fourteen

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[CHAPTER 14]

THE APPARITION LESSONS

THE APPARITION LESSONS

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"YOU ALMOST KISSED?!" Kate shrieked, and Emily shushed her harshly.

"Feel free to tell the whole school," she hissed, as they made their way down the stairs of the Great Hall, on their way to their first Apparition lesson.

"Sorry," Kate said, lowering her voice, "Well, why didn't you kiss him?"

"He kind of busted my nose,"

"Who did what?" came Violetta's voice from behind them, and Emily smiled at the sight of her friend.

"I've missed you, Vi," Emily said, giving her a hug.

"Me too," Violetta said, breaking from Emily to hug Kate, "What's all this about breaking somebody's nose?"

"Harry sort of...broke mine over Christmas," Emily admitted, and Violetta's eyes widened.

"Geez, Em, do you always get hurt around him?" Violetta exclaimed.

She had meant it as a joke, but to the left of them, also making his way to the Great Hall, Harry Potter had overheard their conversation. Violetta's comment made Harry feel like he had been doused in icy water. On his right, Ron, who had also heard the comment, nudged him.

"Mate, it's a joke," he said.

"Is it?" Harry replied tersely, and Ron sighed.

The apparition lesson turned out to be rather a disaster, and Harry moped for the majority of the lesson, his eyes fixated on Emily from across the hall. She looked concentrated as their instructor recited the three D's, which he claimed were the key to apparition. Her dark hair was tied into a bun, loose ringlets falling around her face as she bit the corner of her lip, fixated on the wooden hoop in front of her.

"Step three," called the instructor, "only when I give the command...turn on the spot, feeling your way into nothingness, moving with deliberation. On my command, now...one — two — " Harry tore his eyes from Emily and tried to fix his thoughts on his hoop again; he had already forgotten what the three D's stood for. "— THREE!"

The whole Hall was suddenly full of staggering people; Neville was flat on his back; Ernie Macmillan, on the other hand, had done a kind of pirouetting leap into his hoop and looked momentarily thrilled, until he caught sight of Dean Thomas roaring with laughter at him. Emily had moved what seemed to be a half-step forward, and looked slightly nauseous. In front of her, Violetta had lost her balance and fallen flat on her bum.

The second attempt was no better than the first. The third was just as bad. Not until the fourth did anything happen. Several people managed to move into half of their hoops, and Harry's head whipped up at the sound of Emily's laugh, cutting through the Great Hall like a breath of fresh air. She stood doubled over, tears in her eyes as Kate stood to her left, apparently having left the ponytail in which her hair had been tied on the spot behind Emily. It hovered in mid-air, looking rather pathetic, and Kate's cheeks burned a bright pink.

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