Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a play that happens years after the Battle at Hogwarts. Whether or not people like the story doesn’t matter because JK Rowling was involved in the writing of the story, therefore making it cannon. I personally wasn’t the biggest fan of the storyline, because I do not believe that Voldemort had any children. But, the play itself was phenomenal. The interesting thing is there are countless events that take place in The Cursed Child that many people believe can’t happen. For example, Voldemort having a child, but JK Rowling never says whether he does or not. The fact remains that JK Rowling was involved with the writing of the story and that is the sole reason why it is canon and people should stop complaining about it.

**TL;DR : Whilst the play itself is a legitimate canonical work in the Harry Potter franchise, people may not accept _Harry Potter and The Cursed Child_ as a work of canon due to the irregularity in the plot, and the actions of certain characters that do not match their characterization in the novels.** _Harry Potter and The Cursed Child_ , set during Albus Potter’s years in Hogwarts, is a play that explores the consequences of the past, family, and friendship. The play itself gained mixed reviews at the time of its publication, and still remains a topic of controversy and debate in the Harry Potter fanbase today. As a play co-written by J.K Rowling, the author of the original franchise, the play is no doubt canon. Although the playscript was co-written by John Tiffany and Jack Thorne alongside Rowling, she still had a part to play in the events and characters that were included. The main difference, and why many people may have been disappointed with the play was due to its medium. A play does not read the same as a novel, and is intended to be acted out on stage: it is a different feeling entirely. The characters that appear in the playscript are often left for the actor to interpret and ‘bring to life’, so upon a first reading the characters appear to have little development and not be fully ‘fleshed out’. [Some 'Harry Potter' fans are so disappointed with the new story that they're refusing to call it canon.] (https://www.businessinsider.com/harry-potter-cursed-child-reactions-2016-7?r=US&IR=T) The main reason why some fans are so reluctant to regard _The Cursed Child_ as a canonical work in the Harry Potter world is due to the plot irregularities that do not coincide with the other novels and films. In the final chapter of _Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows_, Albus asks Harry what will happen if he gets sorted into Slytherin, to which Harry replies ‘then Slytherin will have gained an excellent student’ [1], explaining that it does not matter to him whatsoever. However, there is tension between Albus and Harry throughout the play because in fact, it does appear to matter to Harry when Albus gets sorted into Slytherin. Alongside this, there are some plot points that seem inconceivable, such as Delphi being the child of Bellatrix Lestrange and Lord Voldemort and using a time-turner to save Cedric Diggory, who already died in the fourth book. I think the main reason people may choose to not accept _The Cursed Child_ as canon is due to the fact that it ruins their perception of the rest of the novels. Other References: [1] J.K Rowling, _Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows_ , (London: Bloomsbury, 2014) p.619.

**TL;DR Cedric and Hermione deserve better** I personally refuse to accept that _Harry Potter and the Cursed Child_ is canon because it repeatedly goes against characterisations that had been consistently developed throughout 7 books. _The Cursed Child_ rewrites many other characters in ways that do not correlate to the books: [family-oriented Harry becomes a bad dad](https://www.thecut.com/2016/08/harry-potter-and-the-cursed-child-daddy-issues.html); and Voldemort, [perhaps the most asexual character ever written](https://thequeerness.com/2016/04/23/the-face-of-evil-the-terrible-way-we-show-aromantic-and-asexual-identities/), fathers a child with Bellatrix Lestrange. The play’s ridiculous plot is based upon the premise that if “nice guy” Cedric Diggory had survived and lost The Triwizard Tournament to Harry, he would have sought his revenge by becoming a Death Eater. This seems highly out of character for Cedric, who is consistently portrayed in _The Goblet of Fire_ as a decent and kind Hufflepuff student who tries his best but is not overly obsessed with winning. In fact, in _The Prisoner of Azkaban_, when Hufflepuff win the quidditch match partly because Harry has fallen off his broom, Cedric immediately offers a rematch because he considers this unfair – proving that he is not a sore loser. I find the writers’ treatment of Hermione the most jarring. _The Cursed Child_ shows Hermione becoming Minister for Magic in the correct timeline. Whilst even this seems unlikely to me, as Hermione is disinterested in power, status, and would probably better suit a role in elf welfare, I do not doubt her capabilities as a strong and benevolent leader. However, as one of the butterfly effects in the alternate timeline, she doesn’t marry Ron and somehow this influences her career; instead of becoming Minister, she becomes a bitter and abusive Hogwarts teacher in the style of Severus Snape. Throughout the 7 Harry Potter books, Hermione is consistently kind, especially to the vulnerable and even when she is fighting with Ron. She is also consistently ambitious and successful – she performs well in class regardless of personal problems. It is an insult to the character that _The Cursed Child_ implies that her personality and career prospects are so fragile as to be completely altered by a romantic relationship.