Why was her heart pounding so much? It was going thump, thump, thump so hard that she was pretty sure that the people around her could hear it. That wasn't normal. You weren't supposed to be able to hear your heart beating. She didn't like it. She wanted it to stop. Which, of course, was getting her more worked up. She just needed to calm down. This was nothing to get worked up over. Really. She was making a big deal over nothing. Nothing.
It was just one test. And it wasn't nearly as complicated or as important as her NEWTs so she really shouldn't be quite so worked up about it. Except she was. She really was. It was stupid but she couldn't help it. Imagine not being able to apparate? There was no way that they would allow her to be an Auror if she couldn't apparate! So, this was a bigger deal than before! This was definitely a big deal and something she should be worrying over! She needed to know how to apparate. It was a necessity. There was absolutely no way that she could fail. She wouldn't let herself. She could do this. She really could. She was going to take this test, apparate exactly how she was supposed to and pass and have her Apparition License. It was going to be easy. Wait, no, she shouldn't think like that. If she thought it was going to be easy then she wouldn't try and then she wouldn't pass. It wasn't going to be easy. What was a better word for that? Not hard because that wasn't good either. Fine! It was going to be fine! Everything was going to be fine.
Her mum had left her just down the street, out of sight of the meet-up area just like Tonks had asked her to. Sure, none of the people here could apparate yet but still, it was embarrassing being seventeen and not being able to yet. She didn't want people to see she need her mum to drop her off! Was it stupid? Yes. But still
There were six of them here to take their tests. All in varying degrees of nervousness. There was a guy literally bouncing on the balls of his feet and that girl over there looked like she was trying to chew through her lip. She didn't look as bad as that, did she? Sure, she felt a bit nervous but that was normal. Perfectly normal. What wasn't normal was the insufferably cocky look on Adams' face. Bloke always was full of himself. Probably thought he could apparate to the moon and back. Whatever. She made sure that she wasn't standing next to him. She didn't really want to get in trouble for punching him in the face. Somehow, she didn't think her parents would think that was a valid reason for not getting her Apparition License.
That was enough thinking of the people around her. She should just be thinking of how she was going to do today. Well. She was going to do well. Except She couldn't even remember the name of the man who was giving them their test. Felton? Farmer? She didn't know, something beginning with F anyway. He had weird swoopy hair too. Not that it mattered. All that mattered was that she heard exactly where he wanted her to apparate to and that she apparated there without any problem. And she was going to do it without any problem. She was. She was. She was. She was ready. She was prepared. She knew the three Ds.
What were the three Ds again? Deliberation, Determination and... D? Durable? No, that wasn't the word. What was the word? She needed to know the word or she was sure she wouldn't pass.
"Please pay attention," the man in the Department of Magical Transport robes said in a bored tone. "My name is Felling and I will be testing you today."
Tonks tuned him out as he went through the whole introductory spiel and warnings. This was the only testing period until next year, yadda, yadda. It was illegal to apparate without a license, yadda, yadda, you put yourself at risk of unnecessary splinching, yadda, yadda. She knew all this. Finally, he got to the important bit. Where they were supposed to apparate.
"We are all going to go on a walk around Hogsmeade just so that everyone is familiar with the place and then I will choose two points that I will require you to apparate to. There will be one of my fellow testers at each point so do not try and cheat and walk or run to the point and say that you have done it. Once you get to the final point you are to apparate back to where I am. Understood?"
Had people really done that before? Seriously? Weird.
So, they did a quick loop of the village and he pointed out the other two testers, a man and a woman. One at Honeydukes and the other and Zonko's. Then the test began. They did it in alphabetical order and Tonks was just glad she wasn't first.
It looked like they changed up the order to what location you apparated to. The first two went Honeydukes and then Zonko's. The third went the other way around. Then the fourth, the nervous guy, Jenkins, was the same as the up first two. Except it didn't go quite as well.
Farmer, Felton, whatever his name was (she was going to refer to him as Tester from now on) shook his head and tutted as he wrote on his bit of parchment.
"Jenkins, Failed," he said.
"No, wait! I can do it!" Jenkins said despairingly.
"You evidently cannot."
"I can! I've done it before! Let me have another go!"
Okay, this was embarrassing and Tonks really didn't want to watch a bloke beg to be able to apparate. Neither did anyone else if the awkward shuffling and pointed looks elsewhere from the other two was anything to go by.
He was quickly ushered away and the testing continued. Another pass. And then it was her turn.
"Right, Tonks, is it? You apparate from here to Zonko's and then to Honeydukes and back. Okay?" She nodded. "Okay, when you're ready and then we can all go home."
Right. No overthinking it. Just do it. So that's what she did. Zonko's and Honeydukes. Her two favourite places here. Easy, right?
It turned out it was. One turn later and she was at the joke shoo, the man grinning at her. Then another turn and she was at Honeydukes, the woman even gave her a piece of chocolate! Going back to the start was easy after that.
She'd passed! Shed passed! Shed passed! Oh, she couldn't believe she had passed! Tonks was so hay with her success that she almost hugged the Tester. Almost but not quite. She wasn't that crazy. Yet. But she'd passed! How amazing was that! Now she had her apparition license!
There was a stupid smile on her face but she didn't care because she passed! And being handed the now signed bit of parchment proving that she had passed made kt get even bigger, if that were possible. It was like her cheeks had been stretched to their limit.
So, what did she do now? Go home, right? There was no need to hang around and she didn't really want to shop in Hogsmeade. Yeah, she would just go home.
Then she had an idea. But could she? Did she dare? Was she going to be able to do it? There was no other way to do it, after all. Unless she wanted to rode the Knight Bus, which she really didn't. She got enough bruises by herself; she didn't need that contraption adding to them. Tonks looked down at the scrap of parchment in her hand and smiled. She had passed which meant that she could do this now! It both proved that she could physically do it and that it was legal for her to do so! So, yes, she could do it! Oh, this was great!
Scrunching up her nose, she thought really hard, it would be embarrassing to make a mistake now.
With a 'crack' there was the feeling of being compressed into a tube and then the feeling was gone and she was home. As in, her house was right there. She'd apparated home! Well, close to home. The street over where her parents always apparated to when they got home from work. She just needed to get out of this side street, turn the corner and go down two houses. Now she was home!
"Nymphadora?" Andromeda asked, stepping out of the door before she even got to the end of the driveway.
"I'm here!"
"You passed! Ted, she passed!"
"I knew she could do it!"
"You have been pacing the living room this entire time she has been gone!"
"Because I was impatient, not worried. There's a difference."
"And your chanting of 'I hope she passes, I hope she passes'?"
"I was sending her good feelings!"
"Good feelings?"
"Yes, good feelings!"
"Who cares about all that!" Tonks interrupted them with the biggest smile she could possibly make. "I passed!"