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A general thread for discussion of the Harry Potter books. Any new books set in the same world are also on-topic.

Games, films and other adaptations may be more appropriate for other threads if they're being discussed in isolation.

The HBO tv series has its own thread.

Mod Notes:

  • Media threads are primarily for fans of the works they cover. Not everyone will like everything, of course, and that's especially true in a franchise like Harry Potter. It's fine to say a particular story within the franchise doesn't work for you, or to talk about why it doesn't work for you. But please try not to dwell on the negativity for too long. Complaints shouldn't take up too much space on a thread that's intended for fans.
  • This is a thread to talk about Harry Potter and the content of the stories, not a place to talk about J. K. Rowling's more controversial views. If there's something newsworthy where Rowling's activities become relevant (e.g. it affects her relationship to new Potter works and adaptations), that's fair enough. Otherwise it's all been said already and we don't need to repeat it.

    Original text of OP 

there doesn't seem to be a general HP topic...

Edited by Mrph1 on May 27th 2025 at 9:17:24 AM

CrimsonZephyr Would that it were so simple. from Massachusetts Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
Would that it were so simple.
#9801: Jul 15th 2016 at 10:22:01 AM

Because everyone is grasping for the tiniest nugget of information to discuss. At this point, the franchise has pretty much run dry.

"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."
Cross (Don’t ask)
#9802: Jul 15th 2016 at 9:20:09 PM

So who here learned their Ilvermony house?

lalalei2001 Since: Oct, 2009
#9803: Jul 16th 2016 at 3:44:45 PM

[up] Where do you go to get sorted?

The Protomen enhanced my life.
Cross (Don’t ask)
#9804: Jul 16th 2016 at 5:18:30 PM

Misread, sorry.

[down]Surprised I haven't seen other online versions.

edited 16th Jul '16 11:48:02 PM by Cross

rikalous World's Cutest Direwolf from Upscale Mordor (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
lalalei2001 Since: Oct, 2009
#9806: Jul 27th 2016 at 12:35:59 PM

Reviews for Cursed Child are in! So far they're very positive with only a few negative ones. It seems like everything is amazing EXCEPT the plot and characterizations. XD

https://www.google.com/search?q=cursed+child&site=webhp&source=univ&tbm=nws&tbo=u&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjqkKror5TOAhVO2mMKHa6GDXoQsQQIJA&biw=1024&bih=630

edited 27th Jul '16 1:07:12 PM by lalalei2001

The Protomen enhanced my life.
TamH70 Since: Nov, 2011 Relationship Status: Faithful to 2D
#9807: Jul 27th 2016 at 4:17:24 PM

So the two main parts of the book absolutely suck, squeeze, bang, AND blow? [lol]

...This is going to end well.

KarkatTheDalek Not as angry as the name would suggest. from Somwhere in Time/Space Since: Mar, 2012 Relationship Status: You're a beautiful woman, probably
Not as angry as the name would suggest.
#9808: Jul 27th 2016 at 5:24:08 PM

Well, I mean, it's a play too. Not just a book.

Oh God! Natural light!
Chariot King of Anime Since: Jul, 2014
King of Anime
#9809: Jul 28th 2016 at 5:12:08 AM

Yeah. I'm taking the spoilers with a grain of salt since they sound too out there. I'll see what's up with the play next year when the definitive version of the script comes out.

