Percy Jackson was never the best at making decisions.

He never thought about them smartly, constantly choosing with his gut. This method did usually serve him well, and whichever he picks, generally works out alright.

It, however, still isn't a brilliant method to swear by.

When he's faced with two options that his gut can't choose between, he's left more than a little screwed. And this happens often.

Such is the choice that his apparent father, whoever 'P' is, has left him.

Does he choose the 'better' education, deemed only so by a stranger, and leave America, or does he stay in America and receive a more than adequate education still?

He didn't know. Couldn't know, and it was killing him.

Of course the obvious answer, would be to stay in a place that is familiar, but it didn't seem quite right. Yet neither did travelling to a foreign land.

He was still waiting for his mom to explain whatever it was that needed explaining, to him. But he didn't push her, she would tell him in her own time, he thought.

His mind was abuzz with a whirlwind of thoughts spinning around his skull.

He couldn't think straight. Though that isn't new to him.

But this was different. This wasn't his ADHD at work. This was something else. Something much bigger. Bigger than himself for sure.

He wasn't dumb, and knew that what his 'father' had hinted at, at what it was that his mom would tell him, would be something equal to, if not even more shocking than finding out wand waving wizards, and witches, existed in the world. Like was his dad part elf? Did they even have elves in the wizard world?

He just didn't know what it was.

Of course he had his theories, ranging from vampirism to aliens, but nothing felt quite right.

He was only pulled out of his musings when he noticed a piece of blue cake wafting under his nose.

He realised, with a slight blush, that he had zoned out, and his mom had resorted to using his kryptonite against him.

Feeling too queasy to eat anything though, for fear of throwing up, he took the cake from his moms offering hand, and set it down on the coffee table in front of him, saving it for a later time.

He took a quick glance around the room, and only when his eyes landed on a strange looking figure, did he realise that he had momentarily forgotten what was happening.

When his mom had first opened the door, he was nervous. No, more than nervous. He was worried. He didn't know why, he just had a feeling that whatever happens from this point on, he was in danger.

The feeling left as quickly as it came.

He realised that he shouldn't dwell on things that could have just been his misinterpretation, so he decided to abandon the notion from his mind altogether, rationalising that if it was true, the thought would come again.

His eyes focused on the stranger once again.

He didn't know what to make of him.

On the armchair, opposite the sofa that both he, and his mom (now that she has sat down) were resting on, was the oddest gentleman Percy thinks he will ever see.

He was very thin man, tall too, with thick purple robes, so long that they brushed along the ground when he first walked in, and were now sitting in a pool on the floor, swathing his feet. He had on a slighter darker cloak to the purple of his robes, which complimented the colour nicely. For footwear, this man wore a pair of boots, that were both buckled and high-heeled.

Framing his age-weathered face, was a cascading waterfall of silvery hair, alluding to his true age, his matching beard only helping one when trying to judge it.

Sitting upon twinkling sky blue eyes, were a pair of half-moon spectacles, which did nothing to dampen the sparkle his knowledgeable eyes held. These spectacles were resting upon a very long, and crooked, nose, as though this man has seen a few fights in his lifetime.

He had introduced his name as Albus Dumbledore, and was without a doubt one of the strangest things Percy has ever seen, looking over him only seemed to confirm this.

Realising a little too late, that this was the same Dumbledore that was said to be the headmaster, he blurted out, mid conversation, "Why are you coming to explain wizards to me?"

Perhaps it was a little rude, but the kind professor didn't show any inclining that he was insulted.

Instead he stopped what he was saying to Sally, who was looking a little reproachfully at Percy, and turned his sparkling eyes towards him.

"And why, my dear boy, would I not?" The softly spoken question, asked through the smiling lips of an ancient professor, caused Percy to blush for the second time in 10 minutes.

Stuttering a little with his words, he managed to spit out a coherent, "Because you're the headteacher. I just thought you'd have someone who's job it is, to do it."

Dumbledore chuckled a little, before pulling out a lemon drop from deep within his cloak, and popping it into his mouth.

"Normally Perseus, that would be true, but yo..." Dumbledore has started before quickly being interrupted by Percy.

"Just Percy, please." Rushed out Percy, inwardly cringing at his first name. He doesn't mind it, but it constantly reminds him of all the trouble he gets in with teachers.

Dumbledore, who Percy was slowly realising had lots of patience, let another chuckle, before starting over, "Well, normally Percy, that would be true, but you are a very special case."

At this Percy was confused. He knew that he wasn't supposed to get a letter from Hogwarts, but he didn't think that was too out of the ordinary.

"What do you mean by special?" Sally asked, now alert. Anxious that this man in front of her knew something about Percy's true heritage, she was very keen on hearing his answer.

