(no subject)

[hjsnapepm]

• What sort of profession in the wizarding world would you choose and why?
  I think I'd like to work for Magical Law Enforcement. Not an Auror, really, but the magical equivalent of a CSI. Collecting evidence and tracing magical signatures, etc, seems like it would be really interesting to do.
  
  As a little girl, I would sneak and watch forensic shows on the Discovery Channel because I found them fascinating. Also, in first grade, my best friend and I were really into Ghostwriter and we used to play detective at recess, solving schoolyard "crimes". We found a map once in the playground, and another group of kids wanted it. They would bug us all the time for it, but we didn't want to give it up in case it led to anything interesting. Eventually, I made a counterfeit map and gave it to them instead and, because they had never gotten a good look at the original, they never found out.
  
  Magic could add an interesting dimension to crime scene investigation, I would think.
  
  If that didn't happen, I'd work at a bookstore. I love the smell of books, being surrounded by shelves full of them, and I also like organizing them.
   
• You have to venture deep into the Forbidden Forest one night. Pick one Harry Potter character other than Hagrid and one object (muggle or magical), besides your wand, that you'd want with you.
  I think for an object, I would take my Harpy folding knife. For a long time, I didn't go anywhere without it. When I did forget to carry it, or when I couldn't for whatever reason, I felt like I was missing a part of myself. It's dead useful, too, for cutting through viney things, taking samples of plants, or even defending myself if I lost my wand.
  
  I'd want Severus Snape with me, because he could certainly hold his own in the forest and I trust him implicitly.
   
• If you had the opportunity to live forever, but your family and friends did not, what would you choose? And if you did choose to live forever, what would you do with eternity?
  I've actually been thinking a lot about immortality lately--long story--and I've come to the conclusion that, no, I could not choose to live forever. I am more afraid of my family dying than I am of my own death. I certainly don't want to die, but I'm not afraid of it enough to want to avoid it forever.
  
  Immortality would be permanent grief and loneliness. Anyone I got close to I would eventually have to watch die and after a while I wouldn't be able to stand it anymore. I'm... not good with loss. I replay everything in my mind, everything I did, everything I could have done differently. Distracting myself from it is not always easy, and I could not live with an eternity of that.
  
  I do believe in an afterlife, so sticking around here while everyone moves on wouldn't be pleasant, either.
   
• If you could travel back in time to one point, when and where would you go? Why?
  June 14, 2008 - The Huntington Theatre, Boston MA. It was the first time I saw the musical "She Loves Me." It had to have been ninety degrees in the theatre, the air conditioning was broken and I was in the very last row, but when it started... I got completely lost in the story, the music, everything. Part of the story takes place during the winter and one of the lyrics is, "I'm freezing; that's because it's cold out!" At that moment--despite the heat, the humidity, the sweat pouring off of me--I believed it. It was truly magical. I would do nearly anything to experience it again, just like it was that night.
   
• What HP character do you identify with most and why?
  I guess it would be Hermione Granger. I was the one who always knew the answer in school. I didn't volunteer it all the time--I'm way too shy for that--but most of the time my teacher knew I knew it. Every now and then, one of them would ask a question no one would know the answer to--and it was easy--and I would get so frustrated nobody would answer that I'd raise my hand.
  
  Also, I used to get teased by my friends for having nightmares about not turning in assignments on time. I graduated high school five years ago and I still have those nightmares.
  
  Physically, I have the hair and the teeth, as well.
   
• What would you see if you looked into the Mirror of Erised?
  Me and the man I love--who he is, I don't know at the moment--living a quiet, happy life. More and more, I'm finding that's what I want. I don't really want kids, or fame, or glory. Just an anonymous, quiet life and someone to share it with.
  
  I would also like to act on stage once and not be afraid. I could see that being in the Mirror, too. I've always been good at "becoming" other people. I'll pick up mannerisms and speech patterns and vocabulary from anyone if I spend enough time observing them. It would be fulfilling to put that quirk to some use, other than just freaking people out when I remind them of someone else without trying to.
   
• Do you believe that moral actions should be judged by the intentions behind them, or by the consequences they create?
  If I have to choose one or the other, I'll go with intentions, even though my initial and truer answer would be "Some of both, depending on the situation." Life is not merely black and white, there are nuances that have to be considered.
  
  I think a person's intentions should always be taken into account, at least to understand why they might have done what they did. Someone who killed a person just to see them die should be judged more harshly than someone who killed a person to protect someone else. But if the first person's victim had hurt or abused them in the past, that adds another shade, you know? Nothing is simple.
   
• What was your ideal job as a kid? Has that changed? What is your ideal job now?
  As a kid, I wanted to be an artist. It was never a very concrete idea. I liked to draw, people said I was good at it, so I wanted to be an artist. Now, no, I don't really want to be an artist, at least not just someone who draws or someone who paints. I'd like maybe to build and paint sets for plays or movies, or work with costumes. (I would sweep floors at the Huntington, just to get a chance to work there, but that's another story.)
  
  On bad days, I just want to be a reclusive writer, holed up in a shelf-lined apartment somewhere.
   
• If you were able to invent one spell, potion, or charm, what would it do, what would you use it for or how would you use it, and what would you call it?
  I think I would invent a lucid dream potion. When I'm dreaming I am very, very rarely aware that what I'm experiencing is not real, no matter how good or bad. I would love to be aware when I'm dreaming if it was pleasant, so I could stick around and enjoy experiencing whatever was happening without fear of the consequences there might be if it were real. And if it was a nightmare, I'd like to know I wasn't really being chased by thugs or giant waves or strange creatures. I spend a lot of time in nightmares running. Or surrounded by large, multi-level pools that I have to swim (read: drown) in.
  
