When I heard news of an eighth Harry Potter story, I was elated. After "Deathly Hallows," reading about Harry's children at Hogwarts was a must. I counted down the days until the book was going to be released.

A few hours later, after I finished the book, my soul was crushed.

I guess since it has been so long since Harry Potter fans had an insight (besides Pottermore) into the Potter universe, it was assumed that they would be happy with anything. I understand it was a script and not a novel, but that is not where my grievances lie. The storyline itself dissatisfied me. I am disappointed with the entire plot for numerous reasons, even though some others have explained why they loved 'Cursed Child.'

1. It Was Basically Glorified Fanfiction

Since the end of the seventh installment of the series, there have been numerous fanfictions and fan theories revolving around the second generation. It seems like the author of the play decided to just browse the Internet and incorporate ever-popular fan theory into the play. I imagine it going a little like this: "Well, fans seem to think it would be shocking if Albus, the son of the Chosen One, was sorted into Slytherin, so let's incorporate that. What else? Hmm, I see a lot of people also want Scorpius and Rose to be an item, but I don't want to be too predictable so Scorpius is going to have this unrequited crush out of thin air. Also, I've seen this cool theory where Bellatrix and Voldemort have a child so let's put that in there too."

2. Albus's Loneliness

They tried too hard to portray Albus as lonely. I totally understand how Albus felt all alone at Hogwarts. Children can be cruel and he was often bullied and ridiculed by fellow students because of the house he was sorted in. However, Albus did have family at Hogwarts at the time. It is very evident that Harry's and Ron's children were raised together. The families even meet up at the train station in the epilogue of "The Deathly Hallows." Ron and Ginny came from a close family so it makes sense that they instilled those same family values into their children. Harry didn't have the luxury of growing up in a loving family household, and obviously, he would want the opposite for his children. It makes no sense for Rose to turn her back on Albus, the cousin she has grown up with her entire life, just because he is sorted into Slytherin and he is friends with Scorpius. For the sake of popularity she does not associate herself with Albus.

James, Albus' brother, is hardly mentioned. It is not clear whether he snubs his brother like Rose or if he just has his own life and hangs with his friends. It's almost as if the author forgot that Albus had a brother to hang out with in an attempt to make Albus an outcast. In the "Deathly Hallows" epilogue, it is suggested that James and Albus are close. James even excitedly suggests that he and Albus can share a room so Teddy Lupin (Harry's godson) can move in. Harry quickly refuses that idea saying that he does not want his house destroyed. This suggests that James and Albus often get into antics together. So where is James? Why is he not there for his brother?

Finally, when his sister, Lily, comes to Hogwarts she is sorted into Gryffindor. After Scorpius's comment, "Did you really think she'd come to us?" it is clear that there is an us vs. them mentality. Albus automatically sees Lily as against him once she is sorted in a different house. After that, it is unclear as to what type of relationship they have.

3. Character Deviations

The Cursed Child did not stay true to the original character's personalities. Ron was poorly written. He is now a prankster and not a very good one. He sends Harry's children gifts before they return to Hogwarts one year and Albus's gift consists of a love potion as a joke. What is the joke? No one knows. In the beginning of the play, Ron does this trick with Lily. He blows his breath in her face and does the classic "I've got your nose" routine. This is very Muggle-like behavior and Ron is oblivious to anything in the non-wizard community. It is also mentioned that he has put stink pellets in Hermione's office before.

Hermione, deemed the brightest witch of her age, acts pretty dim. Albus and his friends decide to break inside the Ministry of Magic with the help of Polyjuice Potion. Albus, as Ron, tries to block Hermione from going in her office so they will not get caught. His tactics include kissing her several times (which is pretty weird considering that it's his aunt) and literally moving in front of her every time she tries to go inside her office. His behavior is beyond suspicious and it is obvious that he is hiding something. Hermione ignores every red flag and walks away.

