The day of the Apparition classes turned out to be the day before Ron’s birthday. He reminded Kam and me that morning at breakfast, during free time when we were all in the common room, once during lunch, another time at dinner, and right when we had walked into the Apparition class. I was about to tell him that we got the point when I saw Draco over in the corner talking to Blaise. Kam excitedly waved over at them, but I just weakly smiled. We had made good on our word and hadn’t seen each other since the Quidditch pitch. My heart was breaking with every day that passed by.

“This is going to be bloody awesome,” Ron said with a huge smile on his face.

I nodded and looked at him. “It’s going to be way awesome.”

I was so glad that he had decided to come with us and not Lavender. I heard that argument, and it wasn’t very pretty. She thinks that he must attend every grand event with her. I smirked at him after he had came out of the common room after the fight, and he told me not to say ‘I told you so’, which I told him anyway.

“If you had gone with your girlfriend, Ronald, then perhaps you would be having a miserable time,” Hermione smiled at him.

I rolled my eyes. “That is true,” I had to agree.

“Just don’t say another word about it,” Ron said, starting to blush, mainly because Lavender was blowing him kisses from across the room.

Kam laughed. “Aww, Won-won, you’re little wee girlfwiend is make a public display of affection. Why don’t you blow her a kiss back? That’s what a good little boyfwiend would do,” she then stood on tip toe and tousled his hair.

“Shut your mouth, Kam,” he mumbled under his breath as Lavender and Romilda giggled at his reaction.

I focused on the front of the Hall, where the heads of houses were standing with an adult I didn’t recognize. He was rather small and oddly colorless with transparent eyelashes, wispy hair, and an insubstantial air, as though a single gust of wind might blow him away. I wonder if his appearance was a hazard of his profession, like did constant disappearances and reappearances have diminished his substance. Perhaps he just looked like that because he was half albino or something. I shrugged it off though as he started to speak to all of us.

“Good morning,” he smiled at us. “My name is Wilkie Twycross,” a rather loud snort from Ron landed right on my neck since he was standing right behind me, “and I shall be your Ministry appointed intructit for the next twelve weeks. I hope to be able to prepare you for your Apparition tests in this time-“

“Malfoy, be quiet and pay attention!” barked Professor McGonagall.

My eyes instantly made their way over to him. I smiled when I had seen him blush a slight pink. Who knew that he could blush? A furious look came over his face as he stepped away from Crabbe, with whom he had appeared having a whispered argument with. I then glanced at Snape, who like highly annoyed with Draco’s behavior.

“-by which time, many of you may be ready to take your tests,” Twycross continued as though he wasn’t interrupted at all. “As you may know, it is usually impossible to Apparate or Disapparate within Hogwarts. The headmaster has lifted the enchantment, purely within the Great Hall, for one hour, so as to enable you to practice. May I emphasize that you will not be able to Apparate outside the walls of this Hall, and that you would be unwise to try. I would like each of you to place yourselves now so that way you have a clear five feet in front of you.”

There was then only the sound of feet sliding against the floor, people bumping into each other, and apologies as everyone did as the instructor had said. Draco had ended up straight across from me. Ron elbowed me, and I elbowed him back. That was not something to get all worked up over.

“Look,” someone said, “the history partners are back together. Watch out, they just might shag again, and not behind a closed door!”

I looked around, but couldn’t pin where the voice had come from. Draco did too before throwing me an apologetic look. We had thought we were done with that rumor, but apparently, we weren’t. I just weakly smiled at him before looking down at my feet.

“It would be very appreciated if you didn’t make remarks about your peers. We are here to learn, not to judge. Any other remark and you will have a week’s worth of detentions spent with me,” Snape warned.

I smiled at him, and he nodded in response. Draco seemed grateful as well. I bit my lip and looked over at Ron, who was trying not to laugh at me. I don’t know what was so bloody funny, but I was going to take care of that grin when the class was over. Crabbe then whispered, “How much longer?” to Draco, who looked irritated once more.

“I don’t know how much longer, all right?” Draco shot at him. “It’s taking longer than I thought it would.” Crabbe then opened his mouth to say something, but Draco cut him off as if he knew what he was going to say. “Look, it’s none of your business what I’m doing, Crabbe, you and Goyle just do as you’re told and keep a lookout!”

I looked up at him. Could what he was talking about have anything to do with that cupboard?

“I tell my friends what I’m up to, if I want them to keep a lookout for me,” Harry said and directed it straight towards Draco.

I sighed. Oh, great, I thought, here we go.

Draco went to say something to him, but I threw him a glare just as one of the heads of houses yelled to keep quiet. I might not be able to have said so upon what Harry did, but I could definitely influence someone else’s. It might have been the only thing that kept the peace during that class.

“Thank you,” Twycross said. “Now then, the important things to remember with Apparating are the three D’s! Destination, Determination, and Deliberation! Step one: Fix your mind firmly upon the destination,” he then waved his wand and rings appeared in front of each of us. “In this case, the interior of your hoop. Kindly concentrate upon that destination now.”

I looked in the middle of the wooden hoop that had appeared in front of me. I tried to have it be the only thing on my mind, but with Draco standing in front of me, Harry to the left of me, and Ron to the right of me, it was really hard to concentrate. Draco, for obvious reasons, Harry because he had tried to start something with Draco, and Ron because he was being a git. My eyes were on the inside of the hoop. The hoop, I told myself, that is what you need to concentrate on. Now, concentrate! Alas, it didn’t work entirely.

