scorp

— A Return to Happiness.

Scorpius goes through a lot - loneliness, bullying, separation, grief. But at the resolution, we see him experience joy again. It reflects how joy comes after hardship rather than in the absence of it. It doesn't undo his suffering, instead, it sprouts from it. Everything he goes through eventually brings him to build a meaningful bond with Albus, something that really grounds him, gives his happiness weight. After he briefly loses that connection, it makes Scorpius' joy sharper as the connection is no longer taken for granted.

— Purity and Humility.

He carries innate gentleness, and has a humble soul. He doesn't show off his kindness or try to outshine those around him, it's just how he naturally is. Despite everything, despite all the pressure put on him, and his glance at what he's capable of (as Scorpion King), he doesn't choose to do bad, he knew what he should be. His purity isn't in a naive sense, it's the clarity of his heart. He acts without ulterior motives and values honesty and fairness.

— Sadness and Loss.

Loss is something Scorpius learns way too early. He experiences it in both severe form - the loss of his mother, and (arguably) lighter form - the loss of a friendship. He shows resilience, as despite the emotional weight he bears, he manages to maintain a high spirit, and he doesn't let himself sink into the void of depression. Scorpius remains lighthearted, excitable, and kind, even while carrying grief that would normally harden someone. It implies that the contrast between his internal and external demeanour isn't due to a lack of pain, but because it's his choice to remain open despite it. To not let sadness or loss reshape who he truly is but still carry it. (I really wish his grief was explored a lot more.)

— Duality and Toxicity.

In the world where Scorpius is 'Scorpion King', his true nature doesn’t quite disappear, it distorts. The warmth, loyalty, and devotion that is him in the original timeline have nowhere safe to anchor without the people that mean the most to him here. Albus is non-existant, his mother is still fated to die/is dead, meanwhile his father, tho still present, never breaks from the generational trauma. The circumstances of that world alone pushed Scorpius to be what he is there. Insecurity is masked as entitlement, unresolved grief becomes anger, and that anger expresses itself as meanness. It's proof that, like in a lily, beauty, when stripped of its grounding, can turn toxic.

— Sincere affection.

"I built a time machine to see you again"

The time-turner. Tho not used with the same intent/context, still fits their story. Scorpius comes back from task 2, he realises Albus is gone, and does everything he can to go back in time, to bring him back, to see him again.

"The way we were back then"

Refers to them before forced separation. They only realise what 'back then' means to them after it's gone. It can also refer to how they changed after the experience they went through. Character growth, fixing relationships, etc.

"You said I was your second head I knew exactly what you meant"

" And you know as well as I do, I’ll entirely mess it up if you don’t come with me. Come on. " - Albus Implies slight dependence/necessity. However, he also says, " I can do it without you — but I want you there. Because I want us to do this together". So he's capable of being independent, but wants Scorpius around, wants companionship.

"I wanna be the king of your heart"

Scorpius' wishes to be chosen, to matter, to belong, in a world that's constantly pressing on him. The only person (outside of family) that he has, is Albus. This matters to Scorpius as he's someone people tolerate, look down upon even, not accept. I 'wanna' be, shows hope and carefulness. It's not declaring, but asking. Throughout the time, Albus doesn't develop any other friendships either. It makes it look like getting close to him is difficult, setting up more doubt for Scorpius.

"Let's fall apart and start again"

Their friendship, they themselves, fell apart at some point. "And then Albus looks away and the moment is broken—and with it, possibly, the friendship." And in the end, a new version of them is basically a new start. "In this new version of us". Also: "We thought we could start again — in the Muggle world. We discovered we were wrong."

"You'll see the end of me"

Scorpius witnessed a world where Albus didn't exist. "Potter? Albus Potter? There’s no such student" Also applies metaphorically to how Scorpius saw Albus at his worst, his end, when he was having issues with his father, and had to get separated from Scorpius.

"Until it washed away in our hands"

Refers to how their friendship slipped out of their control through interference. It was 'in their own hands' as it was their choice to become and stay friends with eachother, despite the stigma around both of them.

"And you said you could never love again"

"Just — we’ll be better off without each other, okay?" It's a declaration made in the moment, not one that would last. It contrasts how much they actually mean to eachother, that they are actually better off together instead. They make eachother stronger, bring out the best in eachother, and they form a connection through understanding of eachother that no one else has.

"Well, it must've been fate then"

Albus frames the seperation as 'fate' because it hurts less when it is something inevitable rather than a choice. If anything, he didn't have a choice or say at all, Harry enforced all sorts of measures to keep them apart which would force him into thinking that maybe, this is just how things were meant to end up - he can't do anything about it. Fate here can also mean inheritance, the idea that they were going to fail because their fathers once stood on opposite sides. But also, despite everything, they still, at the end of the day, end up together.

"I wanna be the king"

Pre time-turning Scorpius wanting an identity that's not "Voldemort's son" or based on any of the other rumors circulating around him. He wants to be more than what he's viewed as. "King" alludes confidence, authority over one's own identity, self-assurance. Scorpius on the other hand, is quite the opposite. He's narrowed down to one role - no authority over defining who he is. "THE King" is also general/broad, refering to how he has no one in specific, its him vs everyone else.

"I'm the king"

When Scorpius was 'Scorpion King'. Briefly, he sees what it's like to be prominent and not a 'loser' but at the cost of every relationship or value that mattered. It serves as a moment of realisation, that maybe despite all, the original timeline - the bare minimum he has, is worth more than he thought, especially Albus. "You don’t know how good it is to be back here, Albus. I hated it there."

"I'm your king"