Harry Potter and the Straight Dope Message Boards OR . . .

[phouka]

If you went to Hogwarts, what house would you be in?

Honestly, I'm pretty sure I would have been put in Hufflepuff when I was eleven. I was very much a duffer of a kid. I suspect I would have been good at Herbology and Charms, but there's no way on Earth I'd have made it onto a quidditch team.

If I were inducted today, I think I would make Gryffindor. I'd take double Transfiguration and Care of Magical Creatures just so I could hang with Professor MacGonagall and Hagrid.

[Rincewind]

I think that I could have been in any of the houses, depending on the day I've had. That probably applies to most people.

Hufflepuff is for those who are loyal and hard working.

Gryffindor is for the brave and outstanding.

Ravenclaw is for the wise and academic.

And Slytherin is for the crafty or sneaky.

If I had to choose one it would probably be Slytherin. Not because I feel particularly evil, but because I like the emphasis it puts on independence, intelligence, and use of wits.

Plus I would probably suck at Quidditch.

P.S. Hi, sis. Aren't you glad that I finally replied to one of your threads?

[Initial Entry]

I'd either be in Ravenclaw or Slytherin.

I'm not sure which one, Slytherin always sounded like a lot of fun, except that it seems that only evil people go there...and I'm not evil. Well, not very evil anyway.

[DAVEW0071]

I'd be in either Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. I was always a good student, and very quiet and studious. Plus I've always been loyal and hard working.

But of course, it depends on what house the Hat puts you in....

[a35362]

Originally posted by Initial Entry
I'd either be in Ravenclaw or Slytherin.

I'm not sure which one, Slytherin always sounded like a lot of fun, except that it seems that only evil people go there...and I'm not evil. Well, not very evil anyway.

Yeah, you'd think they'd take note of the fact that they're educating the kids who will grow up to be evil wizards and witches. Unless the point is to have the general magic community, especially future generations as represented by Harry et al., aware of who these evil punks are so they can keep an eye on them. I mean they already KNOW how dangerous Draco Malfoy's dad is, fer crine out loud!

I like the way the books are a kind of parody of the British class system. Magic society is run by Griffindors and Slytherins, it seems, constantly duking it out.

[a35362]

Originally posted by Rincewind
Hufflepuff is for those who are loyal and hard working.

Gryffindor is for the brave and outstanding.

Ravenclaw is for the wise and academic.

And Slytherin is for the crafty or sneaky.

Oh yeah, to answer the question...

I would hope the Sorting Hat would see fit to put me in Gryffindor...but I could easily wind up in Ravenclaw. I'd probably wind up as a polite and friendly witch working in one of the shops in Diagon Alley.

And I'd no doubt be awful at Quidditch too, but that really isn't the kind of thing you ought to be concentrating on when you're in school, is it? Aren't there any other sports at Hogwarts where I can just get some exercise? I bet riding a broom hurts anyway.

[Balance]

Tough call. Someone lend the Hat a coin with Ravenclaw on one side and Gryffindor on the other. What do you do with...ahem...a wise and academic type who loves adventure?

I would make a good Keeper, I think, but I'd enjoy being a Beater more.

[evilbeth]

I would probably be in Ravenclaw but everyone would constantly make jokes/comments that I should actually be in Slytherin.

[Kyla]

Let's see, I'd probably be in Gryffindor, because I lack a certain amount of sensibility/fear, but I'd probably wish I was in Ravenclaw. I have an image of myself as a person of wisdom that the real me can't quite reach. I'd like Defense Against the Dark Arts and History of Magic, I guess. And I'd look into Arithmancy, just to see what it is.

I'd be a terrible quidditch player, but that wouldn't stop me from trying out for the team. (The old lack of sensibility comes into play here, watch me get smacked upseide the head a few times by the Beaters.)

[Balance]

Arithmancy would be the working of magick through the medium of mathematics. See the Dilbert in the Accounting Dept strips for an overview. A very tricky business, indeed.

Note: the above is a WAG. I'm a Muggle, too. Really!

[Flutterby]

The Sorting Hat would probably put me in Ravenclaw.. quite a few people would disagree with putting me in Hufflepuff.. not because I'm not loyal just cuz I'm not often one to work harder then I have to.. Slytherin I might fit in rarely but probably not and maybe Gryffindor cuz at times I can be brave and outstanding.. Ravenclaw would probably just be the best fit overall. Quidditch I would probably not do well at.. but I might try out for the team anyway just for fun.

[Edwardina]

I don't feel that I fit neatly into any of the houses.

If I got to pick it would be Gryffindor, obviously, but I think I'm more Ravenclaw, down deep.

[Chronos]

Definitely Ravenclaw-- I am, was, and probably always will be first and foremost a scholar. As for the Hat, I'm not so sure that it does decide... Remember, the students who had a strong preference going in all got assigned quickly, and the Hat had that whole conversation with Harry before declaring him "Gryffindor!"

