Crux

Copyright 2007 by Caius Marcius

NOTE: My filk-musical of Deathly Hallows is based on the the original 1984 version of Chess, which was premiered as a concept album prior to any live performance. Since its first staging in 1986, Chess - (like Bernstein's Candide and the symphonies of Anton Bruckner) - has gone through several extensive revisions, and exists in multiple versions. Some of the YouTube versions linked below are from the various revised versions, and do not always correspond with the version I've filked - but at least it will give you some idea of what the song should sound like.

Chapter Three/Ron Looks Just Like Me (DH, Chap. 3-4)

To the tune of The Russian and Molokov/Where I Want to Be

THE SCENE: Four Privet Drive. As HARRY makes his plans for his final departure, VERNON remains skeptical of the Order's Witness Protection Program.

VERNON (spoken, with musical accompaniment):
This is all utter claptrap - you're again claiming that this Lord Thing….

HARRY (spoken):
It's not claptrap. It's the diabolic Voldemort, and he'll be coming after me when I turn 17 - the protective charm that has kept me safe will break - we can't repel him, or stop him - which of course means you must go into hiding…….

VERNON (music):
What we have here is a counterfeit ploy
To put Four Privet Drive in your name.
We won't leave -
Prices skyrocket in our neighborhood,
I am on to your scam.

HARRY:
Nonsense!
Why does my uncle
Always want to believe
Third-rate total bunkum--

DUDLEY (talking sense for once in his life):
With dementor attacks
I might well have died!
Let's go with the Order…..

VERNON:
I would prefer Kingsley to be our protector,
For Diggle can't help in
This plan to remobilize us, let's be candid:
He cannot keep us three alive
When he doesn't even drive…!

HARRY:
Don't you ever underestimate Dedalus -
And Hestia Jones is no sap
After all, keeping you living is what we all want-

VERNON:
It's no more than a trap!
I've seen no one's CVs
And why should Lord Voldy I fear?

HARRY:
It is very simple
He drives the world mad…
Just watch your TV
We are being hunted…..

DUDLEY:
I know things between us have often been strained
And we haven't been close but
I think I must thank you for life-saving measures

HARRY/DUDLEY:
Our leave we take amicably….
Best of luck to you, Big D!/Harry!

HARRY & DUDLEY warmly shake hands as THE DURSLEYS exit - Petunia throws him a backward glance, seeming as if about to say something, as she exits. HARRY is left briefly alone as he waits the arrival of MOODY and company. He feels a somewhat ambiguous sense of nostalgia…

HARRY:
One last farewell
It's time to exit
From Privet Drive,
Ere Voldy wrecks it..
I used to sleep
Beneath that stairway….
Grab up my stuff
Then hit the airways

MOODY enters with OOP members, GEORGE, FRED, RON & HERMIONE, Thestrals, etc.

See them come in
My friends and allies
They have a plan
Involving disguise
They want some hairs
For Mad-Eye's ruse, then
Six others drink
This Polyjuice, then.

Now then Ron looks just like me and Herm looks just like me
And Delacour and Dungy, George and Fred the twins
Who fail to show respect at all.
Pulling off my robes and squinting through my specs for
Dragon tattoos on my chest that
Ginny said I had, it really takes some gall….
When the Polyjuice kicks in
Which one is me? Don't get me started….

MOODY:
Don't get this wrong
Can't have a misstep
Fourteen will fly
In seven duets.
You'll go to Tonks
Then to the Weasleys
If our plan works
You'll get there easily.

THE SIX POTTERS:
Now then I look just like you and she looks just like you
And he and they, the twins, and them and all of us,
We fail to show respect at all.
Pulling off your robes and squinting through your specs for
Dragon tattoos on your chest that
Ginny said you had, we really have some gall….
When the Polyjuice wears off…..
Where will we be? Let's hope, in safety……

Exeunt Omnes et Upwards...

Wedding Ceremony (DH, Chapter 8-9)

To the tune of Opening Ceremony

In the original musical, this scene comprises a suite of four songs, beginning with a fast rock number The Arbiter, followed by an ominous slow march The US vs. USSR, then a bright energetic march for The Merchandisers, concluding with a reprise of The Arbiter. With the first Arbiter, I'm making my sole departure from the original CD to follow the revised version which has an extra stanza.

My filk of the Arbiter for Rita Skeeter was the first song I wrote for Crux, before JKR's "outing" of our beloved Headmaster. The debate between Elphias Doge and Aunt Muriel was written in the aftermath.

THE SCENE: The Burrow. A large crowd of guests eagerly anticipate the start of the nuptial ceremonies. To wile away the time, AUNT MURIEL watches a magic info-mercial on RITA SKEETER'S latest expose.

SKEETER:
It's the duty of biography
To relate all the facts
In researching Albus Dumble
This is what I find
Which I grind with an axe

Even though he was a Headmaster
There's no more mystery
In a mere 900 pages
I bring truth to light
As I fight secrecy

This is a case
For tabloids
His reputation
Will be destroyed
Yes I'm the Muckraker, I show the worst

CHORUS OF DEVOTED READERS:
If it's gossip you like to sip, quench your thirst.

SKEETER:
I got my Quill
Won't hear “no”
And Batty Bagshot
Is in the know
Yes I'm the Muckraker, I'll never bore

SKEETER & CHORUS:
I'll/She'll dumbfound ev'ry fan of Al Dumbledore

SKEETER:
If you're wondering what made him click,
Let it be understood:
Ariana, broken noses,
Stricken Aber brawled,
Grindelwald - Greater Good

Dumble fell during the current war
Potter stood at his side
So perhaps this retribution came about through slash
Flush with cash, and Al died.

This is a case
For tabloids
His reputation
Will be destroyed
Yes I'm the Muckraker, I show the worst

CHORUS:
She's the witch who will be the next Randolph Hearst

SKEETER:
I got my Quill
Won't hear “no”
And Batty Bagshot
Is in the know
Oh I'm the Muckraker, despite the war

SKEETER+ CHORUS:
I'll/She'll dumbfound ev'ry fan of Al Dumbledore

SKEETER:
Yes, I'm the Muckraker, despite the war

SKEETER + CHORUS:
I'll/She'll dumbfound ev'ry fan of Al Dumbledore

SKEETER:
This is a case for tabloids….
I've got my quill - won't hear “no”!

If you're not dimmer than Dodgy is
You will listen to me
If you're not the kind of reader who can handle lies,
Scandalized
You will be.

