Everytime a Bell Rings a Horcrux Gets Destroyed!
01. Name: Colleen
02. How did you find out about Hogwarts Elite? I was searching for Harry Potter Communities on LiveJournal and came upon this one.
||MIRROR OF ERISED||
03. What do you wish to accomplish in life?
Well, I have already received a Bachelors in Theatre and, more recently, a Masters in Arts Administration. I wish to be hired by a theatre company, working in Development (planning fundraisers, writing grants, and doing the work to ensure the company receives funding to continue its work). I think the arts are an important part of life, so doing something that would ensure that others can continue to appreciate them would be very fulfilling. Eventually I hope to start my own theatre company. I am also a performer (acting, singing, and dancing), so I would like to continue that work as well. On top of this, my biggest hope in life is to start a family. I’m very much a family-oriented person and don’t want to grow old alone.
04. Describe exactly what you would see in the Mirror of Erised. (This is not the same question as #03.)
Part of me wants to say I would see myself performing on Broadway, but the other part of me wants to say I would see myself with a husband and children. Ultimately, I’d go with a husband and children. While being a Broadway performer would be wonderful, a family is more important to me than anything. I can still perform and make a small living while being a wife and mother, and once my children have grown, performing is a career I can always return to. Besides, when I’m old and frail it will be the people I love who will brighten my day, not the parts I played in my when I was younger.
05. What makes a person deserving of your respect?
I think all people are deserving of respect so long as they give that same respect to others. On a deeper level, I have immense respect for people who make an effort to help others, even just by simply holding a door open for someone. I respect people who notice the world around them and recognize that they are only a small part of something so much greater. I respect people who choose to do what's right rather than what's easy. I also respect people who work hard to achieve their goals, as opposed to those who ride on the coat tails of others and simply skim through life.
06. What is your biggest pet peeve?
I hate to see people using texting “language” outside of texting. I understand that when it comes to sending texts it’s simpler to use shorthand, but anywhere else, especially in e-mails, there is no reason not to write out words and use proper grammar and punctuation. I can’t help but wince whenever I see people write things like “brb gng 2 da store!” in e-mails or on message boards and Facebook. There is simply no need and it gets to the point that the message becomes unintelligible. This is especially a pet peeve now that this kind of writing has started to spill over into school work and professional settings. I can’t tell you how many messages like that I have received in the work environment. I feel like this age of texting is contributing to a decline in written and oral communications. Our languages are beautiful and should be appreciated, not slaughtered to bits.
07. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
Physically, I would make myself thinner. I’m not obese, but I’m also not as thin as I would like to be. It sometimes seems like as much as I try, I never really lose much weight. Part of the problem is that I love food (and I live in an area where food is a big deal), so my wish would be that no matter how much I ate, I would still be thin.
Personality wise, I would make myself a little less socially-awkward. I can be shy when first meeting people and in my attempts to look good I sometimes end up saying stupid things. Not mean things, mind you, but poor attempts at jokes and just things that I wish I could undo. Otherwise, I’m just really quiet until I feel I’ve gotten to know them well enough, which can sometimes be perceived as snobbery. Thankfully, the people who end up becoming my friends are obviously awesome enough to see past this.
08. If you could do any one thing and suffer no consequences, what would it be?
This is the hardest question for me to answer. I can’t say I would want to do anything like stealing, because, as much as I would love to, even without consequences I would feel too guilty. I guess if I could, I would sabotage shows like Jersey Shore and Keeping Up With the Kardashians and get them off the air. I can’t stand shows that glorify stupidity and celebrate people who are famous for no reason. At least with reality shows like American Idol and America’s Next Top Model the people who are celebrated are people with talent, rather than those who are using famous parents or tacky personalities to make a name for themselves.
09. What do you think are your top five positive characteristics?
01. Knowledge: I’m not going to deny that I am a smart woman. But even beyond that, I am constantly trying to learn more. I read about current events, I love to do puzzles and brain teasers, I watch Jeopardy daily, and I enjoy finding new things to research and learn about. I won’t claim that I find every topic fascinating, but I still like to understand the basics of it. Going back to school for my Masters was one of the best choices I ever made. Even though it was hard work and I still have student loans to pay off, I enjoyed attending class and gaining new insight, even into boring things like accounting and business law (actually, the latter ended up being a lot of fun). If I could be a professional student, spending my life constantly learning new things, I would be a happy woman.
