J. K. Rowling created the fictional character of Albus Dumbledore (full name: Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore) to her Harry Potter book series. In this article, we have gathered some of the wisest and most memorable Dumbledore quotes for your enjoyment.
Dumbledore is the headmaster of “Hogwarts”, a wizarding school, and he’s also founder and leader of the Order of the Phoenix, which is an organization that fights the main antagonist in the book series, Lord Voldemort.
According to the author of the books, the name Dumbledore is a dialectical word for bumblebee, due to his love of music. Rowling said that she imagined the character of Dumbledore walking around and humming to himself all the time.
In the movie series, the role of Dumbledore was played by Richard Harris (Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (aka Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets), and Michael Gambon (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince).
Here is a sneak peek at the quotes in this article:
Table of Contents
- Dumbledore Quotes from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
- Dumbledore Quotes from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- Dumbledore Quotes from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- Dumbledore Quotes from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- Dumbledore Quotes from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- Dumbledore Quotes from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- Dumbledore Quotes from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
- Interesting Facts about Dumbledore
Dumbledore Quotes from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)
Dumbledore: It does not do to dwell on dreams, and forget to live.
Dumbledore: It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends.
Dumbledore: What happened down in the dungeon between you and Professor Quirrell is a complete secret. So, naturally, the whole school knows.
Dumbledore: Only a person who wanted to find the Stone, find it, but not use it, would be able to get it. That is one of my more brilliant ideas. And between you and me, that is saying something.
Dumbledore: The happiest man on earth would look into the mirror and see only himself, exactly as he is.
Dumbledore: Harry, do you know why Professor Quirrell couldn’t bear to have you touch him? It was because of your mother. She sacrificed herself for you, and that kind of act leaves a mark. No, no. This kind of mark cannot be seen. It lives in your very skin.
Harry: What is it?
Dumbledore: Love, Harry. Love.
Professor McGonagall: Albus, do you really think it safe, leaving him with these people? I’ve watched them all day. They’re the worst sort of Muggles imaginable. They really are…
Dumbledore: The only family he has.
Professor McGonagall: This boy will be famous. There won’t be a child in our world who doesn’t know his name.
Dumbledore: Exactly. He’s far better off growing up away from all of that. Until he is ready.
Dumbledore: I was most unfortunate in my youth to come across a vomit-flavored one, and since then I’m afraid I’ve lost my liking for them. But, I think I could be safe with a nice toffee. Mm, alas, earwax.
Dumbledore: Also, our caretaker, Mr. Filch, has asked me to remind you that the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a most painful death.
Professor McGonagall: Good evening, Professor Dumbledore. Are the rumors true, Albus?
Dumbledore: I’m afraid so, Professor. The good…and the bad.
Professor McGonagall: Are you sure you could trust Hagrid with such an important thing?
Dumbledore: I would trust Hagrid with my own life.
Dumbledore Quotes from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
Dumbledore: Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it.
Dumbledore: You both realize, of course, that in the past few hours you have broken perhaps a dozen school rules. There is sufficient evidence to have you both expelled. Therefore, it is only fitting that you both receive…Special Awards for Services to the School.
Dumbledore: It is not our abilities that show what we truly are. It is our choices.
Harry: Your bird, there was nothing I could do. He just caught fire.
Dumbledore: Oh, and about time too. He’s been looking dreadful for days. Pity you had to see him on a burning day.
Lucius Malfoy: So it’s true. You have returned.
Dumbledore: When the governors learned that Arthur Weasley’s daughter was taken into the chamber, they saw fit to summon me back. Lucius Malfoy: Ridiculous!
Dumbledore: Curiously, Lucius, several of them were under the impression that you would curse their families if they did not agree to suspend me in the first place.
Dumbledore: Innocent until proven guilty, Severus.
Filch: My cat has been petrified. I wanna see some punishment!
Dumbledore: We will be able to cure her, Argus. As I understand it, Madame Sprout has a very healthy growth of Mandrake. When matured, a potion will be made which will revive Mrs. Norris. And in the meantime, I strongly recommend caution…to all.
Dumbledore: She’s not dead, Argus. She has been petrified.
Dumbledore: Ah, music. A magic beyond all we do here!
Professor Minerva McGonagall: What can this mean, Albus?
Dumbledore: It means there are students who are in great danger.
Professor Minerva McGonagall: What should I tell the staff?
Dumbledore: The truth? Tell them Hogwarts is no longer safe. It is as we feared, the chamber of secrets has indeed been opened again.
