Summary
Scorpius enters Headmaster Dolores Umbridge’s office with a different set of clothes. Umbridge tells him that she always saw him as a Head Boy, since he is a natural leader and a great Quidditch player. However, since she found him out at the lake three days ago, she's noticed that he has an obsession with Harry Potter, and is constantly asking people about Cedric Diggory and the Battle of Hogwarts. She asks him if there is something she can do to get the old Scorpius back. Scorpius tells her that he will soon return to normal. Umbridge smiles and places her hand to her heart and says “For Voldemort and Valor.”
Scorpius walks around the Hogwarts grounds, where he bumps into Karl Jenkins and Yann Fredericks. They remind him that tomorrow night they were going to torture the Mudbloods (Muggleborns) in the dungeons and Scorpius is surprised to learn that it was his idea. Then Polly Chapman invites the Scorpion King to the Blood Ball and then uses the word “Potter” as a curse word because her shoes had blood on them. She then says that the Augury tells them that their future was theirs to make, and she is making hers with him. Polly exits by saying “For Voldemort and Valor” and Scorpius repeats her.
Scorpius enters the office of the Head of Magical Law Enforcement, Draco Malfoy, Scorpius' father. Draco gets angry because his son kept him waiting and did not apologize. He demands that Scorpius not humiliate him at Hogwarts by asking questions about Harry Potter. Scorpius asks if Draco was involved in the Muggle-Born death camps, and asks how his mother felt about it. Draco tells him not to use his mother’s name in vain. Draco reveals that had no part in the Muggle Death camps and his wife was sympathetic to Muggle-borns; Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father, didn’t like her because she was too Muggle-loving, but Draco defied his own father for her. She thought it was the bravest thing she ever saw. Scorpius tells him that he doesn’t want to be the person he is now; he wants to be more like her. Draco tells him that his mother always helped him find the light in the darkness and overcome the "murky" circumstances. Draco tells his son that whatever he plans to do, to do it safely because he doesn’t want to lose him too.
Scorpius is in the Hogwarts library trying to find out how Cedric became a Death Eater, when Craig Bowker Jr. asks him why he's there. Scorpius asks why he can’t be at the library, and Craig grovels and apologizes that Scorpius's Potions homework wasn’t ready. Scorpius realizes that Craig does his homework for him in this new reality. Craig tells him that Professor Snape’s homework is very difficult, but he is honored to do the Scorpion King’s homework. Scorpius grabs a copy of “A History of Magic” and and realizes that Snape must still be alive.
Scorpius enters the Potions classroom, where he meets Severus Snape and asks him if he is still working for Dumbledore. He denies working for him, telling him that Dumbledore is dead, and he only worked for him when he was Headmaster of Hogwarts. Scorpius tells him that he knows that he spied on Death Eaters for Dumbledore and killed him as part of his plan. He tells him the story about the Time-Turner and that he lives in a world where Harry Potter defeated Voldemort. Snape tells him that Harry Potter was the winner of the Tri-wizard Tournament. Scorpius tells him that Cedric was supposed to win too, but they humiliated him and he became a Death Eater. Snape tells him that Cedric has only killed one wizard and it was Neville Longbottom. Scorpius realizes that Neville was supposed to kill Nagini, Voldemort’s snake and the last Horcrux, before Voldemort died. Snape doesn't believe him until Scorpius reveals that he knows that Snape loved Lily Potter: a secret only Dumbledore knew. Snape replies that Harry is dead. Scorpius tells him that Harry said he was the bravest man he ever met and named his son Albus Severus after him. Snape is deeply moved by this; Snape takes out his wand and locks the door. He tells him that they need to go to a hidden room in the roots of the Whomping Willow.Scorpius is pinned to the table by warrior-Hermione; she is now a rebel leading the resistance against Voldemort. Snape tells him that Scorpius is trustworthy and that Hermione was always a bore and an average student. Hermione lets Scorpius go and he tells them that it is his fault that they are living in this version of the world. Before he can explain, Ron enters through the door, notices Scorpius, and points his wand at him. Hermione and Snape explain that Scorpius is on their side.
Hermione looks at the Time-Turner, while Ron is trying to understand why their future rests on Neville Longbottom. Ron tells Scorpius that they are the only ones who can help, since they have barely five members in Dumbledore’s Army and he and Hermione are fugitives. Scorpius explains that in the other reality Harry is the Head of Magical Law Enforcement and Hermione is the Minister for Magic. Hermione is obviously happy to hear this. Ron asks what he does for a living. He explains him that he runs the Weasleys’ joke shop, but he is mostly a stay-at-home dad. Scorpius then tells him that he is married to Hermione. Hermione then asks about Snape's fate, but before Scorpius can answer, Snape interjects that he is presumably dead, since Scorpius was so surprised when he saw him. The four of them venture to the edge of the Forbidden Forest to block the spell Albus used to prevent Cedric from succeeding in the first task. Snape warns Hermione that the dementors will be looking for her, but she doesn’t care.
We now see the same sequence as in the first task of the Triwizard Tournament. Hermione sees Albus beginning to cast his spell on Cedric’s wand. Hermione blocks the spell before he successfully casts it, allowing Cedric to win the task.
