Chapter Six- The Test

Harry's birthday came up soon, and, to his surprise, there was a small party. He got a cake that Mrs. Weasley baked for him. It said, "Happy Birthday, Harry" on it, and had the number 17 in below that. It tasted delicious. Harry also got a collection of presents. Ron gave him a new and improved broom compass, which Harry didn't understand why he gave it to him because he wasn't going to be playing Quidditch anymore. Hermione, of course, gave a new book about arming yourself against dark wizards. Fred and George gave him a shield cloak and other goods from their shop, which they had decided to expand to Hogsmead. Ginny even gave him a pack of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

Harry had the best birthday he'd ever had in his life. He felt very guilty that he would be leaving all of it behind in two nights. He began to ask himself questions regarding problems that might occur. What if he didn't pass his Apparation Test? He supposed that he could ride his broom, but what about Hermione? She wasn't very talented at riding brooms at all. She forced himself to push that aside and worry about it later.

Later that night, Fred and George pulled Harry aside. "Happy Birthday, Harry." They said at the same time. Fred held out a small bag, and motioned for Harry to take it.

Harry looked inside and was surprised to see galleons and sickles in it. "What's this for? I don't want it." Harry said, pushing it back to them.

George refused to take it. "You helped us out when we needed it, now we're going to help you."

"Take that with you when you… you know… leave and it might help you a little." Fred said. "We aren't taking it back, so you can either keep it, or throw it out. It's your choice." The twins walked away, leaving Harry somewhat confused. Harry grunted and put the bag in his pocket.

The next morning, Mrs. Weasley woke Harry and Ron up early, so they wouldn't be late for their apparition test. "There's going to be a Portkey that will take you to Hogsmead." Mr. Weasley explained. "Red, George and I will be accompanying you."

"Why Fred and George?" Ron asked, between mouthfuls of toast.

"We bought a shop for our Weasley Wizard Wheezes in Hogsmead," Fred explained, coming in.

"We want to start setting thing up there," George continued.

Harry was still angry about the money that they had given then. He hadn't told Ron yet, because Ron would get too excited and spend all the money on the first thing he saw. He decided to save it until they really needed it. "Right then," Mr. Weasley said, when everyone had done eating. "Let's go."

Fred, George, Harry, and Ron followed Mr. Weasley down the hall. Hermione and Ginny were just coming down the stairs, still in their pajamas. "Good luck," Hermione whispered to them as she hurried into the kitchen. Ron gave a look of worry, and Harry tried to stay calm. But, what if he didn't pass? Again, he forced himself to push those thoughts out of his head.

When they were outside, Fred said, "Meet you there," and both of them disappeared with a pop.

"Well," Mr. Weasley said, like he wasn't expecting Fred and George to leave just yet. "Alright then, come on." They walked up the street around a corner, where Harry saw four more people. Two of them, he didn't recognize, but two of them he did. They were Neville Longbottom and his grandmother.

"Neville… what are you doing here?" Harry asked, slightly confused.

"I'm using the Portkey to get to the Apparation test." Neville said. "I just know I'm going to fail though."

"Yeah," Ron said. "I know what you mean." The tips of his ears turned red when he thought about how he failed his test the first time.

"Everybody here?" said a man that Harry didn't know. "Okay, everybody grab on." He held a tire out in front of him and everybody took a hold of it. Harry felt his feet lift from the floor and he was being pulled. After a few moments, he felt something solid underneath him again, and let go of the tire.

Harry saw that he was standing outside of the Hogshead pub, and looked questioningly at Ron. "This is where we take the test," Ron told him, pushing him, so that he would walk inside. There was nobody in the pub except wizards around Harry's age, maybe a little older. Some of them he recognized. The man that held the Portkey when Harry and Ron came stood on a chair, so he was taller than everyone and said:

"May I have your attention, please." It took a few seconds for everyone to quiet down then the man continued. "Welcome to the summer Apparation Test. You will wait outside until we call your name, then you will go upstairs, he motioned towards a set of stairs at the other side of the room. "When we tell you to, you will Apparate downstairs, where a wizard will be waiting for you. If you Apparate without any problems, you will receive your license."

It didn't seem very complicated to Harry, so he wasn't very nervous, but Ron, on the other hand, looked as though he was about to faint. The crowd shuffled outside, and the man called somebody's name that Harry hadn't heard before, and a handsome boy with sand hair went inside. "Hello," said a voice, as Fred and George walked up to them. It was Fred. "Good luck little brother," he said, ruffling Ron's hair.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot, Fred," George said with a smirk on his face. "You and I passed our test the first time we took it and here's Ickle-Ronny-Poo about to take it for a second time."

"Shut up," Ron said, turning even redder than he was.

"We'll see you later," George said to Mr. Weasley. "We're going to go see the shop."

"Yeah, people seem really excited that we're branching off. Well, see you then, Bye." The two went off, talking in a low voice about something that Harry couldn't hear.

"Harry Potter," said a voice the doorway. Harry's stomach lurched as he stepped forward. Ron wished him good luck as Harry stepped inside of the pub. He looked around for a second, thinking about how weird it was seeing the Hogshead completely empty, before heading up the stairs. A man was sitting in a seat directly in front of Harry when he opened the door at the top of the stairs.

"Ah, Mr. Potter, close the door behind you." The man said. "You've just turned seventeen I see. Barley old enough to take the test." Harry nodded, now nervous. "Well, do what you have to do to Apparate."

Harry's mouth went dry, but he remembered the three D's. He concentrated and believed that he could make it downstairs. He turned on the spot and felt himself being squeezed, and all the air left him. He suddenly saw the downstairs of the Hogshead, and he felt alright. Nothing seemed to be missing. "Well done, said a different man. "You've passed. He scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to Harry. It was a certificate saying that he passed the test. A sigh of relief passed Harry's lips as he mad his way outside.

"Ronald Weasley," said the man, and Ron, looking now extremely nervous, went inside.

"Well done, Harry," Mr. Weasley said, cuffing Harry on the shoulder. "I knew you could do it."

It didn't long before Ron came out, looking extremely pleased. He too, had gotten his license. "I thought I'd lost a toenail or something, but I didn't and they passed me." He seemed to be in somewhat of a shock. Neville, of course, failed his test because he left an ear behind, but his Grandmother said that he could try again in the fall.

"You two can Apparate home, and I'll go see Fred and George's new shop," Mr. Weasley took off down the street, and left Harry and Ron. Harry smiled, turned the spot, and felt the familiar sensation of Appartating.