77 Magical Harry Potter Quotes for Wizards and Muggles Alike
Updated: Nov. 17, 2021
This collection of funny, touching, and just plain iconic quotes from Harry Potter will make you want to reread or re-watch the series. And the best part? Lots of them are equally great quotes on their own!
It’s been almost 15 years since the last Harry Potter book hit shelves, yet we’re still enthralled with its magical world. That’s because of the exciting magical tale with its epic bravery and heroics, of course, but it’s equally because of the lovable (and hatable!) characters, their relationships, and the valuable lessons they’ve provided. Harry Potter quotes have stood the test of time as some of our all-time favorite quotes from books, and the books themselves definitely make our list of the best children’s books. These quotes will make you want to read the books or watch the movies again! Plus, read our favorite uplifting quotes as well.
Inspirational Harry Potter quotes
Inspirational quotes are often the most memorable! They go beyond the plot of the story and provide some really solid life lessons so that we learn right along with the characters. (Spoiler alert: A lot of these are Dumbledore quotes.)
1. “It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.” —Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Dumbledore, getting deep right from the get-go with his cautionary advice when Harry is looking at his family in the Mirror of Erised.
2. “As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all—the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are worst for them.” —Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Dumbledore’s not shy with his thoughts about the allure of the Sorcerer’s Stone and its power.
3. “Dobby has heard of your greatness, sir, but of your goodness, Dobby never knew.” —Dobby, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Dobby might seem like a “simple” character, but he delivers this profound thinker in the first scene we meet him!
4. “Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can’t see where it keeps its brain!” —Arthur Weasley, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. For a world basically devoid of technology, the wizarding world still provides this solid cautionary message! Of course, Arthur is talking about the diary containing the consciousness of Lord Voldemort that Ginny fell victim to.
5. “I am what I am, an’ I’m not ashamed. ‘Never be ashamed,’ my ol’ dad used ter say, ‘there’s some who’ll hold it against you, but they’re not worth botherin’ with.’” —Rubeus Hagrid, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Look at Hagrid, frequently ostracized for being a half-giant, doling out the self-worth quotes!
6. “If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.” —Sirius Black to Ron, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
7. What’s comin’ will come, an’ we’ll meet it when it does.” —Hagrid, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. More words of wisdom from Hagrid! Harry takes these words to heart, and they’re reiterated as the final line of the book.
8. “Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open.” —Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. To the surprise of no one, Dumbledore is responsible for many of the best Harry Potter quotes.
9. “We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.” —Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Dumbledore delivers some doozies in his final speech in Harry’s fourth year.
10. “CONSTANT VIGILANCE!” —Barty Crouch, Jr., Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Nope, the real Mad-Eye Moody never actually says this! But when the evil Barty Crouch, Jr. is posing as the Auror, he’s actually a pretty decent teacher and delivers this motivational quote.
11. “We must unite inside [Hogwarts] / Or we’ll crumble from within / I have told you, I have warned you… / Let the Sorting now begin.” —The Sorting Hat, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. In its first song after the return of Voldemort, the Sorting Hat expresses conflict over its job of “dividing” the students during these troublesome times when unity is so important. All in rhyme!
12. “Indifference and neglect often do much more damage than outright dislike.” —Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
13. “Anything’s possible if you’ve got enough nerve.” —Ginny Weasley, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Ginny’s brothers Fred and George inspired her to think this!
14. “Age is foolish and forgetful when it underestimates youth.” —Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
15. “Have you any idea how much tyrants fear the people they oppress? All of them realize that, one day, amongst their many victims, there is sure to be one who rises against them and strikes back!” —Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
16. “I don’t think you’re a waste of space.” —Dudley Dursley, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It may not quite be an epic redemption arc, but it was nice to finally see Dudley Dursley emerge a little from his parents’ shadow and express his appreciation for Harry.
17. “Every human life is worth the same, and worth saving.” — Kingsley Shacklebolt, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
18. “And what if we want to stay and fight?” —Ernie Macmillan, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. We included this one specifically because of the glow up of this character! Early in the books, Ernie Macmillan is a rather pompous student who even outright believes Harry is the Heir of Slytherin in Chamber of Secrets. But fast-forward to the Battle of Hogwarts, and Ernie is the first to raise the call to fight!
