I think I've lost my Horcrux!
01. Name: Jay
02. How did you find out about Hogwarts Elite? I’ve seen it pop up around LJ a few times
||MIRROR OF ERISED||
03. What do you wish to accomplish in life?
I want to travel. Mostly to Europe, but it would be awesome to go other places as well. But of equal importance, I want to stay close to my friends. I managed to find a really amazingly superb group of friends and, because I don’t have the best track record of keeping in touch with my friends in the past, I’d like to make sure I don’t lose track of them once I leave college. That’s one thing that makes me hesitant about studying abroad in a couple semesters- I don’t want to miss out on an entire year of bonding and stupid adventures with my friends. But I really do want to go to just about all the countries in Europe. Relatedly, I would like to learn more languages, particularly Italian and possibly German (though it is a really weird language to learn). I would maybe like to relearn some Spanish as well, because I adore languages and I don’t want French to be the only other language I know. I’d also like to find a job I really like someday after I finish school, preferably one that pays the bills but that’s not a requirement, because right now I don’t know what I want to do after I graduate. And, you know, I’d like to make a difference of some sort, contribute good things to the world, maybe help out a good cause. And have a family, probably.
04. Describe exactly what you would see in the Mirror of Erised. (This is not the same question as #03.)
I would see myself and my friends and my sister in a cozy room with lots of couches and fluffy rugs and blankets, maybe with a fire going in the background. Out the window it would look vaguely like England. There would be good books and good tea and lots of hats and bow ties in the background. We would all be happy and not have anything to worry about except stupid things like whose fandom is better and who ate the last piece of chocolate.
05. What makes a person deserving of your respect?
I respect people who do the right thing, even when it’s really difficult. I respect people who know what they’re doing and are competent or talented at their jobs/hobbies. I respect people who are creative and passionate. I respect people who are open-minded and tolerant toward all sorts of different people. I respect people who are decisive and confident, because those are two things I am not but would like to be. I respect people who are different and unique and proudly march to the beat of their own drummer without worrying what other people think. I respect people who fight against injustice and strive for equality. I respect people who make a habit of respecting other people. You don’t have to be all of these things at once for me to respect you, though.
06. What is your biggest pet peeve?
I don’t know how helpful these are going to be in actually sorting me because they’re mostly personal due to gender shit, but they’re the first things that come to mind as really pissing me off. I don’t like it when people open doors for me and I don’t like those people who “sir” or “ma’am/miss” every person they interact with (you usually find them in customer service positions I guess). The doors thing only bothers me if it’s super obvious the person holding the door is making a big deal out of it, like stepping behind the door and letting you go first even though they were in front of you. Especially if the person holding the door is someone I read as male and they’re not holding it for a large group of people or anything. I know it’s meant to be a polite gesture, but I can open the damn door by myself and it’s a gesture traditionally reserved for female people, which makes me uncomfortable because then I feel like they’re reading me as female and that is not the impression I am trying to give. The sir/ma’am thing is related, because people usually get it wrong for me and I assume it makes other people uncomfortable when it’s wrong, so why can’t people just stop assuming gender and not use a title for everyone they interact with?
07. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I would make myself more confident and less awkward, particularly about expressing my emotions. All of my friends are really expressive and I’m sort of not, so sometimes I feel like I’m distant or not a very emotional person. But I am just crap at talking about how I feel and opening up to people. I change the subject, leave out facts about myself for no necessary reason, and often tend to feel like I’m messing things up or bothering people. I don’t like talking about certain aspects of myself. I feel awkward quite often, even when other people may not perceive the situation as awkward. I would really like to be more confident, to be able to do and say what I want without constantly second-guessing myself. I need to be able to just understand myself and own who I am instead of worrying about what other people think of me, because I keep feeling like I have to mold myself to fit whoever I’m around.
08. If you could do any one thing and suffer no consequences, what would it be?
I would take a break from school and the looming future of the “real world” and go off to Europe for a while with some friends. We could go camping and backpacking and stay in cheap hostels if we had to or stay in fancy hotels if we could afford it. I wouldn’t really mind either option. We would definitely go all over the UK and Ireland, spend a decent amount of time in London exploring, sightseeing, and seeing some theater. I’d also like to see some opera and ballet in Paris, even though it would make me feel a bit snobby and weirdly classy. We would most certainly go to Disneyland in Paris. I would drag everyone to a bunch of old castles and we’d have to stop in Italy for the food. I also think it would be really cool to explore the Black Forest in Germany, I really like forests. It would be totally awesome and, since I would be suffering no consequences, I wouldn’t have to worry about how many piles of debt I’d be accumulating in addition to all my student loans. It would be the best.
