Cue No. 18

Cellos and basses wander ominously for a few seconds before the Horntail strikes right next to Harry. A four-note motor motif begins in the low orchestra, propelling the tension forward. It stops quickly and then continues with a blast as the dragon spits fire. The higher sections of the woodwinds choreograph Harry’s hops and runs throughout the stadium as he flees. A quick plotting motif plays as we see Moody watching the event.

The tail hits near Harry again, and the dragon throws him to the ground. A quick and distressed statement of Wand of the Phoenix plays as if the orchestra is reminding Harry of his original plan for this task, and recalling his first Quidditch match from year one. The dragon continues spitting fire at him. A death eater fragment plays over the shot of Karkaroff, and Wand of the Phoenix reprises over Hermione’s shouts to Harry to use his wand. The low four-note ostinato continues with anxious trills from the woodwinds. As Harry turns to look, he sees his Firebolt flying towards him, accompanied by the same excited music used in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) for when he first used the broom. The music gets anxious, and moves back into trills that continue as Harry prepares to make a leap.

Nimbus 2000 erupts as Harry lands on his broom, and the crowd in the stadium cheers. This is followed by new material based off of the original Quidditch match from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001). As it modulates upwards with Harry’s altitude, the dragon continues to chase him, and it breaks free of its chains. As Harry flies through the stands, and the Horntail destroys parts of the seats, we see Rita’s disheveled face.

The chase continues outside the stadium with Nimbus 2000 getting another statement. In the middle of this theme, woodwinds again choreograph Harry and the Horntail flying different directions around a castle tower. The dragon motif appears in battle mode, showing once again that dragons aren’t always cute and cuddly. There is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Hedwig’s theme as Harry flies around the biggest tower at Hogwarts, which is quickly interrupted by the dragon, who flew around the other side. The orchestra falls with Harry as he slides down the roof of the castle. The music nearly halts as he hangs from the window. The dragon climbs to the very top of the castle, where the orchestra opens up with her wings, and another quick Hedwig’s theme sneaks in before the basses start moving again. As Harry climbs around the side of the window, the music gasps in shock as the spire breaks and he falls even further down the roof. It gets more and more anxious as the Horntail gets closer to Harry, who can’t seem to reach his stranded Firebolt.

The most extreme statement of dragons plays until the Horntail finally shoots forward and destroys the window. Luckily for Harry, he reached his broom just in time and begins falling down the rest of the castle roof accompanied by chromatically falling winds. At the moment he lands on his broom and is flying once again, the orchestra moves into Quidditch music again, this time from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004). This transitions back into the original four-note motor motif as he approaches the bridge, and is interrupted at its climax by the dragon biting the back of Harry’s broom. A big brass hit plays as the dragon collides with the bridge and descends down towards the lake along with Harry.

Back at the stadium, a worried Hedwig’s theme plays as spectators wonder about Harry’s fate. The oboe takes over before a transition into a quiet Triwizard motif. The orchestra holds until Harry comes speeding over the hill. The crowd erupts as the victorious Quidditch Fanfare plays. Harry reaches for the golden egg as the brass play the Triwizard theme, and the scene cuts to Harry’s Wondrous World in the Gryffindor Common Room. The music comes to a quiet halt as the students all wait for Harry to open the egg. A tremolo waits for the reveal, and then stops abruptly as the egg screams and Harry falls.