The first Apparition lesson was schedule for a Saturday so that no normal lessons would be missed and was supposed to take place in the Great Hall, as opposed to the school grounds.

"I thought you couldn't Apparate within the school grounds?" Astoria asked, following her friends out of Breakfast. They loitered around the Entrance Hall, along with other year seventeen-year-olds that had signed up.

"You can't," said Mason. "But Dumbledore lowered the Charms for this lesson. Besides, I can't see anyone Apparating today. It'll probably just learning the basics."

"So, you're still doing it then?" Theo asked Mason.

Mason nodded. "Professor Snape got the money from Teddie's vault for us yesterday," he said, looking to his sister.

"I really hope Dumbledore hasn't lowered the charms," said Daphne. "You can guarantee that Mason will excel this morning."

The group laughed and the doors leading into the Great Hall reopened. Everyone hugged Astoria, assuring her that they would come find her once they had finished, and watched as she headed up to the library alone. The only downside to Mason's intellect was that he got to jump ahead in his studies, while Astoria was left behind.

"She'll forgive me, right?" Mason asked.

"Yeah. Don't worry, Mason," said Daphne, squeezing his shoulder. "My sister knows how ambitious you are, she'd be a fool to try and stand in your way of succession. Besides, that's all she wants from you."

Mason smiled and hugged Daphne.

The four long tables inside the Great Hall had vanished, and the Heads of Houses - McGonagall, Snape, Flitwick, and Sprout, stood at the front of the Hall, alongside the Apparition instructor from the Ministry. He was oddly colourless, with transparent eyelashes, wispy hair, and an insubstantial air, as though a single gust of wind might blow him away.

"Good morning," said the Ministry wizard when all students had arrived, gathering in front of him and the other Professors. "My name is Wilkie Twycross, and I shall be your Ministry Apparition instructor for the next twelve weeks. I hope to be able to prepare you for your Apparition Tests in this time -"

"Mr. Malfoy!" snapped Professor McGonagall, abruptly. "Be quiet and pay attention!"

All the Hall, Teddie saw heads turning towards the back of the room. She didn't need see Malfoy flush with humiliation at being caught red-handed, but the idea did make her bite the inside of her cheek to keep from grinning.

"- by which time, many of you may be ready to take your tests," Twycross continued. "As you may know, I is usually impossible to Apparate or Disapparate within Hogwarts. The headmaster has lifted this enchantment, purely within the Great Hall, for one hour, to enable you to practice. May I emphasise that you will not be able to Apparate outside the walls of this Hall, and that you would be unwise to try."

Teddie glanced at Daphne.

"At least we don't have to worry about sending a search party for Mason," Daphne whispered.

Teddie covered her mouth with her hand to cover her snort.

"I would like each of you to place yourselves now so that you have a clear five feet of space in front of you," Twycross instructed.

The friends scrambled away from one another. Teddie found herself standing in the middle of her group, to her left were Theo and Daphne, to her right was Blaise and Mason. They each spread their arms, measuring the space between them, and assuring the other that they were, well within the five feet apart.

Teddie looked right as her fingers brushed against a silk robe and found Professor Snape sliding through the gap between her and Mason. He glanced at the pair and then nodded before carrying on separating other students and break up any arguments that were occurring.

"Quiet!" the four Heads of Houses yelled, their voices echoing throughout the Hall.

"Thank you," said Twycross. "Now then…" he waved his wand and old-fashioned wooden hoops instantly appeared on the floor in front of every student.

"The important things to remember when Apparating are the three D's!" said Twycross. "Destination, Determination, and Deliberation!"

Teddie glanced at Mason.

"Step one: Fix your mind firmly upon the desired destination," said Twycross. "In this case, the interior of your hoop. Kindly concentrate upon that destination now."

Teddie turned her gaze back to the hoop at her feet. The space inside the ring was empty, save for a slightly dust stone floor, but what did one expect when standing inside the Great Hall. This room was the epicentre of life at Hogwarts. Students game here for breakfast, lunch, and dinner; they also used it during break times and for study sessions. If there were no clatter or dust, then Teddie would be concerned for the social structure at Hogwarts.

