Best quotations from the original seven Harry Potter books

This summer, I decided to reread all of the original Harry Potter books. I extracted my favorite quotations from the books and posted on Facebook, in real time, to everyone's delight. (Yes, really.)

Here they are, all in one place – copied and pasted from Facebook.

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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.

In case anybody thinks I consider the Harry Potter movies inferior to the books

In case anybody thinks I consider the Harry Potter movies inferior to the books:

Um ...

Okay, but only a little tiny bit. Read on ...

J. K. Rowling actively participated in all of the movies. They are true to her original vision. They launched the careers of many successful actors and actresses, and boosted the careers of many other people in the movie industry. The movies are, in one word, masterpieces.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with the movies. I LOVE THEM. The sets, the graphics, the special effects, are amazing. The acting, the directing, the music, the props -- all of it is fantastic. Maybe even magical.

Most of the time, the movie dialogue is word for word from the books. And in some instances, the more memorable lines come from the movies, not the books. The storyline in the movies is as captivating as in the books.

There's just one little thing, and I'm at a loss to explain it. I consider it a personal failing. It's this: I can stay up reading the Harry Potter books until 3:30 in the morning. But every time I sit down to watch a Harry Potter movie, I fall asleep in the middle of it.

Every. Single Time.

Names in the Harry Potter world

PREFACE: This is something I've wanted to do for a long time. I'm sure it's better documented elsewhere on the Internet, but this is the result of my journey of discovery in Harry Potter's world. I'll add to the list as time goes on.

J. K. Rowling chose the names, or the proper nouns, in her Harry Potter books very carefully. Some names are inside jokes, some give you additional information about the characters, and some are simply clever plays on words.

If the entire world hadn't already read the books or watched the movies a million times already, I would tag this blog entry with a "SPOILER ALERT!" warning, but you're all way past that. I hope.

• Hogwarts: This one's easy. Reverse the syllables and you get "warthog". Hakuna matata, eh?
• Dumbledore: My understanding is that this is an old English synonym for "bumblebee".
• Malfoy: From the French mal foi, meaning "bad faith". The idiom has the same meaning in French as it does in English, and is a suitable name for a sleazy, conniving family who isn't loyal to anything except itself.
• Longbottom: A compound word that conjures up a funny picture in American English. I believe it has a geographical meaning in British English, like "along the river bottom", but I'm not sure.
• Lovegood: Also an interesting compound word. It reminds me of the Greek name Theophilus and the Latin name Amadeus, both of which mean "love God" — as in "one who loves God". Lovegood could mean "one who loves good" or "one who loves God". 
• Xenophilius: Xenophilius Lovegood is Luna's father. Xeno means "strange", so Xenophilius could mean "one who loves strange things."
• Lily and Petunia Evans: Harry's mother and her sister were both named after flowers.
• It's interesting that none of Harry's other close friends, nor Harry himself, have distinctive first or last names. I mean, "Weasley" is a funny name, but it's not descriptive of the family's facial features or other characteristics.
• Diagon Alley: "diagonally", obviously.
• Knockturn Alley: "nocturnally". Not quite as obvious.
• Grimmauld Place: It's a "grim old place".
• Knight Bus: It doesn't run during the day.
• Pensieve: a respelling of "pensive". Both have to do with thoughts.
• Floo: a respelling of "flue", the pipe that takes smoke away from a fireplace or stove.
• Voldemort: In the second book, "Tom Marvolo Riddle" is revealed to be an anagram for "I am Lord Voldemort" (or the other way around). The French vol de mort means "flight of death" or "flight from death", both of which are appropriate for the character.
• Slytherin: How does a snake move? It slithers. Duh.
• Remus Lupin: This was a good one. Romulus and Remus were the twin babies, raised by a she-wolf, who went on to found the city of Rome and the entire Roman empire. And lupus is Latin for "wolf". Get it?
• Professor Sprout: She teaches Herbology. Insert cute little giggle here. 
• Sybill Trelawney: A one-ell sybil or sibyl was an oracle or prophetess in ancient Greece. Good name for a fortune-telling teacher.
• Libatius Borage: The author of the sixth-year textbook Advanced Potion-Making. "Libatius" comes from the same root as "libation," a fancy word for a drink. "Borage" is a real word, meaning "a herbaceous plant with bright blue flowers and hairy leaves, used medicinally and as a salad green" — in other words, a likely ingredient for a potion.
• Beauxbatons: The French beaux batons means "beautiful sticks" or, colloquially, "beautiful wands". Everybody knows this, right?
• Durmstrang: This is a fun one. It's a twist on the German phrase sturm und drang, literally "storm and stress" and referring to an artistic genre that emphasized violent emotions, often leading to violent, unrestrained action. Remember the noise, the tension, and the danger of the Triwizard Tournament? That's one manifestation of sturm und drang.
  
