I joined up with that Pottermore site and took their sorting quiz. Apparently, I’m a Slytherin. Who knew, right? *LOL* (Well, I kinda guessed that I already had some Slytherin traits… I am kind of a coward… and I am definitely pretty ambitious… and clever. I think I can probably fit in it well enough.)

Oh, and in case, anyone is further curious. I also got a wand. Rowan, unicorn hair core, eleven and one-half inches, pliant. :)

bronzedragon:

Yup, but I have a migraine tonight and limited time, so I’ve been taking care of a combination of older asks and of asks that I had a ready answer for.

In case anyone is curious, my to-do list includes: 

1. A couple Pottermore-sorting, person-specific asks to reply to privately

2. A large post talking about my theories for the person with the long username who’s not following me but has theories of their own on Pottermore Sorting scoring (this is going to depend on how long it takes me to get #3 up and how good I feel - today has been a wasted day due to migraines and I desperately need to get some massive study time in)

3. Attempt to finish publishing my Q6 and Q7 Pottermore Sorting analyses

4. A couple completely random things sitting in my drafts that are so old the OPs have probably forgotten about them

5. The Seven Deadly Sins ask from you, anon. Which is probably actually going to be answered before those random things that have been in my drafts forever, based on the idea that if I leave them alone for long enough, eventually they’ll become irrelevant. 

If anyone’s wondering, I’m not intentionally neglecting these things; it’s just a combination of panic because I have exactly 3 weeks before a major exam, a need to spend some time studying, and having massive headaches due to the storm front. At the moment, I can take care of easy questions and hit reblog a lot, but writing thoughtful and deep answers to some of the individual messages is beyond my capabilities when it feels like I have an ice pick stuck in my brain.

*LOL* Sorry… I have WAY too many tumblr accounts… (That was an RP account I use). I need to look before I post. ANYWAY… Yeah. Like I said… Take your time, feel better. I’m in no hurry. *lol* I’ll probably keep responding to different things if I have a response to give, so… don’t take it as impatience on my part. *lol* And yeah… Just refer to me as Comma. Because awesomeness and hilarity and whatnot.

bronzedragon:

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Not sure if I mentioned this yet, but I like that you’re trying to figure things out by analyzing the data that you’re provided. Unfortunately, it’s like you said… You’re really lacking in data in a lot of areas… so, I think that makes it really difficult to form any kind of solid conclusion and probably skews your data quite a bit. I will say, though, that the data you’ve collected has made me reconsider some of my thoughts on a few different questions (I’ve been reading all of your sorting hat QandA posts; again, hope you don’t mind… I just find this stuff interesting). 

On top of that is the fact that I’ve seen you note a few times that NO or a very small number of (insert House here) have chosen this answer out of the data (which you’ve already established is lacking) you’ve collected, so it’s probably not a (insert House here) answer. I think this is probably a mistake since you’re failing to consider something kind of important: There are probably quite a few (not all, probably not most… just a good number) either consciously trying to get themselves into the House they believe they fit in the most and/or deserve or consciously trying to avoid a House (or two Houses, in particular: Hufflepuff and Slytherin; though, I will not deny that there are probably other Houses some people want to avoid; everyone is different) they absolutely do not want to be in.

Case in point: What you wrote regarding the Potions question (with the silver potion, the gold potion, the purple potion, and the black potion). I remember you said that there are people who think Ravenclaw would be the black potion because of the whole LSD visions thing or whatever (I haven’t actually seen this line of thought myself from anyone else), but that this is incorrect because out of all the Ravenclaws you’ve collected data on, very few or none (I can’t remember which) have picked the black potion. I disagree with this conclusion for a few reasons:

I believe MOST people would actually believe the black potion (regardless of the silver color that Slytherin is associated with) IS a Slytherin answer because of its associations with darkness (and the questionable thing with the “visions” and such), and that the people (again, not a majority or anything) actively trying to get into Slytherin, of course, WOULD choose this answer.

Now, take into account all the people who are trying to actively get into Ravenclaw House (Of which, there are many. You’ve often speculated about how Ravenclaw slightly outnumbers all the other Houses, suggesting that Ravenclaw answers may just be the most popular answers, but I haven’t seen you suggest that the reason Ravenclaw outnumbers all the other Houses is because Ravenclaw IS the most popular House *there’s a lot of polls I’ve seen that support this*, and there are people consciously trying to get into that House, honesty be damned.) and/or trying to avoid Slytherin House… and it becomes pretty clear why very few, if any, Ravenclaws choose the black potion answer.