[a35362]

Originally posted by Chronos
Definitely Ravenclaw-- I am, was, and probably always will be first and foremost a scholar. As for the Hat, I'm not so sure that it does decide... Remember, the students who had a strong preference going in all got assigned quickly, and the Hat had that whole conversation with Harry before declaring him "Gryffindor!"

As I recall, Harry wanted to be Gryffindor very badly, but the Hat saw something dark in him and was thisclose to putting him in Slytherin. It seems it does make judgement calls on your character.

[betenoir]

Alternative titles for the new Harry Potter book:

Harry Potter and the Quest for Total Market Saturation

Harry Potter and the Satanic Ritual Abuse

Harry Potter Gets Laid


Ok I realize this is not particularly appropriate for this thread but I work in a bookstore and I sold about 800 copies of Harry this weekend. I'm a bit out of sorts.

[evilbeth]

Originally posted by betenoir
Alternative titles for the new Harry Potter book:

Harry Potter and the Quest for Total Market Saturation

Harry Potter and the Satanic Ritual Abuse

Harry Potter Gets Laid


Ok I realize this is not particularly appropriate for this thread but I work in a bookstore and I sold about 800 copies of Harry this weekend. I'm a bit out of sorts.

You should enter the David Letterman contest!

[Kyla]

Betenoir, I feel your pain! Yay, another bookstore employee! One my coworkers suggestions was Harry Potter Four(fore)play: Harry Learns What To Do With His Magic Wand.

BTW, we ran out after 500 copies, goddamn Scholastic and for not shipping us the extra copies we ordered, and goddamn BookPeople for running out. ::grumbles::

[Ceejaytee]

I'm a Hufflepuff. I only wish I had what it takes to live in Gryffindor.

On page 209 of Harry Potter IV...at this rate, I'll finish this book by Friday. Then I have to wait a whole damn year! <mutter, mutter>

[a35362]

FYI, here is this website.

Says I'm a Hufflepuff after all; a bit of the nose-to-the-grindstone type. Figures.

[SlowMindThinking]

Hmmm, that site says I'm a Gryffindor. And I even picked black as my favorite color. Frankly, I think I'm probably in Ravenclaw or Slytherin. As a child, people were always telling me I was brilliant and I suppose that is where I would have gone.

I was not hard working, in fact, I was mind boggling lazy. So, not Hufflepuff. I don't think I've ever been brave, so there goes Gryffindor. (Some people think I'm nuts, but nothing I do is especially dangerous.) I'm not sneaky, so there goes Syltherin. Wise? Other people can tell you you are wise, those lacking in wisdom are blissfully ignorant of the fact. But, I am loyal, academic, and I win at just about everything. (I would be a good Quidditch player - good eye hand coodination no real fear of heights, and I my teams always win, even when I suck.) So maybe I belong in all the houses.

Frankly, I think I'm a house elf.

[wolfman]

I don't really know anything about Harry Potter, but I don't think any school would ever be part of the equation. If somebody ever told me I was a wizard and gave me a magic wand, I'd put the over/under at about 45 minutes before I managed blow my own ass up(and possibly half of the city) trying really stupid things.

[Lamia]

Ravenclaw all the way. I'm the bookish sort.

Plus, I like the name.

PLUS, Ravenclaw has the cutest girls.

[StGermain]

Well, based on the "bookish" thing, you'd think Hermione would be in Ravenclaw, but the Sorting Hat put her in Gryffindor, so you never know.

StG

[StGermain]

a35362 - Remember, Harry is a Parseltongue, which was the same trait as the founder of Slytherin. That's probably what the Hat was thinking about.

StG

[hyperjes]

Hmmmm.... I'd really have to leave it up to The Sorting Hat.

It might have put me in Slytherin, honestly. I was a rotten little kid- sneaky and conniving. But then again, it IS The Sorting Hat, so it might have seen the potential ahead. I could have ended up in Gryffindor.

I bow to the Sorting Hat's wisdom.

[hyperjes]

Sorry for the double post, but I just had to share! According to the site provided by a35362, The Sorting Hat says Gryffindor!

[AHunter3]

Definitely Ravenclaw! I'm not outgoing or showy enough to be Gryffindor material, nor malicious and calculating enough to be a likely candidate for Slytherin. But I've have my spells down and would have a couple areas of significant specialized expertise where I found a flair, and I'd coast without much huffling or puffling and do most of my exams spontaneously without studying for them.

[ITR champion]

I would have to be in Ravenclaw. From the little that we know about that house, it seems quite similar to the magnet program I went to in high school.

Originally posted by a35362
Yeah, you'd think they'd take note of the fact that they're educating the kids who will grow up to be evil wizards and witches. Unless the point is to have the general magic community, especially future generations as represented by Harry et al., aware of who these evil punks are so they can keep an eye on them. I mean they already KNOW how dangerous Draco Malfoy's dad is, fer crine out loud!

I've always assumed that the reason why Slytherin is still open is that many of the wealthiest alumni were in that house, and they might withhold donations if it was closed down.

[Super Gnat]

Total Ravenclaw all the way. The site confirmed this, too.

