Elder Wand
01. Name: Sanne
02. How did you find out about Hogwarts Hallows? Through banksycock ’s livejournal.
03. Why do you want to join this community? Because I’m a sucker for labelling my personality and a big Harry Potter fan. Yes, I’m someone who actually enjoys filling out forms like this. I’m also lacking an environment to discuss Harry Potter at the moment and this seems like a very good solution.
||MIRROR OF ERISED||
04. You are eleven years old and you've just received a Hogwarts letter. How do you react?
There would have been lots of squealing and shouting and doing the happy dance around my house. I dreamed about being “extraordinary” a lot during my childhood. I was a kid with a big imagination and little grasp on the real world. I found it hostile and unsatisfactory. If I wasn’t reading a book, I was making my own stories in my mind, head-in-the-clouds and all that. So yes, I would have rejoiced at receiving such a letter, but the same would go for discovering I was a witch like “Sabrina, the teenage witch”, or a magical girl like Sailormoon, or a Pokémon trainer, or an Airbender or anything that would make my life more interesting and magical. Not because I had such a big drive for adventure, which I hadn’t and still haven’t, but because I hoped to find some sense of belonging in it. After receiving such a letter I would be prone to worrying, though. Hogwarts is a school after all and schools haven’t always been too great for me. Meeting new people and having to deal with them on a daily basis scared me. I would be worried about having to share a dorm and never having any alone time in my own save room. Luckily I have cleaned up my act since I was eleven. I’m less scared of people and more in-tune with the world. Still, if Hogwarts ever decided to send out letters to twenty-two-year-olds, I would be very happy to accept it and go.
05. In which wizarding activities or clubs do you think you would be interested?
At Hogwarts? Hmmm. I’m not one for clubs or other forms of organized activities. Especially not team sports. I’ve always dreaded sports at school and I’m very happy to be free of that now. Even though I would probably enjoy flying a whole lot, I don’t think I would try out for the Quidditch team. Balls and me, we don’t get along very well. That, and trying out would be very stressful and scary to me. I think I might have joined Dumbledore’s Army, if I had a friend who’d insist on going. I would find it very interesting, but would be too shy to invite myself. I’m more of a person who fills in her free time herself, without help and organisation from others.
06. What makes a person deserving of your respect?
Honesty, reliability, kindness and the guts to stand up against injustice. It’s not that difficult to earn my respect. As long as you act decent towards me, you’ll be fine. It is, however, very easy to lose it. If I ever catch you talking bad about me behind my back, you will never get close to me emotionally again. The same goes for injustice. I’m not a courageous person, not at all, but there are certain things I will not tolerate. If I see wrongdoing and I get all riled up about it and complain to my friends about it, I do plan on doing something about it too. For example: I have just finished a course taught by a terrible professor. I complained about it a lot to my friends. So at the end of the course I filled out the review sheet and wrote down everything that had bothered me so much. And I had expected my friends to do the same, as they complained as loudly as I did. Some forgot, which I didn’t like, but fine, it can happen. One friend, a person I had always admired for saying what she thinks and sticking up for herself, chickened out. She hadn’t dared to write down her complaints. That’s when she lost some of my respect.
07. What is your boggart, and what would you do to make it ridiculous?
I always dread this question. This, and the Mirror of Erised. (Oh, look! It’s right below this one!) I don’t really know. I can guess. I can think of the most terrible things that would scare me out of my wits, but I doubt my one true fear would be among them. There currently is nothing so scary that it can keep me awake at night, that it can wake me up, sweating and scared beyond reason. Even if I witness something scary, I kind of bounce back. That what sounds so terrible in my head, doesn’t seem to affect me all that much after it happens. I used to be scared of spiders, but now I sometimes manage to catch one and get rid of it. I used to fear for my little hamster, that the cat would get him some day. It happened yesterday. I even saw it. I feel extremely guilty and sad, but not scared. There are a million little things that can startle me; spiders (still), closed spaces, sudden sounds, bugs, things I could fall from. I am a scaredy cat, no doubt. But that one crippling fear I have yet to discover. For now I can only think of the most cliché answer, Molly’s answer; the death of my loved ones. Not scary, unless they die by being mauled by a serial killer or something, but so terribly, terribly saddening and guilt inducing and unreal. I would probably have a lot of trouble to repel the boggart, as I can hardly think of anything to make that look ridiculous even now, without being faced by it. Maybe I could change the dead body into an angel, one with a bow and arrow with a heart-shaped point and wings too small for their body size, flapping frantically to fly to heaven. I might not laugh out loud, but at least it would put a smile on my face.