TamH70 Since: Nov, 2011 Relationship Status: Faithful to 2D
#9810: Jul 28th 2016 at 6:20:58 PM

The book's out in August so I don't see why waiting til next year's going to make any real difference.

lalalei2001 Since: Oct, 2009
#9811: Jul 28th 2016 at 10:32:22 PM

So far the script has a 4.8 rating from 23 reviews.

https://www.google.com/search?q=cursed+child&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

EDIT: The first edition, entitled "Special Rehearsal Edition", corresponded to the script used in the preview shows and was scheduled to be published on 31 July 2016, the date of Harry's birthday in the series and Rowling's birthday, as well. Since revisions to the script continued after the book was printed, an edited version will be released in 2017 as the "Definitive Collector's Edition"

edited 28th Jul '16 10:34:01 PM by lalalei2001

The Protomen enhanced my life.
Silverblade2 Since: Jan, 2013
#9812: Jul 31st 2016 at 11:02:20 AM

Read it. It was disappointing. I'm not going to spoil but it fell like a fanfiction lots of Canon Defilement.

edited 31st Jul '16 11:04:08 AM by Silverblade2

lalalei2001 Since: Oct, 2009
#9813: Jul 31st 2016 at 1:51:19 PM

How does the released play compare with the prerelease script?

The Protomen enhanced my life.
Silverblade2 Since: Jan, 2013
#9814: Jul 31st 2016 at 1:59:38 PM

I didn't read the leak and avoided spoilers so i don't know.

thebandragoness Since: Feb, 2016
#9815: Jul 31st 2016 at 7:26:47 PM

Well, I just read the whole script and I thought it was shit. The only part of it I found decent was that scorpion Malfoy kid. His lines got some chuckles from me, but I'm honestly pissed that they had to make him attracted to Rose, who's barely even in the story, just to make it absolutely clear that HE'S TOTALLY STRAIGHT AND NOT GAY FOR ALBUS AT ALL!!!1! It would've been much bolder if Albus and Scorpius had had a Big Damn Kiss right at the end. That really would've added some much-needed weight to their relationship. Lord knows the subtext was thick enough...

But yeah, other than Scorpius, I thoroughly hated it. The only part I genuinely enjoyed was laughing my pants off at the So Bad, It's Good stuff like the time-travel plot, the trolley lady being badass, Voldemort and Bellatrix having a never-before-foreshadowed love child, the audacity of Scorpius time traveling to when Snape was alive and running up to him and yelling, "I KNOW YOU WERE IN LOVE WITH MY GRANDMA!" with the stage directions describing Snape as "overwhelmed" at it, and, of course, the entire concept of "Voldemort Day."

But then there had to go and be some needlessly creepy parts, too, like Albus polyjuicing himself into Ron to steal the Time-Turner, and then making out with Hermione. At first it looks like he's merely doing it to distract her, but then it's implied he kissed her way more times than necessary and Scorpius considers giving him a high-five for it. Hermione's basically objectified and molested by her own nephew-in-law, and it's treated as a joke. The whole thing lightly implies that Albus has sexual thoughts about his aunt. And then there's the bullshit where Albus is unpopular at school, and Ron gives him a love potion to give himself a girlfriend. Yes, Ron gave Albus a date rape drug so he could brainwash himself a girlfriend (Though to be fair, the whole love potion rape issue is in the original books, too).

I was really hoping this script would rekindle my love for Harry Potter, but all it's done is solidify my opinion that everything after Goblet of Fire is trash.

Aaaaaaand I'm mentally considering this play non-canon in three... two... one... Poof. Gone from my headcanon.

edited 31st Jul '16 7:35:59 PM by thebandragoness

I've got Frozen, Spectacular Spider-Man, Crash, Spyro, and Paper Mario fanfics.
MapleSamurai Since: Aug, 2014 Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
#9816: Jul 31st 2016 at 8:40:16 PM

[up]Wait... J.K. Rowling actually wrote that? Because that sounds more like a bad "Next Generation" HP fanfic... and it's actually a canon piece of Harry Potter media?!

CrimsonZephyr Would that it were so simple. from Massachusetts Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
Would that it were so simple.
#9817: Jul 31st 2016 at 8:46:16 PM

[up][up]What.

"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."
thebandragoness Since: Feb, 2016
#9818: Jul 31st 2016 at 8:46:30 PM

[up][up]Oh, I seriously doubt J.K. Rowling wrote this. The character voices almost never match the ones from the original books. Apparently, it was written by J. K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, John Tiffany, but I think it was more like Rowling made a general outline and then the other two did the actual writing. But even then, it's not like Rowling is totally blameless. I'm sure if there were aspects of the play that Rowling didn't like, she had the power to veto them. She's declared that the play is 100% canon.

