Here they are, all in one place – copied and pasted from Facebook.
July 7
"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live."
- Albus Dumbledore
"After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure."
- Albus Dumbledore again
July 10
"Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain."
- prophetically important advice from Arthur Weasley
See? Dumbledore isn't the only wise old man in the story.
Arthur Weasley's warning is for anyone who uses a smartphone, a computer, or any device connected to the Internet.
"It is our choices that show who we truly are, far more than our abilities."
- aaaaand we're back to quoting Albus Dumbledore.
July 12
"I don't go looking for trouble," said Harry, nettled. "Trouble usually finds me."
July 14
"Christmas spirit was definitely thin on the ground in the Gryffindor common room that morning."
- An unusual metaphor offered up by J.K. Rowling.
"The consequences of our actions are always so complicated, so diverse, that predicting the future is a very difficult business indeed."
- Albus Dumbledore
"You know, Harry, in a way, you did see your father last night.... You found him inside yourself."
- Dumbledore again
July 18
" it is a strange thing, but when you are dreading something, and would give anything to slow down time, it has a disobliging habit of speeding up."
- J. K. Rowling
"Oh, did I? Just because it's taken you three years to notice, Ron, doesn't mean no one else has spotted I'm a girl!"
- Hermoine Granger, 4th year
July 19
"Her-my-oh-nee," she said slowly and clearly.
"Herm-own-ninny."
"Close enough."
"Powers You Never Knew You Had and What to Do with Them Now You've Wised Up" - Sounds like a good motivational book for some Muggles that I love.
"If you want to know [the measure of a man], take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals."
- Sirius Black
July 23
"Kill the spare."
- Possibly the saddest moment in the first four books. Don't worry; it gets worse.
"Decent people are so easy to manipulate."
- a cynical, but true, observation from Barty Crouch Jr., masquerading as Mad-Eye Moody.
"Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery."
- Albus Dumbledore
"You are blinded by the love of the office you hold, Cornelius! You place too much importance, and you have always done, on the so-called purity of blood! You fail to recognize that it matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be!"
- powerful truths for our time, from the mouth of Albus Dumbledore.
Or from the pen of J. K. Rowling
"You all righ'?" he said gruffly.
"Yeah," said Harry.
"No, yeh're not," said Hagrid. " 'Course yeh're not. But yeh will be."
- words of hope for anyone who has suffered and is slowly healing
"We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided. Lord Voldemort's gift for spreading discord and enmity is very great. We can fight it only by showing an equally strong bond of friendship and trust. Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open."
- more wise words for our time. Albus Dumbledore and J. K. Rowling.
"Never mind the Statute of Secrecy now, there's going to be hell to pay anyway, we might as well be hanged for a dragon as an egg."
... and ...
"Well, it's no good crying over spilled potion, I suppose . . . but the cat's among the pixies now."
- the lovable Mrs. Figg
"Who d'you know who's lost a buttock?"
- Tonks!
Remember reading that part out loud?
Wait! There's more:
"Ah well . . . wand still in your jeans? Both buttocks still on? Okay, let's go."
"Dark times lie ahead of us and there will be a time when we must choose between what is easy and what is right."
- Albus Dumbledore
That quotation is from the movie only. In his eulogy for Cedric Diggory, Dumbledore did say, "... if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember ...". But that's not the same thing, and it really doesn't have the same flavor.
July 26
"Shut up, you horrible old hag, shut UP!"
- Sirius Black says hello to his mother
July 27
"Oh, know the perils, read the signs
The warning history shows,
For our Hogwarts is in danger
From external, deadly foes
And we must unite inside her
Or we'll crumble from within
I have told you, I have warned you. . . .
Let the Sorting now begin."
- the Sorting Hat, year 5.
Change "Hogwarts" to "country", drop the last line, and you'll see, again, the timeless wisdom in much of what J. K. Rowling wrote.
"We will be following a carefully structured, theory-centered, Ministry-approved course of defensive magic this year."
- Dolores Umbridge.
Oh please, spare us from anyone's private agenda disguised as "education reform".
"The world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters."
- Sirius Black, and the lovable (and deeply loved) Robyn Chalupa.
"December arrived, bringing with it more snow and a positive avalanche of homework for the fifth years."
