Harry Potter and the Secret Treasures

The Death Eaters were no different, filled with suspicion and distrust. Each one was constantly scheming, fighting for their own goals and interests.

There were only a few Death Eaters who were truly loyal to Voldemort. In fact, Voldemort himself likely didn’t trust his own followers.

But for now, it was best to focus on the Apparition lesson. Neither Malfoy and Crabbe’s conflict nor the internal power struggles among the Death Eaters were of much concern to Evan. As long as Voldemort was defeated in the end, the remaining Death Eaters wouldn’t be worth worrying about.

Up ahead, Twycross finally finished his long-winded speech.

“As you may know, it is usually impossible to Apparate or Disapparate within Hogwarts. The headmaster has lifted this 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 you have a clear five feet of space in front of you.”

There was a great scrambling and jostling as people separated, banged into each other, and ordered others out of their space.

The Heads of Houses moved among the students, marshaling them into position and breaking up arguments.

Because he was the Head Boy and a bystander who did not need to practice, Evan was assigned the task of maintaining order and arranging the students’ placements by Professor McGonagall. She had probably allowed him to stay precisely for this reason.

Evan had no way to refuse and could only assist the Heads of Houses in keeping things organized.

In fact, he might be the most incompetent Head Boy in history. He usually didn’t care about anything and left everything to the Head Girl and the prefects. If there was anything that had to be done, Hermione would do it for him.

As Evan finished separating a group of Ravenclaws who had been standing too close together, he spotted Harry sneaking through the crowd.

Eventually, Harry positioned himself behind Malfoy, who was taking advantage of the general upheaval to continue his argument with Crabbe, standing five feet away and looking mutinous.

Harry carefully surveyed the surroundings and then noticed Evan watching him. Quickly, he gestured for silence and motioned for Evan to come over.

By the time Evan reached him, Malfoy and Crabbe were still arguing, unaware of the two behind them.

“I don’t know how much longer, all right?” Malfoy shot at him. “It’s taking longer than I thought it would.”

Crabbe opened his mouth, but Malfoy appeared to second-guess what he was going to say.

“Shut up, Crabbe. Look, it’s none of your business what I’m doing, you and Goyle just do as you’re told and keep a lookout!”

“I tell my friends what I’m up to, if I want them to keep a lookout for me,” Harry said, just loud enough for Malfoy to hear him.

Malfoy spun around on the spot, his hand flying to his wand, but Evan was faster. He grabbed Malfoy’s wrist and pushed his hand down.

“Stand apart, Malfoy, you’re too close. Your wand isn’t for Apparition practice.”

Malfoy glared at Evan and Harry, studying their expressions, but before he could react further, the four Heads of House shouted “Quiet!” and silence fell again. Malfoy turned slowly to face the front again.

Evan pulled Harry back to Hermione. Whenever he had the chance, Harry would get close to Malfoy. This was a bad habit.

Malfoy had had enough troubles lately, so let him go and fix the Vanishing Cabinet in peace…

Harry seemed to want to talk to Evan about Malfoy. What on earth was he doing and why did he need someone to keep a lookout for him?

But at this moment, Twycross waved his wand, and old-fashioned wooden hoops instantly appeared on the floor in front of every student.

“The important things to remember when Apparating are the three D’s!” said Twycross. “Destination, Determination, Deliberation!

“Step one: Fix your mind firmly upon the desired destination, in this case, the interior of your hoop. Kindly concentrate upon that destination now.”

Everybody looked around furtively to check that everyone else was staring into their hoop, then hastily did as they were told.

“Step two,” said Twycross, “focus your determination to occupy the visualized space! Let your yearning to enter it flood from your mind to every particle of your body!

“Step three, and only when I give the command … Turn on the spot, feeling your way into nothingness, moving with deliberation! On my command, now … one — two — THREE!”

Apparently, lots of people were looking positively alarmed at being asked to Apparate so quickly.

When Twycross called out ‘Three’, all the students in the Great Hall began to spin on the spot.

Evan couldn’t help but laugh; the scene was just too amusing. Many students were clumsily turning, wobbling their heads as if performing some strange dance. Those with poor balance nearly fell over, while some had already toppled from spinning too hard.

Within seconds, the whole Hall was suddenly full of staggering students, looking as if they were drunk.

Not far in front of Evan and the others, Neville was flat on his back, looking up helplessly; 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.

“Is this the correct way?” Hermione asked doubtfully. “That’s what the book said, but is there some trick to it?”

She felt it was ridiculous to spin in place to get herself into nothingness.

In fact, Evan thought so too.

“The key is the magic of the spell itself. Spinning in place is to help you find the feeling of entering nothingness. Maybe getting dizzy makes it easier to get into the right state. But actually, you don’t have to spin,” said Evan. “As for the trick —”

“Then why don’t we just use a Dizziness Charm instead of this ridiculous spinning?” Harry asked, climbing up from the floor.

“Good idea. Want to try?” Evan raised his wand. “I can hit you with a Dizziness Charm — it’ll feel like you’ve spun a hundred times instantly. In that state, the boundary between nothingness and reality should be very blurry.”

“Is that safe?”

“As long as you regain consciousness while Apparating, there won’t be a problem. Otherwise… well, you might just end up splinched…”

“Forget it, I’d better just spin around in circles!” said Harry, swallowing and giving up the idea.

“What was the trick you were about to mention?” Hermione asked.

“The main thing is to relax and don’t deliberately think about Apparating or entering nothingness,” said Evan. “I think getting your mind into a blank, meditative state is pretty much the same as spinning in place. Of course, if you really can’t get into the right state, I can guide you through it a few times to help you find the feeling of shifting.”

“No way! There are too many people here, and no one can know that you can Apparate,” Hermione hurriedly whispered, lowering her voice.

Apparition training continued and everyone was doing terribly.

This did not surprise Twycross, nor did he seem to have expected anything better.

He asked all the students to adjust their hoops, stand back in place and try again, the second time, the third time, the fourth time…

His teaching method was unimaginably simple. There was no explanation at all, just endless repetition.

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