ceci n’est pas une horcrux
01. Name: Melody
02. How did you find out about Hogwarts Elite? I saw it on fandom secrets quite a few months ago, and recent Pottermore updates reminded me that I wanted to give it a shot. :)
||MIRROR OF ERISED||
03. What do you wish to accomplish in life?
That’s a loaded question. Um, well, I can easily say that I want to be successful enough that I have more freedom to do whatever I want later in life and that I’m willing to work hard for what I want, but it’s harder for me to pinpoint the details of what I want to accomplish in order to reach that goal. Since I’m honestly not sure what I even want to do with my life, I can’t exactly explain what milestones I want to reach, right? For now, my goals center around graduating college (in three years if possible!) and then finding a job, and then maybe pursuing a further education before settling down. I know I definitely want to own a dog, though! Or two. And I’ve always wanted to try scuba diving in the deeper parts of the Pacific. I also have this odd gut feeling that I will probably end up with kids, and will probably also enjoy having kids, and having kids is a huge deal and should be considered an accomplishment, as far as I’m concerned.
04. Describe exactly what you would see in the Mirror of Erised. (This is not the same question as #03.)
Okay, so I’ve actually given this question some thought for the past few days, and on another sorting application I gave a slightly misdirecting answer about unpredictability and happiness. But I think that, as of who I am right now and not who I want to be in the future, I don’t actually care what it is I see in the mirror; it’s the sense of security and satisfaction that matters. I feel kind of directionless at the moment, since I’m transitioning from high school to college, so I think what I would want to see the most would be some sort of reassurance. Like, I honestly don’t care what I end up doing, so long as it makes me happy, which could be anything from being a marine biologist to being a CEO to doing freelance work. I don’t know! I just want to know that even though I don’t know right now, everything will turn out fine in the end, and that all of my flailing won’t have a huge negative impact on my future. I’m also pretty aware that I’ll likely settle within my first year in college, and maybe by then I’ll have a clearer idea of what exactly I want.
05. What makes a person deserving of your respect?
It’s actually pathetically easy to earn my respect; impress me once and there you go. Well, as long as you’re not a huge jerk and/or douchebag. But really, I try to kind of respect everyone, because everyone has talents and something impressive about them. As long as those talents are being used positively, bam, respect deserved. That means that the opposite is true, too. Like, if I know someone is capable of doing more or being better and is too lazy or negative or whatever to apply themselves, whatever respect I may have had for their basic talents is negated. So I guess a good personality is important, too, when it comes to respect. But I don’t really have any particular specifications in that direction, either. Just don’t be a jerk and everything is fine.
06. What is your biggest pet peeve?
Blind mimicry. Is that even a thing? It’s kind of like when someone copies a famous painting. Maybe they’re doing it for the practice or to learn a specific painting technique, and that’s fine! But maybe they’re just too lazy or unoriginal to create something new, which bugs me. I tend to think a lot, and it really throws me off when other people don’t think, and even worse, don’t even want to think. What also bugs me is the mob mentality aspect, like being part of a group makes beliefs or actions more credible. If all your local leaders/teachers/parents/priests think that Obama is a terribad president, then obviously it must be true. No.
I also realize that that isn’t really a pet peeve, per say, and if we’re talking about something small and petty that ticks me off way more than it should, I’d go with people who park their cars but don’t straighten their wheels. And uphill/downhill parking is cool, really, but if you’re parked in a large lot, straighten your wheels! I don’t know, this bothers me for pretty much all the reasons that it could. It’s the symmetry and neatness, and then the fact that this probably isn’t very good for the car, but also it’s irresponsible! What if they forget their wheels are turned and back out too quickly and crash and then it’s someone else’s problem too. Ugh.
07. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I want to be less indecisive. Which is funny, because I had lots of trouble with this question due to my indecisiveness; my other choices were to be smarter or more capable of taking social initiative, but then I realized the fact that I couldn’t decide which I wanted more pointed out which trait was more of a problem, lol. I’m extremely future oriented, so I get an unholy amount of anxiety about my future; I feel completely unprepared for life sometimes. On one hand, I’d like to be able to accurately predict the outcomes of my actions, which help loads when it comes to decision-making. On the other hand, I don’t mind not knowing as long as I can be confident and comfortable with my choices. Like I said in my Erised answer, I’m not always super picky about details and try to look for a general feelings instead.