19. “It is a curious thing, Harry, but perhaps those who are best suited to 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.” —Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Beyond HP, here are more of our favorite inspirational quotes.
Harry Potter love quotes
The Harry Potter series is not subtle about the power of love as the most important, strongest magic. Here are some of the best lines that encapsulate that, as well as snippets from our favorite couples. And check out our other favorite love quotes.
20. “To have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever.” —Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
21. HARRY: “I didn’t want anyone to talk to me.”
GINNY: “Well, that was a bit stupid of you, seeing as you don’t know anyone but me who’s been possessed by You-Know-Who, and I can tell you how it feels.” —Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. OK, OK, this was before Harry and Ginny were together, but we love this early demonstration that she’s not afraid to call him out for pushing people away.
22. “It is impossible to manufacture or imitate love.” —Horace Slughorn, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Professor Slughorn shows off a love potion on the students’ first day of class—reminding them that there’s a caveat.
23. “When you have seen as much of life as I have, you will not underestimate the power of obsessive love.” —Horace Slughorn, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Who knew Slughorn would be responsible for not one but two love quotes?! (To be fair, he’s clearly presenting “obsessive love” as a bad thing here…)
24. LORD VOLDEMORT: “Nothing I have seen in the world has supported your pronouncements that love is more powerful than my kind of magic, Dumbledore.”
ALBUS DUMBLEDORE: “Perhaps you have been looking in the wrong places.” —Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Dumbledore’s at it again with his love quotes.
25. REMUS LUPIN: “Tonks deserves somebody young and whole.”
ARTHUR WEASLEY: “But she wants you.” —Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Tonks and Lupin might not be one of the best-known Harry Potter couples, but Lupin believing he’s not worthy of love and Tonks proving him otherwise gets us every time!
26. “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, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Fleur’s fiancé, Bill Weasley, has just been attacked and scarred by Greyback the werewolf. Mrs. Weasley even suggests that Fleur might not marry him anymore, but Fleur won’t hear it. Her haughty declaration that she’s “good-looking enough for the both of” them is very on-brand.
27. “I never really gave up on you. Not really. I always hoped…” —Ginny Weasley, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Ginny for the win! She was crushing on Harry as early as her first year at Hogwarts. Four years later, they were falling in love! (They did break up before he went to save the world, and then got back together again.)
28. “Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living. And above all, pity those who live without love.” —Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. If you’re already familiar with all of these Harry Potter quotes, see how you do on our tricky Harry Potter quiz!
Funny Harry Potter quotes
The Harry Potter series is chock-full of humor! Don’t believe us? Check out this full list of quips, comebacks, and one-liners that make us giggle re-read after re-read. Some of these Harry Potter quotes do require a bit more context and understanding of the plot to get the joke, but we think the delightful humor alone is worth reading the books!
29. “We’ll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat.” —George Weasley, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. When Harry first meets the Weasleys at the train platform, the twins are trying to appease Ginny, who is sad she can’t go to Hogwarts yet. The best part? Dumbledore tells Harry that Fred and George tried to send him a toilet seat after he’s hospitalized at the end of the year fighting Quirrell.
30. “You haven’t got a letter on your [sweater]. I suppose she thinks you don’t forget your name. But we’re not stupid — we know we’re called Gred and Forge.” —George Weasley, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. At Christmastime, the twins’ are the only ones of Mrs. Weasley’s handmade sweaters with initials on them, and George can’t help but make this joke.
31. “Alas! Ear wax!” —Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Of all the Dumbledore quotes, this one might demonstrate the old wizard’s irreverent, young-at-heart attitude the best. Visiting Harry in the hospital wing, he tries a Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Bean, banking on it being “a nice toffee.” The rest is history.
32. MOLLY WEASLEY: “Your sons flew that car to Harry’s house and back last night! What have you got to say about that, eh?”
