When Worlds Collide~

Chapter 1

PERCY~

I groggily opened my eyes and stretched, expecting myself to still be in the Poseidon Cabin at Camp Half-Blood, expecting my elbow to brush against the wall next to my bunk. But my elbow brushed against the bark of a tree, and above me was the dappled green canopy of said tree. I froze, then slowly reached into my shirt pocket for Riptide, my Celestial Bronze sword (in pen form). I stood up warily, ready to push the cap off if I needed to.

Jeezus. Couldn't the gods leave me alone already?
I sighed and resignedly waited for whatever god or goddess was sending me a dream, but after several minutes, it became clear that no one was appearing.

So, was I actually dreaming, or had I woken up in the woods where we played capture-the-flag after a crazy dream?
Disoriented, I looked around, expecting to see Zeus's fist (AKA the poop pile, as Leo like to call it) or the stream that I'd been claimed in.

A completely different sight greeted my eyes. To my left, a small lake that mirrored the sky rippled slightly in the breeze. Behind it, a small hut sat before a gloomy-looking forest with brambles blocking most entrances into it. On my right, I great, sprawling castle sat atop a tall cliff, that had a path winding down past the small field in which I stood. Two winged boars flanked the exit.

Okay. Where in Hades was I?

"Stoll! The joke's over!"

My shout echoed around the small clearing, but there wasn't a response. That didn't mean anything - the Stolls brothers were cunning little buggers, and if I knew them well, they wouldn't give up on a prank this easily.

I could see a bunch of kids roaming around up at the base of the castle, and they looked like regular mortals. They didn't look all that dangerous. I warily started up the path, my finger still on Riptide's cap just in case. I was still kind of edgy; after giving more thought, I was pretty sure the Stoll brothers didn't have the kind of materials or power to somehow transport me to a completely different place. If this was a different place, but whatever.

I guess I must have looked pretty strange, walking around in my rumpled T-shirt and sweatpants with a pen in my hand, and I noticed I was attracting some strange looks from the kids, who, after a closer inspection, were wearing a uniform... That consisted of either really long coats or just robes. The looked pretty uncomfortable. I felt sorry for them in the summer.

Whispers and stares followed me, and a couple of groups walked into the huge castle, casting wary glances over their shoulder. With my luck, they were going to get an authority figure. Like that had ever worked out for me.

Before I could take one step inside the great oak doors that were flung open, I came face-to-face with a hook-nosed, greasy-haired man who was wearing one of those really long coats. He stared incredulously at me for several seconds.

"Uhh, hi there-"

"With me, Jackson." He grabbed the back of my t-shirt and dragged me down a long stone corridor. His robes were slightly too short for me to step on. Pity.

"Hold up!" I struggled free of the man's surprisingly strong grip and held one hand up. My other hand was behind my back, ready to flick Riptide's cap off at a moment's notice. "Why am I here? How did I get here? And who in Hades are you?!"

The guy's eyes glinted dangerously. "We cannot speak here. Already you have attracted the curiosity of some students." Once again he pushed me down the corridor. "Such careless behavior is not befitting of the great Perseus Jackson. I must admit, you do not seem to live up to your title. Is it that difficult to control the Mist? As for what you are doing he-"

"You know who I am?" My muscles tensed even more (if that was possible), and I pushed Riptide's cap off. The blade gleamed in the corridor as it grew into a sword.

The man's face darkened.

"Put that away," he hissed, shoving me into a deserted room. "Do you not think you have raised the curiosity of enough students?"

I glowered and lowered the sword slightly. Even though he seemed unreasonably hostile, he hadn't done anything to seriously hurt me... Yet.

I looked around the room. From what I saw, it was probably a classroom. A blackboard was up front with "Veritaserum" scrawled across it, with a paragraph of near-illegible writing underneath.

So... This place was a school?

"Wait here while I get the Headmaster. No noise, Jackson, you hear?" The man turned and stepped out, his hand on the doorknob.

"Tell me why I'm here first. And how do you know me?" I said this to a door slammed in my face. And the sound of a bolt sliding across it.

Great. Now I was locked in a classroom in a loony tune school and no way out. The windows were too small to fit through, and there wasn't any water to make a rainbow. Unless you counted those nasty pickled things in the jars on the shelf along one wall. And I was fresh out of drachmas anyway. I couldn't even Iris Message CHB now.

I knew it wouldn't work, but I tried the door anyway.

Yep. Locked. And the gap in the doorframe was too small to fit Riptide in to lift the bolt.

No windows. No other means of getting out. Why did I let the oily bat shove me in here?
Stupid, stupid, stupid.

After defeating the giants and Gaia, I hadn't expected to have any major battles now. Well, I didn't know if this was anything big, but getting kidnapped was a good start for one.

I glowered and kicked a over a chair and a table.
Stupid.

I was interrupted in the middle of another chair flip when the bolt slid back from the door and a tall, old man with a white beard that was long enough to tuck into his belt walked in, followed by the dark-robed man from earlier.

I froze. While the new guy looked pleasant enough, I didn't know who or what he was. He could be a monster, disguised by the Mist... After all, the other guy knew who I was. Was he a monster as well?

I eyed him warily. "Why am I here?"

Once again, I readied myself to uncap Riptide if need be.

The white-haired man smiled benignly. "Please, Perseus, sit down." He gestured to one of the chairs I hadn't knocked over and sat on a desk.

"I'll do that when I know you're not going to kill me, thanks."

"Perseus, if I was planning to kill you I would have done so already. Not that I would, in any circumstances. And as for information - well, you wouldn't tell me anyway. Please sit."

"Why do you know who I am?"

"Sit, and I will tell you."
He waited.

I slowly sat down.

When I had been seated, he started to talk. "I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And as for why you are here... It is a long story."