Things to ponder

Things to Ponder: from Harry Potter

Jan

Harry Potter and I go way back 🙂 It’s possibly the first series of books I fell utterly and madly in love with as a teenager – like Severus loved Lily, you could say. That continued into adulthood and I’ve re-read the books many times. So much so, that quotes from it pop back into mind even now. Here are 3 magical Harry Potter quotes for you to ponder – fair warning that there are a few spoilers involved. If Harry Potter isn’t for you, perhaps I can interest you in one of my posts on wellness.

Wise words of Dumbledore

Picture of a historical room lined with bookshelves and a reading table. Text reads - "It is our choices Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities" - Albus Dumbledore.
Quote from J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

How great are these wise words of Dumbledore? He always seem to know the right thing to say. Our abilities are a big part of who are, no doubt about that. They are what we are good at and what we are known for. But that’s not who we really are. What’s on the inside is what really matters – our beliefs, values and attitudes. It’s those that drive our choices.

Our choices define our life

We make choices every single day. In fact, our life is defined by the choices we make. Everything is a choice – dating someone, getting married, having kids, choosing a job/ career, making friends, our faith or the things we buy. This is why even our mistakes are the results of choices we made – as hard as it is accept. We lie by choice. Committing a crime is a choice. That’s where the power of Dumbledore’s quote lies – that our choices define who we really are. We become good people when we choose to do the right things with our abilities.

Sirius getting serious

Background shows rounds of shiny lights of various sizes. Text reads - "If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals" - Sirius Black, The Goblet of Fire
Quote from J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Sirius wasn’t my favorite character in Harry Potter. He was always angry and hasty – which I guess is justified when you’ve been stuck in Azkaban for years. He certainly isn’t one I’d be expecting life advice from. But the quote above is worth pondering.

Judge a person by how he treats his inferiors

How often do we see people being treated differently because of their title, rank or status? Takes me back to school to younger kids getting bullied by older ones, when the teachers aren’t looking. People at work who are sickly-sweet to the boss but are a real pain to co-workers and juniors. So-called friends who really likes your money or fame, not you. Tyrant bosses who make life hell for their workers, but acts as embodiments of leadership to their superiors. Which goes to show that people aren’t always as they seem. The way someone treats those below his status, title or rank is a good way to judge what they are really like.

Hermione being logical

Hogwarts crest. Text reads - "Actually I'm highly logical which allows me to look past extraneous detail and perceive clearly that which others overlook" - Hermione Granger, The Deathly Hallows
Quote from J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

My perception of Hermione evolved throughout the series of books. She starts off as know-it-all, pompous and bossy kid. But then really grows on you over time because she’s got her heart in the right place. That said, one thing that stands true from the start is her intelligence. She’s a smart girl who thinks logically. Hermione has always been the one who paid attention to the details and figured things out. She solved the potion riddle when going after Quirrell (to stop him from stealing the Philosopher’s Stone). She figured out who the monster in the chamber of secrets was and how it was moving around the castle. She worked out Lupin was a werewolf. And the list goes on.

Logic is about reasoning and judgement. There is a myriad of factors involved in any problem that needs to be resolved or decision to be made. The ability to reason and identify which of those factors are relevant to the issue at hand, is a real skill. One that some are better at than others. That said, it’s a learned skill that can be improved with practice.

Harry Potter is not only one of the best fantasy reads you’ll ever come across. There’s life lessons and words of advice to be taken out of it.

What is your favourite Harry Potter quote?

For more on Harry Potter, check out these posts.

© Jan Perera 2020. All rights reserved.

Thanks for reading and stay safe!

Published by Jan

Working mom by day and blogger by night, from the land down under in Melbourne, Australia. Jan On The Blog is a lifestyle blog with a little bit of everything because variety is the spice of life! :)

58 thoughts on “Things to Ponder: from Harry Potter”

  3. One of my favourite quotes is by Dumbledore, There is light in the darkest of places, only if one remembers to switch it on 🙂
    I love it a lot.
    You don’t like Sirius?? I love Sirius so much. He was definitely the closest thing Harry had as a father. Of course, Mrs.Weasley as his mother.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. That is one of Dumbledore’s best quotes – he always knew the right thing to say ☺️
      Haha don’t hold it against me! I didn’t like Sirius to start with – I thought he was a tad too reckless 😋 But I was heartbroken when Harry lost him at the ministry. His and Harry’s bond was pretty special.
      Thanks for reading!
      Did you end up reading or watching the new Cursed Child play? Liked it?

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Yes he did!
        But I don’t completely love Dumbledore. My love for him reduced as I grew up. I think he’s more enthralling than loving!
        McGonagall is the perfect headministeress. I LOVE her!

        That’s what make Sirius the fun one xD

        I have the book and I did read it. I kinda like it. I know many others who absolutely don’t like it. But I enjoyed it.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. I agree with you about Dumbledore. I wasn’t impressed with him towards the end – all those lies about the prophecy etc. Not cool!
        Haha McGonagall is the classic no-nonsense, strict-as headmistress. Think she scares me a bit too sometimes 😂 But she really came through for the final battle at Hogwarts – she’s made of good stuff.
        Lol fair enough about Sirius. I did think the actor was much better looking than the mental image I had when reading the books 😂
        I wasn’t in love with the cursed child book – mostly because it was a script – yuck!😬😂 But I was lucky enough to go see the play and that was brilliant! I loooooved it. The special effects etc really looked like magic! 😍

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Yeaaah,
        She’s also a mother figure to Harry, she cares more than she lets on!
        I always found her cool and plus she’s an Animagus, that was like wooah
        Yeahh I get what you mean, Sirius from the books paints a slightly more darker image than Sirius from the movies

        Ooooo that’s so cool. You are so lucky!

