The #olchallenge is a way for you to earn points for your character’s house.
This resort challenge focuses on your character’s personality. Each student at Hogwarts has been sorted into a house based on some of the traits they possess, their goals, and what they aspire to be as a person. These considerations should colour the way you currently play your character - but just like in real life, characters are diverse and multi-faceted. This challenge asks you to consider what other house your character could’ve been sorted into. No one person fits neatly into a box; a smart person isn’t necessarily in Ravenclaw, nor a kind person necessarily in Hufflepuff. So, what other traits does your character possess, and how else could they have been sorted? Take this as a chance to dive deeper into a different facet of your character, and how a different house might’ve enhanced those traits.
Some things you can do for this challenge are:
an aesthetic/graphic/moodboard [20 points]
a playlist of songs with relevant links [20 points]
a headcanon post explaining the alternative house sorting [10 points]
a self para exploring a part of your character’s life in this alternative house, minimum 500 words [30 points]
You can do as many of the above as you like to maximise house points, but be sure to tag everything with #olchallenge so these posts can be counted!
Penny was not familiar with anything muggle related, growing up between the magical and werewolf worlds were enough of a hassle without adding animated films, internet, and wireless phones into the mix. Wolves had no need for animated films talking about love, and wizards always were slow to the uptake when it came to modern conveniences and joy.
It is no wonder that shortly after graduation, in a lull between taking down the Ministry of Magic and Werewolf Rights that someone thought it’d be a good idea for Penny to take on the muggle world– Los Angeles was a bad idea if hindsight was 20/20 because the sights, sounds, colors, the stench was enough to drive her mad. It all culminated in Disneyland, a veritable dreamscape if everyone was correct about what it was– a land of dreams, wishes, wonder, hope. Everything a girl like Penny could dream of if she wasn’t so entrenched in a war she was born into. Disneyland was like nothing she could have ever even imagined, for there was nothing in her life that came even remotely close to such a place that smelled of sugar and hot sun, the metallic heat of the rides under her skin and the throngs of people. No one was upset, there were no tears but that a child that did not want to leave.
Penny didn’t want to leave either.
She fluttered from place to place, hopping on rides, taking in the fantastic world and lore. A land of fairytales– it made her ache for something so beautiful to be real all days of the year. She fell in love with Peter Pan and marveled Tomorrowland. She delved into fantastic terrifying adventures with Indiana Jones and was anxiously exhilarated on Space Mountain. Splash Mountain had her sighing in relief at the cold water, for it brought pleasure from the oppressive California heat. An autograph book filled with signatures from characters she had no idea of, but quickly was falling in love with. Carasol rides, flying atop an elephant, the Sword in the Stone, the Teacups she rode four times until she could hardly stand let alone walk. Dole Whip, a craze that she craved. She found herself good at the shooting games in Frontier Land and enjoyed the Happy Hauntings in the Haunted Mansion and spotted a few ghosts that weren’t part of the attraction. She wondered at the parade and stared at the sky long after the fireworks petered out, Mickey Ears adorned her head and it was like she was truly the eighteen-year-old she was supposed to be, with a childhood that was not filled with horrors or a war, like that of a cartoon villain. She hummed and skipped her way down Disney Mainstreet, arms adorned with clothes, plushies, and souvenirs, for sleight of hand and fake Muggle money lines her pockets and a wand was far more powerful than anything any muggle could cook up. She stood at the exit, staring at the streets beyond, the long trolley waiting to take her away and she knew she didn’t want to leave, like the screaming children that were being tugged out by exasperated parents.
Her friends waited and she looked up at the castle looming in the distance and smiled.
Not for long, mind you - everything about him was urgent, fast. But for some minutes, he sat there, sweating under the sorting hat, while it looked into his heart. It couldn’t quite decide if that sharp mind of his would make a better Ravenclaw, or a Slytherin. He certainly had the cunning for it - that sort of quick-witted, silver-tongued resourcefulness of survivors, and a deep-rooted ambition to be something more - more than the kitchen boy, more than a servant, more than a Renfield. Solomon was clever and determined even as a little boy, too small to fit his uniform, too big to fit his mother’s shoes.
The hat thought long and carefully, and Solomon struggled to keep his chin raised as all eyes fell on him. A lifetime of learning to be invisible had not prepared him to take center stage; but he looked straight up, ratty hair falling over his eyes and heart hammering against his ribcage. “You're a Slytherin at heart, boy,” the hat had said, and Solo closed his eyes, nodding slowly. “But I’m not sending you there.” Although Solomon had it in himself to wear the silver and green, the hat took pity on him - he had to fend for himself at home, and he shouldn’t have to fend for himself at Hogwarts. Times were changing, but hundreds of years of pureblood traditionalism were still etched in Slytherin’s history. A young man had to pick his fights wisely - and wise he’d be, dressed in blue. “Ravenclaw!”, the hat had announced proudly, and Solo ran to join the table as it erupted in cheer.
But sometimes, a small part of him would wonder what would have been.