09. What do you think are your top five positive characteristics?
01. I’m independent. I like being around other people and getting their input on things, but I really like being able to do things for myself. It’s nice knowing I can rely on myself and that I can deal with what life throws at me without extensive assistance. Getting through tough spots and coming out alright gives me some satisfaction of being able to meet my own challenges. I like to do things on my own a fair amount of the time. Because I’m bad with decisions, I sometimes wish that I could have someone else decide for me, but in general I really do like being able to be my own person and make my own actions. I can handle things for myself, most of the time, and I like being able to handle things for myself.
02. I’m fairly emotionally stable. My mood is generally either calm leaning toward cheerful or bored/tired but not super whiney about it. I don’t get upset easily, I’m not easily offended (and if I am I usually won’t show it), and I can keep my cool in most situations. When I am having strong emotions or really negative emotions, I either isolate myself, distract myself as best as I possibly can, or bottle it up and hide it away so I don’t have to deal with it and neither does anyone else. I’m fairly good at keeping a handle on my emotions and I don’t make other people’s problems my problems. I’m pretty low-drama and easy to get along with.
03. I’m imaginative. I love all things artsy and I’ve usually got more story ideas than I know what to do with. I get inspired by random things, at random moments, and I have endless files of stories that I have enthusiastically started and then abandoned because I found another idea that I was super excited about. I’m a bit different and I like not blending into the crowd all the time, so I like to throw some creativity into my clothes and such. I think it’s fun trying to come up with the most ridiculous idea possible, and I can often come up with some pretty wacky ones. I’m also a bit of a daydreamer.
04. I’m fairly responsible. I always do my homework for class, I know how to manage my time (even if I don’t always do so in practice), I try to make sure I get a regular amount of sleep, and I know how to do most of the household chores necessary for basic living (even though I dislike actually doing them and typically put them off). I’m a bit of a cheapskate, so I tend to manage my money efficiently. I try to be punctual and come either prepared or prepared enough to improvise. I don’t typically get in trouble (because most of the stupid things I do aren’t actually illegal). I would say I come off as mature, but I’m really not all that mature. I’m too much in love with childish things like coloring, cartoons, and stuffed animals to consider myself very mature.
05. I’m intelligent. I’m putting this up here mostly because I feel obligated, as my intelligence is one of the first things most people will point out when describing my good qualities. I don’t like to be known only as “that smart person,” but that’s the impression a lot of people have of me unless they get to know me (which many people don’t, because I’m quiet). I’m really good at school. I get good grades and I’ve taken a lot of advanced classes because I wanted to challenge myself rather than be bored. I pick up on things quickly. I usually know the answer in classes. I study and I do my homework. Sometimes I come up with really good ideas.
10. What do you think are your top five negative characteristics?
01. I’m lazy. I really like sitting around on my ass and I don’t like being forced to get up. I’m not a big fan of heavy physical exertion. I often complain about things being “too much work” because I don’t feel like doing them. I’ll do labor-intensive things if I have to, but I’ll usually take the easy way if there is one that isn’t cheating or illegal or whatnot. I don’t get as much exercise as I probably should and I’m sure people get bored of my complaints about how lazy I am. For a real life example, I should probably be looking for a summer job right now, but I’m perfectly content to lounge around all day reading and derping around on the internet, because it’s easier and more fun, so I have made very little progress in actually finding summer work.
02. I’m indecisive. I tend to look at both sides to various situations, so I often have trouble choosing one side and sticking with it because I see the pros and cons of both. I’m a fairly go-with-the-flow type person, so I’m not super picky about things like what to have for dinner or where to go shopping. My normal answer is “I don’t care”. In addition, I don’t like being tied down to things and having lots of obligations, so I tend to put off making decisions that involve commitment until the last possible moment in case I change my mind or something else comes up. There are certain social/moral/political issues that I have a very clear stand on and very strong opinions about, but in many situations I would rather have someone else making the decisions.