08. What would you see in the Mirror of Erised?
Just like I don’t really know my deepest abyss, I don’t really know my highest mountain either. There is nothing I desire so much that I can easily picture myself seeing that in the mirror. I am quite content with who I am, what I have and where my life’s heading. For the future I wish a cosy home for my then-husband, daughter-to-be, son-to-be and me. I wish a steady job that gives me pleasure and helps to make this world a better place, preferably something that matches my study: Pedagogy. This, however, is more a wish than a desire. Maybe my desire would be like my childhood dreams: to be special. To receive that Hogwarts letter, become that superhero, write a bestseller, and still be able to live a quiet live surrounded by the people I love. To receive that approval of the world, to be deemed worthy, and then defy the limelight and go on living like nothing happened. Perhaps I just need a boost of self-esteem.
09. Which element (fire, earth, air, water) do you think best represents you?
Air, all the way. From my head-in-the-clouds younger years to my laid-back approach to life now. I am downright lazy, I don’t put more energy into something I don’t like than the bare minimum to get by. Some would call it “efficient”. I don’t worry much and plan little ahead. I could be water, because I “go with the flow”, but it’s my own flow, not the downstream the land has carved for me. I’m not afraid to go left when all my friends go right. There will be new friends where I’m going. I lack the passion, the flame, to be fire. I’m much more mellow than that. My emotions are quite steady, level, with a peak or valley only every now and then. I don’t work hard to achieve something. I’m mostly content with what comes on my path. I’m not practical, logical enough to be earth. I’m still often lost in my own thoughts or flitting from one hobby to another. I dislike change that’s forced upon me, but I will bend my ways to overcome it eventually. I don’t leave much of an impression, I don’t influence those around me all that much, but I can be destructive when I’m mad.
10. What do you think are your top five positive characteristics?
Another one of those questions I’m not very good at. It’s easier to think of my negative traits. Here they are in no particular order.
01. Lawful - I play by the rules. I am not a troublemaker in any way. Even when I disagree with something, I will object in a lawful way. I have a strong sense of right and wrong and make my own rules that I live by unconditionally. I would allow Neo-Nazi’s to protest because everyone has the right to free speech, yet I would condemn them for thinking that way. I stand up for what I believe in, as long as there aren’t too many negative consequences.
02. Polite - I treat everyone with respect. Even though I can get riled up in a discussion, I will never attack the person, only the idea.
03. Loyal - I am there for my loved ones in times of need. I will go out of my way to solve their problems. I’m talking about big issues here. My mum still gets angry at me for not voluntarily jumping up to do the dishes. I’m still lazy, after all. I will defend my loved ones in front of others, even when I don’t agree with what they are doing. I’ll talk to them about that in private later.
04. Somewhat clever - Being the lazy thing I am it’s kind of a miracle I got through high school and University so far the way I have. It certainly isn’t hard work that got me this far, so it has to be brains. Let’s just say I’m not completely stupid.
05. Independent - I’m not one to ask for help. I’ll struggle along until I can’t go on any longer and then I’ll think about asking for help. While I don’t ask for it, I won’t refuse when it’s offered to me. When everyone is doing an assignment in pairs, I’ll still be happy to do it on my own. Even when my cash flow is at an all-time low, I’ll make ends meet and make it work.
11. What do you think are your top five negative characteristics?
01. Lazy - Did I mention I am lazy before? Well, I am. I have never worked hard for anything in my life and I’m afraid I don’t even know how to. Household chores get postponed again and again, even when I plan on doing them instead on being forced to do them. Tests I learn by cramming a bit a day or two before the test date. I procrastinate a lot.
02. Egocentric - I put myself, my wishes, my needs, before anyone else’s. Yes, I’m loyal and polite and lawful, but in the end all that’s for myself. In most cases for feeling better about myself. Being lawful is also a way of avoiding trouble. As long as you play by the rules, less people bother you. Breaking the rules takes effort and poses risks for my wellbeing.