If Dumbledore was confused, or shocked, by her little outburst, he didn't show. What he did do, however, was try to placate Sally, by saying "It's nothing bad, my dear, just that if a child was born outside of the United Kingdom, we would not send them an acceptance letter, out of respect for the boundaries all the magical schools had decided upon."

Sally, feeling much more relieved, let out a quiet sigh.

"Which is to say why I believe Percy to be special. While every school generally welcomes anybody who wishes to study there, except a select few, you won't find a wizard alive today who had their education in another country." Dumbledore finished, wrapping up his reasoning of believing Percy to be special.

He could have left it there, as Sally understood the implications of what he said, but nevertheless he continued, whether for Percy's sake or his own, but he said, "I, myself, am not sure why this is, but what I do know is, Percy is the first student from another country that Hogwarts will have, permitting he accepts, for nearly 520 years. And to top that off, he will be perhaps the 4th, if not 3rd, to have applied to a school outside of his country, in the last 250 years. The last being 180 years ago."

Dumbledore's voice remained the same tone throughout, as he always carries. A tone of an assured understanding of what he is talking about, despite him just admitting to not knowing, it was fascinating, how he was always so assured.

Sally, and Percy, didn't know how to process this information. It wasn't groundbreaking. It wasn't an 'out there' statement. It wasn't anything other than what regularly happens with a child's education. There aren't many instances of people moving country, just for education, at the age of 11, if any at all.

Moving country for other reasons, and then finding a school for your child is different.

So thinking about all this, Sally didn't understand why this news had puzzled her. It seemed to just be echoing what the muggle world did.

She decided it must just be because the head himself, was here to explain things to her. That certainly seemed right. She didn't feel any deceiving on Dumbledore's part, and she was a good judge of character, like her son, so she was assured that her reasoning was right.

Thinking about her son, she looked over at him, noticing how much he was paying attention. He was still tapping his hand against his knee, but his eyes were focused. They usually dart around the room.

She knew that she would follow Percy's decision whole heartedly. If Percy chose to go to Hogwarts, she would be more than happy to suggest they move to Britain, only she knew she couldn't. She relied too much on Gabe's money to finance a move to England. Though if he did decide to go to Hogwarts, she wouldn't hold him back.

She would prefer him to go to Hogwarts, for the simple fact that his father suggested he go there, and knowing who he is, he would definitely know which school would make Percy the best he can be. But, if he chose to stay closer to home with Ilvermorny, she would not try and persuade him otherwise in anyway.

And all of this is disregarding how much further he would be from his fathers world, and how much safer he would be because of it.

She hopes he chooses Hogwarts.

Dumbledore remained patient, silently lounging in the armchair offered. He knew how difficult this decision was. He had already explained everything pertinent to Sally, while young Percy was lost in thought.

He did wish that Percy would accept the offer from Hogwarts. He could tell that this boy will be something special. He held a raw amount of energy, unheard of at his age, since Mr Riddle, if not more so. Though it must be noted that he didn't explicitly care that the young boy was powerful, he cared more about his lack of an attention span.

As good of a school as Ilvermorny was, he didn't think it was as good as Hogwarts. He will, however, accept that his bias could be coming into play, but school rankings, and number of influential wizards put out, were always topped by Hogwarts. They dominated all criteria set by the Magical Association of Magical Associations (MASA), or the wizarding worlds worldwide education committee. Though Ilvermorny came second in most of them, and Percy would still become a great wizard if he went there.

He just didn't feel like they would be able to get the best out of him. Their teachers weren't as competent, he felt, and they weren't as strict. While in some instances, that could be seen as better, and to most it would, he knew that for Percy, he would need teachers who pushed him and didn't let him get away with things, to achieve his best potential.

That's why he wanted Percy at Hogwarts. Every good teacher wants every child to become the greatest they can be. And Dumbledore, in his old age, knows what it means to be a good teacher.

There must be something in the Jackson family air, as he himself has now fallen prey to losing himself in his wonderings.

He snapped out of it before missing any conversations, and decided to get to the most important point.

"Of course I'm not trying to pressure you, as this is wholly your decision, but I would like to say that I would be very glad to have you come to Hogw..." spoke Dumbledore, sincerity laced through his voice, before a meek Percy spoke up and interrupted,

"I'll come." Is what he said.

Dumbledore, while he couldn't say that he wasn't even a little shocked, kept his face as impassive as ever.

He had expected Percy to decline. He had expected Percy to go to Ilvermorny, and that would be the last they saw of each other, well until he became the wizard he expected him to be.