They all thought he was white as his beard
Till they read my critique
In The Daily Prophet you have no doubt seen my hook,
Buy my book
In four weeks

This is a case
For tabloids
His reputation
Will be destroyed
Yes I'm the Muckraker, I show the worst

CHORUS:
She's the witch who will be the next Randolph Hearst

SKEETER:
I got my Quill
Won't hear “no”
And Batty Bagshot
Is in the know
Oh I'm the Muckraker, despite the war

SKEETER+ CHORUS:
I'll/She'll dumbfound ev'ry fan of Al Dumbledore

SKEETER:
Oh I'm the Muckraker, despite the war

SKEETER+ CHORUS:
I'll/She'll dumbfound ev'ry fan of Al Dumbledore

The attention shifts as FLEUR DELACOUR and her bridal party make a radiant entrance

SEMI-CHORUS I OF WEDDING GUESTS:
Even in a time of war life's still going on
Even in a time of war life's still going on…..

SEMI-CHORUS II:
It's Bill Weasley wedding Fleur Delacour
In the midst of the war

SEMI-CHORUS I:
Even in a time of war life still does go on

SEMI-CHORUS II:
We are watching both the groom and the bride
As their folks glow with pride

SEMI-CHORUS I:
Even in a time of war life still does go on

SEMI-CHORUS I & II:
When weeping, Hagrid needs to use a tablecloth
As they plight troth.
Viktor Krum drops by and Ronald's waxing wroth.
Fred and George will help the Veelas
Understand our British ways
Luna has been gifted by the Gernumblies,
Wedding preacher buried Dumbly…
And now Viktor Krum is saying
Xeno apes Lord Grindel's craze
Logo of the eyeball
Makes him say, “I brawl!”
But Xeno DE? No….

SEMI-CHORUS I:
The Cursebreaker weds the Beauxbatons champ
As our eyes all grow damp.

SEMI-CHORUS II:
Even in a time of war life still does go on

SEMI-CHORUS I:
Of old Odo, let's sing one more refrain
And break out the champagne.

SEMI-CHORUS II:
Even in a time of war life still does go on

SEMI-CHORUS I & II:
When witch and wizard take that vow to go legit
Both French and Brit
All join in concert, celebrate their brand-new ties
That symbolize
Bill's bachelorhood-demise.

HARRY, in the Polyjuice guise of Cousin Barny, overhears a resumption of the Great Dumbledore Debate between AUNT MURIEL & ELPHIAS DOGE.

AUNT MURIEL & DOGE:
Whether you love Rita Skeeter,
Or despise that gal
As a total moron,
She has written more on Al.

DOGE:
Not a word of truth in her entire tale
Where Dumbledore she would assail
For the truth is very simple
It is this, yes, it's this:
That the sun shone from his ev'ry
Orifice.

AUNT MURIEL:
Will you get off -
Will you get off of your high horse
And just face the truth
Your old buddy Dumbledore
Lived quite a rowdy youth
Was his mother born of Muggles?
Did he fib
Of his sister, a cloistered Squib?
Since they claim that she was ill
Then why not go
Get the Healers' aid at dear old
St. Mungo's?

AUNT MURIEL snaps her fingers, prompting an army of waiters to march in bearing glasses of champagne for her.

And the latest shocking scandal
Might make me phobic
That it was our Albus who put “swish”
In “swish and flick.”
Also says he hung with Grindel
For a spell
With the motto, “Don't ask, don't tell.”

AUNT MURIEL & DOGE:
But at least we can agree on
This for sure
That he was the all-time greatest
Head master.

The all-time great head master!

The wedding festivities are interrupted by the appearance of KINGSLEY SHACKLEBOLT'S lynx Patronus

SHACKLEBOLT (Patronus):
He's on his way, best to run
All our protection is overcome
Ministry's fallen - Scrimgeour's dead
Now comes the era of fear and dread
It's the War Maker, Lord Voldemort

SHACKLEBOLT (Patronus) & CHORUS OF WEDDING GUESTS:
It's unsafe to oppose Voldy anymore

CHORUS (gradually diminishing as individuals Apparate away):
Best to make tracks - time to go
Let us Apparate quick from the Burrow
He's the War Maker, Who-Can't-Be-Named

SHACKLEBOLT (Patronus) & CHORUS:
He would love to share The Wedding Crashers' aim.

SHACKLEBOLT (Patronus):
He's the War Maker, in hostile mode

HERMIONE (taking Ron and Harry in hand):
Time to make our way to Tottenham….

THE TRIO:
Now we find it rather urgent to retrace
Our way back to 12 Grimmauld Place
Safest place there is - a shelter from DEs
And if Snape drops by, we'll make him
Ill at ease.

The Ministry of Magic Shows Hostility (DH, Chap. 13)

To the tune of A Model of Decorum and Tranquility (aka Quartet)

NOTE: This song offers some very intricate counterpoint, with much overlap and simultaneity between the different vocalists.

THE SCENE: A courtroom within the Ministry of Magic. HARRY, in the invisible guise of Albert Runcorn, attempts to extricate himself, his best friends, and several perfect strangers from the clutches of DOLORES UMBRIDGE and her Muggle-Born Registration Commission. As the song begins, UMBRIDGE interrogates MARY CATTERMOLE.

UMBRIDGE:
We next cajole Ms. Cattermole
To seat herself in our courtroom
Bound in our chains, you must remain
Amidst the dementors' cold gloom.

HARRY (aside, as Albert Runcorn, beneath the Cloak):
I must resist - though agitated and distressed by pallid forms so cold -
I'll beckon Herm and Ron to go back to Grimmauld
And try again some other day
But I'm outraged by the harsh methods that they use to
This witch persecute
I cannot let her cower weak and destitute
My saving-people-thing's in play.

UMBRIDGE:
Ms. Cattermole, this wand you stole
From some naïve wizard or witch
You can't suppose that this wand chose
You since you wizard blood lack.

MARY CATTERMOLE:
Maisie, Ellie, Al
The three Cattermole tykes
Cry themselves to sleep
They fear their Mum
Might die from your dislike.

YAXLEY:
Oh, spare us that!
No Mudblood brats
Are of concern
To this court.

HARRY (invisibly approaching HERMIONE):
Don't spill your ink -
It's me - I think
That we this farce
Must abort.

It make me mad
To see this awful and
Extremely grim
Bureaucracy

HERMIONE (as Malfada Hopkirk, to Harry):
I have been required
To do stenography
I hope I get fired
Rather than serve
Their coarse philosophy
It's a
DE
Bureau-
Cracy

HARRY & HERMIONE/MARY CATTERMOLE:
The Ministry of Magic shows hostility
And lets Dolores run this court,
That battleaxe with multiple pathologies
Is laughing at her/my pleas

HERMIONE (to Umbridge):
For this sheaf of the parchment
Here's the documents she signed
With Mary in the docket
I note your locket so fine

UMBRIDGE:
You may assume it's an heirloom
From the Selwyn family tree
All next-of-kin have purebloods been
They never worked in groceries.

