Being Geek Chic

I got my wand, I’ve been sorted and I made it through all the moments in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. This is as far as the Pottermore journey goes at this point, but based on my completion of the first book in the series, I think there are plenty of things we can talk about.

First, as always, the good.

The Sorting Hat. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, being able to take a test written by J.K. Rowling to truly know which house you belong in is a real treat. With my other Potter friends, I feel a bit smug knowing I’ve been sorted and they haven’t.

The Beta Tests. Thank goodness the crew at Pottermore decided to do such an extensive and thorough beta testing phase for the site. There are a lot of issues that not only myself, but other users have commented on, including browser and platform compatibility, confusion about responsiveness from pages during the “moments” and the occasional lack of clarity about what I’m supposed to be doing when I arrive somewhere.

The Community. Being part of the Ravenclaws on Pottermore group on Facebook has been one of the most wonderful surprises about this whole thing. For a group that has under 1,000 members, everyone is incredibly active, helpful and frankly just happy. It’s strange and so mellow dramatic to even say it, but in these difficult times, Pottermore is something I really look forward to and on top of that, I really look forward to communing with my fellow Ravenclaws too.

Of course, there’s always something to gripe about…

The lack of music. One of the things that always gets me into Potter mode is hearing the soft lead into Hedwig’s Theme. I know other users are pointing it out all the time, but music soundtracks during various moments would truly be a great addition.

If you’re one of the people who is eagerly awaiting your letter, hold tight, because it’s worth it.

I’m a Ravenclaw!

So what’s the Sorting Hat experience like?

I’ve always figured I was either a Gryffindor or a Ravenclaw, but now it’s confirmed. The quizzes that are part of the Pottermore experience have been one of the best parts so far. The quiz for getting your wand was an entirely different style from the Sorting Hat quiz, but each had their own special qualities. For example, the Sorting Hat will ask you what kind of magic you wish to learn the most, while Mr. Ollivander will ask you which path you would take if you encountered a fork in the road.

So as not to spoiler, STOP READING if you don’t want to know what JK Rowling says about Ravenclaws…

Ravenclaw house has an illustrious history. Most of the greatest wizarding inventors and innovators were in our house, including Perpetua Fancourt, the inventor of the lunascope, Laverne de Montmorency, a great pioneer of love potions, and Ignatia Wildsmith, the inventor of Floo powder. Famous Ravenclaw Ministers for Magic include Millicent Bagnold, who was in power on the night that Harry Potter survived the Dark Lord’s curse, and defended the wizarding celebrations all over Britain with the words, ‘I assert our inalienable right to party. There was also Minister Lorcan McLaird, who was a quite brilliant wizard, but preferred to communicate by puffing smoke out of the end of his wand. Well, I did say we produce eccentrics. In fact, we are also the house that gave the wizarding world Uric the Oddball, who used a jellyfish for a hat. He’s the punch line of a lot of wizarding jokes.