02. Creativity: I grew up in a very artistic family. Both of my parents are singers and have acted, a talent and love they passed on to both my brother and me. I have been performing since I was a little girl and continue to perform even now. I am also a writer of both fanfiction and original fiction (though I haven’t done much with the latter). Even in forms of art where I don’t excel (I can’t draw to save my life) I still have a deep appreciation of all kinds of art, even things like fashion design and culinary arts. I am also able to come up with creative solutions for problems in work and in my general life. I love doing artsy things and, even if they don’t turn out the way I imagine, I never give up on trying. Furthermore, I have an expansive imagination and like to believe anything is possible, even if it’s only in my mind.
03. Kindness: I don’t claim to be a saint by any means, but I’m definitely the kind of person who makes an effort to help others. It isn’t always a big, heroic effort, but even small things like picking something up if someone drops it or asking if someone needs help carrying something. I am also happy to extend warm welcomes to new people. I know what it’s like to be the odd man out, so I like to make sure people know they’re welcome and that they feel they are accepted. Even if I don’t end up becoming close friends with a person, I always want them to know that I’m there if they need help with something or just someone to talk to.
04. Listening: You know that one friend you have who is a great listener? That friend who is always happy to let you cry on their shoulder? That’s me. I am always available to my friends, to listen to their problems and give them comfort when they’re upset. If they ask for my advice I give it, but otherwise I just let them vent, get their troubles out, and listen, something that not a lot of people can do. I pay attention, let them know that I care, and do my best to help them through their tough times. I’ll also check in on them now and then just to make sure everything is fine and let them know I’m always happy to listen if they need me. I am sometimes a mediator among my friends, helping them sort out their problems. I am very good at understanding what a person feels, even if it isn’t something I’ve experienced. On top of that, I’m a very big fan of hugs and am always happy to dole them out as needed.
05. Passionate: When I care deeply about something, I get very excited about it. I like to get other people excited about it and try to make them as passionate as I am. When I get on a subject about something I love I can sometimes go on and on, trying to hook other people and get them interested in it as well. Sometimes I might talk a little too much, but I feel like I can get people to try new things and find new passions by getting them to be as excited about it as I am. I guess you could say I’m a cheerleader of sorts. I am currently a Team Leader for an online competition and part of my job requires pumping up my team and getting them to compete in challenges, cheering them on along the way.
10. What do you think are your top five negative characteristics?
01. Stubbornness: When I’m set in my way, there’s not much that can change that. If I want to do something my way, I’m going to do it my way. This also includes my opinions and personal feelings. I’m usually happy to hear someone else’s side of things, but it’s very rare that I end up changing my mind about something. This also extends to arguments. I hate to lose arguments. I’m one of those people who finds it nearly impossible to walk away from internet fights. I always hope that the other person will give up so that I can “win” the argument. If it is ever shown that I am 100% indisputably wrong, I can be a sore loser. I may concede my defeat, but inside I’m fuming.
02. Know-it-All: As I said, I am an intelligent woman. Unfortunately, I’m also the kind of person who wants to make sure people know how smart I am. I tend to raise my hand a lot in class, shout out answers to questions, and pepper my conversations with little known facts, hoping people will be impressed. Part of this comes from my need for approval and acceptance of my peers. I hope that if they see that I’m knowledgeable, they’ll think more highly of it. I know that I probably annoy people with this, especially classmates who get sick of me always answering questions (though, in my defense, in some cases I have to answer all of the questions because no one else is raising their hand). Still, intelligence is something of which I think highly, both in myself and in others. I admit, I can be a bit snobby when it comes to intelligence, though that’s usually reserved for people who choose not to learn.
03. Self-Conscious: As I’ve stated before, I can be very self-conscious about what people think about me. This extends to both my physical attributes and my personality. Physically, I don’t often think much of myself. There are things about my body that I like, and I don’t know that I would call myself “ugly”, just plain. Every now and then I see myself in the mirror or in a picture and actually think I look good, but a lot of times I just end up wishing I could change my looks.
As for my personality, I sometimes think the people around me don’t really like me, but just tolerate me. I try - and often fail - to be funny or I make awkward comments when I don’t know what else to say. I’m the kind of person who might look at small actions of others and wonder if I’ve done something to annoy them. Usually this is all for nothing and I soon realize that it was own paranoia making me think something is wrong when it isn’t. I am just very eager to please and become afraid when I think I’ve done something wrong.
