Smoke and Dust

Chapter Four: What being a wizard takes

Albus Dumbledore came back the next day shortly after breakfast. He arrived in a sort of robe that oddly looked like a nightgown of a middle aged lady in the twenties. Percy acknowledged the outfit with raised brows, but held back any comment about it. He had accepted that wizards were a strange folk without style or maybe it was just the old man.

The day before he had come back home to find his mother pretending nothing happened. Pauls and herself were sitting at the dinner, eating, when Percy opened the door. When she saw him, she just smiled and asked him how his day went. Percy understood that she didn't want her husband to know about her past, he didn't agree with it, but it wasn't his decision to make. So he would disappear without a word about the wizard and he would keep the old man from Paul's eyes if that was what his mother wanted.

The son opened the door before the wizard could knock and left with only a short shout of goodbye inside. He didn't wait for his mother to come to the door to see him off. Percy would alway love his mother, but he couldn't agree with the way she handled her past and he wouldn't participate in the lie.

He shouldered his backpack, smiled at the elderly man and closed the door after Aria had slipped out. He had told her about his plans and the wizards. Percy guessed she already knew about them, there was little Aria didn't know, and so he wasn't surprised when her only reply had been to ask when they would leave.

Percy didn't think she would be a problem, the wizard community surly had their own weird creatures. Indeed the old man only looked the winged cat-owl over once, an interested twinkle in his eye, asked if she would join them and accepted it without another question. After all, for all the wizard knew, Percy knew about the wizarding world, just never learned it himself.

The late demigod had also worked on himself to avoid any questions. He had thought of a story why he didn't study magic. His mother had been so scared of not finding a home here that she willed herself to be normal and when he came she did tell him about the world, but never made it seem appealing to be a part of.

He had also layered some more illusions on, until he seemed younger. A subtle change, one he didn't think Dumbledore would notice, but he had to believe him when he told him her was seventeen. Percy would work on it over the next days. Small changes per day, until he seemed normal. Still extremely beautiful, there wasn't much he could change about that, but more normal.

"Are you ready?" asked Dumbledore without any greeting or formalities.

"Good to see you too, professor. You look astonishing as always," replied Percy with a charming smile that once might have been his own. He only got back a small smile. He sighed tragically and added "As ready as I'll ever be, sir!" in a played serious tone.

"Take my hand," demanded Dumbledore while shaking his head. Percy glanced at the held out hand in front of him, then went to grab it with a smile. Aria, fluttered with her wings, flapped them once and jumped on his shoulder.

"Alright. What ever you say, professor." As soon as their hands touched, Percy felt the magic yanking at his body, at the same time the old man yanked at his hand and pulled him towards himself and towards the swirl of magic. And Percy let himself fall and followed the man into the deep waters of his magic.

They stayed under until Percy thought the wizard must be suffocating before they hit the ground again. The travel itself wasn't necessary hurting, just uncomfortable. Worst was the uncertainty how long it would take and what was coming. Percy was ready for something similar to shadow traveling, instead he was met with uncomfortable smallness. It was like his body was trying to get through a hole it could impossibly fit through.

When it spit him out on the other side, he hit the ground too hard. Two years ago his knees would have buckled and he would have fallen to the ground, now he played the part. Aria pushed herself off him and flew away from his body that collapsed to the ground. On his knees and safe from watchful eyes Percy scanned the surroundings of danger. He only came up with a remnant of magic in the air and he couldn't quite tell if it came from their arrival or something else.