3.

I started out by taking a grueling seventy-question quiz - each question thought provoking - to discover my supposed personality type. I had no idea how this would help anything.

"I think having to answer all those questions just made my trauma worse," I joked. I still hadn't managed to get rid of the 'ma'am' instinct.

"Harry, be serious," said Professor McGonagall, giving me a stern look over her the top of her glasses. I piped down obediently, but I had noticed that at some point I had gone from 'Mr Potter' to 'Harry.'

"Let's go over the results with you. You tested out as an ISFP," said Madam Pomfrey.

"Is that bad?" I asked, deadpan. I was only sort of kidding.

"No. There is no such thing as a 'bad' personality type. Everyone interacts with the world in their own way," said Madam Pomfrey, taking my question seriously. "I would like to emphasize to you that there is nothing wrong with anything I am about to explain to you. You have your own way of interacting with the world, and that is fine. The point is to become aware of yourself, and to use that to your advantage."

"Okay…" I said uncertainly. Was she going to tell me something I had a problem with?

"I is for introvert. This does not mean you're shy, timid, or socially crippled. It simply means that interactions with other people drain you - even if you're enjoying yourself, you are more tired after they are over. Meanwhile, spending time on your own fills you with energy; it's how you recharge."

I blinked, considering this. I had never consciously thought of it like that before. "So… I should limit the amount of interaction I have with other people? And time on my own is good?"

"Precisely," said Madam Pomfrey. "Introverts are more prone to having smaller but closer groups of friends, to getting overwhelmed in large-scale social situations or under constant socialization, and to being rather quiet because they don't like blurting things out that have no point or purpose."

"So I don't say stupid things," I translated, "or have tons of friends."

"Does having tons of friends really matter to you, Harry? Would you rather know lots of people or feel you can trust the ones you know?"

"... Point," I admitted.

"The S is for sensory. This means that you are focused on real-world actions, what's going on in the world around you. It takes effort, meanwhile, for you to think abstractly or reflect internally. This doesn't mean you're stupid, and it doesn't mean you don't enjoy turning inward. It just means that takes effort for you. Focusing on observing the world around you, meanwhile, is extremely easy for you, as is describing the world in concrete, physical terms."

"Well, yeah," I said. "I've always been observant. I'm good at spotting what other people don't."

"You're small and fast, too," Professor McGonagall mused.

"What does that have to do with anything?" I asked, confused. I was finally starting to be more honest around the two of them.

"Oh, nothing. You would just make for an ideal Seeker. It's a Quidditch position," said Professor McGonagall. "The main qualifications are being observant, small, light, and fast."

I filed this away for future reference.

"The F is for feeling. It means you think with your heart, rather than your head."

"Is that… bad?" I asked, blushing.

"Not necessarily. As I said, it's just one way of dealing with the world. You work based off of your emotions, even if as an introvert you aren't always very good at loudly expressing them. You try to do what's right, what feels good, you focus on kindness and compassion, passion and love. It's not necessarily a bad thing.

"The P, meanwhile, stands for perception. This means that you are not a list maker, a calendar person, or a schedule planner. You can act rather impulsively, but on the other hand you also have a talent for spontaneity, an acceptance of the messier side of life." She looked wryly around my bedroom; I was a bit embarrassed by how disordered it had already become.

"So I'm quiet and introverted, yet impulsive, spontaneous, and emotional?" I asked. "And I'm focused on the real world and observant?"

"Essentially," Madam Pomfrey agreed. "Now let's look at it all together. Much research has been done into the specifics of the ISFP, and I'll go over some of it with you.

"ISFPs are sometimes The Composers of the world. You look confused," she added in amusement, and indeed I was confused. "Composing is not just writing music. It is expressing any aspect of the world of the senses. You have unusually keen senses, Harry. You are sensitive to everything from shades of color to textures to the most intimate details of taste. Where other people say purple, you say plum. Where other people say tasty, you say spicy yet salty. And you are unusually sensitive to touch. You can probably pick out sounds in a piece of music, for example, better than most people can, and you would probably smell food burning before anyone else."

I thought about it. "I've never really noticed that before," I admitted thoughtfully.

