Time, Mistakes, and the Past Theme in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Many of the characters in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child have regrets about the past, and the play explores what might happen if people were actually able to go back in time and try to change some of those past mistakes. For example, Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy use a Time-Turner to go back in time to the Triwizard Tournament to save Cedric Diggory from an unjust death, but in doing so, they create harmful ripple effects on the future. The play also examines how characters deal with past traumas, as Harry fixates on his abuse as a child and his worry about Voldemort returning. In showing how detrimental actually trying to change the past is, and in showing how fixating on the past often comes at the expense of dealing with one’s present problems, the play suggests that the best way to improve one’s life is to focus on what one can change and do in the present rather than to dwell on what can’t be changed in the past.

Albus and Scorpius learn the dangers of changing the past when they go back in time to save Cedric Diggory. While Albus and Scorpius believe they’re only making one simple change (preventing Cedric from winning the tournament so that he doesn’t die), even their minor actions at the tournament create major—and devastating—changes to the present. For example, a few comments they make to Hermione prevent Ron and Hermione from ever getting together and falling in love, meaning that Albus’s cousin Rose is never born. Hermione also never becomes Minister for Magic; instead, she ends up as a frustrated and bitter version of herself, teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts. In this way, the play demonstrates how attempting to change the past can have horrible, unexpected consequences. Furthermore, when Scorpius and Albus then try to go back a second time to correct their initial errors, they end up humiliating Cedric so badly that he becomes a Death Eater. This changes the world so drastically that Voldemort comes back to life and takes over the wizarding world. In this timeline, Harry is dead, meaning that Albus hasn’t been born and Scorpius finds himself in an authoritarian state dominated by torture, murder, and paranoia. In showing this devastating outcome—and showing that Scorpius has to correct it—the play suggests that focusing on trying to change the past is detrimental to the present and the future.

While Albus and Scorpius’s adventures explore the dangers of actually trying to change past mistakes through the magical means of the Time-Turner, Harry’s experiences show how fixating on past traumas in one’s childhood is unproductive and prevents one from addressing problems in the present. Throughout the play, Harry is plagued by dreams from his abusive childhood and the fear of Voldemort returning. He becomes so tortured by this possibility that he even separates Albus and Scorpius, worried that Scorpius is a bad influence on Albus but ultimately doing major damage to his own relationship with his son. Apologizing later to Albus for his actions, he states, “The part of me that was Voldemort died a long time ago, but it wasn't enough to be physically rid of him—I had to be mentally rid of him. And that—is a lot to learn for a forty-year-old man.” In this quote, Harry recognizes that the importance of letting go of his past trauma is crucial to being a better father in the present. The play puts Harry’s realization to the test once again through the device of time travel. Harry has the opportunity to prevent his parents’ deaths, but he chooses not to do so, knowing that changing the past comes with dangers, and recognizing that this wouldn’t actually fix the actual problems that he’s been having. Instead, he has to do the work of repairing his relationship with his son in the present.

The play suggests the importance of trying to change what one can in the present rather than fixating on the past. Throughout the play, Albus and Scorpius struggle with other kids bullying them, and as a result they often withdraw even further from the other students. But after the ordeals of the play, Scorpius decides to try out for the Quidditch team. Albus is surprised, to which Scorpius responds, “people can change.” Rather than harping on his past struggles with the other students and not being popular, Scorpius is trying to forge a new path for himself, showing his desire to change what he can in the present. Albus does the same regarding his relationship with Harry. In the final scene, Harry acknowledges saying in the past that he sometimes wishes Albus wasn’t his son. He then admits that what he said was “unforgivable” and that he “can’t ask [Albus] to forget it but [he] can hope [they] move past it,” assuring Albus that he’ll be a better dad. Albus agrees; in this way, they both acknowledge that they can’t change what has happened between them, but they can find a way to focus on how they treat each other in the present. In the play’s final moments, Harry drives this point home regarding Cedric as well, after so much of the conflict has centered around trying to save Cedric’s life and change the past. Harry brings Albus to Cedric’s grave, explaining that he comes by to say sorry when he can. With this gesture, the play affirms that rather than trying to fixate on or change the past and potentially wreak havoc on the future, the best way to truly change one’s life is to focus on what a person can do in the present.

Time, Mistakes, and the Past ThemeTracker

The ThemeTracker below shows where, and to what degree, the theme of Time, Mistakes, and the Past appears in each scene of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Click or tap on any chapter to read its Summary & Analysis.

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