04. Daydreaming: Like I said, I have a vast imagination. Unfortunately, this means that my mind sometimes wanders and I can get lost in my own thoughts. It’s not so bad when I’m by myself, but when I’m in class or at a meeting, I sometimes zone out (especially when it’s really boring) and have to catch up with what’s being said. This also means that sometimes I can seem withdrawn from others even if I don’t mean to. I think my daydreaming can also make me judge my life a little more harshly. I love my “fantasy life” so much that I’m sometimes disappointed when I have to return to “the real world.”
05. Messy: I’m not “pigsty” messy (I do have a sense of personal hygiene) but I allow my room and personal spaces to become very cluttered. I leave shoes in the middle of the floor, I stick things in drawers to get them out of the way, and I never make my bed (what’s the point?). Every now and then I’ll try to start with a clean slate. I’ll completely reorganize everything neatly and promise myself that this time I’ll make more of an effort to keep things tidy, but I soon fall back into my bad habit of leaving dirty close on the floor, dropping books and notebooks beside my bed, and sticking things on my bookcase when I don’t feel like putting them up properly. If something is really important to me I’ll make a big effort to keep it clean, but otherwise I tend to let it become cluttered.
||HOGWARTS, A HISTORY||
11. Who is your favorite character in the Harry Potter series?
This is a loaded question for me and can go two ways, depending on whether you mean my favorite character based on who they are as a person (meaning, would I like to be friends with them in real life) or my favorite character based on how original and well-developed they are in the stories.
As far as liking a character simply as a character, my choice goes to Snape. What I love about the character is that he isn’t really a bad guy, but it’s also hard to consider him a “good guy” because he isn’t your typical “good guy”. He sometimes does the right thing for the wrong reasons and the wrong thing for the right reasons. I appreciate having a character who is a “hero” while being a pretty unlikeable person, because that’s very much true to life. Sometimes the people who we recognize as heroes weren’t very nice in their everyday lives; they just had enough moral sense to do the right thing when it counted.
He’s not someone I would like to be around, because despite the fact that he ultimately did the right thing, he still behaves as a bully to Harry and the other Gryffindor students, but there’s a character depth there that I can appreciate as a writer and a reader. He’s not just angry and mean for no reason. Whether or not you agree that he has a right to hate James Potter, J.K. Rowling at least gave him that strong back story and strong reasoning for why he became the man he did. This leaves him with an interesting inner-conflict of hating Harry because of James and wanting to protect him because of Lily. The fact that Harry ends up naming his son after Snape and speaking so highly of him, despite Snape’s cruel treatment of him, is a testament to the fact that his good outweighed his bad.
As far as my favorite character based on personality, I’ll have to go with Neville. I see a lot of myself in Neville. When I was 11, I was definitely the kind of kid who didn’t think highly of myself and mostly hung to the back, letting the others take the lead. What I love about Neville is seeing him grow from the young boy who didn’t even think he was good enough to be in Gryffindor into the strong young man who has no problem standing up to Voldemort and killing Nagini. I appreciate characters who can admit that they are afraid, that they think themselves to be weak, but who, when push comes to shove, can blossom and show the courage they’ve always had inside. In my opinion, Neville has the largest character development over the course of the entire series; who he is at the beginning of the series is almost the complete opposite of who he ends up becoming.
12. Who is your least favorite character in the Harry Potter series?
Again, it depends on whether you mean my least favorite as a person or my least favorite as a character. As a person, Voldemort takes the cake. He is the epitome of evil and is really the one person who values himself over anyone else. Even his followers are willing to sacrifice themselves for him or their loved ones. I would never want to be near a person like him (though he is a fascinating character).
As far as the character I felt contributed the least to the overall story, I’d have to go with Rufus Scrimgeour. I don’t really hate him or anything, but I don’t see the point in replacing Fudge with Scrimgeour. They’re distinctly different characters, sure, but they both seem to serve the same purpose: sticking their noses into Dumbledore’s affairs and trying to use Harry for their own personal gains. I just don’t feel like he brought anything new to the plot development.
