The PUVF

the student count stands at 28416.

As the grand total count is still very low one of our family members thinks that they'll be letting a lot of people in on the 30th or 31st of this month because they are currently falling too far behind on the number of users that should be in.

We sort of hope this isn't the case and that they spread it out better otherwise we'll be greeted by that lovely support message.

Right now they appear to be sending them out every 2 or 3 days. Hopefully it will become a daily thing. Sit tight potterheads :) Our houses are waiting for us!

For those of us still waiting, here are some youtube videos to keep us all entertained!

Warning: the follow may contain strong scenes of hilarity and are not Harry Potter or Pottermore related (to help keep your mind away from the e-mail we all so desire).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbhrz1-4hN4 - Trailer for every Oscar winning movie ever

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VDvgL58h_Y - The Horribly Slow Murder With the Extremely Inefficient Weapon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2uT1MM2Auo - Tita Auntie's Diary - Pilpinos Do Hab Sols!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khMNPVl8ZgQ - Ladder Goat 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lw3eYsnl31c - Axis of Awesome - 4 chords And well if you want to see something entertaining and creative you'll enjoy the last one :)

Whilst the hectic wait or enjoyment of Pottermore continues, and people are hopefully writing up their theories of Dumbledore, we are going to once again have a movie night!

What is this? We've had two previously, one for 'Mean Girls' and one for 'Contact'. Both of which are very different movies. Tonight (unless something happens) we will be holding a spur of the moment night for 'Sweeney Todd' (2007) staring Johnny Depp and a some Harry Potter alumni. 

  Where? If you're part of the Skype chat room we will be on there, if not you can use the 'PUVF: movie night' tag to talk about it during or after here on tumblr.

WHEN? We will be holding this around 9:30pm BST which in itself is GMT+1 so adjust for your own time. Be aware that Britain isn't the only place observing daylight savings time in your adjustment - central Europe is still an hour ahead and the east coast of North America is still five hours behind. 

However, if you aren't able to watch it until later and can't join in the fun until then, you're more than welcome to do so as we'll be checking the tags now and then. You can even submit something if you have anything you really want to share about it.

For those of you on Pottermore who want to give written feedback, there is a way.

*Help -> Other -> What's Next -> Submit more feedback

We have an opportunity to send feedback for future changes as Beta testers. For those of you still waiting for the welcome letter please take note. 

... and we can confirm that the numbers of sorted students is on the rise again. Good luck to everybody who has yet to receive theirs.

So guys, it looks like Dobby has stopped blocking all the letters!

We suspect that Dobby is behind this mischief.

This is a current standing of how many students per house with how many house points.

Date: August 16th 2011

Time: 22:30 BST

Students: 2,627

Points: 1,544

Students: 3,303

Points:  1,545

Students: 2,677

Points:  1,436

Students: 2,624

Points: 1,731

Grand total of students: 11, 231

For a reference back to the standing this morning 00:35 BST please click here.

Now three of our members have been successful enough to get early access. Congratulations to those of you who have early access! E-mails still appear to be arriving in no particular order so fingers crossed for the rest of us; roughly 988,700 of us!!!

We aren't aware of a way to do so. It's possible one will come up later, maybe as time goes by more galleons will appear. But as yet, there doesn't seem to be one other than collecting the ones in the story line. 

The other items are just things to collect and you get points from those items as well. As of right now giving them as a gift is the only option. But don't bother since they can collect the items themselves and you can only collect and item once. Remember Pottermore is only in Beta at the moment so these things can change. As soon as we see anything new we will let you all know. If you have any other questions we will surely and gladly answer them.

Hello Potterheads!

For those of you waiting for your welcome email we have a special treat, Knowledge!

Three of our PUVF members have gained access to Pottermore. We decided to give you all some tips before you enter the magical world of Pottermore. 

We advise that you complete the story line. There are things you must find before you start to duel or brew potions.

When you duel the most effective spell is full body bind, petrificus totalus, use it.

The instructions on dueling aren't all that clear. You have to press EACH letter when the circle is the biggest around it. Do not press just the first letter or you will lose every match.

If your house is losing don't panic. Keep fighting for those points!

As of right now we are not sure how the house points are being calculated since some individuals have more points than the total amount of 'House Points'. One theory is that it's the average (mean) points of all members together.

You are in beta to give feedback. Give the feedback and they will fix the problem.

