پرده ی دوم 16-11

ACT TWO, SCENE ELEVEN

HOGWARTS, DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS CLASSROOM

ALBUS enters the classroom — slightly unsure.

HERMIONE: Ah yes. Our train absconder. Finally joining us.

ALBUS: Hermione?

He looks amazed. HERMIONE is standing at the front of the lesson.

HERMIONE: Professor Granger I believe is my name, Potter.

ALBUS: What are you doing here?

HERMIONE: Teaching. For my sins. What are you doing here? Learning, I hope.

ALBUS: But you’re . . . you’re . . . Minister for Magic.

HERMIONE: Been having those dreams again, have you, Potter? Today we’re going to look at Patronus Charms.

ALBUS (amazed): You’re our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?

There are titters.

HERMIONE: Losing patience now. Ten points from Gryffindor for stupidity.

POLLY CHAPMAN (standing, full of affront): No. No. He’s doing it deliberately. He hates Gryffindor and everyone knows it.

HERMIONE: Sit down, Polly Chapman, before this gets even worse. (POLLY sighs and then sits.) And I suggest you join her, Albus. And end this charade.

ALBUS: But you’re not this mean.

HERMIONE: And that’s twenty points from Gryffindor to assure Albus Potter that I am this mean.

YANN FREDERICKS: If you don’t sit down right now, Albus . . . ALBUS sits.

ALBUS: Can I just say —

HERMIONE: No, you can’t. Just keep quiet, Potter, otherwise you’ll lose what limited popularity you already have. Now who can tell me what a Patronus is? No? No one. You really are a most disappointing bunch.

HERMIONE smiles a thin smile. She really is quite mean.

ALBUS: No. This is stupid. Where’s Rose? She’ll tell you that you’re being ridiculous.

HERMIONE: Who’s Rose? Your invisible friend?

ALBUS: Rose Granger-Weasley! Your daughter! (He realizes.) Of course — because you and Ron aren’t married Rose —

There’s giggling.

HERMIONE: How dare you! Fifty points from Gryffindor. And I assure you if anyone interrupts me again it’ll be a hundred points . . .

She stares around the room. No one moves a muscle.

Good. A Patronus is a magical charm, a projection of all your most positive feelings, and takes the shape of the animal with whom you share the deepest affinity. It is a gift of light. If you can conjure a Patronus, you can protect yourself against the world. Which, in some of our cases, seems like a necessity sooner rather than later.

ACT TWO, SCENE TWELVE

HOGWARTS, STAIRCASES

ALBUS walks up a staircase. Looking around as he does.

He doesn’t see anything. He exits. The staircases move in almost a dance.

SCORPIUS enters behind him. He thinks he’s seen ALBUS, he realizes he isn’t there.

He slumps down to the floor as the staircase sweeps around.

MADAM HOOCH enters and walks up the staircase. At the top, she gestures for SCORPIUS to move.

He does. And slopes off — his abject loneliness clear.

ALBUS enters and walks up one staircase.

SCORPIUS enters and walks up another.

The staircases meet. The two boys look at each other.

Lost and hopeful—all at once.

And then ALBUS looks away and the moment is broken—and with it, possibly, the friendship.

And now the staircases part — the two look at each other — one full of guilt — the other full of pain — both full of unhappiness.

ACT TWO, SCENE THIRTEEN

HARRY AND GINNY POTTER’S HOUSE, KITCHEN

GINNY and HARRY watch each other warily. There is an argument due, and both of them know it.

HARRY: This is the right decision.

GINNY: You almost sound convinced.

HARRY: You told me to be honest with him, but actually I needed to be honest with myself, trust what my heart was telling me . . .

GINNY: Harry, you have one of the greatest hearts of any wizard who ever lived, and I do not believe your heart told you to do this.

They hear a knock on the door.

Saved by the door.

She exits.

After a moment, DRACO enters, consumed by anger but hiding it well.

DRACO: I can’t stay long. I won’t need long.

HARRY: How can I help?

DRACO: I’m not here to antagonize you. But my son is in tears and I am his father and so I am here to ask why you would keep apart two good friends.

HARRY: I’m not keeping them apart.

DRACO: You’ve changed school timetables, you’ve threatened both teachers and Albus himself. Why?

