Being Greeted By My Patronus in England

 Last September my Mom and I went with a tour to the U.K. and Ireland.

In London we stayed at the Hilton Double Tree at Hyde Park, located a very easy walk to Kensington Palace and Gardens. 

We were both exhausted from the long flight, and then busing into the city, but instead of relaxing before the group dinner we went on a walk.

So, to back track, last year I found out on Pottermore that my patronus is a gray squirrel.

I had so many mixed feelings about the whole squirrel thing.  Took the test several times, but the last time I took it I got a red squirrel.  So yeah, squirrel, totally going to own it and be proud of my cute little critter of a protector.

And while strolling through Hyde Park there were So. Many. Squirrels.

Here you have to go into the mountains to see them.

 So I decided it was a sign of good luck and that I was going to have a magical trip.

And while visiting Glamis Castle in Scotland, my last day in the U.K., I found this cute little squirrel pin as a memento.  I'm still having a good laugh over the squirrel being my patronus.

In Which My Brother 3D Prints For Me the Gryffindor Logo

My brother Michael has been on a 3D printing kick.

He's kinda obsessed.

I still find it amazing that 3D printing is a thing.  Just one step closer to getting a Star Trek replicator?  Still, the technology is getting really impressive.  We're on the cusp of 3D printing being used in the medical industry for saving lives, using patients own cells to print organs and so forth.  Crazy stuff.  So many possibilities.

Lately Michael has been printing fidget spinners, which I was thinking I would be getting, but secretly hoping for something else.  Yesterday afternoon Krista asked me if I wanted to look up things that can be 3D printed.  Mentally I said Gryffindor, but I've been annoying the family with my Hogwarts obsession, so I said a castle instead, and Krista pulled up this video of a large castle this guy 3D printed.  Really cool stuff.  When I opened my gift I didn't get the fidget spinner I was expecting, but the Gryffindor logo!  Yay :D

Sometimes I wonder what our ancestors would think if they saw our day.  Would they be impressed or frightened by the possibilities of technology?  I'm both.

Oh, and Michael finally took the Pottermore sorting test and he got Gryffindor!  Yay!  My Mom and I aren't the only ones!  Though my Dad still hasn't taken the test, and he said he would, just hasn't gotten around to it.  He self-sorted himself into Hufflepuff, though he could easily land in Ravenclaw or Gryfindor.  My other two brothers got sorted into Hufflepuff, and my two sister-in-laws were sorted into Ravenclaw.

And, yes, according to a blog post I wrote many years ago, I was originally sorted into Hufflepuff, had an identity crises over it, and retook the test and got Gryffindor.  Since the Pottermore site update I've taken the updated test 7 times (I know I have issues, but scientific study, you know, and I'm not even a Ravenclaw or a Horned Serpent, I'm a Pukwudgie if you're wondering), and I got Gryffindor 5 times, Ravenclaw once and Hufflepuff once.  My brother Steven likes to joke with me that I'm really a Hufflepuff in denial.  But I'm not!  But as my Dad would say, "None of this is real."  And as I always respond to him, "But it's real to me."  Which means it's real enough.

After All These Years I Finally Know My Patronus

I woke up this morning to my Facebook wall going crazy over the new patronus quiz on Pottermore.  It's the test that many of us have been waiting and asking for since Pottermore's early beginning.  I was honestly bummed when a patronus quiz wasn't offered during The Prisoner of Azkaban and Order of the Phoenix chapters, before the new revamp that got rid of the book/chapter format.  (I do miss those old scenes.)

Being the imaginative nerdy creature I am, ever since book 3, aka Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, I've wondered what my patronus might be.  (A patronus being a difficult charm that wards off joy sucking dementors, a burst of light from a wand that takes the shape of an animal.  Each patronus is unique to the witch/wizard and is difficult to predict.  The producer of a patronus cannot choose the patronus shape).

So I've wondered about my hypothetical patronus, at one time wanting a red fox,wild mustang, or red panda.  More recently wanting a lynx.

Never wanting a mouse or crow.

