Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

ALBUS: Just thought you should know that.

CEDRIC: Okay. Um. Thank you.

CEDRIC

looks at

ALBUS

a moment more, and then walks on.

DELPHI

pulls out the Time-Turner from within her robes.

SCORPIUS: Albus.

ALBUS: No. Wait . . .

SCORPIUS: The Time-Turner is spinning . . . Look at what she’s doing . . . She can’t leave us behind.

ALBUS

and

SCORPIUS

both scramble to grab part of the Time-Turner.

And there is a giant whoosh of light. A smash of noise.

And time stops. And then it turns over, thinks a bit, and begins spooling backwards, slow at first . . .

And then it speeds up.

Albus . . .

ALBUS: What have we done?

SCORPIUS: We had to go with the Time-Turner, we had to try to stop her.

DELPHI: Stop me? How do you think you’ve stopped me? I am done with this. You may have destroyed my chances of using Cedric to darken the world but maybe you’re right, Scorpius — maybe prophecies can be prevented, maybe prophecies can be broken. What is undoubtedly true is: I’m done with trying to use you annoying, incompetent creatures for anything. No more wasting precious seconds on either of you. Time to try something new.

She crushes the Time-Turner. It explodes in a thousand pieces.

DELPHI

ascends again into the air. She laughs in delight as she sets off hard away.

The boys try to chase her, but they’ve not the slightest chance. She flies, they run.

ALBUS: No . . . No . . . You can’t . . .

SCORPIUS

turns back and tries to pick up the Time-Turner pieces.

The Time-Turner? It’s destroyed?

SCORPIUS: Utterly. We’re stuck here. In time. Wherever in time we are. Whatever it is she’s planning to do.

ALBUS: Hogwarts looks the same.

SCORPIUS: Yes. And we can’t be seen here. Let’s get out of here before we’re spotted.

ALBUS: We need to stop her, Scorpius.

SCORPIUS: I know we do — but how?

ACT THREE, SCENE TWENTY-ONE

ST. OSWALD’S HOME FOR OLD WITCHES AND WIZARDS, DELPHI’S ROOM

HARRY, HERMIONE, RON, DRACO, and GINNY look around a simple oak-paneled room.

HARRY: It must have been a Confundus Charm she used on him. Used on them all. She faked being a nurse, she faked being his niece.

HERMIONE: I’ve just checked in with the Ministry — but there’s no record of her. She’s a shadow.

DRACO: Specialis Revelio!

Everyone turns to look at

DRACO

.

Well, it was worth a try, what are you waiting for? We know nothing, so we just have to hope this room reveals something.

GINNY: Where can she have hidden anything? It’s quite a spartan room.

RON: These panels, these panels must conceal something.

DRACO: Or the bed does.

DRACO

starts examining the bed,

GINNY

a lamp, as the rest start examining the wooden wall panels.

RON (shouting as he hammers on the walls): What you hiding? What you got?

HERMIONE: Maybe we should all stop for a moment and have a think about what —

GINNY

unscrews a chimney from an oil lamp. There’s a breathing-out noise. And then hissing words. They all turn towards it.

What was that?

HARRY: That’s — I’m not supposed to be understanding — that’s Parseltongue.

HERMIONE: And what does it say?

HARRY: How do I . . . ? I haven’t been able to understand Parseltongue since Voldemort died.

HERMIONE: And nor has your scar hurt.

HARRY

looks at

HERMIONE

.

HARRY: It says “Welcome, Augurey.” I think I need to tell it to open . . .

DRACO: Then do it.

HARRY

shuts his eyes. He speaks in Parseltongue.

The room transforms around them, becoming darker and more desperate. A writhing mass of painted snakes emerges on all the walls.

And on them, written in fluorescent paint, a prophecy.

What is this?

RON: “When spares are spared, when time is turned, when unseen children murder their fathers: Then will the Dark Lord return.”

GINNY: A prophecy. A new prophecy.

HERMIONE: Cedric — Cedric was called a spare.

RON: When time is turned — she has that Time-Turner, doesn’t she?

Their faces sink.