13. What was your favorite plot or character revelation in the Harry Potter series?
I loved in The Half-Blood Prince when Harry (and the readers) got a look into Voldemort’s past. I love when creators take the time to flesh their villains out just as much as the hero. I like to know what makes them tick and why they are the way they are. J.K. Rowling easily could have simply had Voldemort be the typical villain who is simply evil for the sake of being evil, so I appreciate the time she took to give him a proper development. While his past by no means justifies his actions, it does explain the person he became. His grandfather and uncle hated muggles and those who were not pure-blooded, beliefs that he soon adopted. The fact that his mother had made no attempts to save herself from death after giving birth may have contributed to Voldemort’s own fear of death. I can see how growing up in a muggle orphanage and then finding out he was “special” could give him an inflated ego and make him think he’s superior to the muggles, and it makes sense that he would be closely drawn to Hogwarts, just as Harry was after having to live with the Dursleys.
14. Describe the canon qualities for each house that accurately reflect you.
• Gryffindor: Although “chivalry” often refers to knighthood and men, I think in its modern definition it definitely applies to me. I am a generous person with my time, my money, and my possessions. I am very courteous to all people, even strangers on the street. Courtesy is something in which I believe very strongly. I also believe in honor and integrity in our everyday lives. I am also passionate about the things in which I believe and hold dear and can be a bit hot-tempered at times.
• Slytherin: I am a very ambitious person with high hopes for the things I wish to achieve in life. I am willing to do a lot to achieve those goals (within reason) and understand the importance of making the right connections. Admittedly, I do have a certain craving for fame. I want to make a name for myself in life and enjoy a certain amount of fame, as long as it’s fame for something good. I am also very resourceful and can find creative ways to solve problems.
• Ravenclaw: I am intelligent and have the ability to look at things in a logical way. As I’ve said, I love to do puzzles, I’m quite good at riddles, and I love witty humor. I appreciate books, movies, and plays that make you think and that force you to pay attention. I like smart jokes (or nerd jokes), even if I don’t get them at first and have to do research to understand them (then I appreciate them even more). I also love to learn new things. I can sit for hours reading things about a subject or watching a documentary about it. I also have a strong memory and a good attention to detail. I can recall small details that I may have once read or things that I learned years before.
• Hufflepuff: I have a deep loyalty to my friends and family. This doesn’t mean that I will be silent if I see them doing something wrong, but when they are in a bind I will stick by them. If I see them in trouble, I will do anything to help them out. If they’re being called names or are the subject of vicious rumors, I’ll stand up for them and tell off anyone making snide comments about them. I believe in being fair and in fair play and following the rules. I am also a hard worer. I take pride in my work and I don’t do anything only half-way.
15. Describe the canon qualities for each house that do not accurately reflect you.
• Gryffindor: For me it would be bravery and daring. I know that in times of crisis I have it in me to face danger, but I’m not the type who would actively seek it out. For example, I would have certainly joined Dumbledore’s Army, but I wouldn’t have done things like sneaking out of the dorms at night or going into the Forbidden Forest. Even in terms of career choices, I can’t say I would choose to be an Auror or any agent of law-enforcement because I don’t know that I could be in high-stress, life-or-death situations and do what needs to be done.
• Slytherin: While I am ambitious, I also have a limit to what I’ll do to achieve my goals. I won’t step on others or stab people in back to get what I want, nor will I sell my soul for it. My ambitions are not more important than my integrity. I also don’t subscribe to the belief of pure-bloodedness. I think all people are equal. There may people I dislike because of the way they behave, but I would never dislike them on the basis of their blood-status.
• Ravenclaw: I suppose I’d have to say wit. While I love wittiness, I’m not the kind of person who is good at being witty. When it comes to humor, I don’t have that quick wit to make the perfect comment at the perfect time. Usually I realize a few minutes later what I should have said. I also have a bit of trouble focusing sometimes. While I love the learn, if the subject starts to bore me, my mind will drift elsewhere.
• Hufflepuff: I would definitely have to say patience. I can be impatient and short-tempered with people who annoy me and who don’t see things the way I do. I’m not very good at being impartial, either; I usually end up picking a side. I am also more competitive than Hufflepuffs tend to be and, while I’m not overly-boastful, I’m not that modest about my accomplishments.
||HOGWARTS EXPRESS||
16. Age: 26
17. Optional: Link us to where you have promoted this community in your personal journal to earn your future house five points. Here!
