Finally!!! I'm....a........Hufflepuff???

So a few days ago...(sorry for the late update).....I got into Pottermore! I had been swamped with homework and had delayed checking my email for awhile. Eventually I got around to it and.....I screamed. I'm not kidding. I literally screamed when I saw the subject heading, and I'm not misusing the word literally. A scream like sound really escaped my lips. I clicked on the link and my adventure began....

Like any Harry Potter addict I was ecstatic. Upon seeing the gate I eagerly anticipated what would await on the other side.

I was slightly disappointed. Upon hearing about how amazing Pottermore was, I had been expecting exclusive content and back stories around every corner. While there were a few that I gobbled up amorously, I still had expected more than there was. Hopefully there will be way more pieces of content in later book entries on Pottermore.

Now let's get to the fun part... everything interactive!

There was beautiful, layered pieces of art and amazing interactives (such as choosing a wand- mine was Cedar with unicorn core, 14 1/2 inches, and the famous sorting.)

Now as you may have guessed from the heading, I am now a Hufflepuff. At first I was shocked, then I found myself analyzing my personality and searching for any Hufflepuffian tendencies. Then I read J.K Rowling's explanation. Suddenly I saw, in glistening clarity how much of a match Hufflepuff was for me. I'm no one's second best I just work hard and never give up! I value trust and loyalty and have a dash of confidence as well. I am the mighty badger! Hear me....badger! Either way, I've come to accept my Hufflepuff placement.

I haven't gone farther than the sorting yet, so expect more updates in the future!

Oh... and I guess this means I need to take the Ravenclaw badge off my page...damn.

Still. No. Letter.

Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't posted for awhile, I've been really busy since my last post. I failed to get my brother into Pottermore due to this bustling nature of time (we went on a road trip for a week, family came over, I played laser tag with my friends-despite being surrounded by kids up to my knee, I'll elaborate later). Basically in that time several rounds of Pottermore letters were dispersed worldwide.

Mine. Was not. Among them.

After some excessive moping, whining, crying, and self loathing for the moping, whining, and crying, I decided to suck it up and wait patiently. After all, if Harry could wait 11 years, I could wait a few weeks.

So I waited. I didn't check my e-mail. I didn't stalk Pottermore on tumblr. I didn't check the Pottermore Insider. I focused on other things and lived my life.

This lasted for a day. Soon I was back to my old habits, checking my email every 5 seconds obsessively and feeling utterly empty whenever someone was given a letter. In other words I momentarily, had no life. (No offense to others doing those exact same things! It's hard to resist!)

Once I came to the sad realization that I was wasting away my summer waiting for an email. I was completely, and utterly ashamed.

So, I cut it down to checking my email once a day and tried to focus on other things.

Now it's September. I'm getting impatient.

What if my email comes September 30th? That would completely suck, to have stayed up until 4:00 AM to get into Pottermore a day early. While I clearly despise the thought of it, this is a very real possibility for me.

In the long run it is only a website. Oh well, I guess the Hogwarts Express will have to wait. For now...

Day Four in the Quest for the Golden Quill...The Site Crashed Again

Today I ended up waking up earlier than I wanted to. Before groaning and going back to sleep I decided to check out Pottermore. Before I get a bunch of flack for this I didn't want to make 2 accounts for me. During day 3 I asked my brother (another Harry Potter fan) if he wanted me to register him. For whatever reason he said no then, and then wished on the following day that he had taken me up on my offer. He had felt that he wasn't a true Harry Potter fan because he didn't know the answer for Day 3. I assured him that wasn't true (It isn't!) and promised to help him if we caught another clue.

So that brings me to this morning.

I wake up and see this:


Again? I thought. Then I realized how much sense it made. This clue was between 2pm and 6pm BST. This not only opened it for Americans and Canadians, but it also opened it up for English, French, and every other nationality who have work in the morning.

So naturally, Pottermore did what it was best at, and always told to do in this situation.

It crashed.

Again.

I'm sure some people may be disappointed. In fact, I'm certain that they are. How many people missed out on a golden opportunity today due to the site's incompetence? Isn't this exactly what J.K was trying to avoid by keeping the times secret?

