I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up to No Good

"What’s your Hogwarts House?” It’s one of the first questions I ask when meeting someone new. Why? Knowing someone’s Hogwarts House can pretty much tell me all I need to know about a person. It can give me a basic, yet well-rounded, sense of their personality, their ethics, morals and values. When the Pottermore Sorting Hat sorted me into Slytherin all those years ago, it was a major defining point in my life. For the first time, I actually felt as though I had a sense of identity, a real understanding of who I was. I suddenly knew why I did certain things, why I behaved and reacted in certain ways, and why I was often so misunderstood. No doubt there are many psychotherapists who will tell you that discovering your Hogwarts House is by no means an accurate way to define your sense of self, but I beg to differ. Pottermore has been replaced by Wizarding World, and to be sorted by the Sorting Hat you need to take a quiz. Now, critics might scoff, likely believing it to be a nonsense quiz that won’t ask any real questions; and they would be wrong. The questions in the quiz may be a little outside the box, but they are surprisingly deep. All questions are multiple choice and you find you really have to think it through before you choose your answer. Sometimes the results are surprising. My result was not. I feel at home in Slytherin, in a way I have never felt at home before. It was like a puzzle piece finally slipping into place. Although, your result is by no means the be all, end all. Think of it more like a suggestion. If, for whatever reason, you find you aren’t happy with the Sorting Hat’s choice of house, then just like Harry Potter, you are free to choose for yourself where you feel you belong. Also, taking the quiz is free. Who doesn’t love a free quiz to find out something new about themselves?

It’s common knowledge that diving into fandoms is a form of escapism. Duh. Reality sucks. Reality likes to kick you when you’re down and remind you that you’re an adult with responsibilities, but no idea what you’re doing, and who can now throw their back out while putting on skinny jeans. Fandoms, however, welcome you into a world full of fantasy, magic, purpose and possibilities; where you’re applauded for being different because being different often means you have some huge, world-saving destiny to fulfill. Plus, there’s probably a potion that will fix your back in a jiffy. Such a world shines so brightly compared to the dull, brutal world of reality, and in my opinion, none shines so brightly as the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Funnily enough, I was never a fan of Harry Potter when I was young. In fact, I flat out refused to have anything to do with it. I was always someone considered mentally older than my physical age, and I saw Harry Potter as something for children. I was far too mature for such a childish story about magic and wizards and castles. Adulthood has taught me differently. As someone who struggles with anxiety, I often need to escape into something light and fluffy, something comforting that won’t surprise me and possibly trigger a panic attack. The last couple of years have done nothing for that anxiety, except make it worse. Since the start of the Covid pandemic, I have been swimming in the deep waters of Harry Potter and haven't come up for air; and likely won't be any time soon. I watch the movies on repeat, I read the books over and over, I write my own fanfiction where I get to play out my fantasies, and I play all the Harry Potter games on my phone. If it weren’t for all these wonderful distractions, I’d be a mess. There is just so much to do and see in the world of Harry Potter, always something new to learn; and that’s why I believe it is one of the best fantasy franchises to exist. It was a tough pick between Doctor Who and Harry Potter, but Harry Potter won for two reasons; firstly, because of the sheer volume of content there is, and secondly, because I truly believe it has many psychological benefits in terms of self-discovery, encouraging friendships, and offering an escape – however momentary – from the stress and anxiety of life. There’s been a few occasions where I have been out somewhere, proudly wearing my Slytherin merchandise, and have spotted a fellow Slytherin wearing their own merchandise. It’s an instant connection. We smile, wave, share a high five, do the goofy finger guns at each other and laugh. It’s a beautiful moment of solidarity.

Harry Potter is such a complex, yet simple story. It offers not only whimsy, fantasy and comedy, but also a solid plot, with ample twists and turns, that moves along at a good pace and never leaves you feeling bored. The complexity, the inclusion of little details like how many staircases there are in Hogwarts, allows for full immersion into the Wizarding World. You feel like you could literally jump into the story and become part of all the action because you know so much about how everything works. You know you can’t conjure food. You know that there are 17 Sickles in a Galleon and 29 Knuts in a Sickle. You know how to cast the levitation spell and the Patronus Charm. Anything you don’t know or understand, often the characters don’t know or understand either; like how no one really understands all the mysteries of wand lore, not even the wand makers. Then, there’s the characters. There are so many brilliant, inspirational characters, and though they may all be a member of one of the four Houses, they each still hold their own individuality. It’s easy enough to find a character, or characters, that you can relate to on a personal level. For me, it’s mostly Professor Severus Snape, who is a Slytherin like myself, and Gryffindor student Hermione Granger.

Hermione Granger, I believe, popularized the “smart girl” character more than any other character’s attempt to do so, and became a major inspiration for girls everywhere. She broke the ideology that girls are only meant to be pretty and romantic, sighing and sipping their tea while they let the boys do all the hard work and have all the fun. She is strong, independent, brave and clever, and her intelligence is integral to the story. Hermione brings a much-needed sense of order to the chaotic situations that she, Harry and Ron always seem to be in, offering logical reasoning and critical thinking. Without her, Harry never would have succeeded in destroying all the Horcruxes. I’d even go so far as to say Harry never would have survived without Hermione.

