The Pensieve

[Roxy Black]

Welcome New Members!

Within this thread the Navy members have posted their memories and experiences from the forums. Please feel free to explore this thread at will and learn that you are not alone. All of these members can seem a bit daunting at first but this thread is designed to show you that we were once new members like you, stumbling around the forums and learning through mistakes.

Have fun and welcome to the forums!
~ Roxy

[SnowyHedwig112]

Hey, Roxy! -waves- Anyways, what's so great about Gryffindor? I can tell you that.

In the book, first of all, Gryffindor is, well, the 'best' house, namely because the Golden Trio are all in it. So (this is just personally) it usually makes people feel special-er when they are in the 'best' house, because it makes them feel the best. (I don't know how that makes Gryffindor great, but I think it does in some way ) I'm not trying to make fun of the other houses, they're just as great and wonderful! But for some people, being in the house that all the heroes within Harry Potter are in makes you feel better .

Also, if any new members from before the time of the wonderful Navy have noticed, whenever a new member comes to the Tower in the Gryffindor sub-forums, and declares themself "new" or "new here" or something like that, a wide, multi-colored chorus of "WELCOME (insert name here)!!!!!!". Maybe it's a little scary to be screamed "WELCOME!" at, but trust me, the Gryffs are NOT a bunch of scary, screaming people. They are awesome, very, very nice, but I will admit, a tad bit insane, so you better watch out before they start rubbing off on you (which they already have on me )

Hmm...new member experiences? Well, first of all, it may not be the best one, but getting PM-ed by Kumy saying that my post in a General Fanfic Discussion thread was harsh. It made me feel bad, because I was new to the forums, but the Gryffs (and especially Kumy) are always there for each other! I don't believe I lost points for that post (it was too long ago, Fall Term...I think), but a lot of people, when replying, thought my post was a bit too mean. Also, when Kumy PM-ed me, welcoming me to Gryffindor, which I've heard she does whenever she can (I know, much Kumy, but she's awesome).

Old member? I really don't know about anything truly significant in the CR or Tower that was really awesome, nice, or Gryff-promoting. I would say the time when I made BeautifulDreamer07, I think, cry over my drabble, but that's not Gryff-related....

Anyways, this is a cool sub-forum!
~Kathy/SnowyHedwig112

[hansolohpfrk]

In the book, first of all, Gryffindor is, well, the 'best' house, namely because the Golden Trio are all in it. So (this is just personally) it usually makes people feel special-er when they are in the 'best' house, because it makes them feel the best. (I don't know how that makes Gryffindor great, but I think it does in some way )

However, I cannot emphasize enough how much all the other houses are great too! Slyths are NOT evil, Claws are NOT stuck-up-smart , and Puffs aren't stupid and pointless as they lead you to believe they are. I have so many friends in all the houses, and we have a ball! So, answer the questions on your test truthfully.

--Hanni

[mugglemathdork]

However, I cannot emphasize enough how much all the other houses are great too! Slyths are NOT evil, Claws are NOT stuck-up-smart , and Puffs aren't stupid and pointless as they lead you to believe they are.

*is in total agreement with Hanni*

Let's see...Ravenclaw House. Ravenclaws are cunning folk, wait is that the Slyths? Lol.

Actually, Ravenclaws come in all different shapes and sizes, and we're all a bunch of crazy people. Literally.
We spam our CR, and then get reprimanded by our lovely HoH, and at times we've gotten our CR taken away. We give ourselves weird names (Turnips or Sprouts), and begin even weirder clubs that die off after a couple of weeks, but are a lot of fun like SASS, or NRS.
>.>
<.<
Yeah, you don't want to know what either one stands for.

*clears throat*

We also have the Turnip O'Doom! And of course, there's our pet mascot "Turnip the Plot Bunny"

We're all a tight knit group of people, and try our best to make newbies welcomed. We share a lot of jokes, and support each other's writing. We have a lot of fun threads because as much as we all love spamming (which gets us in trouble) or having real philosophical discussions, we like to have fun. I don't know if we're supposed to share about our actual threads on here *looks suspiciously around at other Houses* but trust me...they're fun *points at her siggy w/Guess the Turnip*

My Sprout experiences were rather laid back, but I learned that to be part of the Ravenclaw craziness, I'd have to jump in head first into the fun. I can tell you by experience, that I started off with a group of newbies who I've become rather good friends with on the forums; From what I've observed in our Tower that usually happens to all new groups of newbies we have. On another note, I was rather proud of myself when I entered my first drabble ever at the Three Broomsticks (w/ Loralie) and won! *smirks*

As for my Turnip experiences, I can say that those have stretched me all over the forums. I've become more involved in different activities around the forums once I ventured outside the CR. Lol. And it feels good to be looked up at by the newbies.
There's really too much to do here on the MNFF boards, and it might seem overwhelming at first, but I recommend that you pick a thing you really want to excel at, and go for it. I started out drabbling and betaing. I no longer really do either, but I do other stuff now...beta mentor, gauntlet guide, etc. My focus now is more on helping others, but that's just me.

