This is the Way I Fall

Author's note--AND I'M BACK IN THE GAME!!! Thank you SO MUCH for all of the reviews, you guys! My laptop was resurrected, and here is the next-to-last chapter of this installment! You're going to really enjoy this chapter, I think. Maybe not as much as the last chapter, but it is my intention to have a few of you giggling before it's all said and done...you'll see what I mean! I'll stop yammering now and start yammering again after you've read it!

Oh, and watch out...the Grammar Nazi in me is showing in this chapter! *wink*

This is the Way I Fall by Graballz

Chapter 14

Okay…NOW, We Save

“Can’t help you there, sexy,” Harry snickered; he felt as though nothing in the world could bring him down from the cloud he was sitting on and briefly lamented that he couldn’t hold the plane up with such a high. “You’re the smart one in this relationship.”

“It’s funny because it’s true,” Draco smiled sweetly when Harry stuck his tongue out at him. “Okay, we REALLY need to get serious now.” But he had just as much trouble wiping the smile from his face as Harry did.

“I’ll go check on Ron,” Harry said, giving Draco a quick kiss on the lips before walking through the wards and heading back to their seats.

With Harry gone, Draco was better able to concentrate, and by the time the Gryffindor returned, they were both reminded of the gravity of the situation. Draco was muttering to himself, trying to remember the correct wand motions and incantations that his father had used when his family had gone sailing off the coast of Greece, back in the days before Draco had known what the Dark Mark represented or why his father wore one. Harry had to cover his mouth lest his laughter choke out as he caught a glimpse of Draco swishing and flicking the dildo in small, jerky motions.

“Any luck, love?” Harry cleared his throat to smother a chuckle as the tips of his ears turned pink.

“I vaguely remember a variation of the rowboat spell Hagrid used,” Draco grumbled, frustrated at his own limitations. “It’s not what we need and it wouldn’t work for us, but…”

“Tell me what it is,” Harry offered. “And then tell me how it needs to be changed.” Harry knew that HE would have no hope of understanding WHAT Draco was talking about when it came to languages, particularly Latin since most of their spells had Latin incantations. Harry could speak Parseltongue by accident, and he had enjoyed learning Spanish so far, but Draco was the aristocrat with the affinity for foreign languages. But Harry had become adept at dealing with Draco’s frustrations; he knew the blonde would have an insight or come to the right conclusion if he explained things out loud to someone, and Harry was more than willing to be a sounding board, even if he didn’t understand half of what was coming out of Draco’s mouth.

“Well, the incantation would be Propelle navem per aquam,” Draco began. “It means ‘propel the ship through the water’, and sometimes Father would have to vary it a bit depending on whether the magic needed a qualifying adjective for ‘ship’ or some such. But we’re not on a ship.”

“So…what’s the Latin word for ‘airplane’?” Harry asked, thinking that THAT would be the first obvious step in creating a new incantation for the spell. He wondered why Draco gave him an incredulous look.

“Harry…” Draco was at a loss for words at the moment. He loved his boyfriend to pieces, but sometimes it just seemed like Harry was willfully being ignorant. “Latin is a dead language. It died long before Muggle airplanes were even conceptualized.”

“Oh,” Harry blinked, frowning at this new information. “So there IS no word for ‘airplane’, then?”

“No, I’m sure there is,” Draco replied distractedly, thinking hard. “But I don’t know exactly what it would be…”

“Can’t you just put the Latin word for ‘air’ in front of it?” Harry suggested, shrugging. Draco’s head snapped up.

“You just might be on to something,” he murmured. “Aëroplanum? No, that’s too...phonetic. Aeronave? No, wait, that’s Italian…the Latin for that would be aëria navis…no, got it! It’s aëronavis!” Draco crowed triumphantly, grey eyes shining. Even though Harry was utterly lost through the blonde’s musings, he couldn’t help but grin back at his excited boyfriend.

“And now, to put it in the accusative,” Draco continued, and Harry’s eyebrow rose.

“Accuse who?”

“No, love, the accusative,” Draco chuckled, correcting his confused Gryffindor. “It’s a tense of grammar, and you use it with the imperative form of the verb, as well as the direct object, so yes, that just might work!”

