Jack wasn't exactly sure why he was coming to this lesson--after all, he wasn't 17 yet (he still had a year to go) and apparation sort of scared him. His father would also FLIP out of he knew he was attending lessons earlier than he was supposed to.

Still, when he heard the lesson was something about BASEBALL he had to come down. He had always been fascinated by the muggle sport (even though it was relatively foreign over in London). He wasn't sure what it was, but everytime he saw a muggle clip of a baseball game he couldn't help but stop and stare at it.

"Erm--good day," Jack said, waving at the two Ministry employees who were there. His mind immediately flashed back to the employees from Coopers--EEEEEP! SCARY!

Staring at the logs, he figured out which ones were for underage students and awkwardly sat down, folding his arms and looking around. Would they actually be playing baseball? ZOMG HE HOPED SO!

Aislynn went to the lesson with excitement. Apparition was always fascinating. She actually went a couple of times on her grandmother's arm. It was such a weird sensational feeling. She looked around at the logs and found the one where she was supposed to sit, at least she thought that's where she was supposed to sit. She hadn't attended apparition before, so she didn't know who she should talk to. She saw two women conversing, both fairly petite, except one had a pregnant belly. She gave a little cough. "I hope I am in the right place, this is for apparition correct?"

Chris Potter walked into the classroom area set up for the second Appartaion Lesson on the grounds. He smiled politely to each of the Ministry official women that had held the first lesson, they were both very nice when he had me them the lesson before.

He walked over to the underage log tables and sat down next to Jack Fritzera the Quidditch Captain. "Hey Jack, ready to learn about Apparation?" he asked cheerily.

Clifford was a little embarrassed. But then.. who could blame him? Mrs. Greingoth and Mrs. Masterson had seen him in nothing but his quaffle decorated boxers. Heck, half the class had seen him half bloody nekkid! Bleh. Maybe he should just turn around and go right back to the castle.. Hmm.

Oh, but he was here now!

The Head Boy mumbled a rather quick hello as he practically ran past the two women and seated himself on one of the logs.

Apparation! Evangeline actually should be studying for NEWTs, but she needed something to relax and what better than apparate around? Besides she was gonna take her exam soon, she needed some preparation. Yup.

Waving hello to the instructors, Evangeline excitedly walked past them and grabbed a seat on one of the logs. Very near to a very familiar boy. Oh gods. Feeling a little shy, Evangeline offering him a small smile before looking away. She needed to concentrate! Or she was so getting splinched.

Aparition, second lesson. Whee! Emiliano was excited for it. And who couldn't be? He approached the classroom set and greeted each Minister Official with a smile. "Good day..." He said and went to sit on one of the logs.

Time to play...maybe. Hehe

OMG baaaaaseeeball??

Cam had tried the sport and he was a bit bit bit good at it, but Hogwarts had gotten in the way in his possible future sports career. Not that he was any good at most sports at all even. And no way, Anna's MOM was gonna be one of the teachers. Apparition lesson. Hmm. OMG THIS WOULD'A RAWKEDDD. If he proved himself good enough for her mom, she might suggest Anna go marry him in the future. EH? EH? Genius idea.

He sat on the remaining logs, eying the other logs which had the... Apparition-learning people on it. Gah. He waited for other people he knew to come. Baseball baseball weeeeee.

Torin smiled as he headed over to the mock classroom. "Hey, Jack," he said as he walked past the Quidditch Captain. He took a seat on one of the logs and smiled at the Instructors. Apparition lessons could be really fun. He was getting excited for them.

Constantine was in the same position as the last lesson. Laying down in the grass with Roma by his side. This time though, there was the addition of some baseballs (one of which Roma was already happily chewing on) and a baseball bat. Neo had decided to go with a pair of jeans (the ones Lyra and Anna had deemed his best) and a baseball shirt. The best part was that he could see his wife again while working. Wooohooo!

OOC: Seeing that it's May in the RPG, I figured that Bella would know most, if not all, of the student's names by now. I thought that might make it a bit easier, as well.

"Good day, Mr. Fritzera," Bella greeted, smiling at the young Gryffindor. Whether he was enthusiastic or just plain nervous, she couldn't tell, but at least he'd made an honest effort to come to class today.

"Yes, Ms. Jolie, you are indeed in the correct place. Welcome to Apparition, and I'm quite glad you decided to join us. I think you'll find yourself having a rather enjoyable time today," she replied, smiling at the second student to join the class.

"Ahhh, Prefect Potter! It's always a pleasure to see you, too," Bella greeted. She turned her attention to another student, though, when Potter began addressing Fritzera. Perhaps the prefect could calm the captain's nerves a bit.

Bella quickly caught on to the fact that Carden seemed to be a bit on the embarrassed side as he strolled into class. "Hello to you, too, Mr. Carden," she greeted. "...one of my best students concentration-wise. I'm glad you decided to join us again today."