08. If you could do any one thing and suffer no consequences, what would it be?
Um, does this question come with blanket qualifications and/or capabilities? I’d really, really love to move to the bottom of the ocean, but I don’t think I’m qualified to do that. At all. I can’t exactly breathe underwater, and I’m far from capable of building or creating or even buying something that’d allow me to do that. Although I think I’d get lonely; does creating a deep sea colony count as an answer? Because I think that’d be fun and cool and surprisingly fulfilling if I got to bring all my friends and family with me (and they didn’t end up hating me for it but that’s the no consequences part, right?).
09. What do you think are your top five positive characteristics?
01. Passionate - with people, ideas, and everything I commit myself to, really. I’ve definitely got a bulldog mentality here; there are few things that can dissuade me once I get started, and I’m very devoted to reaching endgoals I’ve set for myself. It’s not just that I work hard for what I want; I have all these feelings, too. They come together; there’s never a cause or a project that I’m invested in that I don’t put in loads of emotional investment into, too. So if I were one of those crazy PETA people (I’m not, I promise), I’d be one of the super crazy ones, that would go to all the rallies and cover myself with animal rights warpaint and have adopted all of the cats in my already cramped home. In reality, it’s more of a pulling all-nighters to perfect my perfect research project and not letting an argument go, ever, if it means protecting a friend thing. Once I commit, I’m in for the long haul.
02. Changeable - I know for sure that I’m not the same person I was a few years ago, and I’m very easily influenced by my surroundings and expectations. It’s not always in a pushover way, though; I think about half the time peer pressure causes me to turn the opposite direction entirely. In the end, regardless of different situations, the truth still is that who I’m with and where I am have an incredibly strong hold over what I’m like and who I’ll be in the future. This is good because it means I’m adaptable, for sure, and that I’m capable of doing what’s expected or necessary (or the opposite, but whatever). I guess it also means that I’m very aware of the influences on me, because I see them clearly and how they’ve impacted me.
03. Realist - I see things as they are. Dreaming is fine and dandy, and I enjoy daydreaming and aspiring as much as the next girl. But at the end of the day, I know that dreams are far from reality and that all the things I would love to see, do, and experience haven’t happened yet and will never happen unless I active try to make them. I don’t delude myself, and I find that hope and promises go nowhere at all without action and perspective. I’m also the sort that rolls with the idea that if you presume the worst, whatever happens will either be in line with what you thought to be better than what you predicted. Win-win either way. This is a good quality because it means I’m mostly always on track and I’m rarely surprised; things happen, and there’s nothing to do but deal with them and move on.
04. Curious - to be honest, I’ve never actually had to work hard with schoolwork, so it’s always personal motivation that gets me to take the next step. Sometimes I just want to know about random things, and once I know something intriguing I always want to know more. It’s always the foreign things that don’t make sense that I go after (yay marine biology), and once I’m interested/curious about something, I’ll pretty much wring it dry (see: passionate).
05. Patient - Or, more succinctly, delayed gratification. I can dig it. A lot of the time I’d rather not, because being hedonistic is a lot easier and more comfortable, but when I see a good opportunity and need to suffer a bit for it, I will. There are tons of things I still want to do with my life, but before that there are also lots of less fun things that have to be done (school is a good example). And, okay, this is only for what I really want; I’m very good at rationalizing myself out of additional work. If I were to take the marshmallow test now, I’d just eat it and be done, not because I can’t wait, but because if I waited and got the second/third/whatever marshmallow, I’d get fat.
10. What do you think are your top five negative characteristics?
01. Indecisive - not so much in the sense that I can never make up my mind, but that I don’t always know what I want (like I want everything but can’t choose just one?). I can objectively analyze what and where a decision will net me, but I can’t predict what I’ll gain or lose on an emotional level. Studying is a good example here: I can see where the choices I make will lead me, from researcher or office slave to any combination in between, but I can’t see which will make me happy or which I will enjoy the most. I lack experience and without that I don’t trust decisions I may make because of that. Some decisions are easier, because with those all paths lead to the same destination. Like, I want to go to college and become smart and get a job and be happy, and to do that I need to get through college and not do dumb things and work really hard; I just don’t know what exactly that will be like and can’t decide what I want that to be like, even.