Hermione, Scorpius, Ron, and Snape return back to the Forbidden Forrest. Ron begins feeling pain; Scorpius tells him that Albus got hurt during their trip as Snape warns them that they are in public where the dementors can find them, but too late; the dementors are already descending on the group. Hermione knows that they are only looking for her. She declares her love to Ron and tells them all to run; she’ll stay behind and let the dementors suck out her soul. Snape and Scorpius flee, but Ron stays behind. He likes the idea of both of them being married and having children. Hermione tells him to kiss her and the pair kiss as the Dementors suck out their souls.
Snape and Scorpius continue to run, but a Dementor appears in front of Scorpius. Snape tells him to think of the thing he loves. He begins to hear his mother dying, and he knows he can’t defeat the dementor. Snape reminds him he is doing this to save Harry Potter and his friend. Snape tells him that he is helping the cause that Lily Potter believed in. Suddenly, Dolores Umbridge arrives and tells him that Hermione was caught by the Dementors. They both act happy, but Umbridge knows that she was with Snape and Scorpius. Snape tries to leave, telling Umbridge that they are late for class. She stops them, pointing out that they are on their way to the lake instead of the school. Snape realizes that she knows about his true allegiance; Umbridge confirms she suspected for years that Snape was against Voldemort’s rule. Snape disarms her and casts a Patronus. Scorpius sees his Patronus, a doe, like Lily Potter’s Patronus. Snape tells him to run, but asks him to tell Albus that he is proud that he carries his name. Scorpius runs into the lake and activates the Time-Turner; he ascends to the surface and so does Albus. Scorpius is overjoyed to see Albus, but Albus reminds him that he saw him two minutes ago. Scorpius hugs Albus and checks his school uniform––he's wearing Slytherin robes! Harry and company arrive and ask what happened, as Scorpius realizes he's lost the Time-Turner in the lake.
After the entire story is explained to Professor McGonagall, she considers expelling the boys, but wryly states that it would be safer if they remained under her care. So she gives them detention for the rest of the year, cancels their Christmas, and bans them from going to Hogsmade. Suddenly, Hermione enters through the door and McGonagall quips that she wishes she could give Hermione a detention for keeping an illegal Time-Turner in a bookcase. The Headmistress tells the boys that their intentions to save Cedric were honorable, but not if the entire wizarding world would enter into dark times. Lastly she tells everyone to get out of her office and find the Time-Turner.
Albus is sitting in his room in the Slytherin dormitory when his father enters. Harry tells him that they haven’t found the Time-Turner yet, then asks him why he traveled back in time in the first place. Albus tells him that he wanted to change things and that what happened to Cedric was unfair. Harry agrees, but says that Albus didn’t have to risk his life, and what he did was stupid and reckless. However, Harry apologizes for thinking that Scorpius was the son of Voldemort and the black cloud that Bane spoke of. Harry tells Albus how scared both he and Ginny were. Albus retorts that he thought that Harry Potter wasn’t scared of anything. Albus tells his father that after saving Cedric from the first task, he was sorted into Gryffindor, but they still were fighting, so that meant that him being sorted into Slytherin was not the root of their problem. Harry tells him that being sorted into Slytherin is not the reason why they argue. They both acknowledge that neither of them are satisfied with their current relationship.
Analysis
Finally, the audience is able to see a truly troubling alternate reality: a world without Harry Potter. Though we don't see the world outside of Hogwarts, we get a sense of the rules of the world through what qualities are valued. It's clear that in this world, Scorpius, as "The Scorpion King," is very different from his real self: he is a bully, he has no interest in school, he engages in torture. However, on the flip-side, he is popular, he is a gifted Quidditch player, and he is pursued by girls as the ultimate boyfriend.
Albus has been the driving force of the story up to this point, and this section spent with Scorpius really gives a window onto the latter's character. Not once do we see any hint that Scorpius might be tempted to remain in this new life where he has a higher status. His integrity and love for his friend Albus guides him. He seems genuinely surprised by his double's malicious ways, and though it first seems like he is letting the other characters dictate what he is trying to do, we realize that he is simply gathering information in order to find the most effective way to rectify his mistakes and return to the past.
The scene with Draco as the Head of Magical Law Enforcement shows that the essence of characters stays the same, even under vastly different circumstances. Here Scorpius confronts Draco about the crimes being committed in Voldemort's world and presses him on his involvement in alleged Mudblood death camps and Muggle killings. Draco, we learn, is not simply compliant with a pro-muggle world in the version where Hermione is Minister for Magic; his moral compass is driven by his late wife's compassion, and his love for her. Draco seems proud of his son for challenging the cruel customs, but ultimately his brutality is driven by his fear of losing his son and wife.
The themes of the enduring power of love come into play especially in this act. We meet Snape, who is still the potions master, and though it seems he is different, ultimately his love for Lily Potter still drives him to look for Dumbledore and motivates him to help Scorpius return the world to the one where Harry Potter is alive and he is dead. This enduring power of love also exists with Ron and Hermione: even though they never married in this reality, the very suggestion from Scorpius triggers a deep love in them the leads them to sacrifice their lives together. It is part of the narrative of the original series; love ultimately trumps magic, dark or otherwise.
When Scorpius sets things right again, we return to our main character conflict between Albus and his father. The scene where Harry visits Scorpius in the common room is the setting for their first interaction since their fight, where they declared that they wished they weren't father and son. One of the major steps in their relationship is coming to terms with their own faults: Harry realizes that Scorpius isn't the black cloud, Albus realizes that his father never volunteered for adventure for selfish purposes, and Albus points out that their conflicts in an alternate reality still existed regardless of what house he was sorted into. The biggest step is the acknowledgement that there is something wrong between them.
