Apparition: Lesson Three

Irene Finch

Head of the Dept of Magical Transportation
 
Messages
761
Blood Status
Mixed Blood
Relationship Status
Single (Looking)
Wand
Knotted 14 Inch Rigid Spruce Wand with Doxy Wing Core
Age
3/2001
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. A student had also had the misfortune of splinching; that she hoped wouldn't be repeated today.

Irene was feeling out of sorts today. She had been since the trial, and though she'd been trying her best to shake it off, the fog remained. So it took her a moment to realize that it was time to begin. Addressing the small group of sixth years, Irene forced herself to walk 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.
 
Jerara headed into the dorm room, he’d been at the library early, having barely slept the night before. He’d begun reading a lot of different things about the scits and the history of prejudice within magic, it had been something he’d read before but never in enough detail so he’d taken to it recently, especially as a muggleborn wizard. The ravenclaw had been spending so much time reading that the night before and needed a new book to follow the most recent thread. It left him tired but curious, he had so much more to read about it, to find out more about it, finding out more and more about the second wizarding war and the first, different from the muggle ones which he had partially learned about in school. The teen was getting himself ready and getting his books for the day, getting his notes and other work so that he would be ready to face the day. The teen got his wand and then headed out the dorm room to his class. His mind still buzzing from all of the learning he wished to do on subjects they were just not taught in school, which given the depths of one he found odd that they only really covered a little of it in the earlier years of school.
Jerara walked into the great hall when everyone was allowed to enter. he was eager, he knew they didn't get many chances to practice but he was keen to use this time wisely to be able to get more confident at it and hopefully that would translate into success in the exam. He wanted to be good at this, he wanted to manage it. He looked to the woman as she got started, reminding them that they only had this one opportunity to pass the exam once it came around. Jerara hadn't failed an exam in all of his school life and he was not keen to start now. Jerara listened to the instructions, they were going to need to do it in front of other people which was likely going to be a little more nerve wracking but Jerara stood at the front of the hall as the professor pointed towards him to get started. He was perfectly happy to do so. He stood in at the marker point he was supposed to and glanced towards the other side of the room at the X, the place he was supposed to end up at. The teen relaxed a little and remembered what she had taught to them. The three d's. He felt the pull and leaned into it, with a pop appearing at the other side of the room exactly where he was meant to end up, in one piece. The boy watched as others tried it and then either left or stuck around. Jerara tried it as many times as he was able to, he needed to be good at this, he needed to manage it. He did also manage it every time, so he was pretty pleased with himself. The teen and who was left were finally dismissed and only then did he leave the great hall.
 
Signy was always surprised by end of the second semester with how quickly the whole year flew by, it just went by so quickly that she was always sure that someone had pressed fast forward on her life, but they hadn’t. She began working hard as soon as she could hit the ground running and at this point in the year she just had to keep going. She had to just keep at it. Keep going, after all, this was an important year as would be the next so she needed to do well and needed to focus on the exams and not the period after or the fact that the semester had rushed on by. She was finishing off a piece of homework that morning as she was getting ready, intermixing that with getting ready, so by the time she was done with one, she was done with the other and was able to just head for class.
Signy headed into the great hall with the rest of the year group as they filtered into the hall. She looked towards the teacher as the woman got started on what they would be doing. She was keen to pass this class and so paid close attention to what the woman was saying as she got started on the lesson itself. They would be jumping between where the professor was stood to another section of the room, where a large X was on the floor. She listened along to the short lecture but was quite pleased when the teach was just allowing them to try it. One at a time, and the girl waited until a few others had gone before she stood up and tried herself. She'd only just managed to apparate in the last lesson, and Signy wanted to have greater success in this lesson. She knew that she didn't have a whole lot of time to get good at it, so she had to work hard at it. Signy focused her mind, clearing it of other thoughts and focused on the X at the other side of the room. She felt the familiar tug and pulled that she had felt in the last lesson and leaned into it. She found herself across where she needed to be in an audible pop. She was pretty pleased with herself. She spent time doing it again, and got confident enough at it, that she left with a few others still trying to apparate.
 
