He felt his heart pounding fiercely in his chest. How strange that in his dread of death, it pumped all the harder, valiantly keeping him alive. But it would have to stop, and soon. Its beats were numbered. How many would there be time for, as he rose and walked through the castle for the last time, out into the grounds and into the forest?

Does it hurt?" The childish question had escaped Harry's lips before he could stop it. "Dying? Not at all," said Sirius. "Quicker and easier than falling asleep.

Professor Trelawney: "Everything went pitch-black and the next thing I knew I was being hurled headfirst out of the room!" Harry Potter: "And you didn’t see that coming?" Professor Trelawney: "No, as I say it was pitch — ” [Glares at Harry angrily]

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.

Professor Flitwick had dried himself off and set Seamus lines ("I am a wizard not a baboon brandishing a stick")

Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?

It's lucky it's dark. I haven't blushed so much since Madam Pomfrey told me she liked my new earmuffs.