"Step two," said Twycross, "focus your determination to occupy the visualised space! Let your yearning to enter it floor from your mind to every particle of your body."

Teddie half glanced at Mason. While she was interested in learning this specific technique, she found that she was more curious to see if her brother could get this on his first try, she knew she couldn't, and if she did, it would be some miracle; but Mason was a lot more practical and logical than her. If he couldn't get something on its first try, then she was prepared to believe something was wrong.

Mason, on the other hand, had closed his eyes, and was visualising himself inside the circle at his feet. He pressed his lips firmly closed and felt the brush of his clothes against the palm of his hands. With his eyes closed, and the only thing he could see being the hoop and him standing in it, he felt a rush of warmth spread to the tips of his fingers and toes.

The only sound, other than his breathing and heartbeat, that he could hear was Twycross's voice, explaining the three D's.

"Step three," called Twycross, "and only when I give the command… Turn on the spot, feeling your way into nothingness, moving with deliberation! On my count, now… one…"

Mason took a deep breath, his heart rate lowering to a few beats per minute, his hands uncurling and lying flat against his sides.

"… two …"

Mason tilted his head up. The image of him standing outside the ring and then inside the ring flashing across his mind.

"… three…"

Instead of focusing on her own circle, Teddie glanced at Mason. She watched as he turned on the spot, and then, right before her eyes, he disappeared - reappearing inside his own circle.

There was a gasp, and Teddie glanced at the student standing behind her brother - a sixth year Hufflepuff student by the name of Rose Zeller was staring, slack-jawed at Mason. She met Teddie's gaze and then raised her one hand into the air, jumping up and down, while point at Mason with her free hand.

"Miss Zeller," said Professor Sprout.

"He…" Rose stammered, looking back at Mason. "He did… he did it!"

All over the Hall, other students were turning at the sound of Rose's exclamation. Teddie glanced at Mason, he was looking perplexed at Rose and then lowered his gaze to the hoop around his feet.

"There's no way," said another nearby student. "He's a fourth year! There is no way he did it first go."

"Yeah, no one does it on their first try," said a third student. "He cheated. He must've."

Teddie clenched her fists. "Why must he have cheated?" she asked, angered by the words directed at her brother. "Because he did something at fourteen that you failed at sixteen?"

"I'm willing to bet that even the Ministry will confirm that no one gets it first go!" the student growled back. He was a tall, dark-haired Gryffindor, that Teddie didn't recognise.

"Actually, Mr Zemo," said Professor McGonagall, swooping in from out of nowhere. "You'd be surprised at how many people get this on the first go. Mr Green just so happened to be one of those people."

Twycross stared, unblinking, at Mason. "Would you care to show me, Mr Green?" he asked. It was obvious that in all his years as an instructor, he had never seen someone take to Apparition so quickly.

Mason hesitated and glanced at Teddie.

"You don't have to," Teddie reassured him. She glared at the older Gryffindor boy. "But I would love to see some people eat their words."

"Miss Green," McGonagall warned.

Teddie turned away from the Gryffindor boy and faced Mason. He gnawed on his lower lip, his gaze flickering around the growing crowd that had converged on him, hoping to see him in action. He then swallowed and nodded, stepping out of the circle, and taking his place between Blaise and Teddie.

Mason took a deep breath and closed his eyes. It took him a lot longer to find his centre this time than it had the first, and he put it down to having an audience this time.

"You see, he can't -" the Gryffindor boy started.

"Shut up!" Teddie snarled.

Professor McGonagall offered the pair of them a stern look.

Tuning out the rest of the Hall, Mason slowly uncurled his fists and rested them against his sides. His fingers brushed against one another, and he focused on slowing his heartbeat as she envisioned himself disappearing and reappearing in the circle.

There was a gasp -

Mason opened his eyes and looked down. He was, once again, standing in the centre of his circle, as all over the Hall, students stared, slack-jawed at him.

Teddie grinned at the smile on Mason's face.

"Well done, Mr Green," said Twycross. "Incredible, and for such a young, aged fist timer. Well done!"

"Thank you," said Mason. He stepped out of the hoop and met Teddie's gaze. She winked at him, reaching across the space between them and squeezing his hand.