03. Asocial - I’m more of a spectator than a participant. I’m more than happy just sitting in my own home, alone, watching the world and the people pass by. If my friends didn’t keep calling me to ask me to come over, I wouldn’t have any. This is why I love the internet so much. I can socialize on my on terms. If I don’t feel like socializing, I can just play a game. Nobody will look at me oddly when I don’t seek out contact.
04. Territorial - Don’t touch my stuff. No really, don’t. I don’t like it at all. Also, knock before you come in and have a reason to be in my room. Chitchat is no reason, get out. Yes, you can borrow my thingamabob, if you request it two months ahead by filling out this form in threefold. It’s not like I actually say these kinds of things, but I think and feel them.
05. No Change - I can’t handle change very well. I always need some time to get used to new ideas and plans. Even very positive things, like a vacation or my boyfriend coming over, need to be announced in advance, or I’ll be a bit cranky. I can’t even say why I feel that way, I just do. I’m opposed to every change until I get used to it. The only exception is changed thought of and instigated by myself.
12. If you could get rid of one of your personality traits and pick a trait you don't consider yourself to have instead, what would you get rid of and what new one would you pick? Why?
I’d trade my laziness for courage. With my laziness out of the way I would finally be able to use my full potential. I might become a valedictorian. I might graduate Cum Laude. I might score higher than a 6 on tests. I might write a book. I might get things done! Then I could use my courage to do all the things I’ve been afraid to do. Walk around in the clothes I made myself. Take dance lessons. Publish a book. Wow everyone during an internship interview. Change the world. Stand up for myself. Feel good about myself.
13. If you were a wizard in the Harry Potter world, what would your post-Hogwarts game plan be?
Since I don’t believe wizards and witches need Pedagogues, I would want to open up a clothing store in Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade. I’d design and sew clothes and enhance them with magic so they’d fit anyone comfortably. I’d make strapless dresses that feel as if you’re wearing a fur coat, so you don’t have to worry about going outside. I’d make wrinkle-free stain-free children’s clothes that look delicate, but can be played and roughhoused in without any chance of tearing. I’d make high heels that walk as comfortably as slippers. I’d make robes in every colour and pattern imaginable, with special pockets for wands and built in protection spells. Deciding what to wear would never be a problem again.
||IN ESSENCE UNITED||
14. What do the Harry Potter books mean to you?
A thought-out universe that I can imagine myself to be part of. It’s not so much the story of Harry and his friends that enchants me, while that’s wonderful too, it’s the places and systems and habits and life that keeps drawing me in. I can paint Diagon Alley in my head with my eyes closed. I can wander the halls of Hogwarts in my dreams and not stand out, because all students are just children who happen to have a thing for magic. I could have gotten a letter, even though my parents are Muggles. It’s a world where even everything mundane and grey seems special and magical. It’s a place where I can escape to.
15. Who is your favourite character in the Harry Potter series?
Ron, because he is so terribly lovable. He has this childish fear of spiders and a form of performance anxiety, yet he still fights evil and doesn’t flinch when faced with danger. And he’s so adorably clumsy when it comes to love and girls, and terribly funny. Most of the other cast isn’t that far behind Ron in popularity to me, though.
16. Who is your least favourite character in the series? Do not pick Umbridge. She was written to be hated.
Harry Potter. He has the emotional dept of a teaspoon. Most people go through several emotions per day. He changes emotion only once per school year! I really hated him in book 5, all whiny and wallowing in self-pity. He never really recovered after that. It just bugs me that the main character is the character with the least emotional growth. It doesn’t bug me enough to not enjoy the series anymore, though.
17. If you could trade lives with one HP character for a day, who would it be?
Hermione Granger. She’s a Muggle-born girl like myself, so I wouldn’t have to go through much character change to be realistic in that aspect. Also, she is smart and lawful, so it shouldn’t matter too much if I take her place in Hogwarts for a day and screw up all her tests or play truant during a lesson or two. She’d get away with it. Other than that she is just a regular student most of the year and I would make sure to trade lives on a regular school day, preferably at the start of the school year, long before any of the July drama. That way I could experience Hogwarts like any other regular student.
18. You have to pick four subjects to study for your NEWTs. What are they?
- Care of Magical Creatures: I love animals, magical or not, and I love learning more about them. I can watch animal documentaries for hours and I enjoy reading the Wikipedia pages of animals, just for fun. I also have a thing with mythology, especially Greek. As long as we’re not studying Acromantulas, I think I’d really enjoy this subject.
