The Hatstall of 1991
When they arrived, they followed the crowd out to a small platform. There the giant man Jazlyn and Harry had met at Diagon Alley stood gathering the first years. It was when they crowded around him that Jazlyn met up with Harry again.
"Where'd you go?" Harry asked. As the large man led them away. "You left and never came back. Were you with Ron's brothers the whole time?"
"No," Jazlyn replied. "I spent quite some time trying to find Neville's toad."
"Oh yeah," Harry said. "Neville and some girl came by our compartment looking for him. Did you find him?"
She shook her head. They reached some boats lined up along a lake and piled in. They were instructed to get into groups of four. Jazlyn day with Harry, Ron, and Neville. She gave Hermione an apologetic look. But Hermione reassured her that it was fine and climbed into a boat next to them that carried two other boys and a girl that Jazlyn didn't know.
They crossed the lake and when Hogwarts came into view they all gasped. There on the edge of a high mountain was a massive castle. The lights of the castle made it sparkle and match the twinkling of the stars. Finally they reached the other side of the lake. As Hagrid checked to make sure everyone was out of the boats he called out to Neville.
"Oi! Is this your toad?"
"Trevor!" Neville excitedly exclaimed and he grabbed the toad and shoved him in a pocket.
They clambered up stone steps to a large oak door. Inside they were met with a tall witch who Hagrid introduced as Professor McGonagall. She led them across the large entrance hall and into a side chamber. There, she lectured them about the sorting ceremony and the Hogwarts houses. Jazlyn only half listened as she looked around her in awe that she was actually at Hogwarts.
"While you are here," McGonagall was saying. "Your House will be something like your family within Hogwarts."
Jazlyn and Harry shared a glance at each other. She could tell that Harry was also thinking of the stories she heard from Uncle Remus and her mother about the Marauders and their parents' time at Hogwarts. A family indeed.
"I suggest you smarten up while you wait," Professor McGonagall finished her speech and stepped out.
"How exactly are they sorting us?" Harry asked out loud. Jazlyn shrugged in response. That was not something her mother or Uncle Remus had told her.
"Some sort of test I think?" Ron said. Jazlyn looked at him startled. "Fred said it hurts a lot. He went on about fighting a troll."
"And you believed him?" Jazlyn asked incredulously. She had only b just met Ron's brothers and she already knew not to trust most of the things they said.
"The sorting ceremony is about to start," McGonagall had come back. She started lined the group of first years up and led them away.
The first years followed McGonagall into the great hall. Jazlyn was amazed at the ceiling above her which was enchanted to look like the night sky. Personally she thought it looked even better than the real thing. They lined up in front of the staff table and looked out to the sea of students. Jazlyn wondered if they made them do this to purposely make them feel like everyone else was judging them. Professor McGonagall placed a hat on top of the stool in front of them. Jazlyn stared at it skeptically. Everyone else seemed to be looking at it expectantly. Then it burst into a song and Jazlyn's jaw dropped.
After the song ended she applauded with everyone else. Professor McGonagall came forward holding a long scroll.
"When I call your name, come forward, put the hat on and sit on the stool to be sorted," she instructed before calling out the first name. "Abbott, Hannah."
Hannah stepped forward and Jazlyn gave her a small smile as she passed. Then Jazlyn realized they might be going in alphabetical order which would mean she might go right after Hannah.
"Hufflepuff!" The hat shouted before Jazlyn had time to think and process everything.
"Black, Procyon," McGonagall called for her. The whispers immediately broke out.
"Did she say Black?"
"As in Sirius Black?"
"I didn't know he had a kid."
"Don't listen to them." Harry muttered in her ear. He had grabbed her wrist to reassure her before she could move.
Jazlyn took a deep breath and stepped forward. Students craned their necks to see her. The whispers continued. "Bet I know which house she'll be in.
She hadn't meant to look out into the sea of students as she walked. She had meant to look at a spot on the wall above the heads of the students. But she did look out and she caught sight of Fred and George Weasley whispering to each other. She quickly turned away. They probably hated her now, like everyone else. She saw Katie Bell give her a reassuring thumbs up and over at the Hufflepuff table Hannah was doing the same.
She took a seat at the stool. Professor McGonagall placed the hat on her head. It covered her eyes so all she saw was the blackness of the inside of the hat.
"Oh you'll be a difficult one to sort I can tell!" The hat said in her mind. "Very clever! Oh and a seer too... almost every seer that has come through these walls has been in Ravenclaw. With such a power comes a mind for knowledge and curiosity. I can see it...Oh and a Black I see...But determined to not uphold the reputation that comes from such a name. Yes… I see… very determined... A desire to prove yourself away from your name and your father. Very resourceful ...but bold and defiant. Yes….hmmm...There was another Black I sorted years ago just like you... He was just as determined to not be like his family and to break the tradition…. Just as stubborn as you are. Your father, Sirius Black….You are just like him."