Dispersing the crowd, the four Heads of Houses and Twycross returned to the front of the Hall. Teddie caught the eye of the older Gryffindor boy and glared at him, before turning her attention back to the hoop at her feet.

"I guess, being the brother of the daughter of Darkness has means getting away with anything," the Gryffindor boy muttered, loud enough for Teddie to hear. "Even if that anything is cheating."

Teddie grit her teeth and half-glanced at Mason again. If she could hear the comments, then he could.

"Don't listen to him, Mason," said Blaise. "Just like a Gryffindor to be jealous of someone else. It's just sad that they can't be happy for someone younger than them."

Mason smiled at Blaise, but as he turned back to his hoop, Teddie could see tears pricking the corner of his eyes and felt her blood boil beneath the skin. It was one thing for people to take their anger and frustration of her heritage out on her, but it was another thing entirely when they lumped Mason in with her, too.

She hadn't asked to be Voldemort's daughter, but Mason was innocent in the whole ordeal. Voldemort was absolutely nothing to do with him, and she'd move heaven and hell to make sure that everyone knew that.

~X~

The second attempt was no better than the first.

Daphne had managed to Disapparate but reappeared a few feet away from her hoop and landed with a crash near where the House Points were collected, she returned to her friends, head down, allowing her blonde hair to conceal the look of humiliation on her face.

"At least you moved," Teddie soothed.

Daphne nodded and murmured a 'thanks' as she retook her place behind her hoop.

It wasn't until the fourth attempt that something happened. For some, it was exciting, for others it was numbing, and for the party affected it was excruciating.

Susan Bones wailed in agony as she wobbled in her hoop, her left leg standing no less than five feet away from where she had started.

The Heads of House converged on her; there was a great bang and a puff of purple smoke, which cleared to reveal Susan sobbing, reunited with her leg but looking horrified.

"Splinching, or the separation of random body parts," said Twycross dispassionately, "occurs when the mind is insufficiently determined. You must concentrate continuously upon your destination, and move, without haste, but with deliberation… as Mr Green has demonstrated, several times in the last hour."

Mason blushed as Twycross beamed at him.

Teddie glowered at the Gryffindor behind Mason. He had folded his arms, scoffed, and was in the process of talking to his neighbour as Twycross continued to praise Mason.

"Remember the three D's," Twycross said, moving on from Mason and addressing the rest of the Hall, "and try again… one… two… three…"

It didn't matter how many times Twycross asked them to practice, by the end of the practice the only thing people were talking about was Susan's Splinching and Mason's ability to Apparate first try at fourteen.

The whispers followed Mason and his friends out of the Great Hall once Twycross had dismissed them, and Teddie wrapped an arm around her brother, steering her across the Entrance Hall and up the Grand Staircase to the first floor.

Once they were out of earshot of other students, Teddie released her brother and let out an aggravated growl.

"It's okay, Teddie," said Mason, seizing her hand and squeezing it. "I can handle the whispers. If I let everyone who was jealous of my abilities get to me, then I would never leave my dorm room."

"I know that," said Teddie. "But when they accuse you of cheating because of my heritage, I take it personally. Especially that Gryffindor. Does anyone know who he is?"

Blaise, Daphne, and Theo shook their heads.

"Potter might," said Blaise. "But I don't think getting it will be a clever idea. I know you, Ted, we all do, if you get the name then you'll obsess over him… and not in a good way."

"Blaise is right," said Theo. "I think the best thing we can do now is to just let this go. Mason knows what he did was amazing, and just because no one else sees that, doesn't make it our problem."

Teddie grits her teeth. She knew her friends were right, but she couldn't ignore the comments of the Gryffindor student linking Mason's abilities to her and Voldemort. She wanted to teach him that Mason's ethic was Mason's own doing and had nothing to do with her being a Sutherland or Voldemort's heir.

"Come on," said Daphne. "Let's find Astoria. I bet you anything she won't be surprised that Mason succeeded on his first attempt."

"We're all used to Mason succeeding on his first try at this point," said Blaise, ruffling Mason's hair.

Mason beamed. "You're all just jealous that a fourth year showed you up," he teased. "But then, you should really be used to it by now."