02. Apathetic - I’m terribly indifferent at times. If I haven’t had an experience myself, I can’t empathize with the situation. In that sense, I can be very emotional with what I care about, friends, family, causes, because those are the things I know. And then more abstract or far away ideas like world hunger or animal abuse, not so much. I know consciously that these are bad, and I do get sad twinges when I seen provocative imagery, but I don’t undergo emotional roller coasters for things I’m not connected to. Maybe if I visited a third world country or worked at an animal shelter, I’d have more feelings, but in the end I haven’t and so I’m the jerk that doesn’t cry when sad things happen. Sometimes this makes me feel sheltered, but mostly I just feel like I’m a physical, not theoretical, person and that’s reflected in how I feel, too.
03. Overly cautious - not quite to the point of being paranoid and blatantly mistrusting, but just a few steps in the wrong direction and I could easily be. I second guess myself a lot; it’s like taking that behavior and multiplying it a hundred times in regards to other people and events. I’m only mistrusting with strangers, for the most part, and lay most everything out to the people I care about. Still, I definitely look before I leap, possibly twice, and if there’s an alternative that doesn’t risk life and limb I’ll take it. I don’t warm up easily with strangers and sometimes get confused when people are too nice to me (although that applies to any emotion, happy/sad/angry; just seeing strangers have intense feelings towards me rubs me the wrong way).
04. Absent-minded - I just space out sometimes. I’m also easily distracted if I’m not doing something I enjoy, and I’m the one glued to the window on the train watching the trees fly past. Sometimes I get into this zone of dissonance where I’m thinking about whatever (kittens and puppies) and my hands are doing whatever they want and when I come back down to earth I’ve folded an origami something.
05. Awkward - I'm kind of one of those people that loves other people but doesn’t know what to do with them, sometimes. And this isn't always the best thing, socially. I get quiet at odd moments, or have trouble expressing myself in a way that's completely relatable. Especially when I'm having trouble making up my mind, I can give the wrong impression/seem standoffish whereas in reality I'm just having a mild internal crisis about WHAT SHOULD I DO?? Or there's something I want to say but don't know how to say it without seeming offensive, or I space out and forget what's going on and ruin the flow of conversation.
||HOGWARTS, A HISTORY||
11. Who is your favorite character in the Harry Potter series?
This was a really difficult question for me because I kind of like everyone, if not for their personalities, then at least for their contributions to the storyline. I settled on Fleur as a favorite. She’s very different from me, while at the same time she’s very much the type of person I admire. Her outward personality is kind of my opposite, since she can be blunt and unforgiving with words. She has a sort of social courage that I wish I could pull off. But privately, she’s very caring, and she knows what matters most to her. She has a willingness to sacrifice her own comfort and happiness if it means doing what she feels is right and necessary, as was the case when she let Griphook stay at her house despite not liking him at all. I really enjoyed Fleur’s character development, and wish there was more on her and Beauxbatons/other Wizarding schools in general. She started off slightly offputting, which is what made me wonder about her in the first place. That sort of confidence doesn’t develop on its own, and I’ve always wondered if Beauxbatons is distinctly more wealthy than Hogwarts because of her critical reception. Her later character reveals are some of my favorites, too, and I love love love the fact that her mothering style is distinctly reminiscent of Molly Weasley.
12. Who is your least favorite character in the Harry Potter series?
Cornelius Fudge. Ugh. Something about him just really annoyed me; I could appreciate nastier, unpleasant characters like Umbridge or Bellatrix because even if I didn’t like them very much, I was still excited when they appeared in the books because they meant plot twists or action scenes. Fudge, on the other hand, didn’t inspire much feeling in me at all. I’m a pretty avid reader and normally hate putting books down; if possible, I’d finish everything in one sitting because I can’t handle long term reading projects. But Fudge’s sections were those rare exceptions where I was perfectly willing to stop because I was too bored or too annoyed to keep reading. There’s something about his attitude that I don’t like, be it his passive stance with everything and refusal to take initiative or his extreme paranoia towards Dumbledore or the way he obviously considers himself to be the exception to his own rules (shameless ugh).
13. What was your favorite plot or character revelation in the Harry Potter series?
My favorite plot is definitely Sirius’ death. Not only is it probably the most interesting part of book 5, but also it was a big turning point for me when I was reading. Before, the series felt like scary and potentially deadly adventures at Hogwarts, but after it was like shit just got real and people are going to die. I never expected Sirius to die! He was a fast favorite for me, and after all the trouble Harry and co. went through to rescue and keep in contact with him, I wouldn’t have expected him to die. In fact, I hadn’t been expecting anyone particularly close to or important to Harry to die at that point; Sirius’ death was a bit of a wake up call, and while I don’t agree with a lot of JKR’s choices when it comes to killing characters off, I see the artistry and purpose to this one.
