Concerning Apparating

[LunaRaven]

No: HPFGUIDX 186620

I'm a new member to this group, and I only joined it to address a
subject cited in the HPfGU FAQ. I'm not an adult yet, or I suppose a
"grown-up"(though I suppose that depends on how you define a person that
has "grown-up"), but I think that I can provide some insight into the
topic. I think allot of problems adults encounter when reading Young
Adult fiction, specifically Young Adult Fantasy, is the problem of
attempting to make "adult" sense of something not initially written for
adults. From the FAQ I quote,

"Where do students learn to Apparate if they cannot Apparate or
Disapparate on the Hogwarts grounds and underage students cannot
practice magic during the holidays? [Yahoo Clubs Messages #6701
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups-Archives/message/6701> ,
6706 <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups-Archives/message/6706>
, 6715
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups-Archives/message/6715> ]
Some members have suggested that the students may take field trips to
Hogsmeade for this purpose. Another member questioned whether the
inability to Apparate or Disapparate on the Hogwarts grounds might be a
myth (despite Hermione's repeated reminders of this ban and Snape's
confirmation of it). [Yahoo Clubs Message #6778
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups-Archives/message/6778> ]"

For starters, the ability to Apparate or Disapparate on Hogwarts grounds
is not a myth. For some reason, many readers I have encountered on
online communities have the tendency to pick apart everything J.K.
writes, even if she writes it absolutely. Basically, if J.K. writes that
wizards cannot apparate of dissapare on Hogwarts grounds, I believe that
she means it. I know that J.K.'s word does not satisfy everyone
however, so I'll offer a bit of logic. Why wouldn't wizards or
witches be able to apparate/dissappate on school grounds? For protection
from people who may want to harm the school from the outside, as well as
to keep students with the ability to apparate on the inside. I highly
doubt this is a myth not only because J.K. says differently, but also
because no defense (whether is be a magical shield or castle gates) is
utilized without it first having been tested. I'm sure that when the
apparition block was installed, it was then tested to see if it actually
worked. So, where do students go to learn how to apparate? For me, the
answer is simple. I don't know why, but I've always been under
the impression that Apparating is very much a wizard's form of
driving. In order to apparate, you need a license. And where do muggle
youth go to learn how to drive? Driving class. So where would a
wizarding youth go to learn how to apparate? Yes, that's
right—an apparating class(ministry controlled no doubt). I believe
that when wizards and witches come off age, they are elligible to sign
up for a ministry-monitored course about apparation. After the course is
completed, students then take the apparating test. It was mentioned in
the books that you can fail the apparating test, just like you can fail
a driver's test. You can also retake it. So, students use magic
under ministry supervision. It is true that underage students cannot
practice magic during the holidays, but when a student turns
seventeen(the age required to obtain a license), they can use magic
legally. This theory is confirmed in the HBP, when it is written that
students of sixteen can take ministry-sponsored classes (like drivers
classes), and students of seventeen who have missed the first test can
take practice tests at Hogsmeade.


LunaRaven