I saw Cursed Child in London this summer without knowing what to expect (never read the script). I fucking loved it. I traveled to Munich, Paris, Euro Disney, Stratford-upon-Avon and London over the course of a month. I saw old friends and spent time with family. Cursed Child was hands-down the highlight of the whole trip. Certainly the thing that stuck with me the longest. Did the plot make sense? No. Did that subtract from my experience even a little bit? Absolutely not.
Harry Potter was never the reason I breathed like it was for some people. It wasn’t even my main fandom. But I grew up with it. I loved it. Deathly Hallows Part II came out the year I graduated high school. Afterwards, I moved on without much difficulty. Thought about it from time to time because nothing epitomized my childhood and growing up like Harry Potter. And then the opportunity arose to see Cursed Child and I took it. Insisted upon it to my family. One of the best things I ever did.
Because sometime in my 20s I realized I was gay. And as I now know, that’s something I have in common with Albus Potter. Harry Potter’s son, my childhood hero’s son, was gay. As far as me and my 65 year old father are concerned, Albus and Scorpius are as canon as Ron and Hermione. And that matters. It’s more than LGBT representation in Harry Potter. The fact that Harry’s own son is in love with Draco’s son matters so fucking much. It feels good thematically and it feels good for me personally. When it comes to that show, Delfini being Voldemort’s daughter doesn’t matter. A cliche time travel plot doesn’t matter. Voldemort/Bellatrix doesn’t matter. Albus and Scorpius matter. Their love story is the only thing that matters.
I’m sad that even post-covid audiences wanted more from them. Could they have kissed? Sure. Would i have wanted it? Of course, but they also didn’t need to. What I was already given was enough. More than enough. More than I ever thought to ask for or dare to hope for. I’m happy for Albus. So happy. Happy in a way that I wish I could be happy for myself. Not just for having a boyfriend but a best friend. I have been lonely in a way that Albus and Scorpius never had to be. And that makes me happy…and maybe a little bit sad.
Anyway, all this to say, I’ve spent the 5 weeks since I’ve been home losing myself in Scorbus fan fiction. I even wake up early so I can read before work. So if any of my fellow shippers have any recommendations, I would be very grateful.
(Yes, this long emotional post is just an elaborate way to ask for fic recs. Life’s too short for reading mediocre fan fiction. 😉)