Maybe the time window shouldn't have been released for this one. It  seems an awfully popular window to climb through, and that can only lead to the house that is Pottermore overflowing and leaves everyone wishing that they hadn't all showed up to the party at once.

Aside from the strange metaphor, I digress, it was a mistake to reveal the time window today.

Update:

Or not... It seems that a large group of people figured out the clue and registered before the site crashing at around 8:30 AM. They were confused to find that they were taken directly to the registration page instead of needing to hunt for a quill.

Congratulations to those who won today, and good luck in the future to those who didn't get the chance.

Here's to all of us, the winners, those who have not yet won, those who never will, and anyone who has ever loved a book. This is our moment, don't let the inconveniences along the way slow you down. From the site crashing, to a computer smashing, to missing the clue, come October we know what to do.

Day Three in the quest for the Golden Quill... SUCCESS!!!

After a long night of snacking, watching the Harry Potter movies, clutching the third book, constantly refreshing the Pottermore website, and struggling to stay awake, at 4:10 AM something came out of it. My heart skipped a beat as yellow lettering filled the page detailing a question. In seconds I had by book out and was flipping madly to "The Quidditch Final" after a quick calculation, I entered my answer into the URL and held my breath...

At first I thought I had made a mistake.

I found myself at what looked like a website that did reviews for children's books, complete with crayon lettering and brightly colored subject headings. Then my eyes darted to the right of the screen and focused on a small square of purple. The Magical Quill is here... Levitate it to continue. At first panic set in- I was so frenzied that I couldn't figure out how to levitate the quill. Finally I gathered my bearings and found that it was quite simple. Soon the tell tale phrase jumped onto the screen and I eagerly clicked on a link to continue.

I was exhilarated during registration. To see my name with all of the characters was amazing, it made me feel like a kid. About a minute later I received my confirmation letter and giddily activated my account within seconds.

I can't wait for my welcome letter!!! Congratulations to all who have won so far and good luck to those who are still trying! Beta tester out b*tches! (Sorry for that AVPM reference- I couldn't resist!)

Day Two in the quest for the Quill...I Had Work in the Morning

Last night I was determined, I studied the book, did trivia, and refreshed the page constantly. This lasted until about 1 in the morning when my train of thought drifted dramatically.

Me at 5:00 PM: I can stay up all night doing this! I am determined and I will win!!!


turned to this...

Me at 1:00 AM: Oh ______* , I have work in the morning. I'm going to sleep...


* substitute appropriate swear of choice


So basically my common sense was stronger than my obsession with Harry Potter. I woke up at 7:30 this morning, well rested and a little bit hopeful. Soon the tell-tale "Sorry, Day 2 registration is now closed" filled the screen without me giving too much of a damn. As it would happen, I don't work tomorrow. Tonight I will stay awake until the clue appears and I am given early access to Pottermore!

I bet now that I've said this the clue will actually be released at a reasonable hour of the day...

Whatever! I will not be deterred! TONIGHT THAT QUILL IS MINE!!! (and every other person who finds it tonight's...) 


I have this one in the bag.

First Day Done...No Luck

The first clue for Pottermore came and went at 3:00 AM while I was fast asleep. After a nervewraking night filled with tossing, turning, and hoping the clue would be posted by the time I woke up; I ran down the stairs at 7:00 AM to find a message saying "Sorry Day 1 Registration is Now Closed". To my irritation I found that the question itself was incredibly easy.

The key to this contest is much different than I initially thought.

It's luck.

Anyone with a copy of the Harry Potter books has a chance to win- it's a matter of actually being online at the release of the clue to the quill. This is discouraging. I know that there will certainly be those that will sit at their computers, constantly refreshing until the clue is revealed. Despite how it may annoy me now, I will never be one of those people. I suppose I just need to cross my fingers keep a book by my laptop and visit the site whenever I get the chance without going out of my way to visit it.

All I need to do is remember that if I don't get early admission, I'll only need to wait until October.

AND... I'll have a shorter wait until part two of Pottermore which will be released the following year. An early start equal an early finish.

To any readers- just keep your head high and don't try too hard. If you're a true fan your love for Harry Potter will never die, it can easily survive until October.