There's been hints from J.K. Rowling and Pottermore about a patronus quiz, but no release date.  So upon waking this morning I was surprised to see the quiz was finally available, and I jumped out of bed to immediately take it.

The quiz wasn't what I was expecting.  It's better, but way too short, honestly.  3D graphics whirling you around a white forest of trees, my cursor making fun magical sounds as random words pop up asking me to choose which word I connect to as the patronus spell gradually forms.

And when mine finally formed I got a  . . . Grey Squirrel!

Heh, I wasn't expecting that at all, and had a good laugh over it.

Grey Squirrel . . .

The Hogwarts Running club is all abuzz about the quiz and they've been posting their results: Mastiff, Mole, Tortoiseshell Cat, White Stallion, Dolphin, Buffalo, Sparrowhawk, Brown Bear, Nebelung Cat, Badger, Ginger cat, Irish Wolfhound, St. Bernard, Black Mare, Weasel, Little Owl, Ocicat, Hedgehog, Minx Cat, Dun Mare, Sparrow Hawk, Wood Mouse, Basset Hound, Salmon, Piebald Mare, Wild rabbit, Osprey, Ibizan Hound, Grey Squirrel, Wild Boar, Black Stallion, Doe, Unicorn, West Highland Terrier, Chow Dog, Buzzard, Eagle, Ragdoll Cat, Mink, Dapple Grey Mare, Field Mouse, Scops Owl, Orca, Wildcat, Marten, Borzoi, Dragonfly, West Highland Terrier, Siberian Cat, Thestral, Goshawk, Bay Mare, Kingfisher, Marsh Harrier, Stoat, Capuchin Monkey, Orangutan, Dapple Grey Stallion, Red Squirrel, Greyhound, Hummingbird, Polecat, Tonkinese Cat, Swift, Grass Snake, Brown Hare, Black Bear, Fox, Goshawk, Bay Mare, Sparrowhawk, Otter, Bloodhound, Robin, Black Swan, Scops Owl, Dragon, Wolf, Stag, Beagle, Stoat, Vole, Tiger . . . may have repeated some animals by accident.  So these are the animals I've seen people get.

The reactions have been varied with some people being super excited vs. those who are simply 'meh': "I'm allergic to cats" "I don't like horses" "Got chased by a squirrel as a kid" "My pride has been damaged so I'm going to go hide in a corner" etc.

I'm just going to be amused.

The Pottermore Sorting Hat Quiz Fallacy, or why Tom Felton may not be a Gryffindor

Pottermore!

The site that launched the sorting hat identity crises.

In truth, since Pottermore opened to the public a few years ago, I've taken this test many times.  (I've lost track!  Simply you open an account, take the test, and then delete the account.  It's per rules that you must delete your account and open a new one if you wish to retest and re-sort.)

Maybe this is sneaky of me, but when I first took the test and was sorted into Hufflepuff, I felt deflated.  Unsure.  Not right.  So I did what any sensible human being would do, I deleted my account, singed up again, took the test (answering truthfully with each random question I received), and was sorted into Gryffindor.  Same test, different questions, I was just as honest, and yet I was sorted into another house.

On January 21, 2015 Tom Felton, who played Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter series, a character known for his Slytherin ways, joined Pottermore.  He promptly tweeted "Today was the day. I finally did it. I joined Pottermore and was sorted into........Gryffindor. Heart broken x #slytherinforlife"  

There's 27 different questions created for this test randomization, in which you are only tested on 7 questions during sorting.  On the "Random Bits and Pieces of Nothing" tumblr page, the authoress, Julie, worked out that there are 9730 possible combinations (did she figure this out while taking into account that you only answer 7 at a time?  I don't know . . . and frankly I'm too lazy to found out.  And honestly I've forgotten how to do that sort of math.)  But still, if that number is correct, 9730 combinations is quite a lot.  You can take the test over and over again and not get the exact sorting each time, regardless of how Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff you may be.

There are times when I've taken the test 10 times in a row and was pretty much sorted equally between the 4 houses.  So what does that make me?  A GryffinSlytherRavenPuff.  Honestly, we may all be this.  It's impossible to have the traits of just one house 100% and 0% the other houses.  So I guess that makes us all Divergent . . . which is a different franchise, but the principle remains.