HARRY looks at DRACO carefully and then turns away.

HARRY: I have to protect my son.

DRACO: From Scorpius?

HARRY: Bane told me he sensed a darkness around my son. Near my son.

DRACO: What are you implying, Potter?

HARRY turns and looks DRACO dead in the eye.

HARRY: Are you sure . . . are you really sure he’s yours, Draco?

There’s a deadly silence.

DRACO: You take that back . . . right now.

But HARRY doesn’t take it back.

So DRACO takes his wand out.

HARRY: You do not want to do this.

DRACO: Yes, I do.

HARRY: I don’t want to hurt you, Draco.

DRACO: How interesting, because I do want to hurt you.

The two square up. And then release their wands.

DRACO and HARRY: Expelliarmus!

Their wands repel and then break apart.

DRACO: Incarcerous!

HARRY dodges a blast from DRACO’s wand.

HARRY: Tarantallegra!

DRACO throws himself out of the way.

You’ve been practicing, Draco.

DRACO: And you’ve got sloppy, Potter. Densaugeo!

HARRY just manages to get out of the way.

HARRY: Rictusempra!

DRACO uses a chair to block the blast.

DRACO: Flipendo!

HARRY is sent twirling through the air. DRACO laughs.

Keep up, old man.

HARRY: We’re the same age, Draco.

DRACO: I wear it better.

HARRY: Brachiabindo!

DRACO is bound tightly.

DRACO: That really the best you got? Emancipare.

DRACO releases his own binds.

Levicorpus!

HARRY has to throw himself out of the way.

Mobilicorpus! Oh, this is too much fun . . .

DRACO bounces HARRY up and down on the table. And then as HARRY rolls away, DRACO jumps onto the table — he readies his wand, but as he does, HARRY hits him with a spell . . . HARRY: Obscuro!

DRACO releases himself from his blindfold as soon as it hits.

The two square up — HARRY throws a chair.

DRACO ducks underneath it and slows the chair with his wand.

GINNY: I only left this room three minutes ago!

She looks at the mess of the kitchen. She looks at the chairs suspended in the air. She signals them back to the floor with her wand.

(Drier than dry.) What did I miss?

ACT TWO, SCENE FOURTEEN

HOGWARTS, STAIRCASES

SCORPIUS walks unhappily down a staircase.

DELPHI scurries in from the other side.

DELPHI: So — technically — I shouldn’t be here.

SCORPIUS: Delphi?

DELPHI: In fact, technically I’m endangering our entire operation . . . which is not . . . well, I’m not a natural risk-taker as you know. I’ve never been to Hogwarts. Pretty lax security here, isn’t there?

And so many portraits. And corridors. And ghosts! This half-headless, strange-looking ghost told me where I could find you, can you believe that?

SCORPIUS: You’ve never been to Hogwarts?

DELPHI: I was — unwell — as a child — for a few years. Other people got to go — I did not.

SCORPIUS: You were too — ill? I’m sorry, I didn’t know that.

DELPHI: I don’t advertise the fact — I prefer not to be seen as a tragic case, you know?

This registers with SCORPIUS. He looks up to say something but DELPHI suddenly ducks from view as a student walks past. SCORPIUS tries to look casual until the student passes.

Have they gone?

SCORPIUS: Delphi, maybe it is too dangerous for you to be here — DELPHI: Well — someone’s got to do something about this.

SCORPIUS: Delphi, none of it worked, time-turning, we failed.

DELPHI: I know. Albus owled me. The history books changed but not enough — Cedric still died. In fact, failing the first task only made him more determined to win the second.

SCORPIUS: And Ron and Hermione have gone completely skewwhiff — and I still haven’t figured out why.

DELPHI: And that’s why Cedric has to wait. It’s all become quite confused and you’re entirely right to be keeping hold of the Time-Turner, Scorpius. But what I meant was — someone’s got to do something about the two of you.

SCORPIUS: Oh.

DELPHI: You’re best friends. Every owl he sends I can feel your absence. He’s destroyed by it.

SCORPIUS: Sounds like he’s found a shoulder to cry on. How many owls has he sent you now?

DELPHI smiles softly.