It still startled Rose sometimes, when she remembered she was a sixth year. The thought of her seventh year scared her, and she tried not to think about it too much. Time was running out to figure out what she wanted to do with her life, and she really didn't know yet. She was considering a career as an herbologist like her dad, but worried a bit that she was just picking a safe option she knew a lot about. But she did love Herbology a lot, and it was the only subject she was really good at. It seemed to her like that was something she should use. In addition, her social life was a bit confusing and sad right now too. She didn't know how to deal with stuff, so she tended to push it to the background so she didn't have to think about it.

She was almost glad she had a apparition lesson, as her fears about being horrible at it almost overshadowed her sadness over fighting with her best friends. She stood far away from them, looking for a place near Corrine instead. She pointedly ignored looking at Harley or Hayley, as she didn't want to see them standing together without her. In the great hall with everyone else, it was hard not to remember the splinching from last week. Rose glanced at the boy who had been hurt, a little nervous herself. What if she splinched this time? She felt a knot of anxiety in her stomach as the professor said she hoped those who had been unable to apparate last week would do so now. She was very intimidating, and Rose wondered if she knew her mother. Would she judge her for not being able to apparate if she didn't do it? Rose feared she might, and that only made the anxiety worse. The professor showed them they had to apparate to the red X on the other side of the great hall, and any hope Rose had plummeted. She hadn't even managed to apparate into the hoop last week. How would she be able to do this? There was once again not a lot of explanation on how to apparate, and Rose bit her lip. Once they were allowed to get started, Rose tried her best. She tried to focus, tried to block everything else out, but her fears and anxieties were overwhelming her. Her hands clenched into fists, and she bit her lip hard in frustration. Tears were fighting to the surface of her eyes, and she pushed them back quickly, looking down to hide her face behind her dark hair. When the lesson was over, she had been one of the few unable to apparate. Rose felt ashamed, and like everyone was looking at her and probably either laughing at her or pitying her. She realized she was about to cry, and didn't want to do that where anyone could see. For the first time, she truly hated being someone with a well known name, someone associated with the Minister of Magic. Rose rushed out of the room and headed to the nearest bathroom, where she tried to cry as quietly as she could.
 
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The end of the year was nearing, and Tristan was feeling uncertain about his future. He was uneasy about the duel with Jerara, even if they had talked it out afterwards. He was both concerned about what he had seen in Jerara, and what he had seen in himself. Then he had lost to October, which frustrated him even more. He wasn't having a good time, and he wasn't sure how to turn things around. He was doing the same things he usually did, working hard for his classes and trying to keep up with everything. He looked forward to the Brotherhood meeting he was about to host, though he had wanted to do it a bit earlier. Sixth year was a little bit overwhelming, though he did enjoy keeping busy. He almost looked forward to the exams, as the results would show him his hard work had been worth it.

Tristan had found himself both looking forward to and dreading apparition. He wanted to apparate so badly, as it felt like it was the last step to him being a full wizard. But at the same time, he was worried about Vivian and what might happen if he splinched again. Vivian had been okay, for the most part, but Tristan had completely lost his composure. If something happened again, he wasn't sure if he wouldn't do the same thing. He already feared someone might think there was more going on between him and Vivian, and if he kept rushing to his side that would only be a bigger risk. But he was also just... worried. Worried that he would hurt himself again. He had even considered trying to convince him not to come to this class, but had decided in the end to leave it up to him.

The teacher told them they would continue practicing today, and told them they would have to apparate from one end of the hall to the other half. She also warned them about the test, which would require them to be accurate when they apparated. Tristan needed to pass this test, so he took it all in very seriously. Then he found a place in a line on one end of the great hall, looking at the red X marks on the other end. Tristan tried his best to let go of his worries and focus. He wanted to get this, and deep down he wanted to do better than Jerara too. He cast a sidelong glance at his friend, then resumed his focus. He managed to apparate again after a while, and was thrilled. But he quickly realized he wasn't on the red X, but a few steps before it. Determined to do better, he returned to his spot and tried again. He kept trying until he could appear on the exact center of the red X, even if it meant he was one of the last students to leave the classroom. He was annoyed that Jerara had gotten it more quickly than he had, but was pleased with the result of his hard work. He had worked hard, and knew he would do well on this exam.
 