[SolGrundy]

The website put me in Ravenclaw, which is what I was going to have said. I'd almost be in Hufflepuff except for the "hard-working" part.

Originally posted by betenoir
Ok I realize this is not particularly appropriate for this thread but I work in a bookstore and I sold about 800 copies of Harry this weekend. I'm a bit out of sorts.

I don't understand. Why is that bad? Do you have to personally autograph them or something?

[Mr. Mook]

You just KNOW that Slytherin has the best weed.

[PRNYouth]

Originally posted by StGermain
a35362 - Remember, Harry is a Parseltongue

[extremely minor nitpick]
Isn't Harry a Parselmouth? Parseltongue is the language, I believe, isn't it?
[/extremely minor nitpick]

[Boondock Saint]

Gryffindor, cause the Sorting Hat said so. The hubby said I was probably a Ravenclaw like him- So HA D.E.S.K.Top668-

[Avalonian]

While I have traits that would fit in any of the four houses, I pretty much expected I would wind up being a Hufflepuff. Hard work and loyalty always seem to win out over other things for me.

However, according to the site a35362 posted, the Sorting Hat would place me in Gryffindor. Who am I to differ?

[Cataclysm]

Slytherin was for the ambitious and those who 'could be great' (I actually went through my Harry Potter books to see what the Sorting Hat said about each house). The only problem with most of the Slytherins was how they went about with their ambitions - generally in nasty, sly ways.

Personally, I think I'd be in Slytherin. I think I'm one of those nasty sly people. My sister even bought me a Slytherin jumper back from her overseas trip.

[ISiddiqui]

I'm more of a Ravenclaw. More academic than anything else really.

[Sublight]

I'd aspire to Ravenclaw, and the sorting hat appears to agree.

[Apos]

The sorting hat would put me on the kitchen staff.

[El Elvis Rojo]

THey actually had a little test you could take when the first movie came out to see what you'd be. A group of friends and I took it (there were about seven of us). The more gothic boy of the group got Slytherin, which was very fitting. Five of us (including myself) all got classified as Gryffindor, and the last member was a Hufflepuf.
We all made fun of him. He retook the test two more times in order to get classified as a Gryffindor, but we still just called him Hufflepuf for a week or so. Pretty lame for college students, huh?

[Siege]

I'm a Gryffindor, despite strong Ravenclaw-ish tendencies. In this case, it feels a bit too much like following the crowd for my taste, but on the other hand, I do have a certain history of doing stupid things because they were the right things to do at the time, or so it seemed.

Oh well. Someone's got to be a troublemaker!

By the way, I think Cataclysm makes a good point about Slytherin being more about ambition than evil. Picture not only future CEOs, but people who have the will, drive, and focus and to found successful businesses or win championships.

CJ

[TelcontarStorm]

I'd have to go to Hufflepuff.

A good heart and buzy hands are all I have going for me.

Yea, I'd suck at quiddich. But I'd be a damn good cheerleader.

[doc_miller]

Originally posted by Ceejaytee on 11 JUL 2000
On page 209 of Harry Potter IV...at this rate, I'll finish this book by Friday. Then I have to wait a whole damn year!(emphasis mine) <mutter, mutter>

Just got a chuckle out of that

[Lao Tsu]

Originally posted by a35362

I like the way the books are a kind of parody of the British class system. Magic society is run by Griffindors and Slytherins, it seems, constantly duking it out.

I have to agree, I see Slytherin house more as elitist bastards, some of whom are eviiil... vs. everyone in the house is evil. That said, either Slytherin or Ravenclaw. I'll happily leave it up to the hat.

[Natroga]

Well, according to the test on the official homepage, I'm a Slytherin. My older sister is a Gryffindor. Take a guess which one is the black sheep in the family...

The site that a35362 places me in Ravenclaw, which is even more appropriate

[JessEnigma]

Originally posted by El Elvis Rojo
We all made fun of him. He retook the test two more times in order to get classified as a Gryffindor, but we still just called him Hufflepuf for a week or so. Pretty lame for college students, huh?

Ha, in my French class last year, we read the 1st book. We finished up shortly before the movie came out, so conveniently enough, there was the sorting hat on the official website and everyone sorted themselves.

The usual distribution of houses appeared (I personally was Slytherin), but...nobody got Hufflepuff. In fact, it took a good 10 minutes of manipulating answers to get a fictional persona sorted in there. We really wanted to hear the badger noise.

Shortly after this, pieces of fanart appeared in the classroom, along with a successful field trip to see the movie in the nice theater the next town over, so I think, perhaps, we were much lamer.

[Homer J]

On a slighlty different not; after seeing the second movie in which Harry, Ron and Hermonie save the day, again, and everyone claps Hagrid (whose that massive, weird janitor guy were clapping?) I have to say if I were at Hogworts I would probably bully HP as he is a total suck-up. Oi specky!, he'd be so annoying and represents everything that are the usual object of bullys affections (oxymoron!)


Disclaimer; I am not a bully, and have no predujdice against people who wear glasses.