Pottermore Crashed...Now that's surprising how?

Despite the clear "overwhelming demand" associated with J.K Rowling's Pottermore, I along with many assumed that she would have learned from the initial crashing of the site to expand the servers for the premire of the Beta Testing contest thingy. I wish I could say more but the website crashed. At around 3:00 mountain time I went on the website and found this:



With a little countdown thingy on the bottom that would refresh the page tauntingly and periodically. After about 10 minutes of pointless refreshing this appeared:



So much for patience right?

As I am writing this Pottermore is due to launch in less than 10 minutes and 'shocker' the site is still down. I know it might seem like a bit of a ridiculous request, but is it really too much to ask when it comes to events like this to build a bigger server? Or make multiple mirror sites to be redirected to? Nobody wins with a crashed website. All that it leads to is disappointed fans and crushed spirits...and an entire contest being put on hold...or so I think, again the website is down so I can't get more information.

As the seconds tick away and even more fans go online, their fate becomes clear. With a seemingly eternal ridiculously heavy flow of hits, I think we can all expect to wait a while longer than we hoped to get a taste of Pottermore.

With one minute to go I sign out- for now.

Some Simple Comparisons

Have you ever found two things that are incredibly alike yet incredibly different all at once? Those of you who are gazing at their screens nodding their heads will be interested by this, those who are raising an eyebrow thinking What the heck is she talking about? will be interested too. And those who are reading on waiting for me to get to the point will hopefully relate to this.

Let's use a current example:

I have adored reading since I first learned how. I have also had multiple favorite books over the years. Harry Potter, The Vampire Diaries, The Gemma Doyle Trilogy, and Pretty Little Liars fill my shelves. My friend recommended Pretty Little Liars to me during summer camp and I quickly became absorbed in the plot. By the end of the session I had read the first three books and upon returning home, I bought and read the fourth. The fourth book was unbelievable I loved it from the beginning to the dramatic conclusion. I was overjoyed when the very end of the book made it clear that there would be more novels. The next four books were gradually released with tantalizing waiting periods in between. Every now and then I would get to read one of the books a day early due to my consistent pestering of the staff at the book store. The end of the 8th book was perfect and deep down I knew that it was the end of the series. Imagine my joy when I later discover that my now finished series is to become a T.V show!

I was severely disappointed. The T.V show started with promise but quickly unraveled in a series of some small and some not so small changes. Huge plot twists meant for the third book were revealed at the end of the first few episodes. The way the writers were burning through plot I knew the series wouldn't possess integrity long. A few new characters and dragged out plots later I make a new discovery. There will be 4 more books in the series. The purpose was as clear as day; these books were meant to milk the cash cow. To hook T.V fans on the book series. And of course to prolong the plot of the T.V series by four books.  At this rate I fear that Pretty Little Liars will become more known for the T.V antics than the epic series. Much like how Vampire Diaries has warped itself into creating brand new characters going by Elena, Bonnie, Stefan, and Damon. This is what I'm talking about. The T.V show is still called Pretty Little Liars, Vampire Diaries, etc... but it has become a different thing completely.

I suppose this is where the saying don't judge a book by it's movie derives from.

If this concept is still a little fuzzy let me elaborate:

Let's say that you and your friends have an adventure. You go to the beach and uncover a buried chest filled with sand. While you are annoyed that the chest was empty, the joy of finding the chest was enough. You walk home and spend all night playing chess. The next day you discover your adventure will be made into a movie! You get all excited and a year later you sit down in the theater to see what you've been waiting for. Wait a minute, that's not right. My friend loved math, not soccer. And hey! There wasn't a treasure map in that chest on the beach! And we were never captured by pirates! Whoa, I didn't kiss that guy in real life. And why are we all telling stories by the campfire? We played chess, not truth or dare! What is this?! Right before your eyes you see that in an effort to make your story more interesting it has been completely altered. And yet it will always be known as your story despite the major differences.


This happens everywhere. This happens every time a movie or T.V show is based on a novel or a true story. What you once cared so much about has been turned into a horrible mess of action, new characters and romance. And the worst part of all is that sometimes you are tempted to enjoy it.