Cue No. 33

An extended reprisal of “The Rescue of Sirius” from Prisoner of Azkaban opens this cue. This recollection was chosen due to the many parallels between the two scenes, down to the use of flying magical creatures to get to where they’re going. A dramatic key change, combined with expanded orchestration, plays over the fade from the evening light over Hogwarts to the thunderstorm in London. Finally at the wide shot of the London skyline, "Buckbeak’s Flight" has a grand statement, complete with choir. This is meant to be a continuation of Rescuing Sirius, but it also calls to mind the use of this theme over the flight through London at the beginning of this film. The music settles down as the six Dumbledore’s Army members run through the Ministry of Magic.

When the lift opens, the music slows down significantly, becoming static and unmoving. They walk slowly through the Department of Mysteries. The return of the dies irae motif helps emphasize the ominousness and risk of the situation. Harry finally sees, in person, the door he’s been having visions of; the door into the Hall of Prophecies.

Once inside, choir enters the unmoving texture. Various distant percussion instruments play seemingly at random, mimicking possible far off sounds echoing throughout the dark vastness. The piano plays a tone row, and the strings flow back and forth between two chords over and over again. Celesta re-states the tone row as the door to the hall glides away from them.

The first bit of any pulse is heard in the woodwinds, with repeated chords growing more tense as Harry rushes to the spot where he saw Sirius in his vision; but he's not there. Choir returns to the texture and wanders a bit, not knowing what to do next. Neville calls Harry’s name, but does not break eye contact with one of the orbs on a nearby shelf. On the shot of the prophecy, the Chamber of Secrets arpeggios play, now used to signify the mystery of Voldemort's return; it begins to warn the listener that this object is not only desired by the enemy, but needed to carry out his plan. The theme halts when Harry reaches out and picks up the prophecy. The choir, accompanied by harp, maneuvers around underneath the dialogue of the prophecy as it recites to Harry.

The danger motif from Prisoner of Azkaban interrupts the texture at the first notice of a Death Eater slowly walking towards them from the darkness. A deadly pulse makes itself known at the bottom of the orchestra. A whirl of several different percussion instruments choreograph the Death Eater’s mask dissolving into thin air, revealing him to be Lucius Malfoy. Upon this realization, the Death Eater theme plays. A cackle comes from the darkness as well; it is none other than Bellatrix Lestrange. Her motif appears after the Death Eater theme statement, solidifying her as one of them.

A quick burst of energy comes from the orchestra when Neville suddenly threatens Bellatrix. She even seems surprised that he’d be so bold. Lucius insists everyone calms down, and the music follows suit. On top of a lowering bassline, single notes are plucked on the harp, waiting for something to happen. The tension in the room is growing. Trumpet chords appear on the shots of other Death Eaters closing in from all angles. Lucius begins monologuing, slowly approaches Harry, and attempts to persuade him to hand over the prophecy. An unsettling statement of Wand of the Phoenix plays at Lucius’ reference to Harry’s scar and the mystery of his survival as a baby. The tone row from the beginning of the sequence makes a last appearance, the brass crescendos, and then the fight begins.

A flurry of spells fly in all directions. The music picks up in tempo significantly. Action music, much like the characters, begins heading in all different directions, audibly throwing spells left and right with them on screen. The first motif to show up within the action music is Luna’s as she fends off an attacking Death Eater. The music quickly runs from character to character, following their every move.

A reprisal of material from "The Werewolf Scene" from Prisoner of Azkaban appears, made heavier by the addition of more bass-range instruments and an anvil. In true 2000s John Williams style, a small portion of the action sequence is a percussion break, featuring drums, mallets, and anvils. Low brass enter with long, dissonant notes, helping the section push towards the entrance of the orchestra once more.

The strings continue the chase through the shelves of prophecies. The six students all run into each other again, and the music pauses for the first time since before the action began. Ginny throws a spell at an approaching Death Eater, and a large orchestral flourish complete with choir supports the horrifying grandeur of the large beams of light caused by it.

Strings pick up the tempo once more when the shelves begin to collapse. Neville runs back to grab Luna, and the music hits its final and fastest tempo. Harry leads the group from the cataclysmic destruction, aided by a loud Order of the Phoenix theme in the low end of the brass section. Suddenly, the door glides into view at the end of the row of prophecies, the orchestral texture clears a little bit to show this realization, and the six of them leap through. Without preparation, they find themselves falling very far and very fast. Descending trills in the winds, harp glissandos, and jabs from the horn section play over the quick descent. A spell catches them right before they hit the ground, and lets them all down quickly with orchestral bumps on the landing.