House-Switching on Pottermore

Meta
Title:	House-Switching on Pottermore
Creator:	River Taylor
Date(s):	11th September 2013
Medium:	Blog post
Fandom:	Pottermore, Harry Potter
Topic:	Hogwarts Houses and the attitude to House-switching among the Pottermore fan community
External Links:	https://rivertaylor.wordpress.com/2013/09/11/house-switching-on-pottermore/
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House-Switching on Pottermore is a meta essay written by River Taylor and published to her WordPress blog in 2013.

It explores the attitude to Hogwarts House allegiances among the Pottermore fan community and the way that it mirrored the tribal House allegiances of the Harry Potter books, while also differing in its practicalities. On Pottermore, it was possible and common to make accounts in multiple Houses and either be part of more than one House community, or leave one House to join another.

However, this action was frowned upon by the core of the fan community, who took House allegiances (and the associated House Cup competitions) very seriously, and formed close friendships with members of their own House. House-switching was often viewed as an act of betrayal or sabotage, even though it wasn't always carried out for those reasons.

The post uses a bet between two Pottermore users, Blue Snitch (aka Nikos Seeker Crimson, a member of Ravenclaw House) and Asta Black (a member of Slytherin House) which caused controversy among the community as a jumping-off point to explore the issue of House-switching on Pottermore. As part of the post, River Taylor interviews members of the Pottermore community, including Blue Snitch and Asta Black, on their views and experiences with being a part of multiple House communities, with the aim of giving them "a chance to speak out on the matter and be viewed fairly for it".

Excerpts From the Essay

Introduction to the Post (The Bet)

I was inspired to write this post after seeing a status by Nikos Seeker Crimson on my Facebook feed (yes, again xD Knowing him is very good for my blog posts, it seems). To inspire their housemates to work hard and earn points in the run-up to the House Cup, to be awarded on the 12th, he and Asta Black of Slytherin house had made a bet:

If Slytherin would win Nikos Seeker Crimson would have to join snakes. If Ravenclaw would win Asta Black would have to join claws. If any other house won we would stay in our house.

From the first moment it became a controversial subject in both our houses. Word has reached my ears of what our housemates thought about it. Some thought it showed our disloyalty to our house. Others thought our accounts didn’t mean much to us. And of course in case either of us changed houses it wasn’t certain we would be accepted in our new house. So we need to clear some things out.

Both of us are loyal to our house. Our dedication to our houses can be shown from the points we earn for our houses. The spirit of the bet was to inspire our housemates to try harder for the cup. To give them one more incentive to win the cup. Some took it completely wrong. We don’t hold a grudge against anybody. Maybe we should have cleared it out sooner.

Anyway since we don’t want to wreak any more havoc in our houses, especially few days before the end of the cup, we decided to call off the bet. […] We thank our friends for their support from their first moment.It was great to have you on our side all this time.

As soon as I read it, I was reminded of the judgemental and at times hostile attitude that several of my own housemates held towards those who switched houses – whether they were originally from Hufflepuff or from any other house. Amongst people who pour hours and hours of their time into earning points on Pottermore, socialising with other users and generally helping their house, house-switching is seen as disloyal. A user who switches houses is often viewed to have turned their back on their community, and labelled a “traitor” or a “turn-coat”. The attitude of Pottermore users towards their houses has come to mirror that of Hogwarts students in the Harry Potter series, even though house-switching isn’t possible in the “real” Hogwarts.

Anyone who’s read my earlier musings on houses and identity will know that I think it’s not only possible, but normal, to align with more than one house. And each one of the Pottermore house communities is made up of amazing people who are great to be around. With that in mind, why should we vilify anyone who might want to explore different sides of their personality and get the chance to become closer to a new set of like-minded people? I wanted to give those who’ve switched houses, or would consider switching houses, or who’ve been part of more than one house community a chance to speak out on the matter and be viewed fairly for it.

Interview with Asta Black

River Taylor
How did the idea for the bet come about?

Asta Black
Weeeell… Let’s say this way: First we made a deal, Me no dueling claws, he no dueling snakes. And after that I suggested the bet. As a joke. I didn’t really think that he would take it up, but he did.

River Taylor
I take it you were seriously prepared to do it, though? :)

Asta Black
Yeah. If the claws would have win, I would have joined them (I will do it now, anyway, for some other reasons) and same goes to Nikos. Let’s just say that reactions of some persons little bit disappointed me.

River Taylor
Did you expect to get more support from your housemates over it?

Asta Black
I got more support than I expected to have, if tell you the truth. I was scared that they would not support anything that stupid. But they did. And that is really important to me. I just hope they won’t hate me and see me as a traitor now that I will anyway change houses.

