Cue No. 8

Low muted brass accompanied by pizzicato basses sting the texture as Harry sees Rita Skeeter has written a book about Dumbledore. He then looks up from the Daily Prophet, noticing Ginny approaching in her dress for the wedding. A new variation on their music from Half-Blood Prince (2021) plays under their kiss, introducing some counterpoint now that their relationship is more complicated than it used to be. The moment gets interrupted by a sneaking George in the kitchen. Pizzicato basses make the moment more playful, and the music dies down as Ginny leaves and Harry is left in an awkward situation. 

Outside, the Weasleys and Hagrid are putting up the wedding tent. Horns play a noble Weasley theme accompanied by colorful harmonies in the strings, flutes, harp, and percussion to give a pure magical moment some lightness at the beginning of the film. The music shifts moods quickly, as the Minister of Magic Apparates into their cornfield and begins walking towards the Burrow. Ministry music plays, forward-moving and relentless. Though the theme is not present here (because Scrimgeour is not part of the twisted regime himself), the rhythmic motion from Order of the Phoenix (2020) is used to represent his stature in the Wizarding World. After it dissolves, a suspicious Harry rounds the corner to the kitchen where the minister stands, and now the Ministry theme plays partially in the horns and flute. What is the purpose of this visit?  

Pizzicato strings paired with trills hesitantly grasp for a reason as to why the minster has arrived. Magical sounds from the percussion section enter the texture, and a document floats up in the air next to Scrimgeour and the trio. As it unfolds, it is revealed to be the last will and testament of Albus Dumbledore. A solo oboe plays the Fawkes A theme. English horn continues the theme over tremolo strings, and a clarinet interrupts with Ron’s theme as he is given the deluminator. Pizzicato strings are used once again to emphasize a comedic beat where Ron asks what it is. When he opens it, harp, flute, and percussion follow the lights from the nearby lamps into the deluminator and back out. The celesta plays the end of the Sneaking Around theme as an homage to the first time we saw Dumbledore use the device at the opening of the series. 

Hermione’s theme plays melancholically in the oboe as she is given The Tales of Beadle the Bard. The very beginning of the Deathly Hallows theme then plays, though it is not clear why at this moment. Ron’s theme interrupts once again, this time in the bassoon as he talks about the stories in the book that he’s familiar with from childhood. Strings come back in at the announcement of what Harry shall receive. Scrimgeour holds out the Snitch from Harry’s first Quidditch match at Hogwarts. A crescendo of anticipation reaches its peak as Harry grabs it from the cloth. Scrimgeour looks disappointed, as if he expected something to happen. The low strings enter after a short pause, and another small bit of the Deathly Hallows theme plays, this time suggesting there is more to the Snitch than we just saw. 

The next texture provided by tremolo upper strings and pizzicato lower strings plays up the anticipation of a fourth item: the sword of Godric Gryffindor. The Fawkes B theme is heard in the woodwinds and then the harp, as this not only represents the mission Dumbledore has sent Harry on, but references the history of the sword and Fawkes himself. Choir joins the strings in ominous chord changes upon the announcement from Scrimgeour that the sword is missing. The Fawkes B theme winds down, and the scene cuts to the evening outside after Bill and Fleur’s wedding.