- Charms: It’s useful, it’s fun and it’s what most people think of when you say “magic”. If I’m the proud owner of a wand, I want to make the most of it. The things you learn here can be used at all times, as opposed to Potions or Divination.
- Transfiguration: Like a real Mary-Sue I would want to be an Animagus. Preferably a cat, even. Since that is hardly a realistic wish even in the world of Harry Potter, I’d settle for turning everything besides myself into kittens. I think it’s awesome to master Transfiguration and it could be useful too. For example: it would help me with designing clothes for my aforementioned magical clothing shop.
- Herbology: I don’t really have a particular reason for picking this. It sounds the most interesting and fun of all the subjects I had left to chose from. It might come in handy when you’re in the middle of a field and suddenly feel like de-petrifying someone, I guess. It’s a good opportunity to come in contact with more things that don’t exist in the Muggle world.
19. Who are your favourite and least favourite Hogwarts professors? Why?
My favourite would be Lupin. He thought higher of his students than ignorant children who should only study save theory from books. He challenged them in a fun way. He made the material they needed to learn real, without really putting them in danger. He made his lessons fun. He was there for his students.
For my least favourite I am not picking Umbridge, because, as said before, she was made to hate. I’m picking Lockhart. Incompetent, lying, cheating, arrogant, ignorant bastard. It wouldn’t be so bad if he was just incompetent. So is Hagrid, but some people love him nonetheless. He’s terrible because he’s incompetent, but pretends to be magnificent and awesome and the best thing since sliced bread. I don’t think he is capable of transferring any kind of knowledge.
20. Each Hogwarts founder owned a prized possession. Imagine that these possessions were symbolic of these founders’ values. Explain how these objects might exemplify the traits of their owner’s house.
• Godric Gryffindor’s Sword: One doesn’t use a sword to make sandwiches, one uses it to fight. That can mean a physical fight, or a verbal fight, or even an emotional fight. It’s about not settling for what you have, but putting in effort to have more, or to have it your way. A sword is also a weapon that can’t easily be concealed. It’s showing to the world that if you’re challenged, you won’t walk away.
• Salazar Slytherin’s Locket: A locket is a piece of jewellery that’s precious on its own, but also can contain something valuable. It shows that the owner doesn’t averse to physical display or enhancing one’s appearance. But there’s more than meets the eye. How pretty it may look from the outside, you have no idea what is inside. Not until you open it. It may be a picture of a loved one. It may be a flask of poison. Who knows? All you know is how this person behaves “beautifully” to get his way. His real reasons, though, stay hidden inside.
• Rowena Ravenclaw’s Diadem: Instead of choosing a robe or a necklace or something else that enhances the body, she picked the diadem, which enhances the head. She emphases what she thinks is the most important body part. To her this is the place where gems come from. They sprout from the mind.
• Helga Hufflepuff’s Cup: While a cup is first and foremost a tool to hold a drink, it can hold anything as long as it is small enough to fit in it. Anything from sand to pearls could be found inside. Whatever it is that’s in it, it must be special. Why else would one keep it inside a golden cup? She has picked a container that can contain a great diversity of things. As long as the cup isn’t too full, nothing will fall out. She might also be one to work hard for a long time. After all, hard work makes one thirsty.
21. Describe the canon house qualities that you feel accurately reflect you. Please try to include traits from each of the four houses.
• Gryffindor: Standing up for what you believe in, to a certain point. As I said before, I don’t tolerate injustice. But I won’t put myself in danger while going against it either. I’m not so rash as to jump in at the second I notice something I don’t agree with. Instead, I wait for the opportune moment to have myself heard.
• Slytherin: Behaving in a certain way for your own profit. As I said before: I am egocentric. Even the “good” things I do, I do only to make myself feel better. Luckily the reason for doing “good” doesn’t change the result.
• Ravenclaw: Cleverness. I think I do have the brains, I just don’t nearly use them enough.
• Hufflepuff: Loyalty. I even listed it as one of my positive traits. As long as you’re my friend you don’t have to worry: I’ve got your back.