River Taylor
Did you always consider yourself mainly a Snake, or maybe a Slytherclaw?

Asta Black
Hat wanted me to be Badger :D But I wanted to be a snake. At the moment I didn’t feel like I could be anything else than a snake. It was little bit over a year ago. My life has changed over this year.

And now I am confused about if the Slytherin is right house for me. I mean, I met most amazing people in Slytherin and I had tons of fun and I don’t regret it. But I need to clear my head… And my RL is in the point that next cup might be the last I’ll have the time to even help any house to win cup. And I don’t want to spend next half a year regretting that I didn’t try other things…

Interview with Vee FlameNox

River Taylor
What’s your opinion on house-switching in general?

Vee FlameNox
As a person who switched houses, how can I have a negative one? :) When I sorted to Ravenclaw as beta in summer 2011, I was so deep in my Slytherin fan fiction, that I didn’t go to PM almost at all. I just couldn’t face it that I wasn’t in the house where my dream character lived for almost ten years. So – if PM wouldn’t allow re-sorting, I would just quit PM then forever… So I am glad that re-sorting was possible. I was happy in Slytherin, but now I am happy in Ravenclaw…

I have nothing against people switching houses. I was welcomed well in Ravenclaw, no one held it against me. And I didn’t lose any of my Slytherin (real) friends. It is just an online game, and I think people should be allowed what their heart want…

Interview with Nicholas Gordon Lawrence

Nicholas Gordon Lawrence
i think that it is impossible to have one house, all people have traits and abilities from different houses, and because pm is in general a muggle site, we will never know what exactly is our house. i also think that to try to get close to out real house, we should think who were we when we were 11 years old. and to be honest, i swore my loyalty to hufflepuff already, and i am not going to take it back, no matter what personality i have. i suit slytherin, i suit gryffindor as well, the only house that i have very little common with is ravenclaw.

i used to consider myself as a slytherpuff, indeed. but i could also be gryffinpuff. there is no reason for me to go on calling myself anything in this style anymore. i think that what matters, is our choices, not our abilities, as spoke dumbledore. therefore.. i choose to be a badger

i mean… i know why i don’t want to remain a snake. because slytherin influenced me in bad way. i would go on thinking that manipulating is okay, and that i have right to be cunning and too ambitious.

slytherin is a good house, just as well as the others. but some people should not be in some places. i should not have get to slyth, it only made me feel safe about being bad person

only in hufflepuff i learnt how to take in concern the others, and i felt that something broke out of me – something that i have deep, very deep inside – the need to care for others

Nick’s view resonates exactly with the way I feel about Hogwarts houses – that your house should be able to bring out the best in you. Whether you choose your own house or are Sorted there, perhaps unexpectedly, belonging to a house says something about your identity and what you value. Every house has its good and bad points just as every person has positive and negative character traits. Being around people with a specific set of traits can influence a person to be more like that, for better or for worse. For instance, joining Ravenclaw and being around the intellectually curious could bring out a person’s love of discovering the world around them. Joining Gryffindor could help someone to become more forthright and stand up for what they believe in.

It doesn’t always happen in a positive way, but that’s the ideal. And I definitely think that’s what Hufflepuff has done for me. I’ve mentioned in previous blog posts that before I was Sorted on Pottermore, I considered myself to be a Ravenclaw and was hoping desperately to be a part of that house. Being Sorted into Hufflepuff caused me to re-examine what I thought about my own character and the things that I valued, and to realise that I really did belong in this house.

Fan Comments

A number of comments were left on the blog post, both by members of the Pottermore community and by Harry Potter fans adjacent to the community. Reactions were largely positive and sympathetic to the idea of "multi-house alignment".

Sunny

Very interesting to see thoughts on house switching, as it’s something I’ve considered multiple times

elentarithesecond
Personally I think I identify with all of the houses – particularly with Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, but also with Gryffindor and Slytherin to a lesser extent. As Nick and Dumbledore have said, though, it’s our choices that make us what we truly are, and for this reason I will stick with Hufflepuff. I don’t ever earn points in my Ravenclaw and Slytherin accounts on principle.

I think I’d judge someone less if they switched houses at the start of a new cup – like now. I think that people should pick the house they choose to be loyal to and stay loyal for at least four months. I don’t mean that they can’t talk to other people from other houses, in which case having an account in other houses would be useful, but I think one should only earn points for a single house the whole length of a cup, whatever that house is.

Gem Spelldragon

This made me look at things in a different perspective. I wanted to change houses before to know what other houses are like for me. But nah.. Im a lion thru and thru. Questions were answered because of this interview and I thank you for that River Taylor. :) And congratulations to all Badgers for winning the house cup yesterday. Badger hugs! <3

aspenlinmer
Great post! The idea of what house we best fit into is a really interesting one and very important to a lot of people. You’re right…it speaks to identity and who we think we are. [...]

