BETA CASE FILE #4: Great Hall and Common Room

*SPOILER ALERT! This post contains images and information about my experience in Pottermore. So, if you don't want to know anything because you want to experience it all yourself, then now is the time to STOP READING THIS.

Still reading? Then I guess you don't mind, and so, feel free to read and enjoy! ^_^

It's been almost a week since I first entered Pottermore. I've been doing my best to help Slytherin earn House points. I've found all of the hidden objects, practiced casting spells to prepare for when dueling is up, and of course, brewing, brewing, and some more brewing. 

Since like many of us, I have to deal with real life, and so, I cannot brew potions all day. But it helps to be aware of how much I need to make up for the time I couldn't help Slytherin out. And so, every now and then, I sneak a peek at the Great Hall to see the stats and monitor which House is currently in the lead. During my eight hours at work, I look at the Great Hall at least three times. I also drop inside our common room to make sure everyone is doing fine and that there are people trying to earn us some more points.


So, with the frequency of my visits to the Great Hall and the Slytherin common room, a few things have come to my attention.


FIRST, I don't know about you, but when I think of the Great Hall and the common rooms, I imagine that it is THE place in Hogwarts where the students get to mingle with each other. We get to talk to our Housemates in our common room, while we get to talk to our friends in other Houses while in the Great Hall. So I was a little disappointed when I realized that TALKING would be a bit difficult  with just the current COMMENTS section. I'm not sure if this feature was made in order for us to communicate with each other, but it seems that is exactly what it's being used for now. So I think, Pottermore should really find a way to make it easier for us to communicate with each other while in these areas. I know they said that they are not a social networking site like Twitter or Facebook, but wouldn't it be AMAZING to get to talk to other Potterheads from all over the world? And we also need to talk to each other in order to get help in earning points. I mean, they allowed us to add each other as friends, so why not let us talk to each other easily. One way they could do this is by letting us reply to comments and get notifications when someone replies or mentions us anywhere on Pottermore. I find it very hard to scroll down all the comments just to check if someone answered a question I posted. 


SECOND, I wish the Great Hall and the common room weren't just pages on Pottermore, but a more interactive area, like a room that we can explore, similar to the feature found in J.K. Rowling's Official Website. After reading the description of the Slytherin common room in the welcome letter, I was expecting to be able to roam around, click on a few doors, and explore the place. The same thing for the Great Hall, I was expecting that we could click on the tables where the different Houses would sit, and get to interact with our friends in those Houses. I was also hoping that the ceiling of the Great Hall would be shown changing depending on the weather or season. It was kind of sad to see that it was just a fixed page. 


To sum it all up, I just really want Pottermore to offer more interactive and social features on their website. Harry Potter has such a HUGE fan base, and I'm sure a lot of us (like me) are really interested to get to interact with our friends about something that we love. If they are worried about CHILD SAFETY, then they could still do what they do with our comments and moderate them. Or, if they could include a chat feature for friends, then they could limit this to those users who are above 18 or 21. But if minors even get to use Twitter, Facebook, and other social networking sites, I don't think Pottermore should worry themselves over this and just give us the social features. I mean, kids do have parents anyway, so they could be the one's to moderate what's happening.




Again, just my thoughts. Tell me what you think. ^_~

BETA CASE FILE #2: New Material from Philosopher's Stone

*SPOILER ALERT! This post contains images and information about my experience in Pottermore. So, if you don't want to know anything because you want to experience it all yourself, then now is the time to STOP READING THIS.

Still reading? Then I guess you don't mind, and so, feel free to read and enjoy! ^_^




One of the promises made by J.K. Rowling about Pottermore was that she would be placing new material about some of the characters and aspects not mentioned in the Harry Potter books. This is one of the things I was really looking forward to since I was always curious about the story behind many of the characters, Hogwarts History, and what was happening to everyone else during summer break or when Harry was busy looking for the Horcruxes.


