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
In the Slytherin dormitory, Albus is sitting in his room, and Harry enters cautiously. Harry explains that they’re negotiating with the Merpeople to dredge the lake and find the Time-Turner. When Harry asks why Albus did what he did, Albus says that it’s unfair what happened to Cedric. Harry understands that—he saw Cedric die—but it was reckless to risk so much. Harry explains that he never volunteered for adventure, and to pursue danger in this way could have destroyed everything. Albus says he knows, wiping away a tear.
As Harry and Albus discuss what Albus and Scorpius did, he emphasizes the problems with the actions Albus took. While Albus states that he wanted to correct an injustice, he also did it because he had something to prove. This exchange thus directly links the pressure of high expectations to the reckless—and sometimes seriously dangerous—actions that people often take to meet expectations and prove themselves.
Themes
Harry also admits that he was wrong—that he knows Scorpius isn’t Voldemort’s son and that he’s not a dark cloud. He says he’s locked away the Marauder’s Map, and he also admits that Albus really scared him when he ran away. Albus comments that he thought Harry Potter wasn’t afraid of anything. Harry asks if that’s how he really makes Albus feel, and Albus says that when he returned after failing to fix the first task, he was in Gryffindor, but nothing was better between them—so that’s not the reason for their problems. Harry knows that it’s not about that, too. They both acknowledge that they’re not quite okay.
At this point, Harry is trying to make amends for the way he treated Albus, recognizing that he was acting only on his own behalf and not truly seeing Albus for what he needed, which is what caused such deep strain. In realizing that Albus being in Slytherin isn’t the only thing that creates problems between them, Albus acknowledges that their problems aren’t just because Albus doesn’t meet his own or Harry’s expectations—it’s because Harry needs to find a way to genuinely connect with his son.
Themes
