The Saucy Wenches Book Club

"One can never have enough socks," said Dumbledore. "Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn't get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books."

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
~~J.K. Rowling 

"The truth." Dumbledore sighed. "It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution."

Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone
~~J.K. Rowling

The silence swallowed them all again. Every head turned, every eye in the place seemed to have found Harry, to hold him forever in the glare of thousands of invisible beams. Then a figure rose from the Slytherin table and he recognized Pansy Parkinson as she raised a shaking arm and screamed, "But he's there! Potter's there. Someone grab him!"

Before Harry could speak, there was a massive movement. The Gryffindors in front of him had risen and stood facing, not Harry, but the Slytherins. Then the Hufflepuffs stood, and almost at the same moment, the Ravenclaws, all of them with their backs to Harry, all of them looking toward Pansy instead, and Harry, awestruck and overwhelmed, saw wands emerging everywhere, pulled from beneath cloaks and from under sleeves.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

Like millions of fans all over the world, the Harry Potter series is one of my favorite of all time. I've read it several times, I own multiple copies of most of the books, I can hold hours-long conversations about the series and the characters that populate it, and I am endlessly awed by the rich world that J.K. Rowling built. While the four most central characters are three males and a female, this wider Wizarding World is overflowing with awe-inspiring women.

These are complex and complicated women who are not only strong but are also competent, caring, brilliant, vulnerable, funny, loyal, and fierce. They are the heart and soul of the Harry Potter world, which would not be as epic as it is without them.

Come with me through the jump and I'll tell you about the absolutely fantastic women who make the Harry Potter world the can't-miss series of a generation.

"He accused me of being 'Dumbledore's man through and through.' "

"How very rude of him."

"I told him I was."

Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again. Behind Harry, Fawkes the phoenix let out a low, soft, musical cry. To Harry's intense embarrassment he suddenly realized that Dumbledore's bright blue eyes looked rather watery, and stared hastily at his own knees. When Dumbledore spoke, however, his voice was quite steady.

"I am very touched, Harry."

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
~~J.K. Rowling

Voldemort himself created his worst enemy, just as tyrants everywhere do! Have you any idea how much tyrants fear the people they oppress? All of them realize that one day, amongst their many victims, there is sure the be one who rises against them and strikes back!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
~~J.K. Rowling

"Potter has no chance whatsoever of becoming an Auror!"

Professor McGonagall got to her feet too, and in her case this was a much more impressive move. She towered over Professor Umbridge. "Potter," she said in ringing tones, "I will assist you to become and Auror if it is the last thing I do! If I have to coach you nightly I will make sure you achieve the required results!"

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
~~J.K. Rowling