Sorting Elite

Just for fun..

2014-02-01T16:36:21Z

There were apps in the moderation queue. I just wanted them to see the light of day! Hope everyone is having a good 2014!

Nothing says 'I give you a piece of my soul' and 'I'm a murderer, surprise!' like a Horcrux

2014-02-01T16:35:04Z

01. Name: Fran

02. How did you find out about Hogwarts Elite? A combination of google, my flist, and reading the fandom_wank wiki, many many years ago. I wrote out an application when I was still in school. I don't think a single answer (save the best/worst qualities) has stayed the same. Funny that.

||MIRROR OF ERISED||

03. What do you wish to accomplish in life?

You just dive right in to the hard questions! Okay, sure, what do I wish to accomplish? That's a bit of a complex question. There are things I'd like to do, sure. Places I'd love to see, places where I want to live, where I could breathe in the air and experience everything I can. You know, ford every mountain, climb every stream, that sort of thing. There are things I do now that I plan on continuing to do at all later stages of my life - supporting local artists, eating good food, playing video games, attending concerts, being part of a community, being involved with theatre, playing and performing music, hiking, biking, swimming, you know, life things. They bring me happiness. But they are not things of my own creation. I'm not passive in my enjoyment or in my participation, but they are not accomplishments per se. It would be much easier to answer this question with 'I wish to write a symphony and have it premiered in a major city' or 'I wish to invent a really useful thing and help people'. I am not that specific. I wish to be healthy and happy and long-lived. I hope that I continue to bring what happiness I can to the little family I have left. I hope that someday I stop worrying my mother quite so much. I hope that I am remembered after I'm gone for being a good soul, a kind soul, a generous and loving soul. I hope to learn more than I know, I hope to create and teach. If I have children, I want them to experience what I have loved and have the ability to chase as many opportunities as they can. I hope I can continue the conversation on feminism, socialism, accountability, the environment, worker's rights, political activism, and equality in whatever way I am able. I hope I can unlock the achievement of a life well lived, conversations well spoken, opinions well tested, wonders truly appreciated, paths well explored, people well loved, food greatly enjoyed, wine thankfully drunk, beer enthusiastically sampled, art freely and disastrously attempted, and music, music everywhere.

04. Describe exactly what you would see in the Mirror of Erised. (This is not the same question as #03.)

Okay, my answer has changed half a dozen times but I think I might know. It used to be something in the future, some advancement in career, or performance, or a late-night work session on new material. But now I think it's being with my family at our favourite beach, playing frisbee in and out of the water, hanging out, drinking gin-and-tonics, eating blondies. The late afternoon sun is warm and the air is still and cloudless. Someone has got a fire going with the driftwood that washes up with the spring storms and the camp stove is heating up water. Our tent is set up at the camp site. And we're happy, all of us. No worries, no cares, no missing the people who are gone. Maybe because they're also there, maybe because the grief is gone. I'm not sure. It's dangerous to stare into the Mirror overmuch.

05. What makes a person deserving of your respect?

Everyone is deserving of respect. Even the people you can't stand, even the people who will not even try to understand, even the people you disagree with so vehemently you think you'll breathe fire any second. I try to be respectful towards everyone and to treat everyone with dignity, common courtesy, and kindness. There are some whom I admire more than others, people I think interesting or worthy of extra note but I do not consider that the same as basic respect.

At a certain point, when you're exhausted from trying to convince someone of how damaging their opinions are, how hurtful, how wrong, how disrespectful that being disrespectful yourself does more harm than good, even if all you really want to do is ram a Hummer into their face.

06. What is your biggest pet peeve?

Oh, I don't know, out of tune violins? Things annoy me but then they don't. I try to let those things go. Small things annoy me but I think I play that up for humour. And some things annoy me but I do them myself so if I complained about them, I'd sound like a hypocrite. Like, I really hate in Star Trek how they always say 'some kind of energy beam' or 'some kind of ship' or 'some kind of forcefield'. Never, it IS an energy beam, it IS a ship. They do it so often in Voyager is makes me want to throw things. But the other day, I said it myself, so what can I do?

07. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

My eyes. I only know two people with worse vision than myself and one of them is my mother. And I can't wear contacts. Everyone else might think it's funny that I can't see the waves coming when at the beach but I assure you, it is not. Makeup forever remains an enigma.

08. If you could do any one thing and suffer no consequences, what would it be?

Fly.

09. What do you think are your top five positive characteristics?

01. I'm an easy-going, go-with-the-flow kind of person. When I get angry, it burns very brightly and then dissipates. Usually. I'm the, 'let's drive for three hours to see a friend before work tomorrow' kind of person. I like spontaneity. A lot. I wouldn't classify myself as a spontaneous person because I over-think, but I'd rather end up on someone's couch after drinks, dancing, and debating than be at home with my tumblr. (Though some days, I choose tumblr. I'm not 'go go go' all the time. I just, you know, go with it, whatever it is.)

02. I like to think of myself as being independent. I would rather do things and be alone than wait for a group of friends who have no interest in the same things to finally compromise on an activity. I despise waiting for a consensus. I'm pretty self-reliant in that way. I don't want to regret anything. I don't want to miss an opportunity that might just be one street over.

03. I like to help others. I can't quite say I'm charitable, because I don't donate as much as I could. But I try to always be there to help a friend, or if a stranger needs assistance. Kindness makes the world better, you know?

04. I'm very musical - I play an instrument and everything. I've heard this description many, many times over the course of my life. To be honest, I think the word 'musical' is a bit ridiculous. The ability to become a good musician is not decided by DNA but by effort, practice, dedication, ambition, and the ability to learn. I think perhaps the better description is open-minded. To be 'musical' means listening, copying, adding, emulating, evoking, creating, deconstructing, improving, trying something completely different, challenging old standards, holding on to history, and always, always perfecting. 'Talent' is a crutch.

05. I laugh as often as possible. I might not be that funny (in fact, I know I'm probably not) but I think being quick to laugh and even quicker to smile brings a little jolt of happy into my life (and hopefully to others as well).

10. What do you think are your top five negative characteristics?

01. I'm a perfectionist who goes to pieces when things fall short of perfection (which they always do).

02. I procrastinate which stems from having poor self-motivation and from being pathologically indecisive.

03. I'm excessively chatty, because I loathe being misunderstood. And I tend to babble when I don't know what to say. On the flip side, I'm very bad at responding to messages and keeping in touch. Ah, the joys of social anxiety.

04. I'm incredibly hard on myself and it hinders my ability to do the things that I think I would enjoy doing. It hinders my ability to improve. I think I'm looking at my flaws objectively, but really, that's not it at all.

05. I am very defensive. It's a fine line between receiving constructive criticism (which I crave) and being told how I'm doing things incorrectly (which turns me into the Hulk).

||HOGWARTS, A HISTORY||

11. Who is your favorite character in the Harry Potter series?

There was no one character that I was like, oh yes, I will cheer for you above all others but there were a couple for whom I felt deep affection. I like Harry a lot for being the sass master, and you know, for being him, capslock and all, recklessness and all, courage and prejudice and sheer luck and all. I like Neville for the parts of him that are so like me. I imagine being in that year was hard for Neville - to be on the periphery for so long, sort of there with the Trio but not really. I spent a lot of time like that, drifting without a real connection to someone else when I was the age he was from first year to sixth. But he didn't let that stand in his way of doing what was right. He was the one who always seemed to make mistakes but he didn't give up. He would visit his parents and try to give them as much happiness as he could (the strength of character to do that, my word). He grew stronger for the challenges he faced. He helped lead Hogwarts' resistance during the Trio's camping trip of doom (go Neville!). I always wanted more of him but I don't think I'm alone in that.

Bear with me, here (I told you I was chatty), but I like Percy a whole lot. He was wrong, yeah, I get that. But we always knew exactly what happened. We saw the whole thing along with Harry. But Percy is so normal. He lacks the charisma the other Weasley's seem to have in spades. He's careful and meticulous and ambitious but being a leader doesn't come naturally to him. He has to do it by the book. He seems to fall short of what he should be but I don't really think anyone ever took at close look at who he was. To Harry (and to us, by extension) the Burrow seemed like Heaven, warm, welcoming, and full of love. True, but I can also see how the bumbling parts of Arthur becomes less charming when compared to the efficiency of the Ministry, compared to what a joke he is to the other employees. How having such dynamic older brothers and the twin hellions on wheels immediately below would be overwhelming, overbearing, and so tiring to deal with after awhile. And Ron, attacked by chess sets, set on by Basilisks and murderers because of his association with Harry. Percy thinking that finally, he was being accepted on his talents and dedication to the higher offices of the Ministry. He'd felt alienated from his family for years. This was what he thought he wanted. Harry is subversive from book one. I imagine that someone like Percy, with his rules, with his narrow focus, would intrinsically dislike Harry for his reckless, dangerous approach to everything. Who wouldn't trust in the government? They're in place for a reason. They're the good guys. They're the institution to which Percy has dedicated himself. Ambitious? Yes. Evil? No.

So yeah, Percy, with his mistakes and his isolation and his regrets. And his appeal for forgiveness, his presence when it mattered most, the Weasley family together again for one brief, shining moment. It takes a lot of courage to admit you're wrong. I cried big, ridiculous tears. I was so happy JK had resolved his story line. ~~Let us never speak of what happened next, shush, everything remained perfectly fine~~.

Okay, okay, okay, you're saying 'why is she still going' but IN UNIVERSE I would get along best with Ginny.

12. Who is your least favorite character in the Harry Potter series?

I'm going to say Pettigrew. I just...his betrayal is so incomprehensible to me. I wish there was more to it, more explanation, repentance, something. He was friends with the Marauders for seven years. I'm sure it wasn't all sunshine and happiness and laughter in the common room. I'm sure that he felt ignored, left out, ridiculed, whatever. But they were friends, they were his friends. And even if he had a lapse in judgment, even if Voldemort scared him so much he sold them out, even if he wasn't willing to die for his friends, (which is such a Gryffindor thing for Sirius to say, and I mean, we could all say 'we'd die for our friends'. I would like to think it'd be true. But until I'm staring down the wand of the Dark Lord, I don't know what my breaking point is and I'm very willing to bet that you don't know what yours is either. I think it's impossible to say I what I would or would not do. And I think it's disingenuous for Sirius, or anyone else, to judge someone on their courage or lack thereof when taken to their breaking point. These are real characters, not American action heroes. Courage and bravery is subjective to circumstance and person and does not determine your moral worth) that doesn't matter to me so much. My gripe with Pettigrew, no, my sheer repulsion towards Pettigrew is not based on the fact that he sold out the Potters, but based on his subsequent behaviour. He sold out Sirius, he killed innocent civilians, and he continued to aid Voldemort long after he could have made his escape.

How could be not be overcome with guilt? How could he stand to perpetuate his lie? How could he continue to serve Voldemort? The guilt would have eaten me alive. It would have torn out my soul. If he hated his friends, his charming, intelligent, oh so perfect friends, why didn't he stand on his own feet? At any point? Just leave. It was always better for my mental health to be a loner than to beg for scraps at the outside of a group. But Remus didn't suspect. Sirius didn't suspect. Lily and James didn't suspect. In such a dark time I like to think they would all have been suspicious, maybe not consciously, but it would have been there and I don't think Pettigrew was that good at faking for that long. I think there was genuine affection. There had to have been. I think that makes Pettigrew the most vile character in the whole series.

Also, one of the most unintelligent. If I had done what Pettigrew had done, I would have boarded the next ship out of England and gone to live in like, Indonesia or something. Some place warm. Some place far away from Potter and Voldemort. Some place far away from guilt and war and consequences. Idiot.

13. What was your favorite plot or character revelation in the Harry Potter series?

Sirius in the Prisoner of Azkaban. Fourteen years a prisoner in horrific conditions and innocent all along, thought a traitor by all he loved while the real traitor scampered free. I love the 'Grim' at the beginning, Harry only having such piecemeal knowledge and constantly, constantly breaking rules and going where he shouldn't. It's so quintessentially Harry. I love the reveal of the Marauders, the Marauders' Map in all of its glory, Remus actually teaching something of use, Sirius attacking the Pink Lady, 'attacking' Ron, the connection of the plot of saving Sirius with Buckbeak's escape. The fact that both Hermione and Ron were right about the firebolt being from Sirius AND being a benign present. What's more, the resolution between Sirius and Remus and that brief, brief, oh-so-short, damn-you-JK-realization that Harry has a godfather, Harry can have a happy home life. I still remember how uplifted I was when I read that thirteen years ago. How incredibly relieved I was for Harry as they walked back from the Shack. Okay, so basically I loved the third book. That's my unspecific answer. The third book is my favourite plot/character, sorry (not sorry, it's just so good).

(The Weasley twins exit from Hogwarts is, I think, my favourite moment in the series. Them telling Peeves to give her hell, ah, just, Fred and George.)

14. Describe the canon qualities for each house that accurately reflect you.

• Gryffindor: In comparison to introverts, I can be quite bold and forthright. I think by nature, I'm far more similar to Gryffindors than a lifetime of nurture has allowed me to be.

• Slytherin: here is a fluidity to Slytherin. I feel like (removed from Voldemort's recruitment) the members of Slytherin house are not afraid to adapt their thinking or their plans to achieve what they want. They weigh their outcomes before committing. That describes me pretty well. I'm also pretty resourceful. It's seriously a lot of fun to make things work against a time crunch or with insufficient materials. Those are the best challenges.

• Ravenclaw: I like books. A lot. Books, books, books. Books I buy and never read. Books I devour in one sitting. Books I start and never finish. Books on the beach with sand caught in the bindings. Books in languages I mean to learn but never do. Multiple copies of the same book I already own. Books with notations and dog-ears and forgotten bookmarks.

• Hufflepuff: I'm friendly and open. I'm also very fair-minded. Wow, driest answer ever, I think I've lost my anecdotes. Okay, let's go back to the series. Take the end of book one. I cheered with Harry and the rest when Gryffindor won the House Cup but it also bothered me greatly that Dumbledore waited until after the competition closed to add on those points. Dramatic? Yes. Unfair? Absolutely. And it was unnecessarily cruel. When I've promised to do something, or when I'm getting paid, I'm exceedingly thorough in getting the job done, even if I don't get paid for extra time. Even if I don't like it. Oddly enough, I have a bit of a lying problem so it's not that I'm honest all the time, far from it, just when it's the most inconvenient. Like when I'm crossing the US-Canada border.

15. Describe the canon qualities for each house that do not accurately reflect you.

• Gryffindor: You know that recklessness quality? Or, I guess, 'daring' and 'bold' if you want it in canon terms. Yeah, I have backup plans for my backup plans. I always look, debate for half an hour, or a day, or a year, and then talk myself out of the reasons for not doing the thing and hover, just there, at the edge of committing. At which point, someone else will push me into it because they're bloody sick of listening to me go on and on and why can't I just do it already?

• Slytherin: There are people who are ambitious and then there are people who like to fade into the background like wallflowers. I am in that latter category. I don't like putting myself forward. Socially, yes. If I need directions or a thing from the shop, yes. If I need to promote my abilities in my chosen field, not so much.

• Ravenclaw: I get frustrated very easily. I'd never be able to get past their door knocker. And unless I'm around other gregarious people, I tend to isolate myself. I think being in Ravenclaw would be very lonely.

• Hufflepuff: It's not that I'm afraid of hard-work. It's just, if I can get away with not doing it at all, I'll take that route. I could provide you with examples from my time in school, but really, what good is there in looking backwards? I will only say this, you don't have to do all the work assigned in a class to pass it. And if you really did need to write those essays, well, you're there for the experience not the final transcript.

||HOGWARTS EXPRESS||

16. Age: 26

17. Optional: Link us to where you have promoted this community in your personal journal to earn your future house five points.

I won't speak of the Horcrux..

2014-02-01T16:34:20Z

01. Name: [Jillian]
02. How did you find out about Hogwarts Elite? [I was a member several years ago and really enjoyed it.]

||MIRROR OF ERISED||

03. What do you wish to accomplish in life?
[This has really changed in the past while, as I am currently six months pregnant. Right now, the things that I want to accomplish are all wrapped up in the dreams I have for my child. I want to be able to provide my child with all of the advantages that I didn't have and to generally be able to provide the best life I possibly can for them. As a future parent, I think that one of my greatest accomplishments would be to see my child become a well-rounded, successful person- in whatever way they define success, as long as it is through doing or achieving positive things. In order to see that happen, I will have to be a capable and loving parent. The idea of becoming a parent scares me quite a bit, because I think it is the heaviest responsibility someone can face, but it has always been a dream of mine to be a mother and I am also excited about it. There are several mundane things that I want for myself (a Master's degree, a higher income, a leadership role in my profession), but these, again, are at the moment secondary to what I want for my child. If they can assist them to be a better person and for me to be a better parent, great. If not, they are not worth it. ]

04. Describe exactly what you would see in the Mirror of Erised. (This is not the same question as #03.)
[I've been a terrible procrastinator throughout my life and let a lot of opportunities pass me by that I now regret. In the mirror, I would see myself as having the things I could have obtained if I had only worked harder to obtain them. The main image would be of me as a lawyer. I had wanted to become a lawyer from the time I was a child, but didn't apply myself enough at school to get the kinds of grades I would have needed to enter Law School. I feel like I accepted my "second best plan" by going into social work, and never really got over that. Social Work is a great profession, but I think that I was truly meant to be a lawyer and missed the boat. The mirror would reflect me as a successful, accomplished lawyer who had a brilliant career ahead of her, and as being able to achieve a good work-life balance. That was always one of my biggest dreams, and the fact that I didn't achieve it through my own lack of follow through will probably bother me for the rest of my life.]

05. What makes a person deserving of your respect?
[I think there are different levels of respect. Every human being should be afforded the basic dignity of being treated with respect, but truly, deeply respecting someone is an entirely different matter. I think that that kind of respect has to be earned and isn't or shouldn't be given out just by virtue of the person's position or status. I don't have a set list of traits or accomplishments that cause me to respect someone. It really depends on the person, and the situation. I have great respect for Martin Luther King, Jr., for example, for all of his amazing work with the Civil Rights movement and his tremendous courage and faith, but I also have respect for Madonna, for her ability to thumb her nose at society and do what she wants no matter what people think of her. They are different types of respect and on entirely different levels, but the feeling of respect is there nonetheless. Someone has to make a lasting impression on me to gain my respect, in a positive way. I don't have to like them or agree with them, but I do have to be able to recognize them in some manner for things they have done or the way they live their life.]

06. What is your biggest pet peeve?
[That depends if we are talking about serious things, or petty things. On a serious note, it would be when I feel I am not being taken seriously and/or being treated like a child. That has always driven me up the wall. I like to know that my voice and opinions have been heard and taken into account. I enjoy a good debate and don't mind at all when someone disagrees with me- what I do mind is when they refuse to even hear what I have to say and have a single-minded attitude. I am 34 years old, but it seems that some adults still consider that a "kid" and like to treat me accordingly. That is something that I just can't abide. I will gladly take advice when I ask for it and when it's warranted, but these types of people often seem to like to assume that those younger than them know nothing and they are there to "parent" them. I have shown myself to be a capable adult, and think that it's not asking too much to be treated that way. If we were talking about petty things, those (that know better and/or don't have an excuse) that use poor grammar, honk their horns outside of the house instead of knocking at the door, and use bodily functions for humor really get on my nerves. ]

07. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
[My anxiety. I am an incredibly anxious, easily startled person. If there is nothing to worry about, my mind will search for something until it finds it. I really don't enjoy being this way, but it seems to be deeply ingrained in my nature. Worry has gotten in the way of me truly enjoying life on many occasions. I wish that I was more positive rather than envisioning the worst case scenario all of the time. This is likely something I could change with a lot of time and effort, but it seems so much a part of my personality that it's difficult.]

08. If you could do any one thing and suffer no consequences, what would it be?
[I'd like to quit my job and to be able to do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. If there were no consequences, that would mean that I wouldn't take a financial hit for it, so things would remain as they are. I don't like having to live by a schedule and would love to be able to come and go as I please, to travel, to simply just BE without having to worry about going to work. It sounds like such a small thing, but I am not a morning person and love to sleep in. The idea that I could sleep as long as my body tells me to without having to wake up to an alarm clock would be a dream come true, but I'd need to quit my job to be able to do that.]

09. What do you think are your top five positive characteristics?

01. [Strength: Not in the physical sense, but in the inner-self sense. I am an incredibly strong person who has managed to make it through some very difficult times. I usually end up being the one that is comforting others or being there for them, even when I am going through a hard time myself. People tend to see me as someone that they can lean on and that has it all together. I often don't, and feel like the opposite inside, but manage to keep going no matter what. ]

02. [Intuition: I can read people and situations very well, and as a result, am able to adapt myself to just about any environment quickly and easily. I can usually tell people's true intentions, and am rarely wrong about a gut feeling I get from a person upon first meeting them. When my inner self is telling me that something is not quite right, or that someone is a person that I could be friends with, I listen to it, as it's been proven useful and reliable in most cases.]

