What Is Your Hogwarts House?

[PhuturePriest]

I am very intelligent, but I like to learn to meet my ends, so I am a Slytherin or more specifically, a Slytherclaw

 

No such thing. Things like "Slytherclaw" stem from people's lack of understanding on how the Houses work. As I explained before, you're not Sorted based on whether your smart or not, or if you're brave or not. It's not an all or nothing proposition. Smart people are in all of the Houses, as are brave, hard-working, ambitious ones (Think of Percy Weasley, for instance, who was all four). The question is not a black and white one, but a question of rather with all of your strengths and talents in mind, which one personally defines your character. If that for you is ambition, then you are a Slytherin.

Edited October 6, 2014 by FuturePacker

[Basilisa Marie]

And remember, in the story it sorts you based on who you are as an eleven year old. If I had been sorted then, I'd likely been a Ravenclaw.

[IgnatiusofLoyola]

Do the Pottermore quiz. Each question was designed by Rowling herself, and it is the most accurate Sorting online. She herself did it, and was Sorted into Gryffindor, which obviously shows how superior we are. :|

 

But really, if I could be in any other House, it would definitely be Ravenclaw.

 

I don't put quite as much faith in the Pottermore quiz as you do. That's because the Pottermore quiz doesn't include one very important quality of the Sorting Hat--namely that the Sorting Hat took into account Harry's wishes when it Sorted Harry (and presumably others, according to what Harry told his son.)

 

I understand the very practical reason why the Pottermore Sorting quiz does not take into account which house a person might want to be in--or not want to be in, as in Harry's case.

 

The Pottermore Web site has things like House contests. To make these fair, I suspect that one goal of the Pottermore Sorting quiz is to sort Web users into four groups of relatively the same size, so one House doesn't have an advantage over others in contests. And, to be fair to Pottermore, the Sorting Hat also seemed share this goal, since within a given year, there seemed to be roughly the same number of students in each House.

 

In the Magical world, perhaps the Sorting Hat didn't have to try to make the numbers in each House equal--maybe it happened naturally.

 

But, among the fans of the Harry Potter Books and movies, I'd expect there to be a strong bias toward wanting to be in Gryffindor and not wanting to be in Slytherin. Yes, I've met some people who wanted to be Sytherins. But, I've come across far MORE people who wanted to be in Gryffindor--and that's natural, considering that Harry is a Gryffindor.

 

I deleted my membership in Pottermore because they put me in Slytherin, and there was no option to retake the test. After awhile, I'll try joining again, and give different answers to the questions. It's not that my new answers to the questions will be a lie. For several of the questions, I could honestly have given several different answers--they all applied to me--so I just picked one. Next time I will give different (but just as honest) answers in the hopes I won't be placed in Slytherin. I felt strongly enough about being placed in Slytherin that I couldn't enjoy myself playing around on the Pottermore site as a Slytherin. Maybe that's weird, but Harry also felt VERY strongly that he did not want to be in Slytherin. And, Harry Potter and I share a birthday--July 31--although obviously not the same year.

[PhuturePriest]

I don't put quite as much faith in the Pottermore quiz as you do. That's because the Pottermore quiz doesn't include one very important quality of the Sorting Hat--namely that the Sorting Hat took into account Harry's wishes when it Sorted Harry (and presumably others, according to what Harry told his son.)

 

I understand the very practical reason why the Pottermore Sorting quiz does not take into account which house a person might want to be in--or not want to be in, as in Harry's case.

 

The Pottermore Web site has things like House contests. To make these fair, I suspect that one goal of the Pottermore Sorting quiz is to sort Web users into four groups of relatively the same size, so one House doesn't have an advantage over others in contests. And, to be fair to Pottermore, the Sorting Hat also seemed share this goal, since within a given year, there seemed to be roughly the same number of students in each House.

 

In the Magical world, perhaps the Sorting Hat didn't have to try to make the numbers in each House equal--maybe it happened naturally.

 

But, among the fans of the Harry Potter Books and movies, I'd expect there to be a strong bias toward wanting to be in Gryffindor and not wanting to be in Slytherin. Yes, I've met some people who wanted to be Sytherins. But, I've come across far MORE people who wanted to be in Gryffindor--and that's natural, considering that Harry is a Gryffindor.

