Apparition 3

[Irene Finch]

Before the end of the lesson, Irene Finch hoped that all of the students would succeed in apparating to their target. She knew that wouldn't be the case, but the pressure was on for the students. This was the last practice after all. Several of the students had managed to apparate during the last lesson, but that didn't always translate to success at the exam.

Addressing the small group of sixth years, Irene walked as she spoke. "Today, we will resume practicing" she began, her icy blue eyes staring at each of the students in turn as she spoke. "I am hopeful that those of you who weren't able to apparate last month will do so today. The next time we meet will be your exam and you will only get one opportunity to succeed or fail. Your test will require you to be accurate when you apparate." She let that sink in before continuing on.

"Line up beside me please." It didn't take them long to queue up. "Alright...I'd like you all to attempt apparating from this end of the Great Hall to that end" she said, pointing towards the doors of the Great Hall. "The red X marks the spot" she added, knowing that they had probably noticed an X etched onto the floor with magic as they walked in. Glancing at all the students beside her, she hoped there would be no splinchings today, though she had asked for one of the school nurses to join them once again. "You can begin whenever you're ready" she said to the student who was first in line. "As soon as you feel comfortable, you may leave. But, please do remember that this is your final opportunity to practice before your exam." They were adults by wizarding standards or close enough anyway, so she wasn't going to force any of them to stay. It was in their best interests to take advantage of the time provided to them though.
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Practice attempting to apparate one by one. Practice as many times as you'd like. Please warn me via PM if you plan on splinching.

 

[Alexis Kramer]

Alexis walked into the Great Hall and noticed the red X on the floor. Knowing that it was Apparitions class, she figured they would be practicing on apparating on a specific spot. The practice with the hoops was easy since the inside of the ring was big enough for them to apparate in. The X was different. It had to be precise. The class started and they were asked to form a line. It was what the prefect thought as she was first in line. Remembering the red mark, she breathed deeply before disappearing and appeared, the huge doors greeted her and she slowly looked down to see her feet right on top of the mark. "I did it!", she blurted out happily. She made her way back to the front to fall in line and try it again. She did it again. She repeated this until she felt confident. She bid the professor goodbye and made her way back to the dormitories.​

 

[Simon Vanity]

With his exams coming Simon was focusing a lot upon getting the revision done. He was pleased that the competition he had with Charlotte to be the best of the two of them tended to mean that he didn’t have to worry about her getting annoyed that he was revising too much because she tended to be right there with him. It wasn’t too bad then, when they didn’t spend necessary time together doing good or fun things because they would still spend time together revising. Simon was going out of his way to revise in places that she also had access to, not the ravenclaw common room, the brotherhood room or the prefect common room. Places where they both could sit and just learn, revise together. It wasn’t the most fun they could have when they could be having fun elsewhere, but it was necessary. Even for Charlotte he wouldn’t interrupt his studying and he knew she wouldn’t either. Being the best in all places was what they both wanted. The boy gathered up all of the books, notes and homework he would need for the day and headed to class. He had taken enough so that he could study other subjects afterwards. ​

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Simon was getting increasingly nervous about the apparition class, if only because he knew there wouldn’t be that many more until he had to do the exam and that felt like very daunting to him. He wanted to pass deeply and it was such an important part of the adult wizards life, he felt like he couldn’t afford to not get it on the first try. He stepped into the great hall with the rest of the students in his year group and noticed the big x in the room. It wasn’t like the hoops and he could figure what they would be doing. He looked to the teacher as she gave them a little explanation and then let them just get started. One by one. Perhaps the most daunting part of it was that Simon knew he very deeply wanted to get it right and quickly in front of all the other students. He let a few others go before him before he stepped forward. He stood where he was supposed to, staring across to the other side of the room. The teen focused, he remember the instructions that the professor had given them. He made his mind think of where he wanted to do, and eventually after a moment of nothing, he felt what he needed to. He leaned into it and with a pop he was at the other side of the room. He moved out of the way and let someone else have a try at it. He waited until everyone else had gone and then he had another attempt at it. Making sure that he got it quicker this time, which he did. The lesson was eventually wrapped up and Simon packed up his things and left the room.​

 

[Shane Ackley]

