hogwarts

#5 hogwarts

hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry is every child's (okay, and adult's) dream. from the amazing teachers to peeves to charms class, it is the coolest place anyone could have ever dreamed of. i honestly hope heaven is like hogwarts, and before you judge me you should probably realize you do too.

whenever i dream about being at hogwarts i always wonder what house the sorting hat would put me in. i know i'm not alone because there are hundreds of harry potter house quizzes all over the internet. thinking about which house i could end up in makes me nervous and anxious and excited. at the end of the day all four houses are great and have something admirable about them.

You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry 

Set Gryffindors apart

Gryffindor is typically the house most readers want to be a part of. it is the home of the heroes, our favorite trio. bravery is a trait that I admire so much. bravery is being able to put yourself out there and accept whatever consequence you may face for standing up for what you believe in. in the story we see Harry exude this quality above all others.

when it comes time for harry to face death in the end he never fights it. yes, he is scared. being brave does not mean being unafraid, it can mean being afraid but doing it anyways. harry gets up his nerve and is takes a stand with voldemort to save everyone else. chivalry is putting yourself before others and harry does this in every book. even at the age of 11 in the sorcerer's stone, harry is ready to give up his life to quirrell to protect the stone and keep voldemort from succeeding. 

 You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil; 

Hufflepuff house gets way too much crap. people often shrug off Hufflepuff and think of them as a joke, but i truly don't understand why. if you look at their traits, they are really lovely people. just, loyal, patient, and hardworking. these are the traits that people find valuable in friends, coworkers, and just in general, but for some reason don't take hufflepuff seriously? 

i love the fierce loyalty of the Hufflepuffs shown in the books. the first time we really see this is in the chamber of secrets. whenever people believe that harry has threatened justin finch-fletchley the hufflepuffs form a strong union around him and group together. they shut harry out and stay loyal to justin. but since hufflepuffs are just, as soon as they know harry is not responsible we see ernie mcmillan apologize whole-heartedly.

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
if you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind

Ravenclaw for those who love to learn. they love riddles and reading. my favorite ravenclaw is obviously luna lovegood. it is impossible not to love luna. "she believes at least 10 impossible things before breakfast" jk rowling has said about her. 

luna shows the greatness in ravenclaw by not being your typical "nerd" that is associated with those who love to learn. luna is smart and witty, but that doesn't prevent her from having an imagination. in fact, i believe that her ready mind is exactly why she is so open to belief in things that are not fact. her cleverness doesn't make her a killjoy, she is pure joy.

Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folks use any means
To achieve their ends. 

Slytherin is known throughout the series to be a house where evil wizards come from. sometimes this causes people to mistake slytherin as evil, but when you see snape's story you know that isn't true. no, slytherin's are not perfect (neither is any other house for that matter) but a slytherin knows how to get things done. when they have a goal a slytherin will do anything to achieve it. they are willing to take any shortcuts to achieve their goals.

a non-evil example of this is professor slughorn. slughorn is in no way an evil man, but he loves connections. slughorn tries to climb to the top of the social hierarchy by knowing and befriending those he believes will be the most successful. instead of becoming the most successful person on his own, he uses his resources to make this happen.

all in all, i'll just conclude this post with what i know we're all thinking...

i'm still waiting for my letter.

love,

lindsay a.k.a. lindsay weasley