“There might be a dragon with five legs in my house, but no one has ever seen it.”

“No one I know has ever seen the matriarch of House Sandwalker, although she’s rumored to be an imposing sort. For a bat.”

“I daresay Freddy might not be a great hand at slaying dragons- but one has not the smallest need of a man who can kill dragons!”

“He tapped one of the ivory spikes between his legs and said, 'There be as good a way to lose your manhood as ever I've seen'.”

“Even now, I found it difficult to believe that my father could or might be dying. He had always been a strong man, a good leader. No one had ever seen him with his head bowed in despair or defeat, no one had ever seen him slump in resignation, nor had anyone ever had even so much as a hint from him that he might ever give up. It was hard to picture all that strength drained from my father’s body.”

“Louisa beheld the grounds and house with the calm pleasure of one who has seen nothing, been nowhere, expects everything, and has little imagination.”