Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was one of the most beloved characters in the Harry Potter series.
Even though he was most famously portrayed by actor Sir Michael Gambon in the Harry Potter movies, the character was originally created by author J.K. Rowling in her series of best-selling books that first launched in the mid-1990s.
Given his importance to those books and to the popular film franchise that followed, it’s no surprise that Dumbledore is one of the most memorable characters from Rowling’s series.
From his first introduction as the otherwise known as Professor Quirrell to his final moments on screen as the leader of the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore was portrayed as kind, wise, and immensely skilled in magic.
His wisdom, intelligence, and magical abilities were only matched by his love and care for Harry Potter and everyone else at Hogwarts. He left behind many wise sayings and powerful quotes that will be remembered forever by Harry Potter fans around the world. Here are my 57 favorite Dumbledore quotes from the entire series!
Best Dumbledore Quotes
Things are not quite what they appear. No matter what you’ve been told. ―Albus Dumbledore (Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore)
Hogwarts is not a place for mad people. Hogwarts is a school. A school of magic. You can do things can’t you, Tom? That other children can’t. ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Half-blood Prince)
You place too much importance… on the so-called purity of blood! You fail to recognize that it matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be! ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire)
What happened down in the dungeons between you and Professor Quirrell is a complete secret. So, naturally, the whole school knows. ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone)
Do not pity the dead, Harry, pity the living, and above all those who live without love. ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows)
Dumbledore Quotes on Regrets
Regret is my constant companion. Do not let it become yours. ―Albus Dumbledore (Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald)
A child’s voice, however honest and true, is meaningless to those who’ve forgotten how to listen. ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban)
Curiosity is not a sin, but you should exercise caution. ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire)
This memory is a different kind of magic. Very dark. Very parcel. Without it, we are blind. It leaves the fate of our world to chance. You have no choice, you must not fail. Once again, I must ask too much of you, Harry. ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Half-blood Prince)
Of course, it’s happening inside your head, Harry. Why should that mean that it’s not real? ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows)
Dumbledore Quotes on Honesty
Your honesty is a gift, even if at times a painful one. ―Albus Dumbledore (Fantastic Beasts 3: The Secrets of Dumbledore)
It is not our abilities that show what we truly are. It is our choices. ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets)
To have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever… ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone)
Indifference and neglect often do much more damage than outright dislike. ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix)
If you listen carefully enough, the past whispers to you. ―Albus Dumbledore (Fantastic Beasts 3: The Secrets of Dumbledore)
If your determination to shut your eyes will carry you so far, Cornelius, then we have reached a parting of the ways. You must act as you see fit and I must act as I see fit. ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire)
The happiest man on earth would look into the mirror and see only himself, exactly as he is. ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone)
To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure… ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone)
Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. Love as powerful as your mother’s for you leaves its own mark… ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone)
Magic, especially dark magic… leaves traces. ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince)
The fact that everything didn’t go precisely to plan was precisely the plan. ―Albus Dumbledore (Fantastic Beasts 3: The Secrets of Dumbledore)
You have something most men go their entire lives without. Do you know what that is? A heart that is full. ―Albus Dumbledore (Fantastic Beasts 3: The Secrets of Dumbledore)
You are protected, in short, by your ability to love! … The only protection that can possibly work against the lure of power like Voldemort’s!. ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Half-blood Prince)
Words are, in my not so humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury, and remedying it. ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows )
Memory is everything. Without it, we are blind. Without it, we leave the fate of our world to chance. ―Albus Dumbledore (Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore)
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 host of things I would rather be doing. ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix)
The truth. It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution… ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone)
Humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are worst for them… ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone)
I’ve always felt an affinity with the great magical birds. There’s a story in my family that a phoenix will come to any Dumbledore in desperate need. They say my great-grandfather had one, and that it took flight when he died, never to return… ―Albus Dumbledore (Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald)
Oh, to be young and to feel love’s keen sting. ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Half-blood Prince)
You will also find that help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it… ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets)
I sometimes find, and I am sure you know the feeling, that I simply have too many thoughts and memories crammed into my mind… At these times… I use the Pensieve. One simply siphons the excess thoughts from one’s mind, pours them into the basin, and examines them at one’s leisure… ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire)
