XIV: Temperance

[a_lethe_ia]

• What sort of profession in the wizarding world would you choose and why?
  
  Something in the medical field. Not a mediwitch, but definitely someone who deals with injuries and magical ... ah, issues. I've always been that kid who wanted to be a 'doctor'. However, having gotten older and a little more thoughtful I'd specify that it would have to be an emergency sort of doctor. I keep my head in stressful or chaotic situations and I don't like dealing with the aftermath and long term treatment of people so much. I want to patch them up and ship them out. That sounds a little callous, but I want to be the kind of person who saves lives, not patches together people's emotional problems.
  
  
• If you could teach one class at Hogwarts, what would it be and why?
  
  Potions. Oh, I know, I can feel your little warning bells going off in your head. This has nothing to do with Potions and Snape and Slytherin. Rather, this is because I think any class which involves scalpels has to be a good one. Potions requires a certain amount of both patience and percision, I have both, for the potions and not necessarily the students. It isn't so much that I prefer potions, but I prefer it to the other classes I know that are offered at Hogwarts.
  
  
• This year, The TriWizard Tournament is being held once again and you're of age. Do you put your name in the Goblet? Why or why not?
  
  Why not, indeed? I have the intelligence and skills to excel. There's something about winning which is certainly more appealing than sitting back and cheering. On the negative side there's the idea of failing, which would do nothing for either reputation or glory. There's the possibility of death, which is there but doesn't seem particularly high. Both pros and cons seem to be about the same number, but it does come down to I think the Goblet would pick me and I think that I can't trust my schoolmates to make a good showing. So it comes down to a 'yes', though it seems perhaps my mood that day would effect my decision.
  
  
• If you could choose your animagus form, what would it be and why?
  
  Wolf. I've always had a connection to wolves. A wolf is seen as both a solitary animal and a pack animal. They have a bit of mystery around them, and they have their own lore. There's something that makes people think twice about messing with a wolf, but they aren't immediately tossed into the 'bad animal' category.
  
  
• What HP character do you identify with most and why?
  
  I wonder how often you get this response and how often it makes you roll your eyes. I identify strongly with Harry Potter himself. Not in the rather haphazard thinking of bravery departments, but in his relations with others. Harry doesn't have strong familial connections, his parents are dead and his relatives mistreated him. I don't particularly favor my family over others either. Harry has all these expectations that he has to deal with, being the Boy Who Lived and all. I place these sort of expectations on myself. We both don't like to ask for help from authorities and tend to do things on our own. Harry knows which adults to go to for help and which he can use, I do the same thing with my teachers and parents. Harry has two close friends and a ton of acquaintances, and that's how I arrange my social circle.
  
  
• What would you see if you looked into the Mirror of Erised?
  
  Myself. The Mirror shows our desires, doesn't it? I'd see myself, older, successful, with that sort of confidence that we can't pin down but know it's there. I will have bettered myself and know it. Maybe I'd see a lot of money and fancy clothes or something, but I don't know for sure. The only thing I know that I'd see in the Mirror is a successful me.
  
  
• If you won a million dollars, how would you spend it?
  
  I'd invest some of it, probably half, divided up amongst a few banks. The other half would go to paying for my college education, buying myself a new computer and then I'd keep 'pocket change' for other things that I wanted. I suppose if I won it, some of it would also go to charity (though the starving college kid fund is kind of like charity… isn't it?)
  
  
• What was your ideal job as a kid? Has that changed? What is your ideal job now?
  
  As I answered back in question one my ideal job was to be a doctor. It hasn't so much changed as focused. Now my ideal job is to be an ER doctor. The kind of doctor who could save lives, the ones that deal with trauma.
  
  
• If you were able to invent one spell, potion, or charm, what would it do, what would you use it for or how would you use it, and what would you call it?
  
  A 'what if' charm. There are so many possibilities in the world and it would be nice to know what some of them were. A 'what if' charm would let you glimpse into a few of them. I suppose this could lead to problems, as foresight is an evil more than it's a gift, but everyone should remember what ifs are just that… a possibility, not the future. I've always wondered 'what if I had done this…' and this would help answer the question. It could also be used practically, and render most forms of animal/faulty testing obsolete.
  
  
• If you were to face a boggart, what would it turn into? And what does it turn into when you throw the counter-spell, Riddikulus?
  
