16) The Hatstall

“Well, potions at the age of four. Looks like we have a prodigy in our midst.” he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Keith, oblivious to the obvious sarcasm, smiled, “Thank you sir.”

Professor Snape narrowed his eyes at this, “And what precisely did you brew when you were four, Black? Water with leaves in it?”

This time, Keith frowned before glancing at the other professors, most of who gave him encouraging smiles. He took a deep breath and answered.

“Well, I did start with cooking food but my first potion was the Boil-Cure Potion since that was the first one mentioned in the textbook sir. It took me a while to get it right but as time passed, my success rate with various potions increased.” Keith said, holding his gaze with Snape as he answered.

Professor Snape sneered, “Then can you tell me the primary ingredients needed for the boil-cure potion and what is the colour of the emitted smoke when it’s brewed perfectly?”

“Dried nettles, crushed snake fangs, stewed horned slugs, and porcupine quills are the primary ingredients, sir.” Keith said before answering the second question, “When brewed perfectly, it emits pink smoke.”

Snape’s lips curled, but it was not quite a smile.

“Correct,” he said slowly, though there was no warmth in his voice. “Though I’m sure your definition of ‘perfectly’ differs greatly from mine.”

Keith didn’t respond, keeping his expression neutral. But his opinion of this professor was going down at a steady pace.

‘Mom always praised me when I got my answers right… I’m sure I got it right this time too.’

The Potions Master leaned back slightly, his dark eyes studying Keith like a specimen under glass. “And what happens, Mr. Black, if you add porcupine quills _before_ removing the cauldron from the fire?”

Keith blinked, but only once. “The potion will emit green smoke, and potentially cause the mixture to explode, sir. The timing is essential. My sister wrote me a letter during her first year at hogwarts and she made this same mistake. If not for her, I probably would have done it during one of my experiments too.”

A long pause followed. Several professors exchanged curious glances.

Snape didn’t praise him—but neither did he dismiss him.

Instead, he turned back to his plate. “We’ll see if your brewing lives up to your theoretical knowledge in class.”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“Well!” Professor Sprout said as she got up from her seat and smiled at Keith, “Let’s not waste anymore time, shall we?”

Keith nodded and watched her walk around the table to get to him, but he also sensed Snape’s gaze. He didn’t turn to look at the potions professor this time and made sure to keep his eyes on the head of his department instead.

Soon, the two of them were out of the great hall. As they climbed up the stairs, Professor Sprout began speaking.

“Keith, do you know what a Hatstall is?” she asked as she glanced down at him, only to see him staring right back at her.

He shook his head and Professor Sprout nodded in response, “Well, when a person takes more than five minutes to get sorted into a house, it means that this person has qualities of more than one house, which in turn makes it hard for the sorting hat to make a decision.

“This phenomenon is known as a Hatstall and history has taught us that those who cause a hatstall, end up being great wizards and witches. Professor McGonagall, she’ll be teaching you transfiguration. She was a Hatstall and she’s one of the greatest experts when it comes to transfiguration.

“Professor Flitwick, the charms teacher also was a hatstall. They had the qualities of both Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, which put the sorting hat in a pinch.”

Keith looked down at the floor as he walked Beside Professor Sprout. Taking his time to think about it for a while.

For a few seconds, they walked in silence until Keith began to speak.

“Professor… the hat.” he said, “It said that I’m not fit enough to be a Gryffindor or a Ravenclaw. That I had the qualities of Slytherin and Hufflepuff.”

This time, Professor Sprout had to take her time to think before she answered.

“Well, a Hatstall due to a mix of Slytherin and Hufflepuff is unheard of until now. Maybe there were a few, but I haven’t really heard of any. The headmaster might know more about this and I have a feeling that he also wishes to talk to you about the Hatstall.

“You said you started with Potions right? Did you try other things too? Maybe some spells or even herbology?”

Keith looked up at her and saw her looking back at him expectantly, to which he responded with a nod.

“Fire and water spells to help with potion making, I tried to read a few books on different subjects but it was boring since I couldn’t really test it all out and practice. I did grow a few magical plants for potion ingredients but my mother always supervised me.”

Professor Sprout beamed at this and nodded, looking slightly excited as she quickened her pace. Keith had to jog so he could keep up with her and after a while, they stopped in front of a large stone gargoyle.

“Chocolate Cauldron.” Professor Sprout said and the grotesque looking Gargoyle sprung aside to reveal a spiraling staircase.

Keith followed behind Professor Sprout and entered before the Gargoyle moved back to it’s original place. The staircase rotated, moving them upwards.

A part of him was glad that he didn’t have to walk more, but another part of him found this mechanism extremely interesting.

‘When I build a house, I’m gonna add this to it. But I’ll have to learn how to do it first…’ he thought to himself.

Then, it stopped. Keith looked at the heavy oak door with a brass knocker shaped like a griffin and watched as Professor Sprout knocked.

“Come in.” he heard a calm voice from the other side and the door was opened by Professor Sprout, who held it open for him.

Once Keith walked forward, she walked back to the stairs and waved at him before closing the door behind her.

Feeling both nervous and excited, he turned to look at Dumbledore who’s eyes twinkled as he gazed at the boy in front of him.

“Sit down, Keith. We’ll be having a long chat.”