03. [Quick Wit: I think best on my feet and on the fly. I'm quick to respond to questions asked of me and to make decisions. I am rarely at a loss for words, and am also witty in the sense that I have a very dry, sarcastic sense of humor. Not everyone appreciates this type of humor, but it provides amusement for me, at least. I enjoy being in a "triage" type environment where I have to think, act, and respond quickly, and generally perform well in a crisis as a result.]

04. [Leadership: I enjoy being in a leadership role and have been successful at this when I've been given the opportunity. I think being a leader is more than just being in a specific position where you are asked to be in authority: it's about not being afraid to step out against the crowd and do what you want to do, without fear of what others might think. I still fear what others can think of me at times, but it doesn't stop me from doing what I want to do. I have a lot of "raw" talent for leadership and it seems that I'm often chosen to be in leadership roles and it falls naturally to me. ]

05. [PLACE ANSWER HERE]

10. What do you think are your top five negative characteristics?

01. [Laziness: I am incredibly lazy often. If I can find a shortcut to do something that I'd rather not do, I will do it. Unless it is something that I am very interested in or really want, I don't put 100% of effort into most things. That's kind of embarrassing to admit, but there it is. I like to just lay back and do nothing a lot of the time. I don't enjoy doing things that produce long-range results: I like to see immediate gratification or else I get bored and give up. I've not gotten as far as I could have in life, in many areas, through sheer laziness.]

02. [Unforgiving: I can forgive small things easily, but if someone does something to deeply disappoint or hurt me, I will hold on to a grudge for a very long time. Sometimes I never let it go. I've lost a lot of friendships over the years this way, as there will come a point where I'm "done" with someone and will just cut them off from my life. The matter has to be fairly serious for this to happen, or consistent, but I have a hard time extending forgiveness to others in these situations. I know in my heart that this is really only harming me, but part of me just won't let go of wrongs that have been sent my way.]

03. [Bad-Tempered: I have a bad temper that is quick to flare up. I'm also very moody. My temper has caused me to say things that I've later been ashamed of and not been able to take back. I have a real need to vent when I get angry, and sometimes, I will vent to the wrong person and they get the brunt of my anger when they don't deserve it. My temper has definitely gotten better than when I was younger, but it still is something that I need to work on.]

04. [Fickle: I change my mind very easily, and change interests quickly. I will throw myself completely into a hobby or idea, and then lose interest in it a week later and abandon it. I'm not the most loyal person in the sense that I will move on to something else if a better offer comes along, or if it catches my interest. I am loyal when it comes to personal relationships, but not when it comes to interests or ideas. I wish that I was more set in my ways and consistent, being so changeable is difficult even for me to keep up with, let alone other people.]

05. [Procrastination: This goes hand in hand with my laziness. I leave most things to the last minute, and don't plan ahead. Long range plans and organization bore me; I prefer to do things as they come up. I was the type of student, for example, that would do a ten page paper the night before it was due. This trait comes through in particular if we are speaking of something that I really don't want to do. Rather than face it and get it over with, I will put it off until sometimes it's too late.]

||HOGWARTS, A HISTORY||

11. Who is your favorite character in the Harry Potter series?
[If I had to pick one, it would be Hagrid. Hagrid won my heart from the first book when he came to rescue Harry from the Dursleys. Hagrid just struck me as such a genuine and lovely character. He is far wiser and more knowledgeable than his simple facade, and would do anything to help those that are his friends. I liked how he never ceased to believe Harry and his friends when they shared with him their discoveries, and the fact that he stuck by his principles and ethics despite all the adversity that he faced (i.e. getting expelled, getting sent to Azkaban, etc.). Hagrid's soft spot for animals is something that we both have in common: I can't bear to see or even hear of an animal being mistreated (I had to skip through the part of the book where Buckbeak was executed.) and love how Hagrid is caregiver to all of the creatures that come his way. ]

12. Who is your least favorite character in the Harry Potter series?
[Dolores Umbridge. She reminded me of every awful teacher that I had in school, or of the snobby PTA ladies that I came in contact with as a child. I know that she is pretty universally disliked, but she stands out as the character that really bothered me the most. There was nothing that I could find TO like about this character. She was just plain nasty and abusive, and her condescending attitude was insufferable. I think Umbridge was a bully and the things she did were unforgiveable. This kind of goes without saying, but misery seemed to follow her wherever she went and she had no redeeming qualities that I could find. This also made her a one-dimensional character for me. I would have liked to have seen some different sides to her personality, as I think everyone has a good side, but in this case, it just wasn't shown.

13. What was your favorite plot or character revelation in the Harry Potter series?
[The Tri-Wizard Tournament. I felt that this was when things took a turn in the series: The characters were becoming older and more mature, and the threat of danger and evil became very real. It had been present before, of course, but with the death of Cedric Diggory, I saw that the author was not going to necessarily protect the beloved characters or the innocent in these books. Everyone was potentially in danger. This was when things got "real" for me and Voldemort's power became more prevalent in my mind. I think the death of Cedric aged the characters, too..when people are very young, they tend not to think that death can happen to one of them. Even with all of the near-misses that Harry experienced, I think Cedric's death was still a turning point for him. Cedric represented all that was good and noble, and he was still slain by evil. That usually doesn't happen in most stereotypical stories, and I liked that Rowling took that approach- despite the fact that I was sad to see Cedric go as a character as I really liked him. ]

14. Describe the canon qualities for each house that accurately reflect you.

• Gryffindor: [I'm fiery, passionate, and outspoken like a Gryffindor. I like to make my opinions and thoughts known, and to engage in lively debate about them. I also tend to be impulsive and to act before I think. I will easily stand up for myself and for those I care about- in fact, I find it hard not to. It's easier for me to speak out than it is for me to stay silent. I think that I've demonstrated some courage in my life, when it comes to weathering adversity and coming through it intact. I have a lot of fears, but am typically able to face them, and I see this as a courageous trait.]

• Slytherin: [I'm adaptable like a Slytherin- I can read situations very quickly and respond in kind, and have also been known to do this to my advantage when it suits me. People find me hard to figure out, as I seem to be constantly changing. My core personality stays the same, but my outer self can seem different depending on the situation and/or who I am with. In spite of my laziness, I'm also ambitious. If there is something that I really, truly want, from the trivial to the serious, I will become very focused on it and not give up until I attain it. As mentioned, I think that I also have a tendency towards natural leadership ability which Slytherins typically demonstrate. I prefer to lead rather than to follow. ]

• Ravenclaw: [I'm pretty intellectual, and place great value on education and higher learning. I think that an education is something that you can use in life regardless of where you end up, and that being self-educated is just as important as receiving formal education. I honestly love to learn, research, and study the things that interest me. I'm quite witty and mentally sharp, and able to learn quickly.]

• Hufflepuff: [I consider myself to be kind and caring, and see these values as virtues that should be expressed by and to anyone. It doesn't cost anything to be kind, and is a courtesy that often gets missed in today's society. I try my best to treat others well and respectfully, and to be fair. I am loyal to the people that I love and care about, and will stay true to them. I might be fickle with ideas, but never with those that I deeply care for. ]

15. Describe the canon qualities for each house that do not accurately reflect you.

• Gryffindor: [I'm not chivalrous as per Gryffindor traits, and actually don't set much store by chivalry; I think it's largely outdated, even in the modern sense that it gets defined. I see chivalry as doing certain deeds because one has to or should, not because they want to, and find it to be kind of phony as a result. Most Gryffindors also have the gift of not taking themselves too seriously. I don't. While I have a sense of humor, I take myself far too seriously and need to learn to laugh at myself more. ]

• Slytherin: [Slytherins tend to place great value on tradition, and I'm wary of most traditions. I find that when tradition is cited as the reason for following something, it's usually because there isn't a better or more reasonable explanation for why you're doing it- It's almost like an excuse. I don't believe that just because something has always been done a certain way that it should continue. In fact, I prefer to shake things up and make change. While I'm ambitious about things I really want, there are also things that I won't do to get them. I have limits. Slytherin's quality is typically that the end justifies the means, and I don't believe that. I think if you have to cause serious harm or damage, it isn't worth it.]

• Ravenclaw: [I'm not as dedicated to studies and learning as Ravenclaws are. While I love to learn, I only really become committed to learning about things that interest me. If a subject bores me, my mind will switch off. While I have academic aptitude, I don't work up to my potential, and Ravenclaws are typically more consistent than I am and serious when it comes to academia and learning. I'm also not terribly creative. I have an imagination, but putting my ideas into practice can be a challenge for me.]

• Hufflepuff: [Well, I've said I am lazy- so that rules out "unafraid of toil". I'm not hard working, I will admit it. I think life is too short than to spend it working hard. Work, to me, is a necessary evil and not something that I enjoy. It's just a means to an end (hopefully) and I always wish I could skip over it, and look for shortcuts to get something done quickly. I am also the most impatient person you will probably meet. I hate waiting for things, and when something is taking too long, I get agitated and bored. I get restless when expected to be patient, and dislike having to be if circumstances call for it. ]

||HOGWARTS EXPRESS||

16. Age: [34]
17. Optional: Link us to where you have promoted this community in your personal journal to earn your future house five points. [PLACE ANSWER HERE]

I'd make my cat a Horcrux.

2014-02-01T16:33:57Z

01. Name: Kimberly. But I prefer to be called Kimy.
02. How did you find out about Hogwarts Elite? I actually forgot the name of the user, but I saw it in someone’s journal entry a few years back.

||MIRROR OF ERISED||

03. What do you wish to accomplish in life?

I’ve always wanted to become a doctor. I remember that I would cry whenever my parents teased me that I would never become one, and I was four at that time. I’m fascinated by the way they look at situations calmly and instantly find solutions, medical-wise. Doctors always look so confident in their lab coats and they always have this expression as if they can take on the world. The thing I like most about being a doctor is the ray of hope they give whenever they walk into a room. They give most people a sense of safety and security and that you shouldn’t worry because everything’s going to be fine. My mother asked me to take up nursing despite me hating the idea of becoming a nurse but then I thought it’s also a great pre-medical course, so I took it on.

04. Describe exactly what you would see in the Mirror of Erised. (This is not the same question as #03.)

I see myself as a doctor, already the head consultant for Anesthesiology or Surgery depending on my mood. With me are beautiful kids, who I presume to be mine and my parents looking at me happily and proudly. There’s a really big smile on my face because I’ve finally reached my goal and that I can finally take on problems no matter how small or big they are cause I have all the support system I need.

You may notice that I don’t have a husband with me in the mirror. Well, I don’t believe that I’m ever going to need a husband if I’m that successful but if a nice guy comes my way, why not? But I do love kids and taking care of them so they would obviously appear first in the mirror.

05. What makes a person deserving of your respect?

People who respect and believe in themselves deserve to be respected. These people would stand by their ideas and opinions and won’t let what other people say affect them. I believe in the saying, “Learn to love yourself before you love others” or something like that. Of course, the question has nothing to do with love but my point is, people look at you in a different light once you embrace yourself, flaws and all. These people would also never put other people down to make up for their insecurities.

06. What is your biggest pet peeve?

My biggest pet peeve would have to be people who sneeze or cough without covering their mouth. Not only is it unhygienic and the bacteria’s favorite mode of transmission, it brings out my OC tendencies. I make sure not to breathe for a couple of seconds until I’m sure the air is clean enough. I hate the thought of inhaling something bad that might make me sick.

07. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

My bossiness. I’m the eldest of two and I’m used to doing things my way since my parents have taught me to shoulder certain responsibilities at a young age. It could be pretty harmless sometimes but it affects my relationship with my brother, whom I boss around all the time (from what to wear to how he should eat) and with my group mates during group works. I’d like to be more… uhm, I don’t really know but it would be nice if I won’t get irritated if things don’t go my way.

08. If you could do any one thing and suffer no consequences, what would it be?

I would like to get away with openly staring at people. I’m actually a very awkward person and I don’t like meeting strangers’ eyes whenever I’m relaxing somewhere or just strolling around. I mean, I like looking at people and noting down tiny details but I really hate it whenever I’m caught staring at them. So I guess it would be nice to just stare at random people and not having them whip around and stare back at you, which is embarrassing and weird.

09. What do you think are your top five positive characteristics?

01. I find humor in anything and everything. I am always in danger of smiling too much in the most inconvenient places… alone. I find things funny even if they weren’t meant to be funny. This is actually a good characteristic since it helped me learn not take things too seriously because then your mind would be clouded and you can’t think properly. Whenever I’m down or at my lowest, I try to find the humor in my predicament so that it would be easier for me to find solutions.

02. Optimistic. I always see the bright things in life. For every problem, there’s always a solution. The glass is always half full and so on and so forth. I never let anything bring me down. Being optimistic opens your mind to possibilities and an endless list of solutions to problems. I call my optimism Mind Yoga. It helps clear the head!

03. Forgiving. When people do me wrong, I get mad, rant and cry. But then after a good night’s sleep, I always wake up feeling refreshed and I don’t want to carry negativity around so I end up forgiving the people who did something wrong. This proved to be hard back when I was a kid but now, it has developed into some sort of reflex. I get angry, hurt and confused for a day then start forgiving those people the next day. It kind of takes a load off your chest.

04. Open minded. I’m usually up for anything. I have a lot of ideas but that doesn’t mean I close myself to criticisms and other input from other people. What I think is good or perfect is never really the case for some people so I ask them for additional information/ideas. I open my mind to new things, which is a really good thing since times are changing.

05. Observant. I’m usually the talkative type but there are times when I lapse into silence. This is when my mind starts working. I like taking note of the things around me and updating myself on what’s happening. People who clearly don’t know me dismiss me as being an airhead or daft. People are usually surprised when I point out things that they thought I wouldn’t pay attention to. Other than that, I just like seeing the surprise in their faces.

10. What do you think are your top five negative characteristics?

01. Loud. Yes, I can sometimes be very boisterous to the point that I’d irritate people. My tiny, high-pitched voice also doesn’t help. I have had looks thrown at my direction whenever I laugh or talk about something with passion. I can’t help it. When I talk about something I like, I build up a momentum then can only be halted by killer stares or a reprimand from another person.

02. Impulsive. When there’s something I’d like to do, I don’t think twice in doing it. When I’m in the mall, I end up buying stuff I don’t really need. An even worse scenario is saying things out of anger. When I’m angry, I always have this impulse to just say what’s on my mind. I don’t stop to think that the words I say may be hurtful or plain foul. It’s like making a speech you thought was great but then you’ll soon regret. But there are actually rare moments, wherein I stop myself from being too nasty. Key word: RARE. I always end up regretting the words I say after an angry rant.

03. Forgiving. Sometimes, it’s a good thing to have a bit of pride. That way, people don’t push you around. Based on my experience, when people hurt me, I forgive them even before they give me an apology. I’d forgive them even if they don’t really deserve it. The end result? People learn not to say sorry. They just act as if nothing has happened because they know I’d soon forgive them, which isn’t really the nicest of all things.

04. Lazy. When I don’t find the right motivation or have the drive, I become the champion of all that is lazy. I put off my work, procrastinate so much that it’s not even funny. The weird thing is, I have a lot of ideas and plans to do something productive but the problem is whenever I try to start doing work, I lose focus and do nothing. Whatever it is I start soon becomes forgotten. I also find great pleasure in just bumming around the house, being a couch potato.

05. Never contented. When it comes to my physical attributes, I mean. It’s not that I have self esteem issues, I just don’t find anything about me that’s great or sparkling. I always complain that my face is too round, or my legs too skinny and my teeth too crooked. My friends always tell me that I look better than how I perceive myself to be, which comforts me sometimes. But then I’d start complaining about other things and the cycle begins again. But I think not being contented with my appearance is normal for a girl but it can be irritating sometimes.

||HOGWARTS, A HISTORY||

11. Who is your favorite character in the Harry Potter series?

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. I loved him ever since I started reading the books and I loved him even more after the seventh. I’m not one to analyze characters for I see them as to how they were written but Dumbledore is just one of those characters that have mystery surrounding them. That’s probably why I’m so drawn to him. I just can’t figure him out! I cried so much after reading HBP for the first time and I still get teary eyed when I read it again. After the seventh book, where Dumbledore’s life is explained in detail, I got to see an ambitious, brilliant and a selfish wizard. These traits show that he is also a human being with flaws despite being showcased as godlike and wonderful. I also like the feeling he gives whenever he appears in a certain scene/chapter; the feeling that no matter how bad the situation Harry’s in, Dumbledore was sure to have the answers and take care of it. Plus, he’s funny and I find his interest for the most mundane things charming.

12. Who is your least favorite character in the Harry Potter series?

Hermione Granger. I know, I know. A lot of people worship her as she’s one of the main characters of the book. But sometimes, she can be a bit irritating whenever Harry shares something that proves to be correct and she refuses to listen. To be honest, it was only in the fifth book that I liked Hermione less and less due to reason stated above. She can’t stand not knowing things or refuses to acknowledge that she can't always be the person that has the right answers. These flaws make her more realistic, which is great but I can't stand bossy, know-it-alls. I know J.K Rowling deliberately wrote her that way because it’d be dead boring if characters would always just agree with what Harry says but it really gets on my nerves and is mildly frustrating. Other than that though, I have no other problems with her. Just that tiny bit that makes her my least favorite character. Shallow, I know.

I could have chosen Umbridge, Fudge or Percy but they were meant to be disliked.

13. What was your favorite plot or character revelation in the Harry Potter series?

When the prodigal son, Percy Weasley showed up at the final battle. His entrance in the Room of Requirement, what he said, how the family embraced him again… Everything was so perfect. It was the perfect reunion that I wasn’t expecting. It gave me such a funny ache when I read it amidst the anxiety and suspense I felt during the upcoming battle. I expected Percy to beg for forgiveness but not during the final battle. What made it more special was that it was the last happy moment the Weasley family had before tragedy struck. I get really emotional just thinking about it and was disappointed when it wasn’t included in the movie.

14. Describe the canon qualities for each house that accurately reflect you.

• Gryffindor: Impulsive. As stated above, I often act without thinking. But only when I’m passionate about something or just feeling certain rush of emotions like anger or excitement. I just jump into action without really thinking of a back-up plan because I'd rather get it done then not having done anything at all. Of course, I'd almost always regret my actions afterwards . I also don’t like to wait before making my move because my motivation to do things wane the longer I delay.

• Slytherin: Ambitious. I really want to achieve great things in life because honestly, who doesn't? And often times, to be able to achieve something, I tend to be a bit selfish. I don’t care if I (unconsciously) hurt people; if I want to be great or recognized, I’ll work my way up there. Also, I’m guilty of thinking of using people to be recognized or praised for my work. I’m not proud of it, but being recognized for something gives me a thrill. I haven’t really done it though (used people).

• Ravenclaw: Open-minded. I don’t limit myself to certain facts and I like entertaining new ideas. I like things that are not in the norm and I like hearing other people share their ideas, beliefs and practices, without judging them because no individual’s the same. I embrace an individual's uniqueness and I can be inquisitive about certain things too.

• Hufflepuff: Loyal. I am fiercely loyal to those I respect and care for. I don’t like it when other people say and do bad stuff to the people I love. And I must say, I get carried away defending these people. I usually end up unconsciously hurting the other side in the process. I am not a mean nor malicious person, but I can be really vicious when certain individuals I care for are attacked or involved.

15. Describe the canon qualities for each house that do not accurately reflect you.

• Gryffindor: Courageous. I’m probably the wimpiest person I know. I get scared of a lot of things (cockroaches, horror movies) and if given the choice to either run away or face me fears, I’d gladly run away. I don’t think Gryffindors would react the way I do. They’d probably pretend not to be scared at all. As for me, I don’t like pretension. I’d rather be laughed at for this type of cowardice than suffer.

• Slytherin: Cunning. One look at me and you’d never associate that word with me. I can be ambitious but I don’t have what it takes to be evasive or sly to get what I want. Using people or other resources to get something I want is a nice thought but I could never do it. I’m a very easy person to read so being sneaky is out of the question, which is lame.

• Ravenclaw: Clever. I don’t really see myself as someone clever, smart or even witty. Academic wise, my performance may be above average but that’s nothing to be excited about since most people can achieve that feat. I can be creative when I want to but that just depends on the mood I'm in. I like to observe but I'm not really that sharp or brilliantly skilled. Although, I'm not exactly mediocre, there's nothing really exceptionally great about me that sets me apart from others.

• Hufflepuff: Hardworking. Yes, I can be very passionate but hardworking? I don’t think so. I do most of my work half-heartedly. I only take action when I’m motivated or just feeling productive but other than that, I’m one of the greatest procrastinators in the world. I am in constant need of inspiration if I want to be able to get something done and it doesn't come very often.

||HOGWARTS EXPRESS||

16. Age: 22

17. Optional: Link us to where you have promoted this community in your personal journal to earn your future house five points.

Term 22: New Members (Sorting Period #3)

2012-08-14T19:05:50Z

WELCOME NEW STUDENTS:
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts Elite School of Witchcraft & Wizardry. The sorting hat has spoken and it is time to join your House Tables in the Great Hall. Be sure to check out the community navigation, located at the top of all our communities. It will help you find your way around Hogwarts Elite. Thank you!