Severus Snape is the ultimate “grey character,” and in my opinion is one of the most well-written characters in fictional history, always keeping you guessing, wondering just what side he is on. He is sometimes referred to as an anti-hero, but I don’t agree with that label. Snape absolutely shows heroic traits. They may have been self-motivated to begin with – he is a Slytherin after all – but he soon bore the weight of doing what he must for the greater good, thoroughly making up for any wrongdoings of his past. Slytherins are very good at doing what they have to do to get the desired results. They are, in a sense, chameleons, possessing the ability to adapt, to become whoever or whatever they need to become in order to get the necessary things done. Some see this as a dangerous trait, proof that Slytherins are too cunning to be trusted. On the other hand, being a social chameleon means you can make anyone feel comfortable around you, which can be nice for people to experience. Snape is the hero the Wizarding World needed, but failed to recognize. He was used and abused, always living life for the ambition and advantage of others instead of himself, like a puppet on a string. But he was braver than any other character. He knew the importance of the part he had to play and the strength he showed in remaining true to his role, no matter how difficult it got, is inspirational.

Though Gryffindors are usually accredited with bravery, the actions of Severus Snape show us that bravery comes in many different forms. This is a concept shown amongst all four of the Houses. Each house has their main traits that they deem most valuable. For Slytherins, it’s cunning, ambition and loyalty; for Ravenclaws, wisdom, wit and intellect; Gryffindors, courage, chivalry and determination; and for Hufflepuffs, hard work, loyalty and patience. But these are all interchangeable to an extent. Slytherins can be just as brave as Gryffindors, but where Gryffindors would charge in with guns blazing, no matter what the circumstance, Slytherins would be much more cunning and quiet about it, tailoring their actions to suit the specific situation. Neither is incorrect. If Snape hadn’t been so cunning and careful in his bravery, he wouldn’t have been able to hide his intentions from Voldemort as well as he did, and Voldemort wouldn’t have been defeated. If Harry hadn’t stepped up to the moment, guns blazing, each time he faced Voldemort, Voldemort wouldn’t have been defeated. Slytherin also shares the trait loyalty with Hufflepuff, but each house interprets it differently. Hufflepuffs tend to be more liberal with their loyalty and can sometimes offer their loyalty too quickly to someone they have only just met. They have strong desires to help others and will often fight other people’s battles for them. This makes it difficult for Hufflepuffs to set boundaries and puts them at risk of being taken advantage of. Slytherins are far more selective with their loyalty, giving it to those who they believe have earned it. If someone betrays a Slytherin’s trust, they have no issue in cutting that person out of their life. Hufflepuffs and Slytherins balance each other out here, and each house can learn some valuable lessons from the other. Slytherins can teach Hufflepuffs to protect themselves by setting better boundaries, while Hufflepuffs can teach Slytherins to be more open. In this way, the ideology behind the four Houses encourages teamwork, teaches diversity and the importance of accepting each other’s differences, proving that it is much more profitable to utilize those differences by working together; valuable lessons we all need to be reminded of sometimes.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is endless; especially if we include the labyrinth of fanfiction available. The characters of Harry Potter are so well defined, their personalities so strongly depicted, that it’s easy to imagine any one of them in non-canon circumstances. Chances are, you will find a number of fanfics about your favourite character, some possibly based on fantasies of your own, and a lot of them likely to be written in the reader-insert, second person format. This format is quite popular for fanfiction stories as it gives a deeply immersive experience for the reader. There are even numerous fanfics about some of the lesser characters such as Luna Lovegood, Lucius Malfoy, Professor Sinistra and several more. The canon material just makes it so easy to expand on the Wizarding World and its occupants. In fact, even the canon material itself keeps expanding. Hogwarts Mystery is a mobile game set a few years prior to Harry’s arrival – when Bill Weasley was still attending – and follows the player’s character through a plotline involving some cursed vaults that are wreaking havoc on the school. The story has become canon, approved by JKR, giving fans a range of new characters to get to know as well as allowing the opportunity to see some of the rarely mentioned characters, like the older Weasley brothers, bringing them to life in a way the books and movies can’t. Players of the game basically get to “attend” Hogwarts. They can take classes, make friends, interact with magical creatures, and basically participate in Hogwarts life.

There isn’t a more immersive fictional world than the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I honestly think of it as a type of global phenomenon. There is so much fun to be had, so much to see and do, and so much to learn – both about the Wizarding world itself, and in terms of valuable life lessons. The sheer magic and wonder of the Wizarding World is truly beautiful and provides a soothing reprieve from the harshness of reality. For all these reasons, I will wholeheartedly proclaim the world of Harry Potter to be the best fictional world in existence, and, perhaps to the chagrin of some, will reference it at any and every opportunity. If you have never delved into the Wizarding World before, I strongly encourage you to try. Contrary to popular opinion, I recommend seeing the movies first, simply for the visuals. The scenery and casting of actors is utter perfection and it will give you a good groundwork to use in your imagination when you read the books.

I could ramble on about Harry Potter for pages and pages, but I’ve rambled enough for this article. So, I will leave you with these thoughts and say, “Mischief managed!” For now, anyway.

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