Leaving Hogwarts by John Williams
When we think of Harry Potter music, we think of the very famous “Hedwig’s Theme,” but then there comes that tune that signals the ending.
I was just watching the first Potter film the night before seeing Deathly Hallows, Part 2, and seeing it finish to this song, I didn’t see it as an ending, but to the start of a new beginning. That’s what it’s like for me now, and that’s what it was probably like for me when I was at the young age of six, sitting in the theater, watching with an audience, anticipating for the many years of film to come.
Now, at sixteen, I’m watching the true finale to a triumphant series. I’m getting to see the characters I followed for a smashing ten years grow old with me, bringing their own children on the ride of a lifetime they got to experience. The final minutes of Deathly Hallows, Part 2 is nothing but a faithful and emotional homage to the beginning of Harry’s journey, and you think it can’t get more nostalgic than that.
Then they bring this musical piece back, and the tears just come falling. It’s been a beautiful cinematic decade with you, Harry, but this is not a goodbye. As you’ve taken your love for magic with you until adulthood, I shall, too. Starting with this.
