GODRIC'S HOLLOW, SAINT JEROME'S GRAVEYARD — VARYING YEARS

Pale moonlight glistens over the headstones of a lonely graveyard. It looks serene and welcoming. Quiet. HARRY trips onto the stage, nearly sideways, wiping tears from his eyes. He drops his glasses, then falls trying to pick them up. He crawls for a moment. He stops.

HARRY (croaking): Here. This is the place, here.

He takes out the Time-Turner. He spins it. There is a jolt of sound and light, and then... HARRY is in a different time. He is shadowed by two statues. One is a man with glasses and wild hair, another is a woman with a gentle smile. And in her arms, a baby boy. It is the Potters' gravestone. HARRY sniffs and spins the Time-Turner again. The atmospheric chaos lasts a bit longer this time.

When it stops, there are two new grave markers on the same stone. HARRY's chest rises and falls as he pockets the Time-Turner. It's present-day Godric's Hollow. He approaches and then sits by the graves of his wife and son, trying hard to fight the emotions as they come to him but succumbing all the same. He reads the shared gravestone.

"Ginny Potter and Albus Potter. Mother and Son."

HARRY swipes the tall grass away from the bottom and reads the epitaph.

"There are all kinds of courage."

HARRY nods. He places a hand on the top of the gravestone. He rises and takes a step back.

You should be the ones standing here, not me. I miss you. I miss you both so much. (beat) I can't believe this has happened. How dark it's gotten. They're hunting me now. Both sides, for different reasons. There's nowhere else I can go. At least you're free of it.

HARRY looks off to the wings.

I saw my dad, at the window. And my mother, she looked beautiful. It's tough to live with people stuck in the past. (beat) Why was I so determined to do this? To fight so hard that I lost sight of what matters most?

Suddenly a familiar owl enters the graveyard — TEDDY's owl. It swoops in low and lands on the statue of LILY POTTER.

You! You stubborn, flea-ridden...! How many times must I...?

HARRY swipes a hand at the owl. He slips in the grass. The owl hops down to a lower perch as HARRY regains his balance.

Shoo! Shoo, I said!

He stares at the owl. It bites down on a ragged letter that's covered in blemishes and bobs its head at HARRY.

I don't want to read it! Don't you understand? If I read it, that means he's not coming back!

A gentle choral melody plays as HARRY's shoulders slump. It is accompanied by very slow and simple piano. HARRY finally accepts the letter with a nod. The owl drops the letter. It hoots in relief as it sets off hard away. HARRY opens the letter. Before he can read it, a SOOTHING VOICE is heard.

SOOTHING VOICE (from off): There's no need.

HARRY whirls in place, eyes awkwardly wide. A confused smile forms, but quickly dissipates. HARRY is met by a magnificent-looking ghost who enters between the graves. It is the silvery form of a young man, 20s and handsome — the ghost of TEDDY LUPIN.

HARRY (whining): No...

TEDDY: Hi, Dad.

HARRY: Teddy, no!

HARRY falls to his knees. He is shattered.

NO! You're not dead...!

TEDDY (sorrowful): It's true.

The choral music builds. The simple piano carries on over it.

HARRY (openly weeping now): I can't... I can't live without the three of you — I can't!

TEDDY: You'll learn how. In time.

HARRY: How long have you been... this way?

TEDDY: A while.

HARRY: Why didn't you come to me sooner?

TEDDY: I thought it was better to wait. Until you were ready.

HARRY bobs in place. He shakes his head in woeful agreement.

HARRY: I've never been good at goodbyes.

TEDDY: I know.

HARRY: Every owl I saw... I could feel your absence. I feared — but your mother, she — that's why I never... (he lifts up the torn envelope) But I should have. I kept this from her. That was selfish of me.

TEDDY: You wanted to give her hope.

TEDDY joins his dad in front of their graves.

I come here. Just to be near them. When I can.

He gestures down to the headstone.

"There are all kinds of courage." I like that.

HARRY: She made being brave very easy, your mother.

TEDDY: But that was — another you.

HARRY: Yes. I'm not — I'm nothing like...

HARRY struggles to speak.

I'm so sorry, Teddy. Whatever they did to you, I'm sorry. We knew nothing about The Tempest and you are the only Auror that could've done the job. And I — I was trying to make a world in which my family could live a happier life.

TEDDY: You know more about them now, don't you?

HARRY: More than I'd like to admit. It was their Dark Mark that gave you away, wasn't it?

TEDDY: No. They didn't trust me from the start. It was like they knew I was working for the Ministry. Wasn't until after my life had ended that I realized there was an informer in the department.

HARRY: Not just our department, son. They've infiltrated — everywhere.

TEDDY: I thought as much. I heard a lot from the room they kept me in at Grimmauld Place.

HARRY: Did you know their leader is the heir of Lord Voldemort?

TEDDY: Yes. A daughter. The child was kept hidden from the wizarding world, and now she's — well now she's...

HARRY: The Augurey.

TEDDY: Yes. Dad, she has an unyielding ideology and wants to dismantle the social order. The Augurey has every detail planned and The Tempest carried out her plan in very small steps over a matter of twenty years. No one, not even Lord Blitzfanger... could've seen this coming.

HARRY: So, you know?

TEDDY: It didn't make sense to me. You always said the Horcrux was destroyed.

HARRY: I thought it was, but...

HARRY touches the scar on his forehead.

TEDDY: They practically worship you. The Augurey more so.

HARRY: Have you seen her?

TEDDY: Not without the mask.

HARRY: We need to find out who she is — now. I don't know what else to do to stop this.

TEDDY: It may be too late for that.

HARRY: Teddy...

He's unsure how to say the words.

