Main Themes and Theme Songs Throughout the Harry Potter Series
Riding on a broom and flying, controlling flames, opening any door with a key—magic really makes you dream, doesn’t it?
In this article, I’d like to introduce the main theme and insert songs from the globally popular film series Harry Potter.
Many of you probably remember the boom when Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was released.
A magical world right next to where we live… it’s so romantic, isn’t it?
Listen to the songs featured here, and you’ll surely feel like watching the movies again!
Main Theme Songs of the Harry Potter Series (1–10)
Hedwig’s ThemeJohn Williams
It might be the most famous piece in the Harry Potter series—a song that makes you want to say, “You’ll recognize it as soon as you hear it.” Named after Hedwig, Harry’s pet owl, this piece serves as the series’ main theme and was frequently used in commercials and other media.
Its charm lies in a melody that fills you with excitement, as if the magical world is drawing near.
Incidentally, it’s also used in the spin-off film series Fantastic Beasts.
Mr. Longbottom FliesJohn Williams
This is a piece named after one of the characters, Neville Longbottom.
It’s used in the first film, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
In the scene where they’re learning to fly on broomsticks, Neville’s broom goes out of control and zooms around the air against his will.
In the early part of the series, Neville is a rather unreliable character, and the sense that he can’t quite handle his magical power comes through in the tumbling feel of the music.
If you’ve watched the whole series, you might find yourself thinking, “Ah, he had a phase like this, didn’t he?”
Double TroubleJohn Williams
What is this song that gives off nothing but ominous vibes…? This piece was also used in the trailer when the film Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was released in theaters.
The school choir sings it at the start of the new term, but with all the “Double, double, toil and trouble,” it’s like—where did the celebratory new-term mood go? I’ve heard the lyrics riff on the spell muttered by the three witches in Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
No wonder it sounds so foreboding—keep that in mind as you listen.
The Hogwarts SongJ.K.Rowling
This is the school song of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which Harry and his friends attend.
It appears in a deleted scene from the second film in the series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
According to the lore, only the lyrics exist—there’s no set melody, length, or musical style.
That’s why the students can sing the school song however they like.
That extraordinarily free-spirited feel is so fantastical—and somehow really appealing.
By all means, try humming it yourself, in their fashion, just as the mood strikes you.
Farewell To DobbyAlexandre Desplat
If you’ve followed the series, just hearing this piece might bring you to tears.
It’s the instrumental composed by Alexandre Desplat that plays during the scene where Dobby the house-elf passes away.
After the intensity of the battle fades, the gentle resonance of the cello evokes sorrow.
Harry buries Dobby—who died saving him—by hand, without using magic…
The melody that accompanies this heartrending resolve is unforgettable.
It’s music that expresses the weight of death through stillness.
The Flying CarJohn Williams
Harry and the others get stuck when they can’t pass through the station wall.
The piece that plays as they hop into the Ford Anglia and soar into the sky is this one.
Its driving rhythm mixes the thrill of charging above the clouds with a hint of danger that sets your heart racing.
Composed by John Williams, the score uses slightly comical touches that heighten the boys’ reckless adventure.
It’s a richly narrative track that not only captures the exhilaration of chasing the Hogwarts Express, but even lets you picture the crash into the Whomping Willow.
GinnyNicholas Hooper
A piece used in the film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince that colors Ginny Weasley’s entrance scene.
It was composed by the British composer Nicholas Hooper.
The piece opens with a gentle melody woven by oboe and harp, whose resonance seems to symbolize the budding feelings of love in Harry’s heart.
The subtle quotation of the familiar theme is also lovely, as it gives a sense of continuity across the series.
It’s a number that foreshadows the arrival of romance.