A/N: This was co-authored with Rosalyn_Diggory. And by co-authored I mean I came up with an idea and she wrote it. She's great like that.

The First and Only Failure

The normally-boisterous Great Hall was unnervingly quiet as two figures stared at each other, standing ten feet away from a large brass hoop. The shorter of the two figures, Examiner Twycross from the Department of Magical Transportation, looked to a clipboard, then to his companion.

"Now remember: Destination, Determination, and Deliberation." The man stared down the seventeen-year-old redhead beside him until he received a curt nod of understanding.

Destination, Determination, Deliberation… Destination, Determination, Deliberation. The words became a mantra that quickened with every heartbeat as his nerves grew. The young man took a steadying breath, nodded once again (more to himself than anyone else), and turned on his right heel. Immediately, Percy Weasley disapparated—

And appeared in the middle of a crowded sidewalk. A sense of dread pooled in his stomach as he desperately searched for something, anything that looked familiar. He tried to move through the crowd, others bumping into him and turning him around until it was all he could do not to panic.

Finally, blessedly, Percy stumbled into an alley, brief relief washing over him as he watched the people—the muggles—bustle through the streets. Moving to a more obscured area in the darkened alley, Percy hung his head in shame as he conjured his Patronus, a Marsh Harrier, and sent a message to his father.

"Um… I've just taken my apparition test… And I have no idea where I am." After several minutes, a Patronus in the form of a small weasel bounded into view.

"Percy, look for a landmark—a street sign perhaps."

"A what?"

"They'll be above your head."

Percy moved to the mouth of the alley, looking for the signs his father instructed him to. Minutes later he replied: "It appears I'm in an alley off of… Shaftesbury Avenue and 31st?" It was close to half an hour later that Percy finally heard the sweet sound of someone apparating. Looking up from his place in the alley, he saw his father striding towards him.

"Percy, there you are! Alright?"

The man addressed nodded, his head hung low in embarrassment. "Yeah. Can—can you not mention this to the others?"

Arthur's eyes narrowed as he contemplated the idea. "Well, do you know what you did wrong?" Percy nodded again silently. "Okay, then, let's get you back to Hogwarts. Ask Twycross if you can try again and, if you pass, this'll be our little secret."

"Thank you. And, sorry."

"If it makes you feel any better, Charlie landed on somebody the first time."