Slytherins are a cunning lot, and there are all kinds of examples of Albus Potter using his wiles to come up with schemes and plans worthy of any member of Salazar’s house throughout Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Just think of the first time we ever meet him – he’s already trying to plan for if the Sorting Hat tries to place him in the house of the snake.
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.’
By his fourth year, Albus has got bigger plans than politely asking the Sorting Hat to take his choice into account. Using his full Slytherin cunning, he manages to get himself and Scorpius off of the Hogwarts Express, and into St Oswald’s – no mean feat – and join forces with the alluring Delphi. And let’s not forget his scheming with Polyjuice Potion and illegal Time-Turners. When everything reaches a head near the end of Cursed Child, Albus comes up with a genius scheme to send a message to his dad – from the past to the future – by way of a very special blanket. This Potter has a sharp and shrewd mind worthy of any member of Slytherin house.
Escaping off a moving magical train by way of the terrifying Trolley Witch? No problem. Bringing Cedric Diggory back to life by way of an object that is both illegal and highly dangerous? Why not? Breaking into the Ministry of Magic disguised as your Dad’s best friend? What could possibly go wrong? Communicating with your father in the future when you’re stuck at a point in his past when he couldn’t even walk yet? Albus Potter is on the case. Arguably, Albus is even more ambitious than his father when it comes to his own ability to accomplish near-on impossible tasks. But perhaps Albus’s greatest – most secret – ambition, is to feel his father’s love and respect – not as a result of Albus pretending to be someone Harry wants him to be, but through his own achievements. An ambition which, in the end, is realised.
Pride is a key Slytherin trait, and arguably Albus has it in cauldrons. Sometimes this is to his advantage, like when he takes pride in having a friend like Scorpius Malfoy, who is funny and clever and kind, no matter what the rumours say about him and his parentage. At other times, his pride comes before his fall in quite catastrophic ways. Remember when, so proud of the brilliant plan they’ve come up with – and probably wanting to succeed in front of Delphi – he refuses to heed warnings from Scorpius, about the difficulties of saving Cedric and messing with time? Yeah. That didn’t go so well. Voldemort Day. That’s all we’re saying.
It takes Albus a while to be proud of his house too, but he accepts it long before his fellow students – or indeed, his father does. We love this exchange between Scorpius and Albus and we hope Slytherins all cheered and glowed with house pride when they heard it:
Scorpius: ‘Did you really think she’d come to us? Potters don’t belong in Slytherin.’
Albus: ‘This one does.’
Not necessarily one of the most famous traits of Slytherin house, but Harry said it himself on platform nine and three-quarters when Albus questioned him about the Sorting Ceremony:
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.’
You would need some serious courage to spy on one of the most dangerous Dark wizards of all time – especially for as long as Snape did it. But that’s not the only kind of bravery he showed. The courage to love, the courage to carry on, the courage to trust Dumbledore. Snape showed all of this bravery, and he was head of Slytherin house at one time. And Albus Potter, who shares his middle name with the mysterious Potions master, demonstrates a lot of bravery throughout Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. He faces all kinds of monsters, from the Trolley Witch to Delphi herself. A particularly brave moment was when he stood up to her without a second thought:
Albus: ‘We won’t. We won’t obey you. Whoever you are. Whatever you want us to do.’
Delphi: ‘Of course you will.’
Albus: ‘You’ll have to use Imperio. You’ll have to control me.’
Sounds quite a bit like his dad, Harry there, doesn’t he?
