The Power of Flight

I know we've covered it here and there, but if I'm gonna discuss how the rules have changed...

Delphi can straight up fly.

Hey, remember that one time Voldemort flew? Book 7, Chapter 4 - The Seven Potters:

"And then Harry saw him. Voldemort was flying like smoke on the wind, without broomstick or thestral to hold him, his snake-like face gleaming out of the blackness, his white fingers raising his wand again -"

When I first read this in Deathly Hallows, I was stunned. Flight? Way to pull out the big guns in the last book! That's unexpected! Now, the movies took flight in a whole different direction with confusing, smokey black clouds, and it became a trait all the baddies could do. But in terms of OS-Canon, flight is possible.

I like to believe that the magical power of flight is rare. It has to be, if you think about it. At this point in time, Voldemort had powers many did not possess (and if you read my first posts from ELIXIR, you'll notice that I've given this unparalleled skill to an additional character). However, HOWEVER... this moment with Voldemort is not necessarily a memorable event in the books, all things considered, which means the average fan might be surprised to see it on stage and learn that it's proper canon. And if the play is meant for general audiences... You get my point.

We don't know how Voldemort was capable of flying when no one else could. And since he died when Delphi was a baby, she shouldn't know either. We can't just throw the power of flight out there because Harry saw Voldemort fly one time. Again, it seems as if the Cursed Trio are suggesting that magical aptitude and specifically learned abilities are passed down from generation to generation, which makes no sense. Who needs broomsticks when you can just... start hovering. Take that, all sense of danger in playing Quidditch!

The Confundus Charm

The purpose and effects of the Confundus Charm are so out of wack in this play, it makes me feel like the script itself is leaking the spell onto the reader.

What's that you've got on you, Mike? Eww. Confundus. Anyone have like a... a napkin or something?

I'd love to just brush past this, but since the use of the Confundus Charm on Amos Diggory was so integral to the plot, we have no choice.

There are a few specific instances from the play we can reference to try and understand what JKR and Co. were doing here. First, we see Albus and Scorpius heading to the wizard's nursing home to talk with Amos Diggory. We know during a second read-through that Amos has already been confuded. During this time, Amos suggests that Delphi should join them:

AMOS: Delphi - perhaps if you were prepared to accompany them?

DELPHI: If that would make you happy, Uncle.

This causes some confusion right away, because this exchange presents the Confundus Charm as acting more like the Imperius Curse and that Amos is under Delphi's control. In fact, he was "confunded" enough to force the boys to leave at wand-point. In these scenes, and during his discussion with Harry at the Potter home, Amos seems very on top of his thoughts. He's articulate and specific in his wants and desires. But then the narrative completely sideswipes you in the first alternate universe, during the scene when Albus is confused that he has an Aunt Padma.

RON (to HARRY): Taken a Confundus Charm to the head, has he? (To ALBUS.) My wife, Padma. You remember.

This example is more in line with book canon, where the manner of the individual denotes that Confundus Charms merely confuse you. This is exhibited numerous times in the series. Harry had to use "Confundo" on the guards when they needed to bypass the Probity Probes at Gringotts. Barty Crouch Jr. (when he was masquerading as Mad-Eye Moody) claimed that an "exceptionally strong Confundus Charm" would have been needed to "bamboozle" the goblet into forgetting that only three schools were allowed to compete in the Triwizard Tournament.

Then we have this scene, thanks to Hermione:

"I was better than that McLaggen anyway," said Ron in a highly satisfied voice. "Did you see him lumbering off in the wrong direction on his fifth? Looked like he'd been Confunded..."

What confuses me is that JKR definitely knows the difference between the Confundus Charm and the Imperius Curse. So how did this pass any sort of authorial oversight?? She had to know this was wrong. In fact, she mentioned both in the first chapter of Deathly Hallows - in the same scene and within a paragraph:

"My Lord, I have heard differently." Yaxley waited, but Voldemort did not speak, so he went on, "Dawlish, the Auror, let slip that Potter will not be moved until the thirtieth, the night before the boy turns seventeen."

Snape was smiling.

"My source told me that there are plans to lay a false trail; this must be it. No doubt a Confundus Charm has been placed upon Dawlish. It would not be the first time; he is known to be susceptible."

"I assure you, my Lord, Dawlish seemed quite certain," said Yaxley.

"If he has been Confunded, naturally he is certain," said Snape. "I assure you, Yaxley, the Auror Office will play no further part in the protection of Harry Potter. The Order believes that we have infiltrated the Ministry."

And then a moment later:

"Well, Yaxley?" Voldemort called down the table, the firelight glinting strangely in his red eyes. "Will the Ministry have fallen by next Saturday?"

Once again, all heads turned. Yaxley squared his shoulders.

"My Lord, I have good news on that score. I have - with difficulty, and after great effort - succeeded in placing an Imperius Curse upon Pius Thicknesse."