But apparently, the script is gonna undergo some revisions (It needs them, to put it mildly), so the newer version might supersede this draft eventually. There's also the possibility that Rowling might write an official novelization or something, in which case the novel would probably replace the play as canon.

There's also the glaring continuity error of Hermione being black, which obviously makes the play irreconcilable with the original books.

edited 31st Jul '16 8:46:46 PM by thebandragoness

I've got Frozen, Spectacular Spider-Man, Crash, Spyro, and Paper Mario fanfics.
lalalei2001 Since: Oct, 2009
#9819: Jul 31st 2016 at 9:49:14 PM

The published script is apparently different in some ways from the one that's being performed. The latter will be released next year.

Also I can't help but laugh at the second entry on this page. Headscratchers.Harry Potter And The Cursed Child

The Protomen enhanced my life.
Shadao Dorzma Forever! Artwork by Kris Dobbins. (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
Dorzma Forever! Artwork by Kris Dobbins.
#9820: Jul 31st 2016 at 10:13:51 PM

I've just read the spoilers and all I can say is....

Is this even canon? Okay, the whole Albus gets sorted into Slytherin is an interesting premise on itself and having pair up with Malfoy's kid is an interesting twist on the relationship between the Potters and the Malfoys. But then the Time Travel plot happens, and I had to double check that I'm not reading a fan fiction posing as the Cursed Child.

And now I worry that Voldemort's secret Love Child would open gateways to other Evil Overlord having a love child that we don't know about. Noooo! Such as Rey being the granddaughter of Darth Sidious, which implies Palpatine had se- Agggh!!!

And this is why I hate time travels in stories like these. They have a tendency to virtually create a screwed up Timey-Wimey Ball scenario that makes you wonder how does ever get resolve without sounding like really bad fan fiction. My head hurts. Can I have a good time traveling plot about Anakin averting his destiny as Darth Vader please?

TheAirman Brightness from The vicinity of an area adjacent to a location Since: Feb, 2011 Relationship Status: Historians will say we were good friends.
Brightness
#9821: Jul 31st 2016 at 10:48:16 PM

So I just read about this and I'm laughing my ass off. Though, I do actually kind of like the Voldemort straight up wins if Neville dies part.

PSN ID: FateSeraph | Switch friendcode: SW-0145-8835-0610 Congratulations! She/They
Silverblade2 Since: Jan, 2013
#9822: Jul 31st 2016 at 11:28:56 PM

Of all things, I think the most insulting part was the idea that Cedric Diggory would have become a Death Eater and kill Nevill if he had lost the tournement.

I agree that the time travel plot has been done to death. Not to mention the blatant Meanwhile, in the Future… which is one of my Pet Peve Trope.

TamH70 Since: Nov, 2011 Relationship Status: Faithful to 2D
#9823: Aug 1st 2016 at 2:26:39 AM

Face it folks, this was Rowling's writing. Do you seriously think it would have been published otherwise? And please don't denigrate good fan fic like "Oh God, Not Again" by comparing it to this drek like I just did. tongue Because that had Time Travel done right, and it was as funny as fuck for all the right reasons.

Unlike this which seems to be nothing more than attempt to subvert the usual Torch the Franchise and Run cliché by trying to do it to the Fanbase instead.

zsmg Since: Jul, 2011
#9824: Aug 1st 2016 at 4:22:36 AM

I thought it was okay, it had elements I like and elements I didn't like.

CrimsonZephyr Would that it were so simple. from Massachusetts Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
Would that it were so simple.
#9825: Aug 1st 2016 at 6:47:30 AM

I think Rowling's simply burnt out on Harry Potter. The franchise has run its course.

"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."

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