Merlin #bless us all. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has caused quite a stir on the internet today since the first cast photo was released. But in our panic, we may have missed one very important plot detail: Albus Severus' robes in the photo. In fact, this might be one of the biggest Harry Potter and the Cursed Child spoilers yet.
The first thing I'll say is that this is all speculation on my part - if there are actual spoilers on the internet, trust me, I'll be the last one you hear. I believe in the sanctity of fandom, y’all. But since this is public, and I've appointed myself Nancy Drew as the No-Maj for the day, I couldn't help but notice that Albus Severus Potter's school uniform was missing one extremely important detail: Hogwarts s home. He has no scarf, badge or tie bearing any known family colors - and believe me, my friends, this is no accident.
If there's any doubt about this, we can tell it straight from the horse's mouth. “I have a lot to say about Sam’s performance as Albus,” JK Rowling said in praising Sam Klemett, the actor who plays Albus, “but we’re going to get into spoiler territory soon, so I just want to say we couldn't have played better."
Spoiler territory, huh? Spoilers for the fact that Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley's son Albus Severus Potter is actually a Slytherin?
Before I delve into this theory (and trust me, friends, I will), I should acknowledge one little thing that may be controversial. Sam Klemett said of the outfit and his pose in the photo: "This is what Albus was wearing at the beginning of the show. I think he was wearing James' - his brother's - Old clothes. So I wanted him to feel uncomfortable and play with his clothes."
Of course, James Potter's old clothes meant he was wearing Gryffindor robes. But come to think of it, all the first years are wearing unmarked robes purchased in Diagon Alley. Only after being sorted do they wear the colors of their house. One might say this is a pre-sorted photo of Albus, which doesn't really tell us much.
But here's the thing: that doesn't make it any less thoughtful, nor does it make JK Rowling's silence on Albus's sorting any less thoughtful. When you examine all the other little pieces of evidence that pile up, Slytherin Albus seems less like a possibility and more like an inevitability.
JK Rowling planted the seed nine years ago
"What if I'm in Slytherin?" The whisper was directed only at his father, and Harry knew that only the moment of departure would force Albus to reveal how great and genuine this fear was. Harry knelt down so that Albus's face was slightly higher than his. Albus was the only one of Harry's three children to inherit Lily's eyes.
"Albus Severus," Harry said softly so that no one could hear except Ginny, who cleverly pretended to wave to Rose on the train, "are you the Hogwarts?" One of them was Slytherin, probably the bravest man I've ever known."
First of all, JK Rowling, in her entire creation of Harry Potter , never gave us superfluous information in a scene of this magnitude. Books published a decade later often include references to mundane ideas that we didn't know were relevant to the plot. It's no accident that Albus had the same anxieties as his father at his age, and I fully believe Rowling used that scene to foreshadow him becoming a Slytherin - even though she had no plans to write Cursed Child at the time. In fact, it may have been this scene that inspired her to write the play.
But more importantly, Rowling left a gaping hole after the last book: Slytherin's Redemption. We see that even 19 years after the war, there is still such widespread stigma attached to their house. The fact that Harry defended Slytherin so staunchly seemed to go some way to determining Albus's fate in redeeming the house after the war. But more on that later because I also have something specific to say.
Albus's condition naturally leads to Slytherin tendencies
Albus's being sorted into Slytherin was not so much a contrast between nature and nurture as it was a contrast between nature and nurture. For example, we know that being a Slytherin is arguably his nature; Harry himself was almost sorted into Slytherin. But when you consider that Albus Severus lived not only his entire life in the shadow of golden boy and Gryffindor James Sirius, but also an incredibly large family legacy and one of the most controversial in history. In the shadow of the two wizards' namesakes, then his existence would make sense. Will long for an identity that is entirely his own. And it is this desire that breeds cunning, ambition, creativity and resourcefulness... in other words, the perfect recipe for Slytherin.
If anyone doubts that these are the dilemmas Albus will face in the show, take a look back at the sparse information JK Rowling released about the plot in 2015:
As Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay put, his youngest son Albus must contend with the weight of his unwanted family legacy. As the past and present ominously merge, both father and son learn an uncomfortable truth: Sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.
Will past and present merge in an ominous way? Let your children be sorted into the house from which nearly all enemies come, and let that son try to reconcile that with the burden of his family's legacy. Y'all, it's going to get really dark in here, and I haven't even finished explaining why.
The plot most likely involves Scorpio Malfoy
We know that Draco Malfoy is confirmed to be a returning character from the show, following a tweet from JK Rowling showing the specs of Draco Malfoy's wand. That means one of these adorable grinning kids is undoubtedly young Scorpio Malfoy - who, by the way, is in the same year as Albus and will almost certainly go into Slytherin. Thus, past and present merge again on a large scale.
I further believe that Scorpio will play a role in this, as Draco Malfoy was never truly redeemed in the series despite having a relatable enough scene on the train platform. We know he doesn't have a job, per se , and spends a lot of time wandering around the Malfoy mansion and examining the family's dark artifacts (although it's mentioned that he doesn't use them). We know that he has seen the error of his ways and that his parents did not actually approve of his marriage. These little insights hint that Draco Malfoy has changed, but the minor "villain" in Harry Potter's life - the one who instigated many terrible things in books six and seven - —never found redemption.
Personally, I think this will be resolved through the enemy-to-friend relationship between Albus and Scorpius. This will somehow cycle between Harry and Draco, forcing them to deal with their own problems and demons. Albus being sorted into Slytherin naturally facilitated this.
We need someone to bring honor to Slytherin House
I think that's what happened. We know that Harry's godson Teddy Lupin is a Hufflepuff. We know that James Sirius Potter was sorted into Gryffindor. I fully believe Albus will be sorted into Slytherin and Lily Luna Potter will most likely be sorted into Ravenclaw. This way, each of Harry Potter's children (even the non-biological ones) would end up in a different house, as some way of unifying the houses. It's the ending fans have been looking for since the Battle of Hogwarts, finally sealed by our heroes' legacy. The shame of the past will finally begin to fade away, and Albus Severus will become the champion of it all - through which he finally frees himself from his family's legacy by creating his own.
For more information on Harry Potter and the Cursed Child , check out the official website here.
Image: Courtesy of Charlie Gray; Warner Bros.
