This is the Way I Fall

Author's note--AH HAHAHAHAHA! *happy dance* Does it make me a freak if I say that I LOVED everyone's reviews for the cliff-hanger??? If so, then I am a SUPER FREAK! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

And let me just say that the story is NOT called "This is the Way I Crash"...I can't promise that another chapter isn't titled that (well, there is NOT a chapter title like that up to Chapter 14...but I think by Chapter 15 they *should* be in England).

And as far as killing our boys...(think "Frasier" for a second...)

I AM WOUNDED!!!!! haha Just kidding...I'm really not. But seriously, no way, I would TOTALLY warn you up front in the story if anything like THAT was going to happen. (I might have several meanings of "trust me" but killing Harry and/or Draco is NOT one of them!) There are still several more installments, remember? (And they're not "This is the Way I Die"...that's just wrong...well, if one IS called that, it won't be Harry and Draco dying, I can promise you that!)

So rest easy because HARRY AND DRACO WILL NOT DIE!!!

But THIS is the part that I really wanted to have in "Fall"...for obvious reasons. So here you go! This chapter is dedicated to everyone who hates me right now! I hope this helps ease your ire a little...I LOVE ALL OF YOU! (even if you hate me right now! lol)

This is the Way I Fall by Graballz

Chapter 11

This is the Way We Fall

The oxygen masks popped out from the ceiling, and Harry reflexively reached up, pulling all of theirs towards them and making sure that Ron and Draco had a hand up to take their masks before putting his own on. Draco’s pale hands were shaking, though it was difficult to tell with the plane rumbling like it was.

Ron discreetly slipped his wand out of his sleeve and kept it in his hand by his thigh, ignoring his oxygen mask even though the plane was nose-diving quite quickly.

“Wingardium Leviosa,” he whispered, and just as suddenly as it was dropping, it stopped. There were more screams and shouts of relief, as well as a burst of spontaneous applause. Only Harry and Draco knew why the plane had ceased to fall, and Harry noticed with alarm that Ron’s face was turning from pale to red to purple at a rather alarming rate. He grabbed his friend’s mask and pulled it over his head, holding the cup to his mouth in order to give Ron the oxygen he needed from the loss in cabin pressure. Ron brushed it away, tipping the mask up enough so that he could make himself heard.

“Can’t…hold…it…” he rasped just before he passed out from the lack of oxygen.

Harry grabbed the wand from Ron’s slack grip and caught the plane as it began to drop again. Draco watched him wordlessly with wide eyes as Harry kept the plane aloft.

“We need to find out what’s going on,” Harry pushed his own mask aside and leaned in to Draco quietly.

“I’ll go ask the captain,” Draco volunteered, unbuckling his belt and removing his mask. As he stumbled over Harry’s and Ron’s knees to get to the aisle, he heard someone shout for him to stay in his seat, but he ignored them, hurrying up the aisle as fast as he could.

**********

Sooner than Harry expected, beads of sweat began to break out along his forehead and upper lip. He was already sleep-deprived, combined with the fact that he hadn’t used his magic in so long, and even though he was able to channel it through Ron’s wand, it wasn’t designed for him. It was also taxing work to hold up an entire Muggle plane full of people, and he was tiring faster than he wanted to admit. Harry grunted, determined to stay conscious until Draco returned at least, and he gasped in relief when the blonde finally came back towards him.

“What are you doing?” Draco hissed, looking alarmed. “Use the Hover Charm, not Wingardium!”

Harry supposed that his appearance must have tipped Draco off as to how drained he was feeling from trying to use the Levitation Charm to keep the plane aloft, even though that particular charm was not meant for a heavy-duty target. He nodded, gathering his strength, and released the first spell. The plane dipped again, and Draco scrabbled wildly for purchase on the back of the seat in front of Ron until Harry’s Hover Charm straightened the jet out again. Harry drew in a deep breath of oxygen; this spell was much easier to maintain since it was designed to allow objects to remain in the air.

With his left hand, he raised it and managed to get hold of one of Draco’s, squeezing for support. Draco smiled briefly, turning to make sure that Ron was merely passed out and not in need of medical attention, his mask firmly in place while it supplied the much-needed oxygen, before looking back at Harry.

“We’re somewhere in the middle of the northern Atlantic Ocean,” Draco leaned down to whisper so as not to alarm the Muggles around them who were alternately screaming, crying, trying to turn on their cell phones and make calls, reciting Scripture, and muttering prayers and pleas for help to any deity that might happen to be listening. “We could touch the plane down and it would float, but we’re in the middle of nowhere. It’s possible that we could Apparate and bring back help, but we don’t necessarily know how far we’d be going and where to come back to.”