In truth if you analyze the sorting hat questions and what house each one skews, you may start to find imbalances or a differing opinion of which house that answer lands.  Thankfully there are true Ravenclaws out there to do the reasoning for us.  "Pottermore Sorting: Sorting Hat Analysis and Meta" is a very thorough article breaking down each question, and which house each answer skews.

Fun fact, all water and Merlin questions skew Slytherin.

(Though I must note that I just took the sorting hat quiz three times, choosing water and Merlin if those questions were generated for my random test, and answering honestly for all other questions, and I was sorted 1st Ravenclaw, 2nd and 3rd Gryffindor.  So taking the test and simply answering water and Merlin may not sort you into Slytherin, because your random test may not give you those particular questions, or you highly favor another house with the other questions).

Also, there are questions I have problems with, such as the instrument question.  Trumpet skews Hufflepuff (this makes no sense to me, Puffs are neither boisterous nor loud), Violin skews Slytherin (1st or 2nd violin? 1st chair principle?), Piano skews Ravenclaw (the only skewing I truly agree), and Drums skew Gryffindor (the symbolism of marching to your own drum?).

With the "either or" questions at the end of the sorting test, there's a question where you choose between Dawn or Dusk.  Dawn favors Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, while Dusk favors Hufflepuff and Slytherin.  Simply being a "night" person vs a "morning" person can skew you towards one house or another, regardless or personality, but simply because of your internal clock, and that you must work the night shift.

Ultimately, for personal TMI worthy reasons that will not be discussed on this blog, I know I would be sorted into Gryffindor, especially at age 11.  I still maintain the sentiment that we should all embrace our inner Hufflepuff, because Hufflepuff is the noblest of houses, they just keep getting a bum rap, which will hopefully change with the new movie "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them."  The main character, and author of the book, is Newt Scamander, a Hufflepuff . . . 

"I have visited lairs, burrows and nests across five continents, observed the curious habits of magical beasts in a hundred countries, witnessed their powers, gained their trust and, on occasion, beaten them off with my travelling kettle."

—Newton Scamander

  Newt Scamander is also Luna Lovegood's Grandfather-in-law.  She marries Rolf Scamander.  Just some FYI when the movie comes out.

In the end we are what we choose.

The sorting hat is fun, none of this is real, unless you wish to believe, but if you took the sorting hat quiz and received a house different to what you feel is right, it could simply be the luck of the draw in terms of the 7 questions you received.

Be who you wish to be.

Embracing My Inner Hufflepuff

(Edit, 2017: It should be noted that I took the Pottermore test a second time and got Gryffindor, and since the site updated the test awhile back I've gotten Gryffindor the last several times I've taken the test.  Yes, I'm crazy like that.  So I've claimed Gryffindor, but Hufflepuff is my secondary house, making me a Gryffinpuff.  It's a thing.  Anywho, Hufflepuff is still an awesome house!)

When I received this Hufflepuff badge a few years ago I should have taken it as foreshadowing.

Last February I wrote about my Pottermore House Sorting Identity Crises.  It's a continuing saga in my life, never ending.  I'm split between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, but deep down I'm a Hufflepuff.  I'm no longer in denial!

J.K. Rowling even admitted that Hufflepuff is, in many ways, her favorite house.  (Realize she didn't say it was her favorite . . . second favorite, then?)

And then there's the badger.

"Hufflepuff's are trustworthy and loyal.  We don't shoot our mouths off, but cross us at our peril; like our emblem, the badger, we will protect ourselves, our friends and our families against all-comers.  Nobody intimidates us." ~ From the welcome message on Pottermore.

The above picture is of a Honey Badger from Africa, which the Guinness Book of World records labels as the most Fearless animal in the world.  The most fearless!!!  Even more then a lion!

"In North America, coyotes sometimes eat badgers and vice versa, but the majority of their interactions seem to be mutual or neutral. American badgers and coyotes have been seen hunting together in a cooperative fashion." From Wikipedia.

