New Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Tips

In the opening scene, set during the final chapter of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in 2017, Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley send their second son, Albus Severus Potter, on the Hogwarts Express to begin his first year at Hogwarts. Harry is now working in a desk job as the Head of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Magic, while Ginny is the editor of the sports section of the Daily Prophet. Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger also send their daughter Rose Granger-Weasley, on the train. Hermione is now Minister for Magic, while Ron manages Weasley's Wizard Wheezes in Diagon Alley. Albus makes an unlikely friend in Slytherin with Scorpius Malfoy, the son of Harry's unknown friend Draco Malfoy and Astoria Kolfrey. Surprisingly, Albus is sorted into Slytherin house alongside Scorpius, as all Potters before him were sorted into Gryffindor. Both boys are bullied by other students over the next few years, Albus due to his perceived failure to live up to his parents, Scorpius due to unproven rumours that he is the son of Lord Voldemort. In addition, Albus and Harry begin to drift apart, owing to Albus's struggles with his father's shadow, and Harry's uncertainty on how to deal with his son's issues. Albus also drifts apart from Rose, who he was friends with before meeting Scorpius. Prior to Albus and Scorpius's fourth year, Albus gets into a fight with his father after he is given Harry's baby blanket and a love potion from Ron. During the fight, Harry accidentally says that he does not love Albus, and Albus spills the potion on the blanket.

Harry obtains a prototype of a more powerful version of the Time Turner that allows one to travel back several years into the past, and change history. Simultaneously, Harry's scar begins to hurt again, causing him to become concerned that Voldemort may somehow be returning. Amos Diggory, who has become old and is cared for by his niece Delphi Diggory, asks Harry to use the Time Turner to prevent Cedric Diggory's death. After overhearing Harry refuse to help the Diggorys, Albus is inspired to do so himself, and convinces Scorpius to help him. The two escape from the Hogwarts Express and the trolly operator, who is revealed to a be a monster placed on the train to prevent students from escaping. The two arrive at St. Oswald's Home for Old Witches and Wizards in Yorkshire, where Amos lives, and team up with Delphi to steal the Time Turner from Hermione's office while disguised with Polyjuice Potion.


Knowing that Cedric's death was the result of him winning the Triwizard Tournament alongside Harry, the boys use the Time Turner to travel back to the first challenge of the Triwizard Tournament in 1995, and sabotage Cedric during the tournament's first task in the hope of preventing his victory. Instead, they only succeed in creating an alternate reality in which Albus was sorted into Gryffindor, and Ron Weasley and Hermione never got together, and thus Rose was never born. Albus discovers that this was because they chose to disguise themselves as Durmstrang students, causing Hermione to become suspicious of Viktor Krum and go to the Yule Ball with Ron instead of Viktor. As a result, Ron never experienced the jealousy fundamental to his relationship with Hermione, fell in love with Padma Patil at the Ball, and eventually became married to her, having a son named Panju. Hermione, in turn, became a frustrated and mean professor at Hogwarts.

At around the same time, Harry's fear that Voldemort may return increases as his scar continues to hurt and as he has Voldemort-related nightmares. After speaking with a portrait of Dumbledore, he becomes convinced that Scorpius is a threat to Albus and tries to have the boys kept apart at Hogwarts by forcing McGonagall to keep tabs on Albus using the Marauders' Map.