I would not have taken on this project had I not firmly believed there was more of Harry's story to tell.

The original script showed Harry struggling to make the right decisions as a dad. There were instances where he was willing to use whatever means necessary to protect his family, who he was simultaneously pushing away. And while I may disagree with the storytelling methods of the Cursed Trio (JKR, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany), I saw an opportunity to communicate the crux of their story in a way that was true to canon and more respectful of Harry's journey up until that point.

As a married man with two young sons, I can empathize with an adult Harry. I understand the struggles a father faces, feeling the responsibility, the need to do everything you can to support your family, and the embarrassment of watching it inevitably go the wrong way. How we learn from our mistakes when things are made right, and we're better for it.

In books 1-7 we see Harry struggling with issues that most of the adults around him had to deal with (and maybe should have dealt with) — responsibilities that should never be thrust upon a young man. You would think that these situations would've prepared Harry for adulthood, and yet (based on the experiences of most people in that situation) he was bound to reveal an innate arrogance when forced to grow up quickly. Our hero had to save the wizarding world. He survived circumstances that should've killed him. And this gave Harry a sense that he was invincible. Which I see, from the perspective of a storyteller, as a wonderful place for a character to begin. There is still one big lesson Harry has to learn: Do not take for granted the things you hold most dear. They can be taken from you.

The failing of the original script is that they didn't acknowledge the most valuable development of Harry's character to date. He had been working so hard to get this exact sort of life, one that always seemed just out of reach. And now, the 8th story begins with him having it all. A mom and dad in Molly and Arthur, a huge extended family, a wonderful wife, three kids, the respect of his peers, and the perfect job.

The Cursed Trio didn't pursue any of this! Instead, they gave us a story about a son who doesn't live up to his father's expectations and almost destroys the wizarding world in order to fix a small, kind of insignificant defeat in the middle of his father's great victory. How does that at all link to the first seven books?

It doesn't pass the smell test. Give us something real. Show us how the wall that Harry built up to protect his family is being dismantled and rendered unstable one brick at a time. This is something that happens to all adults. Work pulls you away from family time. The inclusion of a coworker of the opposite sex, with whom you work closely, could threaten to drive a wedge between you and your spouse (especially if they have feelings for you). And, as all parents discover when their children reach a certain age, a lack of control.

Harry is someone who, although he faced many obstacles, typically had an ability to control his environment and navigate the choppy waters until he found a way out. Yes, he made mistakes. Those mistakes led to the death of others. The sorrow, pain, and suffering of others. But it always felt necessary because it was leading toward something better — a world without Voldemort. But what happens after? Surviving such an intense war would give someone a sense of superiority and overconfidence. This led directly to Harry losing Ginny in my version, through ego, a lack of preparation, and sheer impatience. Then, when he should have been getting closer to his children, he takes it out on the difficult son who was mourning in his own way.

Harry Potter was always identified as The Boy Who Lived. Other than on the Quidditch pitch, Harry could never develop an identity apart from Voldemort. And now, without Ginny, Harry loses the identity he had been building and reverts to the more negative fatherly influences in his life, like Vernon Dursley. And with far more power than Vernon, he uses that power to control his son — which only pushes him away further and, unfortunately, leads to the boy's imprisonment and death. With the grief Harry experiences because of that, and his lingering fears that Voldemort is still controlling him, Harry accepts the blame and acknowledges that the only solution would be for him, The Boy Who Lived, to kill himself.

It's depressing. And it was difficult for me to write. But it was important to me that I bring this all-powerful character to his lowest point ever, where he loses faith in his abilities and even magic itself. To the degree that he even seeks solace in the cupboard under the stairs at Number Four Privet Drive. And when he discovers a few letters that were still hidden from the onslaught of owls during his first year, what does he do? He tears them to shreds.

Why? Why would Harry reject magic? Why would he, in that moment, think life was better without it? Because even though his upbringing with the Dursleys was traumatic, it was easier. Life was simple. There was suffering, but it was controlled. He knew what to expect. Once he became a wizard, life (while fulfilling in many regards) brought him far more suffering than he could've ever imagined as a Muggle boy. Looking back to the very origins of a saga and understanding the negative elements through a different perspective is exactly what the finale is supposed to do.

And with that, I brought Harry to the brink. To where he was determined to do something drastic in order to save his family. He doesn't care at this point what it means or what it looks like, all that matters is getting things right. He is resolved to send Baby Delphi through time, untethered, and yet, when he's standing there facing her in the bedchamber at Malfoy Manor, he is no longer Harry Potter. Or Vernon Dursley. He is closest, in fact, to Lord Voldemort. Harry stands over the crib with a wand aimed at her, knowing that this child would grow up to destroy all the most wonderful pieces of him. Overthrow his destiny, the thing he had wanted his whole life. And it could be solved so easily, with a single curse.

But it's still Harry. And he has a great capacity to love others.

When he sees himself in the mirror, resembling Voldemort, prepared to carry out the very act that his mother sacrificed herself to prevent, he wakes from his stupor and chooses grace. He saves the child that caused him so much heartache as an adult. He saves his soul. Rather than allow her to be raised by the insane ghost of Bellatrix Lestrange, he makes sure that Delphi is raised in love, with the belief that nurture will outweigh nature. Which, of course, is the underlying message throughout the Harry Potter books, that blood does not define us.

(Unlike in the original script where Harry and Albus still have a major beef in an alternate universe, even though Albus is no longer in Slytherin. Ugh...)

Taking Harry, this monumental literary figure, and choosing to tear him down, only to slowly build him back up, was not an easy decision. But in my opinion, it was the right one. Because even though he came back to life from limbo in Deathly Hallows after all the Horcruxes were destroyed, Harry desperately needed to be reborn.

The important thing to recognize is that none of us are perfect. In fact, most of us make a complete mess of things along the way. Harry is no different.

Thank you for trusting me with him and believing enough in me, that I could do his story justice.