Sunday, March 11, 2012

The Coming of Pottermore

Among the geekitudes in my life runs a deep and abiding affection for the Potterverse. This is all my family's fault, as we all read the books and went to the movies and bought the merchandise. My nephew in PA screamed when I sent him Potter stuff. We are geeks, every one of us. It's in the blood.

I have friends who are Potterheads, too. For a few Christmases I even made Potterish things for our branch of the Order of the Phoenix. So yes, my friends are nerds too.

To my knowledge, none of us became Pottermore Betas, the select million who got to try out the site created by Jo Rowling that continues the Potterverse. The site finally goes live to the public, after months of tweaking, in early April.
http://www.pottermore.com/

If you know about Hogwarts, you know that to be part of it you must be sorted into a school house. As Professor McGonagall said,
"The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room. The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours."

Generally, families belong to one house as a tradition. Though I've maintained that we're Ravenclaw, we've never as a family concurred on which house we're in. And soon it'll all be academic as Pottermore goes live and we'll each be sorted individually. There are a series of questions with multiple choice answers and from that you are sorted accordingly. I'm pretty certain that some of my peep will aim for Slytherin. But I've watched quite a few sorting ceremony vids (on YT, yes, painfully nerdy) of people purposely aiming for a house and not getting it. The Sorting Hat is inscrutable.

If I had a choice, it would go Ravenclaw first, then Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Slytherin. There are some who got a choice between two houses, but not many, and they weren't always given an option for the house they were hoping to be in. So there seems a randomness to it. And people have freaked out at the results.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBMikR-Ya-I
Really, I'm a Potterhead, but I don't think it warrants a freaking. It's The Sorting Hat, you don't have control. And just perhaps, you don't know yourself as well as you thought you did.

Silly, yes. This whole thing is silly. But it's fun and it's a long-standing family reference point now. April will be a full month of anticipations. I'm psyched. And please, please, let it be Ravenclaw or Gryffindor!

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've only seen one Potter movie and read none of the books...but I will hold all fingers and toes crossed for the house of your choice.

Austan said...

Aw, thanks Lawless. ;)

Lisa said...

Your grandniece is a Pottermore Beta and she's in Hufflepuff. She's quite disappointed in that.

Austan said...

And nobody tells me? I don't understand how she's a Hufflepuff, but then I'm thinking that's where I'll end up. I just thought we're too odd to be Puffs.

Austan said...

btw, I 've seen DH2 three & a half times now and like it.

Lisa said...

The different places I've tried the sorting hat, I've been..... Gryffindor or, SURPRISE!!!, Slytherin. LOL

Austan said...

The different places I've been sorted (there's a bajillion now) have made me Ravenclaw most, but Gryffindor and Hufflepuff a couple times. Won't be long now...

Austan said...

Just saw this:
"Gryffindor and Slytherin share competitiveness and strong wills. Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw share a more calm nature. Gryffindor and Hufflepuff share friendly, outgoing personalities. Slytherin and Ravenclaw share a desire for truth and knowledge. Hufflepuff and Slytherin share a strong camaraderie aspect. Ravenclaw and Gryffindor share an independent streak. In many ways, we are more alike than we think."
Anonymous

Elephant's Child said...

I've read all the books (and thoroughly enjoyed them). I have only seen bits of the movies. They have been on TV, and I have left the room. The way some of the characters looked and sounded didn't match the pictures in my head.

Austan said...

EC- I've had that problem. Not so much with the HP movies. The HP movies piss me off by straying from the story.

Twisted Scottish Bastard said...

I sort of enjoyed the first few books/films but they got too dark after that.

Enjoy your Potterisms in the Potterverse

CarrieBoo said...

Too old to be Puffs? LOL! I am just now reading the first book! I figured it was high time I found out what made these books so popular.

Austan said...

TSB- They aren't to everyone's liking. Thanks, I will.

Austan said...

Carrie- You are gonna love them, and so will Roz when she's a bit older. I contend they aren't for the very young, they do get dark.