The months had flown by. Corrine had recently celebrated her seventeenth birthday and was now considered an adult by wizarding standards. It was an exciting thing, and becoming licensed in Apparition would only help add to that excitement. So Corrine was feeling the pressure, but it was mixed with the excitement of being a new adult and wasn't burdensome. For Corrine, being an adult was about freedom and apparating was just another layer to that. So she was happy to get to close and smiled as Rose took a spot near her. Corrine hadn't mentioned her birthday to any of her friends so she'd celebrated quietly, the gifts from her family coming via owl that day.

Lining up with everyone else, Corrine waited for her turn. She could just see the letter etched into the ground and took a deep breath as her turn arrived. Corrine closed her eyes imagining herself moving to the space well across the room and then she gave a little spin and sagged her shoulders. She hadn't felt the squeeze that everyone described. Moving to the back of her line, Corrine waited for her turn again. This time, she kept her eyes open, staring at the space and where she imagined the letter to be. She wanted to be there, needed to to get her license. Corrine moved a bit and then felt a heavy feeling on her chest. It was like she was moving through a soup and then it was gone in an instant and she swayed a bit as she realized the door to the Great Hall was just in front of her face. She'd overshot the target but she'd done it. Corrine had a broad grin on her face as she moved to the side and jogged back to the end of the line for more practice. As students left, her turn came faster and faster. She was still all over the place, sometimes unable to apparate and other times over or under shooting the target, but she was succeeding more than she wasn't.

Corrine was pleased when the lesson ended though she knew it wasn't good enough. For the exam, she would need to be perfect.
 
Hayley didn't know how to feel. She was overjoyed to finally be dating Harley, but their fight with Rose had upset her, and disturbed her deeply. She just wanted her friend back, wanted things to go back to the way they were with the girl gang - but it seemed there wasn't any way to do that without giving up Harley, and that she absolutely wouldn't do. It was all a mess, and she couldn't figure out how to fix it. Maybe it couldn't be fixed, though she desperately hoped not. Today, Rose was avoiding her and Harley, as she had every day since their fight. Hayley glanced at her often, but Rose wouldn't make eye contact.

And on top of all that, this was their last apparition lesson, and exams were coming up, and next year they'd be seventh years. Hayley had apparated successfully last lesson, but she knew she needed to do better in this, the only class she'd really wanted to succeed in for years. Today, though, she just couldn't concentrate. She was too worried about Rose, and about the future, and when she tried to clear her mind to apparate to the X-marks-the-spot, she couldn't do it. For most classes, Hayley wouldn't try very hard, she'd just give up, but she could do this, she knew she could, and she wanted to. She was one of the last people to stay, but so was Rose, and it looked like she couldn't do it either. Was she feeling the same? Hayley tried her hardest to drive that thought from her mind. Not now. She closed her eyes. She took a deep breath. She opened them again, and didn't look at Rose or anyone else, just at the X at the end of the room. She concentrated. And at last, there was that odd tugging sensation, and she was at the other end of the room. She'd overshot the target, but she'd done it. That wasn't good enough for the exam, but for now, it was good enough for Hayley.
 
Although she had had plenty of success at the previous lesson, October felt substantially more nervous going into Apparition today. Seeing how dangerous splinching really was first hand had been jarring, and she knew it was going to be difficult to get the sight of Vivian with blood streaming down his arm out of her mind today. And that only made it more dangerous - if she was distracted by fear of splinching, she knew of course that she would only be more likely to splinch. It was a fear that only fed into itself further, and October couldn't help her worries about today's class.