14. Describe the canon qualities for each house that accurately reflect you.
• Gryffindor: I’m passionate and not afraid to speak up and fight for the things that I care deeply about. While I’m probably a bit more open to change and new ideas than most Gryffindors seem to be, I like to put up a fight anyway; sometimes I’m stubborn just for the sake of being stubborn. I also have a very Gryffindor approach to taking risks, because I realize that if I don’t just ignore the consequences and throw all caution into the wind for a moment, I’d never convince myself to actually go through with those sorts of plans.
• Slytherin: I’m adaptable, as I’ve already explained in my traits. I can adjust quickly to new settings and gain a concrete understanding of what I need to do to get what I want. I’m also good at analyzing social situations and figuring out what people I should avoid and what people would be good potential new friends, which I think is a very Slytherin approach to meeting people. My tendency to rationalize seems to be very Slytherin, too; I twist events to make them ideal and more beneficial to myself, and a lot of the time can convince myself not to feel guilty or upset when I’ve made a mistake.
• Ravenclaw: Education means a lot to me, especially when I have the freedom to learn about concepts that I enjoy. I’m also pretty smart and very capable of excelling at an academic level. My childhood dreams were all very Ravenclaw, too, I think, and even though I’ve mostly grown out of wanting to fly or walk through walls, they’re still fond memories that I’d like to be able to experience in the future. I’ve also shown a willingness to try new things, because I mark my life with experiences rather than goals. Plus, a lot of the time I just exist in my head; thinking is one of my favorite activities. Like sometimes I just want to sit down and have a good think.
• Hufflepuff: I am very dedicated and loyal to things I care about! I’m perfectly willing to get my hands dirty if it means supporting a good cause, and don’t mind late hours or missed meals if it means that someone I care about can catch a break. I’m also social in a Hufflepuff way, I think, in that I really try to avoid hurting people’s feelings if I can, and I really hate it when people are upset with me. I tend to have high expectations of other people when it comes to playing fair and repaying debts owed, which strikes me to be a Hufflepuff sort of view.
15. Describe the canon qualities for each house that do not accurately reflect you.
• Gryffindor: Sometimes I feel like I don’t possess any genuine courage, like anything resembling bravery is either a front to make an impression or a rationalization that I made up in my head after an event has occurred. Like, I’ve taken some risks and steeped out of my comfort zone, and afterwards I convinced myself that those actions were very brave things to do. Also, I’m a planner. I like plans; while it’s true that I channel Gryffindor when taking risks, it’s also true that my approach to avoiding risk is very un-Gryffindor.
• Slytherin: I honestly don’t have much personal ambition. My goals can be a bit vague at times, and even though I’m willing to fight for what I want, I’m also a lot more open to random events that might throw me off my path or in a new direction entirely than most Slytherins seem to be. Their goals are a lot more concrete, and because of that, they aren’t as likely to change their minds due to a few coincidental events. I’m probably also a bit too slow during conversations, because I tend to have to think a bit before I say anything.
• Ravenclaw: Although I enjoy learning, I don’t much enjoy educational institutions. The classroom setting bores me, and sometimes I find that sort of rigid structure to be unsettling. I’m also not especially clever, and I wouldn’t describe myself as creative, either. I’m pretty sure everything I’ve done or will do is a variation of something that already exists. It’s like, I know that as an individual, I am unique, but at the same time, I’m not special and in some ways I am just like everyone else. To me, Ravenclaws tend to stick out a bit more in a marching to their own beat sort of way. I don’t mind conformity; in fact, sometimes conformity is reassuring, like it’s okay to just blend in sometimes.
• Hufflepuff: While I’m not exactly proud, I’m not modest, either; even though I don’t brag about myself that much, I don’t downplay my achievements, either. I’m also kind of selfish sometimes. Of course I try my best to help my friends and family, but I also remember who’s the most important (numero uno) and avoid putting myself in undesirable situations for anyone’s sake. Like, I’ll help as much as I can, but I’m not about to sacrifice myself for anyone. I’m also probably not the most empathetic person in the world. I have a lot of feelings, but sometimes other people’s emotions are a complete mystery.
||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.