Sorry. That’s — I didn’t mean — I just — don’t understand what’s going on. I’ve tried to see him, talk to him, but every time I do he runs off.

DELPHI: You know, I didn’t have a best friend when I was your age. I wanted one. Desperately. When I was younger I even invented one but —

SCORPIUS: I had one of those too. Called Flurry. We fell out over the correct rules of Gobstones.

DELPHI: Albus needs you, Scorpius. That’s a wonderful thing.

SCORPIUS: He needs me to do what?

DELPHI: That’s the thing, isn’t it? About friendships. You don’t know what he needs. You only know he needs it. Find him, Scorpius. You two — you belong together.

ACT TWO, SCENE FIFTEEN

HARRY AND GINNY POTTER’S HOUSE, KITCHEN

HARRY and DRACO sit far apart. GINNY stands between them.

DRACO: Sorry about your kitchen, Ginny.

GINNY: Oh, it’s not my kitchen. Harry does most of the cooking.

DRACO: I can’t talk to him either. Scorpius. Especially since — Astoria has gone. I can’t even talk about how losing her has affected him. As hard as I try, I can’t reach him. You can’t talk to Albus. I can’t talk to Scorpius. That’s what this is about. Not about my son being evil. Because as much as you might take the word of a haughty centaur, you know the power of friendship.

HARRY: Draco, whatever you may think . . .

DRACO: I always envied you them, you know — Weasley and Granger. I had — GINNY: Crabbe and Goyle.

DRACO: Two lunks who wouldn’t know one end of a broomstick from another. You — the three of you — you shone, you know? You liked each other. You had fun. I envied you those friendships more than anything else.

GINNY: I envied them too.

HARRY looks at GINNY, surprised.

HARRY: I need to protect him —

DRACO: My father thought he was protecting me. Most of the time. I think you have to make a choice — at a certain point — of the man you want to be. And I tell you that at that time you need a parent or a friend. And if you’ve learnt to hate your parent by then and you have no friends . . . then you’re all alone. And being alone — that’s so hard. I was alone. And it sent me to a truly dark place. For a long time. Tom Riddle was also a lonely child. You may not understand that, Harry, but I do — and I think Ginny does too.

GINNY: He’s right.

DRACO: Tom Riddle didn’t emerge from his dark place. And so Tom Riddle became Lord Voldemort.

Maybe the black cloud Bane saw was Albus’s loneliness. His pain. His hatred. Don’t lose the boy.

You’ll regret it. And so will he. Because he needs you, and Scorpius, whether or not he now knows it.

HARRY looks at DRACO, he thinks.

He opens his mouth to speak. He thinks.

GINNY: Harry. Will you get the Floo powder or shall I?

HARRY looks up at his wife.

ACT TWO, SCENE SIXTEEN

HOGWARTS, LIBRARY

SCORPIUS arrives in the library. He looks left and right. And then he sees ALBUS. And ALBUS sees him.

SCORPIUS: Hi.

ALBUS: Scorpius. I can’t . . .

SCORPIUS: I know. You’re in Gryffindor now. You don’t want to see me now. But here I am anyway.

Talking to you.

ALBUS: Well, I can’t talk so . . .

SCORPIUS: You have to. You think you can just ignore everything that’s happened? The world has gone crazy, have you noticed?

ALBUS: I know, okay? Ron’s gone strange. Hermione’s a professor, it’s all wrong, but . . . SCORPIUS: And Rose doesn’t exist.

ALBUS: I know. Look, I don’t understand everything but you can’t be here.

SCORPIUS: Because of what we did, Rose wasn’t even born. Do you remember being told about the Triwizard Tournament Yule Ball? All the four Triwizard champions took a partner. Your dad took Parvati Patil, Viktor Krum took —

ALBUS: Hermione. And Ron got jealous and behaved like a prat.

SCORPIUS: Only he didn’t. I found Rita Skeeter’s book about them. And it’s very different. Ron took Hermione to the ball.

ALBUS: What?

POLLY CHAPMAN: Sshhhh!

SCORPIUS looks at POLLY and drops his volume.

SCORPIUS: As friends. And they danced in a friendly way, and it was nice, and then he danced with Padma Patil and that was nicer, and they started dating and he changed a bit and then they got married and meanwhile Hermione became a —

ALBUS: — psychopath.

