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J. K. Rowling Quotes

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Famous J. K. Rowling Quotes

“Failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy to finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one area where I truly belonged. I was set free, because my greatest fear had been realized, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter, and a big idea. And so rock bottom became a solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.”

StillsIdeasBigsMightFoundEnergyAliveRocksSucceedDaughterAreasDeterminationDirectFoundationBottomPretendingFinishingTypewritersGreatest FearBig IdeasStrippingSolid FoundationDetermination To SucceedStripping Away
Author:J. K. Rowling
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“How do you remember everything from different books when you are still writing the HP series? As obsessive fans will tell you, I do slip up! Several classrooms move floors mysteriously between books and these are the least serious continuity errors! Most of the fansites will point you in the direction of my mistakes. But the essentials remain consistent from book to book because the story has been plotted for a long time and it is clear in my mind.”

WritingMindLongHas BeensStillsBookDifferentStoriesRememberMovingMistakeClearFansSeriousEssentialsLong TimeErrorsSeriesConsistentSlipsClassroomContinuityObsessiveMy MistakesRemembers EverythingDifferent Books
Author:J. K. Rowling
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“People ask me if there are going to be stories of Harry Potter as an adult. Frankly, if I wanted to, I could keep writing stories until Harry is a senior citizen, but I don't know how many people would actually want to read about a 65 year old Harry still at Hogwarts playing bingo with Ron and Hermione.”

PeopleIfsKnowsWantWritingYearsStillsStoriesWantedAsksKnow HowCitizensAdultsAsk MeHarry PotterSeniorPottersHermioneWriting StoriesSenior CitizenHogwartsBingoRon And Hermione
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“Ah" said Dumbledore gently, "Yes I thought we might hit that little snag!" "Snag?" said Fudge, his voice still vibrating with joy. "I see no snag, Dumbledore!" "Well," said Dumbledore apologetically, "I'm afraid I do." "Oh, really?" "Well it's just that you seem to be labouring under the delusion that I am going to -- come quietly. I am afraid I am not going to come quietly at all, Cornelius. I have absolutely no intention of being sent to Azkaban. I could break out, of course -- but what a waste of time, and frankly, I can think of a whole host of things I would rather be doing.”

ThinkingWellsLittlesSaidStillsI CanWholeSeemsMightJoyCoursesVoiceBreakWasteIntentionDelusionHostWasting TimeBreak OutWell SaidFudgeOrder Of The Phoenix
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“For instance, this new idea that You-Know-Who can kill with a single glance from his eyes. That’s a basilisk, listeners. One simple test: Check whether the thing that’s glaring at you has got legs. If it has, it’s safe to look into its eyes, although if it really is You-Know-Who, that’s still likely to be the last thing you ever do.”

IfsKnowsLooksStillsIdeasEyeLastsSimpleSafeTestsLegsChecksInstanceHis EyesNew IdeasListenersHarry PotterGlancesPottersDeathly HallowsFunny Harry Potter
Author:J. K. Rowling
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“Harry was speeding toward the ground when the crowd saw him clap his hand to his mouth as though he was going to be sick-he hit the field on all fours-coughed-and something gold fell into his hand. 'I've got the snitch!' he shouted, waving it above his head, and the game ended in complete confusion. 'He didn't catch it, he nearly swalloed it,' Flint was still howling twenty minutes later, but it made no difference-Harry hadn't broken any rules and Lee Jordan was still happily shouting the results-Gryffindor had won by 170 points to 60.”

MadeStillsHandsGamesDifferencesResultsSawsMinutesFieldsBrokenMouthsGoldSickTwentiesCrowdsConfusionJordanShoutingSpeedingFoursGryffindorSnitch
Author:J. K. Rowling
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“His hand closed automatically around the fake Horcrux but in spite of everything, in spite of the dark and twisting path he saw stretching ahead for himself, in spite of the final meeting with Voldemort he knew must come whether in a month in a year or in ten, he felt his heart lift at the thought that there was still one last golden day of peace left to enjoy with Ron and Hermione.”