And because, of course, I believe that every answer applies to ALL Houses… and that the black potion would garner a high amount of points for Ravenclaw, in particular, because of the fact that it is the most “mysterious” potion. Anyway…

The more I read your posts and such, though, the more I’m becoming convinced that my theory that there’s some kind of point-system in place…. that each answer fits ALL the Houses in some way is true…. or at the very least, that every answers fits at least TWO Houses. I say this for two reasons: One, I’ve seen on a few of the questions that you’ve suggested that there could be secondary weighting for another House for some answers. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me for there to be secondary weighting on random answers but not even considered for other answers and other questions. It seems very inconsistent and… well… poorly written as you suggested… I’m not going to deny that it isn’t a possibility since most of what we’re both doing really is just a lot of speculation, but I’ve always been a bit of an optimist. I think whatever system that they have in place for scoring the answers for the test has a consistency to it.

And two, I’ve seen some other people analyzing sorting hat data (I remember seeing a spreadsheet at some point with people’s answers and what House they ultimately got as a result), and I did see at least one sorting that you analyzed where you said the answers looked like they were all over the place. It seems like there are plenty of people who will answer Sorting Hat questions and not understand how they ended up as (insert House here) when their answers were mostly what they believed to be (insert House here) and/or (insert House here). On that spreadsheet I looked at (I can’t remember where I found it now; I have a notoriously bad memory), I saw some comments on it that were along the lines of WTF is going on here; how did this person end up in (insert House here)?

*lol* Long post is long… anyway, I haven’t seen this question before, either. So, I thought I’d give my thoughts on it.

Question: You’re walking down the street late at night and hear a cry that you’re fairly sure has a magical source. What do you do?

• Withdraw into the shadows, reviewing offensive and defensive spells that might be appropriate? (Ravenclaw-High, Slytherin-High, Hufflepuff-Moderate, Gryffindor-Moderate-Low)
  
• Draw your wand and try to discover the source (Hufflepuff-High, Gryffindor-High, Ravenclaw-Moderate, Slytherin-Moderate-Low)
  
• Proceed with caution, keeping a hand on your still-concealed wand (Slytherin-High, Ravenclaw-High, Hufflepuff-Moderate, Gryffindor-Moderate)
  
• Draw your wand and stand your ground (Gryffindor-High, Hufflepuff-High, Slytherin-Moderate, Ravenclaw-Low)

Withdrawing to the shadows, like you said, probably generates the most Ravenclaw points… and that definitely makes sense, in my head, because it seems like one of the most “logical” answers… plus the fact that a Ravenclaw can review the offensive and defensive spells that might be appropriate is probably indicative of the fact that most Ravenclaws are very intelligent. I think this answer is also fitting for high points for Slytherins since they’re the type of House that is likely to strike from the shadows (and besides just considering their house traits; snakes are also liable to conceal themselves and strike from that vantage point). There’d only be a moderate amount of points for Hufflepuffs, I think, since while I imagine they generally do try to avoid confrontation; hiding in the shadows doesn’t really seem like their style. And well… Gryffindor, of course, isn’t above attempting a whole sneak attack type thing, but they’re more the type to go impulsively charging in.

Draw your wand and try to discover the source… I think the highest amount of points would go to Hufflepuff because it seems direct (which coincides in my mind with this honesty I believe a lot of Hufflepuffs possess… hiding in the shadows or concealing something from view kind of strikes me as dishonest or unfair). Of course, Gryffindor would also get a high amount of points for this (alternatively, this might even gather the highest amount of points for them since it’s a very them answer). Ravenclaw would probably be curious about discovering the source; so I can see them having a moderate amount of points for this answer. The direct approach doesn’t strike me as very Slytherin… also, Slytherins are known to be a bit cowardly (or cautious, rather), so they probably wouldn’t actually want to seek out the source.

Proceed with caution… Highest for Slytherin because, again, Slytherins are cautious and concealing their wand sounds like a cunning option. Ditto with Ravenclaws. I’ve mentioned before that I didn’t think this choice would be very Hufflepuff, but you brought up some good points about it… and if so many Hufflepuffs are choosing it, then it’s very likely that it’s not worth a low amount of points for them. Again, this type of thing isn’t really Gryffindor’s style, but at least they’re moving forward… so, that’s something.