Jazlyn had to stop herself from lashing out. She almost forgot she was sat in front of an entire school of students and staff. But she did flinch and scrunch up her expression. Before fighting it and relaxing.
I'm nothing like that monster, She screamed in her mind to the hat. That traitor. I'm not him.
"Ah yes... I sense your anger and your feeling of betrayal…and confusion... You know that I know the heart and the mind of every student that passes through these halls. I see the potential of every student. And I see and hear the happenings of the world and I can see your memories… very unexpected...From him ...not only did I see the defiance and the boldness that you share...but I also saw extreme loyalty to those that he let in."
You must be mistaken, Jazlyn thought. He was anything but loyal.
"I have never once made a mistake in my sorting you know," the hat said. "Well actually there was one... that even to this day I wonder if I placed him correctly."
Sirius Black, Jazlyn thought immediately.
"No… Peter Pettigrew." The hat said much to Jazlyn's surprise. "Like I warned him, it isn't the house that makes someone dark... Besides, Your father was a Gryffindor through and through. I only would have put him in Slytherin if he had insisted it to please his family...Which was the last thing he wanted to do...Much like you he was determined to be the opposite of a Black."
That went well didn't it. Jazlyn snapped in her mind.
"I think you'll find, Procyon Jazlyn Black, that the world has a funny way of forcing narratives on us. Things are not always as they seem." The hat warned. "You'll need to learn to seek the truth."
Just sort me! Jazlyn thought frustratedly. She was getting impatient with the hat's riddles.
"Well of course my dear," the hat said, "but in order to do that I must search your mind. And in your mind are memories you have long forgotten…ones you'll need to unlock."
What? Jazlyn asked the hat.
"Perhaps I should place you in Ravenclaw … your curiosity would do well there. You'll need to open your mind to unlock the secrets you have long forgotten. Yes… You'll do great things there." The hat said, completely ignoring her question. "Hmm but once you unleash the knowledge in your mind what will you do with it? Ah...but such a quest will take your daring and your nerve. Perhaps in Gryffindor is where you will reach your full potential."
I don't understand Jazlyn thought quizzically.
"You wouldn't," the hat said and Jazlyn wasn't sure if she should be offended or not. "But one day you will. If you dare to unlock the secrets of your father."
Why would I want to do that? She scoffed.
"That is something you'll have to decide for yourself. Yes ...quite a stubborn one you are." The hat said moving on. "Perhaps not Ravenclaw. Stubbornness doesn't do well with learning you know…. But you thirst for answers...a very Ravenclaw trait indeed… but once you have your heart set on something you're quite unwavering… rash as well aren't you? Sometimes in search of your answers, you act first and think of consequences later… a very Gryffindor thing to do. No I suppose you don't hesitate to act at all. Where to put you? Where to put you?"
All around her the whispering continued. But it switched from the talk of her being a Black to the talk of a Hatstall.
"How long has she been up there?" George Weasley asked around him.
"Almost five minutes." His older brother, Percy Weasley, answered. "If it goes on for any longer she'll be a Hatstall."
"A Hatstall?" Katie asked.
"It means they've been under the sorting hat for five minutes or longer." Angelina Johnson answered her. "And that the hat might be having trouble deciding on a house."
"It's incredibly rare," Percy added. "Professor McGonagall was one. It usually doesn't happen very often. Once every fifty years. I looked it up, the last one was 20 years ago, Peter Pettigrew, also eventually sorted into Gryffindor."
"You mean the one her father killed!?" A Gryffindor 5th year prefect, Flora Cram said after listening in.
"What's that got to do with anything!?" Fred, George, and Katie defended Jazlyn together.
"Bet she'll be a Gryffindor," Fred said. "That girl caught a tarantula coming straight for her. There's no way she's not a Gryffindor."
"And the last two Hatstalls ended up in Gryffindor," George said. "I say those odds are pretty good."
"I bet she's a slytherin," Flora Cram sneered.
"How thick are you?" Katie glared.
"Every Black has been a Slytherin," the other girl scoffed.
"Sirius Black was a Gryffindor, you prat," Katie spat back. "My father was a couple years above him."
"Doesn't matter, I still think Slytherin." The girl insisted. "And if she's not sorted into Slytherin it's still probably one of the houses the hat is considering. There's no way she's a Gryffindor."
"You willing to put a wager on it?" Fred asked.
