Chapter 742: Apparition Lesson (Edited)

"Good morning," said the wizard from the Ministry of Magic after the students had been mingling for a while and settled down upon the deans' orders. "My name is Wilkie Twycross, and I will be your Apparition instructor for the next twelve weeks, helping you prepare for the Apparition Charm exams..."

Instead of immediately teaching them the Apparition Charm, Twycross was talking about something that seemed irrelevant to Fish.

"As you already know, it is generally impossible to use the Apparition Charm or Disapparate within Hogwarts. The Headmaster has lifted this restriction for one hour only in the Great Hall, so you can practice. I insist that nobody should use the Apparition Charm outside the walls of this hall, and anyone who attempts it is being reckless."

After rambling about precautions, the day's lesson finally began.

"Now, I want everyone to stand straight, leaving a meter and a half of space in front of you."

The Great Hall turned into chaos as students started dispersing, colliding with each other and telling others to leave their territory. The deans walked around the students, helping them get into position and mediating disputes.

Fish's side soon cleared up, and Fish did an unusual job as a Prefect, assisting Professor McGonagall with Hermione and organizing the spots for everyone.

After a bit of chaos, everyone was separated by at least a meter and a half from each other, and with the four deans shouting "Silence," the Great Hall became quiet and orderly again.

"Thank you," said Twycross, expressing gratitude to the four deans before continuing, "Now..."

He waved his wand. Immediately, an old-fashioned wooden circle appeared on the floor in front of each student.

"The most important thing to remember when using the Apparition Charm are the three Ds!" Twycross exclaimed, "That is, Destination, Determination, and Deliberation!"

Similar to the Patronus Charm, the most crucial aspect of Apparition is not the fluidity of the spell or how the wand is waved with a standard motion, but the emotional or spiritual strength of the wizard.

The steps are simple:

First, identify the target and focus your attention on it, the wooden circle; then, commit yourself to occupying the desired space, letting the desire to enter fill every part of your body; and finally, turn yourself to a state of emptiness, moving gracefully in place.

The truly difficult part is gaining enough confidence, overcoming the fear of separation, and preventing panic during the transfer.

"Now listen to my command..." Twycross raised his voice after explaining the steps of Apparition, "One..."

Everyone was taken aback; they hadn't expected to start practicing so soon, even when learning the Lumos Charm, there was still the preparation of familiarizing oneself with the spell and practicing wand handling! The urgency of the training made many of them feel uncomfortable, which only made them more nervous.

Once again, Fish was an exception.

But Fish suddenly recalled what Hermione had said when Twycross was shouting his orders: "Being small gives you an advantage when using the Apparition Charm."

So...

"Nya!"

(=ΦωΦ=)

Fish decided to transform into his cat-man form, and although he grew thick white and black striped fur, he also reduced his size by almost half.

"Two... cough, cough, cough!" Twycross, who was chanting slogans, was startled by the sudden appearance of the cat-man and then choked on his own saliva.

But Fish, being no stranger to the Ministry of Magic, quickly recovered and shouted a reminder, "Focus on your target! Don't get distracted! Let's start again... One!"

The others quickly composed themselves and refocused their attention on the wooden circle in front of them, while Fish, who had unwittingly caused a scene, received a stern look from Professor McGonagall.

"Remember the three Ds!" Probably due to the previous mistake, Twycross was now teaching with a bit more seriousness, emphasizing what should and shouldn't be done.

"And finally... spin on the spot... three!"

All the students, including Fish, spun on the spot.

(ω´≡ω´)

Fish spun several times before coming to a stop, still standing, with the wooden circle still one and a half meters away.

But Fish managed to stay on his feet. Harry stumbled and nearly fell, Ron got tangled in his robe, Neville fell backward, and Ernie leaped toward the wooden circle with a ballet-like movement, momentarily excited until he noticed Dean laughing at him.

The rest of the school wasn't faring much better, and the Great Hall suddenly filled with wobbling figures.

If they had simply spun on the spot, there wouldn't have been mass disorientation, but they had focused their attention on the wooden circle one and a half meters away before spinning. In doing so, they had to use the Apparition Charm, which made it easy to lose their sense of direction while spinning.

It was only their first attempt, and they weren't very skilled yet, but as they got the hang of it, a feeling of oxygen deprivation set in, which was the main reason many wizards panicked and splinched during Apparition.

"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter," Twycross said dryly, as if he expected nothing better. "Step out of the wooden circle, return to your original positions..."

The group quickly made a second attempt, and Fish wasn't discouraged. After all, he hadn't learned all the spells at once.

Having failed once, Fish didn't rush to try again like the others but instead delved into analyzing the reasons for his failure.

I didn't think he lacked concentration; he was used to being very focused when hunting, and determination was not something Fish lacked. There were very few things Fish wanted to do that he couldn't do so far!

So for Fish, the only thing that really made him fail was the last part about "entering a state of emptiness"...

Since he didn't understand very well what "state of emptiness" meant, he thought it meant the same as Occlumency, but now he didn't think it meant anything.

(??ˇ?ˇ??)

While Fish furrowed his brow and contemplated, the other students had made two more attempts and were ready to start a fourth one, and naturally, Fish, who hadn't moved, caught Twycross's attention.

"Is something wrong, Fish?" He paused in his practice to ask Fish aloud, "Apparition is a spell that requires a lot of practice to master; you can't learn it by standing still."

"Fish has a question he doesn't understand."

(=?ω?=)

Fish snapped back to attention, rubbed his neck, and asked, "What does it mean to be in a state of emptiness? How does Fish reach that state?"

"Well, simplifying it, it's when your whole body becomes empty, kind of like using Floo Powder or letting yourself be carried away by someone else's Apparition," Twycross explained.

"Exactly!"

∑(=ΦДΦ=)

Fish understood that Ron had said something similar before, but he hadn't paid much attention to it at the time.

Fish began to recall the horrible feeling of being pushed into a very narrow rubber tube.

When Twycross saw Fish standing still again, he was about to say a few words to reassure him, but then he saw Fish, who hadn't moved at all, suddenly spinning.

The spinning Fish turned into a black-and-white vortex, rapidly shrinking into a small dot, followed by a popping sound in the Great Hall, and in the blink of an eye, Fish appeared in his cat-man form in the wooden circle in front of him.

"Meowahaha! Fish has learned it! It's not that difficult!"

(=`´=)

Fish crossed his arms in triumph, with his chin and tail held high.