Cues No. 12 & 13

The string section ascends as all of the girls get closer and closer to the cauldron containing the love potion. Once they begin retreating slowly, woodwinds take over with predominantly flute triads. Percussive sparkles occur over the reveal of the Felix Felicis vial, creating a more curious atmosphere. A playful solo flute sees out this opening section and moves into more triads. A slow Malfoy theme plays on the shot of Draco as he realizes that this might be an opportunity for him, though this moment is quickly left in mystery.

This cue contains the first real statement of Slughorn’s theme. Nearly two full iterations play while his dialogue takes place. The violas play a small variation on the theme, then the music transitions to Harry as he opens his used potion book for the first time. The Call of the Prince is a new motif not heard clearly since the very opening of the film, and it begins to connect this moment not only to the mysterious former owner of the book, but to the plot of the film as a whole.

Another David Yates montage takes place as the students all compete to make a perfect potion. Material from the Dumbledore’s Army section of Order of the Phoenix is reprised, slightly re-orchestrated, and re-tailored to fit this corresponding scene. There are small interruptions every time the camera refocuses on Harry’s potion book and the customized instructions within. Upon Harry’s win, the music comes to a “finale” of sorts, calming back down to Slughorn’s theme as he bestows the vial of Felix Felicis on Harry.

----

The 3-note motif appears appropriately over the opening shot of the next scene, which depicts the destroyed diary of Tom Riddle. This object and motif share a connection that is not yet clear to Harry but will be in the near future. A distant trumpet, which had a quick moment in Slughorn’s house, plays the RAB theme off in the distance. Much like the relationship between the 3-note and the diary, a connection between this theme and object is also not yet clear; both themes echo over Dumbledore pondering the dark mementos collected so far.

There is a drastic change of mood when Harry arrives. A warm rendition of Fawkes the Phoenix plays, reflecting Harry and Dumbledore's relationship and accompanying their talk. The flute, supported by other woodwinds, delicately takes over and adds another nostalgic blend of color to an old theme. It leads into a turn reminiscent of Hermione's theme at the moment Dumbledore mentions her to Harry, but disappears as quickly as it came.

Choir enters, and the mood shifts back to one much like at the beginning of the cue. On the shot of Dumbledore's cabinet filled with memories, the Pensieve motif returns for the first time since Goblet of Fire. It gets an extensive development in timbre here, as the memories are now an integral plot point. A 3-note motif plays high in the strings, telling us that these memories have to do with a specific person; Tom Riddle.

Once the memory is in the Pensieve, the music fades into a reprise of "Meeting Tom Riddle" from Chamber of Secrets. This reflects its use in a Tom Riddle memory back in the second film, but focuses on the moment Dumbledore himself met the young heir of Slytherin. The first shot of Tom even triggers the Chamber of Secrets triplet figure and a return of the 3-note yet again.

The main Chamber material sneaks in low in the cellos. Many themes are re-introduced in this scene, although it is subtle and underneath the dialogue. A quick crescendo and flourish accents the moment Tom’s cabinet goes up in flames; high and violent strings pierce the upper end of the range, and then low indistinct rumbles answer from the depths of the orchestra. Muted horns bring out the moment of something potentially sinister. The audience, unlike the younger Dumbledore, knows who this boy is and who he will become.

The Fawkes B theme, one that will gain great importance as this score progresses, plays as Dumbledore explains more about Hogwarts to Tom. The meeting between the two is seemingly over, but right as Dumbledore is headed out the door, Tom states that he can also speak to snakes in addition to his newfound powers. Voldemort 1 finally slithers in for the first time in this score. It then gets taken over by a growing Voldemort 2 which crescendos throughout the dissolving of the memory. Choir re-enters, and Harry raises his head from the Pensive.

Reminiscent fragments of Voldemort 1 play distantly in the Horn and English Horn. Wandering strings move around in the dark behind dialogue. Finally, the 3-note re-enters once again, and the scene transitions to outside the castle, where Death Eaters attempt to approach Hogwarts but are thankfully thwarted by the forcefield above.