A/N: I don't own Harry Potter. This is for Horcruxesandhallows – Merry Christmas!
This was written because Mr. Tycross really felt left out of the fanfiction database – so much so that he wasn't even on the character list! Or is it Twycross? Ah well, it's the guy that teaches the 6th years to apparate. And I'm calling him Tycross, because the books are at home and I'm in Johannesburg on my brother's laptop.
Furthermore, this pairing was discovered by me, so gimme a little mention if you use them – thanks!
The Apparating Guardian
Appearing, disappearing, being there, and then not. Wilkie was good at that, wasn't he? Leaving and reappearing at will. In fact, he'd gotten so good at it, that he himself looked wispy, as if someone breathing too loud will cause him to topple over, or simply fade away from this world to the next.
And this idea terrified Minerva McGonagall. What if just happened to him? What if he faded out of existence? Or if he had apparated to much, that he could apparate straight into the next life? She didn't care for their ages, he was like a sibling to her, but the mere possibility scared her. It caused her to vex for him and his safety.
"You don't need to worry your pretty little bun about it." Wilkie told her one day over lunch, when she had gathered the courage to voice her thoughts. Minerva's eyes widened somewhat – what?
"I was referring to your hairstyle, Minerva." Wilkie quickly said, his sickly white cheeks growing a scarlet Minerva never thought possible. She nodded, too embarrassed to say anything more, fear of a vulgar comment or attempt at humor slipping past her pressed lips. She took a sip of tea to fill the silence that followed.
"I won't die by apparition, Minerva. Perhaps by splinching – though my ego thinks that impossible with my expertise of the subject at hand."
Again she stiffly nodded, not trusting her voice.
"As for my pale skin… has it ever occurred to you that it might be hereditary?"
It actually never has. He looked so otherworldly to her, so pale, delicate, too surreal to exist… but yet there he was. In front of her – real. She blinked, and blinked again. She rubbed her eyes and blinked again – it was gone.
For a moment she could've sworn she'd seen a pair of pearly wings behind him.
"Some believe me to be dreamlike, just as you do – others see me as a nuisance. You… see me as I am."
And she saw it again for two seconds – his white, angelic wings.
"I see a mythical being not many believe in." She mused.
"Is that so?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I see you as a guardian."
"Especially where apparating is concerned. I ascertain their destinations – that is why I teach them, after all."
And like that he was gone. Disappearing again - hopefully to reappear soon.