- J. K. Rowling loves her wintry metaphors, doesn't she?
"Ron, you are the most insensitive wart I have ever had the misfortune to meet."
And on the same page, everyone's favorite:
"Just because you've got the emotional range of a teaspoon ...."
- Hermoine Granger
But to be honest, Ronald Weasley did have a fair point when he said, in the discussion which led to Hermoine's outburst:
"One person can't feel all that at once, they'd explode."
July 28
"It's like losing a Knut and finding a Galleon, isn't it?"
- Dumbledore
Maybe it's better understood in context. Cornelius Fudge went to Hogwarts, intending to expel Harry Potter, and instead he got the chance to arrest Dumbledore. This was Dumbledore's amused response.
"You know, Minister, I disagree with Dumbledore on many counts ... but you cannot deny he's got style."
- Phineas Nigellus' potrait, to Cornelius Fudge
... although I think Kingsley Shacklebolt said it in the movie
July 29
"... The cloudless sky smiled at itself in the smoothly sparkling lake ..."
- Okay, it looks rather turgid out of context, but this is J. K. Rowling drawing a picture of a perfect day in early June.
"You are quite wrong," said Dumbledore. "Indeed, your failure to understand that there are things much worse than death has always been your greatest weakness."
"There is no shame in what you are feeling, Harry. On the contrary . . . the fact that you can feel pain like this is your greatest strength."
- Albus Dumbledore
"Youth cannot know how age thinks and feels. But old men are guilty if they forget what it was to be young."
- Albus Dumbledore
"Indifference and neglect often do more damage than outright dislike."
- advice on both parenting and friendships from Albus Dumbledore
"I'm sorry, Professor," Harry said, holding up his hand and showing her the scars on the back. "But I must not tell lies."
This is only in the movie. Not the book. But it's one of the best lines in the story.
July 30
I've always been intrigued by J. K. Rowling's invention and re-invention of names. This was the day that I decided to write a blog article about the subject.
July 31
Happy birthday to Harry Potter and his creator, J. K. Rowling! I hope you found a good way to celebrate.
"You overlook Dumbledore's greatest weakness: He has to believe the best of people."
- Severus Snape
Then I wish to be weak like Dumbledore.
"And now, Harry, let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure."
- Albus Dumbledore
"Don't count your owls before they are delivered."
- Albus Dumbledore
August 2
"Once again, you show all the sensitivity of a blunt axe."
- Nearly Headless Nick
"Hmph," snorted Professor McGonagall. "It's high time your grandmother learned to be proud of the grandson she's got, rather than the one she thinks she ought to have."
"Yes," said Harry stiffly.
"Yes, sir."
"There's no need to call me 'sir', Professor."
"From this point forth, we shall be leaving the firm foundation of fact and journeying together through the murky marshes of memory into thickets of wildest guesswork."
Oh, what fun words J. K. Rowling puts into Dumbledore's mouth! In the middle of this complex metaphor we find two alliterative triplets ... and one triplet that she couldn't alliterate on and just gave up.
"Oh, well, that's better than a whack on the nose with a rusty poker."
- Mrs. Cole, keeper of the orphanage in London where Tom Riddle was a child
"Very astute, Harry, but the mouth organ was only ever a mouth organ."
- Dumbledore
August 3
"Dumbledore's man through and through, aren't you, Potter?"
"Yeah, I am," said Harry. "Glad we straightened that out."
And you all know that we'll come back to this one later.
Nine pages later:
"Well, it appears that Rufus found a way to corner you at last."
"He accused me of being 'Dumbledore's man through and through."
"How very rude of him."
"I told him I was."
Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again. Behind Harry, Fawkes the phoenix let out a low, soft, musical cry. To Harry's intense embarrassment, he suddenly realized that Dumbledore's bright, blue eyes looked rather watery, and stared hastily at his own knees. When Dumbledore spoke, however, his voice was quite steady.
"I am very touched, Harry."
"It is one of the irritating things about old teachers. I am afraid that they never forget their young charges' youthful beginnings."
- Albus Dumbledore
I hope that all of my (air bunnies!) "young charges" know how proud I am of them for what they have become.
