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The Apparition test was much simpler than Remus expected. He didn't know why he'd waited an extra year before taking it, although he wasn't complaining. That year meant he got to be there when Sydney took hers, and there was nothing that could beat that.
They were in one of the classrooms at the old primary school that Remus had attended. It was after hours, so none of the students were there. Him, Sydney, and about ten others who hadn't taken their tests at school had shoved all the desks to the edges of the room. To pass, they had to first apparate from the blackboard to the back wall, then from the room out into the hall, then to the classroom on the other side of the wall. Simple, really. Remus had finished it at least 20 minutes ago.
Sydney was still at the blackboard.
The problem wasn't that she couldn't apparate. She was actually brilliant at it, like everything else. But she didn't think she was brilliant at it. Like everything else.
Remus could almost see her running through every possible way she could be splinched. She had her brows pinched and her lips a little scrunched like she was watching a horror scene on the floor of the classroom. And she was pulling on her fingers again.
"Syd," Remus said from his spot in one of the desks on the side. She looked up immediately, fingers frozen together. "Relax," Remus mouthed. He made a show of pulling his own fingers away from each other. Sydney looked down and let hers fall to her sides, flexing them once or twice.
She closed her eyes for a minute, mouthed the three D's to herself destination... determination... deliberation... and then motioned to the proctor that she was ready. Finally.
She made it to the back wall fairly easily. The crack of her apparition was a bit loud, though. And suddenly Remus felt an overwhelming surge of worry. Wasn't the louder the crack the worse the apparition? What if she splinched herself just trying to get four paces ahead of her? Sydney seemed more sure of herself now, but was that a good thing? Maybe it would be alright if she never got her Apparition license. He could take her everywhere, anyways. When would she even be without him?
Sydney gave him a thumbs up and a big grin. Remus's heart burrowed into his stomach. She was going to die, surely.
In that moment, he wished his mother was there. She didn't know a thing about magic, so she would certainly understand Remus's fears. Beyond that, though, she had such an unwavering belief in Sydney. She was astounded by her—all she'd gone through, how light she still was, how at peace. She told Remus every moment how perfect they were for each other, and how Remus needed to be more like Sydney: a bit fearless once she got going.
Oh, Remus wished she hadn't gotten going. She was going to die, or be splinched; he just knew it.
She somehow managed to apparate out into the hall, though she wavered over the line a bit before regaining her balance. Remus let out a bundle of air but tried to manage a tight-lipped smile when she looked over to him. She gave him a thumbs up and he returned it, though as she walked back to the starting circle he knew a bit of her confidence had faded.
And for good reason.
Sydney stepped into the circle, looked to her feet, took a deep breath, and CRACK-ed right into the blackboard!
Remus's hand flew to cover his mouth. He was trying to muffle his laugh, of course, but honestly the shock overcame him. It wasn't his fault, really!
Sydney, flat on her back, covered her face with her hands. Her body shook a little and it suddenly occurred to Remus that she might be hurt. He stood up quickly to go kneel beside her.
"Are you alright?" he asked her.
"Did you see that?" she replied. Remus pried one of her fingers away from her eye.
"Do you want me to have seen it?" he asked. She snapped her finger back, choosing to see him no longer.
"Are you hurt?" he asked again. Sydney paused.
"Is there a chance I'm dead?" she asked. Remus laughed and grabbed her by the arms, dragging her up.
"Come on, then," he said. "You've still got two more chances."
Sydney looked mortified. She dropped her hands to her sides and her hair fell all out of sorts. She looked so wild and beautiful. "I have to do it again?" she asked.
"If you leave here without an apparition license I'm going to tell James and Marlene what just happened," Remus stated flatly.
"You wouldn't!"
Remus blinked. Sydney sighed.
"I wish you loved me," she said.
Remus grinned. He ran his fingers through Sydney's hair to tame it a bit, and then took her by the face and kissed her forehead. Her cheeks turned a little pink, although she tried to hide it behind her narrowed eyes.
"I love you," Remus promised. He took a step backwards. "Just, if you hit the board again I'll have to leave you."
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A/N
february resolution was to write ONE chapter... i meant of my novel but this should count right? it's only been like 17 years since i was supposed to finish this anyways😅😅😅 anybody who still even reads this i love you
also p2459245 of me getting writing inspo by pretending it's me and my bf... this is exactly how it would go except prob without the nice kissing my forehead part 😑
