Cue No. 27

The strings enter under the trio's talk with Xenophilius. Harp and clarinet have an interest in the conversation as well. The trio may finally be getting answers. Dark chords drop out, leaving just the horns and violins, waiting for Hermione to find her copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard given to her by Dumbledore. As she begins to read, Ron interrupts and corrects her briefly. She gives him a look, before we continue. This moment is a delicate balance between the humorous dynamic between the two and the seriousness of the story she is about to read. 

Xenophilius looks out the window as Hermione begins, and a feather flies by, transitioning us into an animated macabre telling of the Tale of the Three Brothers. Violas shiver, and a choir quietly sings the Deathly Hallows Theme. When the feather lands in the pond, chords from the first Invisibility Cloak scene in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) appear, calling back yet again to a moment at the opening of the series to tie it to the end. The Deathly Hallows Theme continues in the violins, playing it with false harmonics. This is quietly decorated with harp harmonics, choir, and percussion. 

When Death appears, a solo violin begins playing a descending motion, distant and cold. Flute plays with it, and the Deathly Hallows Theme returns, this time as the Elder Wand appears for the first brother. The theme holds until Death moves to the second brother. When the Resurrection Stone appears, the Deathly Hallows Theme continues, and pauses again. When Death reaches the third brother, the theme finishes at the appearance of the invisibility cloak, complimented by the trademark chords that accompany the most ancient and mysterious magical object. 

When the first brother uses the Elder Wand to murder another man, low strings and brass chords brood in the texture. String harmonics bring back the Hallows theme once more, and build tension up until the moment the first brother is killed in his sleep, and the wand is taken. At the moment Death claims the first brother, a low piano cluster and tamtam flood the texture with their dark and ominous sounds. 

Shivering strings come in as the second brother opens the door to his home where he sees, because of the power of the Resurrection Stone, the ghost of his dead wife in front of him. The orchestration suggests a distant quasi-waltz as she twirls around. Although, because she is still not real, the second brother takes his own life, having gone mad. The piano and tamtam return as Death claims its prize. 

Minor chords, sounding incredibly jarring in their tonality at this point, play as Death searches for the third brother, but cannot find him. When he finally takes off the invisibility cloak, the third brother greets Death as an old friend, "departing this life as equals." Instead of an ominous piano and tamtam over his passing, two dark chords play as he slowly leaves the world. The solo violin returns, and the story fades away, leaving Xenophilius in the window once again.