It would be expected that J.K.R. wouldn't place all of her new material in the first book. Since the Philosopher's Stone introduces the magical world of Harry Potter, I expected the new material to do the same thing. They will be revealing more than the books, but not too much to cause us to lose our interest or to decrease our curiosity. 


Among the new material that was released in the first book on Pottermore, my favorite would be the material written on Professor McGonagall. I've always admired her since she reminds me of my favorite teacher, and she is the type of teacher I am trying to be. For a teacher, she is strict when she needs to be, supportive and protective of her students, and well respected by her colleagues and students. When Dumbledore was not around in Hogwarts, she was the next person that Harry trusted and ran to for help. So naturally, I was curious about who she was outside of Hogwarts and the classroom. After reading the new material, J.K.R. gave life to the Professor McGonaggal in a way I never could have thought of myself. Here is what's new from J.K.R.:

Childhood 

Minerva McGonagall was the first child, and only daughter, of a Scottish Presbyterian minister and a Hogwarts-educated witch. She grew up in the Highlands of Scotland in the early twentieth century, and only gradually became aware that there was something strange, both about her own abilities, and her parents’ marriage. 

Minerva’s father, the Reverend Robert McGonagall, had become captivated by the high-spirited Isobel Ross, who lived in the same village. Like his neighbours, Robert believed that Isobel attended a select ladies’ boarding school in England. In fact, when Isobel vanished from her home for months at a time, it was to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry that she went. 

Aware that her parents (a witch and wizard) would frown on a connection with the serious young Muggle, Isobel kept their burgeoning relationship a secret. By the time she was eighteen, she had fallen in love with Robert. Unfortunately, she had not found the courage to tell him what she was. 

The couple eloped, to the fury of both sets of parents. Now estranged from her family, Isobel could not bring herself to mar the bliss of the honeymoon by telling her smitten new husband that she had graduated top of her class in Charms at Hogwarts, nor that she had been Captain of the school Quidditch team. Isobel and Robert moved into a manse (minister’s house) on the outskirts of Caithness, where the beautiful Isobel proved surprisingly adept at making the most of the minister’s tiny salary. 

The birth of the young couple’s first child, Minerva, proved both a joy and a crisis. Missing her family, and the magical community she had given up for love, Isobel insisted on naming her newborn daughter after her own grandmother, an immensely talented witch. The outlandish name raised eyebrows in the community in which she lived, and the Reverend Robert McGonagall found it difficult to explain his wife’s choice to his parishioners. Furthermore, he was alarmed by his wife’s moodiness. Friends assured him that women were often emotional after the birth of a baby, and that Isobel would soon be herself again.
Isobel, however, became more and more withdrawn, often secluding herself with Minerva for days at a time. Isobel later told her daughter that she had displayed small, but unmistakable, signs of magic from her earliest hours. Toys that had been left on upper shelves were found in her cot. The family cat appeared to do her bidding before she could talk. Her father’s bagpipes were occasionally heard to play themselves from distant rooms, a phenomenon that made the infant Minerva chuckle. 

Isobel was torn between pride and fear. She knew that she must confess the truth to Robert before he witnessed something that would alarm him. At last, in response to Robert’s patient questioning, Isobel burst into tears, retrieved her wand from the locked box under her bed and showed him what she was.
Although Minerva was too young to remember that night, its aftermath left her with a bitter understanding of the complications of growing up with magic in a Muggle world. Although Robert McGonagall loved his wife no less upon discovering that she was a witch, he was profoundly shocked by her revelation, and by the fact that she had kept such a secret from him for so long. What was more, he, who prided himself on being an upright and honest man, was now drawn into a life of secrecy that was quite foreign to his nature. Isobel explained, through her sobs, that she (and their daughter) were bound by the International Statute of Secrecy, and that they must conceal the truth about themselves, or face the fury of the Ministry of Magic. Robert also quailed at the thought of how the locals - in the main, an austere, straight-laced and conventional breed - would feel about having a witch as their Minister’s wife. 