RAVENCLAW:
loomingfruits

COMMUNITIES AT HOGWARTS ELITE:
Below is a list of the communities that you may join at any time. If a community is not listed here, please do not request to join it. Hogwarts Elite has quite a few communities dedicated to maintaining and administration and only people who help the Headmaster and Headmistresses do those things are allowed to join them.

01. hogwarts_elite: Main discussion community
02. sorting_elite: Sorting community
03. ministry_elite: Community issues and announcements
04. knockturn_elite: Contest community
05. diagon_elite: Post graphics, fiction, essays or art for house points

WHAT TO DO NOW:
You do not have to join any of these communities. It is recommended that you at least join Hogwarts Elite and your Common Room so you don't miss any important announcements. We are happy to welcome you to Hogwarts Elite and hope you enjoy the community. It is expansive and there is much to explore ahead of you. Feel free to contact your Head Girl or Prefects if you wish to discuss anything or are looking for help while first starting in the community. Don't forget to fill out the n00b survey for your common room, which is located in here. Good luck and welcome.

HOUSE TRANSFERS:
N/A

Please read this post if you are interested in transferring houses. If you have entered any contests that have already closed, your points will remain with your former house. Any points earned from entries on open contests or earned in the future will be awarded to your new house.

Term 22: Sorting Period #02 (Results)

2012-08-10T16:07:54Z

SORTING PERIOD #02 (RESULTS):
The votes from the prior week were counted here by volunteers. Please check for your name on the Activity Logs and make sure that there has not been an error in reporting your sorting tally. In terms of the sorting tally, we only need to know if you have reached the quota and whether you went on to sort all the applications in that Sorting Period. If you find that your sorting votes have been reported incorrectly, leave a comment on your respective activity log with links to all your sorting votes and I will make the necessary corrections. Thank you.

TOTAL HOUSE POINTS EARNED:
Gryffindor: 4,000 (77%)
Slytherin: 4,500 (86%)
Ravenclaw: 5,000 (92%)
Hufflepuff: 5,000 (97%)

IMPORTANT LINKS:
Community Rules/Sorting Application
Guide for Prospective Members
Frequently Asked Questions
Official Hogwarts Elite Member Registry
Hogwarts Elite Rules/Information
Master Schedule of Community Events

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO SORTED THIS PAST SORTING PERIOD!

SORTING NOTICE

2012-08-05T21:17:26Z

ATTENTION PROSPECTIVE MEMBERS:

End of Term 22 is fast approaching! If you wish to be sorted this term, your application needs to be in the queue no later than Wednesday, August 8, 2012 @ 11pm CDT. Any applications received after this date will be held in the queue for Term 23.

Questions may be left as comments to this post and I will get to them as soon as I can.

ceci n’est pas une horcrux

2012-08-05T21:12:36Z

01. Name: Melody
02. How did you find out about Hogwarts Elite? I saw it on fandom secrets quite a few months ago, and recent Pottermore updates reminded me that I wanted to give it a shot. :)

||MIRROR OF ERISED||

03. What do you wish to accomplish in life?
That’s a loaded question. Um, well, I can easily say that I want to be successful enough that I have more freedom to do whatever I want later in life and that I’m willing to work hard for what I want, but it’s harder for me to pinpoint the details of what I want to accomplish in order to reach that goal. Since I’m honestly not sure what I even want to do with my life, I can’t exactly explain what milestones I want to reach, right? For now, my goals center around graduating college (in three years if possible!) and then finding a job, and then maybe pursuing a further education before settling down. I know I definitely want to own a dog, though! Or two. And I’ve always wanted to try scuba diving in the deeper parts of the Pacific. I also have this odd gut feeling that I will probably end up with kids, and will probably also enjoy having kids, and having kids is a huge deal and should be considered an accomplishment, as far as I’m concerned.

04. Describe exactly what you would see in the Mirror of Erised. (This is not the same question as #03.)
Okay, so I’ve actually given this question some thought for the past few days, and on another sorting application I gave a slightly misdirecting answer about unpredictability and happiness. But I think that, as of who I am right now and not who I want to be in the future, I don’t actually care what it is I see in the mirror; it’s the sense of security and satisfaction that matters. I feel kind of directionless at the moment, since I’m transitioning from high school to college, so I think what I would want to see the most would be some sort of reassurance. Like, I honestly don’t care what I end up doing, so long as it makes me happy, which could be anything from being a marine biologist to being a CEO to doing freelance work. I don’t know! I just want to know that even though I don’t know right now, everything will turn out fine in the end, and that all of my flailing won’t have a huge negative impact on my future. I’m also pretty aware that I’ll likely settle within my first year in college, and maybe by then I’ll have a clearer idea of what exactly I want.

05. What makes a person deserving of your respect?
It’s actually pathetically easy to earn my respect; impress me once and there you go. Well, as long as you’re not a huge jerk and/or douchebag. But really, I try to kind of respect everyone, because everyone has talents and something impressive about them. As long as those talents are being used positively, bam, respect deserved. That means that the opposite is true, too. Like, if I know someone is capable of doing more or being better and is too lazy or negative or whatever to apply themselves, whatever respect I may have had for their basic talents is negated. So I guess a good personality is important, too, when it comes to respect. But I don’t really have any particular specifications in that direction, either. Just don’t be a jerk and everything is fine.

06. What is your biggest pet peeve?
Blind mimicry. Is that even a thing? It’s kind of like when someone copies a famous painting. Maybe they’re doing it for the practice or to learn a specific painting technique, and that’s fine! But maybe they’re just too lazy or unoriginal to create something new, which bugs me. I tend to think a lot, and it really throws me off when other people don’t think, and even worse, don’t even want to think. What also bugs me is the mob mentality aspect, like being part of a group makes beliefs or actions more credible. If all your local leaders/teachers/parents/priests think that Obama is a terribad president, then obviously it must be true. No.

I also realize that that isn’t really a pet peeve, per say, and if we’re talking about something small and petty that ticks me off way more than it should, I’d go with people who park their cars but don’t straighten their wheels. And uphill/downhill parking is cool, really, but if you’re parked in a large lot, straighten your wheels! I don’t know, this bothers me for pretty much all the reasons that it could. It’s the symmetry and neatness, and then the fact that this probably isn’t very good for the car, but also it’s irresponsible! What if they forget their wheels are turned and back out too quickly and crash and then it’s someone else’s problem too. Ugh.

07. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I want to be less indecisive. Which is funny, because I had lots of trouble with this question due to my indecisiveness; my other choices were to be smarter or more capable of taking social initiative, but then I realized the fact that I couldn’t decide which I wanted more pointed out which trait was more of a problem, lol. I’m extremely future oriented, so I get an unholy amount of anxiety about my future; I feel completely unprepared for life sometimes. On one hand, I’d like to be able to accurately predict the outcomes of my actions, which help loads when it comes to decision-making. On the other hand, I don’t mind not knowing as long as I can be confident and comfortable with my choices. Like I said in my Erised answer, I’m not always super picky about details and try to look for a general feelings instead.

08. If you could do any one thing and suffer no consequences, what would it be?
Um, does this question come with blanket qualifications and/or capabilities? I’d really, really love to move to the bottom of the ocean, but I don’t think I’m qualified to do that. At all. I can’t exactly breathe underwater, and I’m far from capable of building or creating or even buying something that’d allow me to do that. Although I think I’d get lonely; does creating a deep sea colony count as an answer? Because I think that’d be fun and cool and surprisingly fulfilling if I got to bring all my friends and family with me (and they didn’t end up hating me for it but that’s the no consequences part, right?).

09. What do you think are your top five positive characteristics?

01. Passionate – with people, ideas, and everything I commit myself to, really. I’ve definitely got a bulldog mentality here; there are few things that can dissuade me once I get started, and I’m very devoted to reaching endgoals I’ve set for myself. It’s not just that I work hard for what I want; I have all these feelings, too. They come together; there’s never a cause or a project that I’m invested in that I don’t put in loads of emotional investment into, too. So if I were one of those crazy PETA people (I’m not, I promise), I’d be one of the super crazy ones, that would go to all the rallies and cover myself with animal rights warpaint and have adopted all of the cats in my already cramped home. In reality, it’s more of a pulling all-nighters to perfect my perfect research project and not letting an argument go, ever, if it means protecting a friend thing. Once I commit, I’m in for the long haul.

02. Changeable – I know for sure that I’m not the same person I was a few years ago, and I’m very easily influenced by my surroundings and expectations. It’s not always in a pushover way, though; I think about half the time peer pressure causes me to turn the opposite direction entirely. In the end, regardless of different situations, the truth still is that who I’m with and where I am have an incredibly strong hold over what I’m like and who I’ll be in the future. This is good because it means I’m adaptable, for sure, and that I’m capable of doing what’s expected or necessary (or the opposite, but whatever). I guess it also means that I’m very aware of the influences on me, because I see them clearly and how they’ve impacted me.

03. Realist – I see things as they are. Dreaming is fine and dandy, and I enjoy daydreaming and aspiring as much as the next girl. But at the end of the day, I know that dreams are far from reality and that all the things I would love to see, do, and experience haven’t happened yet and will never happen unless I active try to make them. I don’t delude myself, and I find that hope and promises go nowhere at all without action and perspective. I’m also the sort that rolls with the idea that if you presume the worst, whatever happens will either be in line with what you thought to be better than what you predicted. Win-win either way. This is a good quality because it means I’m mostly always on track and I’m rarely surprised; things happen, and there’s nothing to do but deal with them and move on.

04. Curious – to be honest, I’ve never actually had to work hard with schoolwork, so it’s always personal motivation that gets me to take the next step. Sometimes I just want to know about random things, and once I know something intriguing I always want to know more. It’s always the foreign things that don’t make sense that I go after (yay marine biology), and once I’m interested/curious about something, I’ll pretty much wring it dry (see: passionate).

05. Patient – Or, more succinctly, delayed gratification. I can dig it. A lot of the time I’d rather not, because being hedonistic is a lot easier and more comfortable, but when I see a good opportunity and need to suffer a bit for it, I will. There are tons of things I still want to do with my life, but before that there are also lots of less fun things that have to be done (school is a good example). And, okay, this is only for what I really want; I’m very good at rationalizing myself out of additional work. If I were to take the marshmallow test now, I’d just eat it and be done, not because I can’t wait, but because if I waited and got the second/third/whatever marshmallow, I’d get fat.

10. What do you think are your top five negative characteristics?

01. Indecisive – not so much in the sense that I can never make up my mind, but that I don’t always know what I want (like I want everything but can’t choose just one?). I can objectively analyze what and where a decision will net me, but I can’t predict what I’ll gain or lose on an emotional level. Studying is a good example here: I can see where the choices I make will lead me, from researcher or office slave to any combination in between, but I can’t see which will make me happy or which I will enjoy the most. I lack experience and without that I don’t trust decisions I may make because of that. Some decisions are easier, because with those all paths lead to the same destination. Like, I want to go to college and become smart and get a job and be happy, and to do that I need to get through college and not do dumb things and work really hard; I just don’t know what exactly that will be like and can’t decide what I want that to be like, even.

02. Apathetic – I’m terribly indifferent at times. If I haven’t had an experience myself, I can’t empathize with the situation. In that sense, I can be very emotional with what I care about, friends, family, causes, because those are the things I know. And then more abstract or far away ideas like world hunger or animal abuse, not so much. I know consciously that these are bad, and I do get sad twinges when I seen provocative imagery, but I don’t undergo emotional roller coasters for things I’m not connected to. Maybe if I visited a third world country or worked at an animal shelter, I’d have more feelings, but in the end I haven’t and so I’m the jerk that doesn’t cry when sad things happen. Sometimes this makes me feel sheltered, but mostly I just feel like I’m a physical, not theoretical, person and that’s reflected in how I feel, too.

03. Overly cautious – not quite to the point of being paranoid and blatantly mistrusting, but just a few steps in the wrong direction and I could easily be. I second guess myself a lot; it’s like taking that behavior and multiplying it a hundred times in regards to other people and events. I’m only mistrusting with strangers, for the most part, and lay most everything out to the people I care about. Still, I definitely look before I leap, possibly twice, and if there’s an alternative that doesn’t risk life and limb I’ll take it. I don’t warm up easily with strangers and sometimes get confused when people are too nice to me (although that applies to any emotion, happy/sad/angry; just seeing strangers have intense feelings towards me rubs me the wrong way).

04. Absent-minded – I just space out sometimes. I’m also easily distracted if I’m not doing something I enjoy, and I’m the one glued to the window on the train watching the trees fly past. Sometimes I get into this zone of dissonance where I’m thinking about whatever (kittens and puppies) and my hands are doing whatever they want and when I come back down to earth I’ve folded an origami something.

05. Awkward – I'm kind of one of those people that loves other people but doesn’t know what to do with them, sometimes. And this isn't always the best thing, socially. I get quiet at odd moments, or have trouble expressing myself in a way that's completely relatable. Especially when I'm having trouble making up my mind, I can give the wrong impression/seem standoffish whereas in reality I'm just having a mild internal crisis about WHAT SHOULD I DO?? Or there's something I want to say but don't know how to say it without seeming offensive, or I space out and forget what's going on and ruin the flow of conversation.

||HOGWARTS, A HISTORY||

11. Who is your favorite character in the Harry Potter series?
This was a really difficult question for me because I kind of like everyone, if not for their personalities, then at least for their contributions to the storyline. I settled on Fleur as a favorite. She’s very different from me, while at the same time she’s very much the type of person I admire. Her outward personality is kind of my opposite, since she can be blunt and unforgiving with words. She has a sort of social courage that I wish I could pull off. But privately, she’s very caring, and she knows what matters most to her. She has a willingness to sacrifice her own comfort and happiness if it means doing what she feels is right and necessary, as was the case when she let Griphook stay at her house despite not liking him at all. I really enjoyed Fleur’s character development, and wish there was more on her and Beauxbatons/other Wizarding schools in general. She started off slightly offputting, which is what made me wonder about her in the first place. That sort of confidence doesn’t develop on its own, and I’ve always wondered if Beauxbatons is distinctly more wealthy than Hogwarts because of her critical reception. Her later character reveals are some of my favorites, too, and I love love love the fact that her mothering style is distinctly reminiscent of Molly Weasley.

12. Who is your least favorite character in the Harry Potter series?
Cornelius Fudge. Ugh. Something about him just really annoyed me; I could appreciate nastier, unpleasant characters like Umbridge or Bellatrix because even if I didn’t like them very much, I was still excited when they appeared in the books because they meant plot twists or action scenes. Fudge, on the other hand, didn’t inspire much feeling in me at all. I’m a pretty avid reader and normally hate putting books down; if possible, I’d finish everything in one sitting because I can’t handle long term reading projects. But Fudge’s sections were those rare exceptions where I was perfectly willing to stop because I was too bored or too annoyed to keep reading. There’s something about his attitude that I don’t like, be it his passive stance with everything and refusal to take initiative or his extreme paranoia towards Dumbledore or the way he obviously considers himself to be the exception to his own rules (shameless ugh).

13. What was your favorite plot or character revelation in the Harry Potter series?
My favorite plot is definitely Sirius’ death. Not only is it probably the most interesting part of book 5, but also it was a big turning point for me when I was reading. Before, the series felt like scary and potentially deadly adventures at Hogwarts, but after it was like shit just got real and people are going to die. I never expected Sirius to die! He was a fast favorite for me, and after all the trouble Harry and co. went through to rescue and keep in contact with him, I wouldn’t have expected him to die. In fact, I hadn’t been expecting anyone particularly close to or important to Harry to die at that point; Sirius’ death was a bit of a wake up call, and while I don’t agree with a lot of JKR’s choices when it comes to killing characters off, I see the artistry and purpose to this one.

14. Describe the canon qualities for each house that accurately reflect you.

• Gryffindor: I’m passionate and not afraid to speak up and fight for the things that I care deeply about. While I’m probably a bit more open to change and new ideas than most Gryffindors seem to be, I like to put up a fight anyway; sometimes I’m stubborn just for the sake of being stubborn. I also have a very Gryffindor approach to taking risks, because I realize that if I don’t just ignore the consequences and throw all caution into the wind for a moment, I’d never convince myself to actually go through with those sorts of plans.

• Slytherin: I’m adaptable, as I’ve already explained in my traits. I can adjust quickly to new settings and gain a concrete understanding of what I need to do to get what I want. I’m also good at analyzing social situations and figuring out what people I should avoid and what people would be good potential new friends, which I think is a very Slytherin approach to meeting people. My tendency to rationalize seems to be very Slytherin, too; I twist events to make them ideal and more beneficial to myself, and a lot of the time can convince myself not to feel guilty or upset when I’ve made a mistake.

• Ravenclaw: Education means a lot to me, especially when I have the freedom to learn about concepts that I enjoy. I’m also pretty smart and very capable of excelling at an academic level. My childhood dreams were all very Ravenclaw, too, I think, and even though I’ve mostly grown out of wanting to fly or walk through walls, they’re still fond memories that I’d like to be able to experience in the future. I’ve also shown a willingness to try new things, because I mark my life with experiences rather than goals. Plus, a lot of the time I just exist in my head; thinking is one of my favorite activities. Like sometimes I just want to sit down and have a good think.

• Hufflepuff: I am very dedicated and loyal to things I care about! I’m perfectly willing to get my hands dirty if it means supporting a good cause, and don’t mind late hours or missed meals if it means that someone I care about can catch a break. I’m also social in a Hufflepuff way, I think, in that I really try to avoid hurting people’s feelings if I can, and I really hate it when people are upset with me. I tend to have high expectations of other people when it comes to playing fair and repaying debts owed, which strikes me to be a Hufflepuff sort of view.

15. Describe the canon qualities for each house that do not accurately reflect you.

• Gryffindor: Sometimes I feel like I don’t possess any genuine courage, like anything resembling bravery is either a front to make an impression or a rationalization that I made up in my head after an event has occurred. Like, I’ve taken some risks and steeped out of my comfort zone, and afterwards I convinced myself that those actions were very brave things to do. Also, I’m a planner. I like plans; while it’s true that I channel Gryffindor when taking risks, it’s also true that my approach to avoiding risk is very un-Gryffindor.

• Slytherin: I honestly don’t have much personal ambition. My goals can be a bit vague at times, and even though I’m willing to fight for what I want, I’m also a lot more open to random events that might throw me off my path or in a new direction entirely than most Slytherins seem to be. Their goals are a lot more concrete, and because of that, they aren’t as likely to change their minds due to a few coincidental events. I’m probably also a bit too slow during conversations, because I tend to have to think a bit before I say anything.

• Ravenclaw: Although I enjoy learning, I don’t much enjoy educational institutions. The classroom setting bores me, and sometimes I find that sort of rigid structure to be unsettling. I’m also not especially clever, and I wouldn’t describe myself as creative, either. I’m pretty sure everything I’ve done or will do is a variation of something that already exists. It’s like, I know that as an individual, I am unique, but at the same time, I’m not special and in some ways I am just like everyone else. To me, Ravenclaws tend to stick out a bit more in a marching to their own beat sort of way. I don’t mind conformity; in fact, sometimes conformity is reassuring, like it’s okay to just blend in sometimes.

• Hufflepuff: While I’m not exactly proud, I’m not modest, either; even though I don’t brag about myself that much, I don’t downplay my achievements, either. I’m also kind of selfish sometimes. Of course I try my best to help my friends and family, but I also remember who’s the most important (numero uno) and avoid putting myself in undesirable situations for anyone’s sake. Like, I’ll help as much as I can, but I’m not about to sacrifice myself for anyone. I’m also probably not the most empathetic person in the world. I have a lot of feelings, but sometimes other people’s emotions are a complete mystery.

||HOGWARTS EXPRESS||

16. Age: 18
17. Optional: Link us to where you have promoted this community in your personal journal to earn your future house five points.

Term 22: Sorting Period #03 (Prompt)

2012-08-05T21:11:15Z

SORTING PERIOD #03 (PROMPT):
Sorting Elite (sorting_elite) is the sorting community of Hogwarts Elite (hogwarts_elite). Each period applications will be posted in the community for the members to sort into one of the four houses or squib. The number of applications posted each period depends on the number received. However, each member of the community is required to sort 4 applications each Sorting Period. If less than 4 applications are posted in a period, then the sorting quota will be reduced to the number that we have (so if there are 3 applications, the quota will be 3).

PERCENTAGE SCALE FOR SORTING ELITE:
Points are awarded for sorting based on the percent of a house that completes their quota. You can see the specific percent breakdowns below in the gray box labeled "possible points". In periods where there are 6 or more applications, an additional bonus of 20 points will be awarded to members of the community who sort all the applications during the Sorting Period.

BEING LABELLED INACTIVE:
The term "inactive" will apply to members of the community who do not reach the sorting quota during two consecutive periods, and newly sorted members who don't reach their quota in the period following their official sorting. Inactive members of the community do not count towards the sorting percentage. For an inactive member to regain active status, they need to sort 4 applications (or less depending on the number that period) and submit the links of their votes to the official member registry. Make sure you have sorted by the time listed at the bottom of this post in order to guarantee you won't miss out.