“Uh, brilliant!” Harry replied, ‘smiling and nodding’ as his brain glazed over. Harry could study the actual terms for psychological disorders all day long, but at the very mention of grammar, he began to tune out and had to fight against himself to continue to pay attention.

“Propelle aëronavem! That’s it! That’s the incantation!” Draco’s happy voice broke through Harry’s zoning out.

“Excellent! Should I go get Ron so you can teach him?” Harry stopped in the doorway, turning back to his blonde boyfriend. Draco blanched.

“No way!” He hissed, looking suddenly startled. “Did you forget what I’m using for a wand here?” He wiggled the dildo at Harry, who gave a slow nod of understanding.

“Good call,” Harry replied. “Would you rather try this one?” He pulled out the Muggle child’s wand and handed it to Draco, taking the black dildo from his boyfriend and placing it on the counter.

“I’ll try it,” Draco said, shrugging. Harry nodded, and Draco raised the toy wand, concentrating on channeling his magic. “Propelle aëronavem!”

The plane suddenly lurched forward; the nose tipped downward, and everything and everyone was thrown towards the front as it began to descend at an alarming rate. To an outside observer (had there been any), it would have looked like the airplane had been resting in mid-air and unexpectedly began to plunge towards the ocean, much like a swimmer dives into the water at an angle.

Draco lost his balance and crashed into the counter. He let out a small 'oof!' as the breath was knocked out of him. Harry was standing in open space, and he was hurtled into the aisle, falling heavily on his side but luckily missing the sharp edges of the unforgiving armrests on his way down. As all of the passengers screamed in panic, someone’s foot caught the back of Harry’s head and he saw stars.

The momentum of Draco’s spell was broken as he was unceremoniously squished against the counter, and the plane leveled out almost immediately afterwards. Frozen in his defensive position, Draco stood there, gasping, for a second before he was able to carefully stand. The dildo had stayed on the counter, but it had rolled back against the wall rather than being in the middle where Harry had placed it. He looked around for Harry, his eyes popping as he peered around the corner and saw Ron, wand still clutched in one hand, kneeling behind Harry as his boyfriend sat in the aisle. He fought the urge to go to Harry since the Gryffindor was already getting to his feet and didn’t look as though he required Draco’s immediate assistance.

Ron had been waiting (albeit none too patiently) in their seats when the plane took off into a nosedive. His Hover Charm had been broken, and since he wasn’t wearing his seatbelt, he slammed face-first into the seatback in front of him before he was able to push back a bit to cast another, more powerful Hover Charm to stop the downward plummet. As soon as the plane jerked again, Ron ripped his mask off, cursing under his breath as he got up. Then his eyes widened when he saw his best mate lying in the aisle on his side, breathing but otherwise unmoving. Ron ran up the aisle to him, dropping to his knees by Harry’s head. He reached out to roll the black haired boy over, stopping when he saw the disorientation on Harry’s face.

“C’mon, mate, let’s get you up,” Ron muttered, wedging his free hand between Harry’s shoulder and the floor of the airplane and hoisting. Dazed but conscious, Harry managed to sit up somewhat, and Ron immediately moved in behind him, propping him up.

“Draco…spell…” Harry mumbled, and Ron shushed him.

“It’s okay, Harry. Don’t try to talk. Can you stand?”

“Yeah…” Harry shook his head, coming back to himself, and grabbed the nearest armrest, pulling himself up. Ron held his hand out just in case Harry lost his balance, but the black haired boy rubbed the back of his head ruefully, standing firmly.

“What happened?” Ron touched Harry’s shoulder as they walked back to the area where Draco was waiting. The blonde jumped forward and hugged Harry fiercely as soon as he came into view. “Was that you or something else?”

“No, that was me,” Draco admitted. “It was a variation on that rowboat charm, but I think the toy wand gave it a little bit too much forward momentum.”

“Can you try something else?” Ron asked. “What about the witch’s wand?”

“Oh, uh, yeah, that should work better,” Draco stammered, discreetly blocking Ron’s view of the dildo on the counter. “We’ll try that. Why don’t you go back up there?”

“Shouldn’t I stay here in case something else goes wrong?” Ron screwed up his face, wondering why Harry’s boyfriend was slowly turning red.

