英语小说网

LUDO BAGMAN: "Ladies and gentlemen -- boys and girls -- I give you -- the greatest -- the fabulous -- the one -- and the only TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT."

Slightly less enthusiastic from the French there.

LUDO BAGMAN: "AND IF YOU'RE FROM BEAUXBATONS GIVE ME A CHEER."

Suddenly everything is a riot of noise as a crowd consumes ALBUS and SCORPIUS.

And suddenly the "greatest showman on earth" (his words, not ours) is onstage, using Sonorus to amplify his voice, and… well… he's having a ball.

There's a loud cheer.

LUDO BAGMAN: "And there they are. Ladies and gentlemen -- boys and girls -- I present to you -- the reason why we're all here -- THE CHAMPIONS. 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."

LUDO BAGMAN: "If you're from Hogwarts. Give me a cheer."

There's a slightly limp cheer.

There's a loud cheer.

LUDO BAGMAN: "If you're from Durmstrang -- give me a cheer."

There's a loud cheer.

SCORPIUS (smiling): "This has worked. That's Ludo Bagman."

SCORPIUS and ALBUS (who are really getting into playing the Durmstrang students now): "Go, go, Krazy Krum. Go, go, Krazy Krum."

LUDO BAGMAN: "From the Beauxbatons Academy -- zut alors, it's Fleur Delacour!"

There's some polite applause.

The crowd go wild.

And from Hogwarts not one but two students, he makes us all go weaky at the kneesy, he's Cedric Delicious Diggory.

LUDO BAGMAN: "And then the other -- you know him as the Boy Who Lived, I know him as the boy who keeps surprising us all…"

ALBUS: "That's my dad."

LUDO BAGMAN: "Yes, it's Harry Plucky Potter."

There's cheering. Particularly from a nervous-looking girl at the edge of the crowd -- this is YOUNG HERMIONE (played by the same actress as plays ROSE). It is noticeable that the cheering for HARRY is slightly less than that for CEDRIC.

LUDO BAGMAN: "And now -- silence please, all. The -- first -- task. Retrieving a golden egg. From a nest of -- ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I give you -- DRAGONS. And guiding the dragons -- CHARLIE WEASLEY."

YOUNG HERMIONE: "Who's Rose? And what's happened to your accent?"

SCORPIUS looks concerned.

LUDO BAGMAN: "And with no time to lose let's bring out our first champion -- facing a Swedish Short-Snout, I give you -- CEDRIC DIGGORY."

ALBUS (with a bad accent): "Sorry. Hermione. He's got you mixed up with someone else."

YOUNG HERMIONE: "If you're going to stand so close I'd rather you didn't breathe on me quite so much."

And Cedric Diggory has entered the stage. And he seems ready. Scared, but ready. He dodges this way. He dodges that. The girls swoon as he dives for cover. They cry as one: "Don't damage our Diggory, Mr. Dragon!"

YOUNG HERMIONE: "How do you know my name?"

There are more cheers.

SCORPIUS: "Albus, something is going wrong. The Time-Turner, it's shaking."

SCORPIUS: "Rose? What are you doing here?"

LUDO BAGMAN: "And Cedric skirts left and he dives right -- and he readies his wand -- what has this young, brave, handsome man got up his sleevies now --"

A ticking begins, an incessant, dangerous ticking. It's coming from the Time-Turner.

A dragon roar distracts YOUNG HERMIONE, and ALBUS readies his wand.

LUDO BAGMAN: "-- but no, what's this? Is it Dark Magic or is it something else entirely? His wand is flying away -- Cedric Diggory is Disarmed --"

SCORPIUS: "Albus, I think the Time-Turner -- something is wrong…"

There's a crescendo in the ticking, and a flash.

SCORPIUS grabs ALBUS.

SCORPIUS: "Albus! Did it hurt you? Albus, are you --"

SCORPIUS: "There must be some limit -- the Time-Turner must have some kind of time limit…"

ALBUS (extending his wand): "Expelliarmus!"

CEDRIC's wand is summoned to ALBUS's hand.

And time is turned back to the present, with ALBUS hollering in pain.

ALBUS: "Do you think we've done it? Do you think we've changed anything?"

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. SCORPIUS looks at them all -- and slips the Time-Turner back into his pocket. ALBUS looks at them rather more blankly -- he's in a lot of pain.

LUDO BAGMAN: "It's all going wrong for Diggors. This could be the end of the task for him. The end of the tournament."

The Time-Turner's ticking gets louder still.

ALBUS: "What happened?"

SCORPIUS: "I think we're about to find out."

RON: "I told you. I told you I saw them."

ALBUS: "Hello, Dad. Is something wrong?"

HARRY: "Yes. You could say that."

HARRY looks at his son disbelievingly.

ALBUS collapses onto the floor. HARRY and GINNY rush to help.