there is plenty to be learned even from a bad teacher: what not to do, how not to be

I was just sitting on the train, just staring out the window at some cows. It was not the most inspiring subject. When all of a sudden the idea of Harry just appeared in my mind's eye.

I hope that even if you remember not a single word of mine, you remember those of Seneca, another of those old Romans I met when I fled down the Classics corridor, in retreat from career ladders, in search of ancient wisdom: As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.

I think I've really exhausted the magical. It was a lot of fun, but I've put it behind me for the time being.

Like the fact that the person Sirius cared for the most about in the world was you," said Dumbledore quietly.

There is no point in apportioning blame. What is done, is done.

It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might has well not have lived at all, in which case you have failed by default.