YearsHeartStillsHandsLastsLeftFeltEnjoyDarkPathSawsMonthsTenMeetingsFinalsGoldenLiftsFakeSpiteStretchingHermioneHorcruxesGolden DaysRon And Hermione
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“Be ruthless about protecting writing days, i.e., do not cave in to endless requests to have "essential" and "long overdue" meetings on those days. The funny thing is that, although writing has been my actual job for several years now, I still seem to have to fight for time in which to do it. Some people do not seem to grasp that I still have to sit down in peace and write the books, apparently believing that they pop up like mushrooms without my connivance. I must therefore guard the time allotted to writing as a Hungarian Horntail guards its firstborn egg.”

PeopleWritingYearsBelieveLongHas BeensStillsBookSeemsJobsFightingEssentialsMeetingsPopsEndlessEggsCavesFunny ThingsRequestRuthlessMushroomsOverdueHungarians
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“Only one pair was still battling, apparently unaware of the new arrival. Harry saw Sirius duck Bellatrix's jet of red light: he was laughing at her. 'Come on, you can do better than that!' he yelled, his voice echoing around the cavernous room. The second jet of light hit him squarely in the chest. The laughter had not quite died from his face, but his eyes widened in shock.”

StillsLightEyeFacesVoiceCan DoRoomsLaughingSawsLaughterRedDiedHis EyesShockPairsChestsDucksJetArrivalsRed LightsSiriusNew Arrivals
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“And Hermione was struggling to her feet in the wreckage, and three red-headed men were grouped on the ground where the wall had blasted apart. Harry grabbed Hermione's hand as they staggered and stumbled over stone and wood. 'No - no - no!' someone was shouting. 'No! Fred! No!' And Percy was shaking his brother, and Ron was kneeling beside them, and Fred's eyes stared without seeing, the ghost of his last laugh still etched upon his face.”

MenStillsHandsEyeLastsFacesThreeLaughingStruggleSeeingFeetBrotherWallRedStonesWoodsGhostShakingShoutingHermioneKneelingWreckageFred Weasley
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“What's that?" he snarled, staring at the envelope Harry was still clutching in his hand. "If it's another form for me to sign, you've got another -" "It's not," said Harry cheerfully. "It's a letter from my godfather." "Godfather?" sputtered Uncle Vernon. "You haven't got a godfather!" "Yes, I have," said Harry brightly. "He was my mum and dad's best friend. He's a convicted murderer, but he's broken out of wizard prison and he's on the run. He likes to keep in touch with me, though...keep up with my news...check if I'm happy.”

IfsSaidStillsHandsRunningFormHavensBrokenDadNewsLettersPrisonLikesChecksStaringMumHarry PotterUnclesMurdererWizardsEnvelopesMum And DadUncle Vernon
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“Ron and Hermione were still smirking and Harry felt his temper rise; he wasn’t even sure why he was feeling so angry. “Don’t sit there grinning like you know better than I do, I was there, wasn’t I?” he said heatedly. “I know what went on, all right? And I didn’t get through any of that because I was brilliant at Defense Against the Dark Arts, I got through it all because — because help came at the right time, or because I guessed right — but I just blundered through it all, I didn’t have a clue what I was doing — STOP LAUGHING!”

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“You can exist without your soul, you know, as long as your brain and heart are still working. But you’ll have no sense of self anymore, no memory, no . . . anything. There’s no chance at all of recovery. You’ll just — exist. As an empty shell. And your soul is gone forever . . . lost.”

KnowsHeartLongStillsSoulSelfLostMemoriesChanceBrainGoneForeverEmptyRecoveryYour SoulShellsSense Of SelfNo MemoryHeart And BrainRemus LupinDementorsEmpty Shell
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“You've sort of made up for it tonight,' said Harry. 'Getting the sword. Finishing off the Horcux. Saving my life.' 'That makes me sound a lot cooler than I was,' Ron mumbled. 'Stuff like that always sounds cooler than it really was,' said Harry. 'I've been trying to tell you that for years.' Simultaneously they walked forwards and hugged, Harry gripping the still sopping back of Ron's jacket.”

TryingYearsMadeSaidStillsStuffSoundSavingTonightJacketsFinishingGrippingWeasleyRon Weasley
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“Lee Jordan was finding it difficult not to take sides. 'So — after that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating —' 'Jordan!' growled Professor McGonagall. 'I mean after that open and revolting foul —' 'Jordan, I'm warning you —' 'All right, all right. Flint nearly kills the Gryffindor Seeker, which could happen to anyone, I'm sure, so a penalty to Gryffindor, taken by Spinnet, who puts it away, no trouble, and we continue play, Gryffindor still in possession.”