ARTHUR WEASLEY: “Did you really? Did it go all right?” —Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. We love the relationship between Mrs. and Mr. Weasley! Though they do have somewhat different parenting skills, they make the perfect pair and parental figures for Harry.
33. “Of all the trees we could’ve hit, we had to get one that hits back.” —Ron Weasley after flying the Weasley car into the Whomping Willow, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
34. “Amazing! Amazing! This is just like magic!” —Gilderoy Lockhart, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. The hapless fraud Lockhart has just erased his own memories when his spell backfired. Fawkes the phoenix is carrying him, Harry, Ron, and Ginny out of the Chamber of Secrets and he is just delighted. Check out these hilarious Harry Potter pick up lines for your favorite Muggle!
35. RITA SKEETER: “Congratulations, Harry! I wonder if you could give me a quick word? How you felt facing that dragon? How you feel now, about the fairness of the scoring?”
HARRY: “Yeah, you can have a word. Good-bye.” —Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Unfortunately, this sick burn does little to keep wizarding tabloid journalist Rita Skeeter at bay.
36. GEORGE: “Hello, Harry. We thought we heard your dulcet tones.”
FRED: “You don’t want to bottle up your anger like that, Harry, let it all out. There might be a couple of people fifty miles away who didn’t hear you.” —Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Oh, angsty Book 5 Harry. Fred and George take the edge off a scene where he’s getting all his anger out about being stuck at the Dursleys and knowing nothing about what’s going on in the wizarding world post–Voldemort’s return.
37. “You’re just as sane as I am.” —Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The head-in-the-clouds Ravenclaw is a little ambiguous when we meet her on the train in Order of the Phoenix, but she quickly proves that sanity is overrated! Luna Lovegood is definitely the expert at be yourself quotes!
38. HERMIONE: “Harry, don’t go picking a row with Malfoy, don’t forget, he’s a prefect now, he could make life difficult for you.”
HARRY: “Wow, I wonder what it’d be like to have a difficult life?” —Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It’s Year 5, Voldemort is back, and Malfoy the school bully is the least of Harry’s concerns.
39. “[Harry] has achieved high marks in every Defense Against the Darks Arts test set by a competent teacher.” —Professor McGonagall to Professor Umbridge, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. In both the books and the films, we live for McGonagall resisting Umbridge’s reign of terror (and terrible teaching)!
40. “Give five signs that identify the werewolf. Excellent question…One: he’s sitting on my chair. Two: he’s wearing my clothes. Three: his name’s Remus Lupin.” —Remus Lupin, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. We think of Lupin as a wise, profound mentor figure, but he’s delightfully hilarious in this memory of him as a teen remarking on a certain question on his O.W.L. exam.
41. SNAPE: “Do you remember me telling you we are practicing non-verbal spells, Potter?”
HARRY: “Yes.”
SNAPE: “Yes, sir.”
HARRY: “There’s no need to call me ‘sir,’ Professor.” —Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
42. HARRY: “What does [the Unbreakable Vow] mean?
RON: “Well, you can’t break an Unbreakable Vow…”
HARRY: “I’d worked that much out for myself, funnily enough.” —Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Even in Book 6, Harry still has a lot to learn about the magical world since he didn’t grow up in it. But he does still understand…logic!
43. “He can move faster than Severus Snape confronted with shampoo.” —Fred Weasley on Voldemort’s powers of flight, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Leave it to Fred to sneak in two digs about two different bad guys in the same sentence.
44. “We teachers are rather good at magic, you know.” —Professor McGonagall, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
45. “We did it, we bashed them, wee Potter’s the one / And Voldy’s gone moldy, so now let’s have fun!” —Peeves the poltergeist, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Ron sums up Peeves’ post–Voldemort defeat victory song the best: “Really gives a feeling for the scope and tragedy of the thing, doesn’t it?”
46. “Don’t let it worry you. It’s me. I’m extremely famous.” —Ron, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. In the epilogue, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny are sending their children off to Hogwarts, and Harry’s son Albus wonders why everyone is staring at them. Ron lightens the nervous new students’ mood with this quip. Long after the epilogue is over, find out the hidden messages in the Harry Potter books you never knew.