03. I make excuses. If I do something I’m not proud of, if I fail to live up to my own/others’ expectations, if I don’t quite follow through on something, I usually feel bad about it. And to make myself feel better, I come up with reasons why what I did was justified. I justify the hell out of my actions to myself until I feel okay about them. This means that I’m not always the best at taking responsibility for my actions. I try, I really do, but my first instinct is usually to go on the defensive and explain why what I did or how I acted was perfectly understandable.
04. I don’t always like to face reality. This sort of goes along with the above fault. It’s not fun to acknowledge that I’ve made bad decisions or mistakes, so I try to distract myself out of guilt. When I’m in a bad mood or stressed about real life things, I like to distract myself with stuff that makes me feel happier. In particular, I don’t like to think about the reality of the world after college. I don’t know what I want to do as a career, and that scares me. I don’t want to have to go job searching, deal with bills, deal with people I love growing older and dying. I’d rather live in a happy bubble where I’ve got friends and a place to live and everything’s reasonably awesome. Sometimes I’m overly optimistic because I want to believe that things will work out for the best.
05. I’m a bit lacking in self-confidence. I do recognize my good qualities and my strengths sometimes, but a lot of the time I’m unsure of myself. I worry that I’m bothering people, or that people have a problem with me but don’t want to tell me. I’m not very good at standing up for myself in situations where I should stand up for myself. I’d rather be uncomfortable or unhappy than tell people off and potentially upset them or make them angry at me. I don’t like confrontation.
||HOGWARTS, A HISTORY||
11. Who is your favorite character in the Harry Potter series?
I really like the Marauders, and I think I’ll have to go with Sirius for this one. Remus is probably the character I most relate to (or one of them, anyway), so I’ve got a definite fondness for him, but Sirius is just really cool. He was kind of a jerk when he was in school, and that’s not cool, but he did mostly grow out of it and turned out to be a pretty awesome adult. The guy spent twelve years in Azkaban and came out mostly alright, so that’s really impressive. He’s got a wicked sense of humor too, and I like that. He’s obviously not perfect and he does some stupid things, but he’s usually got respectable motivations behind his actions. Also, c’mon, dude’s a badass. He can turn into a dog and has a flying motorbike. How much more awesome can you get? I don’t relate that much to him, but he’s the kind of person that I think it would be fun to be more like. I know it wouldn’t be very practical to have his impulsiveness and vengeful side, but I would love to have his confidence and strong convictions that he’s able to fight for.
12. Who is your least favorite character in the Harry Potter series?
Well I could pick Umbridge, but that seems like a really obvious choice. She has basically no redeeming characteristics whatsoever. So instead I’ll go with Rita Skeeter. She’s just slimy and manipulative and nosy for terrible reasons. I won’t deny that I’m sometimes quite nosy myself, but it’s not for the sole excuse of trying to find a way to make money. Rita Skeeter is obnoxious and I don’t like that she makes up lies and manipulates the public’s opinions of certain people just because she wants to sell her story. It’s stupid and it’s mean, and a good journalist would find a good story that didn’t require excessive manipulation of details to appeal to readers.
13. What was your favorite plot or character revelation in the Harry Potter series?
I don’t know, I felt kind of vindicated when it looked like Snape killed Dumbledore, because I’d spent the past six books thinking he was an asshole and a terrible human being and probably a Death Eater, so it felt nice to receive confirmation that I was right about him being evil (even though I found out a book later that I’d actually been wrong). But I’d feel bad choosing that as a favorite, because it seems a bit mean-spirited. I wasn’t actually happy that Dumbledore died, just that it gave me even more of an excuse to dislike Snape.
I could go instead with the revelation that Sirius wasn’t actually out to kill Harry in the third book and was, in fact, on Harry’s side. It seemed unexpectedly positive, and I got all hopeful because something in Harry’s life actually seemed to be going right for once. Also it put a whole new twist on the past events, because now they could be interpreted entirely differently, which was interesting. I was all cheerful because yay, Harry had a father figure now and could leave the Dursleys and live with someone who actually cared about him. It ended up not working out in the end, but the happiness and hope was fun for me while it lasted.