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Haha don’t know about president but I was heartbroken when he died. Harry deserved a father figure.
      My favourite character…that’s a tough one 🤔 I did love Dumbledore for the longest time until I out he’s been playing a long game! So now I’d probably say Hermione. I like her as a person. She’s smart, decisive, fights for what she believes in and is a great friend.
      How about you?

      Like

      Reply

  9. As a huge Harry Potter fan, I love all of those quotes particularly the one about choices and the importance of making the right choice. We see this so often in the books like when Harry chooses the house he wants to be in or when he chooses not to pursue the deathly hallows but instead go for the horcuxes. These choices show who Harry really is and that is someone who is brave & loyal to his friends.
    My favorite quote from the movie was said by Hermione: “Now I’m going to bed before either one of you get us killled — or worse expelled.”
    And my favorite quote from the book was… well so many… like the very first paragraph of the first book. I just love the opening. Or at the end of the 4th book when Harry says… “as Hagrid said, wha’ts coming will come and we will just have to meet it when it did. Love it. so many good quotes from the book

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Yay, it’s amazing how many of us bloggers are also Harry Potter fans! 😍
      You’re quite right about how Harry makes the right choices throughout. Kudos to JK Rowling for having built such well thought out characters.
      Hahaha that Hermione quote is gold! I absolutely love it. I can almost picture her say it and walk away with a hair flick 💁‍♀️😂
      Did you end up reading/watching Cursed Child at all? Thoughts?

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Yes I have a copy of the Cursed Child. absolutely. It was good to see the characters again after so long. I only wish that I could have seen Harry more instead of the children… Also I was never really a fan of the pairings. I thought it was too on the nose for Harry to end up with Ginny & Ron with Hermione. It’s just kind of weird to see Harry want to date his best friend’s sister. But I guess this way he gets to be part of the Weasley family something he’s always wanted.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Haha agreed I wasn’t a big fan of the Cursed Child plot. So many characters and time moves way too fast – not even considering the time travel! Also didn’t like how Harry’s son (Albus?) – ended up in Slytherin! 😬
        Haha I didn’t mind how their love lives worked out though.
        I was lucky enough to see the Cursed Child play though and it was fantastic! Some of the stage special effects really looked like magic 😍

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Oooh I’m so jealous. I wanted to watch but didn’t think they had a showing in the US
        Yeah it seemed weird that Albus was in Slytherin.. I mean those things tended to run in families. .Look at the Weaselys. And Harry’s parents were both in Gryffindor and I imagine his paternal family as well. Also Harry was the descendant of Godric Gryffindor wasn’t he? so Albus should have.
        I can’t remember now, but maybe Albus made a choice and chose to be in Slytherin which would say a lot about his character

        Liked by 1 person

      4. Haha yes I was jumping for joy when the play finally came to Melbourne. Think it was only showing in NYC in the US.

        Yeah I didn’t like that part. I’m all for Gryffindor – so didn’t like Albus being in Slytherin. Hmmm I don’t remember exactly either but I don’t recall Albus choosing his house like Harry did.
        The whole Cursed Child plot was a bit much to be honest 😂

        Liked by 1 person

      5. Yeah. I was a bit disappointed. I wanted to see what the three had been up to right after the seventh book.
        Yeah it was a bummer it was only in NYC in the US.. I’m in the southern part so a bit faraway for me

        Liked by 1 person

  10. I adored this post!! One of my favourite quotes from Harry Potter is by Luna Lovegood- “You’re just as sane as I am” . Also, Another quote which I love is “ Anything is possible if you have enough nerve” by Ginny Weasley. This post was amazing, and has inspired me to read the series once again for the twentieth time 😁

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Aww thank you! I’m so glad you liked it. And re-reading the series never gets old.
      Luna is priceless, and that quote is just so her.
      Whose your favourite character?
      Mine’s probably Hermione. She’s smart, a great friend and stands up to what’s right. I love that about her.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Gosh I have so many favourites that I can’t keep count. One’s Luna definitely, and Hermione is another one. I love both to no end. Another character I adore is Dobby. I was heartbroken when he died…

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Awww Dobby. His passing really was heart-breaking. He’s such a sweetheart and cracked me up with his attempts to ‘save’ Harry 😀
        Would be pretty cool if they did a TV show based on Harry Potter isn’t it?!

        Liked by 1 person

  11. I love all of Dumbledore’s quotes! His wise words make us realize a lot of things that we usually don’t think about in life. This is one of my favorite quotes from Harry Potter:- “We’ve all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That’s who we really are.”

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  12. your post truly made my day. Being a potterhead what else you need. besides everything is so magical in your post. I adore this. Visit my site too, it would be great if I get a bit of appreciation from a writer like you.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      1. just visit my site too, actually have no clue that how readers get to see what I write and so far I’ve been writing cuz I love but want readers to read that as well. thank you. 🙂

        Like

  17. Pingback: Things to Ponder: from Harry Potter – Odd Life Audrey

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.