Love endured, but trust had been broken between her parents, and Minerva, a clever and observant child, saw this with sadness. Two more children, both sons, were born to the McGonagalls, and both, in due course, revealed magical ability. Minerva helped her mother explain to Malcolm and Robert Junior that they must not flaunt their magic, and aided her mother in concealing from their father the accidents and embarrassments their magic sometimes caused. 

Minerva was very close to her Muggle father, whom in temperament she resembled more than her mother. She saw with pain how much he struggled with the family’s strange situation. She sensed, too, how much of a strain it was for her mother to fit in with the all-Muggle village, and how much she missed the freedom of being with her kind, and of exercising her considerable talents.
Minerva never forgot how much her mother cried, when the letter of admittance into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry arrived on Minerva’s eleventh birthday; she knew that Isobel was sobbing, not only out of pride, but also out of envy. 

School Career 

As is often the case where the young witch or wizard comes from a family who has struggled with its magical identity, Hogwarts was, for Minerva McGonagall, a place of joyful release and freedom. 

Minerva drew unusual attention to herself on her very first evening, when she was revealed to be a Hatstall. After five and a half minutes, the Sorting Hat, which had been vacillating between the houses of Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, placed Minerva in the latter. (In later years, this circumstance was a subject of gentle humour between Minerva and her colleague Filius Flitwick, over whom the Sorting Hat suffered the same confusion, but reached the opposite conclusion. The two Heads of house were amused to think that they might, but for those crucial moments in their youths, have exchanged positions). 

Minerva was quickly recognised as the most outstanding student of her year, with a particular talent for Transfiguration. As she progressed through the school, she demonstrated that she had inherited both her mother’s talents and her father’s cast-iron moral sense. Minerva’s school career overlapped by two years with that of Pomona Sprout, later Head of Hufflepuff House, and the two women enjoyed an excellent relationship both then, and in later years. 

By the end of her education at Hogwarts, Minerva McGonagall had achieved an impressive record: top grades in O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s, Prefect, Head Girl, and winner of the Transfiguration Today Most Promising Newcomer award. Under the guidance of her inspirational Transfiguration teacher, Albus Dumbledore, she had managed to become an Animagus; her animal form, with its distinctive markings (tabby cat, square spectacles markings around eyes) were duly logged in the Ministry of Magic’s Animagus Registry. Minerva was also, like her mother, a gifted Quidditch player, although a nasty fall in her final year (a foul during the Gryffindor versus Slytherin game which would decide the Cup winner) left her with concussion, several broken ribs and a lifelong desire to see Slytherin crushed on the Quidditch pitch. Though she gave up Quidditch on leaving Hogwarts, the innately competitive Professor McGonagall later took a keen interest in the fortunes of her house team, and retained a keen eye for Quidditch talent. 

Early Heartbreak

Upon graduation from Hogwarts, Minerva returned to the manse to enjoy one last summer with her family before setting out for London, where she had been offered a position at the Ministry of Magic (Department of Magical Law Enforcement). These months were to prove some of the most difficult of Minerva’s life, for it was then, aged only eighteen, that she proved herself truly her mother’s daughter, by falling head-over-heels in love with a Muggle boy. 

It was the first and only time in Minerva McGonagall’s life that she might have been said to lose her head. Dougal McGregor was the handsome, clever and funny son of a local farmer. Though less beautiful than Isobel, Minerva was clever and witty. Dougal and Minerva shared a sense of humour, argued fiercely, and suspected mysterious depths in each other. Before either of them knew it, Dougal was on one knee in a ploughed field, proposing, and Minerva was accepting him.
She went home, intending to tell her parents of her engagement, yet found herself unable to do so. All that night she lay awake, thinking about her future. 

