the twenty-first of April

The twenty-first of April is the first scheduled date for the Apparition Test at Hogwarts, a milestone that marks the earliest opportunity for eligible sixth-year students to take their official Ministry examination in magical transportation, and it becomes a focal point for Ron Weasley's anxieties about his magical competence and his strained relationships with Hermione Granger and Lavender Brown.

Announcement and Eligibility

The Apparition Test date is announced on a notice board in the Gryffindor common room late one Sunday evening, after Harry, Ron, and Hermione return from dinner. The sign specifies that students who are seventeen years of age, or will turn seventeen on or before the thirty-first of August, are eligible for a twelve-week course of Apparition Lessons from a Ministry of Magic Apparition instructor. Those who will be seventeen on or before the first test date, the twenty-first of April, have the option of signing up for additional practice sessions, which will take place under heavy supervision in Hogsmeade. The cost for the course is twelve Galleons. Harry and Ron join the crowd jostling around the notice, taking turns to write their names at the bottom. Ron is just taking out his quill to sign after Hermione when Lavender Brown creeps up behind him, slips her hands over his eyes, and trills, "Guess who, Won-Won?" Harry turns to see Hermione stalking off; he catches up with her, having no wish to stay behind with Ron and Lavender, but to his surprise, Ron catches up with them only a little way beyond the portrait hole, his ears bright red and his expression disgruntled. Without a word, Hermione speeds up to walk with Neville.

Ron's Anxiety and the Test

Ron panics on reading the notice; he has still not managed to Apparate and fears he will not be ready for the test. Hermione, who has now achieved Apparition twice, is a little more confident, but Harry, who will not be seventeen for another four months, cannot take the test whether ready or not. "At least you can Apparate, though!" Ron says tensely. "You'll have no trouble come July!" Harry reminds him that he has only done it once, having finally managed to disappear and rematerialize inside his hoop during their previous lesson. Having wasted a lot of time worrying aloud about Apparition, Ron is now struggling to finish a viciously difficult essay for Snape that Harry and Hermione have already completed. Later, during a Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, Snape mocks Ron's Apparition difficulties, saying, "Another ten points from Gryffindor. I would expect nothing more sophisticated from you, Ronald Weasley, the boy so solid he cannot Apparate half an inch across a room." Ron is very subdued all through the class. When the bell sounds, Lavender catches up with Ron and Harry and abuses Snape hotly for his jibe about Ron's Apparition, but this seems to merely irritate Ron, and he shakes her off by making a detour into the boys' bathroom with Harry. In the bathroom, Ron stares into a cracked mirror and says, "Snape's right, though, isn't he? I dunno whether it's worth me taking the test. I just can't get the hang of Apparition." Harry suggests he do the extra practice sessions in Hogsmeade and see where they get him, and if he is still not as good as he would like to be, he can postpone the test and do it with Harry over the summer. Ron agrees, saying, "You're right. I'll do the practice sessions in Hogsmeade before I decide about taking the test."

The Test Day and Aftermath

On the day of the test, Ron and Hermione join the rest of the sixth years who will turn seventeen in time to take the test. Harry feels rather jealous watching them all get ready to go into the village. He wishes them both luck, then turns and climbs the marble staircase again. When Ron and Hermione return in the late afternoon, Hermione cries, "Harry, I passed!" Ron, however, has failed. "He — he just failed," Hermione whispers, as Ron comes slouching into the room looking most morose. "It was really unlucky, a tiny thing, the examiner just spotted that he'd left half an eyebrow behind." Ron grumpily says, "But half an eyebrow – like that matters!" Hermione soothes him, saying it does seem really harsh. They spend most of their dinner roundly abusing the Apparition examiner, and Ron looks fractionally more cheerful by the time they set off back to the common room. The failed test deepens Ron's insecurities and contributes to the ongoing tension in his relationships, as he remains caught between his lingering feelings for Hermione and his superficial involvement with Lavender.