Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Act One

by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter now has children of his own, but when his son Albus begins school at Hogwarts, it seems that the past is returning to haunt them both.

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. laden
    filled with a great quantity
    Amongst the hustle and bustle, two large cages rattle on top of two laden trolleys.
  2. progeny
    the immediate descendants of a person
    And which is also busy—but instead of people in sharp suits going about their day—it’s now wizards and witches in robes mostly trying to work out how to say good-bye to their beloved progeny.
  3. resonate
    produce a deep, clear sound
    This is something he’s never said before, it resonates around his head a moment.
  4. affront
    treat, mention, or speak to rudely
    ROSE: That’s putting it mildly. Your mum and dad are Death Eaters!
    SCORPIUS (affronted): Dad was—but Mum wasn’t.
  5. rubbish
    nonsensical talk or writing
    It’s probably rubbish. I mean...look, you’ve got a nose.
  6. profound
    of the greatest intensity; complete
    There’s a silence.
    A perfect, profound silence.
  7. discombobulated
    having self-possession upset; thrown into confusion
    ALBUS (thoroughly discombobulated): Right. Yes.
  8. shirk
    avoid one's assigned duties
    Come on, now, I’ve no time for shirkers. Say “UP.” “UP” like you mean it.
  9. mercilessly
    without pity
    We’re back on platform nine and three-quarters and time has ticked on mercilessly.
  10. proffer
    present for acceptance or rejection
    The OVER-ATTENTIVE WIZARD proffers something for HARRY to sign—he signs it.
  11. dither
    make a fuss; be agitated
    Slythering Slytherin, stop with your dithering, time to get onto the train.
  12. relentless
    not willing or able to stop or yield
    The other Hogwarts students tease Scorpius about it relentlessly—if the Ministry could release a statement reaffirming that all Time-Turners were destroyed in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries...
  13. partial
    showing favoritism
    And I’m pleased to announce Gryffindor’s newest member of the Quidditch team—our—(she realizes she can’t be partial) your superb new Chaser—Rose Granger-Weasley.
  14. irrelevance
    the lack of a relation of something to the matter at hand
    Albus Potter. An irrelevance. Even portraits turn the other way when he comes up the stairs.
  15. sallow
    unhealthy looking
    And with that, time moves ever onwards—ALBUS’s eyes become darker, his face grows more sallow.
  16. surly
    unfriendly and inclined toward anger or irritation
    Al—Albus, I’ve been exchanging owls with Professor McGonagall—she says you’re isolating yourself—you’re uncooperative in lessons—you’re surly—you’re—
  17. transfigure
    completely change the nature or appearance of
    Transfigure myself into a better student? Just cast a spell, Dad, and change me into what you want me to be, okay?
  18. alluring
    highly attractive and able to arouse hope or desire
    HARRY reveals the Time-Turner. It shines out alluringly.
  19. prevail
    use persuasion successfully
    I wanted to try it out there and then but wiser heads prevailed.
  20. implication
    a meaning that is not expressly stated but can be inferred
    HARRY hears the implication in her emphasis, he nods.
  21. rueful
    feeling or expressing pain or sorrow
    ALBUS (rueful grin): Albus.
  22. behalf
    as the agent of or on someone's part
    The poor orphan who went on to save us all. So may I say—on behalf of wizarding kind—how grateful we are for your heroism.
  23. draught
    a dose of liquid medicine
    Do you want a Sleeping Draught?
  24. viaduct
    a segmented, elevated bridge carrying a road over a valley
    As I calculate it we should be approaching the viaduct soon and then it’ll be a short hike to St. Oswald’s Home for Old Witches and Wizards.
  25. nonchalantly
    in a composed and unconcerned manner
    SCORPIUS points ALBUS in the right direction, and now he can see the TROLLEY WITCH, who approaches nonchalantly, pushing her trolley.
  26. crony
    a close friend or associate
    Never—never—have I let anyone off this train before they reached their destination. Some have tried—Sirius Black and his cronies, Fred and George Weasley. ALL HAVE FAILED.
  27. impression
    an imitative portrayal of a person
    And how better to get everyone whispering the Potter name again than with (he does an impression of HARRY) “my scar is hurting, my scar is hurting.”
  28. sham
    something that is a counterfeit; not what it seems to be
    Well, I, for one, think this meeting a sham. And I’m leaving.
  29. ominously
    in a manner suggesting something bad will happen
    He raises his wand ominously.
  30. allegation
    a formal accusation against somebody
    My owl came back with a letter containing one simple sentence: “Tell your husband to refute these allegations about my son once and for all.”
  31. residue
    matter that remains after something has been removed
    There is a—slight—(She burps again, she turns into HERMIONE.) Slight—overpowering—fishy residue.
  32. cretin
    a person of subnormal intelligence
    The sort of cretins pursuing Dark Magic now...
  33. instill
    teach and impress by frequent repetitions or admonitions
    And Scorpius is a follower, not a leader, despite everything I’ve tried to instill in him.
  34. kerfuffle
    a disorderly outburst or tumult
    There’s a small kerfuffle and then ALBUS/RON ends up standing outside the door as HERMIONE and HARRY enter from off.
  35. puckish
    naughtily or annoyingly playful
    It’s why you married me, isn’t it? My puckish sense of fun.
  36. necromancy
    conjuring up the dead, especially for prophesying
    Shadows and Spirits. The Nightshade Guide to Necromancy.
  37. divination
    the art or gift of prophecy by supernatural means
    My Eyes and How to See Past Them by Sybill Trelawney. A book on Divination. Hermione Granger hates Divination.
  38. grubby
    thickly covered with ingrained dirt
    The second is the less fair of those that walk on two legs.
    Grubby, hairy, a disease of the egg.
  39. elude
    escape, either physically or mentally
    The books reach out and grab ALBUS. He only just eludes their grasp.
  40. effusive
    uttered with unrestrained enthusiasm
    DELPHI/HERMIONE (effusively): Men! De-men...tors. We need to find a book on dementors.
Created on Thu Aug 25 11:03:01 EDT 2016 (updated Tue Jul 26 09:02:43 EDT 2022)

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