14. Describe the canon qualities for each house that accurately reflect you.
• Gryffindor: I’m a bit of a daredevil- I think that sky diving and hang gliding would be fun things to try. Although I jump easily at loud noises, I’m not easily freaked by situations that have my friends panicking. I can keep calm as we try to navigate out of a sketchy part of town or I try to get up in a tree for a photo project. So I think I’m fairly brave. I enjoy trying new things. I don’t know what a modern definition of chivalry would be, but I’m definitely polite to people. I’m stubbornly independent, I often don’t ask for help when it would probably be useful because I want to prove that I can do something myself. I get obsessive about things, which could be considered passionate.
• Slytherin: I’ve got a pretty fair sense of self-preservation. I have enough common sense to get by in the world and I have fleeting moments of ambition or motivation where I want to accomplish things and I have a plan of what to accomplish and how to get there. I usually hold myself to high standards. I am ruthless in board games. I’m decent at self-motivation when I put in the effort.
• Ravenclaw: I’m intelligent and I excel at school. I enjoy learning about subjects that interest me and I’m a fairly curious person. I can get nosy sometimes because I want to know everything. I think unconventional thinkers are really cool. I spend a lot of time off in my head when I’m bored, daydreaming, thinking about what I want to do next, or thinking about random things that pop up. I’m introverted and fond of self-reflection. I’m creative and I love the arts and writing in particular. I really love books and reading. I’m a bit of an eccentric, and often curious/excited about odd things.
• Hufflepuff: I really value my friends and family and I will try my best to be loyal to them. I’m open-minded and I care a lot about justice and fairness. I’m usually willing to work hard for things that I care about. I like to feel somewhat productive. I think tolerance should be something everyone strives for. I actually like Helga Hufflepuff best of the Founders because she was willing to take anyone and treat all students equally instead of discriminating based on somewhat random characteristics like the others. I can be very patient at times. I don’t brag about myself or show off, I’m typically fairly modest. I’m pretty easily satisfied, and I would love to live right next to the kitchens.
15. Describe the canon qualities for each house that do not accurately reflect you.
• Gryffindor: I get nervous and leave things unsaid that should be said. I often can’t work up the courage to say something or stand up for something I care about when I’m faced with a lot of opposition. I’m not very impulsive and I generally think before I act, unless I’m feeling lazy and don’t feel like planning. I’m very non-confrontational and more passive-aggressive than blunt and willing to confront people. I prefer not to take risks if they’re very dangerous and I know I don’t have a good chance at a positive outcome, so I’m not stupidly brave. I’m not a fighter, I’m not into sports, and I don’t think I’m the hero type.
• Slytherin: I’m really not that ambitious. I am far too lazy. I am not very good at making and meeting goals. I’m also not very good at being cunning because I’m too straightforward to come up with twisty master plans. I just don’t usually think about how people or things can be manipulated to work to my benefit. I don’t like to deal with all the details, so my plans are either usually either fairly simple or way too broad to be practical. I don’t care much about success or rising to the top as long as I’m content with what I’ve got.
• Ravenclaw: I mostly only care about learning about things I’m interested in. I do well in school regardless, but that’s because I’d feel guilty if I knew I didn’t do as well as I could have, not because I have a strong desire to learn everything I can. If I’m not interested in a subject, I don’t need to know anything more about it. I wouldn’t call myself a deep thinker, because I don’t sit around pondering life and philosophy all day. I often get bored and frustrated with some types of intellectual puzzles, though I sometimes like other types. I know that I’m a smart person, but it’s just a trait I possess rather than something I worked to gain, so I don’t typically define myself solely on being smart.
• Hufflepuff: I can be really lazy and impatient. I’ll work hard if I have to, but I typically don’t enjoy it. Sometimes I work hard at school, but other times I procrastinate and then put in just enough effort to get a good grade. I’m easily bored, which leads to the getting impatient with some things (when I’m not in a patient mood). A lot of times I look for the method that requires the least effort because I don’t feel like doing something needlessly difficult. Sometimes I can get into the group mentality of Hufflepuff, but overall I think I’m a bit more of an individualist. I hate group projects and such.