HERMIONE:
See how it glows
Her cat Patronus prowls and keeps her
Safe and toasty warm
She's in her element here
Using laws she helped to write
To multiply our woes.

HARRY (removing the Cloak):
I'll stupefy
Her craven lie
Down goes Umbridge
Yaxley as well.

MARY CATTERMOLE:
Dementors ain't
Showing restraint
Relashio
Spell would be swell.

HERMIONE:
I do not know
Just how we will get out of here
Past 'mentors on patrol
You know how much they tend
To like sucking souls.

Enter RON WEASLEY, in the guise of REG CATTERMOLE, soaking wet

RON (as Reg Cattermole):
I'm not really Reg
And I am soaking wet
Someone tell this witch
We need to leave -
Start running from this threat!

HARRY:
We shall raise up our Patronus
With otter, stag
We'll flee that hag's
Courtroom, 'mentors,
Silver cat.

HERMIONE (to the escapees):
It is policy
That you must all go hide
Flee the Ministry
Go overseas
Until this all subsides.

The arrival of the real REG CATTERMOLE excites YAXLEY's suspicions.

YAXLEY:
This lot can't leave
I am aggrieved
They'll receive
Tit-for-tat

REG CATTERMOLE:
It puz-
Zles me

THE TRIO:
It make us mad
To see this awful and extremely grim bureaucracy

ALL:
The Ministry of Magic shows hostility
And though Dolores ran this court,
That battleaxe with multiple pathologies
Is forced to set us free.

Exeunt omnes through the last unsealed fireplace, closely followed by YAXLEY

Chapter 16/Doomed to Die (Chap. 16)

To the tune of The American and Florence/Nobody's Side

THE SCENE: The cemetery at Godric's Hollow, Christmas Eve. HARRY & HERMIONE search for the tombs of James and Lily Potter.

HERMIONE:
I think that it's now Christmas Eve
They'll be inside, your mum and dad.
There's some long-lost relation
Of Hannah Abbott here.
There's Kendra and her daughter now,
The family of Dumbledore.

HARRY (gazing at the Dumbledore family plot):
He never told me, none of it,
About his ancestry.
“And where your treasure lingers, then there too your heart shall be.”

HERMIONE:
Are you sure he never said……?

HARRY:
I would have come with Dumble, but
He wouldn't make the trip.

HERMIONE:
Look up there, they're dead ahead…!

As HARRY & HERMIONE stand before the tomb of his parents, an IMAGINARY CHORUS sings inside HARRY'S head throughout his next stanza

IMAGINARY CHORUS (simultaneous with HARRY'S next stanza):
1981 - Lily Potter dying -
1981 - James C. Potter dying -
1981 - Both your parents dying -

HARRY:
When my parents were killed
Part of me also died with them.
For a future was lost,
My chance for a normal childhood
In Godric's Hollow - I
Might have grown up danger-free.
All I've known has been war
First with the Dursleys, then Voldy.

HARRY notices the Pauline inscription upon his parents' tomb

Is it some graffiti
Or a catchphrase of Death Eaters
Here on their marker,
“Destroy death, the last enemy.”

HERMIONE:
It means - there's a life after this…
It's love that's destroying our enemy….
After death, we'll live yet again!

HARRY ignores HERMIONE as he falls into a private reverie of utter hopelessness

HARRY:
The Dark is now ascendant
The Light is in retreat
Though I'm not tempted to switch sides
This icy day of Christmas
They're turning up the heat
And there is nowhere I can hide
Resistance turns to suicide
Why were those I loved doomed to die?

And Dumble gave no answers
Or any kind of plan
How I might best achieve our goals.
I'm wanting to continue
But I don't think I can
Keep digging deeper in this hole
To crack this locked-up Horcrux'd soul.

Every path leads straight to the grave
There are no days left to be saved
Those I love are all doomed to die
I'm not gonna outlive my youth
Rita Skeeter tells all the truth
Everything I love's doomed to die.

The one I can't be naming
Won't cut me any slack
And if he caught me, who would care?
Why must it be my duty
To plot each new attack?
It is a burden I can't bear
And I give voice to my despair!

All of life is hollow and void
Death a foe that can't be destroyed
Those I love are all doomed to die
Ev'ry wand I wave's gonna break
Dumbledore's support was a fake
Everything I love's doomed to die

HARRY sinks to his knees in the snow, burying his face in his hands

Ev'ry scar I wear burns with pain
Ev'ry day sees more victims slain
Those I love are all doomed to die
Don't know how to end or to start
Cannot find my treasure or heart
Everything I love's doomed to die

Ev'ry owl of mine gets AK'd
Ev'ry sword I need is mislaid
Those I love are all doomed to die
Mum and Dad are mere bones and dust
Nothing left in which I can trust
Everything I love's doomed to die

Don't know how to end or to start
Cannot find my treasure or heart
Those I love are all doomed to die
All of life is hollow and void
Death's a foe that can't be destroyed
Those I love are all doomed to die……..

Fade-out, as HERMIONE leads HARRY tenderly away - but not she before magically produces a wreath that she lays upon the Potters' gravesite.

Crux (Chap. 17)

Based on Chess

Chess is a purely instrumental section, though it is comprised of music that is sung in the climactic Endgame. Rather than let five minutes of music just sit there, I'll choreograph it as such: Our setting is the tent. The pensive opening melody with the prominent cimbalom, we'll say, depicts HERMIONE keeping anxious watch over the stricken HARRY as he recovers from Nagini's attack. In his delirium, we segue into HARRY'S dream-flashback of VOLDEMORT'S murder of his parents (beginning at 3:15 with the entry of the vocalizing Chorus). At 3:29, the 1981 LORD VOLDEMORT strides purposefully through the streets of Godric's Hollow en route to James & Lily's cottage. At 4:29 the Dark Lord enters the Potters' residence, slays JAMES - at 4:40 he approaches Lily as she pleads for her son's life - at 5:00, VOLDEMORT murders LILY, while failing to note a small fragment of his own soul, set adrift, attaches itself to HARRY - at 5:26 he attempts to kill HARRY, only to find that he has inadvertently made himself utterly disintegrated - at the music's final chord, HARRY wakes from his delirium.