POSSIBLE POINTS:
7,500: 100%
5,000: 90% - 99%
4,500: 80% - 89%
4,000: 70% - 79%
3,500: 60% - 69%
3,000: 50% - 59%
2,500: 40% - 49%
2,000: 30% - 39%
1,000: 01% - 29%

IMPORTANT LINKS:
Community Rules/Sorting Application
Guide for Prospective Members
Frequently Asked Questions
Official Hogwarts Elite Member Registry
Hogwarts Elite Rules/Information
Master Schedule of Community Events

THIS SORTING PERIOD WILL END ON AUGUST 13, 2012 AFTER 1:00PM CDT.

Term 22: New Members (Sorting Period #2)

2012-07-31T15:09:15Z

WELCOME NEW STUDENTS:
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts Elite School of Witchcraft & Wizardry. The sorting hat has spoken and it is time to join your House Tables in the Great Hall. Be sure to check out the community navigation, located at the top of all our communities. It will help you find your way around Hogwarts Elite. Thank you!

GRYFFINDOR:
Zilch.

SLYTHERIN:
Zip.

RAVENCLAW:
Nada.

HUFFLEPUFF:
somnium
sliverwish

COMMUNITIES AT HOGWARTS ELITE:
Below is a list of the communities that you may join at any time. If a community is not listed here, please do not request to join it. Hogwarts Elite has quite a few communities dedicated to maintaining and administration and only people who help the Headmaster and Headmistresses do those things are allowed to join them.

01. hogwarts_elite: Main discussion community
02. sorting_elite: Sorting community
03. ministry_elite: Community issues and announcements
04. knockturn_elite: Contest community
05. diagon_elite: Post graphics, fiction, essays or art for house points

WHAT TO DO NOW:
You do not have to join any of these communities. It is recommended that you at least join Hogwarts Elite and your Common Room so you don't miss any important announcements. We are happy to welcome you to Hogwarts Elite and hope you enjoy the community. It is expansive and there is much to explore ahead of you. Feel free to contact your Head Girl or Prefects if you wish to discuss anything or are looking for help while first starting in the community. Don't forget to fill out the n00b survey for your common room, which is located in here. Good luck and welcome.

SQUIB:
None!

HOUSE TRANSFERS:
N/A

Please read this post if you are interested in transferring houses. If you have entered any contests that have already closed, your points will remain with your former house. Any points earned from entries on open contests or earned in the future will be awarded to your new house.

Term 22: Sorting Period #01 (Results)

2012-07-28T16:31:49Z

SORTING PERIOD #01 (RESULTS):
The votes from the prior week were counted here by volunteers. Please check for your name on the Activity Logs and make sure that there has not been an error in reporting your sorting tally. In terms of the sorting tally, we only need to know if you have reached the quota and whether you went on to sort all the applications in that Sorting Period. If you find that your sorting votes have been reported incorrectly, leave a comment on your respective activity log with links to all your sorting votes and I will make the necessary corrections. Thank you.

TOTAL HOUSE POINTS EARNED:
Gryffindor: 3,765 (69% + 13xbonus + 1 applicant pimp)
Slytherin: 5,520 (93% + 26xbonus)
Ravenclaw: 5,545 (92% + 27xbonus + 1 applicant pimp)
Hufflepuff: 5,060 (50% + 28xbonus)

IMPORTANT LINKS:
Community Rules/Sorting Application
Guide for Prospective Members
Frequently Asked Questions
Official Hogwarts Elite Member Registry
Hogwarts Elite Rules/Information
Master Schedule of Community Events

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO SORTED THIS PAST SORTING PERIOD!

you calling me a horcrux???

2012-07-19T16:53:14Z

01. Name: Kim
02. How did you find out about Hogwarts Elite? I've always sorta known about it... finally decided to apply. Thought it might be a good way to meet people.

||MIRROR OF ERISED||

03. What do you wish to accomplish in life?
Oh, I don't know... I'm only 21, it seems a bit early to have that all sorted out. Right now I have an internship with a nonprofit theater company. I plan to turn that internship into a job after I finish college (just one more semester... finally). I like the amount of influence I could have at a job like that—you can affect so many people by choosing a piece that's thought-provoking. Plus, I like working with other other people, and one day I'm sure I'll be managing the staff... I love to maneuver through all of the politics of an office to make sure everyone works together efficiently and does everything they can. I want people to remember me. To think of me as one of the best, as hard-working and dedicated. If I'd be satisfied with anything, it'd be that.

04. Describe exactly what you would see in the Mirror of Erised. (This is not the same question as #03.)
I'd see myself with a family. I've always wanted to be a mother—to teach my children all the important things and ready them for the world. I know I can guide them to be the best they can be. I mostly took care of myself growing up, and it can be a tough to get along on your own. I want my kids to have someone they can rely on, who will be fiercely loyal to them for their whole lives. My kids will learn to protect their own. They'll learn about the importance of family and working diligently for what you want. In the mirror, I'd see myself with three beautiful kids, ready to take the world by storm.

05. What makes a person deserving of your respect?
I think it's best to respect everyone. You never really know a person, and no matter how distasteful you find them... you never really know. And they might be important to you later; I've found that people have surprising depth. There might be something great underneath it all. I make a policy of showing respect to everyone.

06. What is your biggest pet peeve?
Laziness. I think it's obnoxious when I have to pick up the slack for someone else. If everyone would do their jobs, so much could get done! But it only takes one bad apple to make a team effort fall apart. I hate watching all my careful plans fall apart because someone can't follow through.

07. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I don't think I'd change a thing. Maybe I'd make myself a better cook... Everyone likes a good cook. Sometimes I feel like I'm missing out when I can't invite my friends over for dinner parties! It's such a good way to get to know people, especially new acquaintances from work and such—and if you ply them with food, it's so much easier to convince them to do your bidding. But if granted cooking powers, I'd never use them for evil. ;)

08. If you could do any one thing and suffer no consequences, what would it be?
I'd treat myself to a fabulously long vacation in the Caribbean—I'd bring my boss (who is a friend of mine but who I'd love to get to know better!) and my best friend Amy. It would be terrible for me to be separated from her for long, and I'd want it to be a long vacation. Of course I wouldn't suffer the consequences of horrible credit card debt after the fact, or the fact that I'd be fired from my job/fail the rest of my classes from being gone so long!

09. What do you think are your top five positive characteristics?

01. Dependable. You can always count on me to get the job done. I will not rest until I know I've accomplished what I must, and if I agree to do something, I will never let you down. It's just not my way. I couldn't stand people thinking of me as fickle, so I never give anyone reason to.

02. I'm very patient. I've never had anything handed to me, so I've learned to wait for the things I want. There's no reason to rush into something... I've found everything comes in its own time, no matter how you hurry it. It's better to sit back and focus on more important things.

03. Loyalty. I'm fiercely loyal to my friends. And I know someone's my true friend when I can count on their loyalty in return.

04. Not dramatic. I have an immense distaste for drama. I know some girls who make a big fuss about every little thing. It's not all that refined, and worse, it's conspicuous. I prefer to stay out of the spotlight—I just do my best to not get involved in anyone else's fighting. It takes a lot of effort, but I always manage to stay on everyone's good side, even when other people have to take sides.

05. I'm a great listener. My friends always come and talk to me when they have problems, because I can usually offer some insight into whatever issue they're having... I'm not sure why. I'm guess I'm just always paying attention. It's not often that something escapes my eye, which means I always have a good grasp of the situation, whatever it may be.

10. What do you think are your top five negative characteristics?

01. People think I'm a pushover. This is where avoiding drama bites me in the butt. Because I don't take sides in arguments or put myself in the middle of things, people think they can walk all over me... and they try to push me around. Just because I'm quiet doesn't mean that I'm a doormat, but people forget that. I never forget it, though, and I guess that's what's important.

02. I can be naïve. I sometimes forget how complicated everything is. I tend to assume everything's either one way or the other, and I divide everything into categories... good or bad, black or white, useful or worthless, right or wrong... I sometimes forget about shades of gray.

03. I can be very nervous. When I'm in new situations I can get scared. I don't know how to act around new people which can be really nerve-wracking for me. I just don't want to make any mistakes, because if you ever make the wrong impression you can't really recover. I do a fair job of hiding it, but it's still something I'm trying to work on.

04. I'm a bit sensitive and my emotions can get the better of me. My feelings often get hurt, but I keep it to myself. I just wish people would get along—everything would be so much easier that way!

05. I'm unsure. I'm no good at making decisions quickly, and I can't always make up my mind. I'm the person who waffles over a menu for twenty minutes and regrets whatever she's ordered the moment the words come out of her mouth. I just hate to commit when I could have something better.

||HOGWARTS, A HISTORY||

11. Who is your favorite character in the Harry Potter series?
I like Dumbledore a lot. He's such an interesting character—and I like to contemplate the lengths to which he'd go to accomplish the right thing. He was willing to endanger so many people... And how much further would he have gone, if he needed to? Is that right or just? Is it worth it? I don't have to answers to that—and I think you could make a compelling argument for either side. Of course those are the things everyone likes about Dumbledore, but I have no burning desire to be unique.

12. Who is your least favorite character in the Harry Potter series?
Lockhart. Just—what a stupid prat. Braggers annoy me, especially when they've got no talent or skill to back it up! I found him so obnoxious—he was constantly seeking attention, which to me only highlights the fact that he didn't deserve it. People who are actually skilled aren't so desperate for approval and attention. They know their own worth.

13. What was your favorite plot or character revelation in the Harry Potter series?
When Neville killed the snake. It was very cool to see Neville grow from a meek child to a strong-willed, powerful adult. You might not have guessed it in the beginning, but—and I guess this comes back to my answer about respect—he had surprising capability in the end. At the beginning of the novels, I wasn't sure if he was just a bumbling foil for the trio, but he ended up being so much more. Good to see. I think that's a lot like real life.

14. Describe the canon qualities for each house that accurately reflect you.

• Gryffindor: Chivalry is an ideal that I fully support (for everyone, not just women—I hold doors for humans, not ladies). But then again it is nice to be treated like a lady! I sometimes do things that make me feel brave... though not that often.

• Slytherin: I am very determined to accomplish the things I want, and I guess I'm pretty ambitious in my goals. I respect subtly, and I think traditional values are important.

• Ravenclaw: ...I like to read? Learning is important, I guess—where would I be without it? How could I get anything done?

• Hufflepuff: I take pride in my reputation as a nice and dependable person. I'm extremely loyal and, like I said, patient... I also quite like eating, so it would be nice to have a CR near the kitchens!

15. Describe the canon qualities for each house that do not accurately reflect you.

• Gryffindor: I'm not brash like I think Gryffindors tend to be. And I'm not reckless at all—I don't ever rush into things without considering all the options first. I'd be scared!

• Slytherin: I'm not openly manipulative and mean and nasty like the Slytherins in the books!!! But I guess that's mostly Harry's POV clouding his narration, right? I wouldn't say I'm cunning, either.

• Ravenclaw: I'm not very creative. I'm actually really bad at art! I was also never overly interested in school. It's just something you have to do before you can get on to better things.

• Hufflepuff: I'm not very concerned with fairness. Things are just how they are: fairness doesn't really come into it. I could've spent my whole childhood bemoaning that life wasn't fair, but then I wouldn't have gotten anywhere, now would I?

||HOGWARTS EXPRESS||

16. Age: 21
17. Optional: Link us to where you have promoted this community in your personal journal to earn your future house five points.

Also, Dude, Horcrux is not the preferred nomenclature.

2012-07-19T16:51:14Z

01. Name: Leslie
02. How did you find out about Hogwarts Elite? We have a very large convention for geeks of all stripes here in my hometown of Atlanta. Some of you probably know of it. It's called Dragon*Con. I always attend and sometimes even run a panel. I'm a huge HP fan, yet I've never cosplayed as anyone from the HP universe. I'm planning to remedy that oversight this year. I stumbled across Sorting Elite while collecting costume ideas from a member's LJ.

||MIRROR OF ERISED||

03. What do you wish to accomplish in life?
I wish for academic, professional, and personal success. I wish for good friends to share that success with. I wish to travel and to learn things. I like kids and they tend to like me, but I've never really send myself creating a family of my own. Instead, I want to work hard so that I have the means to play hard.

04. Describe exactly what you would see in the Mirror of Erised. (This is not the same question as #03.)
I see a Time-Turner that somehow survived the battle at the Department of Mysteries. It has my name engraved on it. A bit of a cheeky answer, I know, but I mean it sincerely! I rarely get four hours' sleep a night. I wish I could say it's because I'm out having fun, but the truth is that I've got a very busy job and I'm in a demanding Master's degree program. Even before my life became one cup of coffee after the next, I've always wished for the ability to manipulate time.

05. What makes a person deserving of your respect?
Those I respect most in life are honest, but never brutally so -- their honesty is tempered by kindness. They are dependable; you never have to doubt them for a minute. They are unafraid to be different. And the have an active intellect and inquisitive nature.

06. What is your biggest pet peeve?
I cannot stand irresponsible people. I understand that we're all different, and we all bring different skills to the table in a given situation. But it drives me up the wall when someone can't be counted on, whether in the context of a group project at school, a work team at the office, or even a group of friends. I am a very hard worker, but that doesn't mean I like to do the work of others.

07. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I would care much less what others think of me. Sometimes, I describe this as being "adaptable": I can geek out with my geeky friends, I can impress others with my polished professionalism at work, I can be "cool" at a party. But when it comes down to it, I don't feel a strong sense of self. I'm afraid I try to be what I think people want me to be.

08. If you could do any one thing and suffer no consequences, what would it be?
Just one thing? There are so many things I would do but for the consequences. Probably pick up and move somewhere very different and exciting, maybe in a foreign country. I moved frequently throughout my childhood and was always jealous of classmates who'd known each other since primary school. Once I became an "adult," I put down roots, but I've always been tempted to experience something new.

09. What do you think are your top five positive characteristics?

01. 01. I'm an overachiever. I was never really "preppy," and in fact was a pretty rebellious teen, but at the same time I've been a very driven individual since my grade school days. I was my high school salutatorian, and if you look at my senior yearbook photo, you'll find the name of a dozen clubs listed underneath it. I completed my undergraduate degree on a full scholarship. And now here I am, working full time while doing a full-time Master's degree program.
02. I care deeply about others. Sometimes, my level of empathy is almost embarrassing -- for instance, I have been known to cry at those Greyhound commercials they play around the holidays where kids take the bus home to see mom and pop.
03. At times, I am completely selfless. I will empty my pockets, exhaust myself mentally and physically, and put my own busy life on hold every time if it will help someone through a tough spot. This occasionally gets me in trouble, like when I had three railroad-hopping hobo kids over for a home cooked meal... at my dorm room in college. My roommates were not happy.
04. I'm sociable and fun. I work hard, but I love to have a good time, too. I'll never say no to a good movie, a punk rock concert, or trivia night at the local bar. If nothing's on the agenda, I'll take charge and create a fun night.
05. I'm got a hugely varied range of interests, which can be extremely helpful when it comes to forging new relationships. I like math and science, but I'm a communicator by trade. I live in the South, but I could talk your ear off about cold-weather sports like snowboarding. I love to read. I can teach you to make homemade sushi. I drive a stick-shift car and know how to fix it. I like being a jack of all trades.

10. What do you think are your top five negative characteristics?

01. I have no work/life balance.

02. I care deeply about what others think. (This relates to the earlier question about the one thing I would change about myself.) I know in my heart that it should not matter what others think, but I am prideful and hate to be embarrassed or thought poorly of. I combat this as best I can by surrounding myself with a gaggle of eccentric friends who truly COULDN'T care less what others think.
03. At times, I am absolutely selfish. Sounds a bit contradictory to my strength of being selfless, doesn't it? Ah, but that's how life is. At my best, I will give you the shirt off my back. At my worst, I am single-minded in the pursuit of my own goals. Typically, I don't even realize what a selfish brat I'm being until someone points it out to me, or until much later. I'm also very selfish about my personal freedom. This may be why I've been dating the same guy for six years and refuse to get married. I want my own name, my own finances, and my own house, thank you very much.
04. I have a rebellious streak that sometimes drives me to make rash decisions. I've chosen many a bad boy over Mr. Nice Guy, and I've done things that would make my mother cringe. I wish I could say that I live by the "no regrets" motto, but believe me -- there are things I would do differently if I could go back in time!
05. I can be bossy. I recognize it and try very hard to keep my bossiness in check, but I can't deny that it's there. This may be related to the fact that I find it very hard to delegate work to others -- I simply don't trust that they will do things as well as I could do them myself. There are exceptions! Certainly, I respect many individuals as being more talented or skilled than myself.

||HOGWARTS, A HISTORY||

11. Who is your favorite character in the Harry Potter series?
It's a close competition between Severus Snape and Hermione Granger. I love nearly everything about Hermione, and I see much of myself in her bookish ways, but I must admit she is somewhat predictable. Snape, on the other hand, is anything but predictable, at least on the first read. Long before the truth is revealed, you know there must be a story behind his torment (plus, pardon the fangirl gush here, but OMG I love Alan Rickman!). I also quite liked Lupin.

12. Who is your least favorite character in the Harry Potter series?
Oh, God. I'm going to catch hell for this. But here is is: Ron Weasley. Children will be children, and I ought to understand and forgive his occasional pig-headedness, but I was often frustrated by his treatment of Harry and Hermione

13. What was your favorite plot or character revelation in the Harry Potter series?
Learning that Snape is actually a "good guy" is a major revelation... unless, like me, you decided to put your faith in him much sooner. So for me, it was actually a crazier plot twist when Snape was revealed as the Half-Blood Prince and murdered Dumbledore. I felt betrayed! I knew in my heart Snape was good -- what was going on?

Runners up would be the Elder Wand story arc and the fact that Neville turns out to be decently competent. :)

14. Describe the canon qualities for each house that accurately reflect you.

• Gryffindor: Chivalry indicates operating based on a code of principles, and I certainly believe there are wrong and right ways to treat people. I am also occasionally daring, in frivolous ways, anyway -- I like adventure, heights, etc.

• Slytherin: I am certainly resourceful. I often demonstrate leadership skills such as strategic thinking and the ability to organize people. I can sometimes act selfishly and carefully consider decisions; I guess this could be described as "self preservation."

• Ravenclaw: I'm an all-around nerd and high academic achiever. I also enjoy being creative through a variety of outlets (writing, visual design, cooking).

• Hufflepuff: There are few terms that describe my approach to work and school better than hard work and dedication, both of which Hufflepuffs are known for.

15. Describe the canon qualities for each house that do not accurately reflect you.

• Gryffindor: I wish I could claim to be truly brave or courageous, but the fact of the matter is that I will almost always choose the safe, certain route over the risky one. Like anyone else, I occasionally act on a whim, but when it comes to important decisions, I am very conservative in my decision-making. Sometimes I have decided against moving or taking a new job or ending a relationship because I lacked the bravery to do so.
• Slytherin: Except when it comes to things like work habits, I am anything but traditional. I am as liberal as they come, a punky dresser, and a social rights crusader.

• Ravenclaw: I am extremely competitive when it comes to academics, but I can't imagine ever backstabbing anyone over grades -- something Ravenclaws are reported to sometimes do. I would rather fail by my own limitations that win by cheating.

• Hufflepuff: I lack patience in a big way. It is a major shortcoming in how I deal with others.

||HOGWARTS EXPRESS||

16. Age: 26
17. Optional: Link us to where you have promoted this community in your personal journal to earn your future house five points. [PLACE ANSWER HERE]

Term 22: Sorting Period #02 (Prompt)

2012-07-19T16:48:38Z

SORTING PERIOD #02 (PROMPT):
Sorting Elite (sorting_elite) is the sorting community of Hogwarts Elite (hogwarts_elite). Each period applications will be posted in the community for the members to sort into one of the four houses or squib. The number of applications posted each period depends on the number received. However, each member of the community is required to sort 4 applications each Sorting Period. If less than 4 applications are posted in a period, then the sorting quota will be reduced to the number that we have (so if there are 3 applications, the quota will be 3).

PERCENTAGE SCALE FOR SORTING ELITE:
Points are awarded for sorting based on the percent of a house that completes their quota. You can see the specific percent breakdowns below in the gray box labeled "possible points". In periods where there are 6 or more applications, an additional bonus of 20 points will be awarded to members of the community who sort all the applications during the Sorting Period.

BEING LABELLED INACTIVE:
The term "inactive" will apply to members of the community who do not reach the sorting quota during two consecutive periods, and newly sorted members who don't reach their quota in the period following their official sorting. Inactive members of the community do not count towards the sorting percentage. For an inactive member to regain active status, they need to sort 4 applications (or less depending on the number that period) and submit the links of their votes to the official member registry. Make sure you have sorted by the time listed at the bottom of this post in order to guarantee you won't miss out.