02. How did you find out about Hogwarts Elite? I saw it on fandom secrets quite a few months ago, and recent Pottermore updates reminded me that I wanted to give it a shot. :)
||MIRROR OF ERISED||
03. What do you wish to accomplish in life?
That’s a loaded question. Um, well, I can easily say that I want to be successful enough that I have more freedom to do whatever I want later in life and that I’m willing to work hard for what I want, but it’s harder for me to pinpoint the details of what I want to accomplish in order to reach that goal. Since I’m honestly not sure what I even want to do with my life, I can’t exactly explain what milestones I want to reach, right? For now, my goals center around graduating college (in three years if possible!) and then finding a job, and then maybe pursuing a further education before settling down. I know I definitely want to own a dog, though! Or two. And I’ve always wanted to try scuba diving in the deeper parts of the Pacific. I also have this odd gut feeling that I will probably end up with kids, and will probably also enjoy having kids, and having kids is a huge deal and should be considered an accomplishment, as far as I’m concerned.
04. Describe exactly what you would see in the Mirror of Erised. (This is not the same question as #03.)
Okay, so I’ve actually given this question some thought for the past few days, and on another sorting application I gave a slightly misdirecting answer about unpredictability and happiness. But I think that, as of who I am right now and not who I want to be in the future, I don’t actually care what it is I see in the mirror; it’s the sense of security and satisfaction that matters. I feel kind of directionless at the moment, since I’m transitioning from high school to college, so I think what I would want to see the most would be some sort of reassurance. Like, I honestly don’t care what I end up doing, so long as it makes me happy, which could be anything from being a marine biologist to being a CEO to doing freelance work. I don’t know! I just want to know that even though I don’t know right now, everything will turn out fine in the end, and that all of my flailing won’t have a huge negative impact on my future. I’m also pretty aware that I’ll likely settle within my first year in college, and maybe by then I’ll have a clearer idea of what exactly I want.
05. What makes a person deserving of your respect?
It’s actually pathetically easy to earn my respect; impress me once and there you go. Well, as long as you’re not a huge jerk and/or douchebag. But really, I try to kind of respect everyone, because everyone has talents and something impressive about them. As long as those talents are being used positively, bam, respect deserved. That means that the opposite is true, too. Like, if I know someone is capable of doing more or being better and is too lazy or negative or whatever to apply themselves, whatever respect I may have had for their basic talents is negated. So I guess a good personality is important, too, when it comes to respect. But I don’t really have any particular specifications in that direction, either. Just don’t be a jerk and everything is fine.
06. What is your biggest pet peeve?
Blind mimicry. Is that even a thing? It’s kind of like when someone copies a famous painting. Maybe they’re doing it for the practice or to learn a specific painting technique, and that’s fine! But maybe they’re just too lazy or unoriginal to create something new, which bugs me. I tend to think a lot, and it really throws me off when other people don’t think, and even worse, don’t even want to think. What also bugs me is the mob mentality aspect, like being part of a group makes beliefs or actions more credible. If all your local leaders/teachers/parents/priests think that Obama is a terribad president, then obviously it must be true. No.
I also realize that that isn’t really a pet peeve, per say, and if we’re talking about something small and petty that ticks me off way more than it should, I’d go with people who park their cars but don’t straighten their wheels. And uphill/downhill parking is cool, really, but if you’re parked in a large lot, straighten your wheels! I don’t know, this bothers me for pretty much all the reasons that it could. It’s the symmetry and neatness, and then the fact that this probably isn’t very good for the car, but also it’s irresponsible! What if they forget their wheels are turned and back out too quickly and crash and then it’s someone else’s problem too. Ugh.
07. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I want to be less indecisive. Which is funny, because I had lots of trouble with this question due to my indecisiveness; my other choices were to be smarter or more capable of taking social initiative, but then I realized the fact that I couldn’t decide which I wanted more pointed out which trait was more of a problem, lol. I’m extremely future oriented, so I get an unholy amount of anxiety about my future; I feel completely unprepared for life sometimes. On one hand, I’d like to be able to accurately predict the outcomes of my actions, which help loads when it comes to decision-making. On the other hand, I don’t mind not knowing as long as I can be confident and comfortable with my choices. Like I said in my Erised answer, I’m not always super picky about details and try to look for a general feelings instead.