SCORPIUS: Hermione was supposed to go to that ball with Krum — do you know why she didn’t?

Because she had suspicions the two strange Durmstrang boys she met before the first task were somehow involved in the disappearance of Cedric’s wand. She believed we — under Viktor’s orders — cost Cedric the first task . . .

ALBUS: Wow.

SCORPIUS: And without Krum, Ron never got jealous and that jealousy was all-important and so Ron and Hermione stayed very good friends but never fell in love — never got married — never had Rose.

ALBUS: So that’s why Dad’s so — did he change too?

SCORPIUS: I’m pretty sure your dad is exactly the same. Head of Magical Law Enforcement. Married to Ginny. Three kids.

ALBUS: So why is he being such a —

A LIBRARIAN enters at the back of the room.

SCORPIUS: Have you heard me, Albus? This is bigger than you and your dad. Professor Croaker’s law — the furthest someone can go back in time without the possibility of serious harm to the traveler or time itself is five hours. And we went back years. The smallest moment, the smallest change, it creates ripples. And we — we’ve created really bad ripples. Rose was never born because of what we did. Rose.

LIBRARIAN: Ssshhh!

ALBUS thinks quickly.

ALBUS: Fine, let’s go back — fix it. Get Cedric and Rose back.

SCORPIUS: . . . is the wrong answer.

ALBUS: You’ve still got the Time-Turner, right? No one found it?

SCORPIUS takes it out of his pocket.

SCORPIUS: Yes, but . . .

ALBUS snatches it from his hand.

No. Don’t . . . Albus. Don’t you understand how bad things could get?

SCORPIUS grabs for the Time-Turner, ALBUS pushes him back, they wrestle inexpertly.

ALBUS: Things need fixing, Scorpius. Cedric still needs saving. Rose needs bringing back. We’ll be more careful. Whatever Croaker says, trust me, trust us. We’ll get it right this time.

SCORPIUS: No. We won’t. Give it back, Albus! Give it back!

ALBUS: I can’t. This is too important.

SCORPIUS: Yes, it’s too important — for us. We’re not good at this stuff. We’ll get it wrong.

ALBUS: Who’s saying that we’ll get it wrong?

SCORPIUS: I say. Because that’s what we do. We mess things up. We lose. We’re losers, true and total losers. Haven’t you realized that yet?

ALBUS finally gets the upper hand and pins SCORPIUS to the ground.

ALBUS: Well, I wasn’t a loser before I met you.

SCORPIUS: Albus, whatever you’ve got to prove to your dad — this isn’t the way.

ALBUS: I don’t have anything to prove to my dad. I’ve got to save Cedric to save Rose. And maybe — without you holding me back — I can make a proper go of it.

SCORPIUS: Without me? Oh poor Albus Potter. With his chip on his shoulder. Poor Albus Potter. So sad.

ALBUS: What are you saying?

SCORPIUS (exploding): Try my life! People look at you because your dad’s the famous Harry Potter, savior of the wizarding world. People look at me because they think my dad is Voldemort.

Voldemort.

ALBUS: Don’t even —

SCORPIUS: Can you even slightly imagine what that’s like? Have you even ever tried? No. Because you can’t see beyond the end of your nose. Because you can’t see beyond the end of your stupid thing with your dad. He will always be Harry Potter, you know that, right? And you will always be his son. And I know it’s hard, and the other kids are awful, but you have to learn to be okay with that, because — there are worse things, okay?

Beat.

There was a moment I was excited, when I realized time was different, a moment when I thought maybe my mum hadn’t got sick. Maybe my mum wasn’t dead. But no, turns out, she was. I’m still the child of Voldemort, without a mother, giving sympathy to the boy who doesn’t ever give anything back. So I’m sorry if I’ve ruined your life because I tell you — you wouldn’t have a chance of ruining mine — it was already ruined. You just didn’t make it better. Because you’re a terrible — the most terrible — friend.

ALBUS digests this. He sees what he’s done to his friend.

PROFESSOR McGONAGALL (from off): Albus? Albus Potter. Scorpius Malfoy. Are you in there — together? Because I advise you not to be.

ALBUS looks at SCORPIUS, he pulls a Cloak from his bag.

