She smiles. She looks at ALBUS. She leans down and gently kisses him on both cheeks.
She walks away into the woodland. ALBUS stares after her.
SCORPIUS: She didn’t kiss me — did you notice? (He looks at his friend.) Are you okay, Albus? You look a little pale. And red. Pale and red at the same time.
ALBUS: Let’s do this.
ACT TWO, SCENE FIVE
FORBIDDEN FOREST
The forest seems to grow bigger, thicker — and amongst the trees, people searching, looking for the missing wizards. But slowly people melt away until HARRY is left alone.
He hears something. He turns to his right.
HARRY: Albus? Scorpius? Albus?
And then he hears the sound of hooves. HARRY is startled. He looks around for where the noise is coming from.
Suddenly BANE steps forward into the light. He is a magnificent centaur.
BANE: Harry Potter.
HARRY: Good. You still recognize me, Bane.
BANE: You’ve grown older.
HARRY: I have.
BANE: But not wiser. For you trespass on our land.
HARRY: I have always respected the centaurs. We are not enemies. You fought bravely at the Battle of Hogwarts. And I fought beside you.
BANE: I did my part. But for my herd, and our honor. Not for you. And after the battle, the forest was deemed centaur land. And if you’re on our land — without permission — then you are our enemy.
HARRY: My son is missing, Bane. I need help finding him.
BANE: And he is here? In our forest?
HARRY: Yes.
BANE: Then he is as stupid as you are.
HARRY: Can you help me, Bane?
There’s a pause. BANE looks down at HARRY imperiously.
BANE: I can only tell you what I know . . . But I tell you not for your benefit but for the benefit of my herd. The centaurs do not need another war.
HARRY: Neither do we! What do you know?
BANE: I’ve seen your son, Harry Potter. Seen him in the movements of the stars.
HARRY: You’ve seen him in the stars?
BANE: I can’t tell you where he is. I can’t tell you how you’ll find him.
HARRY: But you’ve seen something? You’ve divined something?
BANE: There is a black cloud around your son, a dangerous black cloud.
HARRY: Around Albus?
BANE: A black cloud that may endanger us all. You’ll find your son again, Harry Potter. But then you could lose him forever.
He makes a sound like a horse’s cry — and then makes hard away — leaving a bewildered HARRY behind. He begins to search again — now with even more fervor.
HARRY: Albus! Albus!
ACT TWO, SCENE SIX
EDGE OF THE FORBIDDEN FOREST
SCORPIUS and ALBUS round a corner to be faced with a gap in the trees . . .
A gap through which is visible . . . a glorious light . . .
SCORPIUS: And there it is . . .
ALBUS: Hogwarts. Never seen this view of it before.
SCORPIUS: Still get a tingle, don’t you? When you see it?
And revealed through the trees is HOGWARTS — a splendid mass of bulbous buildings and towers.
From the moment I first heard of it, I was desperate to go. I mean, Dad didn’t much like it there but even the way he described it . . . From the age of ten I’d check the Daily Prophet first thing every morning — certain some sort of tragedy would have befallen it — certain I wouldn’t get to go.
ALBUS: And then you got there and it turned out to be terrible after all.
SCORPIUS: Not for me.
ALBUS looks at his friend, shocked.
All I ever wanted to do was go to Hogwarts and have a mate to get up to mayhem with. Just like Harry Potter. And I got his son. How crazily fortunate is that.
ALBUS: But I’m nothing like my dad.
SCORPIUS: You’re better. You’re my best friend, Albus. And this is mayhem to the nth degree. Which is great, thumbs-up great, it’s just — I have got to say — I don’t mind admitting — I am a tiny bit — just a tiny bit scared.
ALBUS looks at SCORPIUS and smiles.
ALBUS: You’re my best friend too. And don’t worry — I have a good feeling about this.
We hear RON’s voice from off — he’s clearly in close proximity.
RON: Albus? Albus.
ALBUS turns towards it, scared.
ALBUS: But we’ve got to go — now.
ALBUS takes the Time-Turner from SCORPIUS — he presses down upon it and the Time-Turner begins to vibrate and then explodes into a storm of movement.
And with it the stage starts to transform. The two boys look at it.
And there is a giant whoosh of light. A smash of noise.
And time stops. And then it turns over, thinks a bit, and begins spooling backwards, slow at first . . .
And then it speeds up.
ACT TWO, SCENE SEVEN
TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT, EDGE OF THE FORBIDDEN FOREST, 1994
Suddenly everything is a riot of noise as a crowd consumes ALBUS and SCORPIUS.
And suddenly the “greatest showman on earth” (his words, not ours) is onstage, using Sonorus to amplify his voice, and . . . well . . . he’s having a ball.
LUDO BAGMAN: Ladies and gentlemen — boys and girls — I give you — the greatest — the fabulous — the one — and the only TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT.
There’s a loud cheer.
If you’re from Hogwarts. Give me a cheer.
There’s a loud cheer.
If you’re from Durmstrang — give me a cheer.
There’s a loud cheer.
AND IF YOU’RE FROM BEAUXBATONS GIVE ME A CHEER.
There’s a slightly limp cheer.
Slightly less enthusiastic from the French there.
SCORPIUS (smiling): This has worked. That’s Ludo Bagman.
LUDO BAGMAN: And there they are. Ladies and gentlemen — boys and girls — I present to you — the reason why we’re all here — THE CHAMPIONS. Representing Durmstrang, what eyebrows, what a gait, what a boy, there’s nothing he won’t try on a broomstick, it’s Viktor Krazy Krum.
SCORPIUS and ALBUS (who are really getting into playing the Durmstrang students now): Go, go, Krazy Krum. Go, go, Krazy Krum.
LUDO BAGMAN: From the Beauxbatons Academy — zut alors, it’s Fleur Delacour!
There’s some polite applause.
And from Hogwarts not one but two students, he makes us all go weaky at the kneesy, he’s Cedric Delicious Diggory.
The crowd go wild.
And then the other—you know him as the Boy Who Lived, I know him as the boy who keeps surprising us all . . .
ALBUS: That’s my dad.
LUDO BAGMAN: Yes, it’s Harry Plucky Potter.