The Complete Idiot's Guide to the World of Harry Potter (20 page)

In the English language, apparition refers to unexpected or extraordinary appearances or to the act of appearing. Specifically, an apparition refers to the appearance of a strange, ghostly figure. Anyone who watches wizards Apparate and Disapparate would surely think they were seeing ghosts, so the name makes sense!

The primary advantages to Apparition are that it’s free, clean, and instantaneous: wizards arrive at their destinations the second after they Disapparate. They also don’t have to suffer the cold winds of broom travel or the discomfort of traveling the Floo Network. However, those under 17 years old are not allowed to Apparate on their own (similar to obtaining a driver’s license in the United States). However, side-along Apparition is possible—that is, a person unable to Apparate can travel alongside one who can, just like a side-car on a motorcycle—but this is usually used only in emergencies.

Disadvantages to Apparition are threefold:

Portkeys (
keys
to trans
port
ing) are objects that, when touched, transport witches and wizards from one predetermined location to another. Portkeys are overlooked objects that appear to be trash: examples include a boot or shoe, a discarded newspaper, empty cans or bottles (although wizards have to be careful about using those in areas that strongly encourage recycling), and an old punctured football (that would be a soccer ball to Americans).

Portkeys are always set up by the Ministry of Magic; unauthorized Portkeys are nearly impossible to arrange, although powerful wizards have certainly been successful at doing so.

The process works like this:

Experienced wizards can remain standing when they arrive at the destination, but the uninitiated often tumble to the ground. All who travel this way find themselves looking quite windblown.

Traveling via Portkey is a once-in-a-while experience for witches and wizards, because Portkeys are arranged only for significant events, such as the Quidditch World Cup (see Chapter 6), in which massive numbers of wizards, including children who are too young to Apparate, are traveling to a single location.

The Knight Bus is an emergency mode of transportation for a wizard who finds herself stranded and unable to travel in any other way. She simply extends her wand, and the triple-decker purple bus appears in a blinding light and with a loud bang. Triple-decker buses don’t exist in England (although double-decker ones do!), nor do any British buses offer featherbeds to passengers, as the Knight Bus does. The windows are curtained to give privacy, so many passengers wear pajamas and slippers during the ride.

One advantage of the Knight Bus is that it travels quite fast. One disadvantage is that it, well, travels quite fast! Drinks spill, the beds move about, and travelers may find themselves rather carsick. The bus appears to be about to collide with objects (trees, lampposts, other vehicles) at a high rate of speed, but just in the nick of time, the objects move out of the way until the bus passes. At each stop, the driver slams on the brakes.

Aside from the obvious discomfort, another disadvantage is that the Knight Bus cannot be summoned unless someone is absolutely stranded. Like the knights in King Arthur’s time, this bus should be one’s last option, but it is one to be counted on, if needed. After all, given all that questing the knights did, they couldn’t be spending all their time rescuing damsels in distress. But when a damsel has used up all her other options, the knight will certainly take time out of his questing schedule to do a bit of rescuing. In the wizarding world, both males and females can call on the Knight Bus.