House hate and Sorting Hat errors

Come on... really!?
So you're one of the lucky few who doesn't have to sit by and watch others enter Pottermore, you're actully one of the chosen ones, you're in!

And then you start whining about what house you end up in?
I can understand small identity crises happening when you find out you aren't what you've always thought you was. But to delete your account or going all sour, refusing to help your house win the house cup, claiming the test isn't accurate - that your house is stupid?
 Just pause and breathe for a moment. Let's think about this.

J.K.Rowling created this world that we all love, she created the four houses and listed the qualities that they value in their students. If anyone knows where you belong, it's her. And if you always thought you were brave, that you should be in Gryffindor, being sorted into Slytherin doesn't make you any less brave, it makes you more then you thought you was.
Let's look at some examples.
Neville Longbottom. A lot of people (including himself) would place Neville in Hufflepuff. However, the Sorting Hat claimed he belonged in Gryffindor. It doesn't mean that Neville isn't loyal and openminded. It doesn't mean that he doesn't work hard. He is all of those things. But he is also braver than he (and probably a lot of us) thought he was.
Severus Snape. Snape got sorted into Slytherin. Does that mean that he can't be loyal like the Hufflepuffs? Or that he can't be brave like the Gryffindors? You've read the books, right? He is all of those things as well. He just had a lot of determination in him, and he was meant for greatness, so the Sorting Hat placed him in Slytherin.
Hermione Granger. Who didn't wonder why she wasn't placed in Ravenclaw? It's not cause she lacks the love of books, it's just that the brave part of her outshined her cleverness (which means she must be very brave, don't you agree?).
 Need I go on?

So if the Sorting Hat has placed you in another house than you expected, remember that you are not less, you are more.

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Patience is a virtue

First we waited for the announcement.
Then we waited for July 31st.
Then we waited for the clues.
Then we waited for the validation emails.
After that we started waiting for the welcome mail.
Finally we wait for the release of Chamber of Secrets while we wait for our potions to brew...

I feel like maybe Pottermore is trying to tell (teach) us something? ...

My Pottermorefamily

The only thing that I don't like about being a Pottermore BETA tester is the fact that I can't have all of my #pottermorefamily with me. I know how it feels to be standing outside, knowing that there are people who are finding out what house they belong in or what it was like for Professor McGonagall before Hogwarts. I just wish Pottermore could let them all in, even if I know it's not possible.

When I first logged in to Pottermore, I was surprised to see that I had several friend requests. The funny thing is, since my #pottermorefamily is huge, I have created a Prefects list at twitter, so I can keep track of those I speak to the most and those who's been in my #pottermorefamily since we started it all, during the Magical Quill Challenge. And every "Prefect" who had gotten their owl had already added me as a friend. I ♥ you ^_^

 The number of Prefects, as well as members of my #pottermorefamily, not being in Pottermore is growing smaller though. A new wave of owls has been sent out today and I saw several of my #pottermorefamily screaming in delight when their owl landed in front of them. For instance, Lauren (@ElmBlade43) who registered 5 minutes in on Day 1, and who I practically founded the (back then unnamed) #pottermorefamily on twitter with, finally got her owl. I was so excited for her! It has just been odd, her not being on Pottermore before me.
 Seeing all those owls arriving was just so exciting, it made me remember how my voice went up a few octaves in the car when I got my owl yesterday (even my mum, who was driving at that time, screamed for me). It was a very geeky moment. And I love seeing other Potterheads have their moment. I do hope to see even more of them tomorrow.

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Before I go, if you haven't already, make sure you visit the official Pottermore Insider blog which got updated with information about Beta testing and Welcome emails today.
 Wishing you all owls! *Nox*

Done with Philosopher's Stone

So I have finished reading all the extra info on Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. It was a very interesting read, which I did try to drag out a little longer. But I just can't help reading everything I can find - immediately. I do believe it's a Ravenclaw thing.
 There is still stuff to do though, things that will award house points and help your house win the House Cup. Given that my house is the one with the most members so far, we should be able to do better then third, so I'll get to work on that ASAP. However, the Gryffindor/Slytherin rivalry seems to be strong enough to make sure one of  them will take home the house cup this year, not even 10 points separate the two.
 I do wonder how they will decide when to award the House Cup in Pottermore. At the end of year, in december? Or maybe with the release of the next book in the series?

Another thing I'm wondering about is how helpful the BETA feedback really will be. There is no room to add my own written thoughts on the site, I can only click boxes to tell them if I enjoy the site and if it runs smoothly. I wish I could tell them what I find helpful, and what I think would improve the site. For instance, the use of only DivX videos, which is something I have installed but which never works properly no matter how many times I try to fix it, means I don't get to see any of the videos. It would be nice to be able to switch to another video format. But I can't ask about that.

Anyways, I have potions to brew, and house points to gather. Wishing you all owls!

EDIT: It seems I am blind and not as good at reading as I thought I was. SeekerRose184 just told me "go to help - then other- then more help and there you find site suggestion". Thank you Nikki!

I'm a Ravenclaw!

Well, I got over my Sorting Hat Fear, that's for sure. The house which I, from first reading Philosopher's Stone, always felt would be the one for me, is the one I got. I can't believe I was right.
 And when it comes to the questions, you really can't tell which question will get you into what house, so don't even try, just be honest. I had questions where I figured "that is such a Ravenclaw answer!" but the answer just wasn't "me" and I chose the one I had to pick to stay honest, afraid it would give me another house after all. But, no, I must have been wrong, cause I still got sorted into Ravenclaw.