When heating your potion there are three tabs under the cauldron. A blue, orange and red one. Use the red one first to increase the temperature until it turns green. Then use the orange one to keep it stable (Note orange can also raise the temperature but not much). When finished heating use the blue to turn it off.

When grinding ingredients make sure it is also until the indicator turns green but no further.

Do not complain about the house because the house you are in needs you and Jo Rowling made the quiz that is where you belong.

Overall have fun! We are the beta testers let's test the whole site!

*Anything else you'd like to know just ask we will gladly answer any questions!

Dumbledore was always a mystery to me. He seemed to be all knowing and wise yet he was still a person. I always wondered if Jo Rowling would give him some sort of fault or weakness. Something that didn't made him look so Godlike. He seemed to know what to do, say, think, and how to act. 

Throughout the story he played a role of a mentor and it seemed fitting. He seemed to care and one would think he could do no wrong. However he wasn't all that perfect. He was a man that made the tough choices in life. Though some might think he was a bad man he wasn't. Dumbledore was a strong man because even with his past he kept going. Much like Minerva who i choose to believe is the female version of Dumbledore.

He knew of Harry's unfortunate truth. Harry was the horcrux Lord Voldermort didn't mean to make. And he knew that Harry must die. If someone else was in Dumbledore's shoes that choice would have been different because the outcome was strictly experimental. Snape was a man who was hurt and Dumbledore manipulated him throughout the story to do his bidding.

Dumbledore was a flawed and complex man. There was more to him then meets the eye. Even when you think you have him all figured out he manages to surprise everyone even after his death. He was Godlike throughout the entire story but still a man. Being human was this characters biggest flaw. One would expect him to be able to see into the future and such. But he was nothing but a man who was exceptionally wise. He was a well rounded character who until the end had very little substance then just the all knowing headmaster.

His past was horrid but it made him a stronger man. He had a wand that made you invincible which could make him a coward or a hero. He was a coward for hiding behind the power of the wand. But he was a hero from keeping it from true evil. He kept many secrets from those that considered him a friend and from those that needed to know the truth. He toyed with people's futures and he did with his own. There is so much to Dumbledore that creates an internal debate. I wish to see him as a great man but he was just a man with power. 

Dumbledore and Voldermort could be one and the same. Dumbledore manipulated those around him just as Voldermort did. They both had Snape as someone they both trusted. Two powerful and dangerous men who sought a future where Harry would be killed by Voldermort. But their biggest difference was that one was 'nice' while the other was evil.

Dumbledore is one of those characters that can't be figured out. He is wrapped in mystery and one wishes to think greatly of him. However his actions can have you arguing both sides of the debate by yourself. He was a great man but he was also a treacherous man. He is someone who keeps so much to himself to the point where you want to trust him but can't. But if given the choice i'd trust him before Voldermort of course. 

BritannyWasHere

Earlier today another member of our team received their Pottermore entrance so do not worry there are only so many owls on the job :) 

The rest of the team are still eagerly waiting just like 990,000 other users. 

This is a current standing of how many students per house with how many house points.

Date: August 16th 2011

Time 00:35am BST

Students: 1002

Points: 265

Students: 1019

Points: 249

Students: 1295

Points: 267

Students: 1036

Points: 281

Grand total of students: 4352 

We know this because two of our members were lucky enough to get early access yesterday. Congratulations to those of you who have early access! I'm sure the rest of us will get in soon as e-mails are still being sent however at a slower pace.

At first it seems like they sent out quite a few in one go around 3/4pm BST but now it appears to have slowed down but people are still getting their e-mails. We have two of our members currently in and the number of those sorted has grown from 472 in Gryffindor, 613 in Ravenclaw, 498 in Hufflepuff, and 492 in Slytherin (8pm BST) to Gryffindor: 837, Ravenclaw: 1066, Hufflepuff: 839 and Slytherin: 850 (10:30pm BST). Currently giving a total of 3592 :)

It seems to be random. Most of us here in the PUVF signed up within ten minutes of day one, easily. Only one of us has the welcome letter so far (we're happy for her, though want our own).

Mean while, people are getting in who are from later days, I've heard as late as day 4 and possibly further still.

We said we'd let you know the minute it happened, and it has. It's still playing out but... thought you'd want to know.

You know what that means?

The Owls are coming!! Check your e-mails!