“And we can’t just Hover here forever because that will get suspicious,” Harry replied. “If we had enough wands, we could cast enough Stunners to create a wind.” He remembered being in the woods with Ron and Hermione after the Quidditch World Cup and feeling the aftereffects of the Ministry wizards’ multitudinous Stunning spells.

“There is a hot air charm,” Draco muttered, racking his brain to think of a solution. “It’s complicated, though.” Harry supposed he shouldn’t have been surprised that Draco would’ve thought of it; he was, after all, the second-best student in their year after Hermione.

“And we’ve only got one wand,” Harry whispered. “If I let go, the plane will fall again. Can you do it wandlessly?”

“Yes, because I’m so proficient at wandless magic,” Draco snapped sarcastically and then immediately felt guilty. Harry was looking more peaked by the minute, and Draco held his other hand out. “Give it to me; you need a rest.”

“No, I’m fine,” Harry protested, having to tip his mask each time with his wand hand to answer without having to let go of Draco’s hand.

“Harry James Potter, so help me, I will knock you out myself if you don’t give me that wand this instant!” Draco hissed, his nostrils flaring as he chided Harry. “Stop being such a noble Gryffindor arse! You have the most capability of magic of the three of us!” Harry’s eyes widened since he knew how much pride it cost Draco to admit that out loud. “And I’ll not have you passed out because you fucked up a simple Hover Charm!” That sounded more like the Draco he knew; the sentiment behind the words was pure and peppered with backhanded compliments, even if the words themselves were snarky and insulting—on the surface.

“Get a mask on,” Harry replied. “I will not have YOU passed out because it didn’t go with your outfit!” In spite of the gravity of the situation, they both briefly smiled and Draco grabbed his mask, having to lean over the seat in order to put it on. Harry drew a deep breath and passed him the wand.

**********

The plane dipped again, causing everyone to clutch each other and scream involuntarily, but it immediately righted itself when Draco cast his own Hover Charm. Harry pulled his and Ron’s mask off, struggling into the aisle with Draco and taking care not to jostle the blonde. He put the arms of the seats up and shoved Ron over to the window. The redhead lifted his head and looked around dazedly. Harry was glad that his newly-reconciled best mate was awake, but it would be a few more minutes yet before he came around.

Draco looked as if he was holding up well under the magic, but the position he was in was rather awkward. Harry grabbed Ron’s mask and warned Draco that he would switch the masks out so that it would be more comfortable for Draco. Nodding, the blonde allowed Harry to continue, and then Harry slipped Draco’s old mask (the one for the window seat) over Ron’s mouth and nose while he put his own middle-seat one back on, still standing in the aisle with Draco.

“What do we do?” Harry asked anxiously, looking up and down the plane at the terrified Muggles. He wished automatically that Hermione was here, since she was the best at formulating a plan and figuring out spur-of-the-moment solutions. He himself wasn’t particularly gifted with strategy—as a Gryffindor, he preferred action to thinking and charging ahead blindly to sitting idly—but in this case, it would take both to get them all out alive. He realized that Draco was just as capable as Hermione at planning, perhaps even better since that was his forte as a Slytherin, and he looked to Draco now, hoping for some answers.

“We need to look for a couple of things that can double as wands,” Draco whispered, moving his mask aside so that he could talk to Harry. “You probably have the best chance at channeling magic through a Muggle object, and Ron would be better off with HIS wand since he’s used to it.”

“What about you?”

“Of course I can channel magic through anything,” Draco gave his head a toss. “I’m a pureblood, aren’t I?”

Harry knew better than to debate his boyfriend’s logic in a time like this, and he nodded, turning and looking around the plane for something that resembled a wand. To his dismay, he saw one of the stewardesses cautiously making her way towards them from the back of the airplane with a frown.

“Incoming,” Harry whispered, and Draco glanced at her.

“Intercept her,” he ordered, giving Harry a small push. Harry pulled the mask from his face and left it dangling as he moved towards her, glad to be able to DO something instead of stand around helplessly.

“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you and your friend to take a seat and please buckle up,” the woman began curtly, but Harry cut across her.

“Ma’am, please, we’ve got it under control,” he pleaded. “You need to keep yourself safe!”

“Sir, I appreciate your concern, but I still must ask you to sit down and buckle up.”

“That’s fine,” Harry nodded vigorously. “Consider us asked, then.” She waited a moment and he gave her his most winning smile. She evidently was used to such displays of persuasion because she didn’t smile back.

