It wasn’t in the books. That’s the first thing everyone brings up. If you flip through the pages of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, you won’t find a single mention of a radio playing "O Children" by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. You won’t find Harry reaching out a hand to Hermione in the middle of a bleak, rain-soaked tent to pull her into a clumsy, rhythmic sway.
And yet, for a huge portion of the fandom, the harry and hermione dance is the emotional anchor of the final films. It’s polarizing. Some people think it’s a weird, romantic tease that betrayed the source material. Others see it as a masterpiece of non-verbal storytelling. Honestly? It might be the most "real" thing that ever happened to those characters.
The Story Behind the Scene
David Yates, the director, basically wanted to find a way to express the sheer weight of the Horcrux hunt without just having characters cry or yell at each other. Ron had just left. The mood was beyond grim. They were two teenagers alone in the woods, hunted, cold, and carrying the literal weight of a soul-fragment around their necks.
It’s a heavy vibe.
The scene starts with Harry hearing the music. He takes the locket off Hermione—a symbolic removal of the burden—and they start to move. It’s not a "good" dance. It’s goofy. It’s awkward. Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson played it with this specific kind of desperate joy that only happens when you’re trying to forget that the world is ending.
Why Nick Cave was the Perfect Choice
Music supervisor Matt Biffa reportedly went through a ton of tracks before landing on "O Children." They needed something that sounded like it belonged to an older world, something haunting but soulful. The lyrics talk about "rejoicing" while acknowledging that the "train is coming." It’s basically a funeral march with a beat.
If they had picked a upbeat pop song, the scene would have felt like a cheap teen drama. If it was too depressing, it wouldn’t have offered the momentary escape Harry was trying to give her. This middle ground is where the magic happens.
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Addressing the "Harry and Hermione" Romance Theory
We have to talk about it. Whenever the harry and hermione dance comes up, the "Harmione" shippers come out of the woodwork.
Look, even J.K. Rowling admitted in that famous 2014 interview with Wonderland magazine (conducted by Emma Watson herself) that in some ways, Harry and Hermione might have been a better fit. She mentioned that she wrote the Ron/Hermione relationship as a form of wish fulfillment rather than literature. That admission set the internet on fire for months.
However, Steve Kloves, who wrote the screenplay, didn't necessarily mean for the dance to be a "we should be together" moment. He viewed it as a "we are the only two people left in the universe" moment.
There is a specific look they share right at the end of the song. The music fades. They’re close. Their heads are leaning toward each other. And then? They pull away.
That beat is crucial.
It’s the realization that while they love each other deeply, the "spark" isn't what they’re looking for. Or maybe it’s the realization that even a dance can’t fix the fact that Ron is gone and Voldemort is winning. It’s nuanced. It’s messy. It’s exactly how 17-year-olds actually process trauma.
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The Cinematic Power of Silence
Most of the Harry Potter movies rely on heavy exposition. Magic is explained. History is lectured. Plot points are hammered home by Dumbledore or Hermione reading from a book.
The dance is different.
There is almost no dialogue. We see the exhaustion in the bags under Emma Watson’s eyes. We see the way Daniel Radcliffe tries to force a smile to make his best friend feel better. It’s a break from the "Chosen One" narrative. For three minutes, they aren't the girl who kept them alive or the boy who has to die. They are just two kids who miss their friend.
- The Lighting: Low, warm lamp light inside the tent contrasted against the blue, cold darkness of the forest outside.
- The Camera Work: Handheld, slightly shaky, making you feel like a fly on the wall in an intimate moment you shouldn't be seeing.
- The Choreography: Intentionally unpolished. It’s "dad dancing" at its finest.
Why Some Book Purists Hate It
If you go to any Reddit thread about Deathly Hallows Part 1, you’ll find the purists. Their argument is simple: Harry and Hermione in the books have a much more strained, silent, and awkward relationship when Ron leaves. They barely speak. They grieve in isolation.
Adding a dance, they argue, makes it too "Hollywood."
But film is a visual medium. You can't have two lead actors sit in silence for twenty minutes of screen time. You need a "beat." The harry and hermione dance serves as that emotional pivot. It gives the audience permission to breathe before the absolute chaos of Godric's Hollow and the Malfoy Manor.
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The Lasting Legacy of "O Children"
Before 2010, Nick Cave was a cult icon. After that movie? He became the voice of one of the most shared clips in cinematic history. The song now has hundreds of millions of streams, and if you look at the comments on YouTube, 90% of them are Harry Potter fans.
It’s rare for a non-orchestral song to define a movie that already has a legendary score by Alexandre Desplat (and the foundation of John Williams). But "O Children" is now inextricably linked to the Pensieve of our collective memory.
What This Scene Teaches Us About Friendship
The takeaway here isn't about who should have married whom. It’s about the necessity of joy in the dark.
Harry sees Hermione crying. He doesn't offer a "it will be okay" speech because he knows it might not be. He doesn't offer a plan. He offers a distraction. Sometimes, being a good friend isn't about solving the problem. It’s about standing in the mud and moving your feet until the song ends.
Key Insights for Re-watching
When you go back and watch the harry and hermione dance again, pay attention to the moment Harry takes the locket off. That’s the most important frame. It shows his growth as a leader—taking the burden of the Horcrux (and the dark thoughts it induces) onto himself so she can have a moment of peace.
Also, watch Hermione’s face when the song ends. The way her expression crashes back into reality is some of Emma Watson’s best acting in the entire decade-long run.
Next Steps for the Ultimate Fan Experience
To fully appreciate the layers of this scene, you should listen to the full 6-minute version of Nick Cave’s "O Children" to understand the lyrical context of "forgiveness" and "cleansing" that the film only touches on. Additionally, compare this sequence to the "Silver Doe" chapter in the book to see how the filmmakers translated internal grief into external movement. Finally, watch the behind-the-scenes interviews with David Yates on the Deathly Hallows Blu-ray, where he explains why he fought to keep this specific song despite the studio's initial hesitation.