 

I deleted my membership in Pottermore because they put me in Slytherin, and there was no option to retake the test. After awhile, I'll try joining again, and give different answers to the questions. It's not that my new answers to the questions will be a lie. For several of the questions, I could honestly have given several different answers--they all applied to me--so I just picked one. Next time I will give different (but just as honest) answers in the hopes I won't be placed in Slytherin. I felt strongly enough about being placed in Slytherin that I couldn't enjoy myself playing around on the Pottermore site as a Slytherin. Maybe that's weird, but Harry also felt VERY strongly that he did not want to be in Slytherin. And, Harry Potter and I share a birthday--July 31--although obviously not the same year.

 

Actually, the numbers are not even. I think there are far more Gryffindors and Slytherins than Ravenclaw and Hufflepuffs. That's perhaps why Hufflepuff has only won one House Cup, whereas the others have won several, and Ravenclaw has just won two in a row.

[ardillacid]

I really tried to like this series, but couldn't get through the first book. Oh well. 

[veritasluxmea]

I think the Pottermore quiz is a little sketchy. If you tell the Hat you want to go to a certain house and you insist, he'll put you there. I guess not for everyone, but like all discernment it's complicated. Sigh. 

[PhuturePriest]

I think the Pottermore quiz is a little sketchy. If you tell the Hat you want to go to a certain house and you insist, he'll put you there. I guess not for everyone, but like all discernment it's complicated. Sigh. 

 

Untrue. Neville desperately pleaded the Sorting Hat to let him into Hufflepuff, but the Sorting Hat was unflinching and put him into Gryffindor anyway.

[veritasluxmea]

Untrue. Neville desperately pleaded the Sorting Hat to let him into Hufflepuff, but the Sorting Hat was unflinching and put him into Gryffindor anyway.

Is that cannon? 

 

Well, it didn't work for him, but it did for Harry. It's like discerning a vocation. Sometimes you just know and get the one you love, sometimes God pulls the rug out from under your feet, every person is different. 

[SilentJoy]

I really tried to like this series, but couldn't get through the first book. Oh well. 

 

The first was the worst.

 

"Order of the Phoenix" was good, and the "Deathly Hallows."

[PhuturePriest]

Is that cannon? 

 

Well, it didn't work for him, but it did for Harry. It's like discerning a vocation. Sometimes you just know and get the one you love, sometimes God pulls the rug out from under your feet, every person is different. 

 

Yes, that is indeed canon: http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Neville_Longbottom

We don't always get what we want, but as long as we embrace our vocation, we'll end up loving what we get. This extends to Hogwarts Houses. I would be happy to be put in any of the Houses, including Slytherin.

 

The first was the worst.

 

"Order of the Phoenix" was good, and the "Deathly Hallows."

 

For me, the first chapter of the first book bored me to tears. But as soon as I began reading chapter two, my eyes were glued to the pages and I read the whole book in one night. The best books, in my opinion, are The Goblet of Fire, The Order of the Phoenix, and The Deathly Hallows, the best of these being one of the first two.

[PhuturePriest]

I think the Pottermore quiz is a little sketchy. If you tell the Hat you want to go to a certain house and you insist, he'll put you there. I guess not for everyone, but like all discernment it's complicated. Sigh. 

 

Also, if you're 50/50 with two Houses, it gives you the option to choose one or the other. Harry was 50/50 between Gryffindor and Slytherin, that's why the Sorting Hat ultimately gave him the final decision.

Edited October 10, 2014 by FuturePacker

[Basilisa Marie]

I think people put too much stock in the "you really do get to choose your house" idea. 
 

Harry's not making a choice for a House, it's against one. Neville, on the other hand, was trying to make a more active choice (Hufflepuff please!) and the Hat ignored it. The Hat acts more amused than anything that Harry was so adamantly against Slytherin, because the Hat can see everything "inside" him. So I don't think the Hat would give you a house just because you wanted it, but it would respect any intense desire against a particular house. Harry's also a very strong willed character, and one's will plays a big role in how the magic works, so that might be part of it too. 