Silver Doe-ette (DH, Chap. 19)

To the tune of Mountain Duet

THE SCENE: The Forest of Dean. Bought together by the silver doe Patronus, RON & HARRY attempt to destroy the locket-Horcrux with the newly-found Sword of Gryffindor.

HARRY:
Now we have clarification
By you it must be destroyed
You were the one who rescued the sword from the pool.

RON:
I think it's a thing I can't do - my excuse, I'll fail --
It puts such unpleasant thoughts in me.

HARRY:
So, with a hiss, it will open - you strike on the count of three
Watch out, it will put up a fight.

RON:
The sword won't be working for me - I mean it -
It may seem very straightforward - but not to me.

HARRY:
It has to be you - you've valor and need writ all over you.

RON:
Harry, I'm scared - such dark thoughts that the locket gave me…..

HARRY:
Oh but you musn't delay
You must go right ahead, go and stab the Horcrux
That I've laid on this rock.

With a Parseltongue hiss from HARRY, the locket opens. RON brandishes the Sword with the greatest uncertainty

RON:
There within the Horcrux blinks an eye

HARRY (encouragingly):
Surely the silver doe's part of a plan
Of some kind benevolent friend
You've got to act now and strike the
First blow -

VOICE FROM THE HORCRUX:
I have seen your heart, and it's mine!

Demonic images of HARRY and HERMIONE emerge from the locket, and taunt RON as they tower over him

RIDDLE-HARRY:
So you've the nerve to show us your face
The last and least of the Weasley sons
Haven't you noticed you're a presumptuous fool
Daring to challenge the Chosen One?

RIDDLE-HERMIONE:
If you're compared to the Boy-I-Loved,
It becomes clear that you are nothing.

RIDDLE-HARRY:
In mockery, each night we're laughing at you.

RIDDLE-HARRY & RIDDLE-HERMIONE:
We know what goes on in your head
All that you want and all you dread
Look at how in her/his arms I fall 'cause it's my love for her/him
That makes me-

RON, RIDDLE-HARRY & RIDDLE-HERMIONE:
---cast you off!!

RON plunges the Sword of Gryffindor into the eye of the locket - a clang of metal, a long, drawn-out scream, followed by a long silence. RIDDLE-HARRY & HERMIONE have vanished. RON tries to keep himself from sobbing

RON (unsuccessfully attempting to make light of the situation):
This is one less aggravation, by one less Horcrux annoyed.

HARRY (putting his arm around him):
She's like my sister - I thought this was a thing you knew.

RON:
I'm so sorry I left both of you - what a git!

HARRY:
Oh, don't be sorry now - you've sort of made up for it.

RON:
That - makes me sound cool - by far more cool
Than I really was.

RON & HARRY:
Stabbing the Horcrux, while freezing, and
Saving your/my life…..

HARRY:
I've tried for years to tell you
Stuff like that just always sounds cooler than it
Ever actually was.

RON & HARRY:
I don't know why we can't think of anyone
Either of us know
Who would send us this sword and a silver doe

RON & HARRY embrace fraternally, and, the Sword in the hands of Ron, make their way back to the tent site

The Malfoy Manor (Chap. 23)

To the tune of Florence Quits (song starts at 0:55)

THE SCENE: The Malfoy Manor. A band of Snatchers, headed by Fenrir Greyback, bring the captive Trio, including a facially-distorted Harry, into the belly of Malfoy beast - but do the Malfoys dare the risk of making a false positive, and incurring the wrath of Lord Voldemort?

LUCIUS:
So you bought him to us
We welcome your intrusion
Are we sure that it's him?
There remains some confusion.
If we should find Potter
And we bind Potter
Then our family's restored to all of
Our former glory
If it's not Potter
Then it gets fraughter
If we use
The Dark Mark to call Vold and disappoint him
He would fly in a fit
And as the old cliché says
Of that which often fans hit.

LUCIUS, NARCISSA & DRACO:
What if he isn't?
And we the Lord Voldy summon
We will be succumbin'
Is it Potter, yea or nay?
We need a magic test for DNA.

BELLATRIX notices the Sword of Gryffindor in the TRIO's possession

BELLATRIX:
I can't overstress it -
Here's a sword should be at Gringotts
'Midst our knuts and ingots
How'd it wind up with these kids?
If Voldy learns, we're gonna hit the skids!

LUCIUS (to Bellatrix):
You cannot order me
In my house, says my spouse, too.

NARCISSA (to Greyback):
Go away! Take them out! Make them all Malfoy prisoners!

HARRY and RON are taken away by Greyback - HERMIONE is kept back to be interrogated by BELLATRIX. Even though she knows she is about to be tortured, she remains strangely calm (characteristically, she read ahead through the next few chapters)

HERMIONE (to herself):
Bella's the kind to be vindictive
But she will face defeat
Dobby will soon come to our rescue
With an assist from Pete.

We will then flee to Bill's Shell Cottage
As we mourn for the elf
Then we will outflank
Those who run Gringotts Bank
Bella can go and do all she may dare --
We will win by a hair!

The Tale of the Three Brothers (DH, Chap. 21)

To the tune of Embassy Lament

XENOPHILIUS LOVEGOOD tells the TRIO The Tale of the Three Brothers from the book by Beadle the Bard

XENOPHILIUS:
Once upon a time so
Says the tale
There were these three brothers
Who would sail
To the other side of a great river
That was
Far too wide to wade across, with raging rapids
Swimmers seizing
But the brothers did not quiver.
In the magic arts they were quite learnéd
Made a bridge with wands but
Then Death, stern, said,
“You deserve a hand, you're all quite clever
You have won yourselves some prizes --
I've rewards for you and your endeavor.”
Though Death was angry, he was cunning, too.
He gave the eldest one a Wand
With far more power than the rest.
The second, to antagonize him,
Thought he would request
A Stone to let the dead
Be repossessed.

But the youngest was as well
The humblest
Death he thought a fellow he
Should not trust
So he asked could he go undetected
So that Death this brother could not follow
Forcing Death his Cloak to hand him,
Thus invisibly protected.
So the Brothers went their
Separate travels.
Eldest brother started to unravel
Slew a man in quarrel
Then he boasted
Of the wand he won from Death in an inn
But by knife of thief was roasted.
Second brother used the Stone to raise the dead.
But his true love was sad and cold
When forced in this world to descend
So driven mad by hopeless longing
Bought on his own end.
The third brother hid and died Death's friend.

