Jessica Goes to Hogwarts

On Labor Day my email finally came letting me into Pottermore.  I was so excited I couldn’t say much more than “Huh HUh HUUUHHH!” to my bewildered husband.  I posted the good news all over facebook and twitter and the response I got the most was, “What does this mean??”

So, here’s where I intend to chronicle my journey in Pottermore without spoiling too much for those not on the site yet.  We’ll see how it goes.

I think this picture sums up all the things you can do on Pottermore.  You can read new stuff written about Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, experience moments in the game, like getting sorted into a house and buying a wand, and you can play mini-games, like dueling wizards and brewing potions.

The “moments” in the chapter were what I found the most interesting.  There is beautiful artwork depicting certain scenes in the book.  In fact, they recommend that you read the book as you go along in the game to make it more fun.  I see the moments as a silent back drop (they have no sound) on your computer while you read the corresponding chapter.

Some “moments” are no more than animated pictures, but some are more interactive.  The most interactive “moments” are when you buy your wand and get sorted into a house at Hogwarts.  You get to take quizzes to figure out which wand you get and which house you will be sorted into.

So, are you ready to see which house I got into? (The four options are Ravenclaw, Slytherin, Gryffindor, and Hufflepuff)

I’m so shocked!  My first thought was, “Great.  Now I’m totally cliche.”  My second thought was, “I wanted to be in Ravenclaw.  I love books.”  Maybe I was holding out for Ravenclaw so I wouldn’t be disappointed if I didn’t get into Gryffindor.  But I’m really excited now to be in Gryffindor!  Proud Lion!  Am I braver than I thought?  Because I answered the quiz questions like a total coward.

Then Husband gets on with his account and gets sorted into Ravenclaw.  Go figure.  He says I can use his account, but it’s not the same…

I’m Gryffindor all the way!

The social aspects of the site are seriously lacking because they are trying to protect the very young kids that use this website.  There is no emailing or chat on there and I seriously doubt if that will ever change.  Instead, you get a long list of random comments with heavy moderation.  I’ve left many comments and I have no way of knowing if they ever got approved.  Oh well.  Even with the heavy comment moderation, someone managed to post a website in the common room by saying something like “Gryff no space in no space roar dot COMmon room.” When I read that, I laughed out loud that someone was that creative. Well done.  So that’s how I found some password protected, Gryffindor-only “off-campus” housing, if you will, that have chat and forums and the like.  So much fun!! And I have to say, I’ve been very impressed with the creativity that have gone into these sites.

I can’t give out the link to my “off-campus” housing, but if you do get sorted into Gryffindor and want to join me, go to the Fat Lady and see if you can figure out the password ;)

So there you have it.  It’s kind-of a video game, kind-of a social website and kind-of like nothing else I’ve ever seen.  And it’s all about Harry Potter.