That old berk," muttered Aberforth, taking another swig of mead. "Thought the sun shone out of my brother's every orifice, he did.

If you love something - and there are things that I love - you do want more and more and more of it, but that's not the way to produce good work.

Warrington’s aim’s so pathetic I’d be more worried if he was aiming for the person next to me.

No, I'm fine,' said Harry, wondering why he kept telling people this, and wondering whether he had ever been less fine.

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.

Part of what makes a language 'alive' is its constant evolution. I would hate to think Britain would ever emulate France, where they actually have a learned faculty whose job it is to attempt to prevent the incursion of foreign words into the language. I love editing Harry with Arthur Levine, my American editor-the differences between 'British English' (of which there must be at least 200 versions) and 'American English' (ditto!) are a source of constant interest and amusement to me.

Every writer must have a chip of ice in his heart.