Draw your wand and stand your ground… I’m surprised that Slytherins are the only ones choosing this answer… that’s very interesting. Then again, I think I can kind of see how this wouldn’t result in low points for Slytherin… Because they’re just standing there with their wand drawn and not actually seeking the source and such. That would kind of argue against Gryffindors having this answer… because again, they’re not really the type to stand around, waiting for something to happen… They’re going to go charging in. So, I actually agree with your initial assessment that this could be more of a Hufflepuff answer, too… In my head, of course, I think a person would get low points for Ravenclaw for choosing this answer since it seems like kind of an illogical option for them. *lol*

Anyway, I’m not yet following your blog (mainly because I’m only really interested in the stuff you say about Pottermore and Harry Potter, in general… but I AM keeping an eye on it… so, definitely feel free to respond whenever you get a chance. Trust me, I’ll see it! :) )

bronzedragon:

Finally, back to the easier questions!

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Yes, I think it’s very obvious that these four answers definitely correspond strongly to one House, in particular… but even your data regarding the people who pick the answers and such seems to show that there might be a little more under the surface. My thoughts:

Which path do you take?

• Twisting leafy path through the woods (Gryffindor-High, Hufflepuff-High-Moderate, Ravenclaw-Moderate, Slytherin-Low)
• A dark lantern-lit alley (Slytherin-High, Gryffindor-High-Moderate, Ravenclaw-Moderate-Low, Hufflepuff-Low)
• A wide, sunny, grassy path (Hufflepuff-High, Ravenclaw-Moderate, Gryffindor-Moderate-Low, Slytherin-Low)
• A cobblestone street lined with ancient buildings (Ravenclaw-High, Hufflepuff-High-Moderate, Gryffindor-Moderate, Slytherin-Moderate)

I think my reasoning should probably be a bit obvious here, but I’ll elaborate if need be. :)

bronzedragon:

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I haven’t seen this question before, so I think I will have a lot of fun trying to pick this apart. First, I have to say, I disagree about ANY of the questions being stupid… I think they’re all pretty clever, actually… and make things interesting (plus, it makes it a little harder for people to self-sort themselves). Anyway, if you haven’t done so already, please read the reblog I did to your theory on the “Troll” question, so you can understand what I’m talking about.

Now, then… Here’s how I’d assign points for each of the Houses for each answer.

Which nightmare would scare you most?

• None of your friends or family know who you are (Hufflepuff-High, Slytherin-High, Gryffindor-Moderate-High, Ravenclaw-Moderate-Low)
• Being trapped in a dark room with an eye peering at you through a keyhole (Ravenclaw-High, Gryffindor-Moderate-High, Hufflepuff-Moderate-Low, Slytherin-Moderate-Low)
• Being caught up high with no handholds (Gryffindor-High, Slytherin-Moderate-High, Ravenlaw-Moderate, Hufflepuff-Moderate)
• Being forced to speak in a funny voice so that everyone laughs at you (Slytherin-High, Gryffindor-Moderate, Ravenclaw-Moderate-Low, Hufflepuff-Moderate-Low)

Let me say, first, that I find it interesting that despite Gryffindor being what is known as the brave house, it seems as though I haven’t assigned them a single chance for low points for this one. Odd. I want to say, that perhaps alternatively, Gryffindor is moderate or low for just about all of them with MAYBE the exception of the up high with no handholds answer because they don’t fear things easily… or something. *lol* In any case, let me explain my current reasoning with what I have now.

I think the important thing to remember is that dreams usually contain a lot of symbolism in them and such. So, what the answers are… aren’t necessarily what they mean. And I think you already kind of recognize on that some level. Anyway, continuing on…

The first answer is probably much as you suspect… It’s very likely that you get a high amount of points for Hufflepuff if you choose this answer because Hufflepuffs do seem to be the very friend and family-oriented house. Hufflepuffs would be very scared of their loved ones not knowing who they are. Slytherins are also likely to gain a high amount of points for this answer because they WANT to be well-known… and the thought of being unrecognized probably terrifies them. This could be a moderate or high point answer for Gryffindors. High because most Gryffindors seem to highly value their friends and/or family… but moderate because Gryffindors don’t scare easily and because I suspect that this might not be a very common fear Gryffindors have since they seem willing to leave behind their friends if they need to (Harry has tried to do this a couple of times, Percy left behind his whole family for the sake of the Ministry, Peter Pettigrew, of course, betrayed his friends, and young Neville tried to stand up to Harry, Hermoine, and Ron and such despite knowing they probably wouldn’t like that). Moderate or low points for Ravenclaws because while I do think Ravenclaws probably enjoy having friends and family as much as anyone else and I suspect Ravenclaws might like being recognized for their intellect and achievements gained by that intellect; I think they probably have a tendency to be loners and off to themselves because of the nature of obsessive studying and such. It’d probably take them a while to realize anyone doesn’t recognize them.

