Top 10 Harry Potter Quotes We Use All the Time

There are days we mourn how much of Harry’s savagery was cut from the movies. For instance, when he tells Snape, “There’s no need to call me ‘Sir’” in “Half Blood-Prince”. Luckily, movie Harry still got some shining moments to showcase his sharp tongue. When the Dursleys are having important company over at the beginning of “Chamber of Secrets”, Vernon checks in with Harry to make sure he knows what his role is. Boy, does Harry ever. He gets some equally quotable and scathing dialogue towards the end of “Order of the Phoenix”, this time toward a distressed Umbridge. Beyond the themes of bravery and friendship, the overarching lesson of the story might have just been “don’t cross the Boy Who Lived”.

Very reassuring words from Resident Sane Person, Luna Lovegood. Of course, her sentiment is just that: there is no normal, only individual and shared experience. In both the book and movie, Luna offers the sentiment when Harry finds that he’s the only person among his friends who can see the creatures pulling the carriages up to the school. Luna shares that she, too, can see them and reassures Harry he isn’t going mad. The line feels so emblematic of Luna that its staying power in the fandom doesn’t come as a surprise.

Snape’s low, drawling voice makes him so fun to mimic. His character is, of course, quintessential in the books but Alan Rickman breathed an esteemed life into him. One of our favorite scenes is in “Prisoner of Azkaban” when he briefly replaces Lupin as the “Defense Against the Dark Arts” professor. He tells the class to “turn to page 394”, hoping someone will pick up on the significance of the information on the page. Again, Rickman’s delivery is impeccable. Still, we tend to favor his exchange with Umbridge in “Order of the Phoenix” when she tries her best to get under his skin. It’s like watching a gerbil trying to rouse a black cat.

Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort is yet another performance with diction that’s quite fun to imitate. When Harry finally confronts Voldemort, a fated encounter that everything has been building to since the beginning, the Dark Lord still makes time for a bit of wordplay. Just as epic on the page as it is on screen, the line is typically the one people think of most in connection with Voldemort. Well, you know, except for “Avada Kedavra!” Beyond that, memes and parodies aplenty have surfaced, which is always the true mark of something’s legacy.

This one’s a lot of fun to say whenever something slightly inconvenient happens. With Draco uttering some variation of the line three times in the films – and mentioning his father a handful of others – it’s impossible not to associate his character with the vague threat. Famous last words for someone once turned into a ferret… Thanks to Tom Felton’s ad libbing in “Chamber of Secrets”, we also get the pleasure of quoting his response to Harry disguised as Goyle every now and again. Draco Malfoy: school antagonist or comedian extraordinaire?

If someone does the kindness of doing your laundry for you, consider repaying them with this line in thanks. There is something so sweet and innocent but simultaneously hilarious about it, both in and out of context. Perhaps it’s the Elf’s shrill voice or the wonderment with which he says it, but it’s gold. And it’s not the only memorable line Dobby gets either. This one made us laugh out loud while reading, but it was even better to hear it said aloud in the film adaptation. You are far more merciful than we, Dobby.