||HOGWARTS EXPRESS||
16. Age: 18
17. Optional: Link us to where you have promoted this community in your personal journal to earn your future house five points. http://darkgondolier.livejournal.com/51758.html
02. How did you find out about Hogwarts Elite? I’ve seen it pop up around LJ a few times
||MIRROR OF ERISED||
03. What do you wish to accomplish in life?
I want to travel. Mostly to Europe, but it would be awesome to go other places as well. But of equal importance, I want to stay close to my friends. I managed to find a really amazingly superb group of friends and, because I don’t have the best track record of keeping in touch with my friends in the past, I’d like to make sure I don’t lose track of them once I leave college. That’s one thing that makes me hesitant about studying abroad in a couple semesters- I don’t want to miss out on an entire year of bonding and stupid adventures with my friends. But I really do want to go to just about all the countries in Europe. Relatedly, I would like to learn more languages, particularly Italian and possibly German (though it is a really weird language to learn). I would maybe like to relearn some Spanish as well, because I adore languages and I don’t want French to be the only other language I know. I’d also like to find a job I really like someday after I finish school, preferably one that pays the bills but that’s not a requirement, because right now I don’t know what I want to do after I graduate. And, you know, I’d like to make a difference of some sort, contribute good things to the world, maybe help out a good cause. And have a family, probably.
04. Describe exactly what you would see in the Mirror of Erised. (This is not the same question as #03.)
I would see myself and my friends and my sister in a cozy room with lots of couches and fluffy rugs and blankets, maybe with a fire going in the background. Out the window it would look vaguely like England. There would be good books and good tea and lots of hats and bow ties in the background. We would all be happy and not have anything to worry about except stupid things like whose fandom is better and who ate the last piece of chocolate.
05. What makes a person deserving of your respect?
I respect people who do the right thing, even when it’s really difficult. I respect people who know what they’re doing and are competent or talented at their jobs/hobbies. I respect people who are creative and passionate. I respect people who are open-minded and tolerant toward all sorts of different people. I respect people who are decisive and confident, because those are two things I am not but would like to be. I respect people who are different and unique and proudly march to the beat of their own drummer without worrying what other people think. I respect people who fight against injustice and strive for equality. I respect people who make a habit of respecting other people. You don’t have to be all of these things at once for me to respect you, though.
06. What is your biggest pet peeve?
I don’t know how helpful these are going to be in actually sorting me because they’re mostly personal due to gender shit, but they’re the first things that come to mind as really pissing me off. I don’t like it when people open doors for me and I don’t like those people who “sir” or “ma’am/miss” every person they interact with (you usually find them in customer service positions I guess). The doors thing only bothers me if it’s super obvious the person holding the door is making a big deal out of it, like stepping behind the door and letting you go first even though they were in front of you. Especially if the person holding the door is someone I read as male and they’re not holding it for a large group of people or anything. I know it’s meant to be a polite gesture, but I can open the damn door by myself and it’s a gesture traditionally reserved for female people, which makes me uncomfortable because then I feel like they’re reading me as female and that is not the impression I am trying to give. The sir/ma’am thing is related, because people usually get it wrong for me and I assume it makes other people uncomfortable when it’s wrong, so why can’t people just stop assuming gender and not use a title for everyone they interact with?
07. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I would make myself more confident and less awkward, particularly about expressing my emotions. All of my friends are really expressive and I’m sort of not, so sometimes I feel like I’m distant or not a very emotional person. But I am just crap at talking about how I feel and opening up to people. I change the subject, leave out facts about myself for no necessary reason, and often tend to feel like I’m messing things up or bothering people. I don’t like talking about certain aspects of myself. I feel awkward quite often, even when other people may not perceive the situation as awkward. I would really like to be more confident, to be able to do and say what I want without constantly second-guessing myself. I need to be able to just understand myself and own who I am instead of worrying about what other people think of me, because I keep feeling like I have to mold myself to fit whoever I’m around.
08. If you could do any one thing and suffer no consequences, what would it be?
I would take a break from school and the looming future of the “real world” and go off to Europe for a while with some friends. We could go camping and backpacking and stay in cheap hostels if we had to or stay in fancy hotels if we could afford it. I wouldn’t really mind either option. We would definitely go all over the UK and Ireland, spend a decent amount of time in London exploring, sightseeing, and seeing some theater. I’d also like to see some opera and ballet in Paris, even though it would make me feel a bit snobby and weirdly classy. We would most certainly go to Disneyland in Paris. I would drag everyone to a bunch of old castles and we’d have to stop in Italy for the food. I also think it would be really cool to explore the Black Forest in Germany, I really like forests. It would be totally awesome and, since I would be suffering no consequences, I wouldn’t have to worry about how many piles of debt I’d be accumulating in addition to all my student loans. It would be the best.