08. If you could do any one thing and suffer no consequences, what would it be?
Um, does this question come with blanket qualifications and/or capabilities? I’d really, really love to move to the bottom of the ocean, but I don’t think I’m qualified to do that. At all. I can’t exactly breathe underwater, and I’m far from capable of building or creating or even buying something that’d allow me to do that. Although I think I’d get lonely; does creating a deep sea colony count as an answer? Because I think that’d be fun and cool and surprisingly fulfilling if I got to bring all my friends and family with me (and they didn’t end up hating me for it but that’s the no consequences part, right?).
09. What do you think are your top five positive characteristics?
01. Passionate - with people, ideas, and everything I commit myself to, really. I’ve definitely got a bulldog mentality here; there are few things that can dissuade me once I get started, and I’m very devoted to reaching endgoals I’ve set for myself. It’s not just that I work hard for what I want; I have all these feelings, too. They come together; there’s never a cause or a project that I’m invested in that I don’t put in loads of emotional investment into, too. So if I were one of those crazy PETA people (I’m not, I promise), I’d be one of the super crazy ones, that would go to all the rallies and cover myself with animal rights warpaint and have adopted all of the cats in my already cramped home. In reality, it’s more of a pulling all-nighters to perfect my perfect research project and not letting an argument go, ever, if it means protecting a friend thing. Once I commit, I’m in for the long haul.
02. Changeable - I know for sure that I’m not the same person I was a few years ago, and I’m very easily influenced by my surroundings and expectations. It’s not always in a pushover way, though; I think about half the time peer pressure causes me to turn the opposite direction entirely. In the end, regardless of different situations, the truth still is that who I’m with and where I am have an incredibly strong hold over what I’m like and who I’ll be in the future. This is good because it means I’m adaptable, for sure, and that I’m capable of doing what’s expected or necessary (or the opposite, but whatever). I guess it also means that I’m very aware of the influences on me, because I see them clearly and how they’ve impacted me.
03. Realist - I see things as they are. Dreaming is fine and dandy, and I enjoy daydreaming and aspiring as much as the next girl. But at the end of the day, I know that dreams are far from reality and that all the things I would love to see, do, and experience haven’t happened yet and will never happen unless I active try to make them. I don’t delude myself, and I find that hope and promises go nowhere at all without action and perspective. I’m also the sort that rolls with the idea that if you presume the worst, whatever happens will either be in line with what you thought to be better than what you predicted. Win-win either way. This is a good quality because it means I’m mostly always on track and I’m rarely surprised; things happen, and there’s nothing to do but deal with them and move on.
04. Curious - to be honest, I’ve never actually had to work hard with schoolwork, so it’s always personal motivation that gets me to take the next step. Sometimes I just want to know about random things, and once I know something intriguing I always want to know more. It’s always the foreign things that don’t make sense that I go after (yay marine biology), and once I’m interested/curious about something, I’ll pretty much wring it dry (see: passionate).
05. Patient - Or, more succinctly, delayed gratification. I can dig it. A lot of the time I’d rather not, because being hedonistic is a lot easier and more comfortable, but when I see a good opportunity and need to suffer a bit for it, I will. There are tons of things I still want to do with my life, but before that there are also lots of less fun things that have to be done (school is a good example). And, okay, this is only for what I really want; I’m very good at rationalizing myself out of additional work. If I were to take the marshmallow test now, I’d just eat it and be done, not because I can’t wait, but because if I waited and got the second/third/whatever marshmallow, I’d get fat.
10. What do you think are your top five negative characteristics?
01. Indecisive - not so much in the sense that I can never make up my mind, but that I don’t always know what I want (like I want everything but can’t choose just one?). I can objectively analyze what and where a decision will net me, but I can’t predict what I’ll gain or lose on an emotional level. Studying is a good example here: I can see where the choices I make will lead me, from researcher or office slave to any combination in between, but I can’t see which will make me happy or which I will enjoy the most. I lack experience and without that I don’t trust decisions I may make because of that. Some decisions are easier, because with those all paths lead to the same destination. Like, I want to go to college and become smart and get a job and be happy, and to do that I need to get through college and not do dumb things and work really hard; I just don’t know what exactly that will be like and can’t decide what I want that to be like, even.