Dumbledore: In light of recent events, as a school treat, all exams have been cancelled!
Dumbledore Quotes from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Dumbledore: In dreams, we enter a world that’s entirely our own. Let him swim in the deepest ocean or glide over the highest cloud.
Dumbledore: A child’s voice, however honest and true, is meaningless to those who have forgotten how to listen.
Dumbledore: Mysterious thing, time. Powerful, and when meddled with, dangerous.
Dumbledore: When in doubt, I find retracing my steps to be a wise place to begin.
Dumbledore: A word of caution: dementors are vicious creatures. They will not distinguish between the one they hunt and the one who gets in their way. Therefore, I must warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. It’s not in the nature of a dementor to be forgiving. But you know happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, when one only remembers to turn on the light.
Dumbledore: Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher for many years, has decided to retire in order to spend more time with his remaining limbs.
Dumbledore: Dumbledore: Oh, by the way. When in doubt, I find retracing my steps to be a wise place to begin. Good luck.
Cornelius Fudge: We must search the grounds!
Dumbledore: Search the skies if you must, Minister, but now I think I’ll have a nice cup of tea, or a large brandy. Oh, and executioner, your services are no longer required. Thank you.
Cornelius Fudge: Now write your name only.
Dumbledore: It’s quite a long name.
Dumbledore: Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.
Professor Snape: Have you any theories as to how Black got in?
Dumbledore: Many, each as unlikely as the next.
Dumbledore: This may bring her number of actual predictions to two…I should give her a raise.
Dumbledore: You think the dead we loved ever truly leave us? You think we don’t recall them more clearly than ever in times of great trouble? Your father is alive in you, Harry, and shows himself plainly when you have need of him.
Dumbledore Quotes from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
Dumbledore: Curiosity is not a sin, but you should exercise caution.
Dumbledore: Send a message to Azkaban. I think they’ll find they’re missing a prisoner.
Barty Crouch Junior: I’ll be welcomed back like a hero!
Dumbledore: Perhaps. Personally, I’ve never had much time for heroes.
Dumbledore: No spell can reawaken the dead, Harry. I trust you know that. Dark and difficult times lie ahead. Soon we must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy.
Harry: In the graveyard, my wand and Voldemort’s sort of…connected.
Dumbledore: Priori Incantatem.
Dumbledore: I never liked these curtains. Set them on fire in my fourth year. Accidentally, of course.
Dumbledore: Your attention please. I’d like to say a few words. Eternal glory! That’s what awaits the student who wins The Triwizard Tournament. But to this that student must survive three tasks. Three EXTREMELY DANGEROUS tasks.
Fred, George: Wicked!
Dumbledore: Well now that we’re all settled in and sorted, I’d like to make an announcement. This castle will not only be your home this year but home to some very special guests as well. You see, Hogwarts has been chosen to host a legendary event: The Triwizard Tournament. The Tournament brings together three schools for a series of magical contests. From each school a single student is selected to compete. Now let me be clear. If chosen, you stand alone. And trust me when I say, these contest are not for the faint-hearted. But more of that later.
Dumbledore: People change in the maze. Oh, find the cup if you can. But be very wary, you could just lose yourselves along the way.
Dumbledore: Harry, feel free to treat yourself to a licorice snap. But be careful, they’re a wee bit sharp.
Dumbledore: The Goblet of Fire! Anyone wishing to submit themselves to the tournament need only write their name upon a piece of parchment and throw it in the flame before this hour on Thursday night. Do not do so lightly! If chosen, there’s no turning back. As from this moment, The Triwizard Tournament has begun!
Dumbledore: I keep looking for some mistake, some sign, some clue as to why these terrible things are happening, but everytime I get close to an answer, IT SLIPS AWAY, it’s maddening.
Dumbledore: Excellent! We now have three champions. But in the end, only one will go down in history. Only one will hoist the chalice of champions this vessel of victory The Triwizard Cup!
Dumbledore: Harry! Did you put your name in the Goblet of fire?
Dumbledore Quotes from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
Dumbledore: Witness for the defense, Albus Percival Wulfric…Brian…Dumbledore.
Cornelius Fudge: Oh! Albus…I see you got our notice about the time change of the hearing…
Dumbledore: I must have missed it; but by a happy mistake, I arrived at the Ministry three hours early.
Dumbledore: I know how you feel, Harry.
Harry Potter: No you don’t. It’s my fault.
Dumbledore: No, the fault is mine. I knew it was only a matter of time before Voldemort made the connection between you. I thought by distancing myself from you, as I have done all year, he’d be less tempted and therefore you might be more protected.
