THE JEAN CHRONICLES: THE POISONED ENCHANTRESS

Screenplay
by

Severus Snape

Based on the novel by Albus Dumbledore

FINAL WHITE DRAFT

MoM Pictures. Prod. Ltd. © 1999

4000 Privet Drive MOM PICTURES. ENT.
Burbank, California 91522 All Rights Reserved
1. EXT. AZOTHARA - NIGHT

Snow is turbulent in this dark hour, blanketing the fortress.

There are frantic steps on the ground. Murmurs. A palace in
the distance, with windows alight. A MAN (CHANCELLOR) hurries
to a carriage with a group of people trailing behind in
disarray.

WOMAN
But it's not the full moon yet!

CHANCELLOR
We have no choice.

He turns to look at the sky with the crescent moon, face dark
and worried.

CHANCELLOR
We are lucky enough that it's past
nightfall.

The CHANCELLOR's WIFE wades through the group, handing the

man his briefcase.

WIFE
You must hurry. We'll try to take care
of the rest.

She clenches the copper stone of her necklace for a brief

moment. A dim light glows inside her hand. When she lets go,
it is a silver stone. The carriage heads towards the palace.

The rest of the group follow suit, transmuting several items

to silver.

2 OMITTED

3 INT. THE PALACE

Chaos. Chatter all around with maids and butlers clambering

up flights of stairs. A few people are transmuting more items
to silver.

4 INT. PALACE CORRIDOR

Murmurs in the dark hall while a group wait outside a room.

THE QUEEN's screams can be heard from the room along with
faint murmurs of nurses. It continues for a full minute
before it subsides.
 2.

The CHANCELLOR arrives with heavy footsteps - walking through

the hall, parting the small crowd. Just as he reaches the
door, a baby's cries are heard.

5 INT. INSIDE ROOM - MOMENTS LATER

The QUEEN holds her baby close, examining the tuff of stark
silver hair on the baby's head. The KING is pacing in the
large room. A single NURSE is on standby, along with an ELDER
and the CHANCELLOR.

KING
There must be a mistake—

CHANCELLOR
I'm afraid we have turned as much as
we can into silver, Your Majesty.

KING
(furious)
Then why?

QUEEN
(distantly)
There's no use.

KING
There must be a way.

She is clearly furious herself, but is unable to comprehend

the moment.

QUEEN
And what is that? There will never be
enough mercury in my blood to create
the child.

KING
I'm not—

QUEEN
You'd have killed me first. Is that
what you want? Before your firstborn?
He is your son!

The child begins to cry from the noise. The QUEEN begins to
sway.

KING
(turning)
The prophecy—
 3.

CHANCELLOR
(interrupting)
It cannot be changed, your Majesty.

The KING sits, defeated, at the edge of the bed, head in his
hands.

QUEEN
(defiant)
The moon has still blessed us.

ELDER
A child born at the start of the
eleventh month, of moonlight, past
nightfall.

CHANCELLOR
..Firstborn of silver, with blood of
gold.

KING
And?

The MAN lowers his head.

CHANCELLOR
My king, we cannot-he is your
firstborn.

ELDER
(firmly)
Silver. Not gold.

QUEEN
(angrily)
But his hair is of silver! His blood
is pure! Purer than gold.

She pulls the baby closer. The room is quiet while she
muffles her cries.

ELDER
Have you chosen a name?

QUEEN
Why? When he will not even live long
enough to share his own name?

CHANCELLOR
Surely, my Queen, by the right age, he
will meet...
 4.

He hesitates to finish.

QUEEN
(with a change in demeanor, coldly)
It matters not. He has been chosen - I
will make it so.

ELDER
You're naive, child. The moon has only
chosen one.

QUEEN
And it has chosen mine!

MAN
Your Majesty, I — it truly can't be
changed.

The fireplace crackles in the distance. The snowstorm howls

outside.

QUEEN
It will in time. There cannot be
another.

6-7 OMITTED

8 EXT. LONDON, ST. THOMAS HOSPITAL

There is a thick blanket of snow upon the ground, trampled

down by footsteps. Snowflakes flutter down from a night sky.

9 INT. A HOSPITAL ROOM

Close up on a clock ticking slowly, just about to strike

midnight. A scream suddenly breaks the silence.

A woman is giving birth, panting and heaving on a hospital

bed. The doctor urges her through her contractions while she
clutches the nurse's hand tightly.

DOCTOR
Push! I need you to push now!

NURSE
You're doing so well dear - we're
getting close now.

The woman's screams are sharp and loud. They finally

dissipate as she finally breaks down into sobs, relieved.
 5.

DOCTOR
(cheerily as he hands the baby to
the nurse)
Yes, well, there we go. Well done
ma'am, well done.

MOTHER
(weakly)
Baby...

DOCTOR
Don't you worry about that there
ma'am, your child is in very capable
hands, yes, with Ms. Kat right here.
Perfectly capable. Kat, could you..

The nurse steps back to the mother, handing her a squealing

bundle. She smiles softly.

KAT
She's beautiful, miss. You should be
very proud.

The MOTHER and the baby share a quiet moment.

The woman begins coughing roughly, shaking. Concern on her

face, KAT moves and offers to take the baby, unburden the
woman, but the MOTHER clutches her tightly, eyes closed.

The doctor glances over from where he was about to step out.

KAT
(mouthing)
Stay.

The DOCTOR pauses. Smiles.