02. Apathetic - I’m terribly indifferent at times. If I haven’t had an experience myself, I can’t empathize with the situation. In that sense, I can be very emotional with what I care about, friends, family, causes, because those are the things I know. And then more abstract or far away ideas like world hunger or animal abuse, not so much. I know consciously that these are bad, and I do get sad twinges when I seen provocative imagery, but I don’t undergo emotional roller coasters for things I’m not connected to. Maybe if I visited a third world country or worked at an animal shelter, I’d have more feelings, but in the end I haven’t and so I’m the jerk that doesn’t cry when sad things happen. Sometimes this makes me feel sheltered, but mostly I just feel like I’m a physical, not theoretical, person and that’s reflected in how I feel, too.
03. Overly cautious - not quite to the point of being paranoid and blatantly mistrusting, but just a few steps in the wrong direction and I could easily be. I second guess myself a lot; it’s like taking that behavior and multiplying it a hundred times in regards to other people and events. I’m only mistrusting with strangers, for the most part, and lay most everything out to the people I care about. Still, I definitely look before I leap, possibly twice, and if there’s an alternative that doesn’t risk life and limb I’ll take it. I don’t warm up easily with strangers and sometimes get confused when people are too nice to me (although that applies to any emotion, happy/sad/angry; just seeing strangers have intense feelings towards me rubs me the wrong way).
04. Absent-minded - I just space out sometimes. I’m also easily distracted if I’m not doing something I enjoy, and I’m the one glued to the window on the train watching the trees fly past. Sometimes I get into this zone of dissonance where I’m thinking about whatever (kittens and puppies) and my hands are doing whatever they want and when I come back down to earth I’ve folded an origami something.
05. Awkward - I'm kind of one of those people that loves other people but doesn’t know what to do with them, sometimes. And this isn't always the best thing, socially. I get quiet at odd moments, or have trouble expressing myself in a way that's completely relatable. Especially when I'm having trouble making up my mind, I can give the wrong impression/seem standoffish whereas in reality I'm just having a mild internal crisis about WHAT SHOULD I DO?? Or there's something I want to say but don't know how to say it without seeming offensive, or I space out and forget what's going on and ruin the flow of conversation.
||HOGWARTS, A HISTORY||
11. Who is your favorite character in the Harry Potter series?
This was a really difficult question for me because I kind of like everyone, if not for their personalities, then at least for their contributions to the storyline. I settled on Fleur as a favorite. She’s very different from me, while at the same time she’s very much the type of person I admire. Her outward personality is kind of my opposite, since she can be blunt and unforgiving with words. She has a sort of social courage that I wish I could pull off. But privately, she’s very caring, and she knows what matters most to her. She has a willingness to sacrifice her own comfort and happiness if it means doing what she feels is right and necessary, as was the case when she let Griphook stay at her house despite not liking him at all. I really enjoyed Fleur’s character development, and wish there was more on her and Beauxbatons/other Wizarding schools in general. She started off slightly offputting, which is what made me wonder about her in the first place. That sort of confidence doesn’t develop on its own, and I’ve always wondered if Beauxbatons is distinctly more wealthy than Hogwarts because of her critical reception. Her later character reveals are some of my favorites, too, and I love love love the fact that her mothering style is distinctly reminiscent of Molly Weasley.
12. Who is your least favorite character in the Harry Potter series?
Cornelius Fudge. Ugh. Something about him just really annoyed me; I could appreciate nastier, unpleasant characters like Umbridge or Bellatrix because even if I didn’t like them very much, I was still excited when they appeared in the books because they meant plot twists or action scenes. Fudge, on the other hand, didn’t inspire much feeling in me at all. I’m a pretty avid reader and normally hate putting books down; if possible, I’d finish everything in one sitting because I can’t handle long term reading projects. But Fudge’s sections were those rare exceptions where I was perfectly willing to stop because I was too bored or too annoyed to keep reading. There’s something about his attitude that I don’t like, be it his passive stance with everything and refusal to take initiative or his extreme paranoia towards Dumbledore or the way he obviously considers himself to be the exception to his own rules (shameless ugh).
13. What was your favorite plot or character revelation in the Harry Potter series?
My favorite plot is definitely Sirius’ death. Not only is it probably the most interesting part of book 5, but also it was a big turning point for me when I was reading. Before, the series felt like scary and potentially deadly adventures at Hogwarts, but after it was like shit just got real and people are going to die. I never expected Sirius to die! He was a fast favorite for me, and after all the trouble Harry and co. went through to rescue and keep in contact with him, I wouldn’t have expected him to die. In fact, I hadn’t been expecting anyone particularly close to or important to Harry to die at that point; Sirius’ death was a bit of a wake up call, and while I don’t agree with a lot of JKR’s choices when it comes to killing characters off, I see the artistry and purpose to this one.