Dougal did not know what she, Minerva, truly was, any more than her father had known the truth about Isobel before they had married. Minerva had witnessed at close quarters the kind of marriage she might have if she wed Dougal. It would be the end of all her ambitions; it would mean a wand locked away, and children taught to lie, perhaps even to their own father. She did not fool herself that Dougal McGregor would accompany her to London, while she went to work every day at the Ministry. He was looking forward to inheriting his father’s farm.
Early next morning, Minerva slipped from her parents’ house and went to tell Dougal that she had changed her mind, and could not marry him. Mindful of the fact that if she broke the International Statute of Secrecy she would lose the job at the Ministry for which she was giving him up, she could give him no good reason for her change of heart. She left him devastated, and set out for London three days later. 

Ministry Career 

Though undoubtedly her feelings for the Ministry of Magic were coloured by the fact that she had recently suffered an emotional crisis, Minerva McGonagall did not much enjoy her new home and workplace. Some of her co-workers had an engrained anti-Muggle bias which, given her adoration of her Muggle father, and her continuing love for Dougal McGregor, she deplored. Though a most efficient and gifted employee, and fond of her much older boss, Elphinstone Urquart, Minerva was unhappy in London, and found that she missed Scotland. Finally, after two years at the Ministry, she was offered a prestigious promotion, yet found herself turning it down. She sent an owl to Hogwarts, asking whether she might be considered for a teaching post. The owl returned within hours, offering her a job in the Transfiguration department, under Head of Department, Albus Dumbledore. 

Friendship with Albus Dumbledore 

The school greeted Minerva McGonagall’s return with delight. Minerva threw herself into her work, proving herself a strict but inspirational teacher. If she kept letters from Dougal McGregor locked in a box under her bed, this was (she told herself firmly) better than keeping her wand locked there. Nevertheless, it was a shock to learn from the oblivious Isobel (in the middle of a chatty letter of local news) that Dougal had married the daughter of another farmer. 

Albus Dumbledore discovered Minerva in tears in her classroom late that evening, and she confessed the whole story to him. Albus Dumbledore offered both comfort and wisdom, and told Minerva some of his own family history, previously unknown to her. The confidences exchanged that night between two intensely private and reserved characters were to form the basis of a lasting mutual esteem and friendship. 

Marriage

Through all her early years at Hogwarts, Minerva McGonagall remained on terms of friendship with her old boss at the Ministry, Elphinstone Urquart. He came to visit her while on holiday to Scotland, and to her great surprise and embarrassment, proposed marriage in Madam Puddifoot’s teashop. Still in love with Dougal McGregor, Minerva turned him down.

Elphinstone, however, had never ceased to love her, nor to propose every now and then, even though she continued to refuse him. The death of Dougal McGregor, however, although traumatic, seemed to free Minerva. Shortly after Voldemort’s first defeat, Elphinstone, now white-haired, proposed again during a summertime stroll around the lake in the Hogwarts grounds. This time Minerva accepted. Elphinstone, now retired, was beside himself with joy, and purchased a small cottage in Hogsmeade for the pair of them, whence Minerva could travel easily to work every day.

Known to successive generations of students as ‘Professor McGonagall,’ Minerva - always something of a feminist - announced that she would be keeping her own name upon marriage. Traditionalists sniffed - why was Minerva refusing to accept a pure-blood name, and keeping that of her Muggle father?
The marriage (cut tragically short, though it was destined to be) was a very happy one. Though they had no children of their own, Minerva’s nieces and nephews (children of her brothers Malcolm and Robert) were frequent visitors to their home. This was a period of great fulfillment for Minerva.

The accidental death of Elphinstone from a Venomous Tentacula bite, three years into their marriage, was an enormous sorrow to all who knew the couple. Minerva could not bear to remain alone in their cottage, but packed her things after Elphinstone’s funeral and returned to her sparse stone-floored bedroom in Hogwarts Castle, accessible through a concealed door in the wall of her first-floor study. Always a very brave and private person, she poured all her energies into her work, and few people - excepting perhaps Albus Dumbledore - ever realised how much she suffered.

