Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Act Two

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. palpable
    capable of being perceived
    HARRY wakes in the darkness, breathing deeply. His exhaustion palpable, his fear overwhelming.
  2. posh
    elegant and fashionable
    She takes her wand back from him.
    (In a posh voice.) “You’re a positively disarming young man.”
  3. significant
    important in effect or meaning
    Okay, second point—more significant point—we’re going back without any knowledge of whether we can travel back afterwards.
  4. deem
    judge or regard in a particular way
    And after the battle, the forest was deemed centaur land.
  5. imperiously
    in a manner showing arrogant superiority
    BANE looks down at HARRY imperiously.
  6. fervor
    the state of being emotionally aroused and worked up
    He begins to search again—now with even more fervor.
  7. bulbous
    rounded and bulging
    And revealed through the trees is HOGWARTS—a splendid mass of bulbous buildings and towers.
  8. mayhem
    violent and needless disturbance
    All I ever wanted to do was go to Hogwarts and have a mate to get up to mayhem with. Just like Harry Potter. And I got his son. How crazily fortunate is that.
  9. proximity
    the property of being close together
    We hear RON’s voice from off—he’s clearly in close proximity.
  10. gait
    a person's manner of walking
    Representing Durmstrang, what eyebrows, what a gait, what a boy, there’s nothing he won’t try on a broomstick, it’s Viktor Krazy Krum.
  11. swoon
    be overwhelmed with ecstasy, especially when encountering something or someone you admire
    The girls swoon as he dives for cover. They cry as one: Don’t damage our Diggory, Mr. Dragon!
  12. incessant
    uninterrupted in time and indefinitely long continuing
    A ticking begins, an incessant, dangerous ticking. It’s coming from the Time-Turner.
  13. crescendo
    a gradual increase in loudness
    There’s a crescendo in the ticking, and a flash.
  14. staid
    characterized by dignity and propriety
    Suddenly the stage is invaded from all sides by HARRY, RON (who now has a side parting in his hair and whose wardrobe choices have become rather more staid), GINNY, and DRACO.
  15. candid
    openly straightforward and direct without secretiveness
    Candidly, Harry, it seemed a great weight to place upon the poor boy.
  16. recuperation
    gradual healing through rest
    For recuperation, Madam Pomfrey wasn’t sure what to prescribe and said you should probably eat lots of—chocolate.
  17. aura
    distinctive but intangible quality around a person or thing
    HARRY looks at ALBUS, trying to see almost an aura around him, thinking deeply.
  18. resurgence
    bringing again into activity and prominence
    And I have very good reason to believe that Dark Magic is in a resurgence and I need to keep you safe from it.
  19. spite
    hurt the feelings of
    Panju bet you that you couldn’t get into Gryffindor if your life depended on it, so you chose Gryffindor to spite him.
  20. feign
    make believe with the intent to deceive
    Albus, whatever you’re feigning, it isn’t working.
  21. gibberish
    unintelligible talking
    Whatever gibberish you’re talking, you need to stop it, now.
  22. vitriol
    abusive or venomous language to express blame or censure
    HARRY: This map will reveal to you where my son is at all times—I expect you to use it. And if I hear you don’t—then I will come down on this school as hard as I can—using the full force of the Ministry—is that understood?
    PROFESSOR McGONAGALL (bewildered by this vitriol): Perfectly.
  23. abscond
    run away, often taking something or somebody along
    Our train absconder. Finally joining us.
  24. affinity
    inherent resemblance between persons or things
    A Patronus is a magical charm, a projection of all your most positive feelings, and takes the shape of the animal with whom you share the deepest affinity.
  25. abject
    most unfortunate or miserable
    At the top, she gestures for SCORPIUS to move.
    He does. And slopes off—his abject loneliness clear.
  26. warily
    in a manner marked by keen caution and watchful prudence
    GINNY and HARRY watch each other warily. There is an argument due, and both of them know it.
  27. antagonize
    provoke the hostility of
    I’m not here to antagonize you. But my son is in tears and I am his father and so I am here to ask why you would keep apart two good friends.
  28. lax
    without rigor or strictness
    I’ve never been to Hogwarts. Pretty lax security here, isn’t there?
  29. haughty
    having or showing arrogant superiority
    Because as much as you might take the word of a haughty centaur, you know the power of friendship.
  30. exasperated
    greatly annoyed; out of patience
    The boys disappear beneath the Cloak. She looks around, exasperated.
  31. fulsome
    unpleasantly and excessively suave or ingratiating
    Albus, as apologies go this is wonderfully fulsome, but you’re starting to talk more about you than me again, so probably better to quit while you’re ahead.
  32. solemnly
    in a serious and dignified manner
    I solemnly swear that I’m up to no good.
  33. moderate
    not extreme
    But then again, I always did have a soft spot for the Potters. And I was moderately partial to a Malfoy too.
  34. antiquated
    so extremely old as seeming to belong to an earlier period
    It breaks every bylaw but this school has always been antiquated.
  35. foliage
    the collective amount of leaves of one or more plants
    ALBUS hands SCORPIUS some green foliage in a bag.
  36. trinket
    a small cheap ornament, knickknack, or piece of jewelry
    He’s using a rather pretty trinket thingy.
  37. plucky
    showing courage
    Viktor’s a shark, of course he is, Fleur looks remarkable, ever plucky Harry is using gillyweed, clever Harry, very clever—and Cedric—well, Cedric, what a treat, ladies and gentlemen, Cedric is using a Bubble Charm to cruise through the lake.
  38. declaim
    recite in a skilled and formal way
    Fly out of the task and out of the tournament and—oh my, it gets wilder still, around Cedric, fireworks explode declaiming—“Ron loves Hermione”—and the crowd love that—oh, ladies and gentlemen, the look on Cedric’s face.
  39. perpetual
    uninterrupted in time and indefinitely long continuing
    Not so much rest in peace, Harry Potter, more rest in perpetual despair.
  40. coup
    a sudden and decisive change of government by force
    Harry Potter died over twenty years ago as part of that failed coup on the school—he was one of those Dumbledore terrorists we bravely overthrew at the Battle of Hogwarts.
Created on Thu Aug 25 11:17:38 EDT 2016 (updated Tue Jul 26 09:02:53 EDT 2022)

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