The second answer definitely results in high points for Ravenclaw, and I can explain this fairly easily. First, a dark room… The term “in the dark” is often used to refer to someone who is clueless or ignorant of some fact. A fear of the dark is often similar to a fear of the unknown (what is not known). I imagine being in the dark is probably a terrifying prospect for quite a few Ravenclaws (unless they are already sight-impaired in some way, of course). Besides that, there’s also the eye peering in through the keyhole… someone who is always watching… this could be symbolic of perhaps having pressure put on you to perform, to fulfill your potential. People who are “intellectually gifted”  often fall victim to this problem… this pressure to perform, to succeed, to excel…

This could be moderate or high points for Gryffindor. Moderate because again, Gryffindors don’t scare easily and they’re not the type to take being watched by someone sitting down… but then again, it could be high for them as well because there is also a pressure on Gryffindors… Great things tend to be expected of Gryffindors since they’re considered very brave and adventurous. A fear of the dark for them could also be a fear of turning to their darker natures since Gryffindors, like Slytherins, don’t seem to be afraid of breaking the rules if they have to… and perhaps this causes them a lot of moral dilemma and such (Harry comes to mind, in particular for this).

Moderate or low points for Hufflepuff since I imagine Hufflepuffs could probably fear the darkness (they are the least likely House to produce dark wizards, after all) but because of their honesty, fairness, and loyalty, they probably don’t exactly struggle with darkness like a Gryffindor might. Hufflepuffs are generally considered to be a catch-all House…and so, it seems a lot of people don’t expect much from them, so the eye probably doesn’t get to them like it would to the other Houses. Moderate or low points for Slytherin… well… this is tricky. I want to say it’s also possible Slytherin could get high points for this one since they share some things in common, and I suspect cunning could also refer to “intellectually gifted” Slytherins (I think there is also pressure that gets put on Slytherin), but on the other hand… If you think about the dark as in darker natures, Slytherin is unlikely to fear such a thing. Furthermore, while there is that pressure there… I think they’d probably enjoy having someone’s eyes (or eye, in this case) on them at all times because it means that someone has recognized them as some sort of threat or as someone important.

Being caught up high with no handholds… first off, I have to commend you for thinking about the tower thing. I think it is definitely important to take all aspects of the Houses in account (where they’re located, what element they’re associated with, their animals, their colors, and most importantly, their traits). That said, I do think it might be a bit off-base with this answer. The answer doesn’t say being caught up high… or a nightmare about heights or a fear of heights or something along those lines. It says being caught up high with no handholds. I think that last bit might be important… and I think it’s also important to think of it in a symbolic manner.

No handholds means that you wouldn’t be able to climb up or climb down… and being up high could be symbolic of achievement or success. I imagine this would be the highest point gain for Gryffindors for a few different reasons. First, Gryffindors, like Slytherins, tend to be glory-seekers… the thought of not being able to climb up to the very top where they think they probably belong might be unsettling. Once more, perhaps they’d be a bit disturbed about being too caught up in the whole glory-seeking thing to remember what’s important… that it’s the journey, not the destination… that there is more to life than achievement, there’s adventure. So, not being able to get down after getting up so high would also probably scare them.

High points for the very ambitious Slytherins because not being able to get up higher… not being able to achieve more would be very terrifying to them. Then again, this could just be moderate for them since they might be just satisfied that they are up high, near the top anywhere. It’s hard to say. This would be moderate points for Ravenclaws since while I do believe they probably have an ambitious, success-driven side like Slytherins do, I think that it probably doesn’t drive them quite as much as knowledge for its own sake does… I imagine as long as they are high up in the first place, they won’t care much about getting down or getting higher. Moderate for Hufflepuffs because again, nobody expects much of them, so they’re probably not exactly as driven as the other Houses… besides that, they are unafraid of toil, so they’re likely to keep on trying to push through with or without handholds… then again, because nobody expects much of them maybe it would be slightly frightening that they’ll never be able to reach a full potential or something along those lines. They might also have a sort of fear of success, perhaps.

The final answer is, again, as you suspect… It’s liable to generate high points for Slytherin because they want to be well-respected and taken seriously (and that probably wouldn’t happen if you’re speaking in a funny, high voice and everybody is laughing at you). I suspect that this might be moderate points for all the rest of the Houses. Moderate for Gryffindor because they also probably have a desire to be respected, but then again, they are not easily scared… plus there does appear to be a lot of jokester types that end up in Gryffindor… they’d probably enjoy the laughs. Moderate for Ravenclaw because they probably like having their ideas taken seriously, but then again… Ravenclaws are known for being eccentric and would probably care less about having funny voices (and as you suspect, this could probably be a low match… or low points, in my view, for Ravenclaws because eccentricity does seem to be a big part of who they are). Hufflepuffs would be moderate because I kind of suspect they also don’t like the idea of not being taken seriously (especially since their House doesn’t seem to get taken seriously by A LOT of people), but on the other hand… Hufflepuffs also kind of seem like they’re easy-going and probably wouldn’t care too much about a funny voice.