02. How did you find out about Hogwarts Elite? I was searching for Harry Potter Communities on LiveJournal and came upon this one.
||MIRROR OF ERISED||
03. What do you wish to accomplish in life?
Well, I have already received a Bachelors in Theatre and, more recently, a Masters in Arts Administration. I wish to be hired by a theatre company, working in Development (planning fundraisers, writing grants, and doing the work to ensure the company receives funding to continue its work). I think the arts are an important part of life, so doing something that would ensure that others can continue to appreciate them would be very fulfilling. Eventually I hope to start my own theatre company. I am also a performer (acting, singing, and dancing), so I would like to continue that work as well. On top of this, my biggest hope in life is to start a family. I’m very much a family-oriented person and don’t want to grow old alone.
04. Describe exactly what you would see in the Mirror of Erised. (This is not the same question as #03.)
Part of me wants to say I would see myself performing on Broadway, but the other part of me wants to say I would see myself with a husband and children. Ultimately, I’d go with a husband and children. While being a Broadway performer would be wonderful, a family is more important to me than anything. I can still perform and make a small living while being a wife and mother, and once my children have grown, performing is a career I can always return to. Besides, when I’m old and frail it will be the people I love who will brighten my day, not the parts I played in my when I was younger.
05. What makes a person deserving of your respect?
I think all people are deserving of respect so long as they give that same respect to others. On a deeper level, I have immense respect for people who make an effort to help others, even just by simply holding a door open for someone. I respect people who notice the world around them and recognize that they are only a small part of something so much greater. I respect people who choose to do what's right rather than what's easy. I also respect people who work hard to achieve their goals, as opposed to those who ride on the coat tails of others and simply skim through life.
06. What is your biggest pet peeve?
I hate to see people using texting “language” outside of texting. I understand that when it comes to sending texts it’s simpler to use shorthand, but anywhere else, especially in e-mails, there is no reason not to write out words and use proper grammar and punctuation. I can’t help but wince whenever I see people write things like “brb gng 2 da store!” in e-mails or on message boards and Facebook. There is simply no need and it gets to the point that the message becomes unintelligible. This is especially a pet peeve now that this kind of writing has started to spill over into school work and professional settings. I can’t tell you how many messages like that I have received in the work environment. I feel like this age of texting is contributing to a decline in written and oral communications. Our languages are beautiful and should be appreciated, not slaughtered to bits.
07. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
Physically, I would make myself thinner. I’m not obese, but I’m also not as thin as I would like to be. It sometimes seems like as much as I try, I never really lose much weight. Part of the problem is that I love food (and I live in an area where food is a big deal), so my wish would be that no matter how much I ate, I would still be thin.
Personality wise, I would make myself a little less socially-awkward. I can be shy when first meeting people and in my attempts to look good I sometimes end up saying stupid things. Not mean things, mind you, but poor attempts at jokes and just things that I wish I could undo. Otherwise, I’m just really quiet until I feel I’ve gotten to know them well enough, which can sometimes be perceived as snobbery. Thankfully, the people who end up becoming my friends are obviously awesome enough to see past this.
08. If you could do any one thing and suffer no consequences, what would it be?
This is the hardest question for me to answer. I can’t say I would want to do anything like stealing, because, as much as I would love to, even without consequences I would feel too guilty. I guess if I could, I would sabotage shows like Jersey Shore and Keeping Up With the Kardashians and get them off the air. I can’t stand shows that glorify stupidity and celebrate people who are famous for no reason. At least with reality shows like American Idol and America’s Next Top Model the people who are celebrated are people with talent, rather than those who are using famous parents or tacky personalities to make a name for themselves.
09. What do you think are your top five positive characteristics?
01. Knowledge: I’m not going to deny that I am a smart woman. But even beyond that, I am constantly trying to learn more. I read about current events, I love to do puzzles and brain teasers, I watch Jeopardy daily, and I enjoy finding new things to research and learn about. I won’t claim that I find every topic fascinating, but I still like to understand the basics of it. Going back to school for my Masters was one of the best choices I ever made. Even though it was hard work and I still have student loans to pay off, I enjoyed attending class and gaining new insight, even into boring things like accounting and business law (actually, the latter ended up being a lot of fun). If I could be a professional student, spending my life constantly learning new things, I would be a happy woman.