With a start, XENOPHILIUS awakens and finds himself back in an Azkaban prison cell. As is their wont, Dementors have been forcing him to relive his worst memories, among which was his attempted betrayal of HARRY. XENOPHILIUS collapses in tears (Sorry, Xeno! - I had to jail you to keep the HP narrative in the correct chronological order and the Chess songs in their original sequence)

Ariana (DH, Chap. 28)

To the tune of Anthem

THE SCENE: The Hogs Head Inn. ABERFORTH DUMBLEDORE delivers a stirring apotheosis of his departed sister, while showing the TRIO a path for potential deliverance.

ABERFORTH (to the TRIO):
My sister's madness,
That our poor mother would conceal
Caused much stress, very grave accidents,
It was unreal.
I was her favorite
Rather than Albus in his room
When she felt rage, when she wouldn't eat,
My goats we'd groom.

At a cue from ABERFORTH, Ariana walks away through a long tunnel and disappears

And you see how much I loved her,
Though snags often arose:
She killed our mother, I broke Al's nose.
Too soon came the day she left us - was gone…..
Yet there is a magic she has not withdrawn.....

As the music swells majestically, Ariana reappears in the distance, accompanied by a second figure. Both gradually approach the frame in a stately and regal procession.

There's a way in now,
Look to her frame!
Henceforth, never think of her with grief or shame -
Thanks to Ariana, you're back in the game!

As the music reaches its climax, NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM, bloodied but unbowed, emerges ceremoniously from the frame.

NEVILLE (spoken, as he unceremoniously leaps to the floor):
I'd knew you'd come! I knew it, Harry!

NEVILLE & THE TRIO embrace as the curtains fall

This Year at Hogwarts (DH, Chap. 29)

To the tune of One Night In Bangkok

THE SCENE: During the long instrumental introduction, NEVILLE leads the TRIO through a long winding passage. He brings them, at last, to the Room of Requirement, now serving as a safe haven for Dumbledore's Army. After enthusiastically welcoming the TRIO, NEVILLE and the DA CHORUS, inform them what's been going on at Hogwarts under Snape, and implores their aid to liberate Hogwarts.

NEVILLE:
Hogwarts! Monumental trouble
Where ev'ry new day the atrocities double
The scum of the earth in a grand convergence
Helped bring about this room's emergence

Watch out! Walk the straight and narrow
Or detention you'll get with sis and bro Carrow
Dark Arts! They have no pretenses
That they're teaching a thing but the worst offenses

We've Gryffindors - and Hufflepuffs - and Ravenclaws- in this Room!

DUMBLEDORE ARMY CHORUS:
This year at Hogwarts we see Dark polluting
Their blood is purer, but the pure ain't chaste
Though Dumble's Army still goes on recruiting,
If you should sign up, you'll be cruelly chased
By their zeal to have us one and all erased.

NEVILLE:
They think that I hit the bottom
Never did they reckon on the new Longbottom

CHORUS:
He has scars, he has welts, and his face is real puffy
Who knew wimpy Neville would change to such a toughie?

NEVILLE (modestly):
Whaddya mean? You've seen Michael Corner, Seamus Finnegan, you've -

CHORUS:
Neville found this suite
Requirement Room where our choir's meant to meet

NEVILLE:
No sweat! 'Cause I'm the son of Aurors
Acquainted with the starkest horrors
We ain't Alecto's Muggle-Studies buddies…..

CHORUS:
This year at Hogwarts could make courage crumble
If not for Neville who has pulled us through
He's fighting Snapey, who's the anti-Dumble
The foremost advocate of You-Know-Who
We would love to drown him in a thick shampoo.

NEVILLE:
We all wanna see a contest
Where the Chosen One will the Voldemort wand best
You've got to stick around to
Stick it to Voldy and Snapey in Round Two.

We need you running this game, controlling it….

No need to prove you've been hot
You broke the bank to get into Gringotts
Just let us know how we can aid you
We are here to serve, don't be afraid to

Or will you go back to Abby's bar, your tentings, your Shell Cottages….?

NEVILLE & CHORUS:
This year at Hogwarts, counter-revolution
Is what we're needing to set our school free
We count on you to find us the solution
Don't count us out account of secrecy
Let the DA prove to you its loyalty

CHORUS:
This year at Hogwarts could see valor vanquished
We need the Trio back here holding sway
We're fighting Snapey, he's a bug we can squish
If you're up to leaping, we'll provide the fray
Listen, please, to Neville, don't turn us away.

Who could resist such a sales pitch? Certainly not the TRIO, who agree to let the DA assist them

When I Use Dark Arts (DH, Chap. 30)

To the tune of Heaven Help My Heart

THE SCENE: Ravenclaw Commons. HARRY & McGONAGALL stoop to conquer the Carrows.

HARRY:
If Amycus would avoid animus
He had better behave
And not spit
That's a thing that I'll not permit
Not averse
In a case like this toward a Crucio curse
So I used an Unforgiven spell
Hope it really hurt like hell
The price of expectoration's to be torn apart
When I use Dark Arts

Toward Minerva M
I'll make Death Eaters keep their distance
Since we cannot forgive, then I'll get them

McGONAGALL:
Gryffindors vow to be firm and strong
And to show gallantry
Potter proves
He is in sync with Godric's groove
Is it sin
To make Eaters taste of their own medicine?
Can I truly say, “Imperio”
As blithe as “Cheerio”?
Helping disarm our worst opponents
Set Carrows apart
When I use Dark Arts
I have both their wands
Shimmering rope appears from thin air
Shimmering rope securing both their bonds

HARRY & McGONAGALL:
That's what we heard from the Lestranges
These spells we must mean - when we use Dark Arts

HARRY & McGONAGALL/THE CARROWS:
When we/they use Dark Arts.

Sacking (DH, Chap. 30)

To the tune of Argument

THE SCENE: Ravenclaw Commons. HARRY & and Three Heads of House persuade SNAPE to self-defenestrate

McGONAGALL:
If Voldemort is now flying through air
On his way to Hogwarts to find you
You must flee….

HARRY:
That's so contemptible, I'd be remiss
There's a thing I must do!
Listen - do you know of the
Diadem of Ravenclaw
Did Flitwick make mention…..?

McGONAGALL:
The optimal course
Is to Vold oppose
Hogwarts - we'll secure it!

HARRY:
We've got to act now because Voldemort will slay
All those in his way when he's waging his battle
We've time to yet save all the innocent people from war....

McGONAGALL:
....To Hogs Head of Dumbledore

HARRY:
That's what I mean!

McGONAGALL:
It's time to get your cloak out and keep still
Snape is approaching us

SNAPE:
I have a message from both of the Carrows
Intruders have forced their way in
Chosen One
If you have Potter, the boy you must bring…

McGONAGALL:
That's what we won't disclose!

