Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Oh. Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle. I used to be a big stair-listener myself. Sitting there. Waiting for someone to say something the tiniest bit interesting.

ALBUS: Who are you? Because this is sort of my house and . . .

DELPHI: I’m a thief, of course. I’m about to steal everything you own. Give me your gold, your wand, and your Chocolate Frogs! (She looks fierce and then smiles.) Either that or I’m Delphini Diggory. (She ascends the stairs and sticks out a hand.) Delphi. I look after him — Amos — well, I try. (She indicates AMOS.) And you are?

ALBUS (rueful grin): Albus.

DELPHI: Of course! Albus Potter! So Harry is your dad? That’s a bit wow, isn’t it?

ALBUS: Not really.

DELPHI: Ah. Have I just put my foot in it? It’s what they used to say about me at school. Delphini Diggory — there isn’t a hole she couldn’t dig herself into.

ALBUS: They do all sorts with my name too.

Pause. She looks at him carefully.

AMOS: Delphi.

She makes to depart and then hesitates. She smiles at ALBUS.

DELPHI: We don’t choose who we’re related to. Amos . . . isn’t just my patient, he’s my uncle, it’s part of the reason I took the job at Upper Flagley. But that’s made it difficult. It’s tough to live with people stuck in the past, isn’t it?

AMOS: Delphi!

ALBUS: Upper Flagley?

DELPHI: St. Oswald’s Home for Old Witches and Wizards. Come see us sometime. If you like.

AMOS: DELPHI!

She smiles and then trips as she travels down the stairs. She enters the room with AMOS and HARRY in it. ALBUS watches her.

DELPHI: Yes, Uncle?

AMOS: Meet the once-great Harry Potter, now a stone-cold Ministry man. I will leave you in peace, sir. If peace is the right word for it. Delphi, my chair . . .

DELPHI: Yes, Uncle.

AMOS is pushed out of the room. HARRY is left, looking forlorn. ALBUS watches on, thinking carefully.

ACT ONE, SCENE SEVEN

HARRY AND GINNY POTTER’S HOUSE, ALBUS’S ROOM

ALBUS is sitting on the bed as the world goes on outside his door. Still against the constant motion outside. We hear a roar from JAMES (off).

GINNY: James, please, ignore your hair, and tidy that damn room . . .

JAMES: How can I ignore it? It’s pink! I’m going to have to use my Invisibility Cloak!

JAMES appears at the door, he has pink hair.

GINNY: That’s not why your dad gave you that Cloak!

LILY: Who’s seen my Potions book?

GINNY: Lily Potter, don’t think you’re wearing those to school tomorrow . . .

LILY appears at ALBUS’s door. She’s wearing fairy wings that flutter.

LILY: I love them. They’re fluttery.

She exits as HARRY appears in ALBUS’s doorway. He looks through.

HARRY: Hi.

There’s an awkward pause between them. GINNY appears in the doorway. She sees what’s happening, she stays a moment.

Just delivering a pre-Hogwarts gift — gifts — Ron’s sent this . . .

ALBUS: Okay. A love potion. Okay.

HARRY: I think it’s a joke about — I don’t know what. Lily got farting gnomes, James got a comb that’s made his hair turn a shade of pink. Ron — well, Ron’s Ron, you know?

HARRY puts down ALBUS’s love potion on his bed.

I also — this is from me . . .

He reveals a small blanket. GINNY looks at it, she sees HARRY is trying, and then she softly walks away.

ALBUS: An old blanket?

HARRY: I thought a lot about what to give you this year. James — well, James has been going on about the Invisibility Cloak since time itself, and Lily — I knew she’d love wings — but you. You’re fourteen years old now, Albus, and I wanted to give you something which — meant something. This . . . is the last thing I had from my mum. The only thing. I was given to the Dursleys wrapped in it. I thought it had gone forever and then, when your great-aunt Petunia died, hidden amongst her possessions, surprisingly, Dudley found this and he kindly sent it on to me, and ever since then — well, anytime I’ve wanted luck I’ve found it and just tried to hold it and I wondered if you . . .

ALBUS: Wanted to hold it too? Okay. Done. Let’s hope it brings me luck. I certainly need some.

He touches the blanket.

But you should keep it.