POSSIBLE POINTS:
7,500: 100%
5,000: 90% - 99%
4,500: 80% - 89%
4,000: 70% - 79%
3,500: 60% - 69%
3,000: 50% - 59%
2,500: 40% - 49%
2,000: 30% - 39%
1,000: 01% - 29%

IMPORTANT LINKS:
Community Rules/Sorting Application
Guide for Prospective Members
Frequently Asked Questions
Official Hogwarts Elite Member Registry
Hogwarts Elite Rules/Information
Master Schedule of Community Events

THIS SORTING PERIOD WILL END ON JULY 30, 2012 AFTER 1:00PM CDT.

Term 22: New Members (Sorting Period #1)

2012-07-17T19:39:13Z

WELCOME NEW STUDENTS:
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts Elite School of Witchcraft & Wizardry. The sorting hat has spoken and it is time to join your House Tables in the Great Hall. Be sure to check out the community navigation, located at the top of all our communities. It will help you find your way around Hogwarts Elite. Thank you!

GRYFFINDOR:
darkgondolier
capeofstorm

SLYTHERIN:
Nada.

RAVENCLAW:
lordes
schizophrenic0

HUFFLEPUFF:
seabirdsbeneath
random00

COMMUNITIES AT HOGWARTS ELITE:
Below is a list of the communities that you may join at any time. If a community is not listed here, please do not request to join it. Hogwarts Elite has quite a few communities dedicated to maintaining and administration and only people who help the Headmaster and Headmistresses do those things are allowed to join them.

01. hogwarts_elite: Main discussion community
02. sorting_elite: Sorting community
03. ministry_elite: Community issues and announcements
04. knockturn_elite: Contest community
05. diagon_elite: Post graphics, fiction, essays or art for house points

WHAT TO DO NOW:
You do not have to join any of these communities. It is recommended that you at least join Hogwarts Elite and your Common Room so you don't miss any important announcements. We are happy to welcome you to Hogwarts Elite and hope you enjoy the community. It is expansive and there is much to explore ahead of you. Feel free to contact your Head Girl or Prefects if you wish to discuss anything or are looking for help while first starting in the community. Don't forget to fill out the n00b survey for your common room, which is located in here. Good luck and welcome.

SQUIB:
Zilch.

HOUSE TRANSFERS:
N/A

Please read this post if you are interested in transferring houses. If you have entered any contests that have already closed, your points will remain with your former house. Any points earned from entries on open contests or earned in the future will be awarded to your new house.

Everytime a Bell Rings a Horcrux Gets Destroyed!

2012-07-01T17:27:00Z

01. Name: Colleen
02. How did you find out about Hogwarts Elite? I was searching for Harry Potter Communities on LiveJournal and came upon this one.

||MIRROR OF ERISED||

03. What do you wish to accomplish in life?
Well, I have already received a Bachelors in Theatre and, more recently, a Masters in Arts Administration. I wish to be hired by a theatre company, working in Development (planning fundraisers, writing grants, and doing the work to ensure the company receives funding to continue its work). I think the arts are an important part of life, so doing something that would ensure that others can continue to appreciate them would be very fulfilling. Eventually I hope to start my own theatre company. I am also a performer (acting, singing, and dancing), so I would like to continue that work as well. On top of this, my biggest hope in life is to start a family. I’m very much a family-oriented person and don’t want to grow old alone.

04. Describe exactly what you would see in the Mirror of Erised. (This is not the same question as #03.)
Part of me wants to say I would see myself performing on Broadway, but the other part of me wants to say I would see myself with a husband and children. Ultimately, I’d go with a husband and children. While being a Broadway performer would be wonderful, a family is more important to me than anything. I can still perform and make a small living while being a wife and mother, and once my children have grown, performing is a career I can always return to. Besides, when I’m old and frail it will be the people I love who will brighten my day, not the parts I played in my when I was younger.

05. What makes a person deserving of your respect?
I think all people are deserving of respect so long as they give that same respect to others. On a deeper level, I have immense respect for people who make an effort to help others, even just by simply holding a door open for someone. I respect people who notice the world around them and recognize that they are only a small part of something so much greater. I respect people who choose to do what's right rather than what's easy. I also respect people who work hard to achieve their goals, as opposed to those who ride on the coat tails of others and simply skim through life.

06. What is your biggest pet peeve?
I hate to see people using texting “language” outside of texting. I understand that when it comes to sending texts it’s simpler to use shorthand, but anywhere else, especially in e-mails, there is no reason not to write out words and use proper grammar and punctuation. I can’t help but wince whenever I see people write things like “brb gng 2 da store!” in e-mails or on message boards and Facebook. There is simply no need and it gets to the point that the message becomes unintelligible. This is especially a pet peeve now that this kind of writing has started to spill over into school work and professional settings. I can’t tell you how many messages like that I have received in the work environment. I feel like this age of texting is contributing to a decline in written and oral communications. Our languages are beautiful and should be appreciated, not slaughtered to bits.

07. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
Physically, I would make myself thinner. I’m not obese, but I’m also not as thin as I would like to be. It sometimes seems like as much as I try, I never really lose much weight. Part of the problem is that I love food (and I live in an area where food is a big deal), so my wish would be that no matter how much I ate, I would still be thin.

Personality wise, I would make myself a little less socially-awkward. I can be shy when first meeting people and in my attempts to look good I sometimes end up saying stupid things. Not mean things, mind you, but poor attempts at jokes and just things that I wish I could undo. Otherwise, I’m just really quiet until I feel I’ve gotten to know them well enough, which can sometimes be perceived as snobbery. Thankfully, the people who end up becoming my friends are obviously awesome enough to see past this.

08. If you could do any one thing and suffer no consequences, what would it be?
This is the hardest question for me to answer. I can’t say I would want to do anything like stealing, because, as much as I would love to, even without consequences I would feel too guilty. I guess if I could, I would sabotage shows like Jersey Shore and Keeping Up With the Kardashians and get them off the air. I can’t stand shows that glorify stupidity and celebrate people who are famous for no reason. At least with reality shows like American Idol and America’s Next Top Model the people who are celebrated are people with talent, rather than those who are using famous parents or tacky personalities to make a name for themselves.

09. What do you think are your top five positive characteristics?

01. Knowledge: I’m not going to deny that I am a smart woman. But even beyond that, I am constantly trying to learn more. I read about current events, I love to do puzzles and brain teasers, I watch Jeopardy daily, and I enjoy finding new things to research and learn about. I won’t claim that I find every topic fascinating, but I still like to understand the basics of it. Going back to school for my Masters was one of the best choices I ever made. Even though it was hard work and I still have student loans to pay off, I enjoyed attending class and gaining new insight, even into boring things like accounting and business law (actually, the latter ended up being a lot of fun). If I could be a professional student, spending my life constantly learning new things, I would be a happy woman.

02. Creativity: I grew up in a very artistic family. Both of my parents are singers and have acted, a talent and love they passed on to both my brother and me. I have been performing since I was a little girl and continue to perform even now. I am also a writer of both fanfiction and original fiction (though I haven’t done much with the latter). Even in forms of art where I don’t excel (I can’t draw to save my life) I still have a deep appreciation of all kinds of art, even things like fashion design and culinary arts. I am also able to come up with creative solutions for problems in work and in my general life. I love doing artsy things and, even if they don’t turn out the way I imagine, I never give up on trying. Furthermore, I have an expansive imagination and like to believe anything is possible, even if it’s only in my mind.

03. Kindness: I don’t claim to be a saint by any means, but I’m definitely the kind of person who makes an effort to help others. It isn’t always a big, heroic effort, but even small things like picking something up if someone drops it or asking if someone needs help carrying something. I am also happy to extend warm welcomes to new people. I know what it’s like to be the odd man out, so I like to make sure people know they’re welcome and that they feel they are accepted. Even if I don’t end up becoming close friends with a person, I always want them to know that I’m there if they need help with something or just someone to talk to.

04. Listening: You know that one friend you have who is a great listener? That friend who is always happy to let you cry on their shoulder? That’s me. I am always available to my friends, to listen to their problems and give them comfort when they’re upset. If they ask for my advice I give it, but otherwise I just let them vent, get their troubles out, and listen, something that not a lot of people can do. I pay attention, let them know that I care, and do my best to help them through their tough times. I’ll also check in on them now and then just to make sure everything is fine and let them know I’m always happy to listen if they need me. I am sometimes a mediator among my friends, helping them sort out their problems. I am very good at understanding what a person feels, even if it isn’t something I’ve experienced. On top of that, I’m a very big fan of hugs and am always happy to dole them out as needed.

05. Passionate: When I care deeply about something, I get very excited about it. I like to get other people excited about it and try to make them as passionate as I am. When I get on a subject about something I love I can sometimes go on and on, trying to hook other people and get them interested in it as well. Sometimes I might talk a little too much, but I feel like I can get people to try new things and find new passions by getting them to be as excited about it as I am. I guess you could say I’m a cheerleader of sorts. I am currently a Team Leader for an online competition and part of my job requires pumping up my team and getting them to compete in challenges, cheering them on along the way.

10. What do you think are your top five negative characteristics?

01. Stubbornness: When I’m set in my way, there’s not much that can change that. If I want to do something my way, I’m going to do it my way. This also includes my opinions and personal feelings. I’m usually happy to hear someone else’s side of things, but it’s very rare that I end up changing my mind about something. This also extends to arguments. I hate to lose arguments. I’m one of those people who finds it nearly impossible to walk away from internet fights. I always hope that the other person will give up so that I can “win” the argument. If it is ever shown that I am 100% indisputably wrong, I can be a sore loser. I may concede my defeat, but inside I’m fuming.

02. Know-it-All: As I said, I am an intelligent woman. Unfortunately, I’m also the kind of person who wants to make sure people know how smart I am. I tend to raise my hand a lot in class, shout out answers to questions, and pepper my conversations with little known facts, hoping people will be impressed. Part of this comes from my need for approval and acceptance of my peers. I hope that if they see that I’m knowledgeable, they’ll think more highly of it. I know that I probably annoy people with this, especially classmates who get sick of me always answering questions (though, in my defense, in some cases I have to answer all of the questions because no one else is raising their hand). Still, intelligence is something of which I think highly, both in myself and in others. I admit, I can be a bit snobby when it comes to intelligence, though that’s usually reserved for people who choose not to learn.

03. Self-Conscious: As I’ve stated before, I can be very self-conscious about what people think about me. This extends to both my physical attributes and my personality. Physically, I don’t often think much of myself. There are things about my body that I like, and I don’t know that I would call myself “ugly”, just plain. Every now and then I see myself in the mirror or in a picture and actually think I look good, but a lot of times I just end up wishing I could change my looks.

As for my personality, I sometimes think the people around me don’t really like me, but just tolerate me. I try – and often fail – to be funny or I make awkward comments when I don’t know what else to say. I’m the kind of person who might look at small actions of others and wonder if I’ve done something to annoy them. Usually this is all for nothing and I soon realize that it was own paranoia making me think something is wrong when it isn’t. I am just very eager to please and become afraid when I think I’ve done something wrong.

04. Daydreaming: Like I said, I have a vast imagination. Unfortunately, this means that my mind sometimes wanders and I can get lost in my own thoughts. It’s not so bad when I’m by myself, but when I’m in class or at a meeting, I sometimes zone out (especially when it’s really boring) and have to catch up with what’s being said. This also means that sometimes I can seem withdrawn from others even if I don’t mean to. I think my daydreaming can also make me judge my life a little more harshly. I love my “fantasy life” so much that I’m sometimes disappointed when I have to return to “the real world.”

05. Messy: I’m not “pigsty” messy (I do have a sense of personal hygiene) but I allow my room and personal spaces to become very cluttered. I leave shoes in the middle of the floor, I stick things in drawers to get them out of the way, and I never make my bed (what’s the point?). Every now and then I’ll try to start with a clean slate. I’ll completely reorganize everything neatly and promise myself that this time I’ll make more of an effort to keep things tidy, but I soon fall back into my bad habit of leaving dirty close on the floor, dropping books and notebooks beside my bed, and sticking things on my bookcase when I don’t feel like putting them up properly. If something is really important to me I’ll make a big effort to keep it clean, but otherwise I tend to let it become cluttered.

||HOGWARTS, A HISTORY||

11. Who is your favorite character in the Harry Potter series?
This is a loaded question for me and can go two ways, depending on whether you mean my favorite character based on who they are as a person (meaning, would I like to be friends with them in real life) or my favorite character based on how original and well-developed they are in the stories.

As far as liking a character simply as a character, my choice goes to Snape. What I love about the character is that he isn’t really a bad guy, but it’s also hard to consider him a “good guy” because he isn’t your typical “good guy”. He sometimes does the right thing for the wrong reasons and the wrong thing for the right reasons. I appreciate having a character who is a “hero” while being a pretty unlikeable person, because that’s very much true to life. Sometimes the people who we recognize as heroes weren’t very nice in their everyday lives; they just had enough moral sense to do the right thing when it counted.

He’s not someone I would like to be around, because despite the fact that he ultimately did the right thing, he still behaves as a bully to Harry and the other Gryffindor students, but there’s a character depth there that I can appreciate as a writer and a reader. He’s not just angry and mean for no reason. Whether or not you agree that he has a right to hate James Potter, J.K. Rowling at least gave him that strong back story and strong reasoning for why he became the man he did. This leaves him with an interesting inner-conflict of hating Harry because of James and wanting to protect him because of Lily. The fact that Harry ends up naming his son after Snape and speaking so highly of him, despite Snape’s cruel treatment of him, is a testament to the fact that his good outweighed his bad.

As far as my favorite character based on personality, I’ll have to go with Neville. I see a lot of myself in Neville. When I was 11, I was definitely the kind of kid who didn’t think highly of myself and mostly hung to the back, letting the others take the lead. What I love about Neville is seeing him grow from the young boy who didn’t even think he was good enough to be in Gryffindor into the strong young man who has no problem standing up to Voldemort and killing Nagini. I appreciate characters who can admit that they are afraid, that they think themselves to be weak, but who, when push comes to shove, can blossom and show the courage they’ve always had inside. In my opinion, Neville has the largest character development over the course of the entire series; who he is at the beginning of the series is almost the complete opposite of who he ends up becoming.

12. Who is your least favorite character in the Harry Potter series?
Again, it depends on whether you mean my least favorite as a person or my least favorite as a character. As a person, Voldemort takes the cake. He is the epitome of evil and is really the one person who values himself over anyone else. Even his followers are willing to sacrifice themselves for him or their loved ones. I would never want to be near a person like him (though he is a fascinating character).

As far as the character I felt contributed the least to the overall story, I’d have to go with Rufus Scrimgeour. I don’t really hate him or anything, but I don’t see the point in replacing Fudge with Scrimgeour. They’re distinctly different characters, sure, but they both seem to serve the same purpose: sticking their noses into Dumbledore’s affairs and trying to use Harry for their own personal gains. I just don’t feel like he brought anything new to the plot development.

13. What was your favorite plot or character revelation in the Harry Potter series?
I loved in The Half-Blood Prince when Harry (and the readers) got a look into Voldemort’s past. I love when creators take the time to flesh their villains out just as much as the hero. I like to know what makes them tick and why they are the way they are. J.K. Rowling easily could have simply had Voldemort be the typical villain who is simply evil for the sake of being evil, so I appreciate the time she took to give him a proper development. While his past by no means justifies his actions, it does explain the person he became. His grandfather and uncle hated muggles and those who were not pure-blooded, beliefs that he soon adopted. The fact that his mother had made no attempts to save herself from death after giving birth may have contributed to Voldemort’s own fear of death. I can see how growing up in a muggle orphanage and then finding out he was “special” could give him an inflated ego and make him think he’s superior to the muggles, and it makes sense that he would be closely drawn to Hogwarts, just as Harry was after having to live with the Dursleys.

14. Describe the canon qualities for each house that accurately reflect you.

• Gryffindor: Although “chivalry” often refers to knighthood and men, I think in its modern definition it definitely applies to me. I am a generous person with my time, my money, and my possessions. I am very courteous to all people, even strangers on the street. Courtesy is something in which I believe very strongly. I also believe in honor and integrity in our everyday lives. I am also passionate about the things in which I believe and hold dear and can be a bit hot-tempered at times.

• Slytherin: I am a very ambitious person with high hopes for the things I wish to achieve in life. I am willing to do a lot to achieve those goals (within reason) and understand the importance of making the right connections. Admittedly, I do have a certain craving for fame. I want to make a name for myself in life and enjoy a certain amount of fame, as long as it’s fame for something good. I am also very resourceful and can find creative ways to solve problems.

• Ravenclaw: I am intelligent and have the ability to look at things in a logical way. As I’ve said, I love to do puzzles, I’m quite good at riddles, and I love witty humor. I appreciate books, movies, and plays that make you think and that force you to pay attention. I like smart jokes (or nerd jokes), even if I don’t get them at first and have to do research to understand them (then I appreciate them even more). I also love to learn new things. I can sit for hours reading things about a subject or watching a documentary about it. I also have a strong memory and a good attention to detail. I can recall small details that I may have once read or things that I learned years before.

• Hufflepuff: I have a deep loyalty to my friends and family. This doesn’t mean that I will be silent if I see them doing something wrong, but when they are in a bind I will stick by them. If I see them in trouble, I will do anything to help them out. If they’re being called names or are the subject of vicious rumors, I’ll stand up for them and tell off anyone making snide comments about them. I believe in being fair and in fair play and following the rules. I am also a hard worer. I take pride in my work and I don’t do anything only half-way.

15. Describe the canon qualities for each house that do not accurately reflect you.

• Gryffindor: For me it would be bravery and daring. I know that in times of crisis I have it in me to face danger, but I’m not the type who would actively seek it out. For example, I would have certainly joined Dumbledore’s Army, but I wouldn’t have done things like sneaking out of the dorms at night or going into the Forbidden Forest. Even in terms of career choices, I can’t say I would choose to be an Auror or any agent of law-enforcement because I don’t know that I could be in high-stress, life-or-death situations and do what needs to be done.

• Slytherin: While I am ambitious, I also have a limit to what I’ll do to achieve my goals. I won’t step on others or stab people in back to get what I want, nor will I sell my soul for it. My ambitions are not more important than my integrity. I also don’t subscribe to the belief of pure-bloodedness. I think all people are equal. There may people I dislike because of the way they behave, but I would never dislike them on the basis of their blood-status.

• Ravenclaw: I suppose I’d have to say wit. While I love wittiness, I’m not the kind of person who is good at being witty. When it comes to humor, I don’t have that quick wit to make the perfect comment at the perfect time. Usually I realize a few minutes later what I should have said. I also have a bit of trouble focusing sometimes. While I love the learn, if the subject starts to bore me, my mind will drift elsewhere.

• Hufflepuff: I would definitely have to say patience. I can be impatient and short-tempered with people who annoy me and who don’t see things the way I do. I’m not very good at being impartial, either; I usually end up picking a side. I am also more competitive than Hufflepuffs tend to be and, while I’m not overly-boastful, I’m not that modest about my accomplishments.

||HOGWARTS EXPRESS||

16. Age: 26
17. Optional: Link us to where you have promoted this community in your personal journal to earn your future house five points. Here!

A Horcrux That I Used to Know

2012-07-01T17:21:42Z

01. Name: Meagan
02. How did you find out about Hogwarts Elite? I’ve seen the community referenced by people on Livejournal, as well as on Tumblr. The desire to fill out an application has always been there, but I’ve only now had the time to complete one after having an html version saved to my computer for months.

||MIRROR OF ERISED||

03. What do you wish to accomplish in life?
When it comes down to it, I want to entertain people and make them happy. My major is Classics, but I’ve been volunteering and working at a small television station for about 4 years now. I’ve learned a lot of practical information about the industry, and I absolutely adore the hands-on nature of film and television production. Therefore, I’m aiming towards spending my life working as a camera op, or a director in the entertainment industry. The idea of making movies or tv means I’ll be able to touch people’s lives. By and large, I want to have an effect on people; I want to make them happy the same way the industry has brought me so much joy.

04. Describe exactly what you would see in the Mirror of Erised. (This is not the same question as #03.)
This is a challenging question, if only because I’ve literally never thought about what I would see in the mirror before. But I guess, if it came down to it, I’d maybe see myself surrounded by close friends and family, holding the leash of a German Shepherd in one hand and a collection of DVDs from a well-love television show I work on in the other, with a collection of stuff beside me, because I’m a horrible, materialistic person.

05. What makes a person deserving of your respect?
Sometimes people make mistakes when they try to do what’s best, sometimes people try their hardest to do something worthwhile and just never get there, other people may put their foot in their mouth when they never meant to do anything of the sort. None of that matters to me, as long as that person is sincere and generally means well, I’ll respect them for life.

06. What is your biggest pet peeve?
I absolutely abhor a lack of self-awareness, especially one that leads to a complete disregard for the people affected by you. I can understand having those moments of distraction, whether it’s something simple as not looking where you’re going, or as extreme as not thinking through what you’re saying. Everyone has moments. However, I take offense to those people who are completely unconcerned with anyone but themselves. The world always moves a little smoother when people are nice to each other.

07. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I’d give myself a bit of a backbone when it comes to myself. If someone I love needs help I’m one of the first to step in and offer my services, but I have a hard time saying no, or standing up for myself and what I want.

08. If you could do any one thing and suffer no consequences, what would it be?
I’d travel the world with friends and family. It would be absolutely incredible if I could visit a million and one places in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, etc. with the people I love. We could have grand old adventures, visit historical sites, wander around the cities, and spend days lazing in the sun, without having to worry about financial consequences or food poisoning, or whathaveyou.

09. What do you think are your top five positive characteristics?

01. I love being helpful. It’s my main driving force in life, and what I look for in a job. It sounds ridiculous, but being accommodating and kind is what makes my life worthwhile. I feel useful if I can make someone’s life easier; I absolutely love it. I’m very much a need-to-be-needed kind of person.

02. I have a fairly good temper. Very rarely will I visibly fly off the handle at people or situations. Although I will stew for about ten minutes mentally raging at someone, once I’ve calmed down enough, I leave the incident behind me.

03. I’m always willing to be a mediator in situations. Sure, I’m liable to get really impassioned about things, but I always tend to put a lot of emphasis on knowing both sides of a story and making my decisions from there. All of this, of course, presupposes the possibility that neither of the sides in an argument are a friend. Yes I'm happy to be a mediator, but more likely than not I'll outwardly side with a friend, even if I feel differently on the inside.

04. I’m always willing to sit with a friend to act as a sounding board, shoulder to cry on, and a willing hug all rolled into one. Friends and family do to take me up on that offer. They also tend to come to me if they want to rant, which I’m more than happy to sit through if I can help clear their mind.

05. I’m pretty open-minded. I don’t place a lot of emphasis on past mistakes or insecurities. There also isn’t a lot that’ll make me think twice about a person, unless they turn out to be an unapologetic jerk or something worse.

10. What do you think are your top five negative characteristics?

01. A reserved nature. Outwardly I’m an incredibly shy person, which means I tend to come off as cold, quite often. I can also be quite sarcastic and my ‘normal face’ is apparently a faint scowl. I swear I’m a nice person, and people seem to genuinely like me if they’ve spent more than 5 minutes talking to me, but it’s the initial impression that makes people think I’m unfriendly. Which kills me, because I adore people and making them happy, as I’ve stated, but it is what it is.

02. Procrastination. I do have a strong work ethic, but I'm easily distracted by the internet, or television, or a conversation when I'm suppose to be working on an essay or doing actual work. Heck, it's taken me months to fill out this application, because I'll start answering a few questions, and then I'll decide to take a quick break to check tumblr, and before I know it, my afternoon's gone. Case in point: at this very moment, I’m filling out this application instead of reading over my grant application at work.

03. I hate change. If it’s for the better, it will take me a while to realize as much and accept it. However, overall, I’ll dig my heels in and stick to what I’m comfortable with. I know not all change is bad, but I’d rather things remain as they are, then bow to change, find out after the fact that everything's all gone downhill, and regret ever giving in.

04. I lack confidence in my intelligence. I second guess myself constantly, and I rarely raise my hand in class or speak up at work, even when I know an answer. I loathe looking like an idiot, so I’d rather refrain from speaking than doing so, on the off chance I'll get something wrong and look like an utter fool. This only really applies to areas not involving my close friends or family, however.

05. Phobias. There’s a lengthy list, but specifically fears of isolation and the unknown. I like to know what I’m getting into beforehand, and I like being able to plan out my moves before I make them. (Even if it’s only driving down to a restaurant to meet with friends). As well, for all of my introversion, I crave helping people and knowing I have people to rely on. Getting cut off from that support system, or being unable to live my life making people happy would crush me.

||HOGWARTS, A HISTORY||

11. Who is your favorite character in the Harry Potter series?
Remus Lupin. He’s such a kind, soft spoken parental figure to Harry, and by extension, to the reader. I also adore his inner strength and courage, even in the face of ignorance regarding his status as a werewolf, as well as the general suspicion he’s treated with by the rest of the wizarding world for his possibly connection to the Potters’ deaths. That, and I love a man who enjoys a little chocolate.

12. Who is your least favorite character in the Harry Potter series?
It's a tie between Umbridge and Snape. Umbridge, because she crossed a giant, blinking, neon line in the sand when she resorted to torture to (wrongly!) reprimand a student. And Snape, because I can’t get over his treatment of Harry. I can understand that he was bitter over James and having this little boy pop up who looked like him was unsettling. However, at least in my mind, it doesn’t excuse the fact that he was a grown adult acting like a bully to a child.

13. What was your favorite plot or character revelation in the Harry Potter series?
My favourite character revelation was the big reveal that Sirius was Harry’s Godfather, and that he was completely innocent in the deaths of James and Lily. There was finally a father figure in Harry’s life who, I thought, could stay with him; one who genuinely loved Harry and wanted the best for him. Plus this revelation meant that Remus could reconnect with one of his best friends, and gave both him and Harry some semblance of a stable home again. Of course it shortly went down the tube, with the event Sirius’s death, but it was great while it lasted.

14. Describe the canon qualities for each house that accurately reflect you.

• Gryffindor: I can be incredibly stubborn and prideful when I want to be, even to my own detriment. (ie. when I refused to drop a class that I was doing terribly in just because I wanted to stick it out so I wouldn’t have to deal with the embarrassment of telling people I had to drop a class. (To be fair I was only doing badly because I couldn’t figure out what to study for the bloody tests. Worst prof ever. And I was, again, too prideful to ask him what I was missing.)) Instead, I get the embarrassment of a terrible mark on my transcript, in lieu of a withdrawal note.

• Slytherin: Traditionalism. I like to stick to the tried and true methods in life; why fix it when it ain’t broke, as the saying goes. I am open to new ideas and new theories as long as other people take the helm in implementing them or exploring them. If it’s down to me, we’re sticking with what works.

• Ravenclaw: Creativity. I tend to have a lot of ideas for stories or essays or whathaveyou. I have a fairly vivid imagination, and I find myself exploring plots or characterizations at times, plus if I have a piece of paper in front of me, you’ll often find me doodling the time away. My trouble, unfortunately, lies in the execution of these ideas. I can never seem to connect what’s in my head to what’s on paper.

• Hufflepuff: I was going to use hard work as one of the qualities that doesn’t reflect my personality, but I’ve realized that it’s one of my most Hufflepuff-like traits. I think it would have to be, for anyone who has willingly spend 4 months filing paperwork, 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. I also had to scan barcodes in a library, 8 hours a day, 5 days a week for another 4 months. Not exactly the most diverse, challenging tasks in the world and I absolutely loathed ever minute, but I stuck them out. Granted, with a heck of a lot of complaining, but I remained dedicated. Moreover, while I’m not particularly known for my love of academia, I’m also dedicated to my studies in university, or really any job I'm tasked with.

15. Describe the canon qualities for each house that do not accurately reflect you.

• Gryffindor: Daring. I like a bit of adventure, but I’m a handwringer when it comes to any sort of risk. Fear of the unknown is honestly one of my main problems and main anxieties in life. You’d never see me get within 10 feet of a bungee jumping cord or skydiving equipment. I’d rather have my feet on the ground and very far away from anything that could get me hurt.

• Slytherin: I am quite possibly the least cunning person you’ll come across. I’m a terrible liar, and even if I could maintain deceit, the crushing guilt of doing so would make me fold like a wet blanket.

• Ravenclaw: I am also possibly the least witty person you’ll ever meet. Sometimes I do have the odd moment of astuteness, but by and large, I’m the girl you want laughing at someone else’s joke, not making them. My spontaneous jokes are usually unfunny or confusing. To have wit is also to be succinct and to the point, which I’m also decidedly not. I favour being pedantic, even when I don’t mean to be.

• Hufflepuff: I have some trouble with patience. I don’t like waiting for Christmas or birthdays or summer vacation, or the end of Fall/Winter semester, or the next interesting movie/television show, or the end of class, or the weekend, or the end of the day. Anything that’s standing in the way of me having fun, getting gifts, spending time with family/friends, going to bed, or lazing around at home leaves me restless and whiney. I also hate waiting around for people (although I won’t ever say it to their face in the moment), which really doesn’t help considering I’m the kind of person who is always on time or early for everything.

||HOGWARTS EXPRESS||

16. Age: 21

I think I've lost my Horcrux!

2012-07-01T17:17:50Z

01. Name: Jay
02. How did you find out about Hogwarts Elite? I’ve seen it pop up around LJ a few times

||MIRROR OF ERISED||

03. What do you wish to accomplish in life?
I want to travel. Mostly to Europe, but it would be awesome to go other places as well. But of equal importance, I want to stay close to my friends. I managed to find a really amazingly superb group of friends and, because I don’t have the best track record of keeping in touch with my friends in the past, I’d like to make sure I don’t lose track of them once I leave college. That’s one thing that makes me hesitant about studying abroad in a couple semesters- I don’t want to miss out on an entire year of bonding and stupid adventures with my friends. But I really do want to go to just about all the countries in Europe. Relatedly, I would like to learn more languages, particularly Italian and possibly German (though it is a really weird language to learn). I would maybe like to relearn some Spanish as well, because I adore languages and I don’t want French to be the only other language I know. I’d also like to find a job I really like someday after I finish school, preferably one that pays the bills but that’s not a requirement, because right now I don’t know what I want to do after I graduate. And, you know, I’d like to make a difference of some sort, contribute good things to the world, maybe help out a good cause. And have a family, probably.

04. Describe exactly what you would see in the Mirror of Erised. (This is not the same question as #03.)
I would see myself and my friends and my sister in a cozy room with lots of couches and fluffy rugs and blankets, maybe with a fire going in the background. Out the window it would look vaguely like England. There would be good books and good tea and lots of hats and bow ties in the background. We would all be happy and not have anything to worry about except stupid things like whose fandom is better and who ate the last piece of chocolate.

05. What makes a person deserving of your respect?
I respect people who do the right thing, even when it’s really difficult. I respect people who know what they’re doing and are competent or talented at their jobs/hobbies. I respect people who are creative and passionate. I respect people who are open-minded and tolerant toward all sorts of different people. I respect people who are decisive and confident, because those are two things I am not but would like to be. I respect people who are different and unique and proudly march to the beat of their own drummer without worrying what other people think. I respect people who fight against injustice and strive for equality. I respect people who make a habit of respecting other people. You don’t have to be all of these things at once for me to respect you, though.

06. What is your biggest pet peeve?
I don’t know how helpful these are going to be in actually sorting me because they’re mostly personal due to gender shit, but they’re the first things that come to mind as really pissing me off. I don’t like it when people open doors for me and I don’t like those people who “sir” or “ma’am/miss” every person they interact with (you usually find them in customer service positions I guess). The doors thing only bothers me if it’s super obvious the person holding the door is making a big deal out of it, like stepping behind the door and letting you go first even though they were in front of you. Especially if the person holding the door is someone I read as male and they’re not holding it for a large group of people or anything. I know it’s meant to be a polite gesture, but I can open the damn door by myself and it’s a gesture traditionally reserved for female people, which makes me uncomfortable because then I feel like they’re reading me as female and that is not the impression I am trying to give. The sir/ma’am thing is related, because people usually get it wrong for me and I assume it makes other people uncomfortable when it’s wrong, so why can’t people just stop assuming gender and not use a title for everyone they interact with?

07. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I would make myself more confident and less awkward, particularly about expressing my emotions. All of my friends are really expressive and I’m sort of not, so sometimes I feel like I’m distant or not a very emotional person. But I am just crap at talking about how I feel and opening up to people. I change the subject, leave out facts about myself for no necessary reason, and often tend to feel like I’m messing things up or bothering people. I don’t like talking about certain aspects of myself. I feel awkward quite often, even when other people may not perceive the situation as awkward. I would really like to be more confident, to be able to do and say what I want without constantly second-guessing myself. I need to be able to just understand myself and own who I am instead of worrying about what other people think of me, because I keep feeling like I have to mold myself to fit whoever I’m around.

08. If you could do any one thing and suffer no consequences, what would it be?
I would take a break from school and the looming future of the “real world” and go off to Europe for a while with some friends. We could go camping and backpacking and stay in cheap hostels if we had to or stay in fancy hotels if we could afford it. I wouldn’t really mind either option. We would definitely go all over the UK and Ireland, spend a decent amount of time in London exploring, sightseeing, and seeing some theater. I’d also like to see some opera and ballet in Paris, even though it would make me feel a bit snobby and weirdly classy. We would most certainly go to Disneyland in Paris. I would drag everyone to a bunch of old castles and we’d have to stop in Italy for the food. I also think it would be really cool to explore the Black Forest in Germany, I really like forests. It would be totally awesome and, since I would be suffering no consequences, I wouldn’t have to worry about how many piles of debt I’d be accumulating in addition to all my student loans. It would be the best.

09. What do you think are your top five positive characteristics?

01. I’m independent. I like being around other people and getting their input on things, but I really like being able to do things for myself. It’s nice knowing I can rely on myself and that I can deal with what life throws at me without extensive assistance. Getting through tough spots and coming out alright gives me some satisfaction of being able to meet my own challenges. I like to do things on my own a fair amount of the time. Because I’m bad with decisions, I sometimes wish that I could have someone else decide for me, but in general I really do like being able to be my own person and make my own actions. I can handle things for myself, most of the time, and I like being able to handle things for myself.

02. I’m fairly emotionally stable. My mood is generally either calm leaning toward cheerful or bored/tired but not super whiney about it. I don’t get upset easily, I’m not easily offended (and if I am I usually won’t show it), and I can keep my cool in most situations. When I am having strong emotions or really negative emotions, I either isolate myself, distract myself as best as I possibly can, or bottle it up and hide it away so I don’t have to deal with it and neither does anyone else. I’m fairly good at keeping a handle on my emotions and I don’t make other people’s problems my problems. I’m pretty low-drama and easy to get along with.

03. I’m imaginative. I love all things artsy and I’ve usually got more story ideas than I know what to do with. I get inspired by random things, at random moments, and I have endless files of stories that I have enthusiastically started and then abandoned because I found another idea that I was super excited about. I’m a bit different and I like not blending into the crowd all the time, so I like to throw some creativity into my clothes and such. I think it’s fun trying to come up with the most ridiculous idea possible, and I can often come up with some pretty wacky ones. I’m also a bit of a daydreamer.

04. I’m fairly responsible. I always do my homework for class, I know how to manage my time (even if I don’t always do so in practice), I try to make sure I get a regular amount of sleep, and I know how to do most of the household chores necessary for basic living (even though I dislike actually doing them and typically put them off). I’m a bit of a cheapskate, so I tend to manage my money efficiently. I try to be punctual and come either prepared or prepared enough to improvise. I don’t typically get in trouble (because most of the stupid things I do aren’t actually illegal). I would say I come off as mature, but I’m really not all that mature. I’m too much in love with childish things like coloring, cartoons, and stuffed animals to consider myself very mature.

05. I’m intelligent. I’m putting this up here mostly because I feel obligated, as my intelligence is one of the first things most people will point out when describing my good qualities. I don’t like to be known only as “that smart person,” but that’s the impression a lot of people have of me unless they get to know me (which many people don’t, because I’m quiet). I’m really good at school. I get good grades and I’ve taken a lot of advanced classes because I wanted to challenge myself rather than be bored. I pick up on things quickly. I usually know the answer in classes. I study and I do my homework. Sometimes I come up with really good ideas.

10. What do you think are your top five negative characteristics?

01. I’m lazy. I really like sitting around on my ass and I don’t like being forced to get up. I’m not a big fan of heavy physical exertion. I often complain about things being “too much work” because I don’t feel like doing them. I’ll do labor-intensive things if I have to, but I’ll usually take the easy way if there is one that isn’t cheating or illegal or whatnot. I don’t get as much exercise as I probably should and I’m sure people get bored of my complaints about how lazy I am. For a real life example, I should probably be looking for a summer job right now, but I’m perfectly content to lounge around all day reading and derping around on the internet, because it’s easier and more fun, so I have made very little progress in actually finding summer work.

02. I’m indecisive. I tend to look at both sides to various situations, so I often have trouble choosing one side and sticking with it because I see the pros and cons of both. I’m a fairly go-with-the-flow type person, so I’m not super picky about things like what to have for dinner or where to go shopping. My normal answer is “I don’t care”. In addition, I don’t like being tied down to things and having lots of obligations, so I tend to put off making decisions that involve commitment until the last possible moment in case I change my mind or something else comes up. There are certain social/moral/political issues that I have a very clear stand on and very strong opinions about, but in many situations I would rather have someone else making the decisions.

03. I make excuses. If I do something I’m not proud of, if I fail to live up to my own/others’ expectations, if I don’t quite follow through on something, I usually feel bad about it. And to make myself feel better, I come up with reasons why what I did was justified. I justify the hell out of my actions to myself until I feel okay about them. This means that I’m not always the best at taking responsibility for my actions. I try, I really do, but my first instinct is usually to go on the defensive and explain why what I did or how I acted was perfectly understandable.

04. I don’t always like to face reality. This sort of goes along with the above fault. It’s not fun to acknowledge that I’ve made bad decisions or mistakes, so I try to distract myself out of guilt. When I’m in a bad mood or stressed about real life things, I like to distract myself with stuff that makes me feel happier. In particular, I don’t like to think about the reality of the world after college. I don’t know what I want to do as a career, and that scares me. I don’t want to have to go job searching, deal with bills, deal with people I love growing older and dying. I’d rather live in a happy bubble where I’ve got friends and a place to live and everything’s reasonably awesome. Sometimes I’m overly optimistic because I want to believe that things will work out for the best.

05. I’m a bit lacking in self-confidence. I do recognize my good qualities and my strengths sometimes, but a lot of the time I’m unsure of myself. I worry that I’m bothering people, or that people have a problem with me but don’t want to tell me. I’m not very good at standing up for myself in situations where I should stand up for myself. I’d rather be uncomfortable or unhappy than tell people off and potentially upset them or make them angry at me. I don’t like confrontation.

||HOGWARTS, A HISTORY||

11. Who is your favorite character in the Harry Potter series?
I really like the Marauders, and I think I’ll have to go with Sirius for this one. Remus is probably the character I most relate to (or one of them, anyway), so I’ve got a definite fondness for him, but Sirius is just really cool. He was kind of a jerk when he was in school, and that’s not cool, but he did mostly grow out of it and turned out to be a pretty awesome adult. The guy spent twelve years in Azkaban and came out mostly alright, so that’s really impressive. He’s got a wicked sense of humor too, and I like that. He’s obviously not perfect and he does some stupid things, but he’s usually got respectable motivations behind his actions. Also, c’mon, dude’s a badass. He can turn into a dog and has a flying motorbike. How much more awesome can you get? I don’t relate that much to him, but he’s the kind of person that I think it would be fun to be more like. I know it wouldn’t be very practical to have his impulsiveness and vengeful side, but I would love to have his confidence and strong convictions that he’s able to fight for.

12. Who is your least favorite character in the Harry Potter series?
Well I could pick Umbridge, but that seems like a really obvious choice. She has basically no redeeming characteristics whatsoever. So instead I’ll go with Rita Skeeter. She’s just slimy and manipulative and nosy for terrible reasons. I won’t deny that I’m sometimes quite nosy myself, but it’s not for the sole excuse of trying to find a way to make money. Rita Skeeter is obnoxious and I don’t like that she makes up lies and manipulates the public’s opinions of certain people just because she wants to sell her story. It’s stupid and it’s mean, and a good journalist would find a good story that didn’t require excessive manipulation of details to appeal to readers.

13. What was your favorite plot or character revelation in the Harry Potter series?
I don’t know, I felt kind of vindicated when it looked like Snape killed Dumbledore, because I’d spent the past six books thinking he was an asshole and a terrible human being and probably a Death Eater, so it felt nice to receive confirmation that I was right about him being evil (even though I found out a book later that I’d actually been wrong). But I’d feel bad choosing that as a favorite, because it seems a bit mean-spirited. I wasn’t actually happy that Dumbledore died, just that it gave me even more of an excuse to dislike Snape.

I could go instead with the revelation that Sirius wasn’t actually out to kill Harry in the third book and was, in fact, on Harry’s side. It seemed unexpectedly positive, and I got all hopeful because something in Harry’s life actually seemed to be going right for once. Also it put a whole new twist on the past events, because now they could be interpreted entirely differently, which was interesting. I was all cheerful because yay, Harry had a father figure now and could leave the Dursleys and live with someone who actually cared about him. It ended up not working out in the end, but the happiness and hope was fun for me while it lasted.

14. Describe the canon qualities for each house that accurately reflect you.

• Gryffindor: I’m a bit of a daredevil- I think that sky diving and hang gliding would be fun things to try. Although I jump easily at loud noises, I’m not easily freaked by situations that have my friends panicking. I can keep calm as we try to navigate out of a sketchy part of town or I try to get up in a tree for a photo project. So I think I’m fairly brave. I enjoy trying new things. I don’t know what a modern definition of chivalry would be, but I’m definitely polite to people. I’m stubbornly independent, I often don’t ask for help when it would probably be useful because I want to prove that I can do something myself. I get obsessive about things, which could be considered passionate.

