Looking at the little furry creature laughing towards the sky, Wilkie Twycross was astounded.
He had been in charge of the Apparition class for over a decade, and he had seen many talented young wizards, but it was the first time he had seen a young wizard master the spell on their second attempt.
Although Twycross had heard many rumors about Fish before coming here, and he knew that this young wizard had a lot of talent... he didn't expect him to be this talented!
"How, how did you do it?" stammered Twycross.
"Nya? Did Fish just do what you taught me? It was easier than expected nya... Fish thought it would take five or six tries."
?ω?
Fish looked at him with a tilted head, confused, and naturally replied.
"Five or six tries..." Twycross's cheeks twitched violently, and suddenly he fell silent.
The students and professors at Hogwarts were much calmer than the troublemaker from the Ministry of Magic... Anyway, they had seen it before, so it was no surprise.
"Nyahaha!"
As soon as Fish had learned the Apparition Charm, he started moving around the Great Hall as if he had a new toy, and all that could be seen was him spinning in circles and then disappearing and reappearing with a series of pops.
While everyone watched in awe as Fish scampered around the Great Hall, Hermione turned her attention to Professor McGonagall, who, to her surprise, didn't seem to be trying to stop Fish but instead smiled coldly and let Fish get away with it.
And Hermione wasn't confused for long; after about half a minute of Fish continuously using the Apparition Charm throughout the Great Hall, she knew the reason for Professor McGonagall's icy gaze...
"Hey--!"
(=@Д@=)
Fish collapsed to the ground, feeling the sky spinning in front of him and his stomach churning, feeling worse than when he had been drunk.
"Ah..." Wilkie Twycross added belatedly, "I forgot to remind you not to use Apparition too frequently when you first learn it; it's too much for you. You won't be able to handle it, like Fish."
After thinking for a moment, he added, "Besides, it's better to gradually increase the distance of Apparition; otherwise, it's easy to make mistakes and even endanger your life."
"You should have said something like that earlier!"
(=`Д=)
Fish, lying on the ground, complained aggressively.
Twycross also felt aggrieved; he hadn't expected anyone to be able to learn that difficult and dangerous spell in the first Apparition session.
Professor McGonagall approached Fish, who lay motionless on the ground, and lifted him up.
"Minerva~!"
(=QДQ=)
Fish raised his hand with tears in his eyes and then quickly and weakly lowered it.
"You should rest for a while; you'll be fine," Professor McGonagall stroked Fish's furry head and whispered, "Can you heal yourself?"
"I'm too dizzy to use my spells for a while, nya..." Fish whimpered pitifully.
Amused and concerned, Professor McGonagall gently pushed Fish aside and softly squeezed his head, and in an instant, a comfortable purring came from Fish's throat.
While Fish enjoyed the massage from Professor McGonagall, the rest of the Apparition class continued their practice.
Fish's success gave everyone a boost of confidence, and although no one succeeded in the following attempts, they all took their practice more seriously...
That was until Susan Bones from Hufflepuff separated.
At first, Susan let out a cry of joy when she found herself inside the wooden circle, but soon she felt her body falling to the left and a sudden, sharp pain in her left leg.
"Ah!"
Susan let out a terrible scream as she looked down and saw that her left leg had disappeared, and there were horrified screams from all the Hufflepuff students surrounding her who had witnessed her misfortune.
Fish, who had recovered from dizziness and returned to his human form, followed by Professor McGonagall and the other three Heads of Houses, rushed to her side, and Fish raised his hand to cast a rejuvenation spell on Susan, but he was stopped by Professor McGonagall.
A split body is not a normal dismemberment, and Fish's healing spell could do harm with good intentions.
While Professor McGonagall explained to Fish why he had been stopped, Professor Sprout waved her wand, and the remaining left leg flew and connected to Susan's broken leg.
Then, with a loud bang, a cloud of purple smoke dissipated, and an intact Susan Bones emerged from the smoke, still frightened and sobbing.
That was when Professor McGonagall let go of Fish, and Fish immediately ran to Susan's side, tapping her with a rejuvenation and stabilization spell and whispered reassuringly, "It's okay nya, your leg is back together."
Then Fish couldn't resist his curiosity and asked, "What's it like to be split? Is it fun?"
(?ω?)
"Being split is not fun," said Wilkie Twycross indifferently.
Being split was nothing compared to the ten minutes it took Fish to learn the Apparition Charm. He had seen it happen so many times that splitting at such a short distance was basically harmless, even if he accidentally split his head.
"That's what happens when you lack determination. You must always focus on the target, not let panic take over, and stay calm..." Twycross took the opportunity to train the group as he took a few steps forward, allowing them to focus on themselves. "Like this."
Twycross opened his arms and spun around, disappearing in a swirl of robes before reappearing at the back of the Great Hall.
"Remember the three Ds," he said again, and then reassured the frightened students, "Don't worry about splitting, the more you worry, the more likely it is to happen, and with the Heads of Houses nearby, even if you split, you will recover as quickly as this student, and there is no danger."
The group continued practicing, and Fish, who had already recovered, tried two more times in his human form and successfully used the Apparition Charm, then went to stand beside Professor McGonagall. Fish didn't want to go through that unpleasant experience again...
"I don't know how Albus and the others managed to endure nya..."
(??ˇ?ˇ??)
Fish murmured quietly, admiring Dumbledore and Grindelwald for their ability to dodge while they fought...
Oh, yes, and Voldemort.
An hour had passed soon enough, during which no one else had split, but no one had managed to learn the Apparition Charm either.
This brought a slight relief to Twycross... It was true that Fish was a special case, and the rest of the students remained relatively normal.
"Until next Saturday, everyone," he said as he fastened his cloak and bid farewell to the crowd, emphasizing one last time, "And don't forget: Destination, Determination, Deliberation."
With that, he waved his wand to remove the wooden circle and followed Professor McGonagall out of the Great Hall.