“Maybe you should move into the aisle, just in case the magic reacts again,” Harry jumped in, trying to herd Ron out of view of the dildo. “Remember what Draco said.”

“Okay,” Ron frowned but acquiesced with Harry’s request and stepped out of sight into the aisle. Harry and Draco exchanged relieved glances, and Draco put the toy wand down and picked up the sex toy. He waved it, repeating the incantation as they both braced themselves for another violent reaction. Nothing. The plane didn’t move. Draco tried again, and a third time before he grabbed the black traveling case off the floor and put the black dildo back inside.

“Why didn’t it work?” Ron demanded as Harry motioned for him to come back into the area.

“I have no idea,” Draco barked. “The first one was too forceful. It should have moved us along gently rather than sending us into a nosedive.”

“It broke my Hover Charm,” Ron offered, shrugging. “I’ve got a stronger one up right now.”

“The Hover Charm!” Draco snapped his fingers. “You know, I bet you have to concentrate on allowing the plane to move with the other spell, rather than keeping it in one spot!”

“What?” Both Ron and Harry looked confused.

“The Hover Charm is supposed to keep an object afloat, right?” Draco knew that he would have to explain slowly, since he was talking to Gryffindors, after all. “But you can use it to move things if you need to, but since we were concentrating on keeping the plane aloft, I didn’t even think about it needing to match the Propelling Charm’s speed!”

“Okay, wait, so we need both spells?” Harry queried.

“Yes,” Draco said. “The Hover Charm JUST keeps us in the air; the Propelling Charm would move us along, but as we felt, it forced the plane into a downward spiral because the Hover Charm was no longer in effect. If we use them both together, then we can keep the plane in the air WHILE moving it towards England, and I bet we could even land it well enough so that no one gets hurt!”

“Blimey,” Ron whistled. “And one person is supposed to do all that?”

“Well, technically, yes,” Draco replied. “But theoretically, you COULD have one person using each charm, as long as the concentration of power and movement was relatively equal so that the Propelling Charm doesn’t break the Hover Charm again, but also so that the Hover Charm doesn’t stop the Propelling Charm from working.”

“I don’t think I could do both,” Ron admitted, wiping sweat from his brow.

“That’s okay, Weasley; I think I can control the Propelling Charm,” Draco said. “As long as the Hover Charm will allow movement.”

“Alright, where’s your wand?” Ron looked around, eyes narrowing as Draco gulped, looking slightly nervous again.

“I’ll get it,” he squeaked. “You go ahead back to the aisle.”

“But how will we be able to match the speeds if we’re in different areas?” Ron pointed out logically, and Draco cursed the redhead silently for turning smart on him just then.

“Ron, you and I should go up to the cockpit and find out which direction we need to be flying,” Harry said, getting an inspiration. “That way, you can hold the Hover Charm, and I can help go back and forth between you two.” He flashed Draco a grin and a wink as he practically pushed Ron away, following him up the aisle.

“But if he’s the one navigating, shouldn’t HE be the one in the cockpit?” Ron protested, confused about why Harry was so adamant that he not be back there while the Slytherin was casting. Harry turned bright red at hearing the word ‘cock’, even though there was nothing remotely sexual about the context. “Malfoy’s embarrassed, isn’t he? My wand’s bigger than his, and he doesn’t want to admit it!”

“Er, yeah, something like that,” Harry mumbled, fueling Ron’s assumption in the wrong direction. Then he remembered the reason Draco had given him. “The Propelling Charm pushes the plane forward, so he has to stay in the back in order to keep it going smoothly. Wouldn’t want us moving backwards if he was up at the front, you know.”

“Uh-huh,” Ron squinted at Harry, trying to decide if his friend was bullshitting him or not. “I think he’s just too proud for his own good.” Ron chuckled at having the larger wand, and Harry rolled his eyes but let it go.

**********

Draco breathed another sigh of relief as Harry got rid of Ron for the second time, but it was too bad that his boyfriend had to go WITH the redhead, instead of being able to stay with him. He carefully pulled the dildo out and cast the spell once again. There was still no response, and Draco frowned, hoping that Harry would remember to remind Ron to loosen his Hover Charm. He couldn’t exactly march through the plane carrying the black dildo with the clear tip to make sure! He huffed, waiting.

