Here's something that (shockingly) I don't think I've ever discussed here on the blog: my Hogwarts house. I've considered myself a Ravenclaw for more than four years now. Ever since I took the Pottermore house quiz and got Ravenclaw.
Before that, I considered myself a Hufflepuff. In fact, I own a Hufflepuff tie and have a Hufflepuff house crest sticker on my bedroom mirror because of this. In the past, I identified with Hufflepuff largely because I saw (and still see) them as the underdog house I think. The way some people joked (fondly) about Hufflepuff being the "leftover" house led to me feeling an affinity for the house.
There was also the fact that, while I saw that I had some Ravenclaw-like traits, I didn't think I was smart enough to consider myself a Ravenclaw. Back then, I knew I could relate to Ravenclaw very well as well, but I also thought that calling myself a Ravenclaw would be arrogant because I'd be saying I was smarter than I am.
Being sorted into Ravenclaw on Pottermore was actually what made me start to view this differently. I finally fully understood that Ravenclaw isn't the "smart" house. After all, Hermione Granger, the smartest witch of her age, was a Gryffindor, not a Ravenclaw. I did know this before, but I couldn't quite get past the Ravenclaws = geniuses view. Now I think of Ravenclaws as the house that loves to learn and expand their knowledge, but it has nothing to do with intelligence level, just that they value learning. Overall, I guess, my view of it is just more nuanced now than before, and that makes me feel much more comfortable labeling myself a Ravenclaw.
Hufflepuff still holds a special place in my heart, but I do think of myself as a Ravenclaw now. I think it fits me the best, but Hufflepuff would be a second. I don't view myself as being much of a Slytherin or Gryffindor at all.
Now, Pottermore has changed the house quiz. A lot of people are happy about this because they didn't get the house they wanted with the old quiz. Many of these people seem to be happier with their new result, and they also seem to think the questions in the new quiz make a lot more sense.
I haven't taken this new quiz yet. After my Ravenclaw result last time completely shook up how I viewed my Hogwarts house, I really didn't want that to happen again. Not when I'd managed to feel confident with being a Ravenclaw, which I know many other people didn't manage after getting a result they didn't expect.
As a huge Harry Potter fan though, I think I need to take the new quiz. Otherwise, what result I could possibly get is going to continue to hang over my head. I need to know. So...I'm going to take the quiz. Everything in this post above this was written before taking it, and now I'm opening Potter more to take the quiz. I'll follow up with my results...
(Oh, I must add that while I was going to take the quiz, I stumbled upon the new information of the Ilvermorny houses. As an American, this has also been shaking me up because it's actually one of those houses that I would be a part of if I'd been born a witch. But that whole thing deserves a post of its own. I'll be talking about Ilvermorny houses soon...)
Okay. There's no denying that I'm stalling. I'm actually scared about this, guys. But I swear that I'm actually doing it now.
Oh. My. God. I just got sorted into Slytherin. What just...? I truly do not know how to explain what just happened. This makes absolutely zero sense to me. As I was taking the quiz I was actually really sure that I was going to wind up in Ravenclaw again, and then...
Now I'm trying to think this through and figure out if there's any possible way that I'm a Slytherin, and I truly cannot rationalize it to myself. Unless there is something about myself that I'm completely clueless to, then I don't get it. Sure, I would say that I'm more like a Slytherin than a Gryffindor, but that's not saying much since I think of myself as being very unlike both houses.
I'm pretty sure that if I attended Hogwarts and in Slytherin that I would be shunned by the rest of the house. I don't even know how to put into words how much I don't understand this, and because of that, I'm going to try to pretend to myself that this never happened.
Yeah, I'm still going to consider myself a Ravenclaw. Last time, when I got Ravenclaw even though I had considered myself a Hufflepuff, I understood, and after giving it time, I was able to consider myself a Ravenclaw. I feel pretty confident that that won't be happening this time.
Now Pottermore is green for me though, so I'm never going to quite escape. It's really making me wish that I had just claimed Ravenclaw instead of going through the sorting. I also miss my old Pottermore account despite the fact that I could never remember the username.
...
This really is going to bother me. As it turns out, I was being smart not retaking the quiz. Still, I know it means nothing in the larger picture, and unless I can set the actual Sorting Hat on my head, I feel completely justified in choosing my own house. So Ravenclaw it is. Just pretend like this never happened.
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