"20 Galleons." The girl said confidently.
"Deal," George said. "I'll add that Slytherin is not even one of them."
"You two shouldn't be wagering!" Percy scolded. "Especially not so much."
Jazlyn still sat waiting underneath the hat completely unaware of the bet at the Gryffindor table.
"Not Slytherin. That's for sure. Although you can be a little cunning...No lack self-preservation what's so over."
Are you going to take this long with everyone? Jazlyn asked. You know there are over 50 other kids to sort.
"Not one for patience either. No hufflepuff wouldn't do. Gryffindor or Ravenclaw." The hat muttered. "You are quite the combination of your mother and father, more like your father though."
Stop comparing me to him. Jazlyn angrily screamed in her mind.
"I told you, child, not everything is as it seems." The hat said. "Look into your heart… you know it already don't you? That's why you brought that necklace you're wearing, isn't it?"
Jazlyn's hand flew to the pendant she stuck under her robes. The other students were puzzled by her movement. As soon as she touched the Necklace her vision shifted from the black inside of the hat to the dark stone of what looked like Azkaban
"I'm sorry, Little Star ," Sirius Black was staring at a newspaper article. Jazlyn couldn't read what it said. But it must have had something to do with her. "If only I hadn't listened to that rat. I could be there to protect you."
Jazlyn moved closer to see what the article was talking about.
ATTEMPTED THEFT AT HOGWARTS
Fear crippled Jazlyn's heart and she almost toppled backwards off the stool effectively ending the vision. The entire hall gasped. A hand shot out to catch her. Surprisingly the hat stayed on her head and only shifted just enough for her to see McGonagall holding onto her with surprising strength. McGonagall helped steady her on the stool again.
What was that? Jazlyn thought to the hat.
"You're the seer, my dear, I'm just a hat." The hat said.
You know something Jazlyn thought. It wasn't a question.
"Yes," the hat said in her mind. "And you know it too. You have merely forgotten…. I think I know just where to put you now... better be…"
"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat finally shouted.
Jazlyn said in relief and threw the hat off of her and into McGonagall's waiting hands. The hall stared in stunned silence for a moment as Jazlyn stood unsure of the looks she was getting. Then Fred and George Weasley stood cheering loudly with Katie and their friends a beat later. Soon the rest of the Gryffindor table joined in and the hall erupted into applause. Jazlyn made her way to the Gryffindor table where Fred and George scooted over and made a space in between them for her.
"We knew you'd be a Gryffindor," George said, patting her on the back as she sat.
"Although it's quite hypocritical of you to accuse us of lying about our names when you did the same," Fred gave her a meaningful look.
"What?" Jazlyn said, taken aback. She wondered if she should regret sitting here. "I didn't lie."
"Oh really?" George questioned. "Jazlyn?"
"Or should we say," Fred continued.
"Procyon Black," they said together.
"I didn't lie." Jazlyn insisted. "I withheld the fact that I was Black. You would to if your name was associated with—"
"No," Fred cut her off understanding what she was trying to say. "We mean the 'Procyon' part."
"Oh, it's my first name," Jazlyn sighed. "But I don't like to be called that. I prefer to go by my middle name, Jazlyn."
"Granger, Hermione," McGonagall called.
"Now hush," Jazlyn said, silencing the twins. "I'm trying to watch the rest of the sorting."
They waited as Hermione took a while to be sorted.
"Maybe we'll get another Hatstall." George mused next to her.
"What?" Jazlyn asked.
"You didn't know?" Fred laughed. "You were a Hatstall. Almost what? 6, 7 minutes?"
"7 minutes and 23 seconds," Percy interjected. "It's a record I think."
"I was there for that long!?" Jazlyn asked, surprised. "I knew it felt like forever but I didn't think it was that long."
"Yeah," George answered. "By the way—"
"What houses was it considering?" Fred asked.
"It—" Jazlyn started but she didn't get to finish as The hat had finally shouted "Gryffindor!"
Jazlyn cheered loudly as Hermione came to join them at the table. She sat next to Percy Weasley who was across from his brothers.
"Greengrass, Daphne," was sorted into Slytherin. A few more students went by when finally McGonagall called out. "Longbottom, Neville."
Neville took a little longer than Hermione but not quite long enough to be considered a Hatstall before it eventually called out "Gryffindor!"
"The hat!" Jazlyn exclaimed to him as he rushed towards her at the Gryffindor table. He blushed and jogged back to give it to the next student, "MacDougal, Morag" who became a Slytherin.
They watched as Malfoy was sorted into slytherin not long after her. And Jazlyn could see Harry getting nervous as he impatiently waited his turn. At last McGonagall called out, "Potter, Harry!"