Shane was working harder as the semester dragged on, now at least with the exam just around the corner, there was a point to it, an end objective to all of the hours he was putting into reading the same material over and over again. He didn’t really struggle with classes, Shane could manage fine without putting too much effort in, he wouldn’t do excellent but he would pass, but he was trying to show his aunt and uncle that they had done the right thing by letting him move schools, that it hadn’t been a waste when they had been paying money for private education before. Shane liked hogwarts better so he wanted his grades to somewhat reflect that it was a superior school. The hufflepuff was getting himself ready for the day, he had gone for a walk in the early morning and had come back to the dorm then to get himself ready. He gathered up his notes and books and put them into his bag. He made sure he had everything that would be necessary for the classes he had that day before taking his wand and heading out of the room to his first class, swinging his bag on to his back as he headed out the door. ​

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Shane walked into the great hall with the rest of his year group and could immediately spot what they were going to be doing. He looked to the teacher as she began going over it, reminding them of what they needed to do and then just letting them get started. It was unfortunately one by one, it was going to be slow but thankfully shane had put himself close to where the x was. He didn’t have to wait long until it was his turn. He stepped forward and stood where he was supposed to. He cleared his mind, only focusing on where he want to go. He focused hard, made sure that was the only thing really on his mind and then after a short moment he felt it. He was tugged and he leaned in apparating across to the x in a flash. He smiled to himself at his own success and just rejoined the queue of people to try again. He knew it would be the last opportunity to practice before the exam and he was determined to pass first time, so he welcomed the opportunity to try again. He did so, but wasn’t able to try a third time. The lesson was wrapped up and Shane headed out of the hall.​

 

[Fleur van Houten]

Fleur's sixth year was coming to an end, and it was strange to think that her seventh year would start soon. She had enjoyed this year, as it had been fun to be at school with all her siblings. She was proud of Emma and Iris for how well they seemed to adapt to their houses, and was glad she could keep an eye on Emma a bit in Gryffindor. It was a little sad that this would only be for another year, then she was graduating. But Fleur also felt ready to graduate. She wanted to go out into the world. Fleur entered the Great Hall for the final apparition lesson of the year. Fleur was a little nervous, but mostly excited. She had managed to apparate during the last lesson, and was fairly confident she could do it again. The teacher was still very strict, and Fleur thought she should really lighten up a little bit. She lined up beside her as instructed, then listened to what they had to do. Apparently the idea was that they had to apparate from one end of the Great Hall to the other. There were red X's to mark the spot. After the explanation, they were allowed to start trying. Fleur tried her best to focus on the spot across the great hall, trying to recreate the feeling of last time. She closed her eyes to focus, and when she opened them again she was halfway across the hall. She hadn't done it, but it had at least been something. Fleur managed to land on the X after a few more attempts, then kept practicing until the time was up. This was one exam she did not want to screw up on.

 

[Stella Wright]

Stella hated this. They only had one more chance and that was it. With terrible, vague teaching and no concrete guidance, and she hadn’t managed it last time and she was worried. She had surveyed those of her friends that had succeeded, trying to acquire some more concrete information on what they had done and how it had felt, and she thought she’d got something that would be more useful to her than the ‘three Ds’ nonsense. Stella lined up with the others, and concentrated. She wouldn’t try to reach the X first time, that would be ridiculous, but she would apparate. Stella focused all her attention on a spot in front of her, about the same distance away as the hoop had been last lesson. She could do this. She had to. Eventually she felt a strange pulling sensation deep in her stomach. Remembering her friends’ comments, she leaned into it, following the feeling. And suddenly, just like that, she was a metre away. Stella made a little squeak of triumph. She had done it! She went back to her place and kept practicing, gradually managing further and further distances. She wondered how this translated to proper long distance apparation, where you couldn’t see your destination, and wished they could practice outside of the hall. Stella stayed as long as she could, and by the time she had to leave she’d succeeded in reaching the X several times. She wasn’t confident in her abilities, but she was cautiously hopeful about the exam.

 

[Theodore Westwick]

The end of the school year was approaching, and Theodore felt like this had been his first good year in a while. He'd enjoyed most of it, and hadn't had too many annoying encounters with classmates. Maybe by now his classmates knew to leave him alone, which he was pleased about. He was glad to have Zoe and Edmund by his side, and didn't think he needed anyone else. It was strange to graduate next year, but Theodore knew he wouldn't miss many of his fellow students much. Theodore headed into the Great Hall and found a spot. He listened as the teacher said they would be practicing today, and lined up when she told them to. He was glad he had been able to apparate last week, but only hoped he could perfect it today. The next chance he would get would be at the exam itself, and he didn't want to screw that up. He lined up when the teacher told them to, listening quietly to what they had to do next. There were red X marks on the other end of the great hall, and they were supposed to apparate to the other side. Theodore observed a few of his classmates first, then started to try himself. It took him a while, but he eventually managed to apparate. After a few tries, he apparated perfectly onto the X. Theodore was pleased with the result, and was glad with how the lesson had gone. He felt like the exam would go well.