bronzedragon:

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I was searching Pottermore tags, and I found this… and I hope you don’t mind if I interject with my own theories (because I’m kind of a super nerd with no life)…. buuuuuuut… I have a theory that goes along these lines:

http://www.pottermoreforum.net/viewtopic.php?f=94&t=1984

(I’m pretty sure you don’t have to be a member to read the post, but if you’re wary about clicking the link or whatever, let me know, and I’ll just copy and paste here). In ANY case, here’s my thinking with this question. And I’ll explain my reasoning in-depth.

You and two friends need to cross a bridge guarded by a river troll who insists on fighting one of you before he will let you all pass. Do you:
-Attempt to confuse the troll into letting all three of you pass without fighting? (Ravenclaw-High, Slytherin-High, Hufflepuff-Moderate, Gryffindor-Moderate-Low)
-Suggest drawing lots to see which of you will fight? (Ravenclaw-High, Slytherin-High, Hufflepuff-Moderate, Gryffindor-Low)
-Suggest that all three of you should fight (without telling the troll?) (Slytherin-High, Gryffindor-High, Ravenclaw-Moderate, Hufflepuff-Moderate-Low)
-Volunteer to fight? (Gryffindor-High, Hufflepuff-High, Slytherin-Low, Ravenclaw-Low)

Like you, I believe that attempting to confuse the troll is a very Ravenclaw-ish answer, but if you go with the theory that every answer gives points (to varying degrees) for each House, you can also see how it would correspond to other Houses. I think that attempting to confuse the troll is also an answer that is very Slytherin as well since Slytherins are a bit on the cowardly (or if not cowardly, at least, cautious side… particularly if you note how most Slytherins did not participate in the Battle at Hogwarts… and that Draco was very nervous about being in the Forbidden Forest in one book)… and that Slytherins are cunning.

I think you’d get a moderate amount of points as a Hufflepuff for this answer… since Hufflepuffs seem like the sort who would probably try to avoid fighting if it could be helped… on the other hand, it could also possibly produce a low amount of points for Hufflepuff since Hufflepuffs are honest and fair… and thus, not likely to try to trick or confuse the troll since that doesn’t seem honest.

You’d probably get either a moderate or low amount of points for Gryffindor for choosing this answer. Moderate because Gryffindors probably wouldn’t have the same scruples Hufflepuff would about confusing the troll… Or low because Gryffindors are adventurous and brave(perhaps even to a fool-hardy extent)… it probably doesn’t occur to most Gryffindors to NOT fight the troll.

The second answer… I think I’d probably change up a bit. Drawing lots probably isn’t something a Ravenclaw would do if it could be helped, so I’m thinking this answer would be either moderate or low points for them. And I think you’re right, this probably would be a highly likely choice for Hufflepuffs since it’s a fair choice. I think I leaned towards moderate on this one, though, because Hufflepuffs are also known to be loyal and unafraid of toil… there probably wouldn’t be any need to draw lots since it seems likely that one of the Hufflepuffs would probably volunteer. This would probably result in low points for Gryffindor because they’d probably be barreling themselves over in trying to volunteer for the fight (or choosing to fight without telling the troll).

The third answer is like you said a very Slytherin answer. The letter to their House reveals that they are at least a bit loyal to one another… and they are cunning and prone to deceit and trickery such as this. So, choosing this answer would result in a high amount of Slytherin points. Gryffindor, of course, is also likely to choose this option since they also tend to be loyal to one another, and while they do tend to be noble, a lot of them aren’t exactly by the books and honest (Harry, Hermoine, and Ron are very prime examples of that). I believe Ravenclaw would have a moderate amount of points for this answer since while I doubt they have scruples about deceit and trickery, but it does seem to me like Ravenclaws probably wouldn’t enjoy fighting if there’s a way out of it (hence why I think they might have a moderate amount of points for drawing lots… it would be a way to settle things without argument and manage to get at least two of them out of fighting).

Volunteering to fight (the fourth answer) would be high points for both Gryffindor (for obvious reasons) and for Hufflepuff (because of above reasons that I stated… they are loyal, honest, and unafraid of toil). This would be low for Slytherins (since they have tendencies towards selfishness and self-preservation)… and for Ravenclaws, who, I suspect, would find such an action illogical.

Your thoughts? *I like having discussions! :)*