Harry Potter Questions about my House and Wand

[Pavbat666]

Hello, and as the title might suggest, this is going to be about Harry Potter, and about my house and my wand. You see, I really want to get a good feel of what my house, and what my wand would be, but I am having trouble. Lets start with my house. I have taken DOZANS of hese "What is your Harry Potter House Quiz", but I am still having troubles. My friends all say I am a Hufflepuff, and actually I wouldn't be too surprised if that's where they put me. Deep down, I feel like a real Hufflepuff. However, ALL the test results say I am a Slytherin or a Ravenclaw. My friends didn't believe me for a second that I am a Slytherin, and never believed that I could be "evil". I told them Slytherin wasn't evil, but they still didn't believed me. They could see me as a Ravenclaw, and Ravenclaw is the house I really really really want to be in. Pottermore said I am a Ravenclaw. I just don't know what to believe in. Has anyone else faced these problems, in which they were torn up into which house they belong. It's unfortunate they don't have a real sorting hat...

My second problem is my wand. Again, I took the test on Pottermore, and it said I have a maple wand with unicorn hair. However, I did some research about the wood, and seeing my birthday is on May 13th, it says my wood is Hawthorn. I read the discriptions for both, and the characteristics seem to match me both. Which one should I go with, and trust. The celtic caladener, or Pottermore? Can someone please help?

[Black Socks]

On houses: Go with your feelings over the quizzes. The sorting hat doesn't ask you questions- it looks inside your mind and, as we all know, takes your feelings into account.

[AvatarVecna]

Taking a test like that spits in the face of the scientific process: because you as the test-taker are aware of the goal of the test, and have a personal stake in the result, the results of the test are biased by your ability to judge yourself objectively; this is especially true with things like this, where every question has an option for every final result (and the ties between answer and final result are super-obvious). For this particular subject matter, a lot of online quizzes boil down to:


What do you value most?

A: Bravery
B: Loyalty
C: Intelligence
D: Cunning

If you answered A/B/C/D, congratulations on getting into Gryffindor/Hufflepuff/Ravenclaw/Slytherin!

Most tests that can actually get close to being objective even though the test isn't blind (much less double blind) will tend to have quite a few questions, each of which tests one result vs another without being obvious about which choices are being selected, and takes all such questions into account to determine the final result. A good example of a self-administered test that comes close to being good is the "I Am A..." test which attempts to determine what D&D character you'd be; when determining class, it pits each of the 11 classes against each other in a series of "would you be more like this, or more like this?" questions, which aren't totally obvious which class they're supporting unless you take the time to analyze the results of the test on several dozen such tests to compare data.

Unfortunately, I don't know of a good online test for objectively determining what house most suits you, but a previous posters advice rings true: go with what makes sense to you. You know yourself well enough that you can get a feel for where you'd fit in better than a test could, and the Sorting Hat takes your feelings into account anyway.

[woweedd]

Just a heads-up: The Pottermore House Quiz gives a different set of questions every time. This makes it spotty as Mr. Magoo in a cave: You can get Slytherin just because you happened to like water. Ideally, you'd want to take this (http://www.gotoquiz.com/pottermore_sorting_quiz_all_possible_question) quiz. It had every possible question and thusly makes for the most accurate result.

[Pavbat666]

Just a heads-up: The Pottermore House Quiz gives a different set of questions every time. This makes it spotty as Mr. Magoo in a cave: You can get Slytherin just because you happened to like water. Ideally, you'd want to take this (http://www.gotoquiz.com/pottermore_sorting_quiz_all_possible_question) quiz. It had every possible question and thusly makes for the most accurate result.

Well on this test I got 93% or so Slytherin, by far beating the rest. Gryffindor was my least choice, not that I care too much, and Hufflepuff was around 36%. Ravenclaw was probably around the 50% mark. However, this made me think. I read the pottermore entry for Slytherin, and it doesn't seem so bad. It actually seems like a pretty cool house, and now I am tied between Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Ugh... anyways, how about my wand? Is there anything to do about that?

[woweedd]

Well on this test I got 93% or so Slytherin, by far beating the rest. Gryffindor was my least choice, not that I care too much, and Hufflepuff was around 36%. Ravenclaw was probably around the 50% mark. However, this made me think. I read the pottermore entry for Slytherin, and it doesn't seem so bad. It actually seems like a pretty cool house, and now I am tied between Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Ugh... anyways, how about my wand? Is there anything to do about that?

That quiz is the same every time. Also, Sylths aren't evil. Ambition and Cunning can lead to great things. Them and us Ravenclaws are pretty well-connected.Also, JK used birthdates to select wands but choose which one best matches you. Trust yourself.

[AvatarVecna]

Well on this test I got 93% or so Slytherin, by far beating the rest. Gryffindor was my least choice, not that I care too much, and Hufflepuff was around 36%. Ravenclaw was probably around the 50% mark. However, this made me think. I read the pottermore entry for Slytherin, and it doesn't seem so bad. It actually seems like a pretty cool house, and now I am tied between Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Ugh... anyways, how about my wand? Is there anything to do about that?