  I'd call it the completely unimaginative Lucid Dream Potion.
   
• If you were to face a boggart, what would it turn into? And what does it turn into when you throw the counter-spell, Riddikulus?
  Since I was very young, I've been terrified of ships because all I can think about when I'm on one is what would happen if it sank. I can't swim, not even a little--I'm not entirely sure if I can't swim because I'm afraid of ships and large bodies of water or if I'm afraid of ships and large bodies of water because I can't swim. I do know that I panic even in a three-foot deep pool, if I can't reach the sides to hold onto and my feet leave the bottom.
  
  So I think my boggart would be a sinking ship in general, or the Titanic, specifically. My most horrific thought is being trapped in those endless white hallways while the lights flicker on and off, not knowing if they're going to fail completely, not knowing which way to run, but knowing I have to go somewhere or risk drowning where I stand.
  
  After Riddikulus, the ship would turn into that silly, horribly disrespectful balloon Titanic slide they have at carnivals.
   
• What do you look for in a friend?
  Patience and shared interests. A friend of mine would have to be patient, because I'm just as likely to lose contact for months on end in real life than I am to return a phone call. I am kind of a loner, by nature, at least in face to face communications. My friends and my home life rarely cross paths. I compartmentalize. I need breaks. So a friend would have to be willing to deal with that. I'm comfortable with more casual contact.
   
• What trait most annoys you about other people?
  Pushiness. I hate it when people are pushy. When they make you feel obligated, or they expect you to be interested in things, just because other people in your age group are interested in them. Assumptions. I hate assumptions. I prefer to form informed opinions about people. (Oh, gosh, that was an awkward sentence!) Narrow-mindedness. I really dislike dealing with people who refuse to entertain the possibility that they might be wrong about something, and if you don't agree with what they say 100%, they decide nothing you have to say has any merit. I've had... issues with more than one person like that recently and it is most definitely an experience I am in no hurry to repeat.
   
• What do you think are your top five abilities or qualities?
  Quick-thinking - I'm fast on my metaphorical mental feet. I can come up with round-about theories and conclusions for things, theories that other people may not come up with, or certainly wouldn't arrive there the way I did. I can take one new piece of information and reevaluate everything I might know about a particular subject to see how the new info fits into my current understanding, if it conflicts with anything, and make it all work in my mind very quickly.
  
  Empathy - I'm a good listener, and I can put myself in someone's shoes very easily. I can understand someone's motives, the reasons behind someone's actions, good or bad. I can explain these things to others in ways I know they will understand. I have a strange mix of empathy and logic that has served me quite well.
  
  Good memory - I have a very good memory, for some very strange things. I'll remember the date I first watched my favorite TV show, or where my brother left his wallet, just because I happened to glance at it a few days before as I was doing something else. I'll remember which turns to take on long trips to places I've only been once, years before.
  
  Creativity - I can write and draw pretty well. If you asked others, they might say very well. I'm not being modest, just... I'm really not the most confident person in the world. I do enjoy creative things, though, and it is a huge part of me.
  
  Observant - This has probably been explained pretty well in my other traits, but I think it deserves its own section. I wouldn't remember which turn to take if I hadn't noticed the library across the intersection. I wouldn't be able to pick up someone's mannerisms if I didn't notice a raised eyebrow here or there, or how they move their hands while they talk .
   
• What do you think are your top five weaknesses or worst qualities?
  Shyness - I would be able to accomplish much more in life if I weren't so painfully shy.
  
  Laziness - If I didn't have to work a day in my life doing something I didn't enjoy doing, I would be very happy. At the moment, nothing I enjoy doing would earn me a living. Not a good way to get by when I don't have means to support myself.
  
  Indecisiveness - I go through periods of time--days, weeks, months, on rare occasions, years--with an all-consuming interest in a creative idea, or "I want to have that job" and I'll have elaborate daydreams about how it would all work out, but I'll talk myself out of it before I even get started. "Oh, you don't really want to do that. This, this, and this could happen."
  
  Perfectionism - This goes in the negative category because I drive myself crazy nitpicking myself. I am most definitely my own worst critic. For the most part, if I don't think I can do something up to my own standards, I won't even try it at all.
  
  Procrastination - Oh, am I ever a procrastinator! I bet you dollars to doughnuts I am procrastinating right this very second. I procrastinate when I should be cleaning. I procrastinate when I should be reading. I procrastinate when I should be sleeping. I think the only time I don't procrastinate is when I'm working and it would reflect badly on my performance.
   
• Define in your own words the following key traits:
  
  
  
  • Courage: To be able to stand up in front of a lot of people to speak, to act, to sing. To be able to make a fool of yourself in public for laughs, without replaying everything in your head after and feeling humiliated. To go through with something you love without chickening out.
  • Loyalty: To stand by those you care for, even when you may not agree with everything they do or say or believe in.
  • Intelligence: Having knowledge and knowing how to apply it to your life.
  • Ambition: Striving for what you want, even if you might be afraid to.
  
   
• Name: Tiana
• Age: 23
• Where did you find out about us? quiescent
• Do you plan on being active in the communities once you are sorted? As active as I can be. Which is a yes, basically.