Since their 1997 introduction, the Harry Potter books have sold hundreds of millions of copies. To this day, nearly 30 years later, it remains a cherished and iconic series, despite the controversy surrounding its star author. Between 2001 and 2011, Warner Bros. produced the highly successful Harry Potter movie series. These eight films brought Rowling’s imaginative tales and memorable characters to life. And one of the story’s most famous players is the headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, played first by Richard Harris and then later by Michael Gambon.
Dumbledore served as Harry Potter’s guide throughout the Harry Potter franchise, helping him become a better wizard. It was Dumbledore who set Harry on the path to defeating Lord Voldemort, collecting Deathly Hallows and Horcruxes. Despite his quirky personality, there was a lot of wisdom behind Dumbledore’s words. His most important lesson, one that he championed throughout the series, was the power and importance of love. The film series included many of Dumbledore’s best quotes from the books. Some of them, however, wound up on the cutting room floor. John Lithgow is now set to portray our next Albus Dumbledore in the forthcoming HBO TV series.
Here are 10 of the best Dumbledore quotes that were cut from the movies but just might make it into the show.
10
“Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!”
We meet the remarkable Albus Dumbledore in the very first scene of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, in both the book and the film. We don’t see him again until Harry arrives at Hogwarts for his first day of school. In the film, Dumbledore kicks off the school year with some housekeeping announcements.
In the books, however, Dumbledore’s opening remarks are quite…different. “Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!” And that’s it. This nonsensical string of words is quintessential Dumbledore. It introduces us to the quirky side of his personality while leaving Harry, and also us, to wonder, “Is he a bit mad?”
Related
10 Perfect ‘Harry Potter’ Movie Scenes That Will Be Tough for HBO To Top
There were many moments that the Harry Potter movies captured perfectly. They will be tough for the show to recreate.
9
“Numbing The Pain For a While Will Make It Worse When You Finally Feel It.”
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire features the tragic death of Cedric Diggory. After narrowly escaping Lord Voldemort, Harry returns to Hogwarts with Cedric’s body. He’s understandably distraught by Cedric’s death and communicates as much to his headmaster. Dumbledore, who (we later learn) knows a thing or two about grief and loss, imparts some real-world wisdom to his young pupil.
“If I thought I could help you, by putting you into an enchanted sleep and allowing you to postpone the moment when you would have to think about what has happened tonight, I would do it. But I know better. Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it.” This is a much kinder, gentler Dumbledore than we see in the film, who infamously tosses Harry against some shelves after his name emerges from the Goblet of Fire.
8
“That Boy’s Soul Is Not Yet So Damaged. I Would Not Have It Ripped Apart On My Account.”
At the end of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry uses the Pensieve to journey through Snape’s memories. The film abbreviates this sequence of events, turning them into a heart-wrenching montage and a mishmash of highlights. It’s an effective strategy, though it does leave out several moments. At one point, Harry witnesses a conversation where Dumbledore, after learning that he’s been cursed and has only a year left to live, instructs Snape to murder him rather than Draco Malfoy.
The book elaborates on this decision when Dumbledore nobly tells Snape, “That boy’s soul is not yet so damaged. I would not have it ripped apart on my account.” Clearly, Harry isn’t the only student that Dumbledore cares about.
7
“You Will Shake Hands.”
Things take a turn for the worse at the end of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Cedric Diggory is dead, and Lord Voldemort has been resurrected. Knowing the hurdle that lies ahead, Dumbledore moves swiftly to form alliances and squash feuds, including the one between Severus Snape and Sirius Black.
Ever the peacemaker, Dumbledore brings these age-old foes together and tells them firmly, “I will settle, in the short term, for a lack of open hostility. You will shake hands. You are on the same side now. Time is short, and unless the few of us who know the truth stand united, there is no hope for any of us.” Unfortunately, this scene was cut from the film, along with many others, to contain its running time, but it’ll hopefully be a moment that we get to see on the TV show.