ALBUS: Quick. We need to hide.

SCORPIUS: What?

ALBUS: Scorpius, look at me.

SCORPIUS: That’s the Invisibility Cloak? Isn’t it James’s?

ALBUS: If she finds us, we’ll be forced apart forever. Please. I didn’t understand. Please.

PROFESSOR McGONAGALL (from off — trying to give them every chance): I am about to enter.

PROFESSOR McGONAGALL comes into the room, the Marauder’s Map in her hands. The boys disappear beneath the Cloak. She looks around, exasperated.

Well, where have they — I never wanted this thing and now it’s playing tricks on me.

She thinks. She looks back at the map. She identifies where they should be. She looks around the room. Objects move as the boys invisibly move past them. She sees where they’re heading, she makes to block them. But they skirt around her.

Unless. Unless . . . Your father’s Cloak.

She looks back at the map, she looks at the boys. She smiles to herself.

Well, if I didn’t see you, I didn’t see you.

She exits. The two boys remove the Cloak. They sit in silence for a moment.

ALBUS: Yes, I stole this from James. He’s remarkably easy to steal from; his trunk combination is the date he got his first broom. I’ve found the Cloak made avoiding bullies . . . easier.

SCORPIUS nods.

I’m sorry — about your mum. I know we don’t talk about her enough — but I hope you know — I’m sorry — it’s rubbish — what happened to her — to you.

SCORPIUS: Thanks.

ALBUS: My dad said — said that you were this dark cloud around me. My dad started to think — and I just knew I had to stay away, and if I didn’t, Dad said he would — SCORPIUS: Your dad thinks the rumors are true — I am the son of Voldemort?

ALBUS (nods): His department are currently investigating it.

SCORPIUS: Good. Let them. Sometimes — sometimes I find myself thinking — maybe they’re true too.

ALBUS: No. They’re not true. And I’ll tell you why. Because I don’t think Voldemort is capable of having a kind son — and you’re kind, Scorpius. To the depths of your belly, to the tips of your fingers. I truly believe Voldemort — Voldemort couldn’t have a child like you.

Beat. SCORPIUS is moved by this.

SCORPIUS: That’s nice — that’s a nice thing to say.

ALBUS: And it’s something I should have said a long time ago. In fact, you’re probably the best person I know. And you don’t — you couldn’t — hold me back. You make me stronger — and when Dad forced us apart — without you —

SCORPIUS: I didn’t much like my life without you in it either.

ALBUS: And I know I’ll always be Harry Potter’s son — and I will sort that out in my head — and I know compared to you my life is pretty good, really, and that he and I are comparatively lucky and —

SCORPIUS (interrupting): Albus, as apologies go this is wonderfully fulsome, but you’re starting to talk more about you than me again, so probably better to quit while you’re ahead.

ALBUS smiles and stretches out a hand.

ALBUS: Friends?

SCORPIUS: Always.

SCORPIUS extends his hand, ALBUS pulls SCORPIUS up into a hug.

That’s the second time you’ve done that.

The two boys break apart and smile.

ALBUS: But I’m pleased we had this argument because it’s given me a really good idea.

SCORPIUS: About what?

ALBUS: It involves the second task. And humiliation.

SCORPIUS: You’re still talking about going back in time? Have we been having the same conversation?

ALBUS: You’re right — we are losers. We’re brilliant at losing and so we should be using our own knowledge here. Our own powers. Losers are taught to be losers. And there’s only one way to teach a loser — and we know that better than anyone — humiliation. We need to humiliate him. So in the second task that’s what we’ll do.

SCORPIUS thinks — for a long time — and then smiles.

SCORPIUS: That’s a really good strategy.

ALBUS: I know.

SCORPIUS: I mean, quite spectacular. Humiliate Cedric to save Cedric. Clever. And Rose?

ALBUS: That I’m saving as a sparkly surprise. I can do it without you — but I want you there. Because I want us to do this together. Set things right together. So . . . Will you come?

SCORPIUS: But, just a minute, isn’t — wasn’t — the second task took place in the lake, and you’re not allowed to leave the school building.

ALBUS grins.

ALBUS: Yes. About that . . . We need to find the girls’ bathroom on the first floor.