Harry Potter was my childhood. For years and years I adored rewatching these amazing fantasy films and seeing the story of The Boy Who Lived play out on my screen for all audiences of every age to enjoy. And, something that I’ve taken into my daily life are some of the best quotes from the series - both those that are fun to remember, and ones that are great life advice.
From Hermione’s priorities to Albus’ advice to Harry in his darkest times, Harry Potter has always had the best pieces of wisdom to follow, or fun moments to remember. Here are some of the best Harry Potter movie quotes.
“Now, If You Two Don't Mind, I'm Going To Bed Before Either Of You Come Up With Another Clever Idea To Get Us Killed Or Worse… Expelled!” - Hermione
Hermione is the brightest witch of her age, and her studious nature started early, with her first year in Hogwarts in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
After one of their first adventures together, Hermione tells off Harry and Ron over what just happened, aggravated about the whole situation, and letting them know she has no interest in being either killed or expelled.
It just goes to show what her perspective is - she values doing well in school. Even if Ron doesn’t get it, I see you, girl.
"It Takes A Great Deal Of Bravery To Stand Up To Your Enemies, But A Great Deal More To Stand Up To Your Friends." - Albus Dumbledore
In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Neville Longbottom attempts to try and stop the trio from heading off to the third floor to keep them safe. He fails, but his bravery doesn't go unrewarded. In order for the Gryffindors to win the House Cup, Albus awards Neville points for his efforts, and admires how he stood up to his buddies.
What a great quote. Such a fantastic way to show how brave Neville was for what he did, but also a lesson to kids to stand up for what they believe in, even if it means standing up to the ones you love.
“Why Spiders? Why Couldn’t It Be Follow The Butterflies?” - Ron Weasley
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets featured plenty of fun moments from beginning to end, but one of my favorite parts is Ron’s complaint here. Ron is a silly character (at least in the movies) who is one of Harry's best friends, loves food, is a bit of a dunce sometimes, and hates spiders - which is what makes this quote even funnier.
When they are told by Hagrid to “follow the spiders,” Harry sees a trail of spiders leading into the forest. Ron, scared and disgusted by this, announces that he would much rather follow butterflies.
I feel you, Ron. I feel you. It’s made even worse/funnier when they run into the king of spiders himself, Aragog.
“Happiness Can Be Found Even In The Darkest Of Times, If One Only Remembers To Turn On The Light.” - Albus Dumbledore
One of my all-time favorite quotes from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. When life looks a little dim with the escape of Sirius Black, with dementors swirling around Hogwarts to keep an eye out for the prisoner, Dumbledore had the above bit of insightfulness for the assembled students.
I mean, what a quote. Not only is it relevant for what is happening in the movie, but we can all put it to use in our normal lives. Even when we feel like we're at our lowest, we can always find a little bit of joy. We just have to remember to search for it. And, that’s the beauty of this quote.
“He’s Back, He’s Back! Voldemort Is Back!” - Harry Potter
While it’s not very magical, it is memorable.
This quote is from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, after Harry (the wonderful Daniel Radcliffe) returns from the Tri-Wizard Tournament with Cedric’s dead body because Voldemort attacked them. Harry is crying over him, as the band is playing in the background, unaware of the situation. It’s then that he cries to let everyone know about Voldemort.
The moment the band finally dies down and everyone realizes what is happening is heartbreaking, and it’s made even worse when Cedric’s father breaks through the crowd, crying for his boy. Ugh, my heart is clenching just writing about it.
“Though We May Come From Different Countries And Speak In Different Tongues, Our Hearts Beat As One” - Albus Dumbledore
After Cedric (the talented Robert Pattinson) is killed and the world feels bleak, Dumbledore is blatant in telling his students that Voldemort is back, and says that while the ministry would want to keep it a secret, he wants everyone to know because, despite their differences, Voldemort's arrival is bad for everyone.
This quote is so great because it’s perfect for this movie, but also a really good observation for the real world. While we may all have different traditions and cultures, we are still one world.
Sometimes tragedy strikes (such as with natural disasters), and in that moment, our hearts beat as one, and the world really comes together. It’s a beautiful thing.
“We’ve All Got Both Light And Darkness Inside Us. What Matters Is The Part We Choose To Act On. That’s Who We Really Are.” - Sirius Black
Sirius Black wasn’t in the movies for long, but he became one of my favorite characters for many reasons. He says this to Harry when his godson is expressing his anger about the world, and Sirius explains why Harry shouldn’t feel worried about his negativity.
Sirius Black, the ultimate man to go to for advice. Harry had been feeling so negative about his life at that point, and he was so worried about who he was becoming. Leave it to his godfather to reassure him that it’s okay to feel those things. He knows that Harry can rise above it. And, Harry takes that advice to heart.
"You'll Never Know Love, Or Friendship. And I Feel Sorry For You." - Harry Potter
In one of the best battles of the franchise, in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Voldemort used his powers to possess Harry, entering into his mind and causing him pain. Harry fights him off with one thing - love, and he says this to Voldemort as he does so.
Not only is it a great line from Harry, who truly does know love and friendship compared to his villainous counterpart, it shows just how good of a man Harry is. Even if Voldemort is literally the scum of the Earth, Harry still feels bad for the man, because he'll never know the love and joy that Harry feels when he's around his friends and family - because Voldemort has no soul. It's bold of him to say, but powerful nonetheless.
“Dobby Did Not Mean To Kill Anyone! Dobby Only Meant To Maim, Or Seriously Injure!” - Dobby
Ugh, Dobby. The scene that follows this shattered me, but we’re only here to talk about how badass Dobby was before that. When he appears to save Harry and his friends and drops a whole-ass chandelier on their enemies, Bellatrix snaps at the house elf, saying that he could have killed her, leading to this great Dobby response.
Just writing this has me laughing. The sass this house elf has in just that one quote kills me each time. Dobby truly was a free elf - and he will forever live in my memory.
“Let’s Finish This The Way We Started. Together.” - Harry Potter
We have to end this with Harry Potter, the man himself. In his constant battle with Voldemort (played by Ralph Fiennes) during Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2, Harry confronts him in the castle, and simply tells him how it's about to go down.
He takes a hold of him and they both jump, collapsing in a fight in midair; both trying to one-up the other. This moment felt like it was building up for years and years, and to see it play out on screen was amazing, capped by Harry's great words.
With the Harry Potter reunion airing January 1 on HBO Max, this just makes me want to rewatch all of the Harry Potter movies streaming. Regardless, I know I’ll at least always have these quotes from the series to enjoy - and maybe in my next re-watch, I’ll find a new one to add to this list.