Bella returned the wave of the female Slytherin prefect and greeted her as well. "Lovely to see you, as well, Ms. Green," she said. She watched the interaction between the two Slytherin prefects for a moment, wondering if something had happened between the two, but then she brushed it off. She did hope all was well, though.

"Emiliano...Cam...Torin...nice to see you three, as well. I think you boys will definitely enjoy the lesson we've prepared for you. I think the girls will have a good time, as well, though," she said, smiling politely at the three new additions to the 'classroom'.

"We'll wait around just a bit longer in case any other students are currently on their way down. In the meantime, I'd like you to start thinking about the topic of Side-Along Apparition, as that's what we'll briefly discuss today before we start a little Apparition-type game," she said. "Just think about that for now, and in a few minutes, we'll start class and share our thoughts."

Aislynn smiled back at Mrs. Greingoth. She heard whispers that this was to be a baseball lesson. She felt extremely uncomfortable about it. She knew absolutely nothing about baseball. "Excuse me Mrs. Greingoth. Is it true that we're playing baseball? I'm sorry I'm just not familiar with the muggle sport. Isn't it American? Is it like cricket?" She got excited, she actually was familiar with cricket. She gave Mrs. Greingoth a hopeful smile.

Chris walked out to the grounds. Ah yes another apparition lesson. This shall be interesting. He walked a little more where everybody else was. "Hello." He said nicely when he saw all the people from the ministry. He then sat down on a log and then noticed he was right next to Emiliano. "Hey Em." He said to his friend who he hadn't seen in awhile.

Baseball, baseball!! YESH!!
Emiliano loved the game, though didn't fully understand the rules about it. Just that....three strikes were an out, three outs the teams change places and that in each position was meant to be in some place at the outfield. Hmm...what a confusion it was. But it didn't take the fun out of it.

Just then, Emiliano noticed Kaplan was aside him. "Hey, Chris...long time no see, eh...how has it been for you?" He asked him, curious as if something out of normal happened around that year they had not spoken a word to each other. The year had plenty of moments that never let them talk...how sad.

Kiri was afraid she was going to be late, but as she hurried down to the part of pasture that had been set aside for their Apparition lessons, she was relieved to see that she was still on time. Everyone was standing around aimlessly, talking to each other in a relaxed sort of way.
Even though she was far too young to be able to take the test, the Ministry proclamations that had appeared on the bulletin board in the common room had made it clear that students of all ages could attend. And as it was rather nice outside already (and it kept her out of the castle and away from unpleasant thoughts about the flooded floors), Kiri had chosen to join.

Kiri murmured a quick greeting to the two women from the Ministry who were supervising the lessons, then got in line next to Emiliano. She smiled and gave him a little wave.

THE Mrs. Masterson, Madison, came waddling out to their practice place for the last Apparition's lesson. This was her department now as she was a Division Head, thanks to her lovely and talented boss, Bella Greingoth. She walked over to where Roma and her husband was and patted each one one the head. "Nice jeans," she winked with a smile and made her way over to where her boss was.

"It seems there are some eager to learn a little more," she smiled as she placed her hands on her hips as it seemed her back was bothering her slightly. Carrying everything up from was beginning to take it's toll on her posture, especially since she was in her final month...or final days to be exact. Once she stopped, she was a bit out of breath but there was still a part of her that shined brightly being here with the students, her boss and her husband.

As she circulated the room, Bella heard one of the older students call out to her. "Yes, dear? Oh, well...we're sort of playing baseball today, yes. Sort of yes, but at the same time, sort of no. No need to worry if you're unfamiliar with the game, though. Mrs. Masterson and I will explain all the directions and ensure that everyone knows exactly what to do before we get started," she assured the girl. "To answer your questions, though, an early form of baseball actually began in England in the mid-eighteenth century. It evolved into the game we know of today. As I said, though, we'll talk baseball in just a bit. We first need to ensure that everyone knows and understands the basic concept of Side-Along Apparition first."

She turned to greet a few students who'd just arrived, then began the lesson. "The last time we met, we discussed how important it is to concentrate while apparating. We discussed that not properly concentrating could have disastrous results, including splinching or reappearing in a destination other than the one you intended to travel to. That's not meant to scare anyone, of course, but we do need to be aware of that fact and keep it in mind while apparating," she said. "Side-Along Apparition, by definition, is a form of Apparition in which the Apparator touches someone else, such as a child too young to Apparate, and Apparates with that person as a 'passenger'. My question to you is, when using Side-Along Apparition, who is it that should utilize proper concentration skills---the actual Apparator, or the one who is simply the 'passenger'? Include reasons who you feel this way, as well."

Kiri stepped out from next to Emiliano so that people could actually see her. Raising her hand, she ventured, "Madam, I'd say that the, er, Appparator has to concentrate on the destination because... um, they're the one who's actually Apparating, right? As you said, Side-Along Apparition is used to take children along, for example, because they cannot Apparate yet, and... and..." She floundered. "Er, therefore they are just sort of taken along by the other person."
She thought for a second, then added, "I'm not sure, though, maybe it helps the Apparator if both concentrate on the destination?"

