Character Analysis
Magical Bromance
Some families just keep feuding. Capulets and Montagues. Earnshaws and Lintons. Hatfields and McCoys.
And, of course, Potters and Malfoys.
We never thought we'd see the day when a Potter and a Malfoy were best friends…but that's exactly what happens aboard the Hogwarts Express when Albus Potter meets Scorpius Malfoy, son of the blond bad boy we all love to hate (or is it hate to love?): Draco Malfoy.
We have to ask: why exactly does Albus decide to befriend Scorpius? Does he see a kinship in the boy…or does he do it just to make his dad mad?
Our cynical side suspects the latter, but, even if that's Albus' initial motivation, it's soon swept aside by the fact that Scorpius Malfoy is the best friend a boy can have. He may not have game with the ladies—or the social status to get Albus into parties—but he has charm, smarts, and is loyal to the core.
The first three years of their friendship goes by in a flash, but they recognize how special their friendship is. Delphi, even if she is the daughter of Voldemort, recognizes it too.
DELPHI: You two—you belong together. (2.14.27)
She knows she can't easily flirt her way into manipulating Albus, because he'll always put his bro before any Hogwarts hocus-pocus. That's partially because in the first two acts we witness what even Scorpius' own father believes:
DRACO: Scorpius is a follower, not a leader, despite everything I've tried to instill in him. (1.17.16)
Once Albus royally screws up time travel and erases himself—don't you just hate it when that happens?—Scorpius takes the stage, and we see what kind of young man he really is.
Everyone's Wild About Harry
Basically, Scorpius is sucked into a bizarre version of It's a Wonderful Life, where he sees how terrible the world would be if Harry Potter had died. (No wonder Draco Malfoy resented Harry Potter. It's Harry's world, the Malfoys just live in it.)
Scorpius' experience is basically his dad's ultimate fantasy. With Harry dead, Draco Malfoy has Harry's job at the Ministry of Magic, and Scorpius is the golden boy of Hogwarts. He's a Quidditch ace, he's got ladies asking him to dance, and other students do his homework for him. Oh yeah, he also painfully tortures Muggles in the Hogwarts basement and loves to hear their screams, but aside from that, dude is living the life.
Except for one thing: Scorpius' best friend Albus doesn't exist.
Scorpius may have achieved his dad's dream of being popular (face it: He's also the son that Harry wishes Albus was) but what Albus wants most is the friendship that can never be replicated.
Realizing that spurs Scorpius to making one of the most honorable decisions in any Harry Potter story. Here's how he explains it:
SCORPIUS: The world changes and we change with it. I am better off in this world. But the world is not better. And I don't want that. (3.9.56)
By making this sacrifice, Scorpius redeems the Malfoy name by changing the world for the better. It's not an entirely selfless sacrifice, even if it is a very noble one. Scorpius gets his friend back. But more importantly, Scorpius realizes the young man he can be, and he starts to act that way, even if he isn't as popular in the "real" world.
On top of that, once the timelines are repaired, an event even more shocking happens: Draco and Harry become friends. They're no Harry and Ron, but Hermione accepts Draco into their group. Their son's friendship ends up bringing them close together, proving that in order to fix the past, you don't have to literally go back into the past. You work on building a better future.
Scorpius' Timeline