words are our most inexhaustible source of magic.

Personal happiness lies in knowing that life is not a checklist of acquisition. Your qualifications are not your life.

I received free health care.

It was as if Snape had started handing out sweets.

I expect what you're not aware of would fill several books, Dursely.

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.

Snape was looking as though the first person to ask him for a Love Potion would be force-fed poison.