wheresmytoad @ 2003-07-30 15:06:00

No more portkeys
I'd told Mr. Takakura last week I was going to take my Apparation test, and so I wouldn't need for him to give me a port key back home each night. Today I had to tell him I'd failed it and so would need him to keep giving me port keys each night. He stared at me for a long moment, and then fished a paper brochure out of a drawer and handed it to me. 'No, Neville. From now on, you take the bus.'

I looked at the paper. It had a little map on it and a confusing grid which had times and numbers on it. He unfolded it and explained to me how to read it, and then showed me how much muggle money was needed to pay the fare. I looked from the paper back to him, not understanding.

He raised his eyebrows a little as if inviting me to say something. 'Tell me what you are thinking,' he said finally.

'You won't give me port keys anymore?' I said stupidly.

He shook his head. 'No.'

I started getting mad. 'Because you think I'm no better than a squib or something?'

'Not at all,' he said calmly. 'It isn't an insult to suggest that you do things the muggle way, Neville. I do think you will pass your Apparation test eventually. But in the meantime, I also think it will do you good to learn a little more about how muggles really live. If you take this one here—' he pointed to one of the squares on the grid 'you can sit beside Sara. She takes that bus every day, too.' I looked back up at him and saw that his eyes were twinkling a bit.

He reminds me of Dumbledore sometimes. Except that Dumbledore doesn't chain smoke cigarettes.

So I'll be riding the bus starting tomorrow. Huh.

By the way, Gran got awfully tetchy about the whole disaster with the firewhiskey, but when she calmed down, she did tell me something this morning that made me feel a lot better.

She told me that my father failed the first time he took the Apparation test, too. Ha!

Neville

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