She made sure to pay attention as the woman from the ministry spoke, calmed by her strict, firm tone. It reminded October of her ballet teachers, and she was able to chase her worries away somewhat, and focus on the task at hand. Said task was quite a difficult one though, and it was hard to stay focused. October knew that if she got her license she would have to get used to apparating over much longer distances, but taking the steps to get there would have felt much easier if she was able to practiced on her own time. She tried to focus her thoughts as she waited, and eventually her turn at the front of the line came. Taking a few breaths, October focused on the spot she wanted to wind up in. Destination, Determination, Deliberation, she reminded herself, and it wasn't long before to October's relief she felt that now familiar tugging in her stomach. She knew she had to give all her focus to following that feeling and she did, and to her relief when she looked around, October found herself standing in one piece, just slightly off the center of the X. Unable to help grinning in relief, October rejoined the line and continued to practice, staying until the very end of the lesson, by which point she was easily able to make her way to the center of the target. Satisfied with her practice, October left the class much less scared of the exam to come.
 
Before the last lesson, Harley had really, really looked forward to apparition. Now, though, she wasn't so sure. Last week had been shocking, and the knowledge that that had killed Odette's mother only made it worse. Harley suspected that if that had been common knowledge among her classmates, there may be fewer people in the class here today. Harley was relieved not to see Odette among her classmates today, hoping the other girl had decided to avoid these classes. It seemed the safer option to Harley for sure. The guy who had splinched himself had come back though, and Harley wondered what kind of resilience that took. She didn't want to dwell on it though, or she would psych herself out of practicing.

She got into line once they were directed to, trying to focus as she awaited her turn. It had taken a while, but she had had decent success last week, and Harley was hoping to build on that. No worrying about anyone else now, she just had to focus on the task at hand and do her best to succeed. When her turn came to try, Harley focused on the X, trying not to let any other thoughts into her mind. It took a long time, long enough that she felt silly still standing here, but eventually she felt the tug at her stomach and followed the feeling, excited and relieved. When Harley looked around after landing, she was pleased to find that she was just off to one side of the X. Rejoining the line, Harley kept focused, and she stayed for most of the rest of the class to practice, finally managing to land near the center of the target.
 
Vivian didn't know what he was doing back here. The tightness of the scar tissue in his shoulder reminded him that he should stay away, but he had come along to class anyway. Vivian was nervous, certainly, but by now his failure had set him a full lesson behind the rest of his classmates, and with only three lessons before the exam, there were only two options. He could skip the lesson, and concede himself to not getting his apparition license, or he could grit his teeth and face his fear, and show up once more. Vivian had never in his life been the heroic type, but here he was anyway, following Tristan into the Great Hall.

It wasn't all bravery, if Vivian was honest. He couldn't fight the misery brought about by his own actions. He had been a fool, inconsiderate and blind, and someone else was hurting as a result. Part of Vivian thought that if he did splinch again, it would be entirely deserved. A fitting punishment for his own cruelty. That thought lived further towards the back of Vivian's mind, and he did his best to ignore it outright, pretend it didn't exist. He was certain that if he dwelled on his own failure there was no doubt that he would splinch again. So when Vivian's turn to try came, he did his best to focus on the task at hand, fixating on the X ahead. It was a much larger distance than the one he had failed to cross in the previous lesson, but Vivian did his best not to let that psych him out, keeping his breathing calm and slow as he focused on the target. It took a long time, but finally Vivian felt that tugging again. His heart leaped at once and he jumped, losing focus before going anywhere. That was certainly better than splinching, but Vivian rejoined the back of the line, dismayed at his failure. It took several attempts but finally, finally, Vivian was able to collect his focus enough to chase that feeling, and to his relief, when he looked around himself on his fourth try, he found himself standing on the edge of the X, completely intact. A laugh of disbelief and relief escaped Vivian, and he was trembling a little with the exertion as he rejoined the line. Finally. He stayed for the rest of the class, only managing to apparate a couple more times, but it was enough. Proof that he wasn't incapable. All he had to do was succeed at the exam, and he would be able to practice more at home at his own pace. Pleased and relieved, Vivian left the Great Hall when the lesson was over, feeling emboldened by his success.
 

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