(concerned) Scorpius. . are you okay?

      SCORPIUS says nothing. ALBUS tries to read his friend’s eyes.

      Your mum? It’s got worse?

      SCORPIUS

      It’s got the worst it can possibly get.

      ALBUS sits down beside SCORPIUS.

      ALBUS

      I thought you’d send an owl. .

      SCORPIUS

      I couldn’t work out what to say.

      ALBUS

      And now I don’t know what to say. .

      SCORPIUS

      Say nothing.

      ALBUS

      Is there anything. .

      SCORPIUS

      Come to the funeral.

      ALBUS

      Of course.

      SCORPIUS

      And be my good friend.

      And suddenly the SORTING HAT is centre stage and we’re back in the Great Hall.

      SORTING HAT

      Are you afraid of what you’ll hear?

      Afraid I’ll speak the name you fear?

      Not Slytherin! Not Gryffindor!

      Not Hufflepuff! Not Ravenclaw!

      Don’t worry, child, I know my job,

      You’ll learn to laugh, if first you sob.

      Lily Potter. GRYFFINDOR!

      LILY

      Yes!

      ALBUS

      Great.

      SCORPIUS

      Did you really think she’d come to us? Potters don’t belong in Slytherin.

      ALBUS

      This one does.

      As he tries to melt into the background, the other students laugh. He looks up at them all.

      I didn’t choose, you know that? I didn’t choose to be his son.

      ACT ONE

      SCENE FIVE

      HERMIONE sits with piles of paper in front of her in HARRY’s messy office. She is slowly sorting through it all. HARRY enters in a rush. He is bleeding from a graze on his cheek.

      HERMIONE

      How did it go?

      HARRY

      It was true.

      HERMIONE

      Theodore Nott?

      HARRY

      In custody.

      HERMIONE

      And the Time-Turner itself?

      HARRY reveals the Time-Turner. It shines out alluringly.

      Is it genuine? Does it work? It’s not just an Hour-Reversal Turner – it goes back further?

      HARRY

      We don’t know anything yet. I wanted to try it out there and then but wiser heads prevailed.

      HERMIONE

      Well, now we have it.

      HARRY

      And you’re sure you want to keep it?

      HERMIONE

      I don’t think we’ve a choice. Look at it. It’s entirely different to the Time-Turner I had.

      HARRY (dryly)

      Apparently wizardry has moved on since we were kids.

      HERMIONE

      You’re bleeding.

      HARRY checks his face in the mirror. He dabs at the wound with his robes.

      Don’t worry, it’ll go with the scar.

      HARRY (with a grin)

      What you doing in my office, Hermione?

      HERMIONE

      I was anxious to hear about Theodore Nott and – thought I’d check whether you’d kept your promise and were on top of your paperwork.

      HARRY

      Ah. Turns out I’m not.

      HERMIONE

      No. You’re not. Harry, how can you get any work done in this chaos?

      HARRY waves his wand and the papers and books transform into neat piles. HARRY smiles.

      HARRY

      No longer chaotic.

      HERMIONE

      But still ignored. You know there’s some interesting stuff in here. . there are mountain trolls riding graphorns through Hungary, there are giants with winged tattoos on their backs walking through the Greek Seas, and the werewolves have gone entirely underground—

      HARRY

      Great, let’s get out there. I’ll get the team together.

      HERMIONE

      Harry, I get it. Paperwork’s boring. .

      HARRY

      Not for you.

      HERMIONE

      I’m busy enough with my own. These are people and beasts that fought alongside Voldemort in the great wizarding wars. These are allies of darkness. This – combined with what we have just unearthed at Theodore Nott’s – could mean something. But if the Head of Magical Law Enforcement isn’t reading his files—

      HARRY

      But I don’t need to read it – I’m out there, hearing about it. Theodore Nott – it was me who heard the rumours about the Time-Turner and me who acted upon it. You really don’t need to tell me off.

      HERMIONE looks at HARRY – this is tricky.

      HERMIONE

      Do you fancy a toffee? Don’t tell Ron.

      HARRY

      You’re changing the subject.

      HERMIONE

      I truly am. Toffee?

      HARRY

      Can’t. We’re off sugar at the moment.

      Beat.

      You know, you can get addicted to that stuff?

      HERMIONE

      What