"It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn't much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband, and the father of three school-age children.
While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where...
One of the motifs I wanted to use from the start was "open at the close". That was very important for the final scene, of course, but more so for the entire 4th Act. Did you notice? Some of you did here and there, but no one called it out... hehe.
Allow me to indulge you.
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THROUGH THE TRAPDOOR
In the first Harry Potter story, the trio go off on their own to stop Professor Snape from stealing the stone. They are confronted by Neville Longbottom, who tries to prevent them from leaving because he thinks they're going to make things worse for Gryffindor. Hermione petrifies him with a spell.
Act 3: Scene 21
Neville tries to stop Harry from changing the past because he doesn't trust Harry not to make things worse for the wizarding world. Neville is petrified, yet again, when Ron and Hermione come to help Harry when he needs it most.
Chamber 1.
The trio enter the chamber trying to avoid Fluffy, the three-headed dog. If they're caught, all hope is lost.
Act 4: Scene 1 — Year 2
Harry, Ron, and Hermione avoid the flashing bulbs of three cameras as they attempt to steal Lockhart's peacock feather quill.
Chamber 2.
They go through the trapdoor, only to be tangled up in Devil's Snare. It should stop them but is solved easily by one of the trio.
Act 4: Scene 2 — Year 5
Harry, Ron, and Hermione fall through the trapdoor at Fred and George's joke shop. They are seized by invisible hands and forced to solve an impossible riddle. Ron knows the answer.
Chamber 3.
They come upon a room full of winged keys and a single locked door. Harry has to use his formidable skills as a Seeker to catch the right key against all odds.
Act 4: Scene 3 — Year 4
Hermione returns with the jar of Moody's Polyjuice Potion. It is torn from her grasp. Harry summons his school broom and chases the jar down before their plan is ruined and the future is irrevocably altered.
Chamber 4.
The chess game. Ron sacrifices himself in order for Hermione and Harry to go on.
Act 4: Scene 6 — Year 3
The trio are confronted by the dementors in the forest. They cannot fight back in fear of being discovered. Ron bravely sacrifices himself so that Hermione and Harry can escape.
Chamber 5.
Harry and Hermione reach a room where a giant mountain troll is lying defeated and asleep.
Act 4: Scene 8 — Year 6
They need a hair from Draco to complete the Polyjuice Potion. Harry and Hermione find him asleep in the Room of Requirement beside the Vanishing Cabinet.
Chamber 6.
They come to a chamber where the exits are blocked with colored flames. They must solve a logic puzzle regarding seven potion bottles to move on. Hermione solves it.
Act 4: Scene 10 — Year 1
Quirrell's bookshelf tears the cover off the book they need. Harry and Hermione must solve a logic puzzle about seven spineless books in order to get it back. Hermione solves it.
Chamber 7.
Harry goes on alone. There is someone else in the last chamber along with the Mirror of Erised. It is Professor Quirrell. Harry must face Voldemort, who is hiding on the back of Quirrell's head. And it is only by looking in the mirror that Harry retrieves the stone and Voldemort is defeated.
Act 4: Scene 14 - Year 7
Harry enters Malfoy Manor by himself. Baby Delphi is in the bedchamber along with a substantial mirror. Harry has to become Lord Voldemort in order to face her. He finds himself willing to kill her. But after looking in the mirror, Harry realizes his failings and rids himself of Voldemort once and for all.
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Each task is resolved by traveling back to one of their seven years at Hogwarts. The scenes follow closely to the events that took place prior to Harry's first victory against Voldemort as a wizard. Most importantly, Harry is forced to realize that he couldn't have done it without the help of his best friends.
This, in particular, is something I really enjoyed piecing together. I knew literally everything that would happen in the final act before I even put pen to paper on Act 1. As I've said on many occasions, I've given this play a lot of thought! lol