14. Describe the canon qualities for each house that accurately reflect you.
• Gryffindor: I’m passionate and not afraid to speak up and fight for the things that I care deeply about. While I’m probably a bit more open to change and new ideas than most Gryffindors seem to be, I like to put up a fight anyway; sometimes I’m stubborn just for the sake of being stubborn. I also have a very Gryffindor approach to taking risks, because I realize that if I don’t just ignore the consequences and throw all caution into the wind for a moment, I’d never convince myself to actually go through with those sorts of plans.
• Slytherin: I’m adaptable, as I’ve already explained in my traits. I can adjust quickly to new settings and gain a concrete understanding of what I need to do to get what I want. I’m also good at analyzing social situations and figuring out what people I should avoid and what people would be good potential new friends, which I think is a very Slytherin approach to meeting people. My tendency to rationalize seems to be very Slytherin, too; I twist events to make them ideal and more beneficial to myself, and a lot of the time can convince myself not to feel guilty or upset when I’ve made a mistake.
• Ravenclaw: Education means a lot to me, especially when I have the freedom to learn about concepts that I enjoy. I’m also pretty smart and very capable of excelling at an academic level. My childhood dreams were all very Ravenclaw, too, I think, and even though I’ve mostly grown out of wanting to fly or walk through walls, they’re still fond memories that I’d like to be able to experience in the future. I’ve also shown a willingness to try new things, because I mark my life with experiences rather than goals. Plus, a lot of the time I just exist in my head; thinking is one of my favorite activities. Like sometimes I just want to sit down and have a good think.
• Hufflepuff: I am very dedicated and loyal to things I care about! I’m perfectly willing to get my hands dirty if it means supporting a good cause, and don’t mind late hours or missed meals if it means that someone I care about can catch a break. I’m also social in a Hufflepuff way, I think, in that I really try to avoid hurting people’s feelings if I can, and I really hate it when people are upset with me. I tend to have high expectations of other people when it comes to playing fair and repaying debts owed, which strikes me to be a Hufflepuff sort of view.
15. Describe the canon qualities for each house that do not accurately reflect you.
• Gryffindor: Sometimes I feel like I don’t possess any genuine courage, like anything resembling bravery is either a front to make an impression or a rationalization that I made up in my head after an event has occurred. Like, I’ve taken some risks and steeped out of my comfort zone, and afterwards I convinced myself that those actions were very brave things to do. Also, I’m a planner. I like plans; while it’s true that I channel Gryffindor when taking risks, it’s also true that my approach to avoiding risk is very un-Gryffindor.
• Slytherin: I honestly don’t have much personal ambition. My goals can be a bit vague at times, and even though I’m willing to fight for what I want, I’m also a lot more open to random events that might throw me off my path or in a new direction entirely than most Slytherins seem to be. Their goals are a lot more concrete, and because of that, they aren’t as likely to change their minds due to a few coincidental events. I’m probably also a bit too slow during conversations, because I tend to have to think a bit before I say anything.
• Ravenclaw: Although I enjoy learning, I don’t much enjoy educational institutions. The classroom setting bores me, and sometimes I find that sort of rigid structure to be unsettling. I’m also not especially clever, and I wouldn’t describe myself as creative, either. I’m pretty sure everything I’ve done or will do is a variation of something that already exists. It’s like, I know that as an individual, I am unique, but at the same time, I’m not special and in some ways I am just like everyone else. To me, Ravenclaws tend to stick out a bit more in a marching to their own beat sort of way. I don’t mind conformity; in fact, sometimes conformity is reassuring, like it’s okay to just blend in sometimes.
• Hufflepuff: While I’m not exactly proud, I’m not modest, either; even though I don’t brag about myself that much, I don’t downplay my achievements, either. I’m also kind of selfish sometimes. Of course I try my best to help my friends and family, but I also remember who’s the most important (numero uno) and avoid putting myself in undesirable situations for anyone’s sake. Like, I’ll help as much as I can, but I’m not about to sacrifice myself for anyone. I’m also probably not the most empathetic person in the world. I have a lot of feelings, but sometimes other people’s emotions are a complete mystery.
||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.