02. Creativity: I grew up in a very artistic family. Both of my parents are singers and have acted, a talent and love they passed on to both my brother and me. I have been performing since I was a little girl and continue to perform even now. I am also a writer of both fanfiction and original fiction (though I haven’t done much with the latter). Even in forms of art where I don’t excel (I can’t draw to save my life) I still have a deep appreciation of all kinds of art, even things like fashion design and culinary arts. I am also able to come up with creative solutions for problems in work and in my general life. I love doing artsy things and, even if they don’t turn out the way I imagine, I never give up on trying. Furthermore, I have an expansive imagination and like to believe anything is possible, even if it’s only in my mind.
03. Kindness: I don’t claim to be a saint by any means, but I’m definitely the kind of person who makes an effort to help others. It isn’t always a big, heroic effort, but even small things like picking something up if someone drops it or asking if someone needs help carrying something. I am also happy to extend warm welcomes to new people. I know what it’s like to be the odd man out, so I like to make sure people know they’re welcome and that they feel they are accepted. Even if I don’t end up becoming close friends with a person, I always want them to know that I’m there if they need help with something or just someone to talk to.
04. Listening: You know that one friend you have who is a great listener? That friend who is always happy to let you cry on their shoulder? That’s me. I am always available to my friends, to listen to their problems and give them comfort when they’re upset. If they ask for my advice I give it, but otherwise I just let them vent, get their troubles out, and listen, something that not a lot of people can do. I pay attention, let them know that I care, and do my best to help them through their tough times. I’ll also check in on them now and then just to make sure everything is fine and let them know I’m always happy to listen if they need me. I am sometimes a mediator among my friends, helping them sort out their problems. I am very good at understanding what a person feels, even if it isn’t something I’ve experienced. On top of that, I’m a very big fan of hugs and am always happy to dole them out as needed.
05. Passionate: When I care deeply about something, I get very excited about it. I like to get other people excited about it and try to make them as passionate as I am. When I get on a subject about something I love I can sometimes go on and on, trying to hook other people and get them interested in it as well. Sometimes I might talk a little too much, but I feel like I can get people to try new things and find new passions by getting them to be as excited about it as I am. I guess you could say I’m a cheerleader of sorts. I am currently a Team Leader for an online competition and part of my job requires pumping up my team and getting them to compete in challenges, cheering them on along the way.
10. What do you think are your top five negative characteristics?
01. Stubbornness: When I’m set in my way, there’s not much that can change that. If I want to do something my way, I’m going to do it my way. This also includes my opinions and personal feelings. I’m usually happy to hear someone else’s side of things, but it’s very rare that I end up changing my mind about something. This also extends to arguments. I hate to lose arguments. I’m one of those people who finds it nearly impossible to walk away from internet fights. I always hope that the other person will give up so that I can “win” the argument. If it is ever shown that I am 100% indisputably wrong, I can be a sore loser. I may concede my defeat, but inside I’m fuming.
02. Know-it-All: As I said, I am an intelligent woman. Unfortunately, I’m also the kind of person who wants to make sure people know how smart I am. I tend to raise my hand a lot in class, shout out answers to questions, and pepper my conversations with little known facts, hoping people will be impressed. Part of this comes from my need for approval and acceptance of my peers. I hope that if they see that I’m knowledgeable, they’ll think more highly of it. I know that I probably annoy people with this, especially classmates who get sick of me always answering questions (though, in my defense, in some cases I have to answer all of the questions because no one else is raising their hand). Still, intelligence is something of which I think highly, both in myself and in others. I admit, I can be a bit snobby when it comes to intelligence, though that’s usually reserved for people who choose not to learn.
03. Self-Conscious: As I’ve stated before, I can be very self-conscious about what people think about me. This extends to both my physical attributes and my personality. Physically, I don’t often think much of myself. There are things about my body that I like, and I don’t know that I would call myself “ugly”, just plain. Every now and then I see myself in the mirror or in a picture and actually think I look good, but a lot of times I just end up wishing I could change my looks.
As for my personality, I sometimes think the people around me don’t really like me, but just tolerate me. I try - and often fail - to be funny or I make awkward comments when I don’t know what else to say. I’m the kind of person who might look at small actions of others and wonder if I’ve done something to annoy them. Usually this is all for nothing and I soon realize that it was own paranoia making me think something is wrong when it isn’t. I am just very eager to please and become afraid when I think I’ve done something wrong.
