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

There is plenty of ambitious competition and hypocrisy in the middle class, which makes it a rather fertile environment for a writer.

I enjoyed the meetings, too. It was like having friends.

but the idea of the Dark Lord in possesion of the Deathstick is, I must admit, formidable.

Perfection is not necessary to make a real and lasting difference to other people's lives.

Wands are only as powerful as the wizards who use them. Some wizards just like to boast that theirs are bigger and better than other people's.

He put his foot on one pedal, scooted a few yards and swung his other leg over the saddle. He soared left into the vertiginously sloping hillside road and sped, without touching his brakes ... The hedgerows and sky blurred; he imagined himself in a velodrome as the wind whipped his hair clean...