Cue No. 40

Low strings enter quietly back at Hogwarts, and shivering triplets alternate in thirds over Borgin & Burkes far away as the Death Eaters arrive. Over a shot of the sky, choir enters. The music remains ominous over the many shots of different characters. There is a distinct feeling in the air that something terrible is about to happen. Violins play a fragment of a theme over Snape, though it is not entirely clear, then Malfoy’s theme takes over as he reveals the now-complete Vanishing Cabinet.

A crescendo accompanies the cabinet opening. Bellatrix steps out, and horns announce her arrival. At the end of their statement, they crescendo quickly as a cut takes us to the top of the Astronomy Tower where Dumbledore and Harry arrive from their ordeal in the cave. Fawkes B plays in the winds before a solo horn takes it over. The theme is tired and distraught at this point, losing energy and giving in. Low strings come back, and the harp plucks a slow Death Eater theme.

One more Fawkes B theme plays, then the oboe delicately sings Fawkes A, heightening the emotion of this last moment Harry will ever speak to Dumbledore. As Harry descends beneath the floorboards to hide and observe, distant bright percussion paints over his sneaking around.

The shivering alternating thirds return, serving as a connective tissue for this long scene, and Malfoy’s theme slowly rises out of it, played in the flutes and violas. The movement freezes, then as the camera focuses on Harry beneath the floor again, the Invisibility Cloak theme plays. Though the cloak is not present, it is appropriate in tone, and nods to how the scene plays out in the book (similar to Williams’ use of the same theme in Prisoner of Azkaban's Shrieking Shack scene).

After another passage of alternating thirds, Malfoy’s theme plays fully in the celesta as he reveals his motivations. Strings hold then crescendo quickly, highlighting one of the most important moments in the plot thus far - Malfoy disarming Dumbledore. The low strings wander; nothing is certain now. Malfoy’s theme modulates around as he explains his failed attempts at assassination.

The 3-note motif sneaks into the cue for the first time, when Dumbledore shifts the conversation to Tom Riddle and how Malfoy does not need to follow in Voldemort’s footsteps. Ascending strings modulate, much like in the cave sequence, as the Death Eaters arrive in the tower. Bellatrix’s theme comes back before low strings enter and hold the tempo, unsure how to continue. Underneath where Harry is observing, the camera slowly pans to his left where Snape is revealed by a quiet and ominous tam-tam strike. The string throbs crescendo until Snape reveals his presence to everyone above. Strings hold. Truly nobody except Snape know what is about to happen. The first four notes of Call of the Prince are heard in the low winds and then in a distant solo voice. Everything stops... silence... then Snape kills Dumbledore.

As Dumbledore’s body falls from the Astronomy Tower, high strings come in with an emotional lament full of shock and grief. Over the entire following scene, the strings do not sync to anything happening on screen. One section is added every few measures until they all emote in disbelief at what has just happened. Suspensions and key changes create an unstable feeling, reflecting the loss that Harry and the Wizarding world as a whole have just suffered.

Down on the Hogwarts grounds, Harry chases Snape and confronts him. The dissonances hit their most tension-filled moment so far, and all of it comes to a halt when Snape fires back and Harry lands hard on the ground. Low strings hold as Snape walks over. Triplets begin, and the Call of the Prince plays unambiguously. Snape reveals his identity to Harry as the Half-Blood Prince. After this revelation, the emotional strings return, and Snape departs, leaving Harry on the ground and in pain.

Back in the courtyard, a large crowd of students and teachers are gathered around Dumbledore’s fallen body. Strings begin a rising pattern in canon with each other, and the dies irae enters the thematic texture. Fawkes B comes in long statements as Harry realizes this is how the perilous journey has ended. A capella choir enters as we see the students’ shocked and sad faces. When the strings re-enter, McGonagall raises her wand slowly to the sky and casts light towards the Dark Mark. Suspensions are both high and low in the orchestra as everyone follows her example. A large emotional outburst from the orchestra and choir rises and falls, letting the cue finish with the saddest and slowest version yet of the Fawkes A Theme, saying farewell to Dumbledore.