09. What do you think are your top five positive characteristics?
01. I’m independent. I like being around other people and getting their input on things, but I really like being able to do things for myself. It’s nice knowing I can rely on myself and that I can deal with what life throws at me without extensive assistance. Getting through tough spots and coming out alright gives me some satisfaction of being able to meet my own challenges. I like to do things on my own a fair amount of the time. Because I’m bad with decisions, I sometimes wish that I could have someone else decide for me, but in general I really do like being able to be my own person and make my own actions. I can handle things for myself, most of the time, and I like being able to handle things for myself.
02. I’m fairly emotionally stable. My mood is generally either calm leaning toward cheerful or bored/tired but not super whiney about it. I don’t get upset easily, I’m not easily offended (and if I am I usually won’t show it), and I can keep my cool in most situations. When I am having strong emotions or really negative emotions, I either isolate myself, distract myself as best as I possibly can, or bottle it up and hide it away so I don’t have to deal with it and neither does anyone else. I’m fairly good at keeping a handle on my emotions and I don’t make other people’s problems my problems. I’m pretty low-drama and easy to get along with.
03. I’m imaginative. I love all things artsy and I’ve usually got more story ideas than I know what to do with. I get inspired by random things, at random moments, and I have endless files of stories that I have enthusiastically started and then abandoned because I found another idea that I was super excited about. I’m a bit different and I like not blending into the crowd all the time, so I like to throw some creativity into my clothes and such. I think it’s fun trying to come up with the most ridiculous idea possible, and I can often come up with some pretty wacky ones. I’m also a bit of a daydreamer.
04. I’m fairly responsible. I always do my homework for class, I know how to manage my time (even if I don’t always do so in practice), I try to make sure I get a regular amount of sleep, and I know how to do most of the household chores necessary for basic living (even though I dislike actually doing them and typically put them off). I’m a bit of a cheapskate, so I tend to manage my money efficiently. I try to be punctual and come either prepared or prepared enough to improvise. I don’t typically get in trouble (because most of the stupid things I do aren’t actually illegal). I would say I come off as mature, but I’m really not all that mature. I’m too much in love with childish things like coloring, cartoons, and stuffed animals to consider myself very mature.
05. I’m intelligent. I’m putting this up here mostly because I feel obligated, as my intelligence is one of the first things most people will point out when describing my good qualities. I don’t like to be known only as “that smart person,” but that’s the impression a lot of people have of me unless they get to know me (which many people don’t, because I’m quiet). I’m really good at school. I get good grades and I’ve taken a lot of advanced classes because I wanted to challenge myself rather than be bored. I pick up on things quickly. I usually know the answer in classes. I study and I do my homework. Sometimes I come up with really good ideas.
10. What do you think are your top five negative characteristics?
01. I’m lazy. I really like sitting around on my ass and I don’t like being forced to get up. I’m not a big fan of heavy physical exertion. I often complain about things being “too much work” because I don’t feel like doing them. I’ll do labor-intensive things if I have to, but I’ll usually take the easy way if there is one that isn’t cheating or illegal or whatnot. I don’t get as much exercise as I probably should and I’m sure people get bored of my complaints about how lazy I am. For a real life example, I should probably be looking for a summer job right now, but I’m perfectly content to lounge around all day reading and derping around on the internet, because it’s easier and more fun, so I have made very little progress in actually finding summer work.
02. I’m indecisive. I tend to look at both sides to various situations, so I often have trouble choosing one side and sticking with it because I see the pros and cons of both. I’m a fairly go-with-the-flow type person, so I’m not super picky about things like what to have for dinner or where to go shopping. My normal answer is “I don’t care”. In addition, I don’t like being tied down to things and having lots of obligations, so I tend to put off making decisions that involve commitment until the last possible moment in case I change my mind or something else comes up. There are certain social/moral/political issues that I have a very clear stand on and very strong opinions about, but in many situations I would rather have someone else making the decisions.