This is exactly the type of material that I was hoping to read on Pottermore. It was amazing to read about her life and definitely proved to me that J.K.R. is a genius writer. Even if I tried to come up with my own back story for Professor McGonagall, I could never come up with the what she gave us.

So far, that's the one new material that I have been completely satisfied with. I'm still looking forward to find out more about Hogwarts, the other professors, and the House ghosts (like why did they try to behead Nearly Headless Nick, and why does Peeves only obey the Bloody Baron?). 

But what I really hope J.K.R. includes are the story between Lily and Petunia, Lily and Snape, and of course, Lily and James. It would be amazing to read how they all were connected to each other and how things ended up the way they did. Thinking about the possibilities even brings tears to my eyes.

So I am definitely going to be looking forward to the new books and the new materials, and I'll keep my fingers crossed that they will continue to be revealing enough to satisfy my curious mind.


But for now, I give Pottermore TWO THUMBS UP!

What about you? What new material did you like the most and what else are you hoping to read about in the upcoming books? Feel free to tell me ^_^

-- End of Beta Case File --

A Tight Fight for the House Cup!

NEWS FLASH!

Today, September 6, Tuesday, I have noticed that it has been a tight fight for the House Cup between Slytherin and Ravenclaw. 

I've been monitoring the House Points in the Great Hall for the day.

At 11:40am (11:40pm U.S.A. time) both Houses were tied:

Slytherin and Raveclaw Tied at 21,860 points

Throughout the day, both Houses have been scrambling for the lead. Sometimes Ravenclaw would be at the lead...

Slytherin: 21,878 and Ravenclaw: 21,879
 

Other times, Slytherin would gain the lead...

Slytherin: 22,385 and Ravenclaw: 22,380

And as of 11:32pm today (11:32am U.S.A. time), the points are still close to each other:

Slytherin: 22,813 and Ravenclaw: 22,801

But it's still a long term ahead of us all, so it's still everyone and every House's game! 

So find all those hidden objects, and practice your spells for when dueling finally opens. But for now, keep BREWING THAT POTION!!

Students Expelled? Lost? Leaving?

Original post was made on Willow's Peek on Tumblr.

Since entering Pottermore, I was able to finish the first book within 24 hours, and I was able to collect all of the hidden objects within two days. Now what’s left to do are to earn points for my house (Go SLYTHERIN!) and to try to think of ways to improve the site before it opens to everyone.

While I have many suggestions on the site, which I’ll mention on a different post, some of my other Pottermore Family noticed that the student population posted in the Great Hall has decreased. Since I just entered Pottermore Sunday morning and was too eager to get started, I did not notice this at all.

So last night, I took a screenshot of the numbers in the Great Hall to keep track of the points and number of students. Here it is:

Student Population: 144,224

These numbers were as of Monday, September 5, 10:30pm in the Philippines (September 5, 10:30am in the U.S.A)

Then this morning, Tuesday, September 6, at 10:15am in the Philippines (September 5, 10:15pm in the U.S.A.), I checked the numbers again and found this:

Student Population: 144,210

Notice that the student population has decreased from 144,224 to 144,210. So far, no explanation has been given by Pottermore so there are several theories about this. Once again, these are theories some of us in the Pottermore Family have, so they may be true or may not. As hardcore Potterheads, we just want to try and make our own guesses.

The theories:

1.    After SeekerRose184, pointed out to Pottermore and to the rest of us that there have been cheaters roaming around Hogwarts, one theory is that Pottermore might have been able to identify these individuals and have “expelled” them. (For more information about this issue, please visit: http://seekerrose.wordpress.com/)

2.   Another common theory amongst us is speculation that Pottermore may be trying to use different servers to accommodate the growing number of students in Hogwarts. We are guessing that one effect may be that we are all going to “different Hogwarts”, and thus, some of the new students may be "lost" to others.

