J.K. Rowling Drops Cursed Child Hints

Cursed Child spoilers may be splashed across the internet, but J.K. Rowling remains cryptic on the plot, and so these hints may raise more questions than they answer.

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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has had fans talking since it was announced, but those involved with production have remained staunchly closed-lipped on everything from actors to plot. J.K. Rowling has played her “mum’s the word” card at every hand, and has encouraged preview audiences to do the same. But all’s fair in love and internet, and as such full synopses of Cursed Child have been available online since opening night of the play’s previews on June 7.

While a quick search will take you to the spoilers you’re looking for, Rowling relented in her tireless efforts to #KeepTheSecrets and revealed two tidbits to Event Magazine. (Ed Note: these tidbits match some of the ones posted on Pottermore, so they are officially sanctioned.)

Nothing says “intrigue” quite like information from the source herself… even if that information doesn’t tell us much.

WARNING: Potential Cursed Child spoilers follow

WHY MUST YOU SPOIL EVERYTHING!?!

This is your last chance. If you don’t want to know, turn back now…

Rowling’s handwritten notes, and our thoughts on them, are as follows:

• “Harry looking suitably burdened.”

This much fans have already surmised for themselves. There’s no story without conflict, and it’s rather widely acknowledged—with or without an official continuation of his story—that Harry would be tackling some major PTSD. So whatever the actual conflict of the play is, “Harry looking suitably burdened” is pretty much an ace in the hole, not to mention this jives with Cursed Child’s official synopsis.

• “The absences say as much as the presences.”

This one is a little more substantial, as it implies that the characters we haven’t gotten a peek at yet are just as important as those we have seen—or, at least, the lack of those characters indicate something about the plot. So far we’ve only seen three incomplete family portraits: The Potters, sans James and Lily juniors; the Granger-Weasleys, minus Hugo; and the Malfoys, with a conspicuous lack of Astoria.

The latter may suggest that the rumors are true, and Astoria is dead before the real heart of the eighth story begins (a huge disappointment, by the way, and one canonical tidbit I’ll be ignoring for the sake of fanfiction and my own emotional well-being, as I’m rather attached to what we know of Astoria). But what about the lack of photos of James, Lily, and Hugo? According to spoilers, the other Potter children make an appearance on stage, but Hugo hasn’t cropped up in any leaked information that I’ve seen so far.

That’s not to say I’m donning a tinfoil hat here—not at all. It’s more likely that Rowling may be leading us astray with this particular hint, and the publicity shots of Albus, Scorpius, and Rose indicate that they’re the main cogs to the Cursed Child story, so they’re getting more press than their costars. Meanwhile, everything that can survive under wraps will stay that way until the official opening night of the play, and simultaneous release of the script book, on July 31.

Next: Cursed Child Creators Don't Want to Disappoint Fans

What’s the word, fellow Potterheads? Do the absences of these characters mean something in the big picture of the play? Are you in the mood for a conspiracy theory, or are JKR’s hints just another way to pique fandom interest?