Before you read Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, who did you think would be the best and worst at parenting?
The Cursed Child dropped some ridiculous revelations and new information, but it also gave us character development for those we probably thought we knew everything there was to know. Being a parent is a whole new challenge, testing you in different ways, and not the kind of thing we ever had to see Harry, Ron, or Hermione go through.
The epilogue only delivered a taste of the trio’s parenting, but with The Cursed Child, we get to really see how well they, along with Ginny and Draco, can raise children.
Ron & Hermione
Interestingly, Ron was raised by the best parents in the series, but his parenting skills are lacking. Hermione, too, does not seem to be a particularly active mother. Although, we never actually get to see Ron or Hermione be a parent in The Cursed Child. We’re limited to gauging their parenting abilities based on the behavior of, not even their children, just the one child.
Rose Granger-Weasley was introduced with all the potential in the world. She clearly had Hermione’s intellect and ambition, but she also had a side of Ron’s goofiness. However, the honeymoon didn’t last.
Not only did she turn out to be a side character whose personality we never got to further explore, she ended up being rather prejudiced. She is one of the many who judge Scorpius just because he’s a Malfoy, and when Albus befriends him, she distances herself from him too. Is that the kind of behavior Ron or Hermione would encourage? Not entirely, since they do tell Rose to talk to Albus, but nothing is mentioned of Scorpius.
In terms of Hermione’s parenting, she herself admits she might not give her children as much focus as her job, “Do you think there’s a point where we made a choice – parent of the year or Ministry official of the year?” If she keeps that up, it’s only a matter of time before we get another Cursed Child, this time about kids who grew up with a distant mother.
As for Ron, his parenting is questionable at best. He gives a love potion to a 14 year old. Is there anything about that statement that seems like a good idea? How often has it been preached that love potions are immoral, and ultimately don’t accomplish the intended purpose? On top of that, giving it to a 14 year old? For a series that’s all about love, that sure seems like the wrong lesson to be teaching.
Perhaps Ron is trying to be the ‘cool uncle,’ but there are far better ways to go about that. Unless of course it was solely for a plot device, which is not necessarily a better alternative.
Rose is far from a ‘bad kid,’ nor are Ron and Hermione bad parents. However, they are far from the best parents, and could take a lesson or two from the couples listed below.
Harry & Ginny
Harry Potter is not a bad dad. Take a moment to collect your rage before continuing.
First, let’s address the hippogriff in the room: “Well, there are times I wish you weren’t my son.” How could Harry Potter, abused orphan, who never had a father and always wished for one, possibly say such a thing, and to his own son no less? If you think that, congratulations. You’ve clearly never had a proper fight with a parent.
Harry is 40 years old at this time. It’s been over 20 years since the Battle of Hogwarts. He’s had more than half his life to live like a normal wizard. He has a full-time job and a family. The lonely emotions are hardly at the forefront of his psyche anymore.
Now add to the mix that Harry is past the point of frustration. The text even says he’s “seeing red.” We’ve seen throughout the series how Harry lashes out when frustrated, and that’s not even uncommon in the average person. So yes, when Harry became overly frustrated with his son who he’s been having trouble connecting with and is giving him lip, he said something he didn’t mean. It happens. Give the boy wonder a break.
Harry clearly has a good relationship with his other two children, and from the little we’ve seen, they appear to be decent kids (though James might be a few bristles short of a broom). Does it make him a terrible father because he’s having a harder time relating to one of his kids but not the other two? That would be a pretty harsh judgement.
Then there’s Ginny. Ginny is exactly the kind of mother, and by extension, wife, that you would expect her to be. While we don’t get to see her mother any of the children directly, her advice to Harry is consistently on point, and she’s always patient and compassionate, yet firm.
Draco & Astoria
Surprisingly (or if you read a lot of fanfiction, perhaps unsurprisingly), the boy with possibly the worst parents grew up to be the best parent. Draco Malfoy had an elitist father who preached prejudiced, entitled, and, frankly, evil lessons, yet Draco has abandoned such teachings in favor of compassion.
Draco’s son Scorpius might very well be the kindest soul in the Harry Potter series. He’s like a deer: skittish and gentle, nothing like his father when he was Scorpius’ age, probably because Scorpius was raised with proper, if sheltered, love.
It’s difficult to gauge Astoria’s parenting, since we never get to see it in practice, but from what we’re told, Draco, and Scorpius, seem to have learned compassion from her. Sure, Draco probably learned from his own dad how not to parent, but he still needed help to know what to do, and Astoria showed him.
Together, Draco and Astoria raised an intelligent and thoughtful son, a boy any parent would be proud to have. Draco may not vocal of his pride, nor is he the warmest father, but he’s learning how to be the dad his son needs, and together, they’re the cutest parent/child pairing in The Cursed Child.
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