"You probably just unconsciously categorized it as an extension of being observant, if you noticed it at all," said Madam Pomfrey. "But it is true of you, I'm sure you'll notice if you start paying attention to it. This makes Composers unusually good at organizing and creatively expressing nuances of the senses."

"Poppy, we may need to lower the explanation a bit, the boy's only ten," said Professor McGonagall dryly, and thank God she did, because I was completely bewildered.

"Right, sorry. I just get so excited!" She beamed with enthusiasm, and I smiled in dry amusement despite myself. "What this means is that you would make an unusually good chef or food critic, an unusually good composer or creator of music, an unusually good purchaser or fashion designer, an unusually good player in tactile subjects such as sports or dance… You see what I mean. Since you're so good with the senses, you're also good at creating things using the senses.

"Performance is not your thing. Creation is. Artistic expression is."

"That part, I can really get behind. But as for things I'm good at… I'd never really noticed it before," I admitted. "Physical activities, musical activities, I mean, I was never allowed to enjoy or participate in any of that. Even cooking, until recently, I did for other people, because I had to."

"One of the things we can work with in the future is helping you find and enjoy hobbies that involve the senses, and if you'd like that could include cooking," Professor McGonagall offered. "You could sort of reclaim cooking, so to speak, and make it enjoyable for yourself. Even magic is… I mean, it's mostly a physical expression. It's instinctive."

I was overwhelmed by the sudden choices before me. How on earth would I decide how to choose only two or three? Hobbies involving the senses - that was pretty broad. Could I really have a natural talent for such a wide variety of things? And for magical creation?

"There are some traits common to all SPs that you also should know about," said Madam Pomfrey. "SPs have some other things in common. They usually have a total disregard for the rules." Professor McGonagall's lips pursed and I resisted the urge to smile. "They are good at the arts and crafts, any move the next of which is a free variable - any activity that allows them room to move around in is suited to them. They're also occupied with technique, which simply means they have an unbounded ability to work away at physical techniques, impervious to pain and suffering, until they have an act mastered perfectly. And they work very well with tools and equipment.

"Enjoyment, fun, and pleasure are very important to SPs - it is very important to them that they enjoy themselves, and this combined with their capacity for impulsiveness and risk can sometimes lead to negative situations. This could range from a dangerous act to an addiction.

"They are optimistic about the future, cynical when it comes to the nature of evil and the motives of others, and they very much live in the present. They don't worry too much about the past or the future, which can actually be of great benefit to a person's mental health, even if perhaps a bit more worrying about other things might also bring benefits.

"They try to adapt to any situation. They want to be seen as brave, even rebellious. They yearn to have an impact on others, and to be ultra-talented. Generosity toward others, the capacity to give of what they have, is very important to them. They tend not to be extraordinarily charming or diplomatic - rather, they are characterized by their honesty, even their bluntness.

"ISFPs in particular tend to be friendly, quiet, and reserved, so that's another aspect to add to your overall personality structure."

"Weird. I can identify with all of that," I said, mystified.

"Psychology. It's a thing," said Madam Pomfrey flatly, and I snorted, smiling reluctantly. "Would you like to hear some more research that has been done into your personality type?"

"Yeah!" I said, sitting forward. I had expected for it all to be boring and for none of it to work, but this was actually interesting.

"ISFPs are difficult to observe. They're not good at expressing themselves verbally, or through facial expressions. Rather, they express themselves through their arts - that art could be the written word, painting, a sport, any kind of art. So while they are extremely quiet and reserved, sometimes to the point of rarely speaking, you see their personality in what they come out with. That could be personal expression in a piece of charm-work, it could be an artistic move, it could be a poem or a drawing or a recipe.

"In order for others to get to know you, they must see what you do, not what you say or what you show. ISFPs tend to say and show very little, and you should perhaps not try to fight that. Some amount of speaking is necessary, but don't feel the need to strain yourself by expressing yourself verbally."

I nodded thoughtfully. In a weird sort of way, it made sense. "I don't think my art is the written word," I commented. "My letters are, like, three sentences long." I smiled.

"Well, that's fine," said Madam Pomfrey, smiling back. "Professor McGonagall and I will help you find other ways of expressing yourself. For now, perhaps get comfortable being yourself, being a bit more quiet and reserved and finding a way to be okay with that.

"That's the whole point of this section. To help you understand yourself, and to give you permission to be yourself.

