And Should You Fall I Will Catch You (or fall trying): Beginnings

Chapter III: Welcome to my Life

As the sunshine peeked through the windows of the apartment Percy Jackson stood at the door hugging his mother with Professor Dumbledore standing behind him smiling at the moment. He gestured for Perseus to follow him. He grabbed the boy's arm waving his wand and they both disappeared with the blackness of the night.

Apparating, Percy mused was slightly worse than shadow traveling in the sense that while shadow traveling felt like he did a triple loop-de-loop followed by a one hundred foot drop at fifty miles per hour apparating felt like he had been vacuumed in to a tube of air stretched until he was ripped apart and quickly smashed back together. In short it was awesome.

Just as suddenly as they had disappeared in to the air they reappeared landing in England. Percy stumbled upon landing falling down on his stomach in to the dirt. He heard a small chuckle behind him and with red cheeks quickly stood up and dusted the dirt off his clothes.

He looks up from his clothes westwards towards the now setting sun. His brow crinkles in confusion considering it was just noon when he had left.

"Percy," Dumbledore called startling him out of his thoughts. He turned towards him and Dumbledore gave a small nod of acknowledgment. "Come along my boy we must go to meet everyone."

They walk down the hill eventually reaching an old rundown neighborhood.
They stop in front of an open field in between two houses and Percy glances around in confusion. "Um I don't mean to be rude," he starts "but isn't there supposed to be a house here."

Dumbledore stares at Percy before realization settles on to his features. "Thats right you haven't been trained at all in magic. There is something there but you will have to look a little closer. Imagine the magic that shields the truth from your eyes is slowly being lifted, like pulling open curtains or lifting a brides veil, and what we seek should soon appear before your eyes."

Percy glances at the empty field once again before closing his eyes. He imagines clarity something akin to looking down in to the clear waters of the ocean. He imagine curtains opening allowing the window and the picture outside of it to be seen. He imagines honesty the look of trust and truth that exist in the eyes of many people around him who open their eyes, bodies, and souls to the world. Something presses against the back of his skull and there is a tingling sensation behind his eyelids. Suddenly it feels as if something is lifted from his face as if someone had draped a thin opaque cloth over his eyes and they finally decided to remove it. This is like trying to see through the mist he thinks.

He opens his eyes and before him stands a large pitch black house. It reminds him distantly of Hades' castle in the underworld. The outside is black and dreary and almost creepy with the sun setting and the shadows creeping up on the edge of the walls. The building itself is huge and windows are scattered across the house. The door, like the rest of the house is pitch black and the door knocker is twisted in to the shape of a silver snake with ruby red eyes.

Dumbledore walks towards the door pushing it open and it creaks with age. He gestures for Percy to come and the both hurry inside.

The inside is (surprise surprise) also black. The opening they stand in is dusty and covered with enough dust to make a nose less person break in to a sneezing fit. Paintings cover the walls and the wood below there feet creaks as the walk and the eyes of the paintings follow them. On one wall hangs a thick black velvet curtain. They hurry past that and come towards a solid ebony door engraved with a phoenix rising from the ashes.

Dumbledore turns back towards Percy and gives him a blinding smile. "Well Perseus," Percy scowls muttering that his name is Percy to Dumbledore who pointedly ignores him, "Welcome to the Order of the Phoenix." His brow creases and he stares at Dumbledore with a mixture of confusion and skepticism. "Order of the Phoenix" he echoes as if hearing the words in his own voice will shine a light on their meaning. Dumbledore only smiles in the same way a teacher does when they expect a student to learn the answer without their help and gestures for him to open the door.