Cue No. 17

Ominous cellos and basses lead us out of the conversation Harry has with Moody, and erupt into the full orchestra playing a triumphant Triwizard theme as the stadium is revealed. Another statement of the theme follows, this time just in the brass and timpani, before a solo clarinet carries us into the tent where the four champions are waiting. There is uncertainty and anxiety in the air as Harry paces around not knowing how to prepare. Flutes and triangle interrupt when Harry is startled by something outside the tent. The oboe reveals that it’s Hermione. Her theme plays in full for the first time in this film as she has an emotional conversation with Harry.

Harry and Hermione’s hug is interrupted by Rita Skeeter. A new variation on Rita’s theme, much like Rita herself, hijacks this entire section. Her music finally ends as Dumbledore walks into the tent accompanied by the Wizard Games motif, but even at the end of the motif, we hear one last fragment of Rita’s theme as she retreats to the corner. Hermione is awkwardly in the middle of a conversation she shouldn’t be a part of, and leaves along with the cello and bass pizzicatos that follow her.

Mr. Crouch reveals a small bag that contains miniature dragons for each champion to blindly pick. We once again hear the Triwizard theme, this time in the flutes. As the first dragon is revealed, the music immediately becomes more ominous. Much like when the dragons were revealed in Cue No. 15, Norbert’s theme gets a transformation here as well. Low strings play it first, followed by the bassoon, accompanied with thumping of terror underneath. A violin trill with a triangle announces the reveal of the miniature Hungarian Horntail, and strings move around with uncertainty as Crouch explains the task to the champions. Another orchestral accent plays over Filch blasting the canon too soon, and then a long stretch of chords play as Harry awaits his fate. This is one of very few moments in the score where the music could take deep breaths, and it felt appropriate here due to the inevitable action sequence that follows. The music quiets down and comes to a suspenseful silence as Harry enters the arena, ready to face the Horntail.