Harry was sitting on Ron’s bed, clutching at the letter which his mum and dad had given him with his birthday present. They had written that letter the very day Voldemort killed them. Around his neck he wore an ancient time turner that belonged to someone with the initials G.G. Harry hadn’t figured out who G.G. was as of yet, but he would find out soon enough. He held the time turner firmly in his hands, and his eyes filled with tears; he missed his mum and dad so much, even though he didn’t remember them.
There was a knock at the bedroom door, but Harry didn’t look up.
“Harry it’s time to go to the Ministry for your test… What’s wrong?” Hermione asked in a concerned voice, rushing over to him immediately when she realised he had been crying.
Harry looked up at her, his eyes glistening, then wiped his eyes and said with a weak smile, “Nothing, I’m fine.”
“No Harry, there is definitely something wrong. Tell me what’s upset you,” asked Hermione insistently.
Harry met her eyes rather ashamedly, and bit back his tears. “It’s just, I really miss my parents even though I didn’t get to know them that well…’ he admitted, embarrassed about seeming so weak.
“Oh Harry, you should of said something! And don’t be ashamed of getting upset in front of me, we all get upset at one time or another. I know that it’s not fair that Lord Voldemort killed your mum and dad, and Ron and I will do anything to support you in facing Voldemort,” she said fiercely.
She gave him a tight hug, then let him go with a smile. “Come on, we’d better get going or Twycross will go mental!”
“Thanks Hermione, oh and by the way don’t mention to Ron that you saw me upset will you,” said Harry, wiping away his tears.
“Of course not, it will be our secret, I promise,” Hermione said reassuringly.
They left the bedroom as quick as possible, and ran down the stairs, stepping into the large kitchen to see Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Ron, and Ginny waiting for them.
“Good luck Harry dear!” Mrs. Weasley said encouragingly.
“Thanks very much Mrs. Weasley,” he replied appreciatively.
“I just know you will pass,” Ginny said with immense enthusiasm as she stepped forward and kissed him on the cheek.
“Thanks Ginny,” muttered Harry, feeling himself blush.
“Right then everyone, it’s time we were off,” informed Mr. Weasley, and without further ado he grabbed the small pot off of the mantelpiece and threw some green powder into the fireplace. There was a large roar and a sea of emerald erupted in the grate.
With a confident smile, he stepped into the flames and said clearly, “The Ministry of Magic!” disappearing immediately afterwards in a whirl of smoke.
Harry, Ron and Hermione then followed him through the fireplace, repeating his directions loudly. They had one last look at Mrs. Weasley and Ginny’s outlines, before everything went black.
When the trio emerged out of one of the many Ministry of Magic fireplaces a few minutes later, they found Mr. Weasley getting to his feet and brushing the soot of his clothing. They stepped out of the grate, and joined him, Hermione performing a graceful pirouette, and saying, “Remember Harry, Destination, Determination and Deliberation.”
Harry nodded curtly, and looked around the foyer. They certainly must have done an awful lot of repair work just in the two days he had read the article in the paper; there were pictures in the Prophet of the foyer under clouds of dust, yet the grand entrance seemed almost as good as new! Harry could just see a group of about ten wizards making the final alterations to the foyer, using complicated movements to perform incantations.
“Absolutely marvellous isn’t it, the repair work they can do within two day of an attack,” remarked Mr. Weasley, noticing Harry’s awed stares.
“Yes indeed,” replied Harry with interest.
“Harry, it’s just turned ten to twelve, we’d better catch a lift up to the sixth floor,” reminded Ron.
Following his lead, they all made a quick sprint to the lifts, got into one amongst many enchanted memos, and pressed level six on the key pad. The golden gates shut immediately with a loud clang, and the lift went backwards then down very fast, rather like a fairground ride, before turning right and speeding upwards until they reached the sixth floor.
They stepped out of the lift, and Harry followed the instructions he had been given, finding the Apparition Test Centre easily. When he opened the large oak doors, Wilkie Twycross was there to greet them.
“Good day Harry, Happy Birthday,” he trilled.
“Thanks,” Harry replied with a hesitant smile.
“Are you ready for your apparition test, Mr. Potter?” the apparition wizard enquired.
“Err… ready as I will ever be,” he replied, sounding a little worried.
“Good, good. Follow me please!”
The little wizard led Mr. Weasley, Harry, Ron and Hermione through a smaller door towards the back of the room. He then opened the door, stepped through, and disappeared into nothingness.
With puzzled looks, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Mr. Weasley followed suite. When they stepped through the door they felt a strange sensation in their stomachs, and upon opening their eyes, found themselves in Hogsmeade Village.
“Welcome to Hogsmeade,” said Twycross with a fleeting smile.
“What are we doing here?” Harry asked in surprise.
It was Hermione who answered Harry’s question. “Well Harry, this is where students are taken for their apparition test, Ron and I took our test here, too.”
“Precisely! Miss Granger has got it in one. I do believe you passed first time, too,” said Twycross admiringly.
“Err, yes that’s right, I did,” replied Hermione, blushing a light shade of magenta as Ron scowled beside her.
“Right then Mr. Potter, time for your test.” said Twycross in a jolly tone, before giving Harry a few tips.
“Remember, think clearly of your Destination, and focus on your Determination - you must be determined to succeed - and finally, Deliberation. Perform the movement carefully, we don’t want you splinching yourself now do we. Right… I would like you to dissapperate and apperate north of Honeydukes,” said Twycross as he twirled his wand in the air, catching the clipboard he had conjured out of nowhere.
“OK,” said Harry, full of nerves.
“Relax Harry, don’t get uptight or you wont be able to apperate,” instructed Hermione.
At these words, he relaxed, and thought: “Destination, Determination and Deliberation”. Then he stepped forward and revolved on the spot like a spinning top.
He felt like he was slowly being forced through a solid rubber tube; he could not draw for breath. But no sooner had it begun, the unpleasant sensation ended. He opened his eyes and found that he had arrived at the point Twycross had asked for. He’d done it!
“Very good Mr. Potter, although a little slower than I had expected. But still, you did it,” said Twycross, marking something on his clipboard.
Harry looked at him questionably.
“Please apperate to the south of Madam Puddifoot’s, Mr. Potter,” asked Twycross obligingly.
One, two, three, Harry spun on the spot. It happened a little quicker this time.
“Good, faster that time,” Twycross remarked, apperating beside him and scribbling on his clipboard. “Next, please apperate to the west of the post office,” he continued, as if this were a routine he usually performed himself.
Harry did so with three blinks of an eye, and a lot quicker than his previous two tries.
“Fabulous Mr. Potter, well done!” said an enthusiastic Twycross. “Now, one more time please; apperate back to the entrance, where your friends will be waiting for you.”
Without further ado, Harry obliged. “Destination, Determination, Deliberation.”
Instantly, he felt the now familiar sensation, and knew it had worked before he even opened his eyes.
Bang.
He had arrived in front of Mr. Weasley, Ron and Hermione.
“Stupendous Harry, full marks! Here you go,” said Twycross, twirling his wand once more in the air.
Something that looked like liquid gold came streaming out of his wand, and formed a square shape in front of Harry, who caught it in mid air.
“That, Mr. Potter, is your apparition licence. You have passed, and are now free to apperate whenever you please. One word of warning though… try not to splinch yourself! Also, your details on the card will change automatically as you get older,” Twycross finished with a cheery chuckle.
Harry looked at the gold card, upon which were printed the words:
Apparition Licence
Name: Harry J. Potter
Age: 17
Occupation: Student
And with a word of thanks, Mr. Weasley, Ron, Hermione and Harry disapperated to The Burrow.
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