"More about artistry in SPs - artistry, remember, being more than music or sculpting. ISFPs usually work on their arts alone at least some of the time, and they can put many long, lonely hours into mastering their arts, not noticing any of the pain the art may be putting them through. But they also play around with their arts very impulsively. They don't set themselves to one task and do the same thing for hours on end. Rather, they are artistic impulsively, doing whatever feels right in the moment, seized by the act itself.

"SPs tend to be the type most successful in the arts. If they were all very dutiful and sensible, they would be SJs, a different type altogether. The SPs' special combination of hard work and completely impulsive risk makes them positive livewires in any kind of art - in business, in sports, in show business, even in things like show-flying and magical experimentation. Anything that allows them the freedom to express their impulsivity and creativity, anything that allows them room to maneuver, they can excel in.

"ISFPs are capable of fantastical artistic works. This cannot be overemphasized, Harry. You're looking at me like I just grew six heads, but it is true. You are capable of fantastical artistic works."

"... It's going to take me awhile, to get used to that idea," I admitted.

"That's okay," said Madam Pomfrey. "And I'll give you another idea to get used to: ISFPs are the most unconditionally kind people of any personality type in the entire world." My eyes widened. "It's true. I'm not exaggerating. They are sensitive to other people's pain and try to help it whenever possible. They are good with children, better than I think you'd give yourself credit for, and also with animals. They tend to have a fascination with nature, the bucolic."

She gave me some time to think about this for awhile.

"I don't know about children," I said, "but I know I have always liked animals, thinking about it. Respected them, you know. And I have always enjoyed nature and the countryside. I've noticed the seasons, you know.

"We're really good with children?" I added curiously. "I just always… you know… assumed I'd make for a bad parent." I blushed. "I don't know why, I just… did."

"ISFPs are exceptionally kind, and good with animals, children, and nature," said Madam Pomfrey firmly, nodding. "So give yourself more credit. A couple of more things. Traditional schooling, lectures and textbooks and notes, hold little interest for ISFPs; they do not challenge ISFPs or their special talents. Physical techniques, however - from gardening herbs to brewing potions to doing spells - should be quite natural for them once they've gotten the hang of it."

"So I expect good grades in physically based tests," Professor McGonagall added unexpectedly. "And if I don't get them, I shall be seriously inquiring into what the problem is."

"Yes, ma'am," I said, swallowing.

"In jobs, an ISFP must choose something that allows them room to maneuver," said Madam Pomfrey. "They must choose free, variable actions and be rewarded for doing them. This has a wide range - you could work as a magical experimenter for the Department of Mysteries or you could be a painter. But remember, in order to be happy, you cannot get bogged down in cold, dutiful necessities and technicalities and paperwork."

"So what jobs are good for SPs?" I wondered.

"Well, you could work in design or purchasing, in the business sector. Magical research or potion brewing and invention would be your thing in the magical sector. Any of the arts, whether physical or artistic, would be good for you. Healing, dealing with animals, or anything involving nature, such as landscape gardening, would satisfy your natural kindness. Teaching would be a good way to be free-form and creative and also help children."

I was scribbling notes down now. I had no idea what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. This gave me a blue-print.

"So that's me in careers," I said. "What about, you know - in a family?"

"In a family and a home, ISFPs need an anchor, so to speak. A safe harbor. They do like to explore and see what's going on in the world, in an impulsive sort of way, but they need someone who's not also an impulsive SP to pull them back in and tether them back to home."

"Wouldn't that lead to fighting?" I wondered.

"Yes, but ISFPs are better with intrafamilial conflict - fighting within the family - than other SPs are. They will stick with their family in order to hold it together. They do need their adventures and their solitary, quiet retreats, but they'll put up with a lot more familial stress than other types - provided, of course, that they themselves are happy.

"ISFPs are excellent friends with their children. They're good at meeting kids at their level, at playing with kids and offering them a kind of friendship not usually found in adults. At the same time, your children also need to see you express yourself through your art, or they won't feel like they've ever gotten to know you either."

I was still note-taking. I looked up, and nodded slowly, almost cautiously.

"That's… actually really helpful," I said.

I'd just learned more about myself in the past couple of hours than I had in my previous eleven years of life.