04. Daydreaming: Like I said, I have a vast imagination. Unfortunately, this means that my mind sometimes wanders and I can get lost in my own thoughts. It’s not so bad when I’m by myself, but when I’m in class or at a meeting, I sometimes zone out (especially when it’s really boring) and have to catch up with what’s being said. This also means that sometimes I can seem withdrawn from others even if I don’t mean to. I think my daydreaming can also make me judge my life a little more harshly. I love my “fantasy life” so much that I’m sometimes disappointed when I have to return to “the real world.”
05. Messy: I’m not “pigsty” messy (I do have a sense of personal hygiene) but I allow my room and personal spaces to become very cluttered. I leave shoes in the middle of the floor, I stick things in drawers to get them out of the way, and I never make my bed (what’s the point?). Every now and then I’ll try to start with a clean slate. I’ll completely reorganize everything neatly and promise myself that this time I’ll make more of an effort to keep things tidy, but I soon fall back into my bad habit of leaving dirty close on the floor, dropping books and notebooks beside my bed, and sticking things on my bookcase when I don’t feel like putting them up properly. If something is really important to me I’ll make a big effort to keep it clean, but otherwise I tend to let it become cluttered.
||HOGWARTS, A HISTORY||
11. Who is your favorite character in the Harry Potter series?
This is a loaded question for me and can go two ways, depending on whether you mean my favorite character based on who they are as a person (meaning, would I like to be friends with them in real life) or my favorite character based on how original and well-developed they are in the stories.
As far as liking a character simply as a character, my choice goes to Snape. What I love about the character is that he isn’t really a bad guy, but it’s also hard to consider him a “good guy” because he isn’t your typical “good guy”. He sometimes does the right thing for the wrong reasons and the wrong thing for the right reasons. I appreciate having a character who is a “hero” while being a pretty unlikeable person, because that’s very much true to life. Sometimes the people who we recognize as heroes weren’t very nice in their everyday lives; they just had enough moral sense to do the right thing when it counted.
He’s not someone I would like to be around, because despite the fact that he ultimately did the right thing, he still behaves as a bully to Harry and the other Gryffindor students, but there’s a character depth there that I can appreciate as a writer and a reader. He’s not just angry and mean for no reason. Whether or not you agree that he has a right to hate James Potter, J.K. Rowling at least gave him that strong back story and strong reasoning for why he became the man he did. This leaves him with an interesting inner-conflict of hating Harry because of James and wanting to protect him because of Lily. The fact that Harry ends up naming his son after Snape and speaking so highly of him, despite Snape’s cruel treatment of him, is a testament to the fact that his good outweighed his bad.
As far as my favorite character based on personality, I’ll have to go with Neville. I see a lot of myself in Neville. When I was 11, I was definitely the kind of kid who didn’t think highly of myself and mostly hung to the back, letting the others take the lead. What I love about Neville is seeing him grow from the young boy who didn’t even think he was good enough to be in Gryffindor into the strong young man who has no problem standing up to Voldemort and killing Nagini. I appreciate characters who can admit that they are afraid, that they think themselves to be weak, but who, when push comes to shove, can blossom and show the courage they’ve always had inside. In my opinion, Neville has the largest character development over the course of the entire series; who he is at the beginning of the series is almost the complete opposite of who he ends up becoming.
12. Who is your least favorite character in the Harry Potter series?
Again, it depends on whether you mean my least favorite as a person or my least favorite as a character. As a person, Voldemort takes the cake. He is the epitome of evil and is really the one person who values himself over anyone else. Even his followers are willing to sacrifice themselves for him or their loved ones. I would never want to be near a person like him (though he is a fascinating character).
As far as the character I felt contributed the least to the overall story, I’d have to go with Rufus Scrimgeour. I don’t really hate him or anything, but I don’t see the point in replacing Fudge with Scrimgeour. They’re distinctly different characters, sure, but they both seem to serve the same purpose: sticking their noses into Dumbledore’s affairs and trying to use Harry for their own personal gains. I just don’t feel like he brought anything new to the plot development.