~Ritta/Slyth at Heart *smirk*

[tc015]

I have a long story about how I got into Gryffindor.

When I first joined the forums, I did not expect to be in Gryffindor. I really didn't want to. *dodges flying tomatoes* Gryffindor was always in my mind, the big popular house where everyone who is cool goes. From the books, I always got the impression that all the best characters were in that house. I thought that the view was lopsided. I didn't like the idea that this house was superior to the others, so I wanted to be in another house apart from that.

After I finally figured out how to be sorted, I took the test, completely expecting to be a textbook Ravenclaw. Then I got my results. I was in complete in shock when I read that I was Gryffindor. I didn't want to be Gryffindor; it was where I least expected to be. I thought I was more of a Slytherin than a Grff. I took a look at the Gryffindor CR, and I soon realized how wrong I was.

I was so nervous when I first looked at the CR. It was so big and confusing. I took one look at Tower, and was extremely nervous. The first day I just read through that last couple of pages in the Tower, and posted something in the Introduction Thread. The next day I came back, and there were five new pages of posts in the Tower. I was completely scared. It was late in the summer when I joined, so everyone was online.

Eventually, I got the guts to post in the Tower. Everything fell into place, and I realized that my first impression of Gryffindor was wrong. I didn't realize what I kind group of people I had joined. Now I think of myself as a Gryff. My idea of Gryff now is someone who is kind, good-hearted, competive, and a bit crazy.

Here is some more general information about Gryffindor.

Our current HOH is Nat or Mrsgeorgeweasley. She was orginally a Puff who became a Gryff when we were in need of a prefect. When Beth(Marauder by Midnight) left, she became our HOH. Our prefect is Andrea. You can ask both of them any questions you may have.

The mascot of Gryffindor is the Toaster. I don't know the story of how it came about because that was before my time, but I think it had something to do about the litte Toaster that could. Don't trust my word on this, though.

At one point, we had a big problem with spam in Gryffindor. We had several warnings and many mods telling us off until Beth closed the Tower temporarily. The tower was opened again, and our spam was put to an end.

Challenges are a big deal in Gryff. Everyone encourages each other to enter the challenges. When I think of challenges, Kumy immeadiately comes to mind. She is the Gryffindor cheerleader. She posts entry counts, due dates for various challenges, and other things.

Gryffindor is like one big happy family sometimes. You don't realize what Gryffindor really is until you become one. You can always ask a Gryff any questions you have. I swear, we don't bite.

~ Teresa

[coppercurls]

Well it looks like we need a Hufflepuff representitive or two in here so I'm going to dive right in.

Probably one of the most negative connotations within the book rests with Hufflepuff because we always see them through a Gryffindor point of view which is tainted with school rivalry. However, I defy you right now to say that Puffs are just a bunch of duffers.

One of the best examples of this is Cedric Diggory. He was a triwizard champion- the official triwizard champion- for Hogwarts. He didn't get there for being either stupid or a push over. He is intelligent, a trait you also see in Susan Bones in the books, and he certainly has courage. He never lorded it over Harry when he beat him in the quidditch match- instead he wanted to try again citing it as unfair. He had the self denial to give up glory both with the match and more importantly even with the cup itself. That is not the act of a push over.

When I first joined Hufflepuff on the old forums I was dissapointed at first. And then I suddnely realized that it was where I fit. I serve as the peacemaker between my friends. I do tend to put the needs of others before myself. I can rival a donkey in muleheadedness. Like a terrier I grab onto my dreams and never let go. And best of all, I could see these traits in my housemates too.

When the old forum was being taken down for this new one to be put up, my greatest fear was that I would no longer be a Hufflepuff. I'd made good friends there who had helped me overcome my initial shyness and helped me navigate my way around the boards.

PhysicalGraffiti, or Elysa, is our wonderful head of house. She keeps us in line, but always makes sure there are many interesting things for us to do. A true Hufflepuff, her work on her site Apathy is Lethal proves that people can make a difference in the world.

Our lovely prefect, Roxy Black has been one of the oldest and most helpful users I can remember from my times as a newcomer to the forums. She was always patient with questions, and willing to lend a hand.

