Where's My Hogwarts Letter

Lumos.

Due to the *ahem* excessive length, this post will be the first of two parts. Hold on to your broomstick, hippogriff, or flying Ford Anglia. 

Today I’m talking about Harry Potter.

If you’ve followed the blog, you’ve probably noticed all the HP references sprinkled around. I talked about the books themselves in a few places. One was a key example for why I love to read.

So obviously, I don’t care about the series at all.

Spoilers to follow.

I remember reading my first Harry Potter book – Chamber of Secrets – when I was eleven. Okay, no. Any thoughts about the story escape me. I just remember how it felt. I was amazed.

It was so vivid. The castle with its shifting staircases, animated armor and courteous ghosts. The comedy offsetting a very real sense of danger. The camaraderie between Harry, Ron and Hermione. And of course, the magic. Harry Potter was unlike anything I’d read so far. This was imagination with a capital everything.

It was, as Ron would put it, bloody brilliant.

They’re all like that. No weak links here – every book is deserving of praise. Though we all have our favorites. Mine are Prisoner of Azkaban, for many reasons; Order of the Phoenix, for its dark tone and themes of rebellion; and Deathly Hallows, for its hugely satisfying conclusion of the series.

It’s not all about wandwork, either.

Harry Potter is a coming-of-age story. We watch as Harry and friends struggle through adolescence. Homework and young love coincide with death, prejudice and cruelty. As the books grow ever darker, their lessons grow increasingly clear. All life is transitory. Doing the right thing is never easy. And above all else, it is our choices that make us who we are.

Yeah. There’s a reason this is one of the highest-selling book series of all time.

Harry Potter has been translated into more than seventy languages. It’s expanded through companion books, movie and video game adaptations, truckloads of merchandise, and currently has attractions at four different theme parks the world over. Harry won’t be forgotten anytime soon.

But that’s not all. The magic lives on, in three very different ways.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them comes out next month. The movie – the first of five, apparently – will begin a whole new storyline. It’s a very different setting; New York in the 1920s, instead of Britain in the 1990s. Not that that’s a bad thing. The premise is intriguing, and Rowling hints at a much larger tale in the works. Grindelwald's in there! 

 

If only it were a novel instead…

Who am I kidding. I’m really, really looking forward to it.

Then there’s the Pottermore website. A sort of official blog, the Wizarding World’s digital presence. Isn’t that ironic. On it, J.K. Rowling posts short stories, character profiles and articles on various magical topics. There’s a membership system too, allowing access to various quizzes determining what kind of witch or wizard you are. This is where things get interesting.

Naturally, I’ve taken all of them. Twice.

You’re not supposed to do that. A single account can only take the tests once, so the answers will be definitive. But that’s easily gotten around. Just open another account.

What? I was curious.

And dissatisfied with my first Patronus. I wasn’t alone there.

Each quiz draws on a larger pool of questions, so no test will be exactly the same. Most questions aren’t intuitive, either. You can’t game the system. Looking back, I’m still not sure how I got the answers I did. My first Patronus was a wood mouse. My second, a white stallion. Which fits better? Perhaps both.

In conjunction with Fantastic Beasts, the site introduces Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry – the American Hogwarts. This too has four houses, named for creatures from Native American folklore. It’s a nice touch. They’re not carbon copies, either. Whereas the Hogwarts four represent qualities of character, Ilvermorny takes a broader scope, with their houses representing heart, mind, body and soul.

Again, I got two different answers.

My first was Pukwudgie. Yeah, I’d never heard of it either. A pukwudgie is a sort of goblin archer, fiercely loyal. This house favors independence, healing, and the heart. I could live with that.

My second, however, was Thunderbird. Pretty much what the name implies. A giant bird whose wingbeats create storms, related to the phoenix. This house favors freedom, adventure and the soul.

I was torn here. Independence and freedom aren’t all that different. Healing makes sense; I try to be considerate. I like adventures, both real and imagined. And how do you compare the heart and the soul?

You can probably guess what I chose in the end. *points to blog title*

Rowling herself is in this house.

Thunderbird it is.

There is a point to this. I’ve been talking about conflicting answers, but there was one test where I got the same results – the Hogwarts Sorting.

I was never going to be a Gryffindor. I’ve said before that personality-wise, I’d be either Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. Not brave, but intelligent and loyal. Given the choice, I’d choose Ravenclaw.

But the official test gave me neither eagle nor badger.

I got Slytherin.

Twice.

Okay. There were a couple of repeated questions where I gave the same answers. But why should wanting a black cat make me a Slytherin? One of my favorite pets was a black cat. What’s wrong with that?

I was indignant at first. But the more I thought about it…

Slytherins are rather maligned in the series. Their house is for Dark magic, Nazi children, the enemies of Gryffindor. Think about it. In all seven books, can you recall an instance where a Slytherin student is not conniving or hateful or just plain bad?

There are nuances, though. In the end, Draco Malfoy was just an insecure little brat. His mother, Narcissa, truly loved him. And Snape, one of the most hated characters, was arguably one of the most heroic.

Dumbledore noted how the house is known for cleverness, determination, resourcefulness, and not always following the rules – all of which being qualities Harry possesses. Harry could have been in Slytherin, remember. Pottermore describes them as complex individuals, with the potential for good or evil. Voldemort was a Slytherin, but so was Merlin.

Light and darkness. That appeals to me.

All right, fine. The serpent it is. I wanted intelligence, but I’ll take cunning. 

They don’t all turn out evil. Scorpius Malfoy, exhibit A. I like that kid.

Besides. I, of all people, can say that not all snakes are bad.

That’s all for now. The second half will focus on the third way in which Harry Potter lives on. The eighth story, set nineteen years later.

Next time, I’ll talk about Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.