• Fleur Delacour: The French fleur de la coeur means "flower of the heart". That's a pretty good name for a veela whose mere appearance causes men to fall in love with her.
• Madame Maxime: This is French for "maxim", which doesn't really work, but it might be a shortened form of maximum, which means the same in French and English. "I 'ave nevair been more insulted in my life! 'Alf-giant? Moi? I 'ave — I 'ave big bones!" Right. "The only thing that's got bigger bones than her is a dinosaur," says Ron. Her first name, Olympe, translates to Olympia and refers to Mount Olympus, the home of the ancient Greek gods.
• Sirius Black: This was also a good one. Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, is known as "the Dog Star" and is part of the constellation Canis Major, or Great Dog. In his animal form, Sirius was a big, black dog.
• The ancient and noble house of Black: This is one of the few wizarding families for whom we have an extensive genealogy. Many, if not all, of the family members are named after a celestial object: a star, a nebula, a constellation. Here are a few: Sirius, Bellatrix, Andromeda, Regulus, Arcturus, Orion, Draco, Scorpius.
• I haven't found Narcissa in the night sky; however, the male name Narcissus belongs to a figure in Greek mythology who was so self-centered that it killed him, and his name and character are preserved in the modern term narcissist.
• I haven't found a celestial source for the excellent wizarding name Nymphadora either.
• Phineas Nigellus Black: Sirius' great-great-great-grandfather, former Hogwarts Headmaster, and the founder of the ancient and noble house of Black. "Nigellus" is a very old English word for "black".
• Kreacher: Say it out loud. Now say "creature" out loud. Clever, no?
• Dolores Umbridge: Dolores is a Spanish name, and is the plural of dolor, meaning "sorrow" or "pain". And "Umbridge", like "Kreacher" is a respelling of another English word, umbrage in this case. Umbrage has an appropriate double meaning: first, "extreme resentment caused by an insult or slight", and second, "comparative darkness that results from the blocking of light rays". It's a great name for such an evil woman. She's one of the people Dumbledore had in mind when he told Harry, "The world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters".
• Sanguini: an Italian vampire. Blood! Blood! Blood!
• Fenrir Greyback: Fenrir is the name of "a monstrous wolf in Norse mythology", according to Wikipedia. Fenrir was also known as Fenris Ulf — a nice crossover for all of you Narnia fans. And Greyback sounds like the perfect surname for a wolf, doesn't it?

Not knowing colloquial British English at all, I'm sure I've missed several other good ones. Feel free to point them out to me in a comment.

The same goes for the Russian or Slavic names, such as Dolohov and Karkaroff. If there's significance buried in those names, I don't get them.

J.K. Rowling is writing again - for grown-ups, this time

Without releasing any details other than the name of its publisher (Little, Brown in both the USA and Britain), J.K. Rowling announced today that she has written another book. This novel is aimed at a more adult audience.

As I said, she has not divulged the title, genre, storyline, or release date. She has said that it will be available in both paper and electronic forms.

I guess this announcement answers that question.

J.K. Rowling, the next chapter

In a previous entry, I addressed the question of whether J.K. Rowling would ever write again. My opinion was, more or less, "she doesn't need to, she said she's not going to, she's already doing some pretty cool stuff, and I wish her well in whatever she does."

In an update at the end of that entry, I added a link to a mysterious countdown. If you click on the link now, you will be taken to JKR's announcement of the opening of Pottermore.

Pottermore is a new JKR enterprise, aimed at getting even more kids to read and to enjoy reading, using her Harry Potter books as the vehicle to get there. As far as I can tell, it doesn't cost a user anything to join up. The official opening date is October, but a lucky few will gain early access to Pottermore before then.

Will J. K. Rowling ever write again?

A Fandango article this morning reported on an interview with J. K. Rowling, in which she said (yet again) that she's not going to continue the Harry Potter saga. After being pressed relentlessly by the interviewer, she ventured that maybe she would revisit the Hogwarts world, but not for "another ten years" or so. That was enough to satisfy the interviewer.

The article didn't explicitly state this next point, but the flavor of the article prompted a string of reader comments, which asserted and debated the following hypotheses.

- JKR has an obligation to keep the Harry Potter / Hogwarts story going.

- JKR cannot, and will not, be successful at writing anything else.

By now, the JKR story is as famous as the Harry Potter story, and I don't need to go into the details about how she wrote the first book of the famous series. But I have a few opinions of my own.

1. Rowling is a damn good writer. Or she has a damn good editor. Or both. This was crystal clear in her first Harry Potter book. Her writing either stayed at the high level of the first book or improved as the series grew. I wish I could write as well as she does.

(Unfortunately, the books also got fatter. That happens to all successful authors. It also happens to successful automobile brands, mobile phones, and restaurant menus. I would like to read a successful author who can keep their follow-on works as slim and as powerful as their original bestseller.)

2. Rowling is extremely intelligent, and knows a lot about subjects other than the wizarding world. Unlike the loud and vacuous celebrities who appear increasingly stupid every time they open their mouths in public, JKR has chosen her words carefully, limited her public engagements, and never shown every card in her hand. But don't sell her short. She is not a one-trick pony.

3. Related to that second point, I think that JKR is capable of writing in any genre of fiction - or on any nonfiction subject - that she chooses. I would expect her future works to be readable and enjoyable, even compelling. I, for one, would not restrict my expectations of her future writing to Hogwarts, wizardry, or Harry Potter and his friends. I would pay good money to read what else she has to say about the world at large.

4. JKR is now very wealthy. She can spend the rest of her life sailing the world, gambling in Monte Carlo, or relaxing on a private estate and throwing parties for Radcliffe and company, if that's what she wants to do. She has no obligation to do anything, for anyone. And I say more power to her.

5. JKR has chosen a more private lifestyle, concentrating on her family and on a small number of charitable causes. Her fame, her wealth, and her wisdom (and prudence) put her in a unique position in the world. Lucky lady. Absent the fame, I'd like to be in that situation someday.

Edit, June 16, 2011: I'm not sure what this is about, but this link was the countdown to, and eventually the announcement of, Pottermore, an online experience for Rowling fans from all over the world.

Edit, February 23, 2012: A book for adults is in the works. She announced it today.