Harry Potter: The prophecy said neither one can live while the other one survives. It means one of us is going to have to kill the other, in the end.
Dumbledore: Yes.
Harry Potter: Why didn’t you tell me?
Dumbledore: For the same reason you tried to save Sirius. For the same reason your friends saved you. After all these years, after all you’ve suffered, I didn’t want to cause you any more pain. I cared too much about you.
Dumbledore: It isn’t how you are alike. It’s how you are not.
Dolores Umbridge: Dumbledore, may I remind you that under the terms of Educational Decree #23, as enacted by the Minister…
Dumbledore: You have the right to dismiss my teachers. You do not, however, have the authority to banish them from the grounds. That power remains with the headmaster.
Dolores Umbridge: For now.
Cornelius Fudge: Dawlish, Shacklebolt, you will escort Dumbledore to Azkaban to await trial for conspiracy.
Dumbledore: Ah, I thought we might hit this little snag. You seem to be laboring under the delusion that I am going to – what is the phrase? “Come quietly”. Well, I can tell you this: I have no intention of going to Azkaban.
Dumbledore: Cornelius, I implore you to see reason. The evidence that the Dark Lord has returned is incontrovertible.
Dumbledore: It was foolish of you to come here tonight, Tom. The Aurors are on their way.
Lord Voldemort: By which time I shall be gone, and you… shall be dead!
Dumbledore: Don’t fight him Harry, you can’t win!
Dumbledore: Thank you Professor Umbridge, that really was most illuminating.
Dumbledore: Most noble of you, Harry, to shield me, but as it’s been pointed out the parchment clearly says “Dumbledore’s Army”, not “Potter’s”. I instructed Harry to form this organization and I, and I alone, am responsible for its activities.
Dumbledore Quotes from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
Dumbledore: Just like your mother, you are unfailingly kind. A trait people never fail to undervalue, I’m afraid.
Dumbledore: Well, being me has its privileges.
Dumbledore: Horace, do you mind if I take this? I do love knitting patterns.
Dumbledore: Ah, Harry…you need a shave, my friend.
Dumbledore: Take my arm.
Harry Potter: I just apparated, didn’t I?
Dumbledore: Indeed. Quite successfully, I might add. Most people vomit their first time.
Harry Potter: I can’t imagine why.
Severus Snape: Has it ever crossed your brilliant mind that I don’t want to do this anymore?
Dumbledore: Whether it has or it hasn’t is irrelevant. You gave me your word.
Harry Potter: Did you know, sir? Then?
Dumbledore: Did I know that I just met the most dangerous dark wizard of all time? No. If I had…
Dumbledore: Good evening, Bellatrix. I think introductions are in order.
Dumbledore: Every day, every hour, this very minute, perhaps, dark forces attempt to penetrate this castle’s walls. But in the end, their greatest weapon…is you.
Dumbledore: Once again, I must ask too much of you, Harry.
Dumbledore: This is beyond anything I have imagined.
Dumbledore: I admit you do make a very convincing armchair, Horace.
Dumbledore: Magic, especially dark magic…leaves traces.
Dumbledore: Years ago, I knew a boy who made all the wrong choices. Please, let me help you.
Dumbledore: Now as you know, each and every one of you was searched upon your arrival here tonight and you have the right to know why. Once there was a young man, who like you, sat in this very hall, walked this castle’s corridors, slept under its roofs. He seemed to all the world a student like any other. His name: Tom Riddle. Today, of course, he’s known all over the world by another name, which is why, as I stand looking out upon you all tonight, I’m reminded of a sobering fact: Every day, every hour, this very minute, perhaps, dark forces attempt to penetrate this castle’s walls. But in the end, their greatest weapon…is you. There’s something to think about. Now off to bed, pip pip.
Dumbledore: I shall make it easy for you…
Dumbledore Quotes from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)
Dumbledore: Harry is the best hope we have. Trust him.
Dumbledore Quotes from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)
Dumbledore: Words are, in my not so humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury, and remedying it.
Dumbledore: Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living. And above all, all those who live without love.
Dumbledore: We both know Lord Voldemort has ordered the Malfoy boy to murder me. But should he fail, I should presume the Dark Lord will turn to you. You must be the one to kill me, Severus. It is the only way. Only then will the Dark Lord trust you completely.
Professor Severus Snape: So when the time comes…the boy must die?
Dumbledore: Yes. Yes…he must die.
Dumbledore: Don’t tell me now that you’ve grown to care for the boy.
Harry Potter: I have to go back, haven’t I?
