Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Parenthood
Time, Mistakes, and the Past
Friendship, Family, Love, and Bravery
Reputation and Expectation
Death and Sacrifice
Summary
Analysis
At the meeting room in the Ministry of Magic, Harry and Hermione explain to a crowd (with Ginny, Ron, and Draco among them) that Voldemort’s allies have been showing movement for a few months after the wizarding world has been living in peace for decades. Harry is concerned about what it might mean and asks if anyone has seen or felt anything.
Again, Harry’s concern illustrates how he has still not fully worked through his childhood trauma, because he is so fixated on the idea of his past returning to haunt him.
Themes
Professor McGonagall explains that the Potions stores at Hogwarts have been interfered with—Boomslang skin and lacewing flies have been stolen—and Hermione replies that they can investigate. Draco protests, saying that Voldemort is dead, but Hermione wonders if it’s possible that Voldemort might be back.
Here the play illustrates how the characters are so focused on the idea that Voldemort might be coming back that they aren’t able to see the potential actual threats around them. Boomslang skin and lacewing flies are ingredients to Polyjuice Potion—which allows people to impersonate others—but the characters are more focused on Voldemort than potential intruders.
Themes
Harry asks if those with a Dark Mark have felt anything, and Draco accuses Harry of being prejudiced. He says that Harry is just stirring up rumors to get his face back in the newspapers again. When Draco points out that Ginny writes for the Daily Prophet, Ginny protests that she writes for the sports pages. Draco accuses Harry of using his celebrity to benefit his friends, too—it’s what got Hermione elected Minister of Magic. Meanwhile, Draco says, they’re just adding to the gossip about Scorpius’s parentage. He calls the meeting a sham and leaves. Others disperse after him despite Hermione’s protests.
Here Draco, Harry, and the other characters have to grapple with their reputations as adults. Draco continues to deal with the fact that he has a history as a Death Eater—a fact that still affects people’s opinions of him. By contrast, he illustrates how the good reputations that Harry, Ron, and Hermione enjoy allow them to gain even more power and potentially slander others like himself and Scorpius.
Themes
