El corazón digital Harry Potter

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ROSE: Mum! Dad’s doing that lame thing again.

HERMIONE: You say lame, he says glorious, I say —

somewhere in between.

RON: Hang on. Let me just munch this . . . air. And now it’s

just a simple matter of . . . Excuse me if I smell

slightly of garlic . . .

He breathes on her face. LILY giggles.

LILY: You smell of porridge.

RON: Bing. Bang. Boing. Young lady, get ready to not being

able to smell at all . . .

He lifts her nose off.

LILY: Where’s my nose?

RON: Ta-da!

His hand is empty. It’s a lame trick. Everyone

enjoys its lameness.

LILY: You are silly.

ALBUS: Everyone’s staring at us again.

RON: Because of me! I’m extremely famous. My nose

experiments are legendary!

HERMIONE: They’re certainly something.

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!

ALBUS: Dad . . .

ALBUS pulls on HARRY’s robes. HARRY looks down.

Do you think — what if I am — what if I’m put in

Slytherin . . .

HARRY: And what would be wrong with that?

ALBUS: Slytherin is the House of the snake, of Dark

Magic . . . It’s not a House of brave wizards.

HARRY: Albus Severus, you were named after two

headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a

Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever

knew.

ALBUS: But just say . . .

HARRY: If it matters to you, you, the Sorting Hat will take

your feelings into account.

ALBUS: Really?

HARRY: It did for me.

This is something he’s never said before, it

resonates around his head a moment.

Hogwarts will be the making of you, Albus. I

promise you, there is nothing to be frightened of

there.

JAMES: Apart from the Thestrals. Watch out for the

Thestrals.

ALBUS: I thought they were invisible!

HARRY: Listen to your professors, don’t listen to James,

and remember to enjoy yourself. Now, if you don’t

want this train to leave without you, you should leap

on . . .

LILY: I’m going to chase the train out.

GINNY: Lily, come straight back.

HERMIONE: Rose. Remember to send Neville our love.

ROSE: Mum, I can’t give a professor love!

ROSE exits for the train. And then ALBUS turns and

hugs GINNY and HARRY one last time before following

after her.

ALBUS: Okay, then. Bye.

He climbs on board. HERMIONE, GINNY, RON, and

HARRY stand watching the train — as whistles blow

up and down the platform.

GINNY: They’re going to be okay, right?

HERMIONE: Hogwarts is a big place.

RON: Big. Wonderful. Full of food. I’d give anything to be

going back.

HARRY: Strange, Al being worried he’ll be sorted into

Slytherin.

HERMIONE: That’s nothing, Rose is worried whether she’ll

break the Quidditch scoring record in her first or

second year. And how early she can take her

O.W.L.s.

RON: I have no idea where she gets her ambition from.

GINNY: And how would you feel, Harry, if Al — if he is?

RON: You know, Gin, we always thought there was a

chance you could be sorted into Slytherin.

GINNY: What?

RON: Honestly, Fred and George ran a book.

HERMIONE: Can we go? People are looking, you know.

GINNY: People always look when you three are together.

And apart. People always look at you.

The four exit. GINNY stops HARRY.

Harry . . . He’ll be all right, won’t he?

HARRY: Of course he will.

ACT ONE, SCENE THREE

THE HOGWARTS EXPRESS

ALBUS and ROSE walk along the carriage of the train.

The TROLLEY WITCH approaches, pushing her trolley.

TROLLEY WITCH: Anything from the trolley, dears?