Top Ten Tuesday: My Top 10 Favorite Quotes from Harry Potter
Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Top Ten Tuesday is currently on hiatus, so I decided to make this a FREEBIE week for myself. I’ve spent the past year or so re-reading the Harry Potter series with my 9-year old son. It has been a lengthy endeavor because he likes me to read aloud and those last few books in the series are huge, but I have to admit it has been a labor of love. My son adores the series just as much as I do and it has really provided us with lots of quality mother-son time as we make our way through the series together. We’re nearly finished with the final books now, so I thought it would be fun to share some of our favorite quotes from the series. Some were quotes that made us giggle while we read, while others we found to just be incredibly moving and inspiring. Harry Potter really is one of the best series out there for readers of all ages.
Top Ten Favorite Quotes from the Harry Potter Series
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1. “It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.”
(Albus Dumbledore, speaking of Neville Longbottom, Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone)
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2. “It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.”
(Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone)
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3. “Because that’s what Hermione does…When in doubt, go to the library.”
(Ron Weasley, speaking of Hermione Granger, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets)
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4. “Oh, honestly. Don’t you two read?”
(Hermione Granger, speaking to Ron and Harry, Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone)
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5. “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
(Albus Dumbledore, speaking to Harry, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets)
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6. “You look in excellent health to me, Potter, so you will excuse me if I don’t let you off homework today. I assure you that if you do die, you need not hand it in.”
(Professor McGonagall, speaking to Harry, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban)
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7. “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.”
(The key to accessing the awesome Marauder’s Map, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban)
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8. “Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and above all, those who live without love.”
(Albus Dumbledore, speaking to Harry, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows)
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9. “It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be.”
(Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire)
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10. “Are you quite sure you wouldn’t like a cough drop, Dolores?”
(Professor McGonagall, being awesomely snarky to Delores Umbridge, who keeps interrupting her with her annoying little coughs, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix)
I don’t have a list of HP quotes. But we have overlaps in our favourites.
Most of my favorites come from Dumbledore, but my son really liked the ones that made him laugh. I think the darker the story got, the more he looked for and enjoyed those bits of comic relief.
I am just reading Harry Potter for the first time!! I am waiting on Book 5 from the library and enjoying these so much. Fun list!!
Oh yay, I’m glad you’re enjoying your first read of Harry Potter. It really is (pardon the pun!) a magical read. I was in my 30s when I read it for the first time and my son is 9, and we’re both equally in love with the story and the characters.
Oh my gosh, I love this so much! I’m such a Harry Potter nerd. lol! My favorite quote of all time (from Harry Potter) is: “Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times if only one remembers to turn on the light” <3 Great post!
LOL! Nothing wrong with being a Harry Potter nerd 🙂 I love that quote too!
Love all these quotes! One thing I think people miss by only seeing the movies is how FUNNY the books can be.
-Lauren
I completely agree. My son has actually been really irritated along the way because we’ve been watching the movies too and he keeps noticing that lots of really funny moments with Fred and George Weasley didn’t make it into the movies.
This is such an amazing post and now I want to re-read Harry Potter 🙂 I love the motivational Dumbledore ones, but also the funny ones as they provide such great comic relief while the books get darker.
Haha, I actually kind of want to re-read it again on my own after reading it aloud with my son. Since he’s so young, I’ve been very grateful for those comic relief moments to lighten the mood a bit. I think this is the first book series he has read where popular characters actually die so it has been pretty intense for him.
OMG YOU’RE MAKING ME WANT TO REREAD HARRY POTTER SO BADLY! 😭 Thanks for sharing these wonderful quotes though! <3
(I'd also have to add McGonagall's "Have a biscuit, Potter" comment. xD)
Haha, I forgot about that McGonagall quote. I do love it when she gets snarky 🙂
What a great list! The Harry Potter books are so quotable! I love the more serious quotes from Dumbledore, but I also love when Harry gets snarky!
I love those snarky moments too. Definitely much needed comic relief the further we get into the series.
I wholeheartedly agree with all your choices! Those are some of the best of the best.
Some of my favs:
“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean it is not real?”
“People find it far easier to forgive others for being wrong than being right.”
I love those quotes as well. Thanks for sharing 🙂
I can’t think of a favourite quite. I do love the library one and the cough drops one you mentioned. 😃
The books have so many great lines that it’s hard to pick favorites 🙂