3.   One reason, which I won't call a theory because it is happening, is that there are some students who get sorted into a different House than what they wanted. And so, they decide to "leave" Hogwarts by deleting their account. I have my own opinions on this matter, but that deserves an entirely different post.

4.   And lastly, since the site has been experiencing glitches, we cannot deny that there is a possibility that this is just another glitch in the site.

Once again, I stress that these (except for No.3) are merely THEORIES that may be true or not. We are all waiting to hear any updates from Pottermore, and I hope they explain what’s happening so at least we have a clear understanding of what’s going on in Hogwarts.

So keep your eyes and ears open while exploring Pottermore. Who knows what new information we may stumble upon. 

I am Magical!

Me: *Knock, knock*

Pottermore: Who's there?

Me: WillowNight27

Pottermore: Do you have your owl?

Me:YES! I FINALLY DO!

Pottermore: Ok. Welcome to Hogwarts!

Yes, my magical journey has already begun, having received my owl after a very long wait. Although I received it at the wee hours of the morning, I could not stop myself from signing in and getting started. I wanted to get to Diagon Alley so I could get my pet and my wand. And of course, the last thing would be to finally get sorted.

So I patiently explored the earlier chapters of the Philosopher's Stone, when finally I was in Diagon Alley. The pet I chose was a Tawny owl, since I've always wanted to have an owl like Hedwig. 

Then I had to get my wand, and what finally "chose" me was:

Adler with Dragon Core, Eleven and Three Quarter Inches, Slightly Springy

With all my books, magical equipment, owl, and wand, I was all set to finally go to Hogwarts and get sorted. 

So carefully I read each question for the sorting, and each question I answered honestly. Online sorting quizzes had placed me in Gryffindor, while I was expecting to be in Ravenclaw. In the end, I was finally sorted into...

Slytherin: "Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness"

While it was unexpected, it was a pleasant surprise for me. It just proved how brilliant and unpredictable this magical journey was going to be. 

And so, I am ready to help my House win the House Cup. I will do my best to explore the many aspects of Pottermore, and earn some points!

The magical journey is just beginning to unfold.

Case of the Lost Owl and a Scared Beta

August 6, Saturday, Pottermore official closed the Magical Quill challenge. 


Only one million accounts were registered for early access.


The promise? The one million Beta testers would be given early access to the website. Early access, meaning between August 15 to September 30. All Beta testers, including yours truly, would have to wait to receive a welcome email, which we later referred to as our "owls" since we all felt like young wizards and witches waiting for our turn to enter Hogwarts as first-years. 


With my Pottermore Family keeping me company, we all took turns on our Owl Watch. It was very helpful that we were all coming from different countries, so there was always someone on the lookout. 


August 15 to 21: Pottermore started sending out waves of owls. 


Unfortunately, my owl was not in any of them. At first I was fine with it since I was a Day 2 Beta, so I was expecting that they wouldn't be sending my owls just yet since they did say that they would be sent on a "first come, first serve" basis. 


BUT we soon found out that people from different days were already getting their owls. So while a majority of them were from Day 1 and 2, I felt a little put out with Pottermore since I found it unfair that some of the later days (Day 7s were getting in) already had their owls, while those who had to solve harder clues WITHOUT any hint as to when the clue was going to be posted were still owl-less Betas.


Don't get me wrong. I was sincerely happy for every person who got their owl with each wave. But that doesn't mean I couldn't be annoyed with Pottermore for making a false promise. 


It was also in this first week that we had the first weekend, and sadly, no owls were sent on Sunday. (For once Uncle Vernon was right, no posts on Sundays.)


So how was I to deal with this disappointment?


Aside from getting words of comfort from my Pottermore Family, I also busied myself with my first attempt at a blog on via tumblr (Willow's Peek on Tumblr), and I found myself re-writing songs for the rest of us in the No Owl Party. During this first week, I was able to record four songs ("All Out of Owls", "Owlinaire","You and Me", and "The Lazy Song") with the hope that they would help keep all owl-less Betas entertained.


