25. HARRY POTTER and the SORCERER'S STONE

J.K. Rowling 1997

This is the first of seven books in the series of  the wonderful world of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron and the Weasleys, Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape, Hagrid and so many others at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We were introduced to so many new things such as the Invisibility cloak, the sorting hat, the Diagon Alley and the game of Quidditch. Professor Quirrel is the Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, the only position that changes with every book. The extraordinary book that started it all.

'Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anythng strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense.'(opening lines)

'My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself call call him by his name? All this 'You-Know-Who' nonsense--for eleven years I have been trying to persuade people to call him by his proper name:Voldermort.'(11)

'Harry Potter rolled over inside his blanket without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on, not knowing he was special, not knowing he was famous...He couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses ans staying in hushed voices:"To Harry Potter--the boy who lived!'(17)

'Aunt Petunia often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel-- Harry often said that Dudley looked like a pig in a wig.'(21)

'We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.'(51)

'People stared more than ever on the train. Hagrid took up two seats and sat knitting what looked like a canary-yellow circus tent.'(65)

''...it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course.'(82)

'Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Mr. Potter. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand.'(83-84)

'I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather--just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother--why, it's brother gave you that scar.'(85)

'What she did have were Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other stange things.'(101)

'Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
 I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.'(117)

'You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word — like Professor McGonagall, Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses ... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death — if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach.'(136-137)

"Wingardium Leviosa!" he shouted, waving his long arms like a windmill.
"You're saying it wrong," Harry heard Herminone snap. "It's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long."(171)

'The happiest man on earth would be able to use the Mirror of Erised like a normal mirror, that is, he would like into it and see himself exactly as he is...It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts.'(213)

'This isn't magic--it's logic--a puzzle. A lot of great wizards haven't got an ounce of logic, they'd be stuck in here forever.'(285)

'To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.'(297)


'If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn't realize that love as powerful as your mother's for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar...no visible sign...to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us protection forever.'(299)
'"There are all kinds of courage," said Dumbledore, smiling. "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends."'(306)

First American Edition. October 1998
309 pages
Book borrowed from JRMD
Quotes updated: May 15, 2011