 

"Choices are what make us who we are" is a huge theme of the series, and maybe most people in the Wizarding World don't know you can influence the Hat. Harry doesn't even tell Ron and Hermione that the Hat considered Slytherin for him. But in a world where Death Eaters and their kids hadn't overrun Slytherin House, Harry would have made a really good Slytherin - he's resourceful, competitive, ambitious, and extremely loyal to his friends and those he respects. He places a high value on family. He disregards the rules right and left when they get in the way of his goals.  But the books also say that Gryffindor and Slytherin are two sides of the same coin, so there's a lot of overlap between them. There's nothing that tells us the Hat would give you a house placement it disagreed with. 

 

 

[Thy Geekdom Come]

Bunch of muggles.

[Basilisa Marie]

Also, if you're 50/50 with two Houses, it gives you the option to choose one or the other. Harry was 50/50 between Gryffindor and Slytherin, that's why the Sorting Hat ultimately gave him the final decision.

 

No, that's not why. Well, there's certainly an argument to be made that Harry could have done well in Slytherin on his own, but I don't think that's why the Hat wanted to put him in Slytherin.

 

[spoiler] The Hat sees everything in your head, and the Hat was going to place him in Slytherin because Harry had a piece of Voldemort's soul inside him. But that Hat's not going to recognize that, it's just going to see that part of Harry contains the lineage of Slytherin himself, so of course he must belong there.  That's why the Hat's so darn amused when Harry is thinking "not Slytherin, not Slytherin..." when the Hat is placed on his head. To the Hat, it's ironic. [/spoiler]

 

Plus, Harry didn't choose Gryffindor. He chose "not Slytherin."  That's different from "I want Hufflepuff" and getting put in Gryffindor. 

[PhuturePriest]

I think people put too much stock in the "you really do get to choose your house" idea. 
 

Harry's not making a choice for a House, it's against one. Neville, on the other hand, was trying to make a more active choice (Hufflepuff please!) and the Hat ignored it. The Hat acts more amused than anything that Harry was so adamantly against Slytherin, because the Hat can see everything "inside" him. So I don't think the Hat would give you a house just because you wanted it, but it would respect any intense desire against a particular house. Harry's also a very strong willed character, and one's will plays a big role in how the magic works, so that might be part of it too. 

 

"Choices are what make us who we are" is a huge theme of the series, and maybe most people in the Wizarding World don't know you can influence the Hat. Harry doesn't even tell Ron and Hermione that the Hat considered Slytherin for him. But in a world where Death Eaters and their kids hadn't overrun Slytherin House, Harry would have made a really good Slytherin - he's resourceful, competitive, ambitious, and extremely loyal to his friends and those he respects. He places a high value on family. He disregards the rules right and left when they get in the way of his goals.  But the books also say that Gryffindor and Slytherin are two sides of the same coin, so there's a lot of overlap between them. There's nothing that tells us the Hat would give you a house placement it disagreed with. 

 

 

 

No, that's not why. Well, there's certainly an argument to be made that Harry could have done well in Slytherin on his own, but I don't think that's why the Hat wanted to put him in Slytherin.

 

[spoiler] The Hat sees everything in your head, and the Hat was going to place him in Slytherin because Harry had a piece of Voldemort's soul inside him. But that Hat's not going to recognize that, it's just going to see that part of Harry contains the lineage of Slytherin himself, so of course he must belong there.  That's why the Hat's so darn amused when Harry is thinking "not Slytherin, not Slytherin..." when the Hat is placed on his head. To the Hat, it's ironic. [/spoiler]

 

Plus, Harry didn't choose Gryffindor. He chose "not Slytherin."  That's different from "I want Hufflepuff" and getting put in Gryffindor. 

 

I love how the most intense, charitable, philosophical, nuanced conversations we have on Phatmass are always about Harry Potter. :P

 

Very good points, I hadn't thought about that. One particular choice of character that goes into what could've been seen until the last book as the "wrong House" was Percy Weasley. This man is pretty much the golden standard for a Slytherin: Incredibly loyal, incredibly ambitious, and incredibly witty and smart. We're talking about a guy who disowned his family for two years because they were a threat to his career. :P But, in my opinion, he was made a Gryffindor because in the end his bravery wins over his pride and his ambition.