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Part 1, Act 1, Scene 4
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
At Harry’s office at the Ministry of Magic—he’s the Head of Magical Law Enforcement—Hermione is sorting through mounds of papers when Harry enters in a rush. He explains that he apprehended someone with a Time-Turner, which he holds up to her, grinning. Then he asks her what she’s doing in his office, and she explains that she wanted to see if he was keeping up with his paperwork—which he clearly has not been. Harry transforms the papers into neat piles, but Hermione says he has to tend to his paperwork better—there are strange movements among trolls and giants being reported.
The introduction of the Time-Turner hints at the central conflict in the play, as so many of the characters in it are focused on the past. Even the reference to the trolls and giants calls back to some of Voldemort allies movements in the earlier series. This will become a recurring obsession for Harry, who fixates on the idea that Voldemort might return to the detriment of focusing on other problems in his life.
Themes
Hermione gently changes the subject, asking how Albus is. Harry says that he’s as good at fatherhood as he is at paperwork, and he asks how Rose and Hugo are. Hermione reveals that Ron jokes that, since she is Minister of Magic, Hermione probably sees her secretary more than she sees him. She worries that they have both sacrificed being good parents to have successful careers. She then instructs Harry to go home to his family before the Hogwarts Express leaves for another year. Then he can come back with a fresh start on his work—because if there’s something brewing, they’ll find a way to fix it together, as they always have. Harry agrees and leaves the Ministry.
Hermione and Harry both grapple with parenthood here, as they (and particularly Harry) struggle to prioritize what their children need, which is why Hermione suggests that Harry try and spend more time with Albus to understand him. Additionally, Hermione emphasizes how their friendship has helped them overcome dark magic in the past, and how it can help them overcome whatever obstacles reveal themselves in the present as well.
Themes
