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    Joined: Jul 2014
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    Tigerle Offline OP
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    ...and ended up in Hufflepuff, not Gryffindor.
    He is heartbroken, hiding crying in his room. Now DH went in wanting something, and he has exploded, screaming, raging, throwing things...

    This is such a first world problem. What do I do?!

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    Hmmmm, if he is throwing things so someone might get hurt, you have to stop him from doing that. Remind him that he is a better person than to behave that way.

    Aside from that, be compassionate and discuss with him how he feels and why. Perhaps when he has calmed down a bit you can discuss the sorting system, and whether it is fair, and how it can be improved, what consequences being sorted into one house over another has, and if a student who is sorted into Hufflepuff can still show the courage associated with Gryffindor, and so on.

    Do not make light of his emotions. Be compassionate, but do make clear that certain behavior is inacceptable because it puts others at risk. smile

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    Is there any hope of getting him to understand that this quiz is stupid? It was not written in letters of fire across the face of the universe, by the hand of God or Dumbledore or J.K. Rowling. It is just a thing made up by some person, probably with not very much deep thought put into it. It means nothing about your DS as a person, nor about what house he would end up in if the Harry Potter world were real.

    If he's ready to hear that message, it could be a real teachable moment about how some things that seem to be authoritative really aren't at all.

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    Or even, getting him to see the flaws in Rowling's world-view? Her ideas about how people divide up into different types, and how some of those types are better than others (though she tries to pretend otherwise)? (But if your son is a fan, he may not be ready to go there.)

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    Remind him that Harry was initially going to be assigned to Slytherin by the sorting hat, but that he ended up in Gryffindor because he felt that was where he belonged and influenced the hat. That's a major theme in HP--our innate traits don't define us; our choices do. People are often suited for many clubs and professions, and it is the combination of will and skill that determines fit.


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    Can we assume that this is the semi-official version on Rowling's
    site, and not a quiz a teenager slapped together in 10 minutes somewhere else? Even so, it's useful to point out that a short quiz doesn't reveal much about a person's whole personality, which is why the founders of Hogwarts solved that problem through magic instead.

    Cedric Diggory was a Hufflepuff, and very courageous. He did face a dragon, after all. He would have done well in Gryffindor.

    On the flip side, Ron Weasley was a scaredy-cat so often (spiders, Quidditch team, etc.), but the Sorting Hat did note that he had hidden courage that would come out when it mattered most. He wasn't a realistic choice for Ravenclaw (indifferent student) or Hufflepuff (too many fights with friends), but he had plenty of ambition for Slytherin. But... a Weasley in Slytherin?? Well, maybe Percy.

    And then there was Harry. We know all about that one.

    Hermione was an intense child who would have stood out in ANY house... she was highly ambitious, a fierce friend and tireless worker, a voracious consumer of knowledge, and of course, fearless.

    So:

    1) Just because you were chosen by the Hat for a particular house, doesn't mean you wouldn't do just as well in another house. Except in limited cases (Malfoy), people are complex.

    2) You still get to choose. So if he's invested in being a Gryffindor, and he shows the qualities of Gryffindor, he can be a Gryffindor.

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    Here is an article that gives a very good take on the house thing and why some of my most intelligent and brave friends most closely associate themselves to the Hufflepuff House:

    http://www.tor.com/2013/07/16/every...flepuff-or-stop-the-hogwarts-house-hate/

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    I don't know if DD took the same quiz, but she selected the answers that she thought represented the worst character traits, trying to get Slytherin, and it put her in Gryffindor.

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    I took the quiz twice on two different sites (Pottermore does not seem to have the quiz currently), and was sorted once into Gryffindor and once Hufflepuff.

    Upon reflection, I must conclude that Hufflepuff is indeed the greatest house of all, for what is greater than the pursuit of justice?

    A Hufflepuff will always stand to fight for what is right—not because it is the brave thing to do, not because it is the intelligent thing to do, not because it is the great thing to do, but because it is the right thing to do.

    Hufflepuff, then, is the house of justice and wisdom.

    I gladly then choose Hufflepuff over Gryffindor, if the choice is mine to make, and am delighted to find your son there as well. May he and I bring great happiness to the world, and make it a better place! smile

    Last edited by Nyaanyaa; 10/05/15 10:52 AM.
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    Val Offline
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    I am...shocked that anyone is taking this quiz seriously (and gratified to see that not everyone is).

    As for the OP, I get that a young child would be upset at getting the result he didn't want, but not the part about throwing things. IMO, taking out your anger on someone else is not okay. This is what I'd focus on.

    Last edited by Val; 10/05/15 10:55 AM.
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