“Sir,” she replied firmly, not appreciating his cheek. “I need you both to SIT DOWN until the captain has figured out what is wrong with the plane and can get us landed safely.”

“What’s wrong with the plane,” Harry echoed loudly, pumping his fist in the air as an idea hit him. “That’s IT!” He turned away from her, ignoring her cries of ‘sir, SIR!’ and took off towards the front of the plane, pushing past Draco carefully and ignoring his looks of confusion, heading unerringly towards the cockpit.

**********

Author's note--Eh, still a cliffie, but there is a reason for this one too! So...what do you think happens? Well, rather...if YOU were Harry/Draco/Ron, what would YOU do in this situation??? (I've already got planned what I want to happen...I think...but I'm just curious to see if anyone comes up with a way that makes more sense than what I wrote...)

Also, man alive, my muses HATE me, but don't worry...they LOVE you guys!!! Remember how I thought I was going to be stuck on Chapter 13? Written. Last night. Boom, all in one sitting. So now I'm working on Chapter 14, but I hope that Ch 13 (when you get it) will make up for the awfulness that's happening right now.

A couple of quick notes: Just so you know, Harry, Draco, and Ron are pretty much all talking in whispers or low voices, even if I didn't quite specify it...so that the Muggles don't overhear them. (Not that the Muggles are listening anyway, but still) Also, I've never PERSONALLY had to put on one of those oxygen mask thingys in-flight, but I imagine they're not that easy to talk through, so even if it doesn't really say, they tipped the mask a little to be able to converse while still getting enough oxygen during the altitude drops.

(I didn't want to be TOO redundant with saying "they whispered" for everything or "they tilted their mask to the side to talk"...so just in case you were wondering why I said it one time and maybe not another...there you go!)

Also, Wingardium Leviosa IS the Levitation Charm, and there is no incantation given (on the HP Lexicon) for the Hover Charm. I hope that the explanations of the spells and why one would work better than another make sense; if not, I can go into more detail in an Author's note if you need...

And I felt really bad about the plane continually 'drop' and 'catch' and 'drop' and 'catch' and I know it's probably getting old...but I had to write it like that. I hope you found it believable how and why each of them would tire at different rates using the different charms and wand and all...and how they would pass it around before one of them passed out again to keep everyone 'okay', health-wise.

Thanks for the AWESOME reviews (seriously, you guys, I even love the ones where you hate me!) and thank you for reading!

Miss Nikki I'm sorry I made you mad...but I'll make it up to you. *wink* I wuv you! Thanks!

thrnbrooke HAHA Thanks for not hating me! LOL Well, as you can see, Harry and Draco don't, but Ron does! However, that's not going to be enough, so we'll have to see what they plan to do!

QueenBoadicea Thanks for your review! Aw, I'm sorry that you thought it was OOC for them (did I read your review right?) Let me see if an explanation can help (possibly) change your mind. and if not, that's okay too!

I totally agree with you that your lover should NOT take the place of friends/family. I wasn't trying to insinuate that with Harry and Draco, but just a quick reminder that Harry left England because all of HIS friends turned THEIR backs on HIM (for dating Draco). It wasn't that Harry left THEM...well, he DID leave England, but that was after they had made it very clear that they didn't like or accept Draco, and if Harry wasn't going to break up with Draco, then they didn't want anything to do with Harry.

And upon coming to America, DRACO was the socialite butterfly (what with his joining everything under the sun) but I see Draco as making a LOT of surface friends and knowing a TON of people, while Harry might not know AS many people, but he gets to know a few really well...does that make sense? At this point, neither of them have a "best friend" that they hang out with (like Harry used to hang out with Ron and Hermione) in America, but they have their fraternity brothers, plus Harry's Psychology partner (but that doesn't count as 'hanging out') so it's not like they're ONLY ever with each other and NEVER see anyone else...

And with regards to Harry offering to walk away from Ron (despite Molly being sick and all)...Harry was gambling a bit. Remember, Draco has that ONE awful insecurity (in spite of the fact that he KNOWS Harry loves him) about Ron, and they JUST talked about that and about how Ron no longer came first (over Draco). Because I DO believe that when you are in love with someone, they should come first over your friends. (Let me clarify that by saying that obviously a new boy/girlfriend of a week shouldn't come before a friend of multiple years, but Harry and Draco aren't just a 'fling'...their love is the real deal--soulmates--whatever you want to call it--and even though Harry and Ron have been friends for longer, you'd expect Ron to put Hermione first over Harry, right? (as HIS significant other) To me, when you have THAT kind of everlasting love, then your friends can't come first; otherwise your relationship won't work.