I totally agree with you when you say…”it’s not only possible, but normal, to align with more than one house…. With that in mind, why should we vilify anyone who might want to explore different sides of their personality and get the chance to become closer to a new set of like-minded people?” This is so true. We often want to explore other aspects of ourselves AND sometimes life events really can change who we are (or what house we would best fit into). The person you interviewed pointed this out and JKR even makes this point in having Dumbledore say, “Sometimes I think we sort too soon.” (Although I do not think Snape was in the wrong hose…he is the perfect example of a great, heroic slytherin). [...]

So, I guess I agree with you…why not explore the different aspects of ourselves through the different houses. Why not explore who we are through the different characters (who we relate to and why), different wands (most characters used more than one wand), and even the different events of the story, as well. The brilliance of these books is that there is so much to relate to and we can use the stories, characters, items, and metaphors to help others understand events of our own lives. :)

Ranty

I stumbled on this article because I googled “Pottermore my house has changed”. I think that should make what’s happened to me quite obvious, but… Well, in short, I knew I’d be a Slytherin when Pottermore was first announced; then the Sorting Hat Slytherin-ed me in the beta and I was super happy. I also made a couple more accounts then, to make sure, and deleted them after sorting. And that was that – Slytherin and proud. Years came and went, I wasn’t very active on Pottermore because I quickly lost interest, what with the potions and dueling being so boring. Things changed in my life as well… But now this year my passion for all things Harry Potter reignited, so I decided I wanted some merch to wear the fandom with pride. But somehow I just wasn’t sure if Slytherin merch was what I wanted/needed or not. So I thought I’d make another account and take the test again, just to make sure. Ravenclaw. Ooooo…kaaaaay… Well, that must be a mistake. Second time was Ravenclaw. Third time was Ravenclaw. Then a week later I took it again and… Ravenclaw. Same result on 2 or 3 other HP tests. I have kept the Ravenclaw account with the best sounding username, as well as my Slytherin account, but I can’t help but feel like a bit of a traitor. I have accepted that I may have changed more than I thought and may now belong in Ravenclaw more than I do in Slytherin, but I’m still trying to warm up to the house and get used to it. However, I plan to stay true to myself, and not to a House I apparently am not very well suited to anymore. And the funny thing is, descriptions of Ravenclaw DO suit me better than descriptions of Slytherin, but I just never thought of that house as being potentially “mine”.

So… now that I view things from this perspective, I have concluded that people may change over time and that it could perhaps be natural for their house to change with them… Maybe it’s not true for everyone, but it was definitely true for me.

Now if I could just stop feeling so bad about it, that’d be great.

River Taylor (in reply to Ranty)

Thanks for the comment, Ranty! I’m really glad you were able to find this blog post. I definitely think it’s possible that a person’s house can change as they change, through time. As Dumbledore said, “I sometimes think we Sort too soon.” But that doesn’t mean your old house isn’t a part of your identity, either. [...]

As I kind of said in this post, having to choose (or being chosen for) only one of the four Houses to make your own is a problem when most people’s personalities don’t just fall neatly into a category like that; and as you’ve said, they change over time as well. Also, as humans we like to belong to clearly defined communities and be part of a group; we build them into our identities. So that’s what makes Houses and House-switching such a contentious topic, and what makes it so hard to make the shift between a House you used to feel you belonged to and a House you realise you are actually more suited to.

After I got Sorted into Hufflepuff on Pottermore, I felt terrible. Hufflepuff wasn’t me! Where the hell did I belong in this weird yellow House that no-one liked or even cared about? I wasn’t hard-working and I did not have an affinity for plants. Ravenclaw and all it stood for was very special to me and had been a big part of my identity and my experience as a fan for many years. Ultimately, I can’t say what it was that made me come back to Pottermore, but I gave it a second chance and slowly got to know and love the community that surrounded me and realise why I belonged there.

I think that you’ll be able to stop feeling bad about your House-switch if you can work through it and find how it fits with your personality. You don’t have to instantly surround yourself with Ravenclaw everything, but why not read around some Claw blogs, find some members of that community and discuss what you have in common? [...]

Stupidly, with the removal of comments on Pottermore we have no opportunity to chat with our housemates within the site, but there is a big community of Pottermore people on Facebook that I can definitely introduce you to if you want to get to know some fellow Claws – and Snakes, too. Like I said, no reason why you have to give up on that house either. You can express your house pride for more than one house, and indulge the different sides of your personality at different times. There are a lot of us out there like you and we find ways to work with it :) It doesn’t have to be an either/or scenario.