Inspirational Harry Potter Quotes To Live Your Life By

harry potter stamps — (Image credit: Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

BRB, re-reading the series again.

Are you sitting down? We hope you are. We're about to drop a pretty insane fact that'll make you feel old: Harry Potter is over twenty years old now. We're not talking about the character - technically, Harry was born in 1980 and would be 38 years old today - we're talking about the magical franchise itself which started it all. We've been feeling incredibly nostalgic lately, poring over Harry Potter facts and dreaming of simpler times when our biggest fear was He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named.

Today marks the twentieth anniversary of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - boo hiss, yes, the American version - and Potterheads around the world have been celebrating in style. Even Rowling jumped in on the festivities with a sweet message below which she post per her favourite social media platform, Twitter:

Us Brits had our twentieth anniversary for the Philosopher's Stone last year on June 26, but any excuse to celebrate the Boy Who Lived is just fine by us. We've rounded up some inspirational Harry Potter quotes below to help you get through the day (and the rest of your life) below. Side note: everybody deserves their own personal Dumbledore.

1. Harry Potter: I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

2. Albus Dumbledore: To the well-organised mind, death is but the next great adventure.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

3. Hermione Granger: Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

4. Albus Dumbledore: It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

5. Sirius Black: If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

6. Hagrid: I am what I am, an’ I’m not ashamed. ‘Never be ashamed,’ my ol’d dad used ter say, ‘there’s some who’ll hold it against you, but they’re not worth botherin’ with.’

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

7. Albus Dumbledore: It does not do well to dwell on dreams and forget to live.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

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8. Luna Lovegood: Things we lose have a way of coming back to us in the end, if not always in the way we expect.

Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix

9. Albus Dumbledore: It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

10. Albus Dumbledore: After all this time? Severus Snape: Always.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

11. Hermione Granger: We could all have been killed - or even worse, expelled.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

12. Albus Dumbledore: Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean it is not real?

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

13. Kingsley Shacklebolt: Every human life is worth the same, and worth saving.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

14. All was well.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

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Megan is a freelance journalist who covers entertainment and all things lifestyle, with a particular passion for fashion, beauty, travel and Keanu Reeves stories. She has previously worked on staff for titles including Marie Claire UK, CNN Style and The Evening Standard and has written for titles such as Bustle UK, Wallpaper*, Forbes and Hong Kong Tatler. She splits her time between London and her hometown Hong Kong, where she currently lives with the love of her life - an elderly dog named Poppy - and her husband.