Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

His hand is empty. It’s a lame trick. Everyone enjoys its lameness.

LILY: You are silly.

ALBUS: Everyone’s staring at us again.

RON: Because of me! I’m extremely famous. My nose experiments are legendary!

HERMIONE: They’re certainly something.

HARRY: Parked all right, then?

RON: I did. Hermione didn’t believe I could pass a Muggle driving test, did you? She thought I’d have to Confund the examiner.

HERMIONE: I thought nothing of the kind, I have complete faith in you.

ROSE: And I have complete faith he did Confund the examiner.

RON: Oi!

ALBUS: Dad . . .

ALBUS pulls on HARRY’s robes. HARRY looks down.

Do you think — what if I am — what if I’m put in Slytherin . . .

HARRY: And what would be wrong with that?

ALBUS: Slytherin is the House of the snake, of Dark Magic . . . It’s not a House of brave wizards.

HARRY: Albus Severus, you were named after two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew.

ALBUS: But just say . . .

HARRY: If it matters to you, you, the Sorting Hat will take your feelings into account.

ALBUS: Really?

HARRY: It did for me.

This is something he’s never said before, it resonates around his head a moment.

Hogwarts will be the making of you, Albus. I promise you, there is nothing to be frightened of there.

JAMES: Apart from the Thestrals. Watch out for the Thestrals.

ALBUS: I thought they were invisible!

HARRY: Listen to your professors, don’t listen to James, and remember to enjoy yourself. Now, if you don’t want this train to leave without you, you should leap on . . .

LILY: I’m going to chase the train out.

GINNY: Lily, come straight back.

HERMIONE: Rose. Remember to send Neville our love.

ROSE: Mum, I can’t give a professor love!

ROSE exits for the train. And then ALBUS turns and hugs GINNY and HARRY one last time before following after her.

ALBUS: Okay, then. Bye.

He climbs on board. HERMIONE, GINNY, RON, and HARRY stand watching the train — as whistles blow up and down the platform.

GINNY: They’re going to be okay, right?

HERMIONE: Hogwarts is a big place.

RON: Big. Wonderful. Full of food. I’d give anything to be going back.

HARRY: Strange, Al being worried he’ll be sorted into Slytherin.

HERMIONE: That’s nothing, Rose is worried whether she’ll break the Quidditch scoring record in her first or second year. And how early she can take her O.W.L.s.

RON: I have no idea where she gets her ambition from.

GINNY: And how would you feel, Harry, if Al — if he is?

RON: You know, Gin, we always thought there was a chance you could be sorted into Slytherin.

GINNY: What?

RON: Honestly, Fred and George ran a book.

HERMIONE: Can we go? People are looking, you know.

GINNY: People always look when you three are together. And apart. People always look at you.

The four exit. GINNY stops HARRY.

Harry . . . He’ll be all right, won’t he?

HARRY: Of course he will.

ACT ONE, SCENE THREE

THE HOGWARTS EXPRESS

ALBUS and ROSE walk along the carriage of the train.

The TROLLEY WITCH approaches, pushing her trolley.

TROLLEY WITCH: Anything from the trolley, dears? Pumpkin Pasty? Chocolate Frog? Cauldron Cake?

ROSE (spotting ALBUS’s loving look at the Chocolate Frogs): Al. We need to concentrate.

ALBUS: Concentrate on what?

ROSE: On who we choose to be friends with. My mum and dad met your dad on their first Hogwarts Express, you know . . .

ALBUS: So we need to choose now who to be friends with for life? That’s quite scary.

ROSE: On the contrary, it’s exciting. I’m a Granger-Weasley, you’re a Potter — everyone will want to be friends with us, we’ve got the pick of anyone we want.

ALBUS: So how do we decide — which compartment to go in . . .

ROSE: We rate them all and then we make a decision.

ALBUS opens a door — to look in on a lonely blond kid — SCORPIUS — in an otherwise empty compartment. ALBUS smiles. SCORPIUS smiles back.

ALBUS: Hi. Is this compartment . . .

SCORPIUS: It’s free. It’s just me.

ALBUS: Great. So we might just — come in — for a bit — if that’s okay?

SCORPIUS: That’s okay. Hi.

ALBUS: Albus. Al. I’m — my name is Albus . . .

SCORPIUS: Hi Scorpius. I mean, I’m Scorpius. You’re Albus. I’m Scorpius. And you must be . . .

ROSE’s face is growing colder by the minute.

ROSE: Rose.