And the entire hall burst out into whispers like they did with Jazlyn. But they weren't as skeptical as they were for her.
"Did she say, Potter?"
"The Harry Potter?"
"A Black and a Potter in one year? Who would've thought."
Jazlyn tried to ignore the whispers. The hall fell silent as soon as the hat touched Harry's head. Everyone waited eagerly staring up at him. After a few moments the hat shouted.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
The Gryffindor table immediately roared. Jazlyn noticed that he had the loudest cheer. Beside her Fred and George Weasley were chanting, "We got Potter!" Jazlyn of course cheered for the boy she had grown up with just as loudly. She was excited that they were in the same house even though she couldn't feel the pain of jealousy as she remembered the hesitant and skeptical cheers she had gotten. She pushed those feelings aside and high fives Harry as he sat down across from her on the other side of Percy Weasley.
After a while the cheering died down and they waited for the last few students to be sorted.
"Weasley, Ronald!" It only took a second for the hat to shout "GRYFFINDOR!"
And finally it was time for the last student to be sorted. Jazlyn looked up to see that it was Blaise Zabini. She wasn't at all surprised when he was sorted into Slytherin.
Albus Dumbledore stood and welcomed them to Hogwarts and as soon as he finished speaking, the Plates magically filled themselves with food. Jazlyn stared at it all in front of her in amazement. Around her the table was buzzing with conversation. Hermione was talking to Percy Weasley about classes and on the other said of George Weasley some first years were talking about their families. A conversation she definitely wanted to avoid
"I can't believe you were a Hatstall like uncle Peter!" Harry exclaimed from on the other side of the table. "Wait til aunt Jane and uncle Remus find out."
"I know!" Jazlyn said. "I didn't realize I had been sitting there for so long! I'll write to them as soon as we get to the dormitories. Can I borrow Hedwig?"
"You should've gotten an owl." Harry said in an I-told-you-so tone.
"Well are you going to write home tonight?" Jazlyn asked. Harry shook his head. "Didn't think so. What's the point of getting an owl if you're not going to use it."
"You never answered," Fred said. "What houses were the hat thinking of for you?"
"Oh um-" she started to say.
"You don't have to tell us if you don't want to." Katie quickly cut in.
"Tch. If she doesn't want to tell us then it's obviously Slytherin." The fifth year prefect girl said.
"Actually," Jazlyn replied, fixing a hard glare on the older girl. "I believe the hat's exact words were, definitely not Slytherin."
"Tch, your lying." The girl said.
"I am not!" Jazlyn exclaimed somewhat offended. "Why would you think such a thing."
"Well it's obvious," the girl said. "With who your father is."
There were gasps from those that surrounded them and were listening. Jazlyn immediately shrunk into herself. Fred Weasley half rose like he was going to lunge the prefect girl. And George instinctively put his arm around her shoulders as if to shield her from the negative looks she was getting.
"So what?" Harry defended also glaring at the older girl. "Just because she's a Black she has to be a Slytherin? What would you say if the hat considered me for Slytherin, huh?"
"That's impossible, you're Harry Potter." The girl said. "The boy who lived couldn't possibly be considered a Slytherin."
"Not quite so impossible." Harry fired back. It's not like Harry wanted to be in Slytherin or was he necessarily proud of it. But it's not like he was going to let Jazlyn take the fall for something that was entirely not her fault. "Because it did."
Jazlyn smiled thankfully at Harry.
"Cram is just upset that she owes us 20 galleons," Fred said, coldly holding out his head. Flora Cram grumbled and pulled out 20 galleons and passed it over to Fred and George.
"We had bet that you'd be in Gryffindor and that the hat didn't consider Slytherin." George said at the first years' confused looks.
"Well who else just casually picks up a spider?" Fred shrugged. "It makes sense."
"I still would like to know which houses the hat was thinking of for you?" Hermione asked.
"Oh Ravenclaw actually," Jazlyn said.
"Really?" The surrounding students exclaimed.
"It considered Ravenclaw for me as well." Hermione smiled.
"'Course it did," Ron Weasley who sat next to Hermione muttered.
"What I would really like to know is why you almost fell off the stool?" Harry snickered. "What did the hat say to you to make you do that?"
The other Gryffindors laughed as well as Jazlyn blushed and threw a roll at her cousin.
"It's not anything the hat said," Jazlyn lied. She knew she couldn't exactly explain to Harry in front of everyone what had actually happened. She would have to tell him the truth later. "You try sitting on a stool for 7 minutes without moving. I just lost my balance."
Everyone laughed and Jazlyn was relieved the conversation had moved on.
