Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

It’s Sunday! Yes, Sunday and yet a Harry Potter book. Quite unusual for a book release. Can it be true? Sure, and why not? Anything can happen when it is Harry Potter. There’s more to it. July 31st is the birthday of The Boy Who Lived. For many Potter fans, July 31 is a wistful reminder of Harry’s first birthday in the series, when Hagrid brought Harry a cake on the same night he told the boy wizard that he was capable of magic.

The story in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child picks up from where Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows left off. Set nineteen years after the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry is now a middle-aged employee in the Ministry of Magic, husband to Ginny Weasley who is the sister of his friend Ron Weasley, and the father of three school-going children, including Albus Severus Potter, the youngest. Though Harry’s life is quite different from the earlier stories, there is no denying the fact that he’s still the same guy who enthralled readers with his wizardry in his youthful avatar in the earlier books.

When Harry and Ginny packed off Albus to Hogwarts, it set a chain of events beginning with Albus befriending Scorpius Malfoy, son of Harry’s longstanding enemy Draco Malfoy. The relationship between Albus and Scorpius is a unique one. It’s as strong as the enmity between their fathers. What lies at the core of the story is how the two unwittingly get their hands on a Time-Turner and used it to meddle with the past which accidentally set off a butterfly effect creating an alternate timeline in which Harry and Voldemort met with different fate, contrary to actual events in the earlier books.

The plot of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is complex, but nevertheless an entertaining and magical one. Characters both familiar and new are planted all over the story. While old ones help to join the dots and connect the past with the present, the appearance of new characters come as a breath of fresh air. It is also the story of good versus evil, and how a deep and strong friendship can be forged in the fire of enmity. Through the story of Harry and his son Albus, the book also explores the bond between fathers and sons. If you put aside the magic in the story, this new chapter in the life of Harry Potter is all about family, friendship, relationship and how difficult it is to live under the shadow of an illustrious father. While opinions would differ on the worthiness of the script of a play being published in book form, there is no denying the fact this marks an important chapter in Harry Potter's life and a must read for all fans.

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