Shadow Claw: The Life Story - The Fifth Chapter

Ch. 24 - Apparition Lessons

Shadow's POV

The days seemed to fly by without any remorse, though the snow gradually began to melt into spring, but not altogether. It was still windy and wet, like most other days where the clouds had no mercy for the land.

However, I had better things to do on one specific day - Apparition lessons with James and Jenny, while Shade guarded the Slytherin doors. Tobias and Snowy were obediently sitting at his sides, happy with the knowledge that if they behaved, they could have a run about in the Quidditch pitch. They were so very curious, and I thought they got that from their father - well, I supposed Tobias didn't, but growing up with Shade had its influences. Otto was there as well, only for a small while, because he still hadn't made up with Lupin, however I knew Shade would take good are of him, though he probably didn't need it.

The Great Hall was cleared of tables completely, and the enchanted ceiling above, between the banisters, drifted about with a dark, yet not unfriendly, appearance. We gathered in groups of Houses - Snape, McGonagall, Sprout, and Flitwick stood at the heads of the students. "It's a shame Nova couldn't be here." Jenny sighed softly, taking a glance over somewhere in Malfoy's direction. I narrowed my eyes with a short nod, then hushed James when I noticed him trying to make himself sneeze.

"Good morning!" A frail, pale and rather puny wizard, assumedly the one to teach us from the Ministry spoke to us from the very front of the Great Hall, "My name is Wilkie Twycross and I shall be your Ministry Apparition Instructor for the next twelve weeks. I hope to be able to prepare the majority of you for your Apparition exam in this time-"

"Malfoy, be quiet and pay attention!" Professor McGonagall barked bitterly at the Slytherin boy. All eyes snapped to Draco, who had been uttering to Crabbe, and he stepped away with flushed cheeks. Snape's face contorted ever so slightly in annoyance. "-by which time, many of you will perhaps be ready to take the assessment." Twycross spoke on as if nothing had ever happened. All eyes returned to him once more.

So, as the lesson progressed, we all split into areas where we had five foot of space and we were told of the three important points of Apparition. "... the three D's!" Wilkie Twycross called to everybody. "Destination, Determination, Deliberation!" He began a countdown from one, to which I closed my eyes and breathed out, calm and collected.

"-THREE!" My deep thoughts scattered, revealing a picture of Shade at the very last moment. My eyes snapped open, to find I had shifted. Harry had spun on the spot, Neville was on his back, Ernie had done a strange jump into his hoop, Dean was laughing at him rapturously; Jenny had fallen on her face, while James had somehow turned his hair a midnight blue. I growled, shifting back in frustration. I wasn't used to not being able to do something, and it made me rethink my approach to the ordeal.

Twycross appeared to have been expecting it, and so he just quietened us with a dry tone.

A second, third and fourth attempt first, each of which I shifted. I wondered briefly if Claw's weren't able to Apparate, but then a Hufflepuff called Susan Bones screeched out in pain, hopping about in her hoop with her left leg standing five foot away from her. The Heads of House surrounded her, and fixed her right up, but she was still incredibly horrified. Wilkie told us it was called Splinching - I had heard of that, and I was almost sure that I had read about another way to Apparate.

I sighed, shaking my head silently. Jenny gave me a dirty look, but I ignored her - I had my own problems to deal with at that moment in time. James gave a wiggle, looking uncertainly at me. I frowned, questioning his reluctance, but then we were encouraged onwards.

An hour later, Susan's Splinching had been the only interesting situation. Twycross seemed both displeased and unsurprised, but left with a: "Until next Saturday, everybody, and do not forget: Destination. Determination. Deliberation." He was escorted away by Professor McGonagall, and then we all filed out with chatters and shouts.

James tugged me to the side harshly, and with more force than I assumed he had. The hallway silenced as everybody disappeared. Jenny stood, however, looking at us with a curious expression, "We'll catch up later, Jenny, I just need to tell Shadow something." James mumbled, as if guilty, and Jenny's face fell in disappointment. "You can't tell me too?" She asked in hope. James shook his head, and I supposed that is where he decided that honesty might help - which it didn't, as it never did with Jenny, "I don't trust you." Jenny's lip curled in distaste, "We're friends, are we not?! Why don't you trust me!?" She seemed in disbelief, though I wasn't surprised. I tipped my head to the side and folded my arms, "Willing to give up the reason why you're acting so weirdly?" I countered, my expression significantly displeased. Jenny spluttered out some incoherent phrases, before putting her foot down.

"Alright then. Fine. Have it your way. I don't trust either of you two anyway!" She sort of drawled out desperately, but her tone was bitter. I scowled, but said nothing, glowering after her. She'd learn soon enough that she would have to respect us both and tell her own secrets before we gave up ours.

"Shadow I'm frightened." James whimpered out after Jenny had gone completely. My lips parted, but he carried on rather abruptly. "I faked my reactions a-after I saw you shift... I-I thought I'd turn into my G-Grim. W-what i-if they f-f-find out S-Shadow?" He was in a blubbering mess by the time he'd finished, just sort of standing there with tears dribbling all over his face and his body quaking with fear. I breathed out deeply, trying to collect myself through the anger at Jenny. "James, Jenny is a ferret, and nobody else knows. She didn't turn, and neither did you the first time. Besides, I am a Claw by true nature, and you two are human. I'm likely to not even be able to Apparate." My tone wasn't in the slightest sympathetic.

He gave me a melancholy stare, "But- but I d-don't care a-about J-Jenny!" He spat her name rather bitterly. I gazed at him with cold eyes, "James, don't be a child. Jenny has had a hard year so far, and so have you, so have I, and so has Nova. This year has been particularly outrageous, but you're going to have to deal with it." He just cried harder, though I didn't feel sorry for him at all. I felt the same, and yet James couldn't bottle it up like I could - though, I supposed crying about helped instantly, whilst my strategy had dire consequences in the near future, when my bottle would explode in emotion.

"Go to bed James." I told him coldly, striding away and out into the courtyard with a stormy, sinister scowl.

I would guard this school with my life, until I could no longer tell my waking dreams from my night vision.

Anything to get my thoughts off the fact that something dark was occurring.