Here comes a warning. I will show you the wand that chose me (accompanied by some wand info), my house (with some house info), and my favorite question (although I won't tell you what I answered), so if you don't like Spoilers in the form of screenshots from inside Pottermore, do not click:

Heading to Hogwarts

So I just got home from my vacation (by the sea). On my way home I couldn't help but open up my laptop one last time to check my mail. And there it was. The final letter - the one that lets me enter Pottermore.

Only problem is, the battery on my laptop is about to die and I have another 2 hours to drive before I get back home....
 Longest two hours of my life. But here I am, finally. About to enter Pottermore and face my Sorting Hat fear. See you in there, and if not then may tomorrow bring you your owl!

The fear of the Sorting Hat

So Evanna Lynch have entered Pottermore and gotten sorted. Her being sorted into Gryffindor led to somewhat of an identity crisis situation.

I don't blame her.
 Sure, whatever house I get sorted into, I will show proper house pride. After all, J.K. Rowling is the creator of the test and if she doesn't know where I belong, noone does. But getting sorted into a house that I have never been able to relate to? That would set my head spinning.
Hufflepuffs are just so good, all the way through. Happy and openminded and loyal and awesomely kind. True and hardworking. I don't think I'm like that. I try to be most of those things, but I'm just not.
Gryffindors are supposed to be brave and daring and I don't think any of my friends would lead with those adjectives when describing me. I like to shrink back into the shadows, not being seen. I'm not at the front, doing things, being brave.
And then there are the Slytherins. Maybe it's just the fact that most people see the Slytherins as bad, I don't know, but I've never seen myself in Slytherin. All that pure blood talk and using any means to achieve their end goal. That's not me, is it?

But I love books and reading, I value knowledge, I like to think that I am somewhat creative. I've always seen myself as a Ravenclaw, even if I first identified with Hermione (and still do, to some extent - I'm still not considered brave).

The sorting is the thing I most look forward to, but on the other hand it is also the thing I most dread. Because what if I'm... not. a Ravenclaw

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Pottermore gif

Images like this make me so jeallous. Please Pottermore, just send me my owl already.

Possible Spoiler as I'm guessing the images are from inside Pottermore, so I'll put it after the break and you'll enter at your own risk

Running out of time

So no owl yet and it has passed the 24h mark of the last (4th) batch of welcome letters being sent out. I'm wondering if they'll send any owls during the weekend.
 Thing is, soon I don't have much spare time to spend on Pottermore. Tomorrow I'm leaving for the only vacation I get this year. Off to the sea, where I'll be living in a tiny cottage. I will have Internet connection, but I don't know how good it'll be, and I wont have a lot of access to it. I'll be busy smelling the seaweed in the air, feeling the wind in my hair and listening to the seagulls in their search for more food. (Not to mention the ice cream bar.) It's my favourite place on earth and it's the break I need. But when I get back, I'll only have a few days left until next term at University starts. And during those days I should really nurture friendships which have been suffering during my summer working - a lot.

So when will I have time to make sure my house wins the house cup? I really wish my owl would have arrived during my few days off from... everything. But those days end today. I hope I at least get my owl before University starts. This term will be a difficult one.

Could I transfer from my University to Hogwarts please?

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Starting a new blog

So I just moved (and translated) all my Pottermore bloggings from my private blog to this. I don't know exactly why, nor what I'll really be writing about (apart from Harry Potter, magic and Pottermore). But as a wannabe writer, 140 characters isn't always enough.

As I try not to flood my private blog with to much Harry Potter, I'd best be doing an update on where I stand with Pottermore right now. It's simple. No owl for me.
 I am completely honest when I say that I'm happy for those in my #pottermorefamily who got in, even if I'm really jeallous. And I keep watching what house they get sorted into, and what kind of wands that chose them.
 However, I was one of those who found the Magical Quill on Day 1 and in my validation e-mail Pottermore stated that "places are going to be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis". Seeing people who found the Magical Quill on Day 7 enter Pottermore, well... good for you, enjoy, but why did I just get pushed to the end of the line?
 What happened to first-come-first-serve Pottermore?

Anyways, on a happier note, my #pottermorefamily (which is what we are now calling ourselves on twitter) have grown. Right now, there are 224 people following my twitter, and I have listed 184 Pottermore named twitterers in my #pottermorefamily. They showed me how to use twitter and 19 days in, I have tweeted 810 times. Considering that my private, 4 months old, twitter account have tweeted 68 times, let's just say I ♥ my #pottermorefamily.

Protect Our Owls

Please make sure your window stays open until your welcome letter has arrived.

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SilverQuill77 on twitter

I'm impatient. I want to interact with other Potterheads now. Which is why I keep typing Pottermore into my twitter search to read what everyone has to say about it. Which is why I stumbled across someone who said they'd registered their Pottemore username on twitter - not to use that account, just to make sure noone else registered their name on twitter. And I thought: awesome idea - except for the part where you don't use it!

And so I have created a twitter account with my Pottermore username. I will only tweet about Pottermore and Harry Potter-related subjects. I will only follow official Harry Potter twitterers like @Pottermore, @jk_rowling and @Evy_Lynch as well as every Pottermore named twitter account I can find (whose account owner follows the Pottermore T&C)

Click the image, make your own Pottermore named twitter account, and follow me on twitter (so I can follow you back).

Congratulations! You are magical

These are the words you want to read on Pottermore this week - if you're a hardcore Potterhead. (Which I am.)

Since I had to go to work today, and figured that J.K. Rowling would put up the usual challenge, I didn't have high hopes of having a chance and tried to put it out of my head.However, at midnight tonight (London-tid) I couldn't help having a peek at Pottermore.com.
 I wasn't the only one.

Well... I went to bed (after watching the screen refresh back to the same message for about an hour)
 But this morning, before heading to work, my fingers started itching again - thankfully! This time, Pottermore had a completely different message for me.