Slytherin's primary traits are cunning (using your wits to come out ahead with less resource expenditure) and ambition (a desire to succeed, to excel); while in the series proper, most members of Slytherin house are the way they are because they recognize that being a racist ass is the way to get ahead in life in the wizarding world, and they embrace that (whether they fully believe in pureblood superiority or not). What's more, the two defining traits of Slytherin are hardly inherently evil; yes, a desire to succeed and a preference for outsmarting the competition might be more common among immoral individuals, but evil hardly has a monopoly on cunning or ambition: Superman fits perfectly in with Gryffindor, but Batman fits in perfectly with Slytherin, as far as cunning goes. And ambition is that inner desire to be the very best, like no one ever was (http://pa1.narvii.com/6001/e14fb9caac81f498518c934fbe63dbf20e8829a0_hq.gif), to (http://i.imgur.com/ibIn56n.gif) improve (http://i.imgur.com/gRoaWOA.gif) until (http://i.imgur.com/GWbyyVY.gif) you're the best you that you can be (https://67.media.tumblr.com/c2a5537068de3ad5930c97488a2a2849/tumblr_nzpnw9bvkT1tzzjejo1_500.gif), to always push yourself past your limits (https://66.media.tumblr.com/e637842777a69120dbf6339e3d8b4cf8/tumblr_nkza82vG2T1rs5gxyo1_500.gif).

[Lethologica]

Obligatory plug for Sorting Hat Chats. Not quite the usual system, but by far the most psychologically interesting one.

EDIT: Linky. (http://sortinghatchats.tumblr.com/thebasics)

[Legato Endless]

Taking a test like that spits in the face of the scientific process: because you as the test-taker are aware of the goal of the test, and have a personal stake in the result, the results of the test are biased by your ability to judge yourself objectively; this is especially true with things like this, where every question has an option for every final result (and the ties between answer and final result are super-obvious). For this particular subject matter, a lot of online quizzes boil down to:


Hence why tests like the Meyers Briggs aren't utilized by most actual psychiatric specialists.


A good example of a self-administered test that comes close to being good is the "I Am A..." test which attempts to determine what D&D character you'd be...

Link?


Slytherin's primary traits are cunning (using your wits to come out ahead with less resource expenditure) and ambition (a desire to succeed, to excel); while in the series proper, most members of Slytherin house are the way they are because they recognize that being a racist ass is the way to get ahead in life in the wizarding world, and they embrace that (whether they fully believe in pureblood superiority or not). What's more, the two defining traits of Slytherin are hardly inherently evil; yes, a desire to succeed and a preference for outsmarting the competition might be more common among immoral individuals, but evil hardly has a monopoly on cunning or ambition: Superman fits perfectly in with Gryffindor, but Batman fits in perfectly with Slytherin, as far as cunning goes.

Indeed. Heroic determination is just ambition in a stylish hat. The reverse is also true, there are a lot of vilified figures real and fictional which would fit a lot more easily into Gryffindor or even Hufflepuff than Slytherin.

[AvatarVecna]

Link?

Sure. (http://easydamus.com/character.html) It's not great (it's still self-administered, and certain parts do the "obviously tied to certain results" thing), but the class section of the test has 55 questions, each asking a question that determines how you favor one particular class over another. Example: q64 asks "It is better to..." and the options are "actively champion a cause" and "live as an example to others"; this compares...

...Paladin and Monk...

...without being super-obvious about it. The other sections (for alignment, attributes, and race) have options where it's basically "select from this list an option that links directly to one of the results", although most of them are okay

[Aedilred]

One of the things I quite liked about the Pottermore quiz was that (from what I recall; it's some time since I did it) it was done largely by association, rather than by asking abstract questions which you have to answer hypothetically, and which also make it easier to game the result. It's by no means perfect, but those I know who've joined the site haven't been unhappy with their result.

It's worth noting though that the houses are pretty loosely defined, and that most people could fit perfectly comfortably into any of the four, or at least three of the four. That's not all that far off being canonical, either: the Hat reckoned Harry would have been at least as good a Slytherin as a Gryffindor. Another child with Harry's upbringing but without his ominous air of destiny might easily have ended up in Hufflepuff. Ron could, too, given his defining feature is really loyalty as much as anything, while that Hermione wasn't sorted into Ravenclaw is pretty remarkable in itself.

Perhaps too the Hat sends kids not just where they should go based on their current character, but where they think the child needs to go. The children being picked are ten; their character is still highly mutable, with an awful lot of their development still to come. Which house they're sorted into can't help but affect that. A sixth-year Gryffindor is probably much more identifably a Gryffindor than a first-year. There's no way Neville, for instance, should have been in Gryffindor given what he was like at the start of the series, but by the end he's developed into at least as much of a classic hero archetype as Harry. Would that have happened if he'd been in a different house? It seems likely the Hat saw the kernel of bravery and defiance within him and sent him where that would be nurtured and encouraged, rather than accepting the then-dominant traits of his personality at face value and sending him to the obvious place. Hermione might be similar - being as she is, she's probably going to do just as well whether she's in the "intellectual" house or not, so it sends her somewhere that might help to balance that side of her personality and make her both a more bearable person, and inclined to use her "powers" for good rather than burying herself in books for the rest of her life as she might in Ravenclaw (or becoming embittered and power-obsessed and turning to the dark side in Slytherin, or sinking into benign obscurity in Hufflepuff).

