Chapter 25: Apparition Requires a Large Supply of Healing Potions
Although William still didn't know who the other wizard cursed along with him was, the person had indeed done him a huge favor.
Thanks to that person, William could take a short breather from his busy studies—although the bomb still hung over his head, having that extra layer of protection was always reassuring.
After estimating he could muddle through and collect his first year's salary, William decided to focus his energy on the spell that interested him most.
Apparition.
Both its name and its effect were incredibly cool.
As a spell only permitted for adult wizards, this magic—which allowed one to travel almost without restriction to another place they knew of—was frighteningly difficult to learn.
But the rewards for mastering this magic far surpassed those of other spells. Whether for travel or escape, it was an impeccably excellent spell; its only drawback was its extreme difficulty.
"How long have you been of age, and you still can't Apparate?"
Old Tom, who had been dragged out by William, wore a disdainful expression but had no intention of going back inside—the pub was mostly empty at two in the afternoon, and he usually came out around this time to soak up some sun anyway.
"Here, from this spot to that one. This distance should be enough."
Old Tom mumbled, drawing a line with his foot on the open ground behind the pub.
"Stay away from the trash cans and the wall. I don't want my customers bringing the smell of garbage into my pub."
"Then I'm afraid you'll have to kick out the pure-bloods, otherwise I'll file a complaint based on that statement."
William retorted with a common prison joke—most of the inmates in the deepest parts of Azkaban were pure-bloods.
"You're too prejudiced against pure-bloods, kid. Bloodline doesn't determine if a person is good or bad."
Old Tom conjured a rocking chair with magic, lay back in it, and responded lazily, but then he quickly added a witty Slytherin joke.
"Slytherin, though, that's another story. Not many good people graduate from there."
The two of them laughed together—three of the Houses enjoyed making fun of Slytherin, so the market for Slytherin jokes was always good, especially in a pub.
"Alright, let's start the training, kid. The pub doesn't have much Dittany, though I doubt you'll even manage to Splinch yourself today."
"Destination, Determination, Deliberation—the three D's of Apparition. Now, turn, kid."
Old Tom leaned back, and the rocking chair began to sway.
William stood behind the drawn line, trying to clear his mind and setting his goal on the other side.
Turn, move—and then William magnificently spun a full three hundred and sixty degrees on the spot.
He stole a glance at Old Tom and, seeing he wasn't looking, took a step back and pretended nothing had happened.
Set the goal, clear the mind, concentrate, and try again.
William turned with a bit more force this time. After spinning twice, he completely lost his balance and fell on his butt.
"Hahaha, William, are you trying to make your clothes look like they've been Splinched?"
Old Tom laughed so hard his rocking chair shook violently, even sliding slightly from its original spot.
"Tch."
William got up, returned to the line, and tried again, following the proper procedure.
To his surprise, he felt as if he were being squeezed into an extremely tight space, then forced out through a tube. The next moment, he found the wall had appeared abruptly in front of him, as if someone had moved it.
It was like he had dropped frames, teleporting from one place to another—but this wasn't a dropped frame, it was real Apparition.
"You succeeded so quickly?"
Old Tom exclaimed in amazement.
Although Apparition was one of those things that's difficult for those who can't do it and easy for those who can, mastering it in such a short time was still unexpected. Back in his Hogwarts days, it took many students at least two full lectures to master even this shortest of distances.
But then again, he was going to be a professor at Hogwarts, so learning a little faster wasn't a big deal.
"Alright, now you just have to keep practicing to familiarize yourself with that feeling of success. Once you're comfortable with these short-distance jumps, you can try longer distances—you'll save a lot on Knight Bus tickets."
Old Tom rambled on as he walked back towards the pub.
"I'll go get some Dittany. You can practice more in a bit—I thought it would take you until at least tomorrow to get this far."
William was stunned as well. He stood there frozen, the joy of mastering Apparition sooner than expected having vanished completely.
I was careless!
Where did he get the courage to casually experiment with such a dangerous new spell—he was still afflicted by the Disability Curse!
If he had accidentally Splinched himself just now, and Old Tom went back for Dittany only to find the shop's stock had expired, he would probably become the professor with the fastest-triggering curse in history.
Splinching off an arm or a leg would be one thing, but what if his neck got left behind? Or worse, if everything below his eyebrows was amputated—that would be a real disaster.
A wizard's life might be tough, but not tough enough to be trifled with like this. Especially with that curse in play, which could turn low-probability events into high-probability ones. He had to be on guard.
So, when Old Tom returned, he found William rushing over to meet him.
"Old Tom, did you bring the Dittany?"
"Of course. We don't get many fights here, but what kind of pub wouldn't keep Dittany on hand? Besides, with the herb shop so close, even if I didn't buy any, they'd bring some over when they visit."
That made sense. Once alcohol is involved, bleeding incidents tend to increase. A potion like Dittany, which stops bleeding and heals wounds, would naturally be in stock.
"It's not expired, is it?"
William asked cautiously.
"Of course not. Just used some last month, and it worked perfectly fine."
"Is there enough?"
"Enough for you to Splinch yourself seven or eight times. Is management that strict over at Azkaban?"
"No, no, I'll start right away. But just to be safe, I wanted to ask—"
"No, you don't!"
Old Tom whipped out his wand and made a gesture as if to start a duel.
William obediently shut up, walked over to the line, and concentrated with every fiber of his being, terrified of Splinching.
Perhaps because of his heightened concentration, not a single Splinching incident occurred during the hour-long practice. His proficiency with Apparition grew steadily.
By the end, Old Tom even thought William could try Apparating a slightly longer distance—but William decisively refused.
He planned to go get some Dittany, Skele-Gro, and a whole range of other healing products to keep on his person.
As someone who used to work in the Potions industry, he even intended to brew a few particularly effective illegal potions—some of the ingredients were contraband, but William knew where to get his hands on such scarce goods.
(end of chapter)