It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities… ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets)
Call him Voldemort, Harry. Always use the proper name for things. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself… ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone)
We must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy. ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire)
Now, the pain we all feel at this dreadful loss reminds me, and, reminds us, that while we may come from different places and speak in different tongues, our hearts beat as one. ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire)
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… ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone)
Perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it. ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows)
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that! ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s)
If you’d ever had the pleasure to teach him, you’d know Newt is not a great follower of orders. ―Albus Dumbledore (Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald)
No spell can reawaken the dead, Harry. I trust you know that… ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire)
Just like your mother, you are unfailingly kind. A trait people never fail to undervalue, I’m afraid. ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince)
When in doubt, I find retracing my steps to be a wise place to begin… ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban)
You think the dead we loved truly ever leave us? You think we don’t recall them more clearly in times of great trouble? ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban)
Mysterious thing, time. Powerful, and when meddled with, dangerous. ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban)
Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times if one only remembers to turn on the light. ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban)
The best of us sometimes eat our words. ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets)
We must try not to sink beneath our anguish, Harry, but battle on. ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Half-blood Prince)
It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone)
Funny how historic days seem so ordinary when you’re living them. ―Albus Dumbledore (Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore)
Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open. ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire)
Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right, and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good and kind and brave because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Goblet Of Fire)
One can never have enough socks. Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn’t get a single pair. ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone)
For in dreams, we enter a world that is entirely our own. Let him swim in the deepest ocean or glide over the highest cloud. ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban)
Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it. ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets)
It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more. ―Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and The Half-blood Prince)
Best Dumbledore Quotes You’d Love to Tweet
Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it. ―Albus Dumbledore Share on XCuriosity is not a sin, but we should exercise caution with our curiosity. ―Albus Dumbledore Share on XIt is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. ―Albus Dumbledore Share on XAh, music! A magic beyond all we do here!Albus Dumbledore quotes ―Albus Dumbledore Share on XLet us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress—adventure. ―Albus Dumbledore Share on XKilling is not so easy as the innocent believe. ―Albus Dumbledore Share on XIt matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be. ―Albus Dumbledore Share on XDark times lie ahead of us and there will be a time when we must choose between what is easy and what is right. ―Albus Dumbledore Share on XFear of a name increases fear of a thing itself. ―Albus Dumbledore Share on XDumbledore Quotes with Images
Download Best Dumbledore Quotes
You can download this Best Dumbledore Quotes PDF for Free here.
FAQs
What is the best Dumbledore quote?
It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.
What does this quote mean?
This quote means that it is our actions and decisions that reveal our true character, rather than our talents or abilities.
Who said this quote?
Dumbledore said this quote to Harry in the sixth book, when explaining why he had chosen him to be the new secret keeper for the Order of the Phoenix.
Why did Dumbledore say this quote?
This quote was meant to emphasize the importance of choosing your own path, as opposed to blindly following someone else’s instructions.
When was this quote said?
This quote was said by Dumbledore during his final conversation with Harry in the sixth book, when telling him about why he was going against Voldemort. He wanted Harry to know how important it was for him to choose his own destiny, rather than allow others to dictate it for him. He wanted Harry to remember his thoughts on destiny while making his own choice, knowing full well that he could either join the Death Eaters or be killed.
How can you use this quote?
You can use this quote to encourage others to follow their dreams and not give up on themselves. In particular, it is a great encouragement for those who have faced adversity or difficult circumstances because it emphasizes that they should not give up because they have a chance at success if they only persevere.
Conclusion
Dumbledore is one of the most quotable characters in the Harry Potter series. His wisdom and wit are unmatched, and his words always seem to strike a chord. In times of trouble, we can always turn to Dumbledore for guidance.
If you enjoyed some of his most memorable quotes, you can also check V for Vendetta quotes, and Hilariously Incorrect Quotes.
You can visit imdb.com if you wish to explore more about Dumbledore.