22. Which house do you feel the least affinity towards?
Gryffindor. I’m neither rash, nor bolt, nor forward, nor courageous. I don’t like Slytherin much either, but that has more to do with the negative connotations that are attached to that house and its traits.
||HOGWARTS EXPRESS||
23. Age: 22
02. How did you find out about Hogwarts Hallows? Through banksycock ’s livejournal.
03. Why do you want to join this community? Because I’m a sucker for labelling my personality and a big Harry Potter fan. Yes, I’m someone who actually enjoys filling out forms like this. I’m also lacking an environment to discuss Harry Potter at the moment and this seems like a very good solution.
||MIRROR OF ERISED||
04. You are eleven years old and you've just received a Hogwarts letter. How do you react?
There would have been lots of squealing and shouting and doing the happy dance around my house. I dreamed about being “extraordinary” a lot during my childhood. I was a kid with a big imagination and little grasp on the real world. I found it hostile and unsatisfactory. If I wasn’t reading a book, I was making my own stories in my mind, head-in-the-clouds and all that. So yes, I would have rejoiced at receiving such a letter, but the same would go for discovering I was a witch like “Sabrina, the teenage witch”, or a magical girl like Sailormoon, or a Pokémon trainer, or an Airbender or anything that would make my life more interesting and magical. Not because I had such a big drive for adventure, which I hadn’t and still haven’t, but because I hoped to find some sense of belonging in it. After receiving such a letter I would be prone to worrying, though. Hogwarts is a school after all and schools haven’t always been too great for me. Meeting new people and having to deal with them on a daily basis scared me. I would be worried about having to share a dorm and never having any alone time in my own save room. Luckily I have cleaned up my act since I was eleven. I’m less scared of people and more in-tune with the world. Still, if Hogwarts ever decided to send out letters to twenty-two-year-olds, I would be very happy to accept it and go.
05. In which wizarding activities or clubs do you think you would be interested?
At Hogwarts? Hmmm. I’m not one for clubs or other forms of organized activities. Especially not team sports. I’ve always dreaded sports at school and I’m very happy to be free of that now. Even though I would probably enjoy flying a whole lot, I don’t think I would try out for the Quidditch team. Balls and me, we don’t get along very well. That, and trying out would be very stressful and scary to me. I think I might have joined Dumbledore’s Army, if I had a friend who’d insist on going. I would find it very interesting, but would be too shy to invite myself. I’m more of a person who fills in her free time herself, without help and organisation from others.
06. What makes a person deserving of your respect?
Honesty, reliability, kindness and the guts to stand up against injustice. It’s not that difficult to earn my respect. As long as you act decent towards me, you’ll be fine. It is, however, very easy to lose it. If I ever catch you talking bad about me behind my back, you will never get close to me emotionally again. The same goes for injustice. I’m not a courageous person, not at all, but there are certain things I will not tolerate. If I see wrongdoing and I get all riled up about it and complain to my friends about it, I do plan on doing something about it too. For example: I have just finished a course taught by a terrible professor. I complained about it a lot to my friends. So at the end of the course I filled out the review sheet and wrote down everything that had bothered me so much. And I had expected my friends to do the same, as they complained as loudly as I did. Some forgot, which I didn’t like, but fine, it can happen. One friend, a person I had always admired for saying what she thinks and sticking up for herself, chickened out. She hadn’t dared to write down her complaints. That’s when she lost some of my respect.
07. What is your boggart, and what would you do to make it ridiculous?
I always dread this question. This, and the Mirror of Erised. (Oh, look! It’s right below this one!) I don’t really know. I can guess. I can think of the most terrible things that would scare me out of my wits, but I doubt my one true fear would be among them. There currently is nothing so scary that it can keep me awake at night, that it can wake me up, sweating and scared beyond reason. Even if I witness something scary, I kind of bounce back. That what sounds so terrible in my head, doesn’t seem to affect me all that much after it happens. I used to be scared of spiders, but now I sometimes manage to catch one and get rid of it. I used to fear for my little hamster, that the cat would get him some day. It happened yesterday. I even saw it. I feel extremely guilty and sad, but not scared. There are a million little things that can startle me; spiders (still), closed spaces, sudden sounds, bugs, things I could fall from. I am a scaredy cat, no doubt. But that one crippling fear I have yet to discover. For now I can only think of the most cliché answer, Molly’s answer; the death of my loved ones. Not scary, unless they die by being mauled by a serial killer or something, but so terribly, terribly saddening and guilt inducing and unreal. I would probably have a lot of trouble to repel the boggart, as I can hardly think of anything to make that look ridiculous even now, without being faced by it. Maybe I could change the dead body into an angel, one with a bow and arrow with a heart-shaped point and wings too small for their body size, flapping frantically to fly to heaven. I might not laugh out loud, but at least it would put a smile on my face.
