Cue No. 38

The music is sparked into existence by Dumbledore’s realization regarding the connection between Harry and Voldemort’s wands. Appropriately, Wand of the Phoenix gets a full statement here, as it did in the graveyard scene, to bring home the importance of that moment in Ollivander’s nearly four years prior. In reflection of not only the past year at Hogwarts but all of his life so far, Hedwig’s Theme comforts Harry in this moment. It settles down and sounds once more in the clarinet before transitioning to the courtyard outside.

Harry’s theme comes in nostalgically and slowly. It plays first as an oboe solo, then the strings have a statement that becomes stressed. Suspensions move us away from the usual tonality. This shows that, though the moment is bittersweet for all of the students, this is not just a farewell to friends; it is a farewell to childhood. The themes that were once heroic and pure are being transformed from the innocence they once held.

The music accompanies Harry as he watches the goodbyes take place. On the wide shot of the castle and the Durmstrang ship, a grand statement of Harry’s Wondrous World sounds out, and sees the two visiting schools departing from Hogwarts. As the goodbyes calm down, a familiar viola line transitions the listener aurally and emotionally to music not heard since Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002).

A new version of the music from “Leaving Hogwarts” and “Reunion of Friends” comforts Harry and his two best friends. Ron and Hermione, ever loyal to him, share a moment before departing Hogwarts for the summer, as they realize the recent events will change the Wizarding World forever. The finale of this score shares the same harmonic landscape as the conclusions of Sorcerer’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets, but this time less triumphant. The introspective nature of these final notes shows how far the characters have come since the days of their childhood and a simpler time at Hogwarts. The celesta (arguably the most important instrument in a Harry Potter score) plays a final ascending motive upwards in the Lydian mode, bidding a quiet farewell to youth, and accepting the future to come.