Sally, ever the one to worry about her son, asked, "Are you sure this is what you want, Percy?"

While not looking a hundred percent sure, he was nodding his head, his mind set on it.

"Yeah, no one has done it for years, so I won't be just like everyone else. And this time, I don't feel like that would be a bad thing. My father also wants me to go, and it'll mean we'll also be further from Gabe." The young boy sounded so sure with his words, both Sally and Dumbledore were taken a little aback.

"If you don't mind my asking, but who is this Gabe?" A curious Dumbledore asked.

"He's my husband." Sally said, trying in vain to hide the disgust she was sure would weave through her words.

Unfortunately Dumbledore picked up on it, and she knew it. Though she was grateful he didn't comment on it.

Instead, he said, "I can assure you that you will be further from him if you come to Hogwarts, than if you went to Ilvermorny", in a shameless attempt to assure Percy's admittance.

He didn't need to convince anyone, as both Sally and Percy wanted this, she just wanted to make sure Percy was making the right choice.

Though she couldn't help but pick up on what Percy had said about them both being away from Gabe. She knew that it would take her some time to amass enough money to leave Gabe, and a lot longer to move all the way to England.

She voiced her concerns to Percy, saying, "I'm happy for you to go Percy, but you do know that I won't be able to come with you, don't you?" Her voice shook a little. She didn't like their situation, and she's hate to be an entire sea away from her little boy. Though the prospect of sea didn't really frighten her in the slightest, but that's neither here nor there.

This time it was Percy who matched Dumbledores thoughts. They both didn't know what she was meaning.

Percy was he first to voice this, as he asked, "What do you mean you won't be coming with me? Don't you want to move away from him?"

Sally shook her head sadly, and said "I'll be able to send you there, but you know money is tight at the minute, honey, I can't move as well just yet." Normally, she would feel a slight embarrassment at talking about their financial situation in front of a practical stranger, but she felt at ease to do so with Dumbledore. She imagined her calmness was because he was a teacher and knew children from all backgrounds, so wouldn't judge.

Just as Dumbledore was about to speak up, to raise his own confusion, Percy was a little faster.

"I know mom, but I just assumed we'd use the money that dad put in the vault. Sure it was for school supplies, but he won't mind. And we can always get more money when that runs out." Said the young boy, a tone of self confidence at his own plan.

Sally was happy her boy would share his money, but she would never accept it. That was for himself, to help him out. Not her.

As she was about to tell Percy this, she heard a soft voice speak up with a tone of realisation.

"Dearie me, how could I forget? Because we don't normally have foreign students, we didn't think to send out the welcome packet. We have all kinds of bursary plans, and residence for foreign parents. If you're struggling financially, you're entitled to certain amenities. The last thing we want is to split up a parent and child, more so than we already are." Dumbledore, while not quite shamefully states, he did at least provide the curtesy of looking apologetically, and he genuinely was, old age was not all it was cracked up to be.

Sally on the other hand, couldn't look happier. She was getting the best of both worlds. She would be a lot closer to Percy, should anything happen, and she would be away from Gabe for good.

"See mom, you'll be able to come. So will you please?" Percy begged incessantly.

Sally smiled a little, before looking over at Dumbledore who nodded his head slightly, eyes still sparkling.

Sally started to nod her head, too. She was happy. More than happy.

"Okay, we'll do it. So long as you're sure you want to go." The first bit Sally aimed at Dumbledore, before checking herself and making sure she asked her son one last time.

Percy nodded his head enthusiastically. In the beginning, he chose Hogwarts as it he thought it would be great, greater than Ilvermorny. But when he saw what would happen if he left, with them leaving Gabe, and him fully understanding that, he knew he had made the right decision. And he was over the moon about it.

Knowing that meant yes, Sally looked back at Dumbledore, and said "Okay, we'll do it. So term starts at the 1st of September?" To which Dumbledore simply nodded in reply.

"So we'll have to sort everything out. We'll have to sign paper work with financial statements I assume? To qualify for housing help? And for leases/renting the house itself. And we'll also have to get Percy's things. I don't know the first thing about buying wizarding things. Where do we go? What do they look like? How much do they..." Sally started to ramble, losing her head just a tiny bit, before Dumbledore cut her off.

"Don't worry Sally, I've got the paperwork here." To which Dumbledore swished his wand that he pulled out of his sleeve, and sheets of paper materialised out of thin air.

Being the first bits of magic they had seen, Percy and Sally both stood and stared, open mouthed.

Magic is awesome ran through Percy's head a thousand times.

Magic is awesome ran through Sally's head a thousand times.

Magic is awesome ran though Albus' head a thousand times. Well near enough. He was still mainly thinking about who this Gabe was.