August 22 to 28: Again, another wave of owls, but not as many as we were hoping given that September was just a few days away. 


By this time, many of my Pottermore Family were already in, except for me, of course. With each wave I found myself excited, even if I told myself not to get my hopes up. And as easily as that hope swelled, it was also easily deflated as hours would pass and still, I was owl-less. 


Once again, I found myself adding songs to my No Owl Party album. At the end of the week, I had another four songs ("Need My Owl", "Want My Owl", "Someday We'll Get My Owl", "A Hard Long Wait"). However, writing the songs could not ease the sadness I was feeling. I felt so terrible that weekend, especially after Pottermore annouced that it would soon be taking a break in order to fix issues with the website.


What if I didn't get in before the break? How long would I have to wait? Would that mean I would get just a week before October, when everyone else would be able to register?


These were the fears I had after every wave of owls that did not contain my owl.


August 29 to 31: Only THREE days to wait before September arrived. Still I was owl-less, but my hope was higher than ever since many of us speculated that they would send a huge wave of owls on September 1 being that it was the start of term at Hogwarts.


September 1: The start of term at Hogwarts, for Harry, Ron and Hermione, but apparently, NOT for Pottermore. 


Yes, many of us were disappointed when we realized that Pottermore was not going to send out owls. Many of us owl-less folk sneaked onto the Hogwarts Express, with the help of our Pottermore Family, as it left for Hogwarts. But I found myself stuck inside the Room of Requirement since I could not freely explore the castle without my owl.


September 2: They finally did send out some owls, but not as many as we hoped. And once again, I was still owl-less.


Songs were no longer enough to ease my disappointment and sadness. And so, I found a new hobby, which was to bombard Pottermore with mentions from me on their Twitter account. While I had no idea whether they actually do read their mentions, I felt calmer and more productive sending them messages. I went from simply mentioning that I had no owl, to almost begging them to send it to me. While I enjoyed the company of the people in the No Owl Party, I wanted to leave the party already and go home, home to Hogwarts.


Once again, I started to fear, and the greatest fear that I had was that I would be left all alone in the No Owl Party by September 30. I sent out notices for my owl such as this one:

My Pottermore Owl, when it finally does get to me. ^_^

Pottermore Family.

September 3: I was not on Owl Watch duty since they usually did not send out owls on weekends. So without thinking about my owl for a whole day, I busied myself with TV show marathons of my favorite shows (FRIENDS) and sang karaoke with my mom. 

September 4: At 12:30am, I was sitting with my mom as we were still enjoying our Karaoke Night. I had just reserved a couple of songs while my mom belted out to one of her favorites. As I waited, I decided to randomly refresh my Twitter feed to check on the Pottermore Family. As I couldn't see my mentions, I decided to refresh my inbox via my phone. 

2 New Messages, 1 in Yahoo! Mail, 1 in Gmail.

I opened my Gmail. 

Confusion, "Did someone send me mail about Pottermore?"

Shock, "Wait, it's not the subject but the SENDER."

Understanding, "OH MY GOSH! OH MY GOSH! MY OWL IS FINALLY HERE!"

Apparently, my owl arrived on September 3 at around 11:30pm. I had no idea that I was no longer owl-less for almost an hour. 

I tried to stop my hands from shaking as I tweeted the wonderful news to the rest of my Pottermore Family. I couldn't stop myself from saying "OH MY GOSH!" over and over again. My mom even thought I got a job offer to teach in another country since she heard me say that "The most important email I have been waiting for finally arrived." She thought I was going crazy.

After singing two more songs (yes, I had to sing two more songs to calm my overly-excited nerves), I finally rushed to my laptop. After saying my thanks to those who congratulated me on Twitter, I finally was able to go to Pottermore and SIGN IN.

And so, I was no longer owl-less and no longer in the No Owl Party (but I still visit my friends from time to time). 

My lost owl finally found the scared Beta that was me. ^_~