HARRY AND GINNY POTTER'S HOUSE, KITCHEN
HARRY walks unhappily down a staircase. He puts on his glasses. The house is dark, except for a glow emanating from the kitchen. GINNY is sitting at the table eating porridge. HARRY enters. She looks at him.
GINNY: Oh. Sorry. Did I wake you?
HARRY: No, I had a nightmare.
He opens the ice box, pours himself a drink, and takes a seat on a stool near the door. He grunts. HARRY and GINNY sit far apart. The Weasley family clock stands between them.
GINNY: A nightmare?
HARRY: Yes.
GINNY: About what?
HARRY: The Dursleys — well, it started there — then it became something else. (HARRY hesitates, revisiting the nightmare in his mind) I was dreaming about the first time I spoke Parseltongue.
GINNY: At the zoo. Your cousin Dudley's birthday.
HARRY: Yes — I was watching the snake escape its habitat and then I — I heard him — Voldemort — so clearly. I haven't had a dream like it for years.
GINNY: Voldemort? Harry...
HARRY: He was speaking through the snake. When I realized it was Nagini, I was too late. It... (HARRY pantomimes the snake diving into his throat) ...just like it had done with Bathilda Bagshot. Nagini wanted to control me. From inside.
GINNY: That's terrifying. What do you think it means?
HARRY: Nothing. It's just a dream.
GINNY (in a timid voice): You're sure?
HARRY: Entirely.
GINNY stands with her bowl and spoon, then takes HARRY's empty glass and brings everything to the kitchen sink. HARRY is pacing around the small room. He touches his forehead. GINNY starts washing the dishes.
GINNY: You could be getting bad dreams because you're worried about Albus... (beat, she peers over her shoulder) And your scar could be hurting because you're getting old.
HARRY: Getting old? (he laughs) Honestly, every time I sit down now I make an "ooof" noise. An "ooof."
GINNY (looking troubled): So, your scar is hurting?
HARRY (trips in surprise): What? No. I've already explained —
GINNY: You didn't deny it just then. That's all.
HARRY: Ginny, what's going on? What are you doing up at this hour?
GINNY: Can't sleep.
HARRY approaches the clock. He studies it before glancing over at her.
HARRY: Come back to bed. Do you want a Sleeping Draught?
GINNY: No. I'll be fine.
HARRY: You don't seem fine.
GINNY: Me?
GINNY spins off the faucet. She returns to her seat at the table without a sound. Time passes sluggishly.
It's the clock. I cannot take my eyes off of it.
YOU ARE READING
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (The M. Clifford MOD)
Fanfiction"It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn't much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband, and the father of three school-age children. While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where...