08. What would you see in the Mirror of Erised?
Just like I don’t really know my deepest abyss, I don’t really know my highest mountain either. There is nothing I desire so much that I can easily picture myself seeing that in the mirror. I am quite content with who I am, what I have and where my life’s heading. For the future I wish a cosy home for my then-husband, daughter-to-be, son-to-be and me. I wish a steady job that gives me pleasure and helps to make this world a better place, preferably something that matches my study: Pedagogy. This, however, is more a wish than a desire. Maybe my desire would be like my childhood dreams: to be special. To receive that Hogwarts letter, become that superhero, write a bestseller, and still be able to live a quiet live surrounded by the people I love. To receive that approval of the world, to be deemed worthy, and then defy the limelight and go on living like nothing happened. Perhaps I just need a boost of self-esteem.
09. Which element (fire, earth, air, water) do you think best represents you?
Air, all the way. From my head-in-the-clouds younger years to my laid-back approach to life now. I am downright lazy, I don’t put more energy into something I don’t like than the bare minimum to get by. Some would call it “efficient”. I don’t worry much and plan little ahead. I could be water, because I “go with the flow”, but it’s my own flow, not the downstream the land has carved for me. I’m not afraid to go left when all my friends go right. There will be new friends where I’m going. I lack the passion, the flame, to be fire. I’m much more mellow than that. My emotions are quite steady, level, with a peak or valley only every now and then. I don’t work hard to achieve something. I’m mostly content with what comes on my path. I’m not practical, logical enough to be earth. I’m still often lost in my own thoughts or flitting from one hobby to another. I dislike change that’s forced upon me, but I will bend my ways to overcome it eventually. I don’t leave much of an impression, I don’t influence those around me all that much, but I can be destructive when I’m mad.
10. What do you think are your top five positive characteristics?
Another one of those questions I’m not very good at. It’s easier to think of my negative traits. Here they are in no particular order.
01. Lawful - I play by the rules. I am not a troublemaker in any way. Even when I disagree with something, I will object in a lawful way. I have a strong sense of right and wrong and make my own rules that I live by unconditionally. I would allow Neo-Nazi’s to protest because everyone has the right to free speech, yet I would condemn them for thinking that way. I stand up for what I believe in, as long as there aren’t too many negative consequences.
02. Polite - I treat everyone with respect. Even though I can get riled up in a discussion, I will never attack the person, only the idea.
03. Loyal - I am there for my loved ones in times of need. I will go out of my way to solve their problems. I’m talking about big issues here. My mum still gets angry at me for not voluntarily jumping up to do the dishes. I’m still lazy, after all. I will defend my loved ones in front of others, even when I don’t agree with what they are doing. I’ll talk to them about that in private later.
04. Somewhat clever - Being the lazy thing I am it’s kind of a miracle I got through high school and University so far the way I have. It certainly isn’t hard work that got me this far, so it has to be brains. Let’s just say I’m not completely stupid.
05. Independent - I’m not one to ask for help. I’ll struggle along until I can’t go on any longer and then I’ll think about asking for help. While I don’t ask for it, I won’t refuse when it’s offered to me. When everyone is doing an assignment in pairs, I’ll still be happy to do it on my own. Even when my cash flow is at an all-time low, I’ll make ends meet and make it work.
11. What do you think are your top five negative characteristics?
01. Lazy - Did I mention I am lazy before? Well, I am. I have never worked hard for anything in my life and I’m afraid I don’t even know how to. Household chores get postponed again and again, even when I plan on doing them instead on being forced to do them. Tests I learn by cramming a bit a day or two before the test date. I procrastinate a lot.
02. Egocentric - I put myself, my wishes, my needs, before anyone else’s. Yes, I’m loyal and polite and lawful, but in the end all that’s for myself. In most cases for feeling better about myself. Being lawful is also a way of avoiding trouble. As long as you play by the rules, less people bother you. Breaking the rules takes effort and poses risks for my wellbeing.
