Summary
On the Hogwarts Express Rose finds Albus; she says that since it’s their fourth year, she wants to be friends again. He tells her that they were never friends, they're cousins and have known each other since they were six years old. She changes the subject by telling him that she heard that her father confiscated an illegal Time-Turner from a wizard called Theodore Nott. Albus finds Scorpius, who awkwardly compliments the smell of Rose’s hair ("flowers and fresh bread"). Rose leaves and Albus hugs his friend; he tells him that they have to get off the train. Scorpius tells him that it’s too late since the train already left the train station. Albus tells him that they have to jump from the train. Albus begins asking Scorpius about the Tri-wizard Tournament, a tournament in which three schools pick three champions to compete in different tasks. The last tournament was celebrated in Hogwarts, where Harry Potter and a boy named Cedric Diggory were among the competitors. During the last task, they both decided to win the tournament together by grabbing a Cup, which transported them to the ceremony Voldemort was enacting in order to return to power. Cedric is killed, because Voldemort only wanted Harry Potter and had no use for Cedric. Albus tells Scorpius that he is going to use a Time-Tuner to save Cedric. Scorpius thinks it's crazy, but is persuaded.
Albus and Scorpius are on the roof of the train, which is at full speed. Albus comes up with the idea to jump from the train into the viaduct using a Cushioning Charm. Scorpius sees the Trolley Witch get up to the roof; she tells them her job is to make all the sweets and Pumpkin Pasties—which can also turn into grenades, if anyone tries to escape before arriving at the destination. She fires a grenade and it explodes, and she tells them that she has never let any Hogwarts students leave the train before their destination. She recommends that they return to their seats. Then the Trolley Witch’s hands began transfiguring into sharp spikes. Albus casts the Cushioning Charm and jumps of the train; Scorpius hesitates but follows.
Hermione is trying to call order in a crowed Ministry meeting. She reminds them that the wizarding community has been living in peace for many years now. Harry informs them that Voldemort’s allies have been showing movements for many months now. Professor McGonagall reveals that during the summer some potion stores had been reported missing, but nothing from the Restricted section. Hermione tells them that recently Harry’s scar began hurting again. They crowd reacts, and Harry asks if those with the Dark Mark had felt anything recently. Draco is offended, speculating that Harry only wants to have his face back in the newspaper. Harry defends himself since these rumors did not come from him. Hermione tells him that as Minister for Magic she has to take these things seriously; Draco offends her by telling her that she only got the job because she is friends with Harry Potter. Ron is ready to punch Draco, but Draco protests that he only wants to protect his son Scorpius from the gossip that will result when people start to say that Voldemort might be back. Harry reminds him that this has nothing to do with his son. When everyone leaves, Hermione tells them to come back because they need to think of a strategy.
Scorpius and Albus arrive at St. Oswald’s. Delphi appears and takes them to meet Amos. In Amos Diggory’s room, Albus tells him that his father lied to him about having a Time-Tuner, and that they are going to use it to save Cedric. When Amos is skeptical of two underage boys on the mission, Albus reminds him that his father was a teenager when he saved the wizarding world. Albus tells Amos to trust him, but Amos refuses. As Scorpius and Albus walk away, Delphi tells her Uncle that he should trust them because they are the only people who are volunteering to save his son. When Amos asks Albus what he gains from helping, Albus tells him that he knows what is like to be the unwanted child; his son didn’t deserve to die. Amos accepts and Delphi accompanies them to retrieve the Time-Turner from the Ministry.
Hermione tells Harry, Ginny, and Ron that she has told Draco multiple times that the Ministry is not responsible for these rumors about Scorpius. Ginny says that when Astoria died she sent Draco an owl and invited Scorpius to stay over at their house for Christmas break. He replied by telling her to tell Harry to refute the allegations about his son’s parentage. Hermione thinks he is obsessed, but Ginny thinks that he is a grieving mess. Ron jokingly tells Harry that maybe his scar is hurting because he is worried about Albus, or because he is getting old. Hermione said that they need to prepare in case some part of Voldemort is rising again. Suddenly an owl drops a letter from Professor McGonagall in Harry’s lap. The letter says that Albus and Scorpius never made it to school.
Scorpius hesitates drinking a bottle of Polyjuice Potion prepared by Delphi, afraid of the pain and taste as Delphi transforms into Hermione. Albus and Scorpius transform into Ron and Harry. Scorpius as Harry jokes around, pretending to punish his son. Then Delphi, Scorpius, and Albus enter the telephone booth entrance to the Ministry of Magic.
Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and Draco reunite. The Ministry has been looking for Albus and Scorpius. Hermione tells them that the Trolley Witch is furious and that she informed the Muggle Prime Minister to be on the lookout for two missing students. Draco asked her if she told him about Harry’s scar hurting again and she said no, because it had nothing to do with Albus and Scorpius's disappearance. Draco then tells him that Scorpius is a follower, not a leader, and that it must have been Albus that convinced him to jump out of the train. Ginny tells him that she is sure that Albus ran away since he and Harry had a fight the night before. Draco threatens Harry, warning trouble if anything happened to his son and declares that Harry has always been a curse on his family.
Scorpius (as Harry), Delphi (as Hermione), and Albus (as Ron) enter the Ministry. They are on their way to Hermione’s office when the real Hermione appears on the scene. Delphi and Scorpius hide while Albus distracts his Aunt Hermione. Hermione sees Ron/Albus and is surprised to see her husband in the Ministry. In a bit of classic theater farce, Hermione and Ron/Albus talk while he blocks the entrance to her office, where Scorpius and Delphi where hiding. Hermione asks why he is blocking the door, so in a desperate move, he tells her that they should have another baby or a holiday. Hermione tries to enter to her office, but Albus/Ron kisses his Aunt as a distraction. She tells him that his breath reeks of fish and leaves without entering her office. Albus waits until Hermione leaves and opens the door to the office.
In Hermione’s office, Delphi ponders where Hermione would hide a Time-Turner. Since the office is filled with bookcases, it must be inside of a book. Scorpius grabs a book on Divination, a class Hermione hated. Opening the book reveals a talking riddle. The book then tries to swallow Delphi, and finally the entire bookcase tries to devour them. They answer the first riddle (Dementors!) then Albus grabs a book on Dementors and reveals a new riddle. Then Delphi reappears as her true self and solves the next riddle (Voldemort!). While Scorpius was looking for a book on Voldemort, the bookcase swallows Albus, and the Voldemort book reveals the final riddle. Scorpius solves the last riddle, revealing the Time-Turner inside the book.
Analysis
The events of the last section create the perfect storm for Albus to rebel against his father. After being told that Harry wishes he wasn't his son, his natural instinct to play the hero himself in saving Cedric from the mistakes of his father shows emotional logic. He wants to be the hero his father never saw him as. The tactics he uses to convince Amos that he is the person to take on the mission allow him to confront all of the criticisms they've heard at Hogwarts; Amos brings up that he is only relying on his family's name, that he's the Slytherin Potter outcast, and that his only ally is the potential son of Voldemort.
Albus's decision to help Amos Diggory is a way of trying to fix the mistakes his father made. Albus might be playing the hero to show that he is worthy of love. He describes himself as the "spare" son, making an allusion to what Voldemort called Cedric before his murder. Albus's ultimate desire is to have a good relationship with his father; he knows that even a small thing like preventing Cedric’s death could change Harry's view of him. Ultimately, Albus's vulnerability in this moment makes him susceptible to the will of Delphi.
The mystery surrounding Delphi emerges in this moment. She's one of the only characters who is not from the original series, so her presence is noteworthy. She seems at times awkward and unsure, but also influential and calculating. She convinces her uncle quickly to take the boys up on their offer of saving Cedric. She quickly develops the plan to steal the Time-Turner and executes it precisely. The sense of any concealment is balanced against the fact that the adventuring trio she forms with Albus and Scorpius parallels the adventuring trio of Harry, Ron and Hermione in the original series.
In a bit of typical stage farce, we see the sticky situation of having duplicates of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. We have a moment of comedy in the adventure, as we watch "Ron" try different tactics to keep Hermione out of her office. He starts with simple distractions, pretending to surprise her at work, then moving on to wanting to discuss how Harry told Albus that he wasn't his son. The irony of using his own pain as a distraction shows the desperation of the moment. He moves on to grand gestures, asking to go on a holiday or have another baby, before he kisses his own Aunt as a way to turn her away from the office.
The final sequence is classic Harry Potter; a series of riddles to unlock a prize, with an imminent threat of physical danger. The bookcases coming to life tests the limits of our imagination—we as readers are inspired to wonder what stage wizardry brings this sequence to life. The riddles also foreshadow the challenges to come, from the Dementors to the specter of Lord Voldemort himself.
