A/N: This was written for a contest on a Harry Potter forum. Basically, in order to enter you had to write a story about an Order Member or Death Eater on vacation. I chose Dumbledore, and I made him skydive.
It's an amazing site. It's called The Third Floor Corridor. The link's in my profile. If you join, please say Hedwig referred you in the Sorting Quiz. Thank you!
And also, the idea of Dumbledore skydiving isn't mine. It was given to me by one of the users on the site, esir. And one of her friends gave the idea to her. So, thank you to them!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything Harry Potter related. And, don't listen to the skydiving instructions the man gives if you're going to go skydiving. Listen to your instructor, or a professional, instead.
Summary: Albus Dumbledore decides to try skydiving! Read his thoughts and actions just prior to the event. Takes place some time before the books. Oneshot.
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The Falling Thinker
The twenty-year-old Albus Dumbledore looked out the window of the Muggle airplane he was in. He saw everything: the fluffy clouds beside and above him, the other aircrafts flying quickly far away, impressive other skydivers at a distance from him, and the indicators of relaxed Muggle society far, far below. It was all so big. He listened. All he could hear was the sound of the plane, although he knew that if he listened closely when closer to the ground, he would hear sounds of animals, humans, and nature. Earthly sounds. There was so little that he had seen. He realised at this moment that there was so much of the world that he hadn't even known existed. He wanted to see it all. He already knew that the world did not revolve around him, but Albus related best to what he already knew.
Oddly, he wasn't scared of falling. He knew that this was a risk he wanted to take, and he was a man who always trusted his instincts. He had researched parachuting. It seemed safe enough, for him. If he felt threatened, he could always use magic to save himself. It seemed like a relatively safe procedure without magic, anyway. He had faced worse. And this particular feat sounded extremely exhilarating. Exhilaration was one of Albus Dumbledore's best friends. He knew he would probably feel nervous when falling, or when he was about to fall, but that was all a huge part of the fun.
"Are you ready?" the man behind him asked, sounding very bored. Albus suddenly felt the weight of the pack on his back, but he was only briefly intimidated by it as he had forgotten all about it by this time. He had known it was there the whole time. It wasn't even heavy. It was actually very light. As soon as he was over the surprise of the weight, the intimidation disappeared and he was back to thinking about numerous thoughts. Thoughts swirled in his mind: Am I really going to do this? It's safe, right? Will I finally know what to do?
"Yes, of course," he answered, simply. After he answered, he realised he had answered both the man's question, and the questions in his head. He really had no clue what he was doing, but he just wanted to jump. He knew his parachute and whatever else he needed was on his back. How hard could it be? How unsafe could it be? He wanted the feeling of exhilaration, and he was so close to having it that he could smell it in the air. It would be an amazing feeling, he knew. Not only exhilarating, but something else too. Enlightening.
"Okay, then," the man began, in a bored voice. "As a reminder: at first, all you have to do is jump. It's better to just jump as hard as you can out the door. Then, all that's going to happen is that you're going to fall freely for awhile. After that, when you're closer to the ground, the parachute on your back will inflate. You can then steer with the steering lines. Understand?" The man sounded like he had repeated this speech over and over and could probably recite it in his sleep.
"Yes, sir." Albus wasn't stupid. He had already looked into all of this. Nothing that that man had said was new to him. He had already known what the man was going to say before he said it. He knew more about parachuting than what that man had to say.
He was starting to feel a bit nervous, though. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea.
"Nothing is going to hit you or be in your way as an obstacle. This area is cleared of regular planes, we have made sure of that for safety reasons. The only obstacles you may have are daring birds, but they're clever enough to always get out of the way if they ever see someone coming."
"I think I'm ready."
"Okay. You may jump now, then."
Albus looked at him intently, then got up and stood nearer to the door of the aircraft. He looked at the man again and just stood there for almost a minute, looking out.
"Are you going to jump, sir? Would you like me to push you out of the plane?"
"Yes, I'm going to jump. No, please do not push me, as I am quite capable of jumping. But I have a question." He gave the man an odd look.
The man answered. "Okay, then. What is it?"
"I don't know if you can answer it for me, though."
"I'll try my best, sir."
"What do I do after I land?"
"Well, sir, I am jumping with you. Once you land, you can come find me. I will help you get out of the parachute and such. You've already paid for your jump, so you don't need to worry about any money. As soon as you land and you're out of the parachute, you may leave."
"Thank you, but that isn't what I meant."
"Well, what did you mean, then, sir?"
Albus repeated his question. "What do I do after I land?"
The man thought for a moment. "I'm sorry, but I don't know what you mean by that. I have already told you the answer."
Albus stared at him intently. "No matter. May I still jump? Is it safe?"
The man looked around and then answered. "Yes."
"And you're going to jump just after me?"
"Yes."
"Okay, then. I am going to jump now." After speaking these words and waiting for the man to nod, Albus jumped out of the open door of the fast-moving plane. He ignored the nauseous feeling in his stomach, knowing it would go away as soon as he got used to moving. The wind blowing through his long hair gave Albus an extraordinary sensation. He could feel that he would certainly have lots of time to think about the answer to his important question as he was falling.
Today would be the day that Albus Dumbledore made his decisions.