What did they do to your brother?

TEDDY looks cautiously at HARRY.

TEDDY: Are you sure you want to know?

HARRY: Tell me, Teddy.

TEDDY: Rodolphus Lestrange broke him out of prison. He knew it was Albus. And he was able to bypass the Dementors — somehow. A secret that died with them both. Al was already unrecognizable as Pariah Prince. But they still used the former body of Lord Voldemort to permanently alter his appearance. I saw the transformation take place. It was... macabre.

HARRY: How? Necromancy? That would require a knowledge of very Dark Magic.

TEDDY: It wasn't Necromancy.

HARRY: Then what? How did Albus look like Voldemort without using Transfiguration or Polyjuice Potion?

TEDDY: It was a form of Polyjuice.

HARRY: But... But he was stuck — as Voldemort — forever?

TEDDY's face hangs. His eyes weaken.

TEDDY: It was an ancient custom, discovered by Viking witches. They learned that they could take on the persona of enemies after their death. To speak with their voices, see with their eyes. Their power was of such magnitude, it made them unstoppable. No one could be trusted, not even loved ones. But it came at a cost. The magic was irreversible.

HARRY: How have I never heard of this?

TEDDY: The history was intentionally forgotten because the magic was considered abominable. But there were still some alive who knew. The cleverest among us. The very wizards who would've been perceptive enough to understand the Dark Lord's plan for immortality and seek to destroy the Horcruxes. That's why Voldemort demanded that his followers take on the moniker of these Vikings. To frighten the wisest wizards into cowardice. And it worked.

HARRY: I still don't understand.

TEDDY: Don't you? If you think about it hard enough, the answer is staring you in the face. What did they call themselves, Dad?

HARRY: The Death...

HARRY blinks. His mouth droops open. TEDDY nods.

...Eaters.

TEDDY: They always wore masks. (beat) A bit of the person, like a hair, lasts an hour. Maybe two. But by consuming the body of Lord Voldemort, in its entirety, Albus was given the ability to mask himself — to become Voldemort — until the end of his life.

HARRY: Why would he do such a... monstrous thing?

TEDDY: Azkaban. The dementors changed him, Dad. And whenever Al fought back against The Tempest, he was Confunded.

HARRY looks utterly horrified. He starts to cry again.

It wasn't the original plan. They kept Voldemort's body to be a host for his soul once the Augurey came of age to extract it. But when they learned that you were the last Horcrux, The Tempest used Al as a way to —

HARRY (wheezing): Stop! I can't hear anymore. Please stop...

HARRY faces the gravestone. He presses his forehead against it.

TEDDY: Don't blame yourself, Dad.

HARRY: No, it's all my fault. I did this to your brother... I pushed him to this. My innocent boy. You didn't deserve this, Al.

HARRY looks hopelessly up at TEDDY.

Voldemort. This is his doing. There is still part of him in me!

His face hardens. He snarls.

And I can't —

HARRY bangs his head against the gravestone.

— get him —

He does it again, a second time.

— out of my —

Then a final, painful time.

— HEAD!

TEDDY: Dad!

HARRY pulls back, there is blood trickling from a gash near the lightning bolt scar.

HARRY (destitute): Maybe Dumbledore was wrong. Maybe I have to die to destroy him.

TEDDY (concerned): Don't say that.

HARRY looks dazed, staring off at the audience. Here, at his lowest point, he's practically unrecognizable.

HARRY: I don't deserve to live. I need to end this, don't you understand? I can't go on. Not knowing the truth of what happened to him...

With swift movements, HARRY draws his wand. He aims it at his temple.

TEDDY: NO!

HARRY: Avada Kedavra!

There is a stunning explosion of green light as HARRY falls back. He lands with a thump on the graves of his family.

The music stops. Silence fills the auditorium.

TEDDY: No...

The ghost of TEDDY LUPIN hovers close.

And then, HARRY opens his eyes.

He leans up, crestfallen.

Sitting in place, he looks down at his wand.

HARRY: Not so much rest in peace, Harry Potter... more rest in perpetual despair.

TEDDY (shocked): How in Merlin's name did you survive?!

HARRY (with a sigh): I'm immune to the killing curse. Regrettably.

TEDDY: You should go home, Dad. Go home to James and Lily.

HARRY points feebly over his shoulder.

HARRY: I was just there. They ugh... Sirius showed up before Hagrid. Wasn't expecting that...

TEDDY: Not your parents. Your children.

HARRY: Oh. Right.

He considers this.

They're safe at Hogwarts. But they'd be better off without me.

TEDDY: You're wrong.

HARRY: Why can't I die, Teddy? Why am I cursed to be the Boy Who Lived?

TEDDY: Stop talking like this.

HARRY: What if they're right? What if I am destined to be Lord Blitzfanger?

TEDDY: Then you change them from the inside!

HARRY: If Voldemort is somehow capable of taking over me — if he manipulates me... Maybe he has already. I can't become Blitzfanger. Voldemort has to be stopped, Teddy. And I'm the only one who...

He thinks. Then he looks back in the direction he came.

Sirius. Of course. If I only...

There is a spray of light. It nearly misses HARRY. He ducks behind a gravestone. An AUROR enters, wand drawn.

AUROR (yelling): He's here! Potter's in the graveyard!

HARRY sends spell after spell at him. The AUROR holds his ground as more wizards enter, their wands alight. They close in on him. TEDDY dodges over to HARRY, who hastens to pull out the Time-Turner.

TEDDY: Dad, whatever you're planning —

HARRY: There are all kinds of courage, Teddy. See you soon.

HARRY disappears with a sudden smack of light and sound. The Aurors meet at the gravestone. TEDDY drifts away, looking troubled.