He didn't press them, as it was clearly a touchy subject.

"And as for leasing and renting, you will be provided with a home, free of charge. Think of it as one of those gifts a college sends after a desirable student." He said this in such a way, that they knew what they were supposed to be thinking it's like, is exactly what it's like. They knew that Dumbledore wanted Percy to come to his school.

Sally, knowing she wouldn't be able to change his mind, decided not to try and persuade him otherwise, by saying she would pay for it herself.

"As for Percy's schooling items, there is a place called Diagon Alley which provides everything Percy needs, and more. I'll take you whenever you're ready, and explain everything to you and advise you on how much we need to take from this vault you mentioned. But remember, it needs to be at least a day before the 1st of September, so you've only got just under two weeks. So give me a date and time, and I'll pick you up to take you." Dumbledore said, his voice never changing decibels, never quickening, and still he managed it all in one breath.

Noticing all of her questions being answered, Sally said, "Well we need to pack everything up and quickly too, so he doesn't realise what's going on. So we should be able to do it in a week or so, so maybe same time in exactly a week?"

Dumbledore nodded, seeing it as a reasonable date, but he wanted to offer something first, after seeing their urgency of doing it before, he guessed, Gabe was home.

"I can have you out of this house in at most two hours, from now, you know? If you wanted to leave straight away, I can help you pack." Dumbledore soft eyes twinkled as he offered a hand.

Percy seemed even more onboard with this idea, and tried to persuade Sally, "Oh please mom, I don't mind going right now. Please?"

Sally thought about things. Her friends had all left the state and she only spoke to them on the phone, so she didn't worry about leaving them behind, and with Gabe as her partner she struggled to make new ones.

There were her bills, but Gabe was the name on the lease, she just gave him her pay check in a verbal agreement she made with Gabe. So that wouldn't matter.

She didn't have any contracts, and could cancel her bank account and exchange her money from England.

Then there was her job. She would have to quit. Hopefully Mrs Davis would be okay without her handing in two weeks notice. She always got along with her, and hopes that would help.

"I'll have to quit my job. But other than that, I don't see why not. The only problem would be whether my boss lets me leave straight away." Sally told both Percy and Dumbledore, but aimed it at just Dumbledore.

Who already looked like he was anticipating this and said, "Would you need to go to your place of employment. I'm more than happy to wait for however long it takes."

Sally quickly shaking her head, said "No she won't be at the store today, so I'll have to phone her. Give me a few minutes, I'll try her now." And with that she was off into the kitchen, leaving both Percy and Dumbledore with each other.

There was a comfortable silence over the two, except for the light sucking of Dumbledore and his lemon drop.

He offered one to Percy, but still feeling a little sick, this time from too much excitement, Percy declined.

He did, however, choose this moment to voice something that has been nagging the back off his mind, ever since it was said.

"Why do you want me to go to Hogwarts so bad?" Was the question plaguing him.

He knew from the way Dumbledore alluded to offering them a house in exchange for Percy's enrolment that he really wanted him to go.

Dumbledore, looking not the least bit dazed by this question, said "Because you have the makings of a great wizard."

Which reminded Percy of what the letter from his not yet confirmed dad had said.

"And I want to make sure you become the best you can be. And I whole heartedly believe that Hogwarts will be the best place to achieve that. My only reason is as simple as that. There aren't any other reasons, like I know you're trying to guess. I simply want what's best for your chances of becoming the next Merlin." Dumbledore truthfully stated, smiling at Percy's blush at being so easy to read.

Percy also knew he was being truthful, and chastised himself at thinking otherwise. He, while not knowing who Merlin was, knew how much of an expectation this was.

"But don't mistake my words, Percy. Merlin could be where you end up, if not surpassing him, but you will need to work for it. Work for it harder than you have done for anything in the past. Harder than perhaps anything any wizard will ever do. And I know you're good at reading people, Percy, so tell me, do you think I say this to any of the other children?" Dumbledore spoke, in a rare moment of seriousness Percy had never seen him express.

Thinking about the words said, Percy knew he wasn't just being told that to convince him to come. He knew that Dumbledore truly believed he had the ability to become great, and that if he worked as hard as possible, he could be even greater. He also knew that Dumbledore was being truthful when he said Percy was the only one he's told this too.

Percy now finally understood why Dumbledore wanted Percy to come. Dumbledore was the kind of teacher who wanted the best out of everyone, and he wanted to offer Percy his greatest chance at becoming someone brilliant.

He made a decision, a choice, his choice, right then and there, that he would go to Hogwarts, and become the best wizard he can be. He'll work to his limit at practising spells and theory.

He'll make his mom proud.