 

[Zoe Westwick]

The school year was closer to over than Zoe expected, and she couldn't believe how fast the time was going. Soon she would be in her final year of Hogwarts, preparing for NEWTs and adult life. Zoe didn't quite feel ready for any of that yet. She wanted to stay a kid for longer, to goof around with her friends and do whatever she liked and not worry about NEWTs and jobs and rent and all of the things adults had to think about. Sure, Harley and Jason made it sound easy and fun (Jason more easy and Harley more fun) but Zoe didn't really like having all of that to worry about on the horizon.

Three lessons felt like far too few for such a difficult subject, and Zoe's nerves were through the roof. She needed to apparate today, and she needed to do it perfectly. No matter how hard she tried though, it was too difficult to calm her thoughts properly. Today was the last chance before the exam though, and Zoe needed to do this. She listened to the teacher, only growing more anxious as the woman impressed upon them how important it was to manage to apparate today. She lined up with her classmates, giving Ted's hand a quick squeeze for support, and stepped forward when it was her turn. All she had to do was land on the X. Easy. It should be easy. Zoe breathed out and focused, trying to remember the 3 Ds. She was determined. She had deliberated, and she knew exactly where her destination was. This should be easy. Zoe stood still for a painfully long time, focusing as best she could, before finally, finally feeling something shift. Chasing the feeling, Zoe vanished with a pop, and when she re-materialised she was standing on the X exactly where she should be. Looking around, Zoe squealed and clapped, jumping with joy. She had done it! Finally! Rejoining the line, Zoe kept practicing with her classmates until the last possible moment, eager to get every second of practice she could before the exam.

 

[Edmund Westwick]

The semester was flying by before Edmund's eyes. This year would be over before he was really ready, and though he was looking forward to another holiday at home, Edmund didn't feel like he was really ready for his final year of school to begin. He would be graduating at the end of next year, and moving on to begin his career. The thought was horrifying. Sure he had technically been an adult by law for months now, but adulthood felt like a different beast all together, one he didn't know if he was ready to tackle.

One thing Edmund was definitely ready to tackle though, was apparition. He had been brimming with pride since the last class, pleased he had managed to apparate so easily. Today would be just the extra practice he needed to nail this exam. He listened as the lady from the Ministry explained what they were doing today, then lined up with his classmates. This would be a breeze. When Edmund's turn came he remembered what had worked for him last time, and it was only moments before he felt that instinct to move. With a pop, Edmund apparated exactly to the center of the X. Rejoining the line, Edmund spent the rest of the session practicing, trying to apparate quicker and quicker each time.

 

[Charlie Madison]

Charlie was heartbroken. It was hard to make herself show up to class at all, but she had done her best, dragging herself through the doors. She couldn't believe it. She had made it so far through the duels, only to make such a stupid mistake at the very end. Losing to Simon, of all people. It was embarrassing, and a nightmare. Charlie had felt so confident since last year's duels, walking away the champion having assured her that she was on the right career path, but now... now nothing made any sense anymore.

At least she had Apparition to look forward to. That was one thing going her way. Charlie had never been good at anything right off the bat before in her life, and it was a really good feeling. She was excited for the day's challenge, and after the woman had explained what they were doing, she got in line behind one of those weird twins. When Charlie's turn came she closed her eyes and tried to channel the focus she had felt in the last lesson, feeling the pull immediately. After she apparated Charlie looked down, a little frustrated to see she wasn't quite on the center of the X. She was off to the side quite a bit. But, she was close, and that was good. Rejoining the line, Charlie kept practicing, honeing her aim until the class was over, and left feeling a lot better about herself and her abilities than she had walking in.

 

[Charlotte Harper]

Charlotte was ready for another lesson of apparition. She would do her very best because exam came close and she had to be prepared. Charlotte went standing close to Simon and listened to the teacher. The woman seemed strict but she was direct and Charlotte saw nothing wrong with that. She was like that herself as well. And it was clear that there was one chance and not two at an exam. The blonde did as she was told to and lined up beside the woman and the others. It was easy to see the X where they needed to be and when it was her turn she focused and closed her eyes to focus on the spot. She thought of the instructions they were given and when she opened her eyes she saw herself standing in front of the others. It worked! The blonde was glad and went standing next to Simon again to try again when everyone had did their attempt. She and Simon were the same they wanted things to be perfect and good so tried again. When she was done she left the great hall.