As soon as Harry and Ron had gotten close enough, Ron began to lessen the spell, waiting for the plane to move. He glanced at Harry and frowned as he concentrated on not letting the airplane drop. He froze the strength of the spell as soon as it descended a bit, just like an elevator. Not a heartbeat later, they felt the gentle push-tug as the plane began moving forward, grinning at each other as the entire plane erupted in cheers and applause.

Draco startled when the plane slumped a bit, and he raised the dildo, casting his variant of the Propelling Charm. It turned out that the strength he used was just about perfect, and it was only the toy wand that had exaggerated the acceleration. Draco nodded in satisfaction as he heard everyone clap and yell in excitement. Now, if only Harry would come back soon and let him know which way to steer the plane!

**********

In no time at all, his boyfriend had reappeared, and Draco winked at him.

“I need the Muggle wand,” Harry informed the blonde.

“Why?”

“That male flight attendant won’t let us talk to the pilot,” Harry ran a hand through his hair. “I thought Confunding him might work.”

“With that wand?” Draco raised his eyebrow skeptically. “You’ll be lucky if he has any brains left! Imperius might be better.”

“But won’t that brainwash him?” Harry really didn’t want to use an Unforgivable on a Muggle, completely aside from the illegality of it.

“No more than the Confundus Charm would,” Draco replied. “Honestly, you’d probably be better off having Weasley distract him while you use a Glamour to make yourself look like that flight attendant to get directions.”

“Oh, good one!” Harry smirked as he dropped a quick kiss on Draco’s nose. “Thank you, Hermione!”

“You’re lucky you just shagged me,” Draco growled. “Or I’d be forced to hex you stupid.”

“Mmmm, considering your choice of weapons, I might not be able to say no to that,” Harry winked and disappeared, leaving Draco shaking his head and grinning.

**********

Author's note--One more chapter to go before "Fall" is complete! The image of Draco using the dildo for a wand is just absolutely priceless...and yes, I was thinking dirty thoughts while typing 'swishing and flicking'! *smirk*

I admit to showing a little bit of myself in both Harry and Draco at the beginning of this chapter. I did quite a lot of researching into the Latin phrase Draco came up with, and I will sheepishly admit that I looked (for quite a while) for the Latin word for 'airplane' before realizing that there WASN'T one...at least, not in classical Latin. (Yes, laugh with me, not at me! And believe me, I'm laughing!)

However, I did find what I needed, but I thought that Harry's attempt to help Draco (and understand grammar) was comical. And my inner Grammar Nazi surfaces with Draco because I really did enjoy writing that scene...lol...

I hope Draco's explanations of how and why the magics reacted as they did is clear. Let me know if you have questions, though! And no matter HOW passing well Ron and Draco are getting along, Draco really doesn't want Ron to see him with a dildo! Especially since Ron JUST patched things up with Harry and all...

And again, the sex from the last chapter wasn't planned at all! THIS was supposed to be "This is How We Save"...but they got sidetracked into sex (oh DARN lmao) so NOW we save. LOL And of course, ONE more obstacle before it's all said and done!

Miss Nikki Liked it, did you? *wink* I'm so glad! I really, really wanted it to be a surprise, but you're a smart one and you guessed! (Not only that, but I have a big, fat mouth and can hardly keep a secret, anyway!) Love you lots, girl!

jbj1031965 Thanks for your review! You are WELCOME! I'm sorry you guys had to wait so long for THIS chapter!

harrydraco4life *snicker* Sometimes it the spontaneity of the moment that works out the best! Glad you liked! Thanks!

Roozette Now YOU I expect to be giggling! LOL You know how, in movies, when the bad guy and good guy fight, it's ALWAYS in, like, THE most dangerous place imaginable for that situation? (Like, they can't fight in the clearing...Noooo, they have to run a mile to the edge of the cliff and fight THERE!) Harry and Draco are guys, so why WOULDN'T they shag in the most dangerous moment possible? *wink* Glad you liked!