In one of the alternate timelines Harry and McGonagall have a heated argument. He wants McGonagall to use the Marauder's map to spy on Albus to make sure he and Scorpius are kept away from each other. He bullies her using his position as a Ministry official as a threat. There are so many things wrong with that scene. Can you imagine Mcgonagall being bullied by anyone? Let's not forget that when it comes down to it, the students at Hogwarts McGonagall could care less what the Ministry has to say. During Umbridge's brief reign of terror at Hogwarts, McGonagall was as defiant as possible, but somehow she submits to Harry's demands. Furthermore, when did Harry become a bully? His actions were closer to Lucius Malfoy's behavior. Harry's threat was an empty one at that. The Ministry barely interferes at Hogwarts and only does when there is a major occurrence. His son hanging out with someone he does not approve of does not qualify as major. His threat would have to involve the Minister of Magic's approval. I doubt Hermione would get the Ministry involved in something so trivial.

4. Delphi

She is the child of Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange. At first she pretends to be a nurse at a wizarding nursing home and the niece of Amos Diggory. She wants to resurrect Voldemort. Why does she need to pretend to be Amos's niece in order to achieve her goal? There was a prophecy foretelling Voldemort rising again: "When spares are spared, when time is turned, when unseen children murder their fathers: Then will the Dark Lord return." Delphi is determined to make sure it is fulfilled. The spare is Cedric Diggory. The phrase, "when time is turned" refers to the use of a time turner. The last part is referring to Albus and Harry. Albus did not literally kill Harry, but when he and Scorpius traveled back in time they altered the timeline to where Cedric became a Death Eater and killed Neville Longbottom. Since Neville killed Voldemort's snake, which was a horcrux, Voldemort was not defeated and Harry was killed at the Battle of Hogwarts.

There's no way Delphi fully understood the prophecy until Scorpius describes an alternate timeline he and Albus created in which Voldemort reigned supreme. The only portion of the prophecy that Delphi could have guessed at is the time turner part. For years there were rumors regarding a time turner that can go further back in time than the original ones. Granted, as the daughter of Voldemort you can assume she researched everything possible about her father, including the night Cedric was killed. Maybe she came across the specific quote from Voldemort, "kill the spare," but it is highly unlikely and purely circumstantial. The part about Albus and Harry is too vague for Delphi to piece together from words alone. She only discovers the disconnection between the two when she befriends Albus. It is still too vague. It could have described anyone and their father. Delphi did not know Albus was a part of the prophecy beforehand, which makes me question her motives in befriending Albus. In fact, they only met while Delphi was pretending to be Amos Diggory's nurse and niece, which there is still no clear reason as to why that was necessary in the first place. What was her plan? Was she going to continue to pretend to be a nurse until it became inconvenient?

5. Harry's Scar

After all these years, Harry's scar has not hurt him once. All of a sudden, it begins bothering him again. Also, he has weird dreams again which are prophetic in nature. His ability to speak Parseltongue, snake language, returns. He even hears Voldemort's voice in his dreams. Harry was once a horcrux and a piece of Voldemort's soul resided in him. Because of this, Harry had insight into Voldemort's mind and they possessed shared abilities such as Parseltongue. Harry feared Voldemort was rising because his scar began to trouble him again. Even if Voldemort did return (which he never did) those things would not have happened. Voldemort destroyed the part of himself within Harry at the Battle of Hogwarts, thus breaking their connection. The rebirth of this connection is never explained. It is not possible for it to open again. It is implied that Delphi is the cause of this. I don't know about biology in the Wizarding world, but being Voldemort's offspring does not mean Delphi is Voldemort reincarnated. By the time his scar begins hurting again, Delphi is in her twenties. If she is the reason for his scar bothering him, why did it happen so late in her life? This was not well thought out at all.

I have more complaints, but they are more trivial in nature. The "Cursed Child" was inconsistent with the original Potter universe and I was better off going to harrypotterfaniction.com.