MeanStillsPlayHappensBitsDifficultSidesTakenTroubleFindingsObviousPossessionCheatingProfessorsWarningDisgustingPenaltiesSeekersFoulJordanFunny Harry PotterGryffindorMcgonagallProfessor Mcgonagall
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“Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own? Five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this,” said Professor McGonagall. “I’m very disappointed in you.” Hermione left. Professor McGonagall turned to Harry and Ron. “Well, I still say you were lucky, but not many first years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll. You each win Gryffindor five points.”

ThinkingYearsFirstsWellsSaidStillsGirlWinningLeftTakenFiveMissingLuckyMountainFoolishDisappointedProfessorsTrollHermioneTacklingGryffindorMcgonagallProfessor McgonagallDisappointed In You
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“Naturally Shirley had known, as they slid stock words and phrases back and forth between them like beads on an abacus, that Howard must be as brimful of ecstasy as she was; but to express these feelings out loud, when the news of death was still fresh in the air, would have been tantamount to dancing naked and shrieking obscenities, and Howard and Shirley were clothed, always, in an invisible layer of decorum that they never laid aside.”

Has BeensStillsFeelingsKnownAirNewsDancingInvisibleNakedLoudPhrasesEcstasyLayersBack And ForthBeadsObscenityDecorumAbacus
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“Everything had shattered. The fact that it was all still there — the walls and the chairs and the children’s pictures on the walls — meant nothing. Every atom of it had been blasted apart and reconstituted in an instant, and its appearance of permanence and solidity was laughable; it would dissolve at a touch, for everything was suddenly tissue-thin and friable.”

ChildrenStillsFactsWallAppearanceInstantChairsAtomsShatteredTissuesPermanenceLaughableSolidity
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“Thing was' he faced them, and Harry was astonished to see that he was grinning, 'they bit of a bit more than they could chew with Gran. Little old witch living alone, they probably think they didn't need to send anyone particularly powerful. Anyway' Neville laughed, 'Dawlish is still in St Mungo's and Gran is on the run. She sent me a letter,' he clapped a hand to the breast pocket of his robes, 'telling me she was proud of me, that I'm my parents' son, and to keep it up”

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“But you're dead," said Harry. "Oh yes," said Dumbledore matter-of-factly. "Then...I'm dead too?" "Ah," said Dumbledore, smiling still more broadly. "That is the question, isn't it? On the whole, dear boy, I think not.” They looked at each other, the old man still beaming. "Not?" repeated Harry. "Not," said Dumbledore. "But…" Harry raised his hand instinctively toward the lightning scar. It did not seem to be there. "But I should have died—I didn't defend myself! I meant to let him kill me!" "And that," said Dumbledore, "will, I think, have made all the difference.”

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“He did not know or care whether they were wizards or Muggles, friends or foes; all he cared about was that a dark stain was spreading across Dobby's front, and that he had stretched out his thin arms to Harry with a look of supplication. Harry caught him and laid him sideways on the cool grass. "Dobby, no, don't die, don't die -" The elf's eyes found him, and his lips trembled with the effort to form words. "Harry...Potter..." And then with a little shudder the elf became quite still, and his eyes were nothing more than great glassy orbs, sprinkled with light from the stars they could not see.”

KnowsLooksLittlesStillsLightEyeCareFormDiesFoundStarsDarkEffortFrontsArmsLipsCaughtGrassHis EyesHarry PotterFoeWizardsPottersStainsSidewaysSupplicationOrbsMugglesDobby
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“Well, that was a bit stupid of you,” said Ginny angrily, “seeing as you don’t know anyone but me who’s been possessed by You-Know-Who, and I can tell you how it feels.” Harry remained quite still as the impact of these words hit him. Then he turned on the spot to face her. “I forgot,” he said. “Lucky you,” said Ginny coolly. “I’m sorry,” Harry said, and he meant it.”

KnowsFeelsWellsSaidStillsI CanFacesBitsSeeingStupidLuckyImpactSorrySpotsPossessedI'm SorryLucky YouGinny Weasley
Author:J. K. Rowling
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