Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Harry Potter, #8)(35)

ALBUS: You’re all here.

GINNY: And Myrtle told us everything.

ALBUS: What is going on?

PROFESSOR McGONAGALL: You’re the one who’s just returned from time. Why don’t you tell us?

SCORPIUS immediately registers what they know.

SCORPIUS: Oh no. Oh bother. Where is it?

ALBUS: Just returned from where?

SCORPIUS: I’ve lost it! I’ve lost the Time-Turner.

ALBUS (looking at SCORPIUS, deeply annoyed): You’ve lost what?

HARRY: Time to cut the pretense, Albus.

PROFESSOR McGONAGALL: I think you’ve got some explaining to do.





ACT THREE, SCENE TEN





HOGWARTS, HEADMISTRESS’S OFFICE

DRACO, GINNY, and HARRY stand behind a contrite-looking SCORPIUS and ALBUS. PROFESSOR McGONAGALL is fuming.

PROFESSOR McGONAGALL: So to be clear — you illegally jumped off the Hogwarts Express, you invaded and stole from the Ministry of Magic, you took it upon yourself to change time, whereupon you disappeared two people — ALBUS: I agree it doesn’t sound good.

PROFESSOR McGONAGALL: And your response to disappearing Hugo and Rose Granger-Weasley was to go back in time again — and this time, instead of losing two people you lost a huge number of people and killed your father — and in doing so you resurrected the worst wizard the world has ever known and heralded in a new age of Dark Magic. (Dry.) You’re correct, Mr. Potter, it doesn’t sound good, does it? Are you aware how stupid you’ve been?

SCORPIUS: Yes, Professor.

ALBUS hesitates a moment. He looks at HARRY.

ALBUS: Yes.

HARRY: Professor, if I may — PROFESSOR McGONAGALL: You may not. What you choose to do as parents is your matter but this is my school, and these are my students, and I will choose what punishment they will face.

DRACO: Seems fair.

HARRY looks at GINNY, who shakes her head.

PROFESSOR McGONAGALL: I should expel you but (with a look to HARRY) all things considered — I think it might be safer for you to remain in my care. You are in detention for — well, you can consider yourself in detention for the rest of the year. Christmas is canceled for you. You can forget visiting Hogsmeade ever again. And that’s just the start . . .

Suddenly HERMIONE bursts in. All action and resolve.

HERMIONE: What did I miss?

PROFESSOR McGONAGALL (fierce): It is considered polite to knock when entering a room, Hermione Granger, maybe you missed that.

HERMIONE realizes she’s overstepped.

HERMIONE: Ah.

PROFESSOR McGONAGALL: If I could also give a detention to you, Minister, I would. Keeping hold of a Time-Turner, of all the stupid things!

HERMIONE: In my defense —

PROFESSOR McGONAGALL: And in a bookcase. You kept it in a bookcase. It’s almost laughable.

HERMIONE: Minerva. (There is an intake of breath.) Professor McGonagall — PROFESSOR McGONAGALL: Your children didn’t exist!

HERMIONE has no reply to that.

This happened in my school, under my watch. After all that Dumbledore did, I couldn’t live with myself . . .

HERMIONE: I know.

PROFESSOR McGONAGALL (composes herself for a moment): Your intentions to save Cedric were honorable, if misguided. And it does sound as if you were brave, Scorpius, and you, Albus, but the lesson even your father sometimes failed to heed is that bravery doesn’t forgive stupidity. Always think. Think what’s possible. A world controlled by Voldemort is —

SCORPIUS: A horrific world.

PROFESSOR McGONAGALL: You are so young. (She looks at HARRY, DRACO, GINNY, and HERMIONE.) You’re all so young. You have no idea how dark the wizarding wars got. You were — reckless — with the world some people — some very dear friends of mine and yours — sacrificed a huge amount to create and sustain.

ALBUS: Yes, Professor.

SCORPIUS: Yes, Professor.

PROFESSOR McGONAGALL: Go on. Get out. The lot of you. And find me that Time-Turner.





ACT THREE, SCENE ELEVEN





HOGWARTS, SLYTHERIN DORMITORY

ALBUS is sitting in his room. HARRY enters and looks at his son — full of anger, but cautious to not let it spill.

HARRY: Thanks for letting me come up.

ALBUS turns, he nods at his dad. He’s being cautious too.

No luck, as yet, with the Time-Turner searching. They’re negotiating with the Merpeople to dredge the lake.

He sits down uncomfortably.

This is a nice room.

ALBUS: Green is a soothing color, isn’t it? I mean Gryffindor rooms are all well and good but the trouble with red is — it is said to send you a little mad — not that I’m casting aspersions . . .

HARRY: Can you explain why you tried to do this?

ALBUS: I thought I could — change things. I thought Cedric — it’s unfair.

HARRY: Of course it’s unfair, Albus, don’t you think I know that? I was there. I saw him die. But to do this . . . to risk all this . . .

ALBUS: I know.

HARRY (failing to contain his anger): If you were trying to do as I did, you went the wrong way about it. I didn’t volunteer for adventure, I was forced into it. You did something really reckless — something really stupid and dangerous — something that could have destroyed everything — ALBUS: I know. Okay. I know.