MALFOY MANOR, EXTERIOR —
YEAR 1/YEAR 7
The imposing facade of Malfoy Manor looms tall on the stage. It is a calm and sunny afternoon. The front door is ajar. A short house elf with long ears and bandaged hands sweeps the front steps. He is dressed in a filthy sack.
HARRY and HERMIONE enter and hide within the tall hedges. They see the elf and marvel at him. It is DOBBY.
HARRY (hushed): Hermione. It's Dobby.
HERMIONE: He looks miserable. Are those... Did they iron his hands?
HERMIONE clenches her jaw. She wipes at her eyes.
HARRY (consolingly): He only has to endure it for another year.
HERMIONE: All the same, remind me to come back and pay them a visit once I've perfected the Bonegrowl Curse.
Indecipherable yelling is heard from off. DOBBY stiffens.
DOBBY (in a high, trembling voice): Dobby is coming, Master. Dobby was merely sweeping the stoop again as promised and —
There is more indecipherable yelling.
Right away. Dobby is infinitely sorry for betraying your trust, sir.
DOBBY leans the broom against the wall and hastens up the steps. The broom slides down. He nervously readjusts it with wandless, unspoken magic before entering the house and closing the door.
HARRY: That's where Draco was raised. In that environment. (beat) Something tells me he would've preferred sleeping in a cupboard under the stairs.
HARRY notices the distress on HERMIONE's face.
Sorry — I can't help but see this through the eyes of a father.
HERMIONE: Well, I've seen enough. Can we use the Time-Turner, please?
HARRY takes out the Time-Turner. It spins and reacts more violently than usual, as if it knew this was the last step in their journey.
The usual bursts of light and booms of tumultuous sound are replaced by flashes of lightning and thunder — so real, it seems to be coming from storm clouds hidden within the auditorium.
It is no longer a calm and sunny afternoon. The sky overhead is depressingly gray. White albino peacocks stroll across the lawn, unaffected by the rolling thunder. There is a general feeling of unpredictability in the air. HERMIONE examines the clouds as HARRY pockets the Time-Turner.
HARRY: Just like that. From first year to seventh.
HERMIONE: A storm is coming. It's going to rain soon. What time are the boys arriving? Did Draco give you any indication?
HARRY: Only that they walk over from the bridge to avoid being seen.
HERMIONE: So, we wait.
The thunder rumbles on. HARRY and HERMIONE smile awkwardly. With a Time-Turner in their possession, they are unaccustomed to waiting. HERMIONE scouts past the hedges. She waits a moment then does it again.
HARRY: Hermione...
HERMIONE: I know. It's just — everything hinges on this. If we stop the boys from getting inside, we're guaranteed to change the future. They don't try to kill Delphi. Albus never thinks he succeeded — never puts himself in Azkaban.
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...
