Cormac's face flushed crimson. "Twelve Galleons, Potter. I paid good money for this lesson, not to have some self-satisfied student parade as my instructor"
Harry didn't miss a beat. He flicked his wrist, a small bag of coins landing neatly in his palm. "Here is twenty-four. You can leave."
The entire room froze.
Draco smirked faintly from where he leaned against one of the tables. Tracey muttered something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like, "That shut him up."
Cormac stared at the bag, his mouth working soundlessly like he couldn't decide whether to snatch it or explode. "You think you can..."
Harry raised an eyebrow, cutting him off. "I think you've got two choices, stay quiet and learn something, or take the gold and walk out. Either way, don't waste my time."
Behind Cormac, Neville let out a laugh, earning a few grins from nearby students.
Cho, standing near the Ravenclaws, folded her arms. "He does have his license, McLaggen. And he's qualified to teach you more than the Ministry instructor would. So unless you want me to escort you out, maybe sit down and stop making a fool of yourself."
That earned a faint ripple of amusement across the room.
Cormac's ears burned, but he finally stomped off to stand at the back of the group.
Harry pocketed the bag of gold and clapped his hands together. "Right. Now that we sorted that out, let's begin."
Harry didn't give Cormac another glance after that. He wasn't here to prove anything to him, or anyone, for that matter. The lesson wasn't a show. It was a Ministry assignment, and if Amelia trusted him to keep a bunch of half-trained students from Splinching themselves into stew, then he would do it properly.
He walked them through the basics. The theory came first. Not the dry nonsense most instructors drowned people in, just what mattered, mental focus, magical anchoring, destination clarity, body positioning, how far theirmagic can stretch safely. He made sure they understood the difference between Apparating with a license versus fumbling like idiots because they thought it would be easy. It wasn't about wandwork. Apparition was mental, magical, and bloody dangerous if rushed.
He covered the three D's, Destination, Deliberation, Determination. Told them what happened when people got lazy or distracted. Used examples. Pulled up a few diagrams with illusion spells and showed how even a good witch could leave a leg behind if she twisted mid-jump or lost magical focus halfway through. He skipped the scare tactics, just made sure they knew the risk.
There was no jumping in the first Apparition class. Harry made that clear the moment they finished the introductions. No blind turns, no hopeful spins, and definitely no one testing their luck and leaving a leg behind. The groans that followed didn't change anything.
Two years ago, Harry had taught the Duelling Club a stripped-down version of Occlumency. It had started as a defense against Imperius, back when the fake Moody wanted to use it on them, but the technique ended up useful for more than resisting Unforgivables. The habit of visualising intent, what you wanted, where you were going, how it should feel, turned out to help with Apparition as well. It made sense, clarity of mind and focus were half the battle.
He updated the Duelling Club's enchanted book too. He added a handful of new segments, miniature checklists for Apparition progress.
So students could track new checkpoints for successful Apparition. The update covered everything they would need to drill into their heads before they even attempted a jump. It had nothing to do with spellwork or magical theory, no it was about readiness. Not feeling brave enough to try, but being ready not to splinch your lungs into your kneecaps.
There were ten checkpoints total. The first set focused on mental stability, how long a student could hold a clear image of the target location, whether they could picture the transition without flinching, how easily they could block out surrounding noise or distractions. A brief visualisation sequence Harry had borrowed from Occlumency work helped sharpen the exercise, nothing too complex, just a short script to run through in their heads.
Next came magic control. That included how quickly a student could gather magic into a stable pool and how well they could measure release, not just throw it all at once like an overpowered Stunner. He included a few small tests for control, lighting a string of floating symbols in sequence, dimming them without snuffing them out, shifting the position of their own magical aura without touching a wand. None of it flashy, but each task gave feedback if done wrong.
The last stretch focused on physical response. Could they hold their posture for three minutes without fidgeting? Could they rotate mid-step while keeping a destination locked in their mind? He'd seen more students fall on their faces from poor balance than from lack of magical strength.
It wasn't about proving you were powerful. It was about not dying because you were impatient.
The lesson continued in that rhythm, quiet drills, sharp feedback, and the occasional sarcastic aside to keep the tension low. Even those not used to Harry's style began to fall into step, their usual nerves replaced with something closer to focus.
Toward the end, Luna raised her hand and tilted her head. "If your visualisation includes a flying creature in the way, but it is not really there, does the Apparition still succeed?"
Harry paused. "If the creature's imaginary, then it won't affect the jump. But if your brain hesitates because you think it is real, then it can throw the casting."
Luna nodded as if that confirmed a theory.
The next few weeks passed much the same, though trainings shifted from the castle to Hogsmeade. Harry kept running the sessions, gradually moving them from dry drills to short-range Apparition. The small clearing just outside the village worked well enough, isolated, shielded, and big enough to fit half a class without someone accidentally landing in someone else's ribs.
They started with single-step jumps. Half a metre forward, then sideways, then to fixed points marked by coloured rings. No one was allowed to jump without being cleared on the basics first, Harry made sure of that. Anyone who tried to rush ahead got benched until they could hold the visual for a full minute without blinking or breaking focus. McLaggen had sulked over it for a week straight, but not even he was thick enough to argue too hard after watching Seamus nearly leave his toes behind.
Bit by bit, they got better. Daphne and Su Li had the cleanest jumps by the end of week two. Luna's were inconsistent, but she never flinched mid-cast, which helped. The only one still struggling to find his magical centre was Goyle, but no one was holding their breath there.
Hannah once landed in a tree, robes tangled around her knees, shouting that someone had moved the ring. "It was right there, I swear-"
Harry just raised an eyebrow. "Maybe don't blink mid-jump next time."
Daphne didn't miss the chance to jab, "Or try opening your eyes before you Apparate."
"Stuff it, both of you," Hannah muttered, brushing leaves from her hair.
There were setbacks, of course. Padma got motion sickness after her second jump and had to sit out. Megan Jones misjudged her anchor point and ended up five feet in the wrong direction. She kept swearing she aimed properly. Harry pointed out that thinking you are right and being right were two very different things. Blaise laughed, Megan didn't.
The year wrapped up faster than Harry expected. He'd assumed something would explode, literally or otherwise, but nothing did. No last-minute disasters. No surprise attacks. Just exams, a few sleepless nights, and one student nearly fainting during Ancient Runes.
Before the test week kicked off, Harry took his Apparition students to the Ministry for the formal certification. All of them passed. Even Goyle, after Tracey threatened to hex him if he splinched a toe.
That night, after another long session with the advanced group, Harry made his way toward the Room of Requirement. He hadn't planned anything, just wanted a quiet space to read through a few scrolls. But halfway up the corridor, he paused.
The door was already there.
"No one is scheduled," he muttered, stepping closer. The Room usually stayed hidden unless summoned, which meant someone had called it forth recently.
He gave the corridor a once-over. Empty.
"Who is in there at this hour?" he muttered under his breath, stepping closer. His hand reached for the handle, and as he pushed the door open, he expected the training room or maybe the greenhouse layout Neville liked. "Ginny?" he asked. Wouldn't be the first time she snuck in for extra practice.
What greeted him was the cluttered, cramped mess of the Room's storage configuration. Dusty books, broken desks, cracked mirrors. Shelves stacked so high they leaned sideways.
He didn't get the chance to look further.
A wand pressed against his back.
He froze. Every nerve sparked.
"Hello, Harry," a voice he least expected to hear whispered just behind his ear.