How cool is that?

(Image Info)

And have you seen their fingers?  Oh, I mean claws.  You don't want to cross a badger, they can be pretty vicious.  Not so cute and cuddly, are they?

The badger did leave in the end, but according to a comment by Judy on YouTube this wasn't the end: "Yes the badger did kill the kits but not on the day of this fight. After this fight the badger went down in the den with one kit already down there. 15 or 20 minutes later the kit came out in fine condition. We figure the badger had been eating their cache of ground squirrels. That night the female fox dug a new den and the kits went to it. The next day both parents went hunting and the badger left the soriginal den and went to the new one. The kits were never seen again, except a few pieces." 

 Patient, True, Just, Loyal, Friendly, Sweet, Good, Hard-working.  Those aren't bad traits.  They're amazing traits! 

 Even J.K. Rowling stated that in the final battle against Voldemort in the last book, the only two houses where everyone fought was Gryffindor and Hufflepuff,  Only half of Ravenclaw got involved, and obviously no one from Slytherin.

But between Gryffidor and Hufflepuff, some of those in Gryffindor fought to showboat and boast, but everyone in Hufflepuff fought because they truly believed in the fight.  They were unselfish.  They didn't fight for self-gain, but because it was the right thing to do.  Honest, good, Integrity, and pure courage to fight and defend when the moment calls.  Fearless. 

The World would be a better place if there were more Hufflepuffs.

But regardless of how AWESOME Hufflepuffs are, we still get a bad rap!

My brother Steven kindly sent me these two Memes, though he's claimed for quite a while that he'd be in Hufflepuff, too.

 

The first Hufflepuff meme I saw a little while back.  Out of the Peanut characters, I've always identified most with Charlie Brown.

A bunch of Memes making fun of Hufflepuff's I found all over the net.  See the bad rap we get!!!!

This is super sad, but funny.

Heh, the below picture is so true!

This pie chart represents why we get the bad rap we do.  Poor representation.  (I'm sure it's exaggerated, but it sure feels right.)

And, anyways, with a last name like Stufflebeam, how can I not be a Hufflepuff?

(I don't know who the originators of the memes are, but if you want credit, and can prove you actually are the original author, please message me with proof, and I'll give you the credit you deserve.)

Pottermore and the Identity Crises

(Yes, I have a Sorting Hat)

It's 2013, which Harry Potter fan hasn't been sorted yet on Pottermore!? . . . hmmm, don't answer that.  For those who have, maybe you can relate a little to what I'm going to write . . .

I wasn't a beta tester.  Tried, but the system wouldn't take my email for some reason.  So I waited with everyone else, jealous of those who got into the site September 2011, and watched as the promised October 2011 public opening flew to April 2012.

So in April of last year I giddily signed up and got sorted . . . into Hufflepuff.  Stufflebeam, Hufflebeam, I've got that whole "uffle" thing going on with my last name.  But I'm not a Hufflepuff!  I'm a Gryffindor!  Yes, I'm one of those people who always identified with those lions.  If I was sorted at 11 years old, there's no doubt I'd be a Gryff.

I was so disheartened that I stopped going to Pottermore altogether.  Then I started thinking about it, never a good thing, which meant I was playing mind games with myself.

 

I did go to a Harry Potter party at the movie theater when the last movie came out, and was unofficially sorted into Hufflepuff by a Twelawney cosplayer pulling out buttons from a jar.  And when my Dad finished watching the movies I asked him what house he would be sorted into, and he said Hufflepuff.  As genius as he is (he used to go to bed reading a calculus book), he really would be sorted into Hufflepuff.  Loyal, kind, hardworking, honest, trustworthy, humble, etc, are all qualities we should strive to have.  Maybe it's genetic, but then my Mom is a Gryffindor, and she doesn't need Pottermore to tell her so. 

