a wanted wizard and they are shocked to hear they were married in the other universe. Snape realizes that he is dead in the other reality.
They use the time turner to go back to the Triwizard tournament and Hermione prevents Albus from casting the spell on Cedric. Snape and Scorpius run into Professor Umbridge. She says she saw them with Hermione. Snape (finally) kills her. Scorpius goes back to fix the second spell. Scorpius and Albus ascend from the lake and Albus has no idea what happened.
Harry has a nightmare about Voldemort and his scar hurts. He believes his son is in danger.
Sitting in their beds, Albus and Scorpius are talking. Scorpius says he still has the Time Turner and wants to destroy it himself.
The boys debate what spell to use and Delphi arrives. He explains they will no longer be able to save Cedric. They explained that in the alternate universe Cedric’s Triwizard humiliation turned him into an angry young man, who became a Death Eater and eventually killed Neville Longbottom, helping to usher in an era of the Dark Lord.
They see a tattoo of a black bird on Delphi’s back. She says it’s an Augury, which reminded her of her childhood with the Rowle family. Albus says they are death eaters and steps back. She pulls out a wand and binds them together, before snapping their wands.
The parents are looking for their kids when Ron comes in and says he saw Albus with his older girlfriend last night with silver hair. They figure it must be Delphi. They go see Amos and demand to know where his niece is. He says he doesn’t have a niece.
Delphi tells the boys she wants to travel back to rebirth the dark. She says Voldemort is the one true ruler. She tells him that they are going back to stop Cedric from winning. When he refuses she threatens to kill Scorpius.Delphie says Voldemort will return and the Augury will sit at his side as it was prophesied.
She takes them back in time, but the boys do not cooperate. As Delphie screams and raises her wand to kill Scorpius, she is struck from behind by Cedric. He thinks this is part of the Triwizard task. Albus tells him to free them, which he does before returning to the challenge.
They all run for the time turner and are traveling through time again. Delphi destroys the time turner and flies away. The boys have no idea what year they are in.
The adults race to Delphi's room to try to discover who she is. In the room, concealed by a Parseltongue code, are more details of the prophecy—including the claim that she will bring her father back. Delphi is Voldemort’s Daughter.
The boys discover they have been transported to Oct. 30, 1981 -- the day before Voldemort killed Harry’s parents. If Delphie stops Voldemort from accidentally putting part of their soul into Harry, he can’t be defeated.They rush to Godric’s Hollow to try and intercept Delphi before she kills Harry in a bid to save Voldemort.
Back in the present, Draco and Harry are talking. Draco says he still has an actual time turner. He says he kept it to himself because he didn’t want to fuel the rumors that Scorpius was Voldemort’s son.
Albus realizes he needs to send a message to Harry. He sees his grandmother tucking baby Harry in the blanket Harry gave him.
But Albus remembers that the love potion is spilled on the blanket just before he went back to Hogwarts—if they can find a chemical that will react with that potion, it will react and spell out a message at just the right time. His father will seek out the blanket again on All Hallows Eve and see their cry for help.The boys break into Bathilda Bagshot’s house and steal the ingredients they need.
Harry picks up the blanket on Hallows Eve. There is a message that says 31/10.81 HELP Dad!
Harry, Ginny, Draco, Ron, and Hermione head back to Godric’s Hollow 1981 to help the boys. Albus and Scorpius explain that Delphi is coming to kill Harry. They hide in the church where they can look out for her without being seen.
Ginny realizes Delphi wouldn’t have come to this date to kill Harry. She must be waiting to stop Voldemort trying to kill Harry, otherwise she could have killed Harry when he was even younger. Hermione agrees.
Harry volunteers to transfigure into Voldemort and lead Delphi into a trap. The others will wait in the church behind the large wooden doors and he will lure her inside. Delphi arrives and Harry pretends to not know who she is. She explains that she is the child of Voldemort and Bellatrix LaStrange and was born before the Battle of Hogwarts.
He says together they could become an unstoppable force together, but the transfiguration begins to fade. She sees that is Harry, and claims she has studied him and knows him better than her father did. She locks the doors to prevent the others jumping out to help.
Together Albus and Harry defeat Delphi. The sound of snakes is heard and they see the real Voldemort arrive. They watch him kill Harry’s parents and Harry collapses to the floor.
Back in the present Scorpius tells Albus “I can’t believe I did that!” He is referring to asking out Rose. She eventually accepts.
Harry promises that he will be a better dad. He admits he is afraid of the dark, small spaces, pigeons, but especially afraid of being a dad since he had no role model.
Albus asks if he is like his dad. Harry tells him he is more like his mom-bold, fierce and funny. But he is like Harry because he is constantly suffering.
Harry tells his son that he shouldn’t be weighed down by his name because Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape were great men, but they were also flawed. It was those flaws that made them even greater.
*********************************************************
J.K. Rowling said that she thinks she’s done with Harry. (But she also said that before and now we have "Cursed Child.") Being done with Harry doesn’t mean we can’t have prequels and sequels. Speaking of prequels, "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them," and the Wizarding world set in America is flying into theaters in November.
The "Harry Potter" series will always live on and the fans will always be there.
Mischief Managed