• Slytherin: I’ve got a pretty fair sense of self-preservation. I have enough common sense to get by in the world and I have fleeting moments of ambition or motivation where I want to accomplish things and I have a plan of what to accomplish and how to get there. I usually hold myself to high standards. I am ruthless in board games. I’m decent at self-motivation when I put in the effort.

• Ravenclaw: I’m intelligent and I excel at school. I enjoy learning about subjects that interest me and I’m a fairly curious person. I can get nosy sometimes because I want to know everything. I think unconventional thinkers are really cool. I spend a lot of time off in my head when I’m bored, daydreaming, thinking about what I want to do next, or thinking about random things that pop up. I’m introverted and fond of self-reflection. I’m creative and I love the arts and writing in particular. I really love books and reading. I’m a bit of an eccentric, and often curious/excited about odd things.

• Hufflepuff: I really value my friends and family and I will try my best to be loyal to them. I’m open-minded and I care a lot about justice and fairness. I’m usually willing to work hard for things that I care about. I like to feel somewhat productive. I think tolerance should be something everyone strives for. I actually like Helga Hufflepuff best of the Founders because she was willing to take anyone and treat all students equally instead of discriminating based on somewhat random characteristics like the others. I can be very patient at times. I don’t brag about myself or show off, I’m typically fairly modest. I’m pretty easily satisfied, and I would love to live right next to the kitchens.

15. Describe the canon qualities for each house that do not accurately reflect you.

• Gryffindor: I get nervous and leave things unsaid that should be said. I often can’t work up the courage to say something or stand up for something I care about when I’m faced with a lot of opposition. I’m not very impulsive and I generally think before I act, unless I’m feeling lazy and don’t feel like planning. I’m very non-confrontational and more passive-aggressive than blunt and willing to confront people. I prefer not to take risks if they’re very dangerous and I know I don’t have a good chance at a positive outcome, so I’m not stupidly brave. I’m not a fighter, I’m not into sports, and I don’t think I’m the hero type.

• Slytherin: I’m really not that ambitious. I am far too lazy. I am not very good at making and meeting goals. I’m also not very good at being cunning because I’m too straightforward to come up with twisty master plans. I just don’t usually think about how people or things can be manipulated to work to my benefit. I don’t like to deal with all the details, so my plans are either usually either fairly simple or way too broad to be practical. I don’t care much about success or rising to the top as long as I’m content with what I’ve got.

• Ravenclaw: I mostly only care about learning about things I’m interested in. I do well in school regardless, but that’s because I’d feel guilty if I knew I didn’t do as well as I could have, not because I have a strong desire to learn everything I can. If I’m not interested in a subject, I don’t need to know anything more about it. I wouldn’t call myself a deep thinker, because I don’t sit around pondering life and philosophy all day. I often get bored and frustrated with some types of intellectual puzzles, though I sometimes like other types. I know that I’m a smart person, but it’s just a trait I possess rather than something I worked to gain, so I don’t typically define myself solely on being smart.

• Hufflepuff: I can be really lazy and impatient. I’ll work hard if I have to, but I typically don’t enjoy it. Sometimes I work hard at school, but other times I procrastinate and then put in just enough effort to get a good grade. I’m easily bored, which leads to the getting impatient with some things (when I’m not in a patient mood). A lot of times I look for the method that requires the least effort because I don’t feel like doing something needlessly difficult. Sometimes I can get into the group mentality of Hufflepuff, but overall I think I’m a bit more of an individualist. I hate group projects and such.

||HOGWARTS EXPRESS||

16. Age: 18
17. Optional: Link us to where you have promoted this community in your personal journal to earn your future house five points. http://darkgondolier.livejournal.com/51758.html

A horcrux application

2012-07-01T17:15:17Z

01. Name: Katelin Brigitte-Michelle van Heffen
02. How did you find out about Hogwarts Elite? I stumbled upon it, I think, two years ago but never dared to apply. I don't know why but all of a sudden I remembered the community and after so many years in fandom I saw it as a good time to apply for a sorting.

||MIRROR OF ERISED||

03. What do you wish to accomplish in life?
I want to have seen all the magic and wonders in the world. I have been traveling alone since I was 17 years old, but I'm far from there yet. There's so much I have yet to learn, to see, to wonder about. When I'm going to die, I want to look back at my life and know that there was nothing left for me to discover. This, and I want to become an editor by the LINDA, a magazine here in the Netherlands and at this moment, one of the most popular ones, but also the one that is hardest to get hired for. They're tough and will only take the best of the best. But it's my goal, and I know that if I want it, if I work hard enough for it, I'll get that job. At the moment I'm a student at the University of Applied Sciences of Communication here in Breda, and so far, I'm on track of achieving exactly what I want.

04. Describe exactly what you would see in the Mirror of Erised. (This is not the same question as #03.)
I don't think one is able to answer this question without being biased. I am not sure what my deepest, darkest wish is, nor what my subconsciously secretly wishes. However, I do know what I've been dreaming about for a while. Something I've been practising at the moment, every day, is meditation. I want to be able to Astral Project. It might sound like a small thing, but I've been yearning to be just like my Teacher. He can cleanse people from a distance, get rid of any bad energy, help people cross over and so much more. He's everything I want to be in life, mindfulness wise, and I envy him for it (in a good way). He's my true role-model.

05. What makes a person deserving of your respect?
If they have a goal, or at least a plan in life, and are working towards that. There is nothing I have deeper respect for than people who are fighting for something they really want, because let's face it, nothing is free in this world. It's all good if you're content with what you have, I will not like you any less for it, but if you're fighting for your wish, your goal, your destination, that's power, and I respect that. Simplified I'd say it's the strength in people I admire. It can be as simple as accepting that you need help, and going to find that help (say, a psychologist) because you simply can't face whatever it is you're facing alone anymore, or something big as going for your top job, and working yourself up from the bottom, putting every single bit of energy in it, just to get there. Or hell, just saving up to save a dog that's going to be put down if not saved from the shelter, even though you don't have any money left to spare. Or having two jobs to pay for your college, just because you want that degree. It can be anything, as long as you're fighting for it.

06. What is your biggest pet peeve?
You cannot read my mind, so please don't expect me to be able to read yours. If you want me to do something, or if you just want something from me, tell me. Don't leave me guessing or hell, leave me be to get annoyed later. I might know you very well (considering we're friends) but I am not in your head and I am not all knowing. If you want me to compliment you for that new dress, but I don't, ask me if I like it. If you want me to tell you you're beautiful because you're having an insecure moment, just ask me, tell me that you feel that way, communicate. Just, don't leave me in the dark expecting me to guess what's going on in that pretty little head of yours, because I can't.

07. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I wish I had the ability to speak so many more languages. Since I travel a lot I come across so many different cultures, and it's a shame I always have to fall back on English, but until now I simply wasn't able to find the time to study another one. I know my Dutch and I know my English (or well, most of it) but I really need to get my French, German and Spanish (to start with) up to date. Once I've accomplished that, I'd like to learn Japanese, Chinese and Taiwanese. At least. We'll see how far I'll get, or you know, how much time I will have to start learning those.

08. If you could do any one thing and suffer no consequences, what would it be?
I would want to go back in time. Seeing the old cultures, ancient cities, or just travel the world without restrictions. Just me, a horse and a backpack. Normally, even if it were possible, let's assume it is for a moment, it would create chaos, because time traveling or changing time is impossible. The consequences of a trip like that would be ginormous, trapping one in a never-ending paradox if very unlucky. I would love that freedom, because the world is so restricted at the moment. Documents for everything, applications and borders... I don't like it. I wouldn't want to stay in the past though, I have my life here and I like it, but just seeing it, staying in a different era for a while, that would be amazing.

09. What do you think are your top five positive characteristics?

01. Patience; I can wait for something for years if I need to. If I want it, if I'm working for it, it doesn't matter how long it takes, because I believe that if I work hard enough, I will get it, and if not, it is not meant to be.

02. I want to learn; I like learning, not only school wise but with everything. I'm interested in people too, for example, if I meet a new friend I want to know all about them. I'm really curious like that.

03. I'm a good friend; If I'm friends with you, I will always be there for you to help you in every way possible. I'm not the easiest with making true friends, you know, the ones who've seen your soul, but the ones that "got in" (mind the quotationmarks) are the ones that can ask me pretty much anything.

04. I'm honest; if you need my honest opinion, I'll tell you. I know I don't have to tiptoe around my friends and I like that. If I disagree with somebody I'll let them know, but if I'm terribly excited I'll do that, too.

05. I never get angry; I don't, I just don't. Don't ask me why I don't know. Sure, I can get annoyed, or irritated, but I've only been angry twice in my life. Once was when I found my younger cousin furiously kicking my dog and the second one was when somebody I thought I could trust with my life, betrayed me in a very ugly way. However, this is also a bad characteristic, hence me putting it last.

10. What do you think are your top five negative characteristics?

01. I don't like failing; I get almost, almost depressed when I fail, or when I'm unable to accomplish things. This'll result in me keeping my friends from contacting me, completely isolating me from the world until I feel confident enough that I can tackle the problem. I know I shouldn't but it's just something I do. I'll lose all my energy to do stuff, which often leads to a lot of slacking off, which will result to more failing. Yes, I'm an idiot.

02. Once I start procrastinating, I can't stop; When I let myself do something when I have to work for something, study or just be busy with things, I get in this "I'm so bored!" mood where I just can't get myself to work. It's annoying, and one of the few things that can get me back on track are either cleaning my room or going for a long run.

03. I cannot do anything productive if there's chaos around me. I need things to be clean. It's almost an OCD thing. If there's a mess, even artbunnies will disappear. Highly annoying.

04. I can be too honest. Some people don't appreciate it. To me this sounds weird, but it is true. I don't sugarcoat. I'm not a bitch on purpose but apparently some people take high offense in my being honest, even when I mean no harm or offense with whatever I am saying. I often think that that results in my bad trait not being "too honest" but being "naive". Some people just need a white lie every now and then, I think. Maybe?

05. I get vicious; I already said I never get angry, and that it only happened twice so far in my life. Both times I got really vicious. Whenever I get angry I have no control over myself anymore, I use my logic to a point where it all sounds reasonable what I'm doing to them. The time with my cousin, I dragged him outside by his hair and kicked him three times in the stomach, asking him how it felt if he was kicked like that. He is still scared of me and I still regret it. I started regretting it the moment I'd calmed down. Same story with the betrayal. I took my revenge, I got her to lose all her friends, her social life, her job, her safeplace. I completely destroyed her then current life. I was a horrible person to her, put myself down to her level and took revenge, and at the time it felt amazing. But it is wrong. I hope both of them will be able to forgive me for what I've done, some day.

||HOGWARTS, A HISTORY||

11. Who is your favorite character in the Harry Potter series?
Tom Marvolo Riddle. Not because he's all so great, but I could read at least another 7 books just about it. His whole history and reasoning just fascinated me. Like reading about how the mind of a serial-killer works. I would love to know more about how he got to be, how his childhood was from his point of view, just everything.

12. Who is your least favorite character in the Harry Potter series?
Umbridge. She's just so blind. I was definitely annoyed all the way through OotP. The way she just doesn't want to know annoyed me to no end. Plus, I dislike pink. Might have had something to do with it as well.

13. What was your favorite plot or character revelation in the Harry Potter series?
Albus Dumbledore's. I always hoped he wouldn't just be the grey old man, I wanted him to be so much more and after DH I just got so excited! Because he had a history, he had his own plans and plottings and just general great wizardness (yes, that's a word). He went from (in my eyes) a relatively boring character to something I'd definitely want to explore. My second (I have two favorites, I can never choose) is Regulus. I just have one question: How? How did he get to see Voldemort was evil? Terribly fascinating.

14. Describe the canon qualities for each house that accurately reflect you.

• Gryffindor: I wish I was braver, but alas, I am not, nor do I rush into things. I'm a fighter though, I hope that counts.
• Slytherin: I'm ambitious, that's for sure. I'm also patient, I know what I want and I go for it. I wouldn't say I'm cunning, since I'm a generally nice person most of the times and really direct and straightforward.

• Ravenclaw: I like to learn, I like riddles and just contemplating the universe. I also like working for something. However, I do not think I'd be smart enough for a Ravenclaw. It would be pretty brilliant though.

• Hufflepuff: Once you're my friend, I'm terribly loyal. I'm also a really nice person most of the times. I just like people.

15. Describe the canon qualities for each house that do not accurately reflect you.

• Gryffindor: I am absolutely not brave. I'd come closer to Peter (however, I would have never betrayed my friends like that) than I would come to Harry. I wouldn't be able to fight a Dark Lord like that. Sadly.

• Slytherin: Like I said, I am not cunning. I am way to honest, direct and straightforward for that. I don't use all means to get what I want, I use the ones I can get, yes, but never any dishonest ones.

• Ravenclaw: I have no wit, like, at all.

• Hufflepuff: I don't trust as easily, nor do I live by any justice standarts much. I'm not sure how to explain it. I do trust, but I want to get to know a person really well before I let them in on who I am. Justice, well, I don't know if justice is justice. Look at what happened when I was angry.

||HOGWARTS EXPRESS||

16. Age: 21 (February 25, 1991)
17. Optional: I'll definitely promote the community once I get in n__n

Term 22: Sorting Period #01 (Prompt)

2012-07-01T17:11:27Z

SORTING PERIOD #01 (PROMPT):
Sorting Elite (sorting_elite) is the sorting community of Hogwarts Elite (hogwarts_elite). Each period applications will be posted in the community for the members to sort into one of the four houses or squib. The number of applications posted each period depends on the number received. However, each member of the community is required to sort 4 applications each Sorting Period. If less than 4 applications are posted in a period, then the sorting quota will be reduced to the number that we have (so if there are 3 applications, the quota will be 3).

PERCENTAGE SCALE FOR SORTING ELITE:
Points are awarded for sorting based on the percent of a house that completes their quota. You can see the specific percent breakdowns below in the gray box labeled "possible points". In periods where there are 6 or more applications, an additional bonus of 20 points will be awarded to members of the community who sort all the applications during the Sorting Period.

BEING LABELLED INACTIVE:
The term "inactive" will apply to members of the community who do not reach the sorting quota during two consecutive periods, and newly sorted members who don't reach their quota in the period following their official sorting. Inactive members of the community do not count towards the sorting percentage. For an inactive member to regain active status, they need to sort 4 applications (or less depending on the number that period) and submit the links of their votes to the official member registry. Make sure you have sorted by the time listed at the bottom of this post in order to guarantee you won't miss out.

POSSIBLE POINTS:
7,500: 100%
5,000: 90% - 99%
4,500: 80% - 89%
4,000: 70% - 79%
3,500: 60% - 69%
3,000: 50% - 59%
2,500: 40% - 49%
2,000: 30% - 39%
1,000: 01% - 29%

IMPORTANT LINKS:
Community Rules/Sorting Application
Guide for Prospective Members
Frequently Asked Questions
Official Hogwarts Elite Member Registry
Hogwarts Elite Rules/Information
Master Schedule of Community Events

THIS SORTING PERIOD WILL END ON JULY 16, 2012 AFTER 1:00PM CDT.

Term 21: Sorting Week #06 (Results)

2012-05-16T06:34:00Z

SORTING WEEK #06 (RESULTS):
The votes from the prior week were counted here by volunteers. Please check for your name on the Activity Logs and make sure that there has not been an error in reporting your sorting tally. In terms of the sorting tally, we only need to know if you have reached the quota and whether you went on to sort all the applications in that Sorting Week. If you find that your sorting votes have been reported incorrectly, leave a comment on your respective activity log with links to all your sorting votes and I will make the necessary corrections. Thank you.

TOTAL HOUSE POINTS EARNED:
Gryffindor: 4,900 (86% + 19 bonus + 2 referrals + 2 applicant pimps)
Slytherin: 7,930 (100% + 21 bonus + 1 referral + 1 applicant pimp)
Ravenclaw: 5,620 (90% + 31 bonus)
Hufflepuff: 8,145 (100% + 32 bonus + 1 referral)

IMPORTANT LINKS:
Community Rules/Sorting Application
Guide for Prospective Members
Frequently Asked Questions
Official Hogwarts Elite Member Registry
Hogwarts Elite Rules/Information
Master Schedule of Community Events

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO SORTED THIS PAST SORTING WEEK! WE'LL SEE YOU IN TERM 22!

Term 21: New Members (Sorting Week #6)

2012-05-08T03:38:43Z

WELCOME NEW STUDENTS:
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts Elite School of Witchcraft & Wizardry. The sorting hat has spoken and it is time to join your House Tables in the Great Hall. Be sure to check out the community navigation, located at the top of all our communities. It will help you find your way around Hogwarts Elite. Thank you!

GRYFFINDOR:
1stmatewiggles
mizz_destiny
bitchet
jesatria

SLYTHERIN:
vxsurgeon

RAVENCLAW:
juurensha

HUFFLEPUFF:
meloncauli
sa_chan13

COMMUNITIES AT HOGWARTS ELITE:
Below is a list of the communities that you may join at any time. If a community is not listed here, please do not request to join it. Hogwarts Elite has quite a few communities dedicated to maintaining and administration and only people who help the Headmaster and Headmistresses do those things are allowed to join them.

01. hogwarts_elite: Main discussion community
02. sorting_elite: Sorting community
03. ministry_elite: Community issues and announcements
04. knockturn_elite: Contest community
05. firebolt_elite: Quidditch community
06. diagon_elite: Post graphics, fiction, essays or art for house points
07. grimmauld_elite: Order of the Phoenix headquarters
08. malfoy_elite: Death Eaters headquarters

WHAT TO DO NOW:
You do not have to join any of these communities. It is recommended that you at least join Hogwarts Elite and your Common Room so you don't miss any important announcements. We are happy to welcome you to Hogwarts Elite and hope you enjoy the community. It is expansive and there is much to explore ahead of you. Feel free to contact your Head Girl or Prefects if you wish to discuss anything or are looking for help while first starting in the community. Don't forget to fill out the n00b survey for your common room, which is located in here. Good luck and welcome.

SPECIAL INFORMATION FOR TERM 21:
This term we are hosting a special activity on top of the regular term house cup race. It is a battle between the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters. You can read more about what this specifically entails here. After reading, please go here and decide which side of the battle you would like to fight for! Thank you.

SQUIB:
None!

HOUSE TRANSFERS:
N/A

Please read this post if you are interested in transferring houses. If you have entered any contests that have already closed, your points will remain with your former house. Any points earned from entries on open contests or earned in the future will be awarded to your new house.

Term 21: Sorting Week #05 (Results)

2012-04-28T19:06:46Z

SORTING WEEK #05 (RESULTS):
The votes from the prior week were counted here by volunteers. Please check for your name on the Activity Logs and make sure that there has not been an error in reporting your sorting tally. In terms of the sorting tally, we only need to know if you have reached the quota and whether you went on to sort all the applications in that Sorting Week. If you find that your sorting votes have been reported incorrectly, leave a comment on your respective activity log with links to all your sorting votes and I will make the necessary corrections. Thank you.

TOTAL HOUSE POINTS EARNED:
Gryffindor: 5,010 (96% + 1 referral + 1 applicant pimp)
Slytherin: 5,000 (93%)
Ravenclaw: 4,500 (81%)
Hufflepuff: 3,505 (64% + 1 applicant pimp)

IMPORTANT LINKS:
Community Rules/Sorting Application
Guide for Prospective Members
Frequently Asked Questions
Official Hogwarts Elite Member Registry
Hogwarts Elite Rules/Information
Master Schedule of Community Events

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO SORTED THIS PAST SORTING WEEK!

I do believe in Horcruxes, i do, i do.

2012-04-25T16:11:10Z

01. Name: Kristine
02. How did you find out about Hogwarts Elite? I first heard about Hogwarts Elite on Tumblr, but today i saw a post about it on fandomsecret, which made me interested enough in this community to wanted to give this a try!

Please keep in mind that english is not my first language!
||MIRROR OF ERISED||

03. What do you wish to accomplish in life?
Being a good and loyal friend, travel, starting a family and finishing my education. I hope that i at one point in my life i can travel to Greece, Spain, Italy, England, France, Japan and the US. I've always wanted to have at least two kids, hopefully a boy and a girl. The gender of my partner is not what worries me the most. I am applying for university this summer and i will hopefully become a librarian in 2017.

04. Describe exactly what you would see in the Mirror of Erised. (This is not the same question as #03.)
Me being smarten then I am. I'm in the gymnasium till summer where i study Greece and Latin, i would love to become a professor or an archologist concentrating on acient times. I do however know that I'm not smart enough to get a proper job within the buisness of those two carreres, since there is few jobs and a lot of people seeking them.

