Science Fiction & Fantasy Asked by Au101 on May 19, 2021
In Harry Potter and the Cursed Child there is a riddle. While I can get a lot of it (indeed, a fair amount of it is explained by the characters themselves), I’m less confident about other bits, particularly the last third of the riddle. So, does anybody have a complete breakdown of the riddle?
The first is the fourth, a disappointing mark
You’ll find it in parked but not in park.The second is the less fair of those that walk on two legs.
Grubby, hairy a disease of the egg.
And the third is both a mountain to climb and a route to take.A turn in the city, a glide through a lake.
(Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – pp.89-90 – Little, Brown – Act One, Scene Nineteen)
The first is the fourth [letter of the alphabet], a disappointing mark [D for Dreadful]
You'll find it in parked but not in park = [Self-explanatory. The letters D and E are not found in the word park]
The second is the less fair of those that walk on two legs = Women are known as the fair sex. Men are, by intimation the less fair.
Grubby, hairy, a disease of the egg = [Hermione is suggesting that the eggs which result in male births are diseased].
And the third is both a mountain to climb [Another word for a mountain is a 'tor]' and a route to take [as in 'guided tours'].
A turn in the city, a glide through a lake = [These just seem to be examples of places on which you could be taken for a guided tour].
DELPHI/HERMIONE (effusively): Men! De-men . . . tors. We need to find a book on dementors. (The bookcase pulls her in.) Albus!
ALBUS/RON: Delphi! What is going on?
SCORPIUS/HARRY: Concentrate, Albus. Do what she said. Find a book on dementors and be very careful.
Correct answer by Valorum on May 19, 2021
The first is the fourth, a disappointing mark You'll find it in parked but not in park.
Hermione in the books is very strict about grades. She considered herself a failure even when she got "Outstanding" in all of her other classes and "Exceeds Expectations" in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Of course she'd find a D disappointing. As for the second line there, that's a dead giveaway.
Answered by G4RT3R on May 19, 2021
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