Yes, there are parallels. The difference is that I just look at [my son] David and think that he's absolutely perfect, whereas you look at the finished book and you think, 'Oh, damn it, I should have changed that.' You're never happy. Whereas with a baby, you're happy. If you've got a perfect baby, you're just grateful.

Because that's what Hermione does,' said Ron, shrugging. 'When in doubt, go to the library.

I think the willfully unimaginative see more monsters. They are often more afraid.

This group had a kind of dark glamour within the castle. They were a motley collection; a mixture of the weak seeking protection, the ambitious seeking some shared glory, and the thuggish gravitating toward a leader who could show them more refined forms of cruelty.

I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even put a stopper on death.

Think your little jokes'll help you on your deathbed?" she jeered. "Jokes? No,no, these are manners," replied Dumbledore.

Things we lose have a way of coming back to us in the end, if not always in the way we expect.