FLITWICK:
No, no - no more murder
Will we allow you to do here.

FLITWICK, McGONAGALL & SPROUT animate a suit of armor to do battle with SNAPE, who exits precipitously

FLITWICK, McGONAGALL & SPROUT:
Knight in shining armor,
We give you a command to drive Sevvy off
And stick it to that traitor

McGONAGALL
Well he was determined to jump out the window
And fly like a bat just like Vold taught him to
Now we'll be free of Snapey, and the crisis now truly begins…

FLITWICK, HARRY, McGONAGALL & SPROUT:
It's imperative we win!

We'll Damn Him to Hell (DH, Chap. 31)

To the tune of I Know Him So Well

As the TRIO search for Horcrux, the DA, OOP and HEADS OF HOUSE make their preparations to defend Hogwarts from Voldemort and his Death Eating legions

SHACKLEBOLT:
Voldy's Eaters swell their ranks infernally
Prefects and Professors, man your posts!
To wage combat, we shall bond fraternally
On behalf of all we love the most

ARTHUR:
All across our grounds Dark forces lethally
Fight us with dementors and banned spells
But in due time, we'll undermine their schemes
Then at last, we'll Voldy damn to Hell

FRED & GEORGE:
Battle for good

LUPIN & TONKS:
For the good

FRED & GEORGE:
Battle for light

PERCY & BILL:
For the light

FRED & GEORGE:
Voldemort's madness…

MOLLY & ARTHUR:
Is at its height

AUGUSTA LONGBOTTOM:
But in this war we'll earn the honor of history
And posterity

LEE JORDAN & HANNAH ABBOTT:
We'll save our friends and see him beaten…

FRED & GEORGE:
We'll damn him to Hell.

TONKS:
Acromantulas may be assisting him
Centaurs may be keeping to the side
Slytherin is leaning toward disloyalty
Vicious giants take this war in stride

FLITWICK:
Look instead at Voldy's vulnerability

SPROUT:
Think of him reduced to just a shell

HAGRID (background accompaniment):
Picture him a little ugly baby...

LUPIN:
And now it's time to be avenging him…

THE FOUR HEADS OF HOUSE:
So we'll say to him, “You go to Hell!”

LUPIN & TONKS:
Battle for good

FRED & GEORGE:
For the good

LUPIN & TONKS:
Battle for light

MOLLY & ARTHUR:
For the light

LAVENDER, PATIL & CHO
Voldemort's madness…

ERNIE, NEVILLE & LUNA:
Is at its height

Doesn't he know
How it will go?
For the Darkest of Arts
Soon will be falling apart!

STUDENTS
Battle for good
Battle for light

PROFESSORS:
Voldemort's madness....

ORDER OF THE PHOENIX:
Is at its height

HAGRID & FIRENZE:
But in this war we'll earn the honor of history
And posterity

ABERFORTH:
We'll save our friends and see him beaten…

TRELAWNEY:
We'll damn him to Hell

THE FOUR HEADS OF HOUSE:
And at last, we'll overwhelm him

ALL:
We'll damn him to Hell.

The Fire (Fiendfyre) (DH, Chap. 31)

To the tune of The Deal (No Deal)

THE SCENE: The Room of Requirement in its giant-sized warehouse edition. DRACO makes one last grab for the brass ring of super-villainy only to be undermined by his hitherto aphasiac sidekicks

DRACO:
Slytherin, Gryffindor
An amusing collision
C'est le guerre - this is war
That explains my derision.
With the Dark Lord, Potter,
I'm restored, Potter,
If I hand you to him
You-Know-Who will be all aglow.
For in this room, Potter,
You'll meet doom, Potter,
And the Dark will succeed
I'll redeem the old patronym.

Thank goodness for Slytherin
Now I will take back my wand
You have only a few minutes of life
Till you're gone.

CRABBE:
Draco M., what a git!
You're no longer our leader
We both think you're unfit
To serve as a Death Eater…
A diadem, Draco?
Die with them Draco!
Who gives a fa-la-la
For some rusted old tiara?

DRACO:
Do not cross, Vincent
Our big boss, Vincent
For he wants to subdue
Harry Potter with his own Kedavra.

CRABBE:
For ourselves we now think
And ignore your volition
We don't need your permission!
As my wand-finger snaps
And these walls collapse
As I ignite the ignition….

GOYLE:
…..With Fiendfyre!

CRABBE conjures up the Fiendfyre - a CHORUS OF FIENDFYRE-Y CRITTERS serves as back-up

CRABBE & CHORUS:
Amycus, Alecto
Carrow taught me/him to torture
And how when faced with foe
Ways to scorch him and torch her
And my Fiendfyre, Potter
Will be dire, Potter
This cathedral of junk
We'll let the Fyres gobble 't!
Like it hot, Potter?
I/We thought not, Potter!
In return You-Know-Who'll
Will reward our batch of matches

The FIENDFYRE-Y CRITTERS show that they are not beholden to the likes of CRABBE & GOYLE, as they spread themselves like - uh, wildfire

HERMIONE:
Are you dumb? Are you nuts?
You still don't understand to control it, how to stop it..!

The broomstick-borne TRIO pluck DRACO & GOYLE from certain death by Fahrenheit

THE TRIO:
Who'd ever think it?
Mercy making us say yes to
Quite a daring rescue
As the fiendish fires fling
While burning up the Room of Hidden Things!
We have to stop the
Slytherin incineration
In a conflagration
Though we salvaged Drac and Goyle
Poor Crabbe is likely to now be hard-boiled…..

The five escape the Room by broom, as their attention is drawn to the tiara HARRY diverted from the flames.

RON:
Ravenclaw tiara
Now dissolving in ashes….

HERMIONE:
That's one more Horcrux down
So sic semper to fascists…….

Lily, Your Child (DH, Chap. 33)

To the tune of Pity the Child

THE SCENE: The Pensieve and its associated Memory-Scapes, as SNAPE makes his final Confiteor (directly to Lily, but indirectly to her son…..).

SNAPE:
When I was nine I first met Lily
Green eyes and bright red hair
I was a Spinners End survivor
My life in disrepair.
There on the playground I spoke to her
The first time - told her all about Hogwarts School
She thought me kind of cool
Right from the first, she stole away my heart….
But I learned of Dark Arts!

Though but a child I had ambition
Knew when I wore that Hat
I would be sorted straight to Slytherin
But not where Lil was at.
When still a child they called me brilliant
Half-Blood Prince, at the top in both OWLS and NEWTS
But Lily spurned my suit
She could not love one who a DE became
And she ran off with James!

