When you're a Harry Potter fan, one of the most important things is which Hogwarts House you are part of. You have merchandise that bears your house colors, you get into arguments with fellow fans about which house is better, and you are fiercely loyal to the house that you are proud to call yours.
Unfortunately, it's not all fun and games. Not everyone feels like they fit into their house. With the Pottermore test, people who thought they belonged in one house were suddenly thrown into another. Of course, you could deny the result you get, but the questions, choices, and corresponding house results were written by J.K. Rowling herself. You don't want to go against that. My sister went from being a loyal Slytherin to being a Hufflepuff; a complete 180. Luckily, my sister merged nicely into her new house, and now proudly wears her Hufflepuff hoodie out whenever she can. But some people don't get so lucky.
Evanna Lynch, otherwise known as Luna "Loony" Lovegood, claimed Ravenclaw until the test placed her in Gryffindor; Ron Weasley himself was placed into Hufflepuff. It's very difficult to uproot yourself from one house to the other when you are so sure that you project the traits of the house you are loyal to. Another issue that arises is when you take the test multiple times, just to check, and get two different results. What then? What happens when you face a House Identity Crisis?
Obviously, don't panic. Remember that your house doesn't always define who you are. Peter Pettigrew was a spineless coward; Cedric Diggory and Nymphadora Tonks were the bravest Hufflepuffs the series ever introduces; Regulus Black willingly went against the Dark Lord, to stop him from creating more Horcruxes and extending his reign; and we can't forget Gildoroy Lockheart, who's Ravenclaw tendencies were only useful in making him famous. These characters were sorted into houses that boasted one trait while they showed another. Not all Gryffindors are brave, not all Hufflepuffs are stupid, not all Slytherins are evil, and not all Ravenclaws are smart. It's important to remember this if you don't feel smart enough as a Ravenclaw, or brave enough as a Gryffindor.
So what happens when you get placed into two different houses? In the Harry Potter universe, a character who sits under the Sorting Hat for longer than five minutes is called a hat stall. This is when the Sorting Hat has a tougher time deliberating which house it wants to place you in, and according to Pottermore's website, only happens once every fifty years or so. The closest to come to hat stalls were Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom. The sorting hat spent nearly four minutes, according to Pottermore, deliberating whether or not to put Hermione in Ravenclaw or Slytherin. Neville, on the other hand, was determined to be placed in Hufflepuff, while the hat wanted him in Gryffindor. The only true hat stalls known to Harry were Peter Pettigrew and Professor McGonagall. Like Hermione, the latter had the sorting hat caught between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. The former had the hat caught between Gryffindor and Slytherin (like I said, not all Gryffindors are brave). Sometimes, people cannot be pinned down to one specific trait. It's okay to have one foot in two different houses, it just means you're a well-rounded individual.
Personally, I have always been a Gryffindor. My first take on the Pottermore test was Gryffindor. My second time, however, I got Ravenclaw. All of my friends believe I should be Ravenclaw, because intelligence is my biggest trait, and I hold it in a higher regard compared to anything else. Again, I point you in the direction of Hermione and professor McGonagall, who are both fiercely intelligent, fiercely brave women. I might not be brave according to Harry Potter standards: I don't throw myself willingly into danger, I'm introverted, I have anxiety. There are things I do, however, that do make me brave. Getting up and delivering a speech, or making an important phone call; when I do things that normally make me anxious, it makes me feel braver.
That's another thing: people come in all shapes and sizes, with any personality you can think of. Just because you don't fall under the direct, immediate definition of a house (bravery, intelligence, ambition, loyalty), it does not mean you are not a member of your house. Just because you are a Slytherin, it doesn't mean you are the worst person alive. Slytherins can be good. Slytherins are not evil, they are ambitious. They know what they want and they take it for themselves, no matter who or what gets in their way. Yes, most Slytherins in the series are evil, but I did point out that Regulus sacrificed himself for the good of the Wizarding World, to see Voldemort crumble. That doesn't seem like someone who is evil.
To be honest, you don't need to worry if you suffer from House Identity Crisis. What matters in the Harry Potter universe is that you are your best self. Whether that is as a Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, or any combination of the four, as long as you feel that loyalty, that is what matters. My sister might be a proud Hufflepuff, but personally, I am a proud Gryffinclaw. Nothing and no one is going to take that away from me.