DOCTOR
You did great, ma'am. It's merely the
exertion. You'll pull right through.
Just get some rest in the meantime.

MOTHER
(weakly)
Oh...

Another nurse appears by the doorway, trying to get the

DOCTOR's attention. He turns to the MOTHER apologetically.

DOCTOR
Trust me. There's no need to worry.
 6.

Kat here will run through the blood

tests. I'm so sorry, I just have
to—take care of—

He is gone.

The MOTHER's coughing has subsided. She looks towards the

door, her face ashen and fallen. KAT pushes the woman's curls
away from her brow.

KAT
I'm so sorry about that.

The MOTHER is too tired to reply, potentially doesn't hear

her. Taking a deep breath, KAT comes closer, a kind smile on
her face.

KAT
Miss, I just need to take her - just
for a moment! We need to run some
tests, and then I'll make sure you're
right as rain, the both of you. How
does that sound?

The MOTHER hesitates for a moment, but relents. KAT steps to

the other side of the room, preparing equipment. The MOTHER
sags against her pillow.

KAT
It won't be long. Have you got a name
for the lass?

MOTHER
(slurring)
J..

KAT
(laughs softly)
Well, that's a start. J..ess? Janet?
Jo?

MOTHER
Jean.

KAT
For Jeanette?

MOTHER
Jean for...Jean.
 7.

KAT
I like that. Is that a family name, or
did you find it in one of the baby
books?

MOTHER
My grandmother...

KAT
A good woman, I'm sure.

The MOTHER nods in agreement, eyes drooping.

KAT
Hey. Hey, stay with me, miss. It won't
be for a while longer, I promise. Say,
do you live in the area?

MOTHER
(nodding)
Years now.

KAT
A bona fide local by this point then.
And I'm qualified to say - born and
raised here, I was. You know, there's
one sure-fire way to tell if you're a
Londoner.

MOTHER
Hm?

KAT
How much do you hate the Central Line?

The MOTHER laughs weakly.

KAT smiles at her own joke, and turns back to JEAN to take
her neonatal heel prick. It goes smoothly until she inspects
the drop on the paper. Her face contorts — confusion.

Just off to the centre of the drop of blood is a splotch of

what appears to be liquid gold.

KAT stares at the sample for a moment, blinking.

MOTHER (O.S)
Is everything okay?
 8.

KAT
(shakes head)
Just fine. I just need to...

She visibly contemplates for a moment before doing a second

prick. This time, she examines the procedure carefully.
Briefly, there is a semblance of red blood, before it drips
gold again.

Silence.

The MOTHER's face drops.

MOTHER
(anxious)
What's wrong? Is something going on?

KAT
It's... it's alright. I need you to
stay calm for me, okay? It's going to
be okay.

MOTHER
Okay..

KAT
Tell me, do you have any conditions I
should know about?

MOTHER
I..

KAT
Anything blood related?

MOTHER
(rising)
No. Nothing. I—nothing should be—I
hadn't—

KAT
Miss, it's alright, please, just—

MOTHER
No, no, everything's—I don't have
anything wrong. No.

KAT
(hesitant)
It's just that your daughter's blood
is...
 9.

She glances at the door.

Hold on just for a moment, I might

have to speak to Doctor—

MOTHER
(alarmed)
No, don't! Don't! You can't!

KAT
Miss! I promise, everything is okay,
she's just fine. It'll be okay. It'll
be okay. You need to calm down.

The MOTHER is panting now, her breaths ragged as she

frantically tries to get her words straight.

MOTHER
She wasn't supposed to, she wasn't
meant to—

The MOTHER is coughing again, worse than before.

KAT
Miss, please, you have to calm down!

The coughs become severe. KAT runs to the door, JEAN in her
arms, and flings it open.

KAT
I need a doctor!

It swiftly becomes a cacophony of medical discord. NURSES

scramble to find a doctor. The MOTHER is fading away, fast.
KAT runs close at her side.

The MOTHER catches her breath for a moment. Her skin is

sallow and her eyes crazed, but a dash of lucidity breaks
through her panic. She draws KAT close, clutching desperately
at her shoulders. In KAT's arms, JEAN begins to cry.

MOTHER
(rapid)
Eleventh month, nightfall, moonlight.

The MOTHER grabs KAT's necklace, pulling her close. KAT is

startled, tries to pull away.

KAT
Miss—
 10.

MOTHER
Eleventh month, nightfall, moonlight.
Firstborn of silver, blood of gold.

KAT
What?

To her shock, KAT's necklace begins to melt mid-air in the

MOTHER's hand. KAT yelps, horrified.

Her mouth is agape as she watches the cheap material

transmute into pure gold. She is stunned. The MOTHER shoves
the necklace in her hands.

The commotion outside draws near.

MOTHER
(barely audible whisper)
Tell no one.

Doctor and nurses flood into the room. The camera stays on
KAT'S face as the sound of flatlining rings out in the chaos.
For a moment, everything else fades away. JEAN's cries are
slightly muffled. A clock is ticking.

KAT disentangles herself from the commotion around the

MOTHER's body. Moves across the room in a trance.

10 INT. HOSPITAL HALL

KAT takes JEAN to the hallway and hastily wipes away the
blood, swaddling the newborn. She walks to the window,
soothing JEAN as she cries. Snow is drifting against the
glass panes. She looks out the window for a moment, seeing
the full moon shining brightly.