Harry Potter quotes about friendship
The Golden Trio may have been friendship goals (for the most part), but the series is full of charming, powerful friendships. From the Marauders (again, for the most part) to the social outcast Luna Lovegood, here are our favorite Harry Potter quotes about friendship. Plus, read these other friendship quotes to share with your bestie.
47. “Books! And cleverness! There are more important things — friendship and bravery…” —Hermione Granger, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. The massively book-smart Hermione reveals the extent of her admiration for Harry’s defining qualities right before Harry goes off alone to face his foe in Sorcerer’s Stone. Though, of course, Hermione, you have a super healthy dose of those qualities, too—give yourself some credit!
48. “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, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Who could forget the moment of victory when Dumbledore rewards Neville—who tried to stop Harry, Ron, and Hermione from going after the Sorcerer’s Stone—with the winning House Cup points? It was an early glimmer of Neville’s greatness, to be sure!
49. “If you want to kill Harry, you’ll have to kill us too!” —Ron Weasley, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Ron’s not about to let Harry die at the hands of Sirius Black alone!
50. “I enjoyed the meetings, too. It was like having friends.” —Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Oh, Luna, breaking our hearts with her casual statements, this one about the Dumbledore’s Army meetings. Of course, we later learn she decorates her bedroom with a mural of the core DA members surrounded by the word “friends”!
51. “[James] called it my ‘furry little problem’ in company. Many people were under the impression that I owned a badly behaved rabbit.” —Remus Lupin on his werewolf condition, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Is there a greater show of friendship than undergoing a complicated, not to mention illegal, animal transformation process to support your friend who’s a werewolf? We don’t think so. (Peter Pettigrew’s betrayal notwithstanding.)
52. DUMBLEDORE: “You do them a disservice by not confiding something this important to them.”
HARRY: “I didn’t want —”
DUMBLEDORE: “— to worry or frighten them? Or perhaps, to confess that you yourself are worried and frightened? You need your friends, Harry.” —Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, on Harry confiding in Ron and Hermione. As more-than-a-little-manipulative as it is, the relationship between Harry and Dumbledore certainly qualifies as a friendship of sorts, too. The fact that Dumbledore says this knowing he’s planned his death soon and is going to leave Harry is a bit of a gut-punch.
53. “We’re with you whatever happens.” —Ron Weasley, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
54. “We’re coming with you. That was decided months ago — years, really.” —Hermione Granger, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Before Harry, Hermione, and Ron embark on their journey to find Horcruxes, Hermione assures him that they’re not going to let him go alone after all they’ve been through together. Talk about loyalty quotes!
Harry Potter movie quotes
We know plenty of Harry Potter fans have mixed opinions about the films. But we like them—and you can’t deny that many of the most famous Harry Potter quotes come from the screen adaptation! Some of these had differently worded equivalents in the books, but the actor’s delivery has cemented them in the realm of pop culture moments. Others weren’t in the books at all!
55. “Yer a wizard, Harry.” —Rubeus Hagrid, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (film). In the book, Hagrid says, “Harry — yer a wizard.” But there’s a reason the iconic film version is what you’ll see on Harry Potter merch everywhere! It’s by far the most famous Hagrid quote.
56. “You’re saying it wrong. It’s leviOsa, not levioSA.” —Hermione Granger, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (film). Hermione says a version of this iconic quote in the book, too, but Emma Watson’s delivery and phrasing made it an instant classic.
57. “Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” —Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film). Nope, that one wasn’t in the books! Dumbledore says it in the start-of-term feast in Harry’s third year. Dumbledore’s also got the strength quotes covered.
58. “What’s life without a little risk?” —Sirius Black, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
59. “Nice one, James!” —Sirius Black to Harry, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film). In another film-only moment, Sirius mistakenly yells this while fighting alongside Harry in the Department of Mysteries. Is it a powerful moment that encapsulates how Harry has more than lived up to his father’s potential? Or a flawed one where Sirius reveals that he only ever saw Harry as a replacement for his father? Either way, fans of the franchise definitely have opinions on it!