"I would have to agree, the Apparator, should be the one with the most concentration. I know when I've apparated with my grandmother all she told me was to 'hold on tight'." She actually never asked her grandmother how it worked. "I would imagine the person apparating would have to not only getting themselves from point A to point B in one piece, but ultimately have to focus one getting the other person they're taking with them in one piece. I imagine it requires double the concentration."

Em raised his hand. "I think that only the Apparator should be concentrated, and since it's Side-Along...the other is just dragged along. Though, I also comment that the company during the process of Apparition should be in knowledge of to where they are going, so that by the time they get to learn to do it, they must be in knowledge of how it feels and how it should be done. " He answered, still trying to make his ideas come to mind.

A turn of his head and he noticed Kiri was just beside him. "Hey, Kiri..." He whispered to her, waving back and smiling.

Jack had to think about this one. He was not really familiar with Apparation at all--and the idea of splinching was gross and SCARY. He raised his hand. "Well, it makes sense that the Apparator is the one concentrating on their destination, not the person using Side-Along Apparation. They just kind of need to concentrate on holding on tight, not the actual destination. They may not even KNOW the destination. Most of the time they're little kids too, so expecting that kind of concentration from a little child might be kind of unrealistic."

Chris raised his hand. "Well Mrs. Greingoth," he addressed the mother of his co-prefect and the teacher of this lesson. "In the most part I would think that the adult Aparator would be the main person using thew concentration, but wouldn't it be ideal, if the younger passenger could concentrate on the destinnation as well. The results could be higher." he said shaking his head.

Paris raised her hand. "Well the person doing the appartating, because they know where they are going and they should know how to apparate. The passenger just has to hold on." she said simply. She didn't know if that was the answer she was looking for but it was the one she had.

Chris raised his hand. "I think it would be the actaully person appartating. The other person might be have to side appartating because they don't know where to apparate to. Or they don't know how to apparate and they are just being dragged along." He said.

"You are correct, Miss Starstalker, in that the actual Apparator is the one who must do the greatest amount of concentration, for they not only have to concentrate on the task at hand and the destination, but they also have to concentrate on their passenger," she said. "I do agree that both should focus on the destination, the Apparator more so than the passenger, but I'm still looking for one additional important role the passenger should play."

"You, too, are correct, Miss Jolie, in that the Apparator does need to exhibit the most amount of concentration. I want to emphasize three key words you just said, though. Hold...on...tight. That's a little hint as to what else I'm looking for in regards to the passenger," she stated. "What would you imagine, class, is very important for the passenger to remember to do?"

"I like the fact Mr. Saenz brought up about the passenger being aware of his or her destination, as well. What we must also remember is that Apparators are also serving as Apparition instructors each time they use Side-Along to carry a passenger with them. This is, of course, especially the case with children or those not quite of age," she said. "It's also helpful for those less experienced in apparating. Each time we use Side-Along we are offering our knowledge of Apparition as an example to our passengers."

"Thank you, Mr. Fritzera! You managed to bring up the exact detail I was hoping at least one of you would say. The passenger's concentration needs to also be focused primarily on holding on tightly. The passenger, especially if he or she is underage, needs to remain aware of the fact that, for a brief time, they are relying solely on someone else to maneuver their presence from one place to another. The passenger needs to constantly be aware of this situation, so they can properly be transported right alongside the Apparator," she said.

"It is quite ideal, Mr. Potter. Two keys aspects the passenger needs to focus on are the destination and the awareness of the fact they are relying on another---in this case, the Apparator," she agreed. "We wouldn't want our litte ones splinching, now would we?" She shot a playful smile at young Cameron Karsten on that note.

"The Apparator must exhibit most of the concentration, but not all of it. So your answer is, for the most part, correct. Just remember to have the passenger focus on the destination and the 'holding on tightly', too. Even though the passenger is relying on the Apparator, the passenger is still going through the same apparition process," she explained.

"That's good thinking, and you are certainly on the right track, but just remember, as I said, that the passenger is still going through the process of apparition, even though they are relying on someone else's skills. Splinching can still happen without proper concentration from either party. The passenger also needs to properly focus on the connection between he or she and the Apparator. This will assist them in being properly transported," she replied.


"Thank you, boys and girls, for such thoughtful answers. Mr. and Mrs. Masterson and I surely appreciate your participation," she said, smiling out at all the students. "What I would like for you to do now is to locate a partner. Because the lesson is on Side-Along Apparition, I would ideally like for you to partner up to where one of-age (6th or 7th year) student is paired with a student not yet of age (1st - 5th). Try to partner up in this manner, but if you absolutely can't, then simply locate someone to work with."