Our Common room is always busy, we have lots of contests that go up, as well as a short fling with blurs where we pulled our housemates into the Harry Potter universe for a drabble. The Badger burrow is a great place to chat, simply answer a couple of the topic questions and you are free to speak about anything until the next two are posted. We also have a paper, the Badger Bulletin which is always looking for good journalists. It also has done segments on certain puffs or their work in conjuction with Puff Cast. The Hufflepuff story, Neville's Greatest Treasure is also a fun way to add a line or two to a group project, we hope to see it up on MNFF soon!

The main mascot of Hufflepuff is the Badger, ours is named Philbert. Philbert likes to come out of his burrow to wave from time to time so you will probably see references to him around. Our other, much more unofficial, bordering on Hufflepuff joke are Crucio-s, the breakfast cereal of the Puffs (loosly based of Cheerio-s). This occured from a drabble by Rob, and had a flare of popularity that seems to have finally died down.

Despite the fact that we are a very cheerful and helpful house, we also like to participate in challenges, both on the boards in our commonroom. You are encouraged to just jump right in and try one or to ask any older members if you have questions. Challenges are also a great way to see different styles of writing or takes on the same character.

I'd like to sum this all up with one quote that I think suits Hufflepuff above all:
"Your compassion is a trait your enemies will not share.
That's what seperates us from them."
(Yes that was from Batman Begins- but it is no less true.)

All said, welcome to Hufflepuff!

[FanficWriterNikki]

Personally, I would be glad to be in any house. I know people in all the houses who are amazing. When I first joined MNFF, while taking the sorting quiz I was expecting to be in Ravenclaw or Gryffindor. When I submitted my quiz and read that I was a Hufflepuff, I was upset. I didn't want to be in Hufflepuff. I thought Hufflepuffs were the stupid, pushover house where they put everyone who doesn't really belong.

Over a year and a half later, I feel the complete opposite. I love my house and my housemates to death. I found out that Hufflepuffs are loyal, hardworking, and not even close to beings pushovers. We can be quite stubborn and stick to what we believe in (which can cause a little trouble sometimes when we are all in one place together). We'll stick together no matter what and we will fight for what we want. We are used to working hard since we have to work so hard to over come the stereotypical thoughts people have about Hufflepuffs. I have learned that Hufflepuffs are kind of like the people who didn't possess one of the defining traits of Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, or Slytherin (I think in the book it even has Helga saying she'd take the rest), but that's what makes us such an amazing house. We have incredibly intelligent people, we are brave, and we can be rather cunning at times. We really have a diverse group of people in Hufflepuff, which makes it a really fun house. I've met all sorts of people here and they are some of the best friends I think I've ever had. It really is amazing. There are people in this house who I would have never thought I had anything in common with, but we ended up being together and I'm really glad that I did meet them.

People assume Hufflepuffs are really, really sweet and nice, almost too nice. We can have quite a vicious wrath if provoked, but typically we are all rather nice. Because of this, if any of us ever have a question about anything, we can ask any one person or the group as a whole. If the group as a whole is asked, whoever asked the question does not need to worry about snarky comments or feeling stupid because we are very loyal to our friends and housemates. In all my time at MNFF, I have only met one Hufflepuff who I wasn't too fond of, but if the time came where this badger was defenseless or in need of help, I would still be the first to stand up and help them. They are still my housemate, and I will not abandon that. I also made quite a few excellent friends when I first joined MNFF. Many of those people are no longer active here, but we still contact each other. This was our link to each other, but our friendship is still here and we are not the type of people who can just abandon that.

I honestly feel that had I been sorted in any other house, I still would've loved that house and the people in it, but in Hufflepuff I just feel so at home. I just fit in perfectly. At first I was not at all happy about being a badger (and I know many now-proud Puffs share this feeling), but really being a badger is a wonderful thing and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

EDIT: That was a little long...Well, that just goes to show that I cannot say enough about how lovely my house is.

[POTCgirl1337]

First and foremonst, I'm going to start off by saying that all the prejudiceness about the House of Salazar Slytherin is COMPLETLY UNTRUE! Here in the color green, we do not hate Gryffindors, Ravenclaws or Hufflepuffs, nor do we try to get points taken away from them in any way.

When I came here, I really had no idea what house I was going to be in, I, like Teresa, wasn't all that fond of Gryffindor, just because everyone thinks that's where the 'cool people' go. But, I thought that was the most likely house for me. I knew I wasn't going to be in Hufflepuff, as my friends consider me more 'evil' than 'nice', and I doubted I would be in Ravenclaw. I'm a HUGE book worm, and I get good grades (amazingly so, since I never study) but that's not me. I was extremly shocked when I got the PM saying I was a Slytherin, but now that I look back, I wouldn't have it any other way. (I'm not trying to insult the other houses, but I'm a true Slyth at heart)!

