The Dangers of Apparition
Before we begin letting you practice Apparition on your own, we have to go over safety requirements. There are several dangers that come with Apparition. Some are certainly more dangerous than others, but they all must be covered before you can pass your license examination!
Splinching
The biggest danger of Apparition is of course Splinching. For those of you who are not yet aware, splinching is the separation of random body parts. It occurs when a witch or wizard attempts to Apparate/Disapparate and ends up up leaving part of themselves in the original location. If you are lucky, you might only leave behind a piece of your clothing and suffer some embarrassment. If you are less fortunate, you might leave behind some of your hair. Those who mess up Apparition the most may suffer life-threatening injuries, such a leaving an entire limb behind. Most Splinching is treatable, but you must act quickly for the more serious injuries because you will start to lose blood. If you arrive at a location where there is no one to help you and you cannot summon any help, you may have to Apparate again to get help.
Splinching occurs when your mind is insufficiently determined. According to the Ministry of Magic, "you must concentrate continually upon your destination, and move, without haste, but with deliberation." This can occur quite easily when people who are not licensed attempt to Apparate. It is very likely that we will see some form of Splinching when we begin our practical lesson next class since you will all be new to the process. Splinching can also occur during times of stress, such as a fight, since your mind will be distracted while you are trying to Apparate.
The treatment for Splinching varies depending on the extent of your injuries. In the most severe cases, you may need to be transported to St. Mungo's Hospital to have immediate treatment by the trained Healers. This class will not go into healing spells, but there are several that you can learn in other classes if you plan on using Apparition as one of your main ways to travel.
Another possible way to heal Splinching injuries is the use of Dittany. Dittany is a magical plant that has restorative and healing powers. When it is used on wounds, it causes fresh skin to grow over the wound and the wound will appear several days old. Dittany can also be eaten in the raw form in order to treat shallow wounds. Generally, you do not need a lot of the essence of Dittany to treat wounds, which is good because Dittany is very rare.
There are two well-known Hogwarts students who have suffered from Splinching. The first is Susan Bones. During her Apparition course here at Hogwarts, Susan managed to Apparate, but left behind her left leg. Her leg was quickly reattached by the Professors on hand, but it could have been a bad situation out in the real world.
Another example of Splinching is Ron Weasley. During the escape from the Ministry of Magic, Ron was using Side-Along Apparition with Hermione. When Yaxley grabbed on to Hermione, she had to quickly get rid of him and Disapparate again. In the process, Ron got badly splinched. Fortunately, Hermione had planned ahead and had essence of Dittany on hand and was able to stop the bleeding.
Other Dangers
There are other dangers involved with the process of Apparition. You must be careful where you land! If you are picturing a place that is covered in snow, you need to be prepared to land there. Locations can also change between your visits there. There might be a new building where there once was nothing. If you are Apparating into a busy area, be careful that you don't land on top of another witch or wizard. You also have to be careful when Apparating to Muggle areas. Muggles might notice if you sudden appear right beside them with a pop! This does, unfortunately, happen and the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad will have to be dispatched to deal with their memory which can lead to lots of paperwork and possible fines on your part!