Being surrounded by Ravenclaws might certainly tone Delaney down a notch, but her personality would have largely remained the same. Friendly and talkative, Delaney would love to have long conversations about everything under the stars, but mind you, she’s a busy bee. When she’s not at Hagrid’s, in the greenhouses, or practicing quidditch, she can most definitely be found in the library, almost buried under piles of books, glasses askew on her nose with her hair tied up in a messy ponytail. Delaney the Ravenclaw would find herself more obsessed with achieving her goals, with less time to rest or hang out with her friends. That’s not to say Delaney has forgotten how to have fun, but being much more goal-oriented meant that she was stricter with herself and in managing her time. A bigger perfectionist than Delaney the Gryffindor, this Delaney would have thrown herself into her weaker subjects and spent hours upon hours on them until she’s as good as - or even better than - others.
Being more in touch with her thoughts and emotions and with the insatiable curiosity of a Ravenclaw, she would wonder about her real family—not because she missed them, but simply because she wanted to know where she came from. Her endeavor into this may or may not result in heartbreak, but this is certainly not something that Delaney the Gryffindor would have dwelled on. Without the stubbornness of a Gryffindor, her relationship with Lowry might have suffered (even more than now, anyway). While she still would love to reach through to him, her rationality would stop her from going above and beyond—things that Delaney the Gryffindor would not have put a second thought into. As a result, her relationship with her brother would have taken a backseat while she focused on her future. (inserts sad face)
As a lion, Delaney is almost always ruled by her heart. Spending years with the Ravenclaws, however, meant that her heart and her head constantly warred for control. She would struggle with this until later in life, when she finally manages to find a balance between the two and realizes that her best decisions were the ones made with both her head and her heart.
Pureblood tradition, an upturned nose, cold fingertips pressed to warm skin, a shaking hand that holds a bottle.
If we assume that August’s life up to his sorting into Hufflepuff was the same, Slytherin would have radically altered the way that August dealt with his visions. No longer able to hide behind easy smiles and a bit of social interaction to - at first - hide his drug addiction and to later continue getting away with it, Slytherin would have turned August into someone tougher and more likely to accept pain rather than run from it. Fuelled by the pride of the Callow name, August would have strove toward working harder at DADA and becoming an auror, like his father, meaning that his magic would be stronger and he’d become a competitive force in the Duelling Club. The visions themselves would still be happening, and though August would resist them strongly, a few would break through and threaten his reputation. Clinging to his secret, August would try to find ways of dealing with the pain; instead of turning to drugs and becoming addicted as in current canon, I could see August using more and more extreme options, becoming potentially dangerous and lethal to his own life in the quest to be rid of his ‘gift.’ But the key difference would be August’s sobriety. Though he would occasionally turn to drugs when the pain was unbearable, it would be rare, and for the most part, he would be sober every day. Haughty, pretentious, entitled, and cutting, August when in full possession of his wits would be the model pureblood Slytherin looking to make his family proud and uphold tradition. Guarding his secret closely to his chest, Slytherin would make August into a person of extremes, albeit a more capable and in control one.
Cigarettes and a wry grin, a loud laugh heard across the common room, back slaps, quidditch, and a little bit of mischief.
Lennox Fraser the Gryffindor would have been a different boy shaped by the people in his dorm and the traits that the house brings out in its students. No longer a boy who shunned everyone around him for fear of getting attached and ultimately hurt, Lennox would have come to live fearlessly and freely if he’d been placed in Gryffindor. Dealing with the grief of his mother and the pressures of his family, the Fraser family would have ultimately taken a different path. Lennox wouldn’t have felt the need to shoulder all the responsibility, but have shared it around or, at times, shirking it altogether. His father might’ve stepped up, the family might’ve slipped, or another relative come to assist - the future is unwritten, but what’s certain is that Lennox would have gotten a childhood that he didn’t in Ravenclaw. Loud, charming, and focused on having a good time, Lennox would’ve applied more of himself to his quidditch skills, going from being a good chaser to a great one, as well as being more open to understanding and mastering magic. His relationship with his grandparents would be less about unconditional loyalty, and more of a tumultuous one - Lennox would challenge their ideas and the prescribed path they’d set for him, bolstered by the confidence instilled in him from years of living with Gryffindors and finding his own way in the world. Lennox would continue to be a sarcastic person, but shield his heart less - friendships would be genuine and handled with more care, and though he would be a flirt, he might attempt a serious relationship at some point. Gryffindor would’ve groomed Lennox into a different man entirely: more open, happier, and ultimately put him on a path where he has more power over his own future than he does now.
It was loyalty and a good heart that placed him in Hufflepuff house, and perhaps more than that the hat saw in him that he needed a family to care for him more immediately than he needed friends to encourage him. Haneul loves Hufflepuff and always has, it’s where he found some of his closest friends, among those warm individuals a small boy from halfway across the world was able to find a place to call home and such a place has always been important to him.