The books make it clear. The Imperius Curse controls the victim of the magic, which is why the curse is unforgivable. Delphi was controlling Amos Diggory, not confunding him. Confundus is meant to confuse and disorient. They actually got it right in the second scene of the play when addressing Ron's driving test:

HARRY: Parked all right, then?

RON: I did. Hermione didn't believe I could pass a Muggle driving test, did you? She thought I'd have to Confund the examiner.

HERMIONE: I thought nothing of the kind, I have complete faith in you.

ROSE: And I have complete faith he did Confund the examiner.

RON: Oi!

Of course, if you recall, this scene is from the epilogue of Deathly Hallows. So, JKR was still holding the reins and made sure everything was canon. It's only when she gave up the reins that things went haywire. Word to the wise... if you're getting paid millions to write a play based on books about something as AWESOME as magic, at least get the FREAKING MAGIC RIGHT!!

(Uh-oh, Mike's getting frustrated again. What's coming? Something is coming. Something worse, I think.)

The Fidelius Charm

JKR: It's canon!!!

Me: "Canon" that directly contradicts canon? That doesn't make sense. A color cannot be purple and also be yellow.

JKR: Still canon.

SO MUCH of the Harry Potter series is based on the aftermath of ONE particular moment - when Voldemort was able to enter the home of Lily and James Potter with the intention of killing the child who was prophesied to destroy him. JKR went back to this moment time and again, layering different meaning and magic into this crystallized event because it's so significant. A boy, a baby boy, defeated the greatest evil alive by resisting a killing curse to the forehead. No wand. No spells to voice because he couldn't talk. It's a beautiful scene. It speaks of malice and loss, of sacrifice and bravery, of betrayal and guilt. And most of these emotions can't be felt until later books when you're allowed to see what had taken place from different points of view.

This is the cornerstone of the franchise. This singularity. And yet the play completely botches it. Because the Potters were under the protection of a Fidelius Charm. For a clearer understanding of my frustration, I'll give you a refresher course from the Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 10.

"Well, of course, You-Know-Who wasn't an easy person to hide from. Dumbledore told them that their best chance was the Fidelius Charm."

"How does that work?" said Madam Rosmerta, breathless with interest.

Professor Flitwick cleared his throat. "An immensely complex spell... As long as the Secret-Keeper refused to speak, You-Know-Who could search the village where Lily and James were staying for years and never find them, not even if he had his nose pressed against their sitting room window!"

The house was protected by the Fidelius Charm. This means that when the trio, Draco, Albus, and Scorpius traveled back in time, they wouldn't have been able to see it. Haha, nope. This super-duper "canon" play allows the characters to do whatever they want. They all spot the house as if it's no big deal. No, the protection would STILL BE IN EFFECT. It's not as if they were just guarding themselves against bad guys or something. They were hidden from EVERYONE EXCEPT THE SECRET KEEPER! That's why Pettigrew's betrayal was enough to get Sirius Black to risk escape from Azkaban.

Here's the gist - The house and its inhabitants were concealed with the Fidelius Charm. It was revealed to Voldemort through Pettigrew, the lone Secret Keeper. Voldemort was able to enter the property and kill the Potters. Only after they had died, was the Fidelius Charm broken. The books make that VERY clear when Harry and Hermione travel to Godric's Hollow in Book 7.

"Harry -"

"Look ... Look at it, Hermione ..."

"I don't ... oh!"

He could see it; the Fidelius Charm must have died with James and Lily. The hedge had grown wild in the sixteen years since Hagrid had taken Harry from the rubble that lay scattered amongst the waist-high grass. Most of the cottage was still standing, though entirely covered in the dark ivy and snow, but the right side of the top floor had been blown apart; that, Harry was sure, was where the curse had backfired.

Okay. So we're clear. This means that the "perfect moment" Thorne wanted to generate during the finale of Cursed Child, where Harry had no choice but to listen to his parents getting killed was COMPLETELY WRONG. They wanted to have that moment in the play so badly that they just tossed all the rules that defined that moment into the trash. Again... Only this is the big one! The play nullified magic that was essential to the entire plot of the Harry Potter saga!!

Here are the revision notes I would have given...

"Not everyone. Just Harry."

By that, I mean if you want the moment SO BADLY, make sure that no one else in the group from the future can hear what's taking place inside the Potter's home. Only Harry can hear it, because the Fidelius Charm was still in effect, meaning that he - ADULT HARRY from the future - was still under its protection in the past. That would mean he, alone, could see his family and hear the tragedy. He, alone, would be powerless to stop it in order to bring about the eventual destruction of Lord Voldemort during his seventh year at Hogwarts. Then, after an explosion rocks the stage and the green glow of the killing curse subsides, make the rest of the group able to see the house, revealing to them that Voldemort's curse backfired and that there were no secrets left to protect because Lily and James had died.

There was a much better way to handle the finale scene. It could have been done in a way that aligned with canon. And I came up with this off the top of my head.