Dumbledore: Oh, that’s up to you.
Harry Potter: I have a choice?
Dumbledore: Oh, yes. We’re in King’s Cross, you say? I think, if you so desired, you’d be able to board a train.
Harry Potter: And where would it take me?
Dumbledore: On.
Harry Potter: Is this all real? Or is it just happening inside my head?
Dumbledore: Of course it’s happening inside your head, Harry. Why should that mean that it’s not real?
Dumbledore: You wonderful boy. You brave, brave man.
Harry Potter: What is that, Professor?
Dumbledore: Something that is beyond either of our help.
Interesting Facts about Dumbledore
Now it’s time for some interesting facts about our beloved Dumbledore that you may have not known about. Ready?
- Dumbledore was In Love with Grindelwald – Dumbledore wished to explore the world and be free from his family life. So, it was easy to manipulate him and drag him to the personality of Gellert Grindelwald. Also, Dumbledore took interest in the power of the Deathly Hallows, especially the resurrection stone that he wanted to use on his loved ones who were dead. Dumbledore and Grindelwald bonded together and, if you haven’t known it by now, Dumbledore was supposedly gay. However, things were too complicated between the two, especially because of the fights.
- Dumbledore Can Become Invisible – Not only that, but he can become invisible even without an invisibility cloak. He even gives it to Harry and tells him that he does not need it. The Disillusionment Charm, camouflages a person to their surroundings, so it is possible that using his great power as a wizard, he can make himself invisible using an advanced version of this spell.
- He Knew about the Prophecy of Harry Potter – At the end of the meeting between Dumbledore and Professor Trelawney, the later fell into a trance and told about the prophecy of Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort. Dumbledore witnessed this prophecy with Severus Snape, who latter passed this prophecy to Lord Voldemort.
- Dumbledore Taught Transfiguration Before He Became Headmaster – In school, Dumbledore excelled at Transfiguration and Charms. He won many awards and published papers on his experiences and findings. He even made new friends with great wizards and witches who in the future will also rise to fame in the field of magic. A couple of years after Dumbledore graduated, he returned to Hogwarts as the Transfiguration professor, as he wanted to teach, even though he could have advanced to a higher position in school.
- Dumbledore Received the Order of Merlin – Dumbledore holds many awards and titles, one of them is The Order of Merlin, First Class Award, which is given for an outstanding performance and act of bravery or distinction in magic. He received this award for defeating Grindelwald when he terrorized Europe during the 1940s.
- Dumbledore Could Understand Parseltongue – The ancient language of the snake was passed on through generations. In 2007, author J. K. Rowling stated in an interview that Dumbledore could understand snake language, and not only that, but also the Merpeople’s Mermish and Goblin’s Gobbledegook. It’s unclear whether Dumbledore could have spoken the language as well, but he clearly understood it.
- Dumbledore’s Father Died in Azkaban – Dumbledore’s sister, Ariana, was once attacked by a group of muggle boys after they saw her perform magic. From that time on, she has never recovered and was never the same again. Percival, Dumbledore’s father, sought revenge for this attack. Eventually, he caught the boys and had his revenge. The claim is that he used magic on the boys, because later he was sent to Azkaban for his actions, where he also died.
- Dumbledore’s Grave is the Only One in Hogwarts – Dumbledore is buried in Hogwarts and not with his family probably because he felt he did not deserve it, since he was in-part responsible to the death of his sister. Another theory claims that he is buried there because he may have felt that Hogwarts was his real home, the place where he felt the most comfortable and safe.
- Only Dumbledore and Harry Possess All Three Hallows – It is only Dumbledore and Harry Potter who ever held all three hallows. The life of the two were linked together, along with their willingness to die (if needed) for the greater good.
- Dumbledore Lied to Harry about What He Saw in the Mirror of Erised – In Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry comes across a mirror, the mirror of Erised. This mirror is known to show to everyone who looks in it his true desires. Dumbledore decides to warn Harry on not thinking too much and lose himself in what he sees in the mirror, but instead, advices him to focus on living. When Harry asked Dumbledore what he saw in the mirror, Dumbledore lied to him by humorously saying that he saw himself holding a pair of woolen socks. In 2007, J. K. Rowling said that what Dumbledore really saw in the mirror was his family alive and happy. His sister, Ariana. His father, Percival, and Kendra. They all returned to him, and Aberforth reconciled to him.
If you’re interested to read more quotes from famous creations and authors, I invite you to read my posts dedicated to Neil Gaiman quotes as well as Antigone quotes.