05. What makes a person deserving of your respect?
Respect is something that is hard to defind, and there is many different kinds of respect in this world. The respect i have for my mother and my teachers at school, and the respect i have for my friends are very diffrent things. Respect for authorites is something i get when teachers show themself worthy of my respect, with that i mean that they should be good at their job and able to to teach me in a way that i deserve. With friends that is another thing. One of the things that makes me respect someone is if they respect themself, if someone don't care about themself and do not dare stand up for their own believes it's very hard for me to take them seriously, respect them and therefor starting a friendship. I believe that respect is important to everything in life.

06. What is your biggest pet peeve?
People chewing with their mouth open can drive me insane. The worst is if they're eating something the chrunches like chips or cereal! In those cases i am not above asking them kindly to chew with their mouth shut.

07. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I am cursed with dyscalculia, or numberblindness. The illness basically makes math and simple things like understand the clock very hard for me. I have however learned to overcome it for most parts in my daily life.

08. If you could do any one thing and suffer no consequences, what would it be?
Telling a girl that treated me very badly a few years ago excatly how her treatment have affected me. The reason why i cannot just say something to her is that this girl have threatend me with comminiting suicide when i said i could no longer have her in my life.

09. What do you think are your top five positive characteristics?

01. Very bubbly/happy - This is one of the things that friends mention most often to me as a good trait in me is, as mentioned before, that i am able to be positive and that i do my best to live my life with a happy outlook. I very much live by the believe that 'Why be sad when you can be happy?'

02. My sense of humour - It's not for everyone. But those that gets it, gets it. I am known to giggle about gramma and other 'unnormal' things. One of my favorit jokes are the following. Two biscuits are out for a walk. The son biscuits runs goes across the street and gets ran over by a car. The father biscuits sighs and says "I always knew he had crums in him"

03. My ability to listen to friends when they need it. - It's not uncommen for me to be woken at 2 in the night because a friend needs me, i encorage them to call or come to me when they are down or feel bad. I am a firm believer of 'If you cannot handle someone at their worst, you do not deserve them at their best'. The ability to listen to however not only apply to situations where my friends feel down, i will share your joy with you as well if you want me to.

04. My perspective - I see big chucks of myself in book characters suchs as Bridget Jones from Bridget Jones Diary and Rebecca Bloomwood from Confession of a shopaholic. The fact that i do not always think about anything that comes out my mouth often results in me having ideas others have not thought about.

05. Accepting - I try to pride myself of being a very accepting person, whenever you are a christian, mormon or atheist i will try my best not to judge you. If you are a homosexsual, bisexsual or hetrosexsual i do not care. No matter what gender you identify as i will do my best to let you live your life and to support you. (I do have to say that i am not blindly accepting, if you behave badly and try to hide behind being a minority i will tell you that what you are doing is not okay)

10. What do you think are your top five negative characteristics?

01. I have a tendency to panic if pressured too much - This comes up heavily around exame time and if i have to do heavy talks with someone. My hands will get sweaty, i'll get dissy and in some cases i have even fainted. In later years i have however gotten better at not panicing.

02. When i get angry, i get very angry (It is however very very hard to piss me off) - I once punced a friend of mine in the face, because he would not take no for an answear, we are still very dear friends. So my anger seems to be accepted as reasonabel.

03. I often run myself into the ground. - This is tied in with 01. I try very hard to be the best person i can be, and if i don't make myself rest i will get physicially sick more often then not.

04. Air headed - Just as it can make me see things in a different perspective, and make me get great ideas, it also, once in a while, make me say really really stupid stuff. What i say can also sometimes hurt others, since i am very very likely to say the truth, even if the person i am talking to do not want to hear it.

05. I will, if needed, do everything to get ahead - If i truly and honestly need something i am not scared of abandoning people to get to my goal. It's very very easy for me to read people and therefor it's also very easy to manipulate someone into doing what i want them to do for me.

||HOGWARTS, A HISTORY||

11. Who is your favorite character in the Harry Potter series?
I know this seems like a rather unlikely choise, but i will have to say Harry. I know his behavior in Order of the Phonix, and his handeling of Ron and Hermione can be rather cruel at times. But i cannot help but love him. I have grown up with Harry, i have known him ever since he was just a little boy who lived a misirabel scary life with people that hated him. All of the other characters that i love, do i only love because i have seen them through the eyes of Harry (I do know that this also seems a bit silly, but the reason why many dislikes Snapes in the early series is because Harry dislikes him, not because Snape is a bad character) I do not always agree with everything Harry does, nor do i think he is perfect. But the good thing about him, his courage, his selfishness, his loyalty and the ability to even handle the pressure of being 'The chosen one' without letting it go to his head makes him so very important to me.

12. Who is your least favorite character in the Harry Potter series?
I am not, in any way fond of Cho Changs friend Marietta Edgacombe. Her betrayel of Dumbeldors Armé is in no way okay, ever. I know that she is not presented in the films, and that i might have been more fond of her if i ever had a chance of reading her backstory and knowing her motives (Other then her mother working at the ministry) It was a coverdly, weak thing to do. Never betray your friends.

13. What was your favorite plot or character revelation in the Harry Potter series?
I cannot only pick one. I love the entire storyline of Harry finding out more about his father and mother through the entire series. Harry seeing that his father might not have been the hero he always belivede he was. (I love that this storyline shows that people do change, and that they can grow. Because James grew a lot as a person) I also adore everything involving the pureblood familys, since the entire backstory of them is intriging. The wealth, the power that is in being a pureblood family is amazing. I love that J.K Rowling have made entire family trees. I was lucky enough to be able to see the Black family tree made for the films when i went to 'The making of Harry Potter - Studio Tour' in England.

14. Describe the canon qualities for each house that accurately reflect you.

• Gryffindor: The bravery to make hard decisions, also a tendency to take the role as leader or have it thrust upon me. I will not call myself brave as such, but if i am with someone i care about that is more scared then me i forget my own fear, which i dare call a kind of bravery.

• Slytherin: An ability to see what people are scared of, what they need and what they dream about. This is a quality that can be used for both good and bad, i try my best not to hurt others in my way. Pride in what i do and what i have achived.

• Ravenclaw: A thirst for knowledge, i love to learn and to read. I hope i can spend the rest of my life helping others find the joy of reading through my job as a librarian. The ability to see the world in a different manner, such as Luna does. She is not clever in the traditional manner, but few of us will ever reach her level of people reading skills.

• Hufflepuff: If you are my friend i will stand by your sind and protect you. I also, as much as possibly, live by: What's mine, is yours.

15. Describe the canon qualities for each house that do not accurately reflect you.

• Gryffindor: The reckless bravery that is often found in Gryffindor students. They can often jump head first into decisions without thinking enough. I spend a lot of time thinking about something before i do it.

• Slytherin: The tendensy to look down on others who are not as smart, whealty and 'pureblooded'. I do my best to accept everyone.

• Ravenclaw: Ravenclaws are smart, very smart.Some are book smart and others are life clever like Luna. I am often afried that i am not smart enough to even resembel a Ravenclaw student.

• Hufflepuff: In some of the books the Huffelpuffs seems very very supisious of someone outside their circels of friends and friends friends. I do not judge a person by whenever or not i know someone that knows them, i judge a person by their worth.

||HOGWARTS EXPRESS||

16. Age: 18
17. Optional: Link us to where you have promoted this community in your personal journal to earn your future house five points. I have not

A horcrux, a horcrux, my kingdom for a horcrux!

2012-04-25T16:07:34Z

01. Name: bitchet!
02. How did you find out about Hogwarts Elite? I’ve known about it for years and rotae has mentioned a few times that she thinks I should apply.

||MIRROR OF ERISED||

03. What do you wish to accomplish in life? I actually made a bucket list of sorts a few years ago. I will spare you the thing in its three-page glory, and just list the highlights: I want to travel, there’s about 80-something places on my list of dream destination and, at the very least, I want to see all seven continents. I want to move to Hawaii and learn how to surf. I’d like to learn another language and how to play an instrument well. I’d like to take acting classes or improv classes and be good enough that I can get up on stage and not wet myself. I want to volunteer more and hope to join the Peace Corps one day. I want to buy a typewriter (no distracting internet) and finally write that series that I’ve been scribbling in notebooks.

At the end of my life I’d like to say I lived and I did it on my own terms.

04. Describe exactly what you would see in the Mirror of Erised. (This is not the same question as #04.) Money. Lots of money.

And that sounds so awful I’m sure but hey, it’s The Mirror of Erised not the Mirror of Sdeen. Really, money is security and, more importantly, money is independence. I’ve done the whole poor, living-hand-to-mouth, not knowing what you’re going to do from month-to-month thing and I wouldn’t recommend it. I’d rather have people depend on me than the other way around and knowing that I could take care of my family is definitely something I want.

Other than that, I’d be surrounded by my friends and family, living and dead, I’d be standing next to the love of my life (whoever they may be), holding a Hugo Award and the backdrop would be my beautiful home in Hawaii.

05. What makes a person deserving of your respect? I believe everyone deserves a certain level of basic respect. I don’t always follow through on this belief. That said, I tend to have a great deal of respect for people who exemplify competence and/or kindness. Competence because, frankly, it’s sexy. It’s always awe-inspiring to me to see someone who knows what they’re doing and is good at it, whatever that may be. Kindness because it is unfortunately very rare in this world and always humbling to see in action. I tend to view any act of compassion as a reminder that we could do a little more.

And those two traits specifically because they are ones I’m trying to develop in myself.

06. What is your biggest pet peeve?
I had this whole thing about bullies typed out before I realized that what I was talking about was a bit more serious than a “pet peeve”.

In which case, people who look over your shoulder when you are doing something would be my #1 choice here. Not only is rude but there is something vaguely controlling about doing this. Most people would never think of doing it to a superior, like their professor or their boss, but people have no problem doing it to their peers or those that report to them. It’s such an annoying little power move and something that has always bothered. Even as a kid, when a teacher would do that to me, I’d have to put down my pencil and wait till they took the hint and moved on.

07. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I’d wipe out all my anxiety. They’re the main reason I procrastinate or just don’t even try so I would just get rid of it. No replaying everything I said or did, no convincing myself that the worst case scenario will definitely happen, no talking myself out of things. I would say, think, and do exactly what I wanted. It would probably lead to some unfortunate fashion choices and a 5,000% increase in speeding tickets but, otherwise, I think it would be an improvement. Or a memorable failure but sometimes that’s the best you can hope for.

08. If you could do any one thing and suffer no consequences, what would it be?
Unfortunately, all my ideas for getting money would involve a time machine, which is not mentioned in this scenario. And after sitting here twenty minutes and thinking it over, I’m not sure if becoming Benevolent Dictator of the world is within the boundaries of this question. Like the time machine thing, it’s not like I can just stroll in the UN headquarters and be all, “Kneel before Zod!” Unless I want the “no consequences” part of this to mean they all look up in confusion before returning to work, leaving me to quietly slink out the door when the silence gets unbearable. Not to mention the disaster that would await should I succeed.

So I’ll just quit my job to focus on writing.

09. What do you think are your top five positive characteristics?

01. Smart. Even though they’re synonyms, I feel like “intelligence” implies more brains than I have. But I’m smart, it’s one of the first things others notice about me and something that gets commented on frequently. I did well in school, I learn things quickly, I do great on tests, I enjoy learning up to a point, every so often I come up with good solutions or provide insight when needed, and I’m fairly educated and cultured.

02. Resilient. It’s not always easy and it does sometimes mean tweaking my plans a bit, or going to back-up plan #682, but I don’t give up easily and I don’t stay down for long. I have the ability to adapt to new changes as they arise and am even learning how to use them to get to what I really want.

03. Helpful. I genuinely like helping people and it’s usually one of the driving forces behind my actions. I like to be useful and to make things easier for people and do nice things to make them happy. Also, since I fail at emotions and expressing things verbally, doing stuff is how I take care of people.I

04. Creative. While I probably won’t create art that will set the world on fire, I am the person others come to for a creative solution or for some added insight into their problems and I do try to challenge myself to look at things in different ways, sometimes addressing what I don’t like or what I disagree with to find out what I like and what I really think.

05. Conscientious This is never a word I would have used to describe myself until someone who I consider to be quite conscientious, used it to describe me. And I guess I am. I try to be careful and organized in what I do, and I take pride in my work. And now that I have said this, I will have a hundred spelling and grammar errors in this application.

10. What do you think are your top five negative characteristics?

01. Procrastination. I have gotten much better at not procrastinating but it really is an uphill battle for me. I can realize why I do it, whether it’s fear of failure or needing to schedule in time to relax. I’ve figured out ways to combat it, by realizing the aforementioned and through many schedules and to-do-lists but it’s still a problem.

02. Nosy I really just need to mind my own damn business sometimes, seriously. I always want to know what’s going on and who said what and did what. Half the time, I’m not even sure why I want to know these things, I just do. It’s such an unpleasant trait.

03. Judgemental I have made some improvements here. There was a time when knowing someone had different political beliefs was a deal-breaker because, “omg, this is a matter of life and death and you are just heartless/ignorant/full of cooties for disagreeing with me and my righteousness!!111” But I’ve gotten somewhat better. I’m still judgemental but I can block it out and make myself focus on the good and not the things I disagree with. i can even type “things I disagree with” instead of just saying bad. See? Progress!

04. Stubborn I have gotten better at picking my battles as I gotten older but I still have trouble knowing when to just drop it. Or, to be completely honest, I know when I just ignore it because I have a point to prove, dammit.

05. There isn’t exactly a word for this, but I really should just shut up more. Sometimes it’s just a case of foot-in-mouth disease and other times it’s like I think I’m a character in a sitcom - specifically the one known for the quips and one-liners. Which, while great on television, in real life is obnoxious attention-whoring.

||HOGWARTS, A HISTORY||

11. Who is your favorite character in the Harry Potter series?
Ron Weasley. A popular choice, yes, but he was the first character that ever grabbed me. The Deathly Hallows was the first Harry Potter book I ever read and it was a very memorable one for many characters but particularly Ron. The scene where he tells Hermione he will teach her his family tree so she can pretend to be his cousin really stood out for me. He’s not perfect by any means, he could be a jerk and his whole “I’m not going to be the best so why even try” went from sad to grating after a few books but that’s part of the reason why he’s my favorite. I think he’s a very realistic character, with strengths and flaws and he had to struggle a lot with his own demons. I said once about Draco that he’s a very realistic character in that he’s a great literary example of what was discovered about the average person in psychological/social tests like “Milgram’s Experiment”. And I think that about Ron too. Ron will do the right thing but it won’t always be easy and he won’t always be happy and he will need some prodding before he goes to save Draco and Goyle or realizes what Hermione was trying to say about house-elves. Like many people, he has an easier time doing the right thing when it comes to those who are weaker or innocent or whom he personally knows and likes than when it comes to doing so towards those he dislikes, those who have wronged him, or even when it means challenging his own privilege. But, in the end, he does do the right thing.

12. Who is your least favorite character in the series?
Grawp. Why? I mean, I understand what Rowling was trying to do there by showing us more about Giants like she did with house-elves and also indulging one of her favorites, Hagrid, but why? I am actually one of the 20 people in fandom who likes Hagrid and likes reading about him but the whole Grawp thing was just a mess. It did nothing for Hagrid’s growth and was just an annoying time-waster that went nowhere! When it comes to characters, I can forgive mean, I can forgive “boring”, but I can’t forgive pointless.

13. What was your favorite plot or character revelation in the Harry Potter series?
The creation of Dumbledore’s Army was just about the greatest thing ever for me. Rebellion against authority, especially when it’s children doing the rebelling, can be a tough sell. It can come off as cheap or ridiculous or all of the above. And I thought this had the right mix of childish cluelessness and gravitas. I like how it came about organically as a way to empower themselves against a cruel teacher and it just grew from there into this political force to be reckoned with. It tested everyone who came in contact with it, revealing what they were capable of and even who they were.

14. Describe the canon qualities for each house that accurately reflect you.

• Gryffindor: Nerve - I have been told many times that I have some of this. I have done things that have shocked even me with their boldness. I was the kid that argued with teachers when they said things that were sexist or racist or just plain factually incorrect. As an adult, this is something that my friends, co-workers, and family know about me. I’m not the person to “go along to get along” if I think it’s wrong, I don’t have much trouble saying so no matter how it looks or what the consequences may be. Also, if we want to give it a more modern spin, chivalrous. I’m a very protective person by nature and definitely one to jump into the fray if I think someone is being mistreated or treated unfairly and needs someone to take up their cause. Or even if they don’t, as it sometimes happens. I’ll do this for people I know, people I don’t, even people I don’t like. To me, it’s the principle of the thing, and I cannot stand to see people being mistreated especially in a way that is dishonest or plays on their (political/financial/physical/whatever) weaknesses.

• Slytherin: I have some ambition. I don’t see the point in living life if you’re not going to dream big and I can’t stop thinking about what comes next. There are always ways to improve yourself, to do more, to be more, to have more and I don’t think I’m ever going to stop working towards some better version of me. And yes, I do have a certain amount of cunning. I’m good at reading people and situations and with a little forethought, I can use this information to be most beneficial to me. I’ve volunteered and worked in some very political places where you have to be constantly aware of who everyone is and I’ve survived them.

• Ravenclaw: I am fairly intelligent, it’s one of the things people notice about me. I have an interest in a wide variety of subjects, enough that I make a great addition to any pub quiz team! I’m a voracious reader and I like learning. When I was a kid, I read the encyclopedia and dictionaries for fun and because I thought once I was done, I’d know everything. If I had the money for it, I’d just go back to school and get tons of degrees. When I wasn’t travelling. And I am rather witty. I can turn phrases with the most above average of them and I have the sort of dry, sarcastic sense of humor that can get a few laughs out of people.

• Hufflepuff: In recent years it seems I have developed enough of a work ethic that even my bosses call me hard-working so, yes, I can own that one now. Even if I still feel it is a work-in-progress. It seems that when there are other people counting on me, I can get over my own laziness despite it being a Herculean effort at times. I am quite possibly obsessed with the concept of fairness and even though I am old enough that it shouldn’t surprise me, I am still not used to the constant injustice and inequality in the world, even when it comes to small, petty things. Maybe especially then. Finally, I’m not doing a Hufflepush but I just have to say, Helga is my favorite just because she decided to take the rest.

15. Describe the canon qualities for each house that do not accurately reflect you.

• Gryffindor: I wish I were more daring, I really do. I try to be, I try to push myself but sometimes that just means making a spreadsheet using a different format. While I do have an adventurous streak in me, I will admit I’ve only gone far out of my comfort zone when forced to and I definitely not a daredevil or risk-taker.

• Slytherin: I do have some ambition but I just don’t feel I have accomplished or even attempted enough to be called ambitious and that’s the kind of descriptor that needs some solid action behind or else it’s not so much ambition as it is “wishful thinking”. While I did say I was cunning, it’s definitely something I can do if I have to but it’s not second nature to me. Like I said, I have trouble knowing when to shut my mouth so while I can be cunning it requires me to remember to do so. And, having worked in some places with warped office politics, I sometimes got sick of playing the game or even confused by it. There’s only so many times you can talk in whispers and code before it’s hard to even follow the conversation. At least for me.

• Ravenclaw: I would never get into my own common room. Like I said, I’m smart but there is a definite limit to that and it appears to be riddles created for children. Seriously, I’d wind up doing the same thing I do at work when I forget my badge/key - I’d stand around trying to look nonchalant while waiting for someone to walk in or out so I could run through the door.

• Hufflepuff: I can be hard-working. To a point. And only in limited quantities. It seems I can only make myself work really hard at one thing at a time right now. So while I might be busting my butt at work, my apartment will look like a tornado has ripped through it, I haven’t hit the gym in weeks, and I have school assignments piling up. And not from lack of time, to be quite honest. I tend to focus on the work that is either most necessary that I want to do. And I’m not too good with the whole patience thing. Finally, I’m not sure if I’m loyal or at least I’m not loyal in the way most people use the word. Again, that sounds awful, so let me clarify. I don’t toss people under the bus for fun. I worked at one very dysfunctional company that thought the best way of fixing problems was figuring out who to blame and employees were encouraged to run to the boss and report anyone who did something wrong rather than confront the person. Even for little, petty things which 99% of the problems were. I didn’t do that. I think that’s dishonest and mean.

That said, I’m probably not going to be the friend who sits next to you in jail either. Depending on the circumstances, I might not even be the one who bails you out. Maybe it goes back to that whole judgemental thing but I’m not the type of person to turn a blind eye or defend someone even when I know they’re wrong. If you’re wrong, I’m telling you so. And while I don’t think that counts as disloyalty, a lot of people think it does. You see it even in fandom, people argue that Ron was disloyal for having his temper tantrum and leaving when Harry told him to go. Arguing and whining does not make you disloyal, in my book. Flouncing after being told to shut up or get out is not a character flaw, to me. If Ron had told those Snatchers that he had run into how to find Harry, then I would agree that he is disloyal.

All that said, some don’t see it that way so I am making this distinction. I am not that loyal.

||HOGWARTS EXPRESS||

18. Age: 30.
19. Optional: Link us to where you have promoted this community in your personal journal to earn your future house five points.