When Sybill gave the Prophecy out
Voldy sought Lily - hadn't a doubt.
I went to Dumble, in all my weakness and dread
“If you save Lil, I'll serve you instead!.”
Fool that I was I thought her safety
Was guaranteed via the Keeper……
I never saw the woman I loved most again……!

Dumble said, “Her son did not die.
He has James' face, but her green eyes.
Someday they'll be another war -
For Lily's sake, save him from the Lord Voldemort!”

I took the role of Harry's teacher
Bullied him right away
I used my sneers, my rage, my anger
To keep your boy at bay.
Lily, your child is so much like you;
I proclaimed he was James from his head to toe-
My heart did the truth know…
The pain of your loss cannot be undone
When I think he's your son!

Lily, your child survived Lord Voldy
When a piece of his soul
Happened to drift into your Harry;
Dumble now has his goal
Your boy marked like a pig for slaughter
He must die
To bring death to Lord Voldemort
I can't keep you safe, once more
May he die brave - I'll my guidance bestow
Via our silver doe……

During the instrumental coda, HARRY witnesses a scene omitted from Rowling's narrative - SNAPE places the Sword of Gryffindor in the frozen pond, and dispatches his doe Patronus - carefully concealed, he observes HARRY'S arrival on the scene, and his eventual retrieval of the Sword and destruction of the Horcrux. HARRY sees SNAPE watching him with respect, admiration and pride. All of HARRY'S hatred of SNAPE dissolves at that moment - paradoxically, he is flooded with despair. He realizes that SNAPE'S chronic denigration of him was a merely a strategy - an ultimately futile one - to keep him out of harm's way. But as SNAPE himself confessed, he has failed LILY once more. HARRY recognizes he has no choice but to sacrifice himself to stop LORD VOLDEMORT……

Stonegame (DH, Chap. 34)

To the tune of Endgame

HARRY, emotionally shattered, leaves the Headmaster's Office. As he looks about him, he sees signs of death and devestation everywhere. A CHORUS OF OOP AND DA SURVIVORS sing a wordless lament. As he re-joins RON & HERMIONE, the disembodied voice of LORD VOLDEMORT makes an announcement, over the IMAGINARY CHORUS within HARRY that recites a list of war casaulties.

IMAGINARY CHORUS (simultaneous with the four stanzas below):
1973 - Nymphadora Tonks born
1998 - Nymphadora Tonks died
1960 - Remus John Lupin born
1998 - Remus John Lupin died
1978 - Frederick Weasley born
1998 - Frederick Weasley died
1981 - Colin A. Creevey born
1998 - Colin A. Creevey died
1960 - Severus S. Snape born
1998 - Severus S. Snape died……

VOLDEMORT (voice over):
You have fought valiantly
Yet you've sustained heavy losses
I command a retreat
For I am one who most treasures
Loyalty, raw courage, so Potter, come right away….

Drop by ASAP
I'll suspend all hostile action
I shall one hour wait
Let He-Who-Lived self-deliver!
Those who assist him will forfeit their lives, certainly

HERMIONE & RON:
Let's start calling his bluff
We'll launch a new plan to stop him
We will fight to the death
Chasing each furious Eater
Till ev'ry Horcrux we've sliced through to Lord Voldy slay

HARRY (aside):
I can't let them persist
Or they will all end up murdered
And my scar does consist
Of a Lord Voldy soul-fragment
He cannot perish until he has first perished me.

The CHORUS at last falls silent. THE TRIO come across Molly and the surviving Weasleys as they mourn over the corpse of FRED. As RON & HERMIONE move to join them, HARRY walks away, stricken with grief and guilt. Neither the WEASLEYS nor HERMIONE notice his departure. As he resolves what he must do, he comes across NEVILLE.

Neville, if you see a snake
Of the Dark Lord
Cut off its head
With Godric's sword
Though Herm and Ron
Have this update
They might be too late....

NEVILLE takes his arm in understanding, as HARRY makes a solitary exit from Hogwarts

I must go to my demise
Though I'm not keen
On doing John
15:13……

HARRY makes his way toward the Forbidden Forest, as he is filled with utter hopelessness and dejection

Now I truly see
Dumble's betrayal
He has Chosen Me
To greatly fail
Elegant his system is,
Yet how unsparing!

Deep into the woods
I have to enter
Can't get past the hoods
Of those dementors
Expect no Patronus when
I'm so despairing.

I've nothing left to hope in -
But wait, the Snitch says, “At the Close I Open.”
The Stone of Resurrection
Gives a new direction
In my final mission to
Let the Dark Lord catch me -

Enter the ETHEREAL QUARTET of JAMES, LILY, SIRIUS & REMUS

The ones who love me most come forth to fetch me!
They find me on this trail
From straight beyond the Veil
And to my aid avail themselves.

JAMES, LILY, SIRIUS & REMUS:
We are here to give
You inspiration
Guard the Chosen One
From Last Temptations
Helping you to reach your highest consummation!

HARRY, JAMES, LILY, SIRIUS & REMUS:
There is just one thing
I/You can be sure of
It's the strength you/we bring
To me/you of pure love
Never can the Dark Arts
Comprehend its power

JAMES, LILY, SIRIUS & REMUS:
You will leave this sphere
A valiant hero
Boldly you'll appear
At Vold's Ground Zero
Even get you there
A bit under an hour

HARRY and THE QUARTET begin their procession to VOLDEMORT'S camp

HARRY, JAMES, LILY, SIRIUS & REMUS (fortissimo):
We stride towards Voldy's gallows
That's how I/you choose to end The Deathly Hallows
We move in total silence
Towards Eaters and giants,
Defenseless except my/your heart.

JAMES, LILY, SIRIUS & REMUS:
The sting of death can't hurt you
Thanks to your stellar qualities of virtue
It's like falling asleep
From this cold life you leap
And then the next adventure starts

HARRY, JAMES, LILY, SIRIUS & REMUS:
Up ahead we see
My/Your destination
Seize my/your destiny
To save our nation
Give Voldy that part of him
For termination.

THE QUARTET vanish as the Stone falls from HARRY'S hand, and, too frightened to be afraid, he enters all alone the Death Eaters camp. HAGRID is tightly bound to a nearby tree.

VOLDEMORT:
He isn't going to show -

HARRY (stepping forth to reveal himself):
And at long last I've come to sever ev'ry link I have with life…..

HARRY remains silent and immobile until the very end of the scene

HAGRID:
Harry, do not be so daft - !!

YAXLEY:
Just kill him now
And we can march back in our triumph to Hogwarts!

BELLATRIX:
And on this day we lay a curse on everything that's good!