J.K. Rowling said in a Web Chat October of 2012: "Hufflepuff is my favorite house in some ways.  There comes a point in the book where each house has a chance to rise up to a certain challenge. The Slytherins decided they’d rather not play, the Ravenclaws – some play, some won’t, but the Hufflepuffs stay to fight. The Gryffindors – compromised of lots of full hearty and show off people. The Hufflepuffs stayed for a different reason. They didn’t want to show off, they weren’t being reckless, that’s the essence of Hufflepuff."

So you know what I did?  I deleted my account and signed up again!  And the second time I was sorted (I was being completely honest, and took ample time with each question), I was sorted into Gryffindor!  Of course I started feeling super guilty.  Was I a true Gryffindor?  Was I lying to myself?  So I got sorted again . . .

To date I've been sorted 8 times.  3 Gryffindor, 2 Hufflepuff, 2 Slytherin, and once in Ravenclaw.

In the end it really does come down to choice.  Dumbledore did say, "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our Abilities."  And he also later states about Snape, "Sometimes I think we sort too soon."

In the end, regardless of what the sorting hat says, we belong where he feel we belong, and I personal have qualities that work within each house.  I would be sorted into Gryffindor, get turned off with all the pride and ego in that house, and go make friends with Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws through clubs, choir, etc.  I'm a happy Gryff/Huffle mix who would be sorted into Slytherin before Ravenclaw, though I'm obsessed with books and love spending hours at the Library . . . those blissful college days doing research.

And in the end it's all a bunch of fun.

Oh, and we also get a wand.  Each time I've created an account, after deleting the last, I've gotten the very same wand, and that's because I answer the questions the same each time.  There's no other way I would answer them.

Length: 12 1/2 inches

Wood: Ebony

Core: Dragon

Flexibility: Surprisingly Swishy

I want to know what surprisingly swishy means.  Is it an insult or a compliment?  But I do like the described characteristics of those who get ebony:

"This jet-black wand wood has an impressive appearance and reputation, being highly suited to all manner of combative magic, and to Transfiguration. Ebony is happiest in the hand of those with the courage to be themselves. Frequently non-conformist, highly individual or comfortable with the status of outsider, ebony wand owners have been found both among the ranks of the Order of the Phoenix and among the Death Eaters. In my experience the ebony wand’s perfect match is one who will hold fast to his or her beliefs, no matter what the external pressure, and will not be swayed lightly from their purpose."

  

Below are some fun videos of those who've also had identity crises.  I'm not the only one!!!  But then I did get re-sorted . . .

Be Careful What You Read

(nerdquirks.tumblr.com)

I wish I can claim this photo, but I can't.  This image was floating around Facebook, and it tickled my funny bone in the most wonderful way.  Brilliant.  I asked around, and with some help I was able to find the website this photo was found: Nerd Quirks. It's a wonderfully amusing blog and worth a check.

So talking about Harry Potter, has anyone been to the Potter More website that was all over the news last year, but hasn't really been heard of sense?  Back in July registration began for beta testers.  I went to the site then, but it was so overloaded it didn't seem to want my email address, so I figured I'd wait for October when Potter More would open for the public, only it didn't open, staying beta only, and the site even now is still in beta.

I've been checking the Potter More Insider to see the progress, and they seem to be taking the betas through the whole book, and are now on chapter 9 of the first book, The Midnight Duel.  Since the beta opened last August, and they're only half way through the book, I'm thinking the site won't fully open until Summer.  If you visit the Insider you can view user submitted drawings.  It's disappointing.  I understand the need to fully test the site, but I wish more news would come out.  And I wonder if they plan on taking the betas through the entirety of the Sorcerers Stone.  And if so, will they then begin Chamber of Secrets while the rest of us start in the beginning?  This pattern could last through the third book, but the length of Goblet of Fire would cause problems.  It'll be interesting. 

All I know is that I'm quite excited to get the ebooks, as I'm having a love affair with my Kindle.  Hopefully the price will be reasonable, considering the amount of money the books have already brought in, and with e-readers you don't have printing costs.  I've found some great deals in the Kindle store, but it's crazy how expensive a lot of books still are.  How I wish I can take my vast book collection and get a discount on the ebook versions.  Not going to happen, but a girl can dream!   

Patients is a virtue.

Sarah