Cue No. 13

Another vision of a mysterious hallway comes to Harry in his sleep. As he edges ever closer to the mysterious door at the end, the music gains more intensity. Post-tonal and extended technique elements come back to paint the moment in a grotesque and expressionist way. After the large buildup of sound, Harry wakes from his vision. Ron is sitting there, speechless. The three-note motif echoes somewhere off in the distance.

One of the more famous moments of chamber music in Prisoner of Azkaban is a flute solo over the bird’s flight transition. The filmmaking strategy is called back here in a light moment before classes begin. A variation of this music makes an appearance while the students try to hit a paper bird flying across the classroom. All of this is good fun until it bursts into flames, announcing Umbridge’s entrance. Bassoons transition into her theme. Flutes dance on top, trying to disguise the sinister motives with pretty sparkles and pink harmonies. This orchestration idea comes from the music Williams wrote for Jabba the Hutt in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983).

The cello section transitions into a stickier version of her theme as the new textbooks make their way across the room. Woodwinds and strings answer back and forth with inquisitorial notes, following the students not knowing what to think or do. The Ministry theme makes an appearance in the harp, showing Umbridge’s real motives, but with subtlety. As she explains to the students what “school is all about”, long moody chords ascend with the horns leading on top. They finally reach a climax when Harry says what everyone's thinking, stating that Voldemort is, in fact, out there somewhere.

The music pauses awkwardly, waiting for what will happen next. Umbridge talks very slowly as a hidden three-note ends and her theme tries to start in the bass clarinet. It never gets a full statement out. She is fed up with Harry already, and gives him detention for confronting her in class. A last build up crescendos to Umbridge finally losing her temper and screaming at the class.