*happy dance* I win an award! YAY! Tarzan-esque howl? *pictures Harry and Draco in leopard skin loincloths shagging in the jungle, howling like Tarzan* Um, yeah...that can be arranged! LMAO I love you and your reviews! (and you're not pathetic!)

pittwitch Thanks for your review! I got behind when my laptop went down, but it's back now and I'm trying to catch up on everyone's updates! (Which reminds me that I need to go read YOUR latest one...) You DO write good fucking, for which we are all grateful!

thrnbrooke Thanks! I'm glad you were laughing (and I hope this chapter made you laugh some more! Even though it took a while for me to update!)

Miss Nikki Wow, thank you, hon! Yes, *sigh* Well, and to give Harry SOME credit, he WAS distracted and desperate for a wand...and apparently, I can't say anything without making it dirty, so there you have it! *giggle* I love you too, and I'm really glad you liked the chapter!!!

paigeey07 Here is "one more chap!" lol Well, and one more until "Fall" is complete! Thanks for your review! Yes, that Muggle IS good. *wink*

gorgeousbrowneyes Thanks for the review, darlin! Rotting corpses? *theatrical horror gasp* No, I'll leave that to Lom in "Trespass" *shudder* lol It was a great story, though! They are currently crossing the Atlantic, though if that Muggle flight attendant doesn't move out of the way, they may end up at the North Pole or the Equator (since Draco's not exactly sure which direction they should be going!)

And OMG I clicked on one of those "looking for fics" threads and saw that you had recommended THIS fic to them!!! Thank you so much! I really appreciate that, and I nearly cried when I saw that! *hugs*

QueenBoadicea *smirk* I love that review. Thanks! Yes, well, you have to remember that our poor, innocent little English boys hadn't been COMPLETELY corrupted by the Americans (yet)! I know...I'm kinda shocked that Tina or Marian hadn't said something about sex toys before, but there you have it. Studying, praying, dancing...yeah, that's pretty much IT, in a nutshell! LOL Well, and they have SUCH stellar sex every time, so who needs toys when you have that?

Roozette Good point. I will no longer mock the Demon Monkey band. *wink* My dad is doing great; thanks for asking! He's back home again, completely recovered, and complaining about everything in sight. lol

I drove down to meet a friend for his Spring Break; we met in Ireland last year when we both lived there (though he's French) and he is living in Canada this year. So when he came to the US for Spring Break, I went to go see him. My laptop died the day before I left, but as soon as I got back, I took it to the shop and they resurrected it! IT LIVES!!! (Kinda like Jesus...only my laptop took 5 days to rise again, instead of 3...)

And now I'm back with full force! Thanks, hon!

Lilith Thanks for your patience! I hope this chapter made you giggle!

SP777 Hi there! (I remember seeing your name in a review for one of our Coven fics...thanks for reviewing that AND mine!) Wow, you remember me from previous encounters? LOL Yeah, my reviews (especially my earlier ones) are very "in the moment" and pure reaction...no upper brain thought, just raw emotion! lol

I'm really glad you liked this one. I like to think I get better with each story *wink* and I still cringe when I read some of my earlier works ("Untouchable" comes to mind). Thank you VERY much for your compliments!

LOL I'm very flattered that you thought the Muggle girl on the plane was me! Actually...it's Miss Nikki. I got stuck on the plot, and we were chatting when the plot bunny pounced and got me unstuck. And I knew exactly what was going to happen from there!

But if you want to see "me", check out Ashleigh from "Without a Trace". (That's me!) I don't think I've written myself into any of the other stories I've posted on here, unless you count random Coven references! *smirk*

I don't mind in the least if you mention other authors and/or stories. I do it myself quite frequently (if you haven't noticed) and if an author or story directly influences me, I make sure to mention and give them credit ("Patent Leather Mini Skirt" was directly influenced by Samayel and one of his stories!)

In answer to your question, I have read "Never a Memory" before, but I don't remember the religious tones to it (but I also don't remember the ending, so it's possible that I haven't finished it yet!) I wasn't thinking about that story when I wrote this, but I totally agree that Gloria B does an AWESOME job with that story!

gorgeousbrowneyes I'm better than okay! (Well, NOW I am, anyway!) I really missed writing this story while my laptop was down, but now it's back! (and so am I!) Actually, I AM starting to have a life again! I am officially no longer depressed (as of last Wednesday) and am back to my kick-ass, go-go-go, time-to-save-the-world personality! I'm still writing, though! I hope you enjoyed this update!