03. I make excuses. If I do something I’m not proud of, if I fail to live up to my own/others’ expectations, if I don’t quite follow through on something, I usually feel bad about it. And to make myself feel better, I come up with reasons why what I did was justified. I justify the hell out of my actions to myself until I feel okay about them. This means that I’m not always the best at taking responsibility for my actions. I try, I really do, but my first instinct is usually to go on the defensive and explain why what I did or how I acted was perfectly understandable.
04. I don’t always like to face reality. This sort of goes along with the above fault. It’s not fun to acknowledge that I’ve made bad decisions or mistakes, so I try to distract myself out of guilt. When I’m in a bad mood or stressed about real life things, I like to distract myself with stuff that makes me feel happier. In particular, I don’t like to think about the reality of the world after college. I don’t know what I want to do as a career, and that scares me. I don’t want to have to go job searching, deal with bills, deal with people I love growing older and dying. I’d rather live in a happy bubble where I’ve got friends and a place to live and everything’s reasonably awesome. Sometimes I’m overly optimistic because I want to believe that things will work out for the best.
05. I’m a bit lacking in self-confidence. I do recognize my good qualities and my strengths sometimes, but a lot of the time I’m unsure of myself. I worry that I’m bothering people, or that people have a problem with me but don’t want to tell me. I’m not very good at standing up for myself in situations where I should stand up for myself. I’d rather be uncomfortable or unhappy than tell people off and potentially upset them or make them angry at me. I don’t like confrontation.
||HOGWARTS, A HISTORY||
11. Who is your favorite character in the Harry Potter series?
I really like the Marauders, and I think I’ll have to go with Sirius for this one. Remus is probably the character I most relate to (or one of them, anyway), so I’ve got a definite fondness for him, but Sirius is just really cool. He was kind of a jerk when he was in school, and that’s not cool, but he did mostly grow out of it and turned out to be a pretty awesome adult. The guy spent twelve years in Azkaban and came out mostly alright, so that’s really impressive. He’s got a wicked sense of humor too, and I like that. He’s obviously not perfect and he does some stupid things, but he’s usually got respectable motivations behind his actions. Also, c’mon, dude’s a badass. He can turn into a dog and has a flying motorbike. How much more awesome can you get? I don’t relate that much to him, but he’s the kind of person that I think it would be fun to be more like. I know it wouldn’t be very practical to have his impulsiveness and vengeful side, but I would love to have his confidence and strong convictions that he’s able to fight for.
12. Who is your least favorite character in the Harry Potter series?
Well I could pick Umbridge, but that seems like a really obvious choice. She has basically no redeeming characteristics whatsoever. So instead I’ll go with Rita Skeeter. She’s just slimy and manipulative and nosy for terrible reasons. I won’t deny that I’m sometimes quite nosy myself, but it’s not for the sole excuse of trying to find a way to make money. Rita Skeeter is obnoxious and I don’t like that she makes up lies and manipulates the public’s opinions of certain people just because she wants to sell her story. It’s stupid and it’s mean, and a good journalist would find a good story that didn’t require excessive manipulation of details to appeal to readers.
13. What was your favorite plot or character revelation in the Harry Potter series?
I don’t know, I felt kind of vindicated when it looked like Snape killed Dumbledore, because I’d spent the past six books thinking he was an asshole and a terrible human being and probably a Death Eater, so it felt nice to receive confirmation that I was right about him being evil (even though I found out a book later that I’d actually been wrong). But I’d feel bad choosing that as a favorite, because it seems a bit mean-spirited. I wasn’t actually happy that Dumbledore died, just that it gave me even more of an excuse to dislike Snape.
I could go instead with the revelation that Sirius wasn’t actually out to kill Harry in the third book and was, in fact, on Harry’s side. It seemed unexpectedly positive, and I got all hopeful because something in Harry’s life actually seemed to be going right for once. Also it put a whole new twist on the past events, because now they could be interpreted entirely differently, which was interesting. I was all cheerful because yay, Harry had a father figure now and could leave the Dursleys and live with someone who actually cared about him. It ended up not working out in the end, but the happiness and hope was fun for me while it lasted.