CHORUS OF DEATH EATERS:
Kill him!

HAGRID (increasingly desperate with every repetition):
Harry!

CHORUS OF DEATH EATERS:
Kill him!

HAGRID:
Harry!

CHORUS OF DEATH EATERS:
Kill him!

HAGRID:
Harry!

CHORUS OF DEATH EATERS:
Kill him!

HAGRID (screaming):
Harry! Harry!

VOLDEMORT & CHORUS OF DEATH EATERS:
To us you have come
In desperation
Replay Dad and Mum's
Capitulation

BELLATRIX:
Forcing you to reach your lowest degradation!

VOLDEMORT (to Harry):
You're about to lose your life
To one whose fame
Copyrighted
“He-Who's-Not-Named.”
My worst foe I tame
With Kedavra!

A flash of green light. HARRY falls lifeless to the ground. White-out.

Though I Died/Chapter 36/Epilogue (DH, Chap. 35-36, Epilogue)

To the tune of You and I, The Story of Chess and You and I Reprise

THE SCENE: Swirling mist gradually clears to reveal a hallucinatory NDE

HARRY:
Lying here naked
Just like in Equus
Suddenly gowns,
And I hear sounds
Of a flayed baby…..

After HARRY robes himself, enter DUMBLEDORE, tanned, rested and ready

DUMBLEDORE:
Harry, you bravest of boys,
Greatest of men, come, let us walk now.

HARRY:
How can I still be alive when he killed me?

HARRY/DUMBLEDORE:
Was it...?/It was that awful night
When the Dark Lord's wicked delusion
Took an HP Type O transfusion

(exultantly) Though I/you died
My/Your mother's death
Won't let my/your life expire

Voldy will learn the wages
Of sin is death with-
-In 30 pages

DUMBLEDORE:
I could not tell you
I did not trust you
What if you seized all three Hallows
For the wrong reasons?

HARRY:
Just where am I, anyhow?
Looks like King's Cross - the old train station

DUMBLEDORE (chuckling immoderately):
If you would like to go on, there'll be a "train"....

HARRY/ DUMBLEDORE:
But if I/you choose to go
Back to the Forbidden Forest
Lord Voldemort will be the sorest…..

HARRY & DUMBLEDORE exultantly join hands

Though I/you died
It's Lily's love
Enforcing Hate's ceasefire
Now my/your soul's unencumbered
By Voldy's soul-bites -
His day is numbered….

White-out - gradually we find we are returning to the Death Eaters' camp, with both HARRY and VOLDEMORT inert and prostrate. The CHORUS OF DEATH EATERS hover around the unconscious Dark Lord - they are more skittish of the seemingly lifeless HARRY than he was of the ugly baby. A CHORUS OF SLAIN SPIRITS enters to deliver a narrative account of Chapter 36. The first stanza is repeated in the background by different singers throughout the rest of the song

CHORUS:
Horcrux, Time Cross, King's Cross, Rexcrux,
Tom's curse, time's whore, wrecks crux, hex loose
Tom's crock, tombs crack, rex rocks, cracks crux,
Crux nux lux dux, duck duck duck goose

LILY & JAMES:
Harry lay prone
In agonized distress upon the chilly forest floor
No cheers of triumph rent the air, as Voldemort
Lay still and motionless as stone

DOBBY & DUMBLEDORE:
Voldy awoke
Then ordered Narcissa to learn if the lad met his death
She heard from Harry that her Draco still drew breath
And she proclaimed, “Young Potter croaked!”

LUPIN & TONKS:
Joyous with relief,
The Dark Lord cried, “I've won!
A life both rank and brief
Has been the fate of James and Lily's son!”

MOODY, SIRIUS & SNAPE:
He said, “His remains
Let Hagrid now convey!”
Death Harry feigned
And could not speak to ease Hagrid's dismay

CREEVEY, FRED & LILY:
And to the grounds of Hogwarts Voldy marched
Making mock of the mourners' distress
He called on Neville who refused to acquiesce.
The Sorting Hat, enflamed, produced
Godric's old sword Nev used to Voldy's snake behead
And lo! One Horcrux less!

JAMES & DUMBLEDORE:
At this bloody distraction
Harry took action, cloak seized.
Wrapped all tightly around him.
Unseen confounded DEs.

FRED, DOBBY & SIRIUS:
The evil witch
Known as Madam Bella tried to Ginny slay, but she
Failed to notice that our Molly's T.N.T.
The last words Bella heard: “You bitch!”

MOODY, DUMBLEDORE & SNAPE:
With cheers and screams
And yells of shock the crowd now saw that Harry reappeared
So very soon the Hogwarts battleground was cleared
To see which one would reign supreme.

TONKS & LILY:
He told the Dark Lord
How Snape became estranged
Love was the true sword
Just as Dumble & Severus arranged.

CREEVEY, LUPIN & DUMBLEDORE:
“Just the two of us!”
And Harry's Elder Wand
“Expelliarmus!”
Green ricocheted, and Voldemort was gone!

ALL:
And to conclude
We see him meet the Headmasters with loyal Herm and Ron
He let the Stone stay lost, and sends the Elder Wand
To permanent rest, and then only wanted
Kreacher's sandwiches,
A chance to cop some Zs
To end our epic four-thousand pagéd seven-volume yarn….

The scene dissolves again in a white swirling mist, and resolves at Platform 9 ¾, in the year 2017……

HARRY & GINNY:
This is an all too familiar scene......

JAMES, ALBUS, LILY:
Nine and three-quarters with magical teens

RON & HERMIONE:
And a freight train of urgent unanswered questions

HUGO & ROSE:
Is Rowling too understated just now?

SCORPIO:
-- Aren't you appalled--

DRACO:
--there's no magic to stop me growing old and bald.

ADULTS:
Nineteen years went by, and though all is well, more would be welcome

STUDENTS:
Where's Harry employed?
Who married Malfoy?
Ron with whom is working?
And what of Kreacher and Luna and Filch?
All we get is zilch.

ADULTS:
We cannot peruse
All this vital news
Except in Jo's interviews…

ALL:
We know why
This epilogue
Has so much missing data.
For Jo goes on pretending
That Deathly Hallows
Will be our ending………

HARRY pulls a Stone out of his pocket, and gives it to his owl, addressing it to JKR, Edinburgh Scotland. We should assume this to be the Resurrection Stone, meaning that JKR now has the ability to summon any of the Potterverse characters back to life, whenever she so chooses…….

NOTE: I'm aware that most of the above questions were answered by JKR in subsequent interviews - what I'm dramatizing here is the absence of this information in the book itself.

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