"Don't you see? Voldemort created his own worst enemy, as tyrants everywhere do! Have you any idea how much tyrants fear the people they repress? All of them realize that, one day, amongst their many victims, there is sure to be one who rises against them and strikes back!"
- Albus Dumbledore
"Age is foolish and forgetful when it underestimates youth."
- Albus Dumbledore repeats himself.
"It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more."
These words of Dumbledore gave me understanding and comfort the first time I read them, many years ago.
"You thought I would not weesh to marry him? Or per'aps, you hoped? What do I care how he looks? I am good-looking enough for both of us, I theenk! All these scars show is zat my husband is brave!"
- Fleur Delacour wins everyone else's hearts.
p.s. This sounds best when you read it aloud with a cartoon French accent.
Harry considered him for a moment.
"Released Stan Shunpike yet?"
Scrimgeour turned a nasty purple colour highly reminiscent of Uncle Vernon.
"I see you are --"
"Dumbledore's man through and through," said Harry. "That's right."
August 4
"You did?" said Hermoine, gazing up at Ron. ...
"Always the tone of surprise," he said a little grumpily. ...
That's on page 76. Can't wait to see the other shoe drop!
"So why in the name of Merlin's saggy left --"
- Ronald Weasley
Aaaannd we're back to talking about buttocks.
"It's time you learned some respect!" shouted Scrimgeour.
"It's time you earned it," said Harry.
Later, near the end of Deathly Hallows, it was revealed that the Death Eaters tortured Scrimgeour before they killed him, but he never gave up Harry's location. So he did finally earn some respect.
"Wow!" Ron said, blinking rather rapidly as Hermoine came hurrying toward them. "You look great!"
"Always the tone of surprise," said Hermoine, though she smiled.
And that's the other shoe dropping. Page 142.
"Where you treasure is, there will your heart be also."
- inscribed on the Dumbledore family tombstone in Godric's Hollow
"Wands are only as powerful as the wizards who use them."
- Hermoine Granger
August 5
"That old berk," muttered Aberforth, taking another swig of mead. "Thought the sun shone out of my brother's every orifice, he did. Well, so did plenty of people, you three included, by the looks of it."
There was a clatter as the basilisk fangs cascaded out of Hermoine's arms. Running at Ron, she flung them around his neck and kissed him full on the mouth. Ron threw away the fangs and broomstick he was holding and responded with such enthusiasm that he lifted Hermoine off her feet.
"Is this the moment?" Harry asked weakly ...
... He raised his voice. "OY! There's a war going on here!"
"This must be between us! Swear it! I cannot bear . . . especially Potter's son . . . I want your word!"
"My word, Severus, that I shall never reveal the best of you?"
- Dumbledore
That one chapter, the one where we watched Snape's memories in the Penseive, turned all seven books inside-out. The whole series became a love story, with Snape and Lily as the main characters
"You see what you expect to see."
- Dumbledore explains confirmation bias to Snape.
I think a few million more people need to understand and watch out for confirmation bias. It really clouds one's judgment. For one thing, it leads to mindless reposting of stupid political memes all over their Facebook pages.
"No," agreed Dumbledore [speaking to Severus]. "You are a braver man than Karkaroff. You know, sometimes I think we Sort too soon. . . ."
"For him?" shouted Snape. "Expecto patronum!"
From the tip of his wand burst the silver doe. ... Dumbledore watched her fly away, and as her silver glow faded he turned back to Snape, and his eyes were full of tears.
"After all this time?"
"Always," said Snape.
"Does it hurt?"
"Dying? Not at all," said Sirius. "Quicker and easier than falling asleep."
Dumbledore smiled at Harry, and Harry stared at him.
"And you knew this? You knew -- all along?"
"I guessed. But my guesses have usually been good," said Dumbledore happily.
"It is a curious thing, Harry, but perhaps those who are best suited for power are those who have never sought it. Those who, like you, have leadership thrust upon them, and take up the mantle because they must, and find to their own surprise that they wear it well."
- Albus Dumbledore
"Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and above all, those who live without love."
- Albus Dumbledore
"Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean it is not real?"
- one of my favorites.
"Albus Severus," Harry said quietly, "you were named for two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew."
That's all of them, peeps. I saved the best for last. The end. Love to all of you.
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