Starting off, I didn't post anything in the Common Rooms, I was to sacared. It's the same thing that a First Year doesn't try to make friends with a Fourth Year, they're to scared. But after a week or two, someone in my house (I'm sorry to say I forget who) sent me a PM wondering why I hadn't posted in the CR yet, and introduced myself. Instead of telling her I was to scared, I made up some crack pot lie that I hadn't seen it! I regret not comming on sooner.

As soon as I intruduced myself, I was bombarded with tons of WELCOMEs and attacked my millions of *tackle hugs*. Ever since then, I was more confident with posting on MNFF, and have been an active member. All of us Slyths were spamming up our common room so badly, we actually made our own new chat forum, which we dubbed the Conga room. There, we had a HUGE New Years Party, and I spent hours talking, drinking smoothies and ridding on the back of my Mangaroo (Kangaroo): Joey.

Moral of the story is, don't worry about your house, or think that if your a Claw, you have to be extremly smart, and only post intelligent comments. Or complement every person you meet if you a Badger. Be extremly brave/bold/outspoken if your a sorted Gryff. Or hate everyone who isn't a Slyth, if you are.

We all have our own mascot, key words or funny sayings, that you only get if your in that house, and fi you turn out to be a Slyth, don't be afraid to PM anyone, snakes may bite, but we don't!

~Cass

[Ron x Hermione]

I came across Mugglenet Fan Fiction forums quite a few months ago saying, "Well, I'll just make a unique screenname and be gone the next day,". /gasps

It never happened.

I've now been here since the middle of November, and I have been on nearly every single day for hours upon hours. I absolutely LOVE *and huggle every time I get the chance* the wonderful people and friends I've made here. I saw how, in our common room, everyone knew the others' name, and I kind of felt left out . . . and then, I received a few pms from people, and have felt extremely welcome ever since.

I've found that entering the challenges and contest the forums has is quite challenging, and sometimes ever rewarding. The weekly drabble challenge last, of course, a week, and there are other monthly drabble challenges. (500 words). Then there is a Two month challenge (Currently there is the Spring Challenge), and there are about six prompts that you may enter in.

Online, you know how when you're bored and you surf the net, looking for something to do? Well, I would always find these random House Sorting quizzes online, and would always end up in Gryffindor. I always felt like I was like our beloved Trio. But when I took the sorting quiz and got sorted into Hufflepuff, I was kind of surprised; and disappointed, unfortunately. I thought that, since we know most about Gryffindor and Slytherin from the books, I would be "just another member in Hufflepuff" and I almost felt like leaving. Now, MNFF is where I spend a few hours a day . . . I absolutely love every single one of the Puff members, and converse with a lot of them daily. I even head one of the games (where you can meet new people, go figure) in the common room there.

People from all over are on Mugglenet, and I live in America, as where I know people who live in parts of Europe, Austrailia, China, and other parts of Asia. I find that this is a great way to meet people in other world countries, as well as converse about your favorite things, and the reason you are here: Harry Potter.

Here, you are also able to get LOVELY/BEAUTIFUL/ GORGEOUS etc, etc, etc banners for your stories. The people that make them are just as amazing as can be, and you can even make even more friends in the process of requesting a banner.

It's quite sad (lol) how much I am on, so if anyone needs a friend or someone to pm, Lindsey is here. *giggles*

I wish any newbie a wonderful life here on the forums, and happy writing to all!

~Lindsey

[MrsRuebeusHagridDursley]

Hello everyone!

So, what's great about Hufflepuff? Lots of things! We have fun contests, and there's always some sort of game or contest in out CR. Usually, there's quite a few! From the four months or so that I've been here, us 'Puffs have never gotten out tower taken away for spamming. We're always pretty on topic, and focused on our work. But there are always those games!

I have to say though, in order to really enjoy your time as a Puff, you must set aside the view in the books and movies. The personalities here aren't as distinct as in the books. I know for sure that I have traits from the other three houses. Also, I've got friends in every single house. Most of us do.

Anyways, if you're a newbie, and seem to be doing every thing wrong, it's OK. You're not. Plus, there is absolutely no way that you've made more mistakes than me. I think I made like three in one hour! I've gotten better, and more used to this strange place. Now, it's not strange, or scary at all!

Hope this helps, welcome, guys!