14. Describe the canon qualities for each house that accurately reflect you.
• Gryffindor: I’m a bit of a daredevil- I think that sky diving and hang gliding would be fun things to try. Although I jump easily at loud noises, I’m not easily freaked by situations that have my friends panicking. I can keep calm as we try to navigate out of a sketchy part of town or I try to get up in a tree for a photo project. So I think I’m fairly brave. I enjoy trying new things. I don’t know what a modern definition of chivalry would be, but I’m definitely polite to people. I’m stubbornly independent, I often don’t ask for help when it would probably be useful because I want to prove that I can do something myself. I get obsessive about things, which could be considered passionate.
• Slytherin: I’ve got a pretty fair sense of self-preservation. I have enough common sense to get by in the world and I have fleeting moments of ambition or motivation where I want to accomplish things and I have a plan of what to accomplish and how to get there. I usually hold myself to high standards. I am ruthless in board games. I’m decent at self-motivation when I put in the effort.
• Ravenclaw: I’m intelligent and I excel at school. I enjoy learning about subjects that interest me and I’m a fairly curious person. I can get nosy sometimes because I want to know everything. I think unconventional thinkers are really cool. I spend a lot of time off in my head when I’m bored, daydreaming, thinking about what I want to do next, or thinking about random things that pop up. I’m introverted and fond of self-reflection. I’m creative and I love the arts and writing in particular. I really love books and reading. I’m a bit of an eccentric, and often curious/excited about odd things.
• Hufflepuff: I really value my friends and family and I will try my best to be loyal to them. I’m open-minded and I care a lot about justice and fairness. I’m usually willing to work hard for things that I care about. I like to feel somewhat productive. I think tolerance should be something everyone strives for. I actually like Helga Hufflepuff best of the Founders because she was willing to take anyone and treat all students equally instead of discriminating based on somewhat random characteristics like the others. I can be very patient at times. I don’t brag about myself or show off, I’m typically fairly modest. I’m pretty easily satisfied, and I would love to live right next to the kitchens.
15. Describe the canon qualities for each house that do not accurately reflect you.
• Gryffindor: I get nervous and leave things unsaid that should be said. I often can’t work up the courage to say something or stand up for something I care about when I’m faced with a lot of opposition. I’m not very impulsive and I generally think before I act, unless I’m feeling lazy and don’t feel like planning. I’m very non-confrontational and more passive-aggressive than blunt and willing to confront people. I prefer not to take risks if they’re very dangerous and I know I don’t have a good chance at a positive outcome, so I’m not stupidly brave. I’m not a fighter, I’m not into sports, and I don’t think I’m the hero type.
• Slytherin: I’m really not that ambitious. I am far too lazy. I am not very good at making and meeting goals. I’m also not very good at being cunning because I’m too straightforward to come up with twisty master plans. I just don’t usually think about how people or things can be manipulated to work to my benefit. I don’t like to deal with all the details, so my plans are either usually either fairly simple or way too broad to be practical. I don’t care much about success or rising to the top as long as I’m content with what I’ve got.
• Ravenclaw: I mostly only care about learning about things I’m interested in. I do well in school regardless, but that’s because I’d feel guilty if I knew I didn’t do as well as I could have, not because I have a strong desire to learn everything I can. If I’m not interested in a subject, I don’t need to know anything more about it. I wouldn’t call myself a deep thinker, because I don’t sit around pondering life and philosophy all day. I often get bored and frustrated with some types of intellectual puzzles, though I sometimes like other types. I know that I’m a smart person, but it’s just a trait I possess rather than something I worked to gain, so I don’t typically define myself solely on being smart.
• Hufflepuff: I can be really lazy and impatient. I’ll work hard if I have to, but I typically don’t enjoy it. Sometimes I work hard at school, but other times I procrastinate and then put in just enough effort to get a good grade. I’m easily bored, which leads to the getting impatient with some things (when I’m not in a patient mood). A lot of times I look for the method that requires the least effort because I don’t feel like doing something needlessly difficult. Sometimes I can get into the group mentality of Hufflepuff, but overall I think I’m a bit more of an individualist. I hate group projects and such.
||HOGWARTS EXPRESS||
16. Age: 18
17. Optional: Link us to where you have promoted this community in your personal journal to earn your future house five points. http://darkgondolier.livejournal.com/51758.html