Cue No. 15

The Dark Forest theme opens this cue as Hagrid and Harry walk towards a mysterious destination. The music freezes when Hagrid stops and looks through the empty woods, and the tension begins to ramp up. When they start walking again, the Dark Forest theme continues, this time with tremolo violins on top, as if to suggest moving forward is becoming more dangerous.

Once it’s revealed that Hagrid is here to see Madame Maxime, the strings shiver with much cheese and over-the-top romance, accompanied by the harp. The natural comedy of a scene like this could only be emphasized by the music taking itself incredibly seriously. Once Hagrid and Maxime are done greeting each other, they push the bushes back to reveal the real reason why they’re both this deep into the Forbidden Forest.

Dragons are revealed to us to be the first task of the Triwizard Tournament. Norbert is the only dragon Harry has ever seen before, so that theme from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001) makes a cameo, militarized and ready for battle. Harry’s only perspective on dragons so far is now shattered with this hostile view of a Hungarian Horntail. Anxiety comes over him as he turns to Hagrid, not knowing how he’s going to succeed in the first task. As the Horntail blasts a ball of fire towards the camera, octave trumpets blast towards our ears, and the scene quickly changes.