The four Slytherins stopped, each head turning to Mason an eyebrow arched.

Mason grinned and then bolted to the end of the corridor, his laughter floating back as, one-by-one, the older Slytherins followed him.

~X~

The days crept on. February turned into March with no change in the weather except that it had become a lot more windy and wet. On the Eve of the next Hogsmeade trip, a notice went up in the Common Room, which brought much displeasure to the whole of Slytherin, and all of Hogwarts students third year and above.

The Hogsmeade Trip that was planned to occur on March 1st, has been cancelled.

Students are reminded to not leave the Castle grounds, for whatever reason, unless accompanied by a professor.

.

Headmaster Dumbledore.

"Can't really blame him, can you?" Theo asked, picking up his quill and dipping it into his ink well. "I mean, after what happened to Parkinson, and everything."

A few months previous, Pansy Parkinson had been attacked by an unknown assailant, and forced to bring a concealed necklace infused with dark magic back to the castle for the headmaster. On her journey back, Pansy had gotten into an argument with her best friend, Millicent Bulstrode, and accidentally touched the necklace in question, resulting in a demon possession of sorts which resulted in her being admitted to St Mungo's.

She still hadn't returned, although constant updates from Professor Snape told Teddie that things were not looking good for the young Slytherin. Pansy, it seemed, couldn't remember what had happened leading up to and away from the incident.

Further to add, the Daily Prophet had stopped posting propaganda against Teddie. Their articles these days consisted of disappearances, including several relatives of students at Hogwarts. Several parents had already pulled their children out of school, in fear that they would be taken coming and going from the school at the end of the year.

"I guess the next one will be cancelled, too," said Blaise, fiddling with his Potions book. He shrugged. "The only thing we really have to look forward to now is Apparition."

"I don't think I'll bother with the test," said Daphne, scratching out the last line of her History of Magic essay.

"How come?" Teddie asked.

Daphne shrugged. "After that last lesson?" she shook her head.

They had had four sessions since the first one back in Feb, and already most students of Hogwarts were seeing why even adults disliked Apparition. There had been several more splinching events after Susan, and a few students had already dropped out, opting to keep their limbs where they're supposed to be and not several feet away.

"What about you, Ted, you going to do the test?" Blaise asked.

"Yeah. Even if only to keep an eye on Mason," said Teddie.

Even though Mason had mastered the three D's the first session, he was still required to attend all lessons. After the third lesson, however, Teddie had decided that her only purpose during the sessions was to defend her brother against ill-mannered older students that still accused a fourteen year of cheating when the Professors weren't looking.

More than once, Teddie had been separated from the sixth year Gryffindor that she had learned was named Robert Mosley, for making comments about her brother. When he had turned on her, calling her the daughter of Darkness she had laughed, but the minute he said a dreadful thing about her brother she had lost it and threw herself at him.

Once or twice, her friends had intercepted her from tackling him, but on the times that they weren't fast enough the teachers had intervened. Teddie had already received two weeks' worth of detention with Snape for hitting another student.

Her last one of which was schedule to take place that night.

"What has Snape had you doing in detention?" Daphne asked. "Oh, and is he still teaching you to control your shield?"

Teddie shook her head. "I learned to do that months ago," she said. "He said I just need to watch my temper. If I can manage that, then my shield won't be as chaotic."

"Easier said than done," said Blaise.

Teddie gave a small murmur of agreement. "As for detention," she shrugged. "I wouldn't really call it a detention, to be honest. The first few nights he had me writing lines, and the rest of the time he just talks to me."

"Anything specific?"

"Not really," said Teddie, shaking her head. She bit the inside of her lip. The conversation topics between her and Snape were usually about one thing - her dark mark, and she still hadn't found the courage to tell her friends about it, so when she returned from her detention and found them waiting for her in the common room, she always found herself needing an excuse.

She hated lying to her friends, but Snape had warned her of the fear the Dark Mark instilled in people, and even though he knew she could trust her friends, he also warned her that they had been burned by Voldemort in the past. Their families had been exposed to his anger. There was no way of telling how they would react to her being a part of the Inner Circle, even if she didn't want to be.