“Step two: Focus your determination to occupy the visualized space! Let your yearning to enter it flood from your very mind to every particle of your body!”

I tried to. I really tried. I wanted to concentrate on only my body moving from one place to another, but I caught Harry looking around instead of doing what the instructor said. He was distracting in more ways than one. I hope he’s actually looking around because he’s looking at the other students to see what they’re up to with step two and not glaring at Draco.

“Step three, and only when I give the command…Turn on the spot, feeling your way into nothingnessm moving with deliberation! On my command, now…one-“

I looked around in a panick. We were supposed to apparate within that short amount of time? How was I supposed to do that? I had a feeling that I was about to make a complete fool out of myself.

“-two-“

Wait! He was on two already? How was I supposed to get ready for it? Okay, he said to turn on the spot, so just concentrate on spinning. Hopefully, I wouldn’t make too much of a fool out of myself. Just put one foot over the other as you get ready for him to say three, I told myself, hoping that it would work.

“-THREE!”

I did it. I spun and lost balance. Harry had lost balance too, but unlike me, he had caught himself. I landed on the ground with my hip straight into the floor. I was lifted up by both Harry and Ron, who were laughing at me. I shrugged them off and looked around. Neville had landed flat on his back. Ernie Macmillan, on the other hand, had leapt into his hoop and looked positively thrilled until he saw Dean Thomas roaring with laughter at him. I looked over at Kam, who just shrugged at me. Apparently, she didn’t lose her balance or anything. 

“Never mind, never mind,” called Twycross dryly, apparently not expecting anything better out of any of us. “Adjust your hoops and get back to your positions.”

I looked at Draco, who was smirking at me. I rolled my eyes and shook my head. I hadn’t seen what had happened to him, so I didn’t get a chance to pick on him. Once we were all back in our spots, Twycross counted once more. That time I was able to clear my head somewhat. I was able to focus on the inside of the hoop. I wanted to be inside that hope. I wanted to move inside that hoop. The sunlight shone upon my face and warmed me. I smiled and thought of Draco. When he said three, I spun and felt the worst pain I had ever felt in my whole life just tearing through my thigh. I opened my eyes to see that my left leg was still five feet away.

“Courtney!” Draco called for me. “I mean, Flint. That’s what you get for not paying attention.”

“Splinching, or the separation of random body parts,” said Twycross as he approached me with the heads of houses, “occurs when the mind is insufficiently determined. You must concentrate continuously upon youdestinatition, and move, without haste, but deliberation.”

I rolled my eyes. “Can you just fix me please?”

He ignored me as he apparated and reappeared right behind me. “Remember the three D’s…and try again. One – two – three!”

“Don’t worry,” McGonagall said and waved her wand and my leg very painfully reappeared. “He seems to want to stay on task. You want to continue or do you wish to stop, Miss Flint?”

I looked over at Snape, who nodded. “I want to continue, Professor.”

“Very well,” she said and walked away.

My splinching was the most interesting thing that had happened all through class, which also earned me another title as spaz. So, was a spazzy slut who lost limbs when she tried to apparate. Great. It was really a great year for me, huh?

When the class was over. Ron seemed pretty satisfied with himself, but still found it rather funny to make fun of my being legless for five minutes. He told me he was going to start calling me stumpy, but I threatened his life so that would never happen.

“Hey, stumpy,” Kam said, walking up to us with Hermione.

I rolled my eyes. “I just got through threatening Ron so he wouldn’t call me that.”

She nodded. “I know. I overheard that’s why I’m calling you that. At least it’s better than slut.”

I sighed. “You so shouldn’t do that.”

“So, how did you do?” Ron asked Harry. “I think I felt something the last time I tried – kind of like a tingling in my feet.”

Hermione smirked. “I expect your trainers are too small, Won-won,” she said, motioning for Kam to follow her out of the Hall.

“Why does everyone call me that?!” he said, frustrated.

Harry shrugged though. “I didn’t feel anything. But I don’t care about that now-“

“What do you mean, you don’t care? Don’t you want to learn to Apperate?” Ron asked, incredulously.

“I’m not fussed, really, I prefer flying,” Harry said, looking impatient. “Look,, hurry up, will you, there’s something I want to do…”

Ron then looked at me. “Are you coming, Court?”

I shook my head. “No, you go on ahead.”

The two boys left. I caught Draco’s eye across the Hall. Pansy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Blaise were surrounding him. The distance that had to be put between us was literally breaking my heart. I wanted to just run over there so that there wasn’t any distance between us. He started to walk out with them. I wondered what he was up to. What had caused that argument with Crabbe in the first place? I had a feeling that it had to do with that cupboard that he was fixing up. I then pushed that out of my mind. Draco didn’t have a choice. That little action didn’t change his character to me.

“I love you,” I whispered when he wasn’t looking at me.

A/N: It literally took me four hours to perfect this chapter. It was a dozy to write! I love the ending though. </3 and I know that it was Susan Bones that got slpinched but I figured it would be more dramatic if it was Court. Ha! This chapter is dedicated to lilmmizzhugable13 for telling me how perfect this song was for them. :D she is awesome! Oh, and the link is JarFullofCookie’s new story ‘Our Fake Relationship’. She said that this story inspired her, so go check it out! It is a Draco Malfoy fanfiction, and I promise it’s good! Don’t forget to comment, vote, and love! <3

http://www.wattpad.com/2549060-our-fake-relationship