Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

*Harry Potter and the Cursed Child* is a *Harry Potter* sequel written by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany. The story takes place nineteen years after the events of *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows*. It follows Harry Potter, now Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Magic, and his son, Albus Severus Potter, who is about to attend his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

News of this new *Harry Potter* story's creation broke in December 2013, at which time it was announced that the story would exist in the form of a play and would "explore the previously untold story of Harry's early years as an orphan and outcast." Two years later in 2015, this information changed; what had been originally announced as a prequel was now a sequel instead. The play eventually premiered on July 30, 2016, and the script was published a day later on the 31st.

Fan reaction to the script's plot was overwhelmingly negative, though reactions to the play's production quality were far more favorable. In particular, the relationship between Albus Severus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy was criticized as "queerbaiting," prompting eventual revisions to the story that confirmed a romantic relationship between the two.

Perhaps the most hated detail of the story, though, is the existence of Delphi as the child of Bellatrix Lestrange and Lord Voldemort. By 2016, the "Voldemort's daughter" trope had already been cemented as a fanfiction cliché for over a decade, and it was widely considered to be out-of-character on Voldemort's part and to make little sense in canon.

#### Plot

In the opening scene, set during the epilogue of *Deathly Hallows* in the year 2017, Harry and Ginny Potter send their younger son, Albus Severus, on the Hogwarts Express to begin his first year at Hogwarts. Harry works as the Head of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Magic, while Ginny is the editor of the sports section of *The Daily Prophet*. Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger also send their daughter Rose on the train. Hermione is now the Minister for Magic, while Ron manages Weasley's Wizard Wheezes in Diagon Alley alongside his brother George. Aboard the Hogwarts Express, Albus befriends Scorpius Malfoy, the son of Harry's former foil Draco, and his wife, Astoria. In a break with the tradition of Potters being sorted into Gryffindor, Albus is sorted into Slytherin alongside Scorpius.

Both boys are bullied over the next years, with Albus perceived as failing to live up to his parents, and Scorpius being rumored to be the son of Lord Voldemort. Astoria passes away due to a fatal disease. Albus and Harry drift apart, with Harry being uncertain about how to help Albus. The summer before his fourth year, Albus gets into a fight with Harry, after being given the latter's baby blanket and a love potion from Ron. During the fight, Harry angrily says that he sometimes wishes Albus was not his son, and Albus spills the potion on the blanket.

Harry obtains a prototype of a more powerful version of the Time-Turner, which allows one to travel into the past and change history. Simultaneously, Harry's scar starts hurting again, raising concerns that Voldemort may be returning. Amos Diggory, who is cared for by his niece Delphi, asks Harry to use the Time-Turner to prevent the death of his son, Cedric. After overhearing Harry refuse to help the Diggorys, Albus is inspired to do so and convinces Scorpius to help him. The two escape from the Hogwarts Express to visit Amos, and they team up with Delphi to steal the Time-Turner from Hermione's office, in the Ministry of Magic, while disguised with Polyjuice Potion.

As Cedric's death was the result of him winning the Triwizard Tournament alongside Harry, the boys use the Time-Turner to travel back to the first tournament challenge. They disguise themselves as Durmstrang students to sabotage Cedric and prevent his victory. The plan fails, and the disguises cause Hermione to become suspicious of Viktor Krum, a Durmstrang student, and go to the Yule Ball with Ron instead. As a result, Ron never experiences the jealousy fundamental to his relationship with Hermione, and the two never marry. Ron instead falls in love with Padma Patil at the Ball, and Hermione becomes a frustrated professor at Hogwarts. Albus is now in Gryffindor.

Meanwhile, Harry has nightmares about Voldemort. The centaur Bane tells Harry that a "dark cloud" is around Albus. Convinced that Scorpius is a threat to Albus, Harry tries to separate the boys at Hogwarts by attempting to force Headmistress Minerva McGonagall to keep tabs on Albus using the Marauder's Map.