03. Asocial - I’m more of a spectator than a participant. I’m more than happy just sitting in my own home, alone, watching the world and the people pass by. If my friends didn’t keep calling me to ask me to come over, I wouldn’t have any. This is why I love the internet so much. I can socialize on my on terms. If I don’t feel like socializing, I can just play a game. Nobody will look at me oddly when I don’t seek out contact.
04. Territorial - Don’t touch my stuff. No really, don’t. I don’t like it at all. Also, knock before you come in and have a reason to be in my room. Chitchat is no reason, get out. Yes, you can borrow my thingamabob, if you request it two months ahead by filling out this form in threefold. It’s not like I actually say these kinds of things, but I think and feel them.
05. No Change - I can’t handle change very well. I always need some time to get used to new ideas and plans. Even very positive things, like a vacation or my boyfriend coming over, need to be announced in advance, or I’ll be a bit cranky. I can’t even say why I feel that way, I just do. I’m opposed to every change until I get used to it. The only exception is changed thought of and instigated by myself.
12. If you could get rid of one of your personality traits and pick a trait you don't consider yourself to have instead, what would you get rid of and what new one would you pick? Why?
I’d trade my laziness for courage. With my laziness out of the way I would finally be able to use my full potential. I might become a valedictorian. I might graduate Cum Laude. I might score higher than a 6 on tests. I might write a book. I might get things done! Then I could use my courage to do all the things I’ve been afraid to do. Walk around in the clothes I made myself. Take dance lessons. Publish a book. Wow everyone during an internship interview. Change the world. Stand up for myself. Feel good about myself.
13. If you were a wizard in the Harry Potter world, what would your post-Hogwarts game plan be?
Since I don’t believe wizards and witches need Pedagogues, I would want to open up a clothing store in Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade. I’d design and sew clothes and enhance them with magic so they’d fit anyone comfortably. I’d make strapless dresses that feel as if you’re wearing a fur coat, so you don’t have to worry about going outside. I’d make wrinkle-free stain-free children’s clothes that look delicate, but can be played and roughhoused in without any chance of tearing. I’d make high heels that walk as comfortably as slippers. I’d make robes in every colour and pattern imaginable, with special pockets for wands and built in protection spells. Deciding what to wear would never be a problem again.
||IN ESSENCE UNITED||
14. What do the Harry Potter books mean to you?
A thought-out universe that I can imagine myself to be part of. It’s not so much the story of Harry and his friends that enchants me, while that’s wonderful too, it’s the places and systems and habits and life that keeps drawing me in. I can paint Diagon Alley in my head with my eyes closed. I can wander the halls of Hogwarts in my dreams and not stand out, because all students are just children who happen to have a thing for magic. I could have gotten a letter, even though my parents are Muggles. It’s a world where even everything mundane and grey seems special and magical. It’s a place where I can escape to.
15. Who is your favourite character in the Harry Potter series?
Ron, because he is so terribly lovable. He has this childish fear of spiders and a form of performance anxiety, yet he still fights evil and doesn’t flinch when faced with danger. And he’s so adorably clumsy when it comes to love and girls, and terribly funny. Most of the other cast isn’t that far behind Ron in popularity to me, though.
16. Who is your least favourite character in the series? Do not pick Umbridge. She was written to be hated.
Harry Potter. He has the emotional dept of a teaspoon. Most people go through several emotions per day. He changes emotion only once per school year! I really hated him in book 5, all whiny and wallowing in self-pity. He never really recovered after that. It just bugs me that the main character is the character with the least emotional growth. It doesn’t bug me enough to not enjoy the series anymore, though.
17. If you could trade lives with one HP character for a day, who would it be?
Hermione Granger. She’s a Muggle-born girl like myself, so I wouldn’t have to go through much character change to be realistic in that aspect. Also, she is smart and lawful, so it shouldn’t matter too much if I take her place in Hogwarts for a day and screw up all her tests or play truant during a lesson or two. She’d get away with it. Other than that she is just a regular student most of the year and I would make sure to trade lives on a regular school day, preferably at the start of the school year, long before any of the July drama. That way I could experience Hogwarts like any other regular student.
18. You have to pick four subjects to study for your NEWTs. What are they?
- Care of Magical Creatures: I love animals, magical or not, and I love learning more about them. I can watch animal documentaries for hours and I enjoy reading the Wikipedia pages of animals, just for fun. I also have a thing with mythology, especially Greek. As long as we’re not studying Acromantulas, I think I’d really enjoy this subject.