  A mannequin with my face, sounds a bit silly doesn't it? Or maybe it has no face, but it has my hair and clothes. It's my what if self, the empty thing that won't ever rise above average, if that. Mannequins are used for display, to hold things, they aren't three dimensional, they aren't people and they have no dreams and no achievements. They're also just really creepy looking. I believe it would turn into piles of limbs and be burning in a fireplace. Not terribly amusing, but certainly far less terrifying.
  
  
• What do you look for in a friend?
  
  Someone who can hold secrets and be trusted. I look for someone who shares at least on interest with me, and someone who will go places with me. I don't like stagnant people, and I don't like people who run their mouths. Preferably someone with a good head on their shoulders who I can hold conversations with.
  
  
• What trait most annoys you about other people?
  
  People who are oblivious in that loud, simple idiot sort of way. I try not and judge people too often, but when someone in class loudly (and typically slowly) just reiterates what a teacher has just said, or butts into a conversation cluelessly it seems rude and inconsiderate not to mention a waste of time. I like noise too, but people who can't read simple social cues like volume control are not going to be my friend.
  
  
• What do you think are your top five abilities or qualities?
  
  i. Diplomatic
  I'm not sure if I came of diplomatically in this application, but in the real world I tend to be very tactful. I read social cues and don't disrupt the status quo in conversation. I have an aversion to conflict, or at least becoming the center of it (as I seem to have no problem letting others dally in it). It's both an instinct and a talent.
  
  ii. Intelligent
  I'm academically intelligent, as proven by being 'above average' on the GPA scale. I'm also socially intelligent, as shown by both the above (see i) and the fact that I have many acquaintances (but few close friends) and yet no one feels slighted.
  
  iii. Driven
  I know what I want and how to get it. I've always had big goals in mind, and none of them have ever overwhelmed me. I scored where I wanted in my ACT and SAT, I've gotten the grades I've wanted and I've gotten the classes I've wanted.
  
  iv. Quiet
  I don't mean in the volume sort of way (though I can be that too). I'm not overly loud about my achievements and while I take pride I try not and rub other people's face in them. I'm not too loud in social situations, you can take me out to fancy restaurants and I can behave myself.
  
  v. Contained
  Don't worry, my drama won't spill into your life. I can keep my emotions to myself and I can keep my thoughts to myself. I'm not the kind of person who calls other people fat or stupid to their faces, I'm not that rude.
  
  
• What do you think are your top five weaknesses or worst qualities?
  
  i. Sarcastic
  This is only a negative because other people don't seem to understand when I'm being sarcastic and when I'm not, especially on the internet. I tend to speak in sentences that don't just drip with sarcasm, it's much more imbedded in the words than that.
  
  ii. Self-Confidence
  Sometimes I'm so self-confident that I leave everything to the last moment and then have to go into overdrive to get it all done. It isn't good for the stress.
  
  iii. Contained
  I know, it's listed up there as positive. But at the same time I can get myself into trouble by seeming aloof or even worse getting in over my head. I tend not to ask for help when I might need it and instead of releasing anger I sit and simmer on it.
  
  iv. Socially Aware
  Ignorance is bliss, and this is certainly true. I'm always aware of what people are (or may be) saying behind my back. I'm aware of who slighted who and all that. It's not a very nice thing to stew over for long periods of time.
  
  v. Untrusting
  I only trust my few close friends. Everyone else has to prove themselves to me before I can write them down as being on the 'trusted' list.
  
  
• Define in your own words the following key traits:
  
  • Courage: This is where people might be afraid and might know the consequences, but they'll stand up for something anyway. Courageous people are the people you watch charge a line of pikes and think 'wow, he's a moron'. They're the people who stand up for people getting beaten on playgrounds, who aren't afraid to speak their minds and do things others fear.
    
  • Loyalty: Loyalty is when someone is tied to a place/person/thing. Loyal people will stand by a person, or an ideal. Loyal people will follow their friends, and might set aside logic or dreams for them.
    
  • Intelligence: This is hard to measure, since there are multiple intelligences. I'd say intelligence is a mix of common sense and resources. An intelligent person knows things (maybe not because they're wise but they read it in a book).
    
  • Ambition: Seeing something, wanting it, and getting it.
    
  
  
• Name: Jamie
  
• Age: 19
  
• Where did you find out about us? I just typed 'Harry Potter' into the interest search and have been surfing around.