Albus and Scorpius' friendship is destroyed, but the two reconcile after Albus steals Harry's old Invisibility Cloak from Albus's older brother James Sirius. Harry relents after a conversation with Draco and Ginny. Meanwhile, Albus and Scorpius make another attempt to use the Time-Turner to save Cedric, this time by humiliating him during the Triwizard Tournament's second task. When Scorpius returns to the present day, Albus is not with him. Dolores Umbridge reveals that Harry is dead and Voldemort rules the wizarding world.

Scorpius discovers that his actions caused Cedric to join the Death Eaters and kill Neville Longbottom, preventing him from killing Nagini and allowing Voldemort to win the Battle of Hogwarts. With Harry now dead, Albus never existed, while Voldemort was able to consolidate power and transform the Ministry of Magic into a dictatorial regime. In the new timeline, Scorpius became a popular Head Boy and Quidditch star, helping the staff and students torment Muggle-borns. Umbridge became the new Headmistress of Hogwarts and patrols the school with Dementors and a revived Inquisitorial Squad, led by Scorpius.

A dark figure called "The Augurey" leads the Ministry of Magic. With the help and sacrifice of alternate Ron, Hermione, and Severus Snape, Scorpius uses the Time-Turner to prevent his and Albus' past actions, and restore the original timeline. Scorpius reunites with Albus, and the two are found by their parents, as well as Ron and Hermione. Harry scolds Albus, but the two begin to reconcile.

Realizing the danger the Time-Turner poses, Scorpius and Albus attempt to destroy it, when they are joined by Delphi. Scorpius notices Delphi's tattoo of an Augurey and realizes she was in charge of the Ministry of Magic in the alternate timeline. Delphi takes them captive, killing a fellow student in the process, and reveals her intention of restoring the alternate timeline.

After Ron states he saw Albus and Scorpius with Delphi, Harry and Draco confront Amos, and discover Delphi had bewitched him into thinking she was his niece. Delphi takes the boys to the final challenge of the Triwizard Tournament, but Albus and Scorpius foil her plans, and Delphi uses the Time-Turner again to travel farther back in time. She inadvertently takes the boys with her, and destroys the Time-Turner to leave them stranded in time.

Searching Delphi's room, Harry, Draco, Ginny, Hermione and Ron discover hidden writing on the walls claiming Delphi is the daughter of Voldemort, and describing a prophecy that will allow Voldemort to return.

Albus and Scorpius discover they have been taken back to the night before Harry's parents were killed. They write an invisible message on Harry's baby blanket, knowing in the present, the blanket would become stained with a love potion and expose the message. The message reads: "Dad.Help.Godric's Hollow.311081."

Meanwhile, Draco reveals the Time-Turner was actually a prototype for a perfected model owned by him. After Harry receives the message from the boys, he and his allies use Draco's Time-Turner to travel back in time to save them and stop Delphi. They deduce she intends to convince Voldemort to abandon his attempt to kill Harry, ensuring his survival.

Harry magically disguises himself as Voldemort to distract Delphi; after a struggle, the group subdues her. Rather than killing Delphi, they decide that she will be given a life sentence in Azkaban Prison. Voldemort appears, oblivious to Harry and the group, and they allow the murder of Harry's parents to play out, unwilling to risk altering the future again.

After returning to the present, Delphi is sent to Azkaban. Albus and Scorpius decide to be more active at Hogwarts, with Scorpius expressing interest in trying out for the Slytherin Quidditch Team and asking Rose out on a to be his friend; she encourages the two boys to pursue their romantic feelings for each other. Harry and Albus visit Cedric's grave, with Harry apologizing for his role in Cedric's death. Albus comes out to Harry, saying that Scorpius will always be the most important person in his life, to which Harry responds warmly. The play ends with an unspoken reconciliation between father and son as they stand together at the grave.