"Friends." When Professor Dumbledore said that word, his eyes seemed filled with memories.
Jon stood quietly beside him without making a sound.
They paused for quite some time at the edge of the ancient city of Winchester.
"Jon, take hold of my arm!" Dumbledore suddenly ordered.
Jon hesitated for a moment, then reached out and grasped the forearm Dumbledore had extended.
"Very good," Dumbledore said. "Now, let's be off!"
Jon clutched Dumbledore's arm tightly, and at once, everything around him went completely dark.
He felt as though he were being violently compressed from every direction, unable to breathe at all, his chest squeezed tight by several iron bands. After an unknown amount of time, he was finally able to gulp down the cold night air and barely force open his streaming eyes...
For an instant, he felt as though he had just been squeezed out of an extremely narrow rubber tube.
"Apparition," Professor Dumbledore said calmly. "It is rather painful, but you'll get used to it."
"Thank you, Professor!" Jon got to his feet and straightened his clothes.
Then, he suddenly felt an inexplicable chill coming from all around him.
It was the middle of July, and he was wearing two layers of clothing. This cold was anything but normal.
But the Phoenix Dumbledore had summoned earlier flew down from the sky to his side. Its wings covered Jon... and the chill swiftly faded, replaced by a warm, comforting sensation.
Only then did Jon have the energy to look around at the place they had just Apparated to.
They were on a small island, by its shore.
Before them stood a massive, gloomy castle, while behind them stretched a boundless sea.
Countless black specks could be seen in the sky. They seemed to be trying to fly this way, yet