But it’s ambition that bleeds through his veins. Few people will look beneath the colourful hair and sing-song soul to see the ferocity of a boy long meant for greatness, nor will they watch close enough to see the force and power he has always been capable of. Fame, fortune and international recognition are the foundations of his family and no one has carried them as well as Haneul has in all of their history. Prodigy would be a fitting title, in the performing world very few people have the solid familial background and artistic capabilities as one Haneul Yun, he’s the pride and joy of his family and for good reason. A competition winner, lead performer, with offers to study on both sides of the world in performing schools, he’s always been someone who strives to make his family proud and in doing so has accomplished more than most at his age. If the hat had not seen that a nervous, young boy needed immediate comfort from those around him then no doubt he would’ve been placed among the snakes. Slytherin would’ve suited a boy like Haneul well, being placed among housemates who could’ve pushed him to work hard would've provided him with the competitive environment familiar to him back home and, no doubt, he would’ve flourished in the environment. Not to mention he would’ve really liked sleeping under the lake.
serpent songs
Alive - SHINee
Check In - Seventeen
Cool World - Red Velvet
Eraser - Taeyeon
Guess Who - Taemin
Knock - KNK
Married to the Music - SHINee
Power - EXO
Whistle - BLACKPINK
WHO - Seventeen
in the pit
The bag slung from his shoulder swung as Haneul walked his way down to the dungeons. He’d spent the evening training, of course, having run laps about the grounds and practised several new routines before he’d decided to call it a night and strolled back into the castle as though he had even half the energy he’d had when he left. Of course he was actually exhausted, when the adrenaline wore off he’d no doubt collapse into a puddle on his bed, the navy locks atop his head giving him away. Exhausted and hot, his skin prickled with heat, sweat clung to his form and he was always grateful for the cooler air the dungeons held. Nothing was better than training for hours, reaching his physical limits, and then feeling the gradual change as he weaved deeper into the castle’s underground and found the entrance to the common room.
There was always a quiet understanding there which he appreciated, while Slytherin held some of the bigger personalities of the school, the show-offs and needlessly arrogant fools who’d been raised to crave the spotlight, there was also a mutual understanding among most that they were all much too busy to be causing havoc for each other. No, not to their own. Respect was a feeling deeply rooted in Slytherin, while those outside their house might not necessarily earn their warm favour- Han’s excluded, of course, as he was as bright as he was ambitious- many of those residing within the dungeons understood that causing chaos among their own was rather pointless and so there were boundaries that remained solid between them.
It meant Haneul could enter the common room and people were quite happy that in his tired state he didn’t offer warm welcomes to everyone he came across, instead he strolled through in a hurry to reach his dorm so he could shower before bed, he was definitely ready to call it a night and sleep off the aches that so often began trickling into his limbs when he’d worked them so hard for hours on end. There were few things nicer than the cool quiet of his dorm, of flopping down onto deep green sheets, bag dropped off at the end of his bed, knowing that none of his dorm mates would bother him when he nodded off in a splay of limbs. Though he would have to remember to bother getting some pyjamas on, once or twice he’d wandered straight out of the shower in nothing more than a towel and dozed off just like that, waking up the next morning to find he’d almost exposed himself for the majority of the night. Luckily many of his dorm mates now knew if he nodded off in just a towel they were free to throw a blanket over him, both so he didn’t catch cold and so he wasn’t flashing everyone in his sleep. He, of course, was completely comfortable with his body but even so he wasn’t overly keen with the idea of accidentally being naked. If people were going to see him without clothes on he definitely wanted a choice in the matter.
All such thoughts were in the back of his mind when-
“Oh!”
Distracted in an instant he swerved before he could head off to the dorms and instead he was running and then diving into a seat set into the window, bag shrugged off his shoulder so he could press both hands up against the glance- his nose too, smushed against the surface- and squinted into the glinting waters of the lake where the mere shadow of the squid remained in the distance. Still, it was enough and Haneul found himself grinning, filled with energy once more with his temporary joy. This was perhaps his favourite thing about Slytherin, not the people or the attitude but the place itself, tucked away beneath the lake it meant the windows were always alive with some kind of movement, distant or near. And he loved it. He loved getting brief glimpses of the squid when the gigantic creature decided to peek inside the common room and see what they were up to, in his first year Haneul had spent hours at a time in the evenings sat in this very same seat, his face pressed to the window as he waited and waited and waited for even a glimpse of the thing. How he longed to befriend it, to feed his curiosity and learn more about the neighbour that so few people ever got a proper glimpse of. Many were convinced the squid was a male but Haneul was quite sure, sometimes at least, that the squid was in fact a lady. A large, lovely, shy lady who liked to check up on them from time to time, who kept a watchful eye over the lake and it’s inhabitants. The mother of the lake, perhaps? A beautiful, gracious creature who liked to eat toast- so he’d heard- and on several occasions had tossed students back towards the shore when they’d swam too far and lost their energy. There was definitely a maternal feel about it, whatever it may be, and out of all the wonders Slytherin house offered the squid’s brief company was undoubtedly the one he treasured most.
