Potter fever strikes again. Dammit.

* I finished the story element of LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean. I know, FINALLY. I got it for Christmas last year. :X I was gonna work on 100% completion before starting LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7, but considering LEGO: Pirates was by far the most frustrating LEGO game I’ve ever played, I might set that goal aside for another time.

* Speaking of Harry Potter, I’ve given in and have decided to reread the series again. Which is probably a bad idea considering how my summer school agenda looks for the next few weeks. Oops? Still, I haven’t reread the series in at least a year and a half (probably closer to two years, to be honest) and I’m taking notes this time around. I’ll post my questions and notes after I’ve finished each book so I can go through and answer them if possible!

* The Boyfriend and I will be at the Harry and the Potters/Potter Puppet Pals tour stop in Denver on August 4; will I see you there? I hope so! :D

And just because:

Enemies of the Heir, Beware!

The first four chapters of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets have been released to everyone on Pottermore today. Through, uh…*coughs* certain magical…ah, opportunities…I was able to preview Chamber of Secrets with the Slytherins yesterday, which was their reward for winning the first House Cup. This keeps up my record of being first for everything in Pottermore: I registered the first day of the quill challenge, I was let in during the first day of beta access, and now this. Totally not bragging or anything.

So here are my thoughts on the biggest Pottermore update since the site opened last year, and if it’s worth former Pottermore users digging out their old login info and giving it a go. This is SPOILER-RIDDEN TERRITORY, so you’ve been warned! Enemies of the Heir, Beware!

(The warning is for the Pottermore content, obviously, not for the book. It’s been out for ages, go read it already. AND NO, THE MOVIE DOESN’T COUNT.)

Back to Platform 9 3/4

Ages ago I wrote about how Pottermore was a disappointment to myself and other Harry Potter fans. I hadn’t thought about it much, until I saw some recent twitter updates from the site. Recently, Pottermore tallied up all of the House Points earned by the four Houses and announced that Slytherin had won the very first House Cup, and would therefore be given 24 hours access to Chamber of Secrets before anyone else once the book is released.

Since it’d been a while since I logged on to my account, I did so and thought for a while about the House I’d been Sorted into. As a huge Harry Potter fan and growing up reading the books, a huge part of your identity as a fan is which House you belong to. I honestly have nothing against Hufflepuff and do see some of its qualities in myself, but I was never happy about how the Sorting Hat test went. Not just because I didn’t get my House preference (Ravenclaw), but because I didn’t feel like I answered honestly and was trying to get Ravenclaw on purpose. J.K. Rowling told us not to do that in a video that precedes the Sorting ceremony, but come on. We all have a preference and want to go where we feel like we belong. (Helloooo, high school!)

Still, I’d always thought about setting up a new account and trying the test again. Years ago I Google’d “Sorting Hat quiz” and took every single quiz that came up, from the intense to the mundane. Twenty pages of later, I’d yet to be Sorted anywhere other than Ravenclaw. I was stunned, because I’d always liked that House but didn’t realize I had such a strong connection to it. With this newly acquired knowledge, I started feeling more comfortable buying Ravenclaw shirts, I had my mom knit me a Ravenclaw scarf, I used Ravenclaw signatures on message boards, and so on. I was happy and set in my House and felt like I truly belonged.

So when I was Sorted into Hufflepuff on Pottermore, I was stunned and a little crushed. I know a lot of people felt the same, but it was still disheartening. And not because Hufflepuff is the “reject House” because honestly, I get really sick of all of the shit I hear about that House. Just because it’s the House we know the least about doesn’t mean it doesn’t have value.

Anyway, I signed up for a new Pottermore account and started exploring again. I got to the Sorting Hat quiz and started getting nervous, but I took a deep breath and took my time with each question. I went with the answers that I would’ve gone with, not what I thought would get me into Ravenclaw. I thought carefully about each answer, and as I did I kept thinking that I wouldn’t be put into Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff, but something totally unexpected like Gryffindor or Slytherin. (I’ve never identified with the two major Houses, so I’d definitely be shocked if I made it to either of them!) Which made me laugh a bit and relax. It would be my luck to be Sorted somewhere completely different this time!

I clicked submit and closed my eyes, because I wasn’t sure what was going to happen. I opened my eyes, peeked between my fingers, and saw this:

“You are a fool.”

So I always thought being an Auror was the coolest job in the Harry Potter universe. Apparently I’m not alone.

Hawthorne is the force’s newest recruit and the dark criminals’ latest threat. Plunging into the nightmare that his occupation offers, he makes quick enemies of the most depraved wizard gang in America: the ever violent, ever twisted Hellhounds.

There’s a 10-part webseries on the way featuring all original characters (avoiding the inevitable failings of trying to impersonate J.K. Rowling’s main characters). And the graphics look AWESOME. I’ll definitely be tuning in!

I wear my nerd on my sleeve. (IMAGE-HEAVY!)

Aaaaahhhhh, finally! It’s taken me forever to get around to it, but I now present to you…my nerdy t-shirts! :D

^ This is a souvenir from The Whomping Willows show I went to a few years ago. This particular print is discontinued, but you can get an updated one from his merch shop. (Ignore my shadow in the lower right corner. That’s not a stain, just my head. xD)