6
“To the Well-Organized Mind, Death Is but the Next Great Adventure.”
After the Sorcerer’s Stone is destroyed. Harry expresses remorse over the inevitable death of the stone’s creator, Nicolas Flamel. Dumbledore, however, eases Harry’s troubles with this calming and accepting view of death: “To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.”
Easy for an 115-year-old wizard, who acquired the Deathly Hallows and literally became Master of Death, to say. Still, there is something to be said for having the grace to accept death after a long life well lived.
Related
10 Reasons Why Michael Gambon Was the Best Albus Dumbledore
The world lost an iconic actor in Michael Gambon but Harry Potter fans are likely feeling his loss the most. Here’s why he was the best Dumbledore.
5
“Was I Better, Ultimately, than Voldemort?”
Even the world’s most powerful wizard can experience doubts and insecurities. Toward the end of the series, Rowling highlights how Dumbledore is a flawed character, prone to mistakes, misjudgments, and temptations, just like the rest of us.
At the end of Deathly Hallows, when Dumbledore and Harry meet each other in limbo, Dumbledore reflects on his quest for the Deathly Hallows and his mission to become Master of Death. “Was I better, ultimately, than Voldemort?” he wonders aloud to Harry. It’s an introspective moment that grants us a peek at Dumbledore’s secretive mind — and at the questions that often torment it.
4
“It Is Our Choices, Harry, That Show What We Truly Are, Far More Than Our Abilities.”
Dumbledore isn’t the only wizard who frets about his parallels to Lord Voldemort. In Chamber of Secrets, Harry laments over the similarities between Tom Riddle and himself. He confides in Dumbledore, admitting that he was only placed in Gryffindor because he had asked the Sorting Hat not to place him in Slytherin.
Smiling, Dumbledore uses this to defend his argument that, while there are similarities between Harry and Riddle, the two of them are ultimately very different. “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
3
“You Think The Dead We Have Loved Ever Truly Leave Us?”
Harry travels back in time in The Prisoner of Azkaban, where he witnesses his past self getting attacked by dementors. He becomes convinced that his deceased father will appear and cast a stag Patronus that will save his past self. But as it turns out, it was Harry who casts that powerful Patronus, not his father.
When Harry explains the situation to Dumbledore in the book, he expresses his stupidity in believing that his father was somehow alive. In response, Dumbledore drops one of his best and most heartfelt quotes in the series, “You think the dead we have loved ever truly leave us?” He later goes on to say, “Your father is alive in you, Harry, and shows himself most plainly when you have need of him. How else could you produce that particular Patronus? Prongs rode again last night.”
2
“Age Is Foolish and Forgetful When It Underestimates Youth.”
As a powerful 115-year-old wizard, Dumbledore has attained much wisdom and experience over the course of his life. But even he knows, “Age is foolish and forgetful when it underestimates youth.” He tells Harry as much when they climb into the canoe in Voldemort’s cave and travel toward the first Horcrux.
Voldemort has proven time and time again that he underestimates youth. But even the world’s most powerful wizard can recognize the advantages and potential in young people.
1
“And Now, Harry, Let Us Step Out Into the Night and Pursue That Flighty Temptress, Adventure.”
Dumbledore often delivers poetic quotes, many of which are captured in the films. But there is one poetic line from Dumbledore that the movies neglected to include. The best scenes in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, in both the book and the film, are Harry’s private lessons with Dumbledore. Together, master and apprentice use the Pensieve to journey inside third-party memories of Lord Voldemort, finding the missing puzzle pieces that will create a broader picture of the Dark Lord.
When their lessons conclude, Dumbledore and Harry set out to destroy their first Horcrux together. Dumbledore is a bit more grim in the film and stresses the danger of what lies ahead. In the book, however, he embraces his upcoming adventure with the famous Harry Potter and drops this poetic and memorable line: “And now, Harry, let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.”
