The Sunrise of My Heart

After Draco held me while I cried, we reached an unspoken agreement: we were friends again. I wasn't sure if he needed me, thought I needed him, or just missed my company, but whatever the reason, I was glad for it. I had missed having Draco around.
Us being friends, however, did not mean he was always nice to me. It actually meant he was mean to me more often, because now I was spending more time with him. But I knew he didn't mean it. He needed someone to bitch to that he knew wouldn't leave him for it, and I was that someone. Besides, I could be a bitch too.
When February rolled around, sixth year students got to have Apparating lessons. We all assembled in the Great Hall on a Saturday morning, the sound of excited chatter everywhere. The teachers overseeing us were McGonagal, Sprout, Snape, and Flitwick, along with a wizard from the Ministry who had regrettably fair skin, hair, and eyelashes.
"Good morning," he said to all of us. "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--"
"Malfoy, be quiet and pay attention!" McGonagall snapped, interrupting Twycross. I looked at Draco in surprise. We had arrived together, but had both opted to stand near our other friends. He had been speaking with Crabbe, but he stepped away quickly, looking furious at being called out in front of everyone.
"--by which time, many of you may be ready to take your tests," Twycross finished, acting like he hadn't been interrupted. "As you may know, it is impossible to Apparate or Disapparate within Hogwarts. The headmaster has lifted this enchantment, purely within the Great Hall, for one hour, so as to enable you to practice. May I emphasize that you will not be able to Apparate outside the walls of this Hall, and that you would be unwise to try. I would like each of you to place yourselves now so that you have a clear five feet of space in front of you."
We complied, although not very gracefully. There was scuffling, banging, and shouting before we all finally managed to get it right. In all the hullabaloo, I lost sight of Harry, but I figured he had gone to be near Ron and Lavender or something. I moved up so that Hermione was to my left and smiled encouragingly at her.
"Quiet!" the four professors shouted, silencing the Great Hall.
"Thank you," Twycross said. "Now then..." He waved his wand, making wooden hoops appear on the floor in front of each of us. "The important things to remember when Apparating are the three D's! Destination, Determination, Deliberation!"
I stared up at him like he was telling me something totally useless. Which, really, he was. You don't spend a thousand years reincarnating in the wizarding world without learning how to Apparate. Still, I had to go through with the practice so I could eventually take the test.
"Step one: Fix your mind firmly upon your desired Destination," Twycross was saying. "In this case, the interior of your hoop. Kindly concentrate on that destination now."
Everyone looked around at everyone else, making sure we were all staring into our hoops before actually "focusing on our destination."
"Step two: focus your Determination to occupy the visualized space! Let your yearning to enter it flood from your mind to every particle of your body!"
I stared at the center of my hoop dully, wishing they had chosen someone more entertaining than this specter of a man to teach us How To Apparate.
"Step three, and only when I give the command... Turn on the spot, feeling your way into nothingness, moving with Deliberation!"
"Step four," I muttered, "Use your Desperation to Apparate away from the annoying instructor."
"On my command now," Twycross was saying. "One... Two... THREE!"
We all turned on the spot, trying to Apparate. Quite a few students nearly fell over when they turned on the spot. Judging by Twycross's reaction, this was only to be expected. We straightened ourselves out and tried again, but to the same affect. Third try, still nothing. On the fourth try, however, there was a horrified scream. We all turned to see Susan Bones, who had managed to Apparate into her hoop, minus her left leg. It was still standing five feet away, where she had started.
"Ooh, rotten luck," I said, wincing for the poor girl.
The Heads of Houses swooped down on her at once. After a loud bang and puff of purple smoke, they stepped back to reveal Susan Bones, her leg once again intact, but her face full of horror.
"Splinching, or the separation of random body parts," said Twycross in a rather bored voice, "occurs when the mind is insufficiently Determined. You must concentrate continuously upon your Destination, and move, without haste, but with Deliberation... Thus."
He turned on the spot and disappeared, showing up at the back of the Hall. I wanted to Apparate over to him and kick his shins for being so careless about a poor girl losing her leg because he hadn't thought to warn us about Splinching. I looked up, however, and saw McGonagall looking at me, giving me a slight shake of the head. Damn that woman. She was too smart. I made a pleading face, but her look remained firm With a sigh, I nodded, silently agreeing that I wouldn't attack Twycross.
"Remember the three D's," Twycross said," and try again... One... Two... Three!"
After an hour of trying, nothing more had happened. Twycross had expected this outcome, not looking in the slightest bit discouraged. "Until next Saturday, everybody, and do not forget: Destination, Determination, Deliberation."
After that, he Vanished the hoops and walked out of the Great Hall accompanied by McGonagall. Everyone began talking then, discussing how it had gone with friends. Why wasn't I able to Apparate, you might be asking yourself? (If you're not, I will tell you all the same.) The truth is, I could have Apparated the first time he told us to try. That feeling, that special knowledge of how to Apparate, does not die with the body if the mind can be reborn. Just as I'm able to become an Animagus because Roxi was one, I'm able to Apparate because I've done it before.
This, however, gives me a very unfair advantage over everyone else. I like to wait until quite a few people have gotten it down before I do it, because I don't want them to become discouraged or jealous. So pretty much, I take the time to daydream while everyone else is concentrating. Besides, I didn't want special attention from Twycross for being the only student able to get it on the first day.
We were all heading out by now, either to our common rooms or to spend some time studying in the library. We would have gone outside, but it was cold and rainy. Since Draco looked busy with Crabbe, Goyle, and Zabini, I decided to go to the Gryffindor dorms and hang out with everyone there. I didn't even need the password; I just strolled up to Dean and Seamus, who were on their way in, linked arms with them, and went right in.
"Hello, boys," I said cheerfully, pulling my arms away once we were inside."Slytherin dorms looked boring, so I thought I'd come up here for a bit."
They nodded, not surprised since I did this fairly often. "It can't be much fun, hanging out with those Slytherins," Seamus agreed.
"You should get the Sorting Hat to resort you and put you in Gryffindor," Dean added.
I laughed and nodded. "That would be great. I'd no longer have to be roommates with Pansy Parkinson!"
They gave a moment of silence in honor of the pains I went through by being in Slytherin, and then we began talking. About lessons, about Slughorn and if we thought he'd be back next year, about how things had gone for each of us in the Great Hall. It was nice. Sometimes, I really did wish the Sorting Hat had put me in Gryffindor. But then, if it had, Draco and I would probably be enemies, and I was glad we weren't.
I suppose it's fitting that I usually alternate between being in Gryffondir and being in Slytherin. Because really, I am tied to both. I had loved Slytherin, at least a little, and he loved me as much as he could and then cursed me. And I had loved Gryffindor, with all of my being, as he had loved me. I was connected to both of them, so I was connected to their Houses. Just as I was connected to Hogwarts. As long as Hogwarts still stood, I would continue to reincarnate into one of its students. Which was kind of a comforting thought, really. No matter who I was, Hogwarts would always be there to welcome me home.