- Charms: It’s useful, it’s fun and it’s what most people think of when you say “magic”. If I’m the proud owner of a wand, I want to make the most of it. The things you learn here can be used at all times, as opposed to Potions or Divination.
- Transfiguration: Like a real Mary-Sue I would want to be an Animagus. Preferably a cat, even. Since that is hardly a realistic wish even in the world of Harry Potter, I’d settle for turning everything besides myself into kittens. I think it’s awesome to master Transfiguration and it could be useful too. For example: it would help me with designing clothes for my aforementioned magical clothing shop.
- Herbology: I don’t really have a particular reason for picking this. It sounds the most interesting and fun of all the subjects I had left to chose from. It might come in handy when you’re in the middle of a field and suddenly feel like de-petrifying someone, I guess. It’s a good opportunity to come in contact with more things that don’t exist in the Muggle world.
19. Who are your favourite and least favourite Hogwarts professors? Why?
My favourite would be Lupin. He thought higher of his students than ignorant children who should only study save theory from books. He challenged them in a fun way. He made the material they needed to learn real, without really putting them in danger. He made his lessons fun. He was there for his students.
For my least favourite I am not picking Umbridge, because, as said before, she was made to hate. I’m picking Lockhart. Incompetent, lying, cheating, arrogant, ignorant bastard. It wouldn’t be so bad if he was just incompetent. So is Hagrid, but some people love him nonetheless. He’s terrible because he’s incompetent, but pretends to be magnificent and awesome and the best thing since sliced bread. I don’t think he is capable of transferring any kind of knowledge.
20. Each Hogwarts founder owned a prized possession. Imagine that these possessions were symbolic of these founders’ values. Explain how these objects might exemplify the traits of their owner’s house.
• Godric Gryffindor’s Sword: One doesn’t use a sword to make sandwiches, one uses it to fight. That can mean a physical fight, or a verbal fight, or even an emotional fight. It’s about not settling for what you have, but putting in effort to have more, or to have it your way. A sword is also a weapon that can’t easily be concealed. It’s showing to the world that if you’re challenged, you won’t walk away.
• Salazar Slytherin’s Locket: A locket is a piece of jewellery that’s precious on its own, but also can contain something valuable. It shows that the owner doesn’t averse to physical display or enhancing one’s appearance. But there’s more than meets the eye. How pretty it may look from the outside, you have no idea what is inside. Not until you open it. It may be a picture of a loved one. It may be a flask of poison. Who knows? All you know is how this person behaves “beautifully” to get his way. His real reasons, though, stay hidden inside.
• Rowena Ravenclaw’s Diadem: Instead of choosing a robe or a necklace or something else that enhances the body, she picked the diadem, which enhances the head. She emphases what she thinks is the most important body part. To her this is the place where gems come from. They sprout from the mind.
• Helga Hufflepuff’s Cup: While a cup is first and foremost a tool to hold a drink, it can hold anything as long as it is small enough to fit in it. Anything from sand to pearls could be found inside. Whatever it is that’s in it, it must be special. Why else would one keep it inside a golden cup? She has picked a container that can contain a great diversity of things. As long as the cup isn’t too full, nothing will fall out. She might also be one to work hard for a long time. After all, hard work makes one thirsty.
21. Describe the canon house qualities that you feel accurately reflect you. Please try to include traits from each of the four houses.
• Gryffindor: Standing up for what you believe in, to a certain point. As I said before, I don’t tolerate injustice. But I won’t put myself in danger while going against it either. I’m not so rash as to jump in at the second I notice something I don’t agree with. Instead, I wait for the opportune moment to have myself heard.
• Slytherin: Behaving in a certain way for your own profit. As I said before: I am egocentric. Even the “good” things I do, I do only to make myself feel better. Luckily the reason for doing “good” doesn’t change the result.
• Ravenclaw: Cleverness. I think I do have the brains, I just don’t nearly use them enough.
• Hufflepuff: Loyalty. I even listed it as one of my positive traits. As long as you’re my friend you don’t have to worry: I’ve got your back.
22. Which house do you feel the least affinity towards?
Gryffindor. I’m neither rash, nor bolt, nor forward, nor courageous. I don’t like Slytherin much either, but that has more to do with the negative connotations that are attached to that house and its traits.
||HOGWARTS EXPRESS||
23. Age: 22