Harry probably felt as though he was living his dream… for the most part
When Harry was younger, the only profession that appealed to him was being an Auror… though you’d think he would have had enough of Dark wizards by the time he left school! Fortunately for him, he made it, and he even became the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. In terms of his career, he seemed to be living his dream. We imagine his younger self would have been rather pleased about that and all the exciting adventures he had.
However, his job wasn’t the only thing we reckon Harry aspired to. After growing up without a mother and father, we imagine he would have desperately wanted a family of his own. Though the Dursleys were technically related to him, they never gave him the loving home he needed. Luckily, he managed to start creating his own family during his time at Hogwarts and that continued after he left. When we met him in Cursed Child, he was happily married to Ginny, and they had three wonderful children.
However, that is not to say that that everything was perfect. Harry had real difficulty connecting with his son Albus and found he couldn’t truly escape the past. We think his younger self would probably roll their eyes at some of Harry’s bonding attempts and would be frustrated that his fame was one of things that caused friction with his child. Although, these hiccups aside, we are confident that Harry would be amazed at how his life unfolded.
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We’re not surprised that Hermione ended up as Minister for Magic… but she might be
Ok, so the cleverest witch of her age becoming Minister for Magic might seem like a forgone conclusion, but we doubt little Hermione would have been too happy. While Harry and Ron dreamt of becoming Dark wizard catchers, Hermione had other passions – remember S.P.E.W.? As she put it, she wanted ‘to do something worthwhile’ and saw working for the rights of house-elves as just that. Working for the Ministry wasn’t something that really appealed to her. In fact, she really wasn’t a big fan of it. When Minister for Magic Rufus Scrimgeour asked her if she was planning to follow a career in Magical Law, she said ‘No I’m not… I’m hoping to do some good in the world!’ Oh, how things change.
The Hermione we met in Cursed Child, might have held the top job in the institution that her younger self regarded so warily, but we have no doubt that she still managed to meet her childhood ambition of trying to make the wizarding world a better place. Now she was the one with the power, she could work on making the changes she felt it needed.
We also think she would have been rather happy to hear that she and Ron had finally managed to stop bickering long enough to get married, have kids and share their life together. Though she worked long hours at the Ministry and couldn’t spend quite as much time with her family as she hoped, ultimately, we feel that her younger self would be rather happy with where they ended up. She was definitely someone her kids could be proud of.
Ron’s aspirations changed in his adult life… but that’s not a bad thing
In their fifth year at Hogwarts, when Harry asked Ron what he wanted to do after he left school, he sheepishly replied that he would like to be an Auror. And he was for a while – but that soon changed. After a stint at the Ministry, Ron left to help his brother George run Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes. We imagine that after years of fighting Voldemort and his followers, Ron was happy to help his brother and bring joy to the wizarding world.
Now we believe that Ron’s younger self might have initially been a bit annoyed that Harry and Hermione both ended up with powerful jobs and he didn’t follow suit – especially with his insecurities about being overlooked. However, we reckon he would come to appreciate how his aspirations evolved and would realise that he wasn’t in anyone else’s shadow.
Ron in Cursed Child seemed to be pretty content. He had really found his feet as a father, had not lost his sense of humour and enjoyed entertaining the next generation (Lily Potter in particular seemed to really look up to her Uncle Ron). As an excellent dad, he didn’t appear to have many anxieties about his relationship with his kids. He also seemed to be a perfect fit for Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes and enjoyed using the products they sold. His marriage to Hermione was strong and he even seemed to be a bit of a romantic – what with his desire to renew their vows (so he does have an emotional range bigger than a teaspoon). Overall, Ron was thriving when we saw him as an adult. We figure that if his younger self saw how happy he was, they would completely understand the path he chose.
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