A minor character from the 'Harry Potter' books put the entire plot for the new story into motion

Manuel Harlan

Warning: Spoilers for "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" ahead.

"Harry Potter and the Cursed Child," the eighth story in the "Harry Potter" series, was released this weekend to high anticipation. 

Co-authored by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne, the story was released as a script for the new London play of the same name.

Set 19 years after the end of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the play follows the sons of Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy — Albus and Scorpius, respectively — as they travel back in time with a Time-Turner to prevent Cedric Diggory from dying in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire."

Yes, really. (You can read our full breakdown of the plot here.)

The play has a lot of callbacks to the original books, but one you may not have noticed is the character who set the entire plot of "Cursed Child" into motion — Theodore Nott.

Readers will remember that after the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, all the Time-Turners were destroyed. However, it turned out that there was another illegal Time-Turner in the hands of a man named Theodore Nott. Unlike the one first used in "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" to go back in time for a mere few hours, this Time-Turner allowed the user to go back farther in time. 

Albus and Scorpius take said Time-Turner and decide to make it their mission to go back in time and save Cedric, a boy they never met. Why? Basically because they can (and because Albus has this big grudge against his dad who casts a large shadow over him).

But who's Theodore Nott?

The inclusion of him in "Cursed Child" is interesting. Nott was first introduced in the first "Harry Potter" book, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." You probably don't remember him though. 

He was briefly mentioned during the Sorting Hat ceremony simply as "Nott." We don't hear about him again until the fifth book, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." In Chapter 21, he's presumably described as "a stringy Slytherin boy" standing behind Draco Malfoy's friend Goyle. He's one of a few students who is able to see a Thestral, a creature only able to be seen by those who have seen death. A few chapters later he's referenced by name as he's seen hanging out with Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle in the library. There, he's also described as a "weedy-looking boy."

They were seen together after their fathers were proclaimed Death Eaters, followers of Voldemort, in a tabloid. At the start of book six, Professor Slughorn asks a Slytherin about Nott's father.

So knowing that he had a Time-Turner years later is slightly troublesome in the event that he planned to try and bring back the Dark Lord.

Nott's inclusion in "Cursed Child" is more interesting when you know that Rowling originally planned to include the character more in the original "Harry Potter" series. A scene between Nott and Malfoy was left on the cutting room floor because Rowling apparently couldn't find a place in "Chamber of Secrets" or "Goblet of Fire" for it.

Rowling once opened up about the scene on her personal site, but it appears to have since been taken down. Her quote on the scene is archived on various Harry Potter fan sites. Here's how she describes the scene via HP-lexicon.org:

I really liked the scene, firstly because it showed the Malfoys' home, and the difference between the place where Draco has grown up and number four, Privet Drive; then because we rarely see Draco talking to anybody he considers a real equal, and he is forced to see Theodore as such, because Theodore is just as pure-blooded as he is, and somewhat cleverer. Together these two Death Eaters' sons discuss Dumbledore's regime at Hogwarts and Harry Potter, with all sorts of stories that the Death Eaters tell about how this baby boy survived the Dark Lord's attack.

Nott's reappearance 19 years later may signify that she had some unfinished business with his character. Unfortunately, Nott didn't get a lot more exposition in "Cursed Child" other than being apprehended for having an illegal Time-Turner. 

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