(Albeit there is the fan theory which is worth considering, that Gryffindor is the house you have to opt into, explaining why a number of students who "should" have been sent elsewhere - not just the three central characters, but Neville, Sirius, even Percy Weasley, maybe - ended up there).

Ultimately, there's no right answer. I doubt JKR gave it as much thought as fans have done subsequently, and it's not like the houses' defining attributes have been handed down on high by some immutable authority, or indeed that they really mean anything in daily life. Really I don't think you even need to take a quiz to have an idea of which house you should be in: once you're out of adolescence you probably have a good enough idea of your own character that you can pick one yourself and get it as right as the Hat does.


On the wand, I don't think the Harry Potter wand-woods are necessarily linked to any traditional calendar or birth-wood charts. After all, when selecting out a wand, Mr. Ollivander gives the children several of different woods to try out rather than asking them their birthday and picking based on that. The Elder Wand, for instance, isn't reliant on having a specific birthday to use properly, but rather right of conquest. I think HP wandlore is its own thing, with in-world meanings distinct from those from our own history and folklore. Again, though, it's not like it matters, so pick whichever wand you like for... whatever purpose you're planning to use it for.

[woweedd]

One of the things I quite liked about the Pottermore quiz was that (from what I recall; it's some time since I did it) it was done largely by association, rather than by asking abstract questions which you have to answer hypothetically, and which also make it easier to game the result. It's by no means perfect, but those I know who've joined the site haven't been unhappy with their result.

It's worth noting though that the houses are pretty loosely defined, and that most people could fit perfectly comfortably into any of the four, or at least three of the four. That's not all that far off being canonical, either: the Hat reckoned Harry would have been at least as good a Slytherin as a Gryffindor. Another child with Harry's upbringing but without his ominous air of destiny might easily have ended up in Hufflepuff. Ron could, too, given his defining feature is really loyalty as much as anything, while that Hermione wasn't sorted into Ravenclaw is pretty remarkable in itself.

Perhaps too the Hat sends kids not just where they should go based on their current character, but where they think the child needs to go. The children being picked are ten; their character is still highly mutable, with an awful lot of their development still to come. Which house they're sorted into can't help but affect that. A sixth-year Gryffindor is probably much more identifably a Gryffindor than a first-year. There's no way Neville, for instance, should have been in Gryffindor given what he was like at the start of the series, but by the end he's developed into at least as much of a classic hero archetype as Harry. Would that have happened if he'd been in a different house? It seems likely the Hat saw the kernel of bravery and defiance within him and sent him where that would be nurtured and encouraged, rather than accepting the then-dominant traits of his personality at face value and sending him to the obvious place. Hermione might be similar - being as she is, she's probably going to do just as well whether she's in the "intellectual" house or not, so it sends her somewhere that might help to balance that side of her personality and make her both a more bearable person, and inclined to use her "powers" for good rather than burying herself in books for the rest of her life as she might in Ravenclaw (or becoming embittered and power-obsessed and turning to the dark side in Slytherin, or sinking into benign obscurity in Hufflepuff).

(Albeit there is the fan theory which is worth considering, that Gryffindor is the house you have to opt into, explaining why a number of students who "should" have been sent elsewhere - not just the three central characters, but Neville, Sirius, even Percy Weasley, maybe - ended up there).

Ultimately, there's no right answer. I doubt JKR gave it as much thought as fans have done subsequently, and it's not like the houses' defining attributes have been handed down on high by some immutable authority, or indeed that they really mean anything in daily life. Really I don't think you even need to take a quiz to have an idea of which house you should be in: once you're out of adolescence you probably have a good enough idea of your own character that you can pick one yourself and get it as right as the Hat does.


On the wand, I don't think the Harry Potter wand-woods are necessarily linked to any traditional calendar or birth-wood charts. After all, when selecting out a wand, Mr. Ollivander gives the children several of different woods to try out rather than asking them their birthday and picking based on that. The Elder Wand, for instance, isn't reliant on having a specific birthday to use properly, but rather right of conquest. I think HP wandlore is its own thing, with in-world meanings distinct from those from our own history and folklore. Again, though, it's not like it matters, so pick whichever wand you like for... whatever purpose you're planning to use it for.
In regards to the "gives you what you need, not what you want." It tends to take your choices into consideration. Hermione would have fit equally well into Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. She chose the second. Same with Nevile. He said Huffepuff but the hat could tell he didn't really value Hufflepuff traits. If he had, it would have put him there, no question. However, he only wanted Hufflepuff because he had heard it was the house for duffers like what he thought he was. That's not what Hufflepuff is. The Hat sensed he valued Gryffindor more, he was just afraid of embarrassing himself. The Hat talked it out with him for close to 5 full minutes and ultimately won him over.