60. “Things we lose have a way of coming back to us in the end, if not always in the way we expect.” —Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film). By the end of Order of the Phoenix, we’re all in on Luna Lovegood, especially when she offers these quippy yet profound words to Harry after she finds her stolen shoes.
61. “You can’t deny, Dumbledore’s got style.” —Kingsley Shacklebolt, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film). Dumbledore spectacularly escapes his Ministry of Magic pursuers by catching a ride with his flaming pet phoenix. The pureblood-maniacal headmaster portrait Phineas Nigellus Black says a more subdued version of this line in the books, but we prefer Kingsley’s film delivery!
62. “Dobby never meant to kill! Dobby only meant to maim, or seriously injure!” —Dobby, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (film). Even when fighting Death Eaters in Malfoy Manor, Dobby is so pure.
63. “I’ve always wanted to use that spell!” —Minerva McGonagall, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (film). We love giddy McGonagall when she uses a spell that animates the Hogwarts suits of armor to defend the school in the Battle of Hogwarts. (She does the spell in the books too, but the delightful follow-up is film only.)
64. “It is the quality of one’s convictions that determines success, not the number of followers.” —Remus Lupin, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (film). You’ll remember this line as the one where Kingsley Shacklebolt asks, “Who said that?” and Lupin proudly replies, “Me!”
65. “Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury, and remedying it.” —Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (film). Here are more of our all-time favorite famous movie quotes.
Classic Harry Potter quotes
And finally, these are the ones Harry Potter fans know by heart—plus some other gems that showcase the heart and message of the series.
66. “Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.” —Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. It’s not a quote that a character says, but we couldn’t have a list of Harry Potter quotes without including the iconic opening. When you read that very first line, you know instantly that that normalcy’s about to be upended, and you can’t wait.
67. “The wand chooses the wizard.” —Mr. Ollivander, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. The idea of a “sentient” wand is so distinctly magical! How could you read this line and not immediately want one?!
68. “I hope you’re pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed — or worse, expelled.” —Hermione Granger, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
69. “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” —Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Dumbledore decisively shuts down Harry’s fears about thinking he was better suited to Slytherin at the end of the second book.
70. “You shall not harm Harry Potter!” —Dobby, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. “Dobby is free!” might be the most remembered of all the Dobby quotes, but it’s equally satisfying to see him totally whup his former master, Lucius Malfoy, in defense of Harry.
71. “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.” —The Marauder’s Map, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (and beyond). Though no character technically says this organically, its prominence as the code word to activate the Marauder’s Map earns it a spot among the best Harry Potter quotes!
72. “You place too much importance, and you always have 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! It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be!” —Albus Dumbledore to Cornelius Fudge, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
73. “If she could have done one thing to make absolutely sure that every single person in this school will read your interview, it was banning it!” —Hermione Granger, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Maybe not as much of a classic as these others, but a total truth bomb from Hermione. After Dolores Umbridge bans students from reading Harry’s exposé on Voldemort’s return, Harry is dismayed—but Hermione knows that Umbridge’s move is sure to backfire. A testament to the futility of banning books, to be sure.
74. “Weasley can save anything,
He never leaves a single ring,
That’s why Gryffindors all sing:
Weasley is our King.” —The Gryffindors in Harry and Ron’s fifth year, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. They sing this after Ron leads them to a Quidditch championship—adapting the mocking “Weasley Is Our King” song sung by the Slytherins. That’s sportsmanship.
75. “Always.” —Severus Snape, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Love Snape or hate him, you can’t deny the staying power that his most famous line has had. Dumbledore asks Snape if he’s continued to love Lily Evans/Potter “after all this time,” and he gives this one-word response. Do you know the hidden meaning of Snape’s first words to Harry?
76. “Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” —Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The last thing we see Dumbledore say (besides his headmaster’s portrait) reminds of us the power of thoughts and imagination!
77. “I’ve had enough trouble for a lifetime.” —Harry, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Harry’s final line in the series (besides the epilogue) is pretty spot-on. We’ll miss you, Harry, but we agree—you deserve some peace! Next, check out these funny Harry Potter jokes and puns that will make you spit out your butterbeer.
