Loyalty...and Harry Potter

This is one of those random early morning posts that is not going to be very well written. I have to finish up an article and start research for an essay, and yet I still am taking the time to write a small post for my readers.

So today I'm going to talk about Harry Potter. I could probably spend the better part of the night discussing Harry Potter and its relevance to Christianity, but I do not have time for that. Instead I merely want to focus on something that God is teaching me.

So intent upon wasting even more time I should be studying, I took my friends' advice and joined Pottermore. For those of you who have no idea what it is, I can tell you it's a magical online world that J.K. Rowling created where one can walk through the Harry Potter books and not only experience elements for themselves (choosing an owl, finding a wand), but also read passages that were never published. As a writer I of course have found it fascinating to see all the work that went into Rowling's writing. I also am enough of a Harry Potter nerd that I found getting to experience the wizarding world for myself quite exciting. That is until I got sorted.

About a week ago my friends were talking about Pottermore, that was when I first decided to join. Upon saying I might try it they immediately had to guess what house I would be put in. I proudly told them that I had taken a test on a Harry Potter computer game of some kind when I was a child. I had easily been sorted into Ravenclaw.

My friends completely ignored that (because Pottermore is J.K. Rowling's test and therefore has more weight). They declared they saw me as Hufflepuff. I was so utterly disgusted that I exclaimed quite loudly "not Hufflepuff! Gryffindor, Ravenclaw or even Slytherin, but don't make me a stupid Hufflepuff!"

My reasoning behind this is simple. Who are the major characters in the Harry Potter books? Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville. All of them are Gryffindors. Then you have antagonists in the book such as Snape, Malfoy, and of course He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. They are all Slytherins. If you look for another major character of slightly lesser value because she is not added until much later in the series you get Luna Lovegood, a brilliant (but perhaps a bit strange) Ravenclaw.

The only house that does not have a worthy and admirable (or notably evil) character is Hufflepuff. The best the house can get is Cedric Diggory, who dies in the same book he is introduced in. Don't even bother mentioning minor names like Hanna Abbot, or Ernie Macmillan. They are not noteworthy as people are unlikely to even remember their names let alone any thing else (unless you're a Harry Potter nerd like me).

Needless to say I entered Pottermore to prove my friends wrong. I was excited as I went through the questions. I wouldn't say I "lied", but I did try to go for perhaps slightly less Hufflepuff answers. As I got to the end of the quiz the result popped up.

To my dismay, it was surrounded by yellow and black. The symbol of a badger was all too clear. Hufflepuff.

I was so distressed that I literally achieved tears. Yes, it was that big of a deal to me. I had gone through my whole life believing myself a Ravenclaw and had found my identity was incorrect...

Now, for those of you laughing I am not actually that pathetic of a nerd to cry merely because I am disappointed by my house. There were legitimate reasons behind my ridiculous emotional outburst.

I believe in many ways it is connected with my deep longing for identity which has very much defined my world this last year. In many ways as parts of myself have changed I have struggled to figure out what I am. My grades slipped last fall. I no longer play violin for orchestra. I have all but abandoned writing.

As these things have come to pass I know that I sometimes have struggled to figure out who I am. Last year all I could see beneath those external things was what people said about me. They told me that I was a nice person. And for some reason I was not satisfied with that. Last year I wanted to be more. This is perhaps another thing that fed into my struggle with faith.

The thing about Hufflepuff is that as I already explained it doesn't really seem special on the outside. Gryffindors are brave and have adventures. Slytherins turn into evil dark lords (or at least snarky potions professors). Ravenclaws are brilliant sidekicks. And that leaves Hufflepuff with Mr. Cedric Diggory...a nice boy who died young.

As you can see there are some major problems for a girl struggling with identity issues in being placed in the "nice" house. It wasn't enough. It didn't satisfy me. And it hurt that my friends only saw me as a Hufflepuff. They didn't see a boldness for exploring the unknown, or an intelligent mind. They just saw...a Hufflepuff.

It has taken a couple of days to get over this. Part of it was coming to terms with my inner Hufflepuff.

I've been struggling with some random friendship issues this last year. It's nothing major, but it simply has been troubling and confusing and has not made things in my life any easier.

After much contemplation and frustration over the situation (oh dear what a rhyme), I finally contacted a friend to talk about it and get her advice. We went for a lovely walk, and just spent time talking over what was going on.

She took the time to help me work through my problem, but she also explained to me part of what was going on. My loyalty...my Hufflepuff loyalty...was getting in the way. She simply explained to me that I was so loyal to my friends that I could not even figure out how to work through a problem.


In many ways it was very helpful to me. I have better figured out how to handle the situation. Alongside that I have determined something about myself. I was for some reason utterly delighted by the trait of loyalty. In many ways I hadn't really noticed it in myself. It is true though. When I make friends with someone I respect them, I trust them, and I don't want anyone or anything to hurt them. I desire our friendship to be strengthened and for bonds to be tied between us. I think the thing I fight for the most in my daily life is to be the best friend that I can, to love others in the best way possible.





I think Hermione does a great job of demonstrating exactly what I think is the key to understanding the Hogwarts houses. While achievements and smarts are great, they are not what is most important.

“Harry - you're a great wizard, you know."
"I'm not as good as you," said Harry, very embarrassed, as she let go of him.
"Me!" said Hermione. "Books! And cleverness! There are more important things - friendship and bravery and - oh Harry - be careful!”
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

I think in many ways Hufflepuffs have it right. The other houses are more focused on test scores, Quidditch, or social status that they forget the  most important things of all: love, loyalty, truth, kindness. In many ways I think Hufflepuffs are just what each of the other houses should be underneath all their other traits. In fact, according to Pottermore Hufflepuff is the house to produce the least dark wizards. And it makes sense. Hufflepuffs are more concerned about friendships or love to be focused on trying to rule the world. They have the basics down. And I think in many ways that is what I am learning as I battle with my identity.

Being a "nice person" (or rather being a follower of Jesus Christ) is the basic roots of my identity. Whatever I add whether it is athletics (bravery), tough classes (intelligence), or leadership opportunities (ambition) is all just toppings on the ice cream Sunday. They're great, but they aren't necessary. Being a good person is necessary (at least in my book).

And with that I have taken hold of my Hufflepuff identity with pride (I always did like the color yellow anyhow)....and in the meantime just imagine that I was meant to go in Ravenclaw but asked the Sorting Hat to change its mind.

"You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true,
And unafraid of toil"

—The Sorting Hat