13. What was your favorite plot or character revelation in the Harry Potter series?
I loved in The Half-Blood Prince when Harry (and the readers) got a look into Voldemort’s past. I love when creators take the time to flesh their villains out just as much as the hero. I like to know what makes them tick and why they are the way they are. J.K. Rowling easily could have simply had Voldemort be the typical villain who is simply evil for the sake of being evil, so I appreciate the time she took to give him a proper development. While his past by no means justifies his actions, it does explain the person he became. His grandfather and uncle hated muggles and those who were not pure-blooded, beliefs that he soon adopted. The fact that his mother had made no attempts to save herself from death after giving birth may have contributed to Voldemort’s own fear of death. I can see how growing up in a muggle orphanage and then finding out he was “special” could give him an inflated ego and make him think he’s superior to the muggles, and it makes sense that he would be closely drawn to Hogwarts, just as Harry was after having to live with the Dursleys.
14. Describe the canon qualities for each house that accurately reflect you.
• Gryffindor: Although “chivalry” often refers to knighthood and men, I think in its modern definition it definitely applies to me. I am a generous person with my time, my money, and my possessions. I am very courteous to all people, even strangers on the street. Courtesy is something in which I believe very strongly. I also believe in honor and integrity in our everyday lives. I am also passionate about the things in which I believe and hold dear and can be a bit hot-tempered at times.
• Slytherin: I am a very ambitious person with high hopes for the things I wish to achieve in life. I am willing to do a lot to achieve those goals (within reason) and understand the importance of making the right connections. Admittedly, I do have a certain craving for fame. I want to make a name for myself in life and enjoy a certain amount of fame, as long as it’s fame for something good. I am also very resourceful and can find creative ways to solve problems.
• Ravenclaw: I am intelligent and have the ability to look at things in a logical way. As I’ve said, I love to do puzzles, I’m quite good at riddles, and I love witty humor. I appreciate books, movies, and plays that make you think and that force you to pay attention. I like smart jokes (or nerd jokes), even if I don’t get them at first and have to do research to understand them (then I appreciate them even more). I also love to learn new things. I can sit for hours reading things about a subject or watching a documentary about it. I also have a strong memory and a good attention to detail. I can recall small details that I may have once read or things that I learned years before.
• Hufflepuff: I have a deep loyalty to my friends and family. This doesn’t mean that I will be silent if I see them doing something wrong, but when they are in a bind I will stick by them. If I see them in trouble, I will do anything to help them out. If they’re being called names or are the subject of vicious rumors, I’ll stand up for them and tell off anyone making snide comments about them. I believe in being fair and in fair play and following the rules. I am also a hard worer. I take pride in my work and I don’t do anything only half-way.
15. Describe the canon qualities for each house that do not accurately reflect you.
• Gryffindor: For me it would be bravery and daring. I know that in times of crisis I have it in me to face danger, but I’m not the type who would actively seek it out. For example, I would have certainly joined Dumbledore’s Army, but I wouldn’t have done things like sneaking out of the dorms at night or going into the Forbidden Forest. Even in terms of career choices, I can’t say I would choose to be an Auror or any agent of law-enforcement because I don’t know that I could be in high-stress, life-or-death situations and do what needs to be done.
• Slytherin: While I am ambitious, I also have a limit to what I’ll do to achieve my goals. I won’t step on others or stab people in back to get what I want, nor will I sell my soul for it. My ambitions are not more important than my integrity. I also don’t subscribe to the belief of pure-bloodedness. I think all people are equal. There may people I dislike because of the way they behave, but I would never dislike them on the basis of their blood-status.
• Ravenclaw: I suppose I’d have to say wit. While I love wittiness, I’m not the kind of person who is good at being witty. When it comes to humor, I don’t have that quick wit to make the perfect comment at the perfect time. Usually I realize a few minutes later what I should have said. I also have a bit of trouble focusing sometimes. While I love the learn, if the subject starts to bore me, my mind will drift elsewhere.
• Hufflepuff: I would definitely have to say patience. I can be impatient and short-tempered with people who annoy me and who don’t see things the way I do. I’m not very good at being impartial, either; I usually end up picking a side. I am also more competitive than Hufflepuffs tend to be and, while I’m not overly-boastful, I’m not that modest about my accomplishments.
||HOGWARTS EXPRESS||
16. Age: 26
17. Optional: Link us to where you have promoted this community in your personal journal to earn your future house five points. Here!