She Apparates back over to Fay to hug her.

She laughs, returning the hug. "You'll be an expert soon."

"Flying teleporting dragon, the terror of the skies."

"Your enemies will fear the open sky."

"Though Apparating in your Animagus form should come after you have a solid grasp of the basics."

"Makes sense that it'd be harder."

She nods. "Splinching's more likely, mostly, or coming out of the Apparition stuck between the two forms."

"More to keep track of, right?"

"Just so - if you're accustomed to your Animagus form it's easier, but that essentially requires viewing it as your natural form... But for instance with Grim, I'd be more concerned about him Apparating while distracted as a human than as a dog."

Nod nod.

More practice, then? They can start working on going farther, then out of their line of sight...

Sounds like a plan.

Fay supervises the whole time, offering corrections here or there - but Ellie and Anathema really are doing very well.

They are the best at learning.

They'll be the best at magic soon enough.

The very best, like no one ever was.

She laughs. "Yeah. We'll blow them all away." Kiss.

Kiss.

(They're good kids.)

Even advanced Apparition is fairly easy to pick up, and as final exams conclude Fay sets them to visiting various pre-Hogwarts muggleborn households - they can't actually Apparate straight to most of them, not having a good visualization or any sort of homing beacon, so Fay takes them on a tour of the Isles to get a solid number of Apparition points. They can fly from those to most other places, using the Invisibility Cloak or Disillusionment, or simply traveling at night. She gives them anchor stones to drop on the edge of the properties that Fay and anyone she entrusts can use as beacons later, and teaches them the basics of setting an initial alarm ward - the kind that doesn't need the property owner's permission.

And then she and Headmistress McGonagal put together lists of children for the girls to investigate.

And the girls get to work. Visiting families and talking and demonstrating magic and convincing mothers and fathers of the threat and placing ward basics.

They're reluctant, a lot of them. But - some can be convinced, though nearly all require multiple visits. The only two families that take them up on a transfer right away are one that had been living in a homeless shelter and one mother who'd been trying already to flee a broken household with her son. 

It's slow, exhausting work, but so far they haven't arrived just to find people dead.

And then they Apparate back to Hogsmeade Station after a follow up visit with one hesitating family, to find Hogsmeade abuzz with near panic, people in the streets - some making the trek up to Hogwarts - and the station master watching the arrival Apparition points with his wand out.

He flinches a bit when they arrive - then recognizes them and lowers his wand. "You need to get to Hogwarts," he says, voice urgent and clipped.

"What happened?"

" - We're not positive all the details, but the wireless said the Ministry's fallen."

"Oh no."

They hurry up to the castle.

The crowds from Hogsmeade are being processed through the Great Hall initially, though it sounds like the castle's house elves are rapidly clearly out some of the larger, unused lecture rooms to move people into, and taking inventories of the bedrooms available.

A house elf spots them, tells them that Professor Reynolds is in the Headmistress's Office and will want to know they're okay.

Up to the office, then.