It's that time of year again!!! Faith of GeekyZooGirl and Micheline of Lunar Rainbow Reviews are hosting the Harry Potter Month in July and I'm on board! People can compete in the House Cup by accumulating house points. I'll be earning said house points by posting about Harry Potter among other Harry Potter related activities! This year I will be representing Hufflepuff!
All month long, I'll continue(start to again...) to post my weekly Thursday Harry Potter Moment of the Week posts, but I'm sure there will be so much more Harry Potter fun in the future. Let's get this show on the road!
So I had something else planned for today and my intro, but I must talk about this now.
Back when Pottermore was introduced I was sorted into Hufflepuff - a story that I will share later this month. Then all the news about the Ilvermorny sorting quiz made me curious as to my house placement at the American wizarding school. I went to the site and found out I had to set up a new account because everything had changed and the site was like new. I got the option to take the sorting quiz again or gather the old house from the database, but I couldn't remember my old username so I took the test again.
Here's where the crisis started.
I was sorted into Ravenclaw. How was that possible? I had become solidly invested in my Hufflepuffness and am proud to call myself one. So to wrap my head around the idea that I might not belong in Hufflepuff is crazy! I started the long inner-monologue (that may not have been so inner) of questions about myself, about my choices, about my convictions, about my house, about everything.
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Then I remembered two very important things from the books. 1) In Sorcerer's Stone, Harry has a conversation with the Sorting Hat at the sorting and the hat take his earnest desire to be anything but Slytherin into account. This obviously stuck with Harry, when he questions himself in Chamber of Secrets and asks the Sorting Hat again whether it made a mistake. And when his son became extremely nervous about where he'd be sorted, Harry told Albus Severus that the hat considers his desired house.
"But if it really matters to you, you'll be able to choose Gryffindor over Slytherin. The Sorting Hat takes your choice into account." - Harry Potter to Albus Severus Potter, Deathly Hallows.
2) And then later Dumbledore himself ponders the question of when to sort kids. In Deathly Hallows, he asks the question when having a conversation with Snape, thinking that maybe he should not have been a Slytherin at all.
"You know, sometimes I wonder if we Sort too soon." - Dumbledore to Snape, Deathly Hallows.
All this to say, that still doesn't help my with my crisis, it just gives me a firm grounding in the books that it's okay that I was Hufflepuff and might be Ravenclaw now. AND it's okay that I want to choose Hufflepuff over Ravenclaw. Both could be true and it's okay. For now though, my gut and loyalty tells me that I am firmly a Hufflepuff and will continue to be one far into the future. That doesn't mean that I can't also radiate a Ravenclaw's cleverness and innate curiosity, among other things.
Awesome post Alex^^ I'm so happy that you'll be joining us again this year and repping for Hufflepuff! It's funny, I actually have a post done up discussing House combinations and my own identity crisis lined up for HP Month! (so I won't go into the details here) I completely agree though: it's more than ok for you to identify with Hufflepuff and chose it over Ravenclaw. Hufflepuff is too often under-appreciated for my liking anyway! Go Puffs!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, what House did you get for Ilvermorny? I'm curious now though maybe you have a post lined up for that too? LOL!
Oh and I saw your link on your HPMonth linky but don't forget to post a comment recording your post(s) and any commenting you've done on other posts to let us know what points you've earned :)
A very similar thing happened to me and my son. We both KNEW we would be sorted into Ravenclaw, but were put in Hufflepuff instead. I was a little heart-broken at first but then I realized that loyalty is such a huge thing for me so it made sense. When Pottermore changed everything and we went in to do the Ilvermorny sorting, we were placed in Ravenclaw. I've accepted that because it was my first thought of house, but I know I have some definite Hufflepuff tendencies. I'll miss being in your house for Harry Potter Month! I moved over when my house changed in Pottermore. I'm glad you stuck to what's true for you. I agree, choice matters.
ReplyDeleteI always thought that I would be sorted into Ravenclaw or at the very least (a very tiny least) into Gryffindor. So when I took the test on Pottermore back when it first appeared I really was sorted into Ravenclaw, though I have to confess I was actually shaking with trepidation before I finally got the results. I do feel like I belong there and I would probably be disappointed and have a crisis too if I'd been sorted differently. So when Pottermore changed completely and offered either to reclaim my old House or to take the Sorting again, I chickened out (that's why I was never meant for Gryffindor) and simply reclaimed my old House.
ReplyDeleteI am a very proud Slytherin, so when I saw the option to be sorted again I avoided it. I wanted to stay solidly Slytherin. But I really like how you're dealing with your identity crisis and I think it would have helped me if I went through the same problem. The books provide the answer! Of course you can choose! I salute you, Hufflepuff!
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