Granted, Ron and Hermione *SHOULD HAVE* been more accepting of Draco in the first place, and they DID give Harry the ultimatum ("him or us") and Harry picked the man he was in love with over his friends (who he is NOT in love with). Draco has always been terrified that if he gave Harry an ultimatum ("me or Ron") that Harry would choose Ron...and that kind of insecurity is TERRIBLE to live with.

Yes, it frustrates Harry that even after a year, Draco STILL has that insecurity about Ron, but if he chooses Ron over Draco in this instance (in the airport, saying something like "Ron's mother is sick and I don't care how you feel about it") then that would be devastating to Draco and Harry knows that. He DID hope that by giving Draco the choice of going to England, going to Brazil, or going home, Draco would do what Harry wanted (go to England), BUT he gave him that choice because that's how much Harry loves Draco.

And Draco responded in kind (once again proving his worthiness of being with Harry) by putting Harry's wants before his own. Now, if Draco had jumped at the offer and said "Yes, I want to go home and you never see Ron again"...Harry would've either done so and resented Draco afterwards (which is bad) or argued with him until both of them were miserable (also bad).

*whew* I hope that makes more sense now...sorry for talking so much! But I'm glad you pointed that out, in any case. If it changed your mind, good, and if not, that's okay. I hope you'll keep reading! *wink*

QueenBoadicea Yay, second review! Thanks! LOL No, no plane crash! (and no Harry/Draco dying either!) Does anyone know...do they have coconuts in Brazil? *wink* Maybe Draco gets drunk and makes a REAL coconut bikini bra! *giggle*

Lilith NO, THEY WON'T DIE!!! *scared* I couldn't do that to them!!! Or you guys!!! Especially not after saying "trust me!" It's okay about you not reviewing...I appreciate this one, though! LOL Yeah, I kinda thought that too (about "Final Destination") Well, have you ever had a premonition? And I don't necessarily mean a vision or anything like that, but suddenly you just go, "Oh fuck...something's about to go horribly wrong" but you don't know what or when or why...has that ever happened to you? It doesn't happen to me very often, but just every once in a while, I get that feeling and it SUCKS! I kind of see Draco being sensitive like that (not necessarily that he has ESP or can 'sense' when things are about to happen, but he just got a really bad feeling from the turbulence)

Roozette Believe me, babe, I KNOW!!! Dude, I'm not JKR...I don't just kill awesome people out of the blue (*cough* Remus *cough* Tonks *cough* Fred *cough*) I'm sorry; I must have had something stuck in my throat! (*wink* Snape!) Thanks!!! I'm glad you liked the affection!! Now that Ron has said that he accepts that it's Draco, Harry doesn't see any reason NOT to just be natural with Draco. I mean, it's not like they're going to shag in front of Ron or anything, and besides, Ron's not THAT observant, so chances are that if Harry didn't call attention to the hand-holding, Ron might not have even noticed! (Especially if there was food around...then they probably *COULD'VE* shagged in front of him and he wouldn't have batted an eyelash!) LOL

mariahs_fantasy Welcome! How could I? *wink* It got you to review, didn't it? LOL NO, I'm only kidding! Thank you for reviewing, by the way. *sigh* I know, and I'm sorry, but I HAD to leave it there so that this could be the next chapter. And I HAD to leave THIS chapter off like that so that I could ask you guys what YOU would do if YOU were in this situation! (Because I really want to know but I don't want to bias you with what they *ARE* going to do!) Heh, "Final Destination" IS a really good movie, and yeah, I was kind of thinking of that while writing this scene! (Not about them dying, though! Just that this was a really freaky coincidence that they happened to be on THIS flight...because if they hadn't been, it would've crashed and burned for sure!)

paigeey07 Thanks!! (Yes, I'm a freak for responding to 'I hate you' with 'Thank you') Actually, I hope you mean, "That was such a shocker and I'm speechless so I hate you" and that you don't *actually* HATE me...because THAT would kind of suck.

But yeah...we'll find out more about what's happening (with the plane and why it's going down) in the next chapter, as you will see. For right now, their main concern is trying to get the plane down safely or at least figure out a plan...but also as you can see, Harry thinks it's a good idea to find out what's going on with the plane.

I also hope you'll stick with me through this! LOL It WILL all be okay, I promise! (and Harry and Draco absolutely WILL NOT die!) Well, at least stick with me through Chapter 13...you won't be sorry!