aerna Danazul has been one of my favorite characters to create and write. I think (hope) she has lots of layers so sorting her would be a bit more interesting.  For those of you who don’t know Maerna, she’s American born who thinks she is a squib, but whose powers were bound at a young age. During the story, those powers reemerge due to the death of the one who bound them.

Maerna is feisty and no nonsense but she has a caring, softer side as well, thus making her a good companion to Severus Snape and his snark. She’s a strong candidate for Hufflepuff, for she is extremely loyal and hard working as seen by she doesn’t leave Severus even when she gains her freedom, but stays with him recognizing where she is needed. However, she could, equally be considered an eagle for Maerna is also extremely intelligent (She was working on her PhD in neuroscience when she was kidnapped and created two new potions, one for the Dark Lord and one to save Severus from the snake bite.) Honestly, I could also see the hat putting her in the land if lions. She was very brave when she was kidnapped and held by Lucius never giving him the satisfaction of showing weakness. She was also rather reckless like the time she shot Crabbe Sr. with a gun, tried to stab Severus and always had cheeky answers for Voldemort--a rather brash (or perhaps stupid) Gryffindor move. The only house I feel comfortable not putting her in is Slytherin for she rarely did anything for her own personal gain and she didn’t strategize five steps ahead of where she was. (She left that to Severus.)

I’m rather at a loss of where to put her. Perhaps a hat stall? So, I consulted the expert in all such matters-The Sorting Hat itself. He knew Maerna from the year that Severus Snape was headmaster of the school. Once I inquired, however, I was quickly corrected. It refused to consider sorting Maerna for she never would have attended Hogwarts. As an American, her letter would have come from Illvermony. 

So, across the Pond I traveled to Mount Greylock in the state of Massachusetts. Once there the answer so was obvious that I wondered why I had considered another. Maerna belonged in Pukwudgie, the House of the Heart. Maerna had many strengths as considered above, but there is no doubt her heart was her biggest asset. All she did to protect Severus’s role as a spy (and put up with his attitude) as well as the children of Hogwarts that fateful year, her heart was definitely the biggest. When asked later, she admitted she identified with the House of Pukwudgie because, as a supposed no-maj, of her desire to become a mind healer, experimenting with neuroscience and then later, as a potion mistress paving the way for a antidote for new lycanthropy victims. Plus, she identified with James, the founder of the house. “As the only no-maj in a world of magical people, I’m sure he sometimes felt frustrating and inadequate. This is exactly how I felt growing up, watching my grandmother and uncle do magic when I could do nothing. I would have loved to have met James Steward. I think we would have had lots in common.”