Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I even sold my shares of J. k. Rowling. I used to own one of her toes.
A Life Alone
Chapter Eight
By Loony
Harry watched frozen as Mir hurtled towards them, showing no signs of slowing. Harry doubted that, had he been able to move, (he found it rather difficult moving when he was being hung upside down from a building) he would have. Mir finally reached the youth with the club and ran straight into him, not even hesitating. The youth was sent flying off to the side while Mir, unwaveringly charged towards the two holding Harry. Harry gulped audibly. Mir ran full throttle into the boy holding Harry's left leg.
An expression of shock came to his face. It was clear that he had still thought Mir was bluffing and wouldn't run into him. The expression never left his face as he toppled over the wall that had been keeping him from falling before. Mir flew over the side as well; being unable to control the force he had hit the youth. The other youth who had not been hit by Mir had clung to Harry's leg still in all the confusion. He too was dragged over the side of the building.
Together they fell. Pedestrians from the ground looked up panicked. They scattered in all directions to get out from underneath the falling group. In the confusion the two men let go of Harry's legs and he was free to fall.
It was the oddest sensation Harry had ever had. He was terrified of course, but the drop was so big that for a moment they were just falling through air. He knew that they would surely die at the end of the drop but he didn't seem as bothered as he should have been. He should have been desperately trying to cling to something to slow his fall like the two youths but he wasn't. It was as if he knew that things would turn out all right. That was dumb. Things couldn't possibly turn out okay after a fall this bad.
Harry looked over at Mir who was facing upwards, arms folded across his chest, as he was merely bored. He looked as though this sort of thing happened all the time and there were no reason to be disturbed.
The ground was zooming ever closer now at an alarming rate. Despite Harry's sixth sense about everything ending well, he couldn't help but feel a little more frightened now that they were so close to impact. He shot a worried look at Mir who still looked unfazed. He glanced carelessly at the ground, which was less than fifty metres below them now. They would hit it in seconds.
Harry closed his eyes so that he wouldn't have to watch their untimely death. The air rushing past him was speeding up now as well. He tried to bring his knees up to his chest protectively but he found this was impossible to do when falling. It was going on for so long. Why couldn't they just stop falling? He was feeling a little sick now. The ground was so close. They kept on falling. It was going on for so long. Why didn't it end? They just kept on falling. They were almost at the ground. It was going on for so long. They were still falling. The ground was looming ever nearer. They were falling for so long. And then, it stopped.
It was over. There was no bang. There was no crash. There was no pain. It just stopped. Harry tentatively opened his eyes. He was lying on the ground below the huge building, so was Mir. But where was all the pain? Why was it so smooth and painless? Why hadn't they died? Looking over at the two young men who had been holding him he saw that they were both sitting on the ground beside them, gibbering like half-wits.
There was a crowd gathering around them now. They were all muttering.
"They're alive!"
"Freaks."
"Publicity stunt."
"Crazy teens."
"What were they thinking?"
"Aliens."
"Can't be real."
"They should be dead."
"Freaks of nature."
And so on. Harry looked up at the building from which they had fallen. The height was dizzying. By all rights they should be dead. A little head peered down over the edge of the roof.
Someone tugged at his arm. It was Mir. "Come on," he said quietly. "We're attracting attention." Harry stood up with Mir and was immediately sick. Wiping his mouth he followed Mir, trying to snake his way through the crowd. More muttering followed them. As soon as they were free of the thickest parts of the crowd, they ran. They wove in and out of people and didn't stop until they were sure that no one would link them to the falling children.
When they did stop it was in a narrow side street and they were panting.
"What – was – that?" Harry gasped.
"Who – knows," Mir said, in between breaths. "Lets – hope – that – it – doesn't – happen – again. You need – to learn – how to – fight."
Harry just nodded his head slightly, clutching his side. He still felt slightly nauseous from falling.
Mir and Harry decided that it was best that they lay low for the rest of the day especially since they were already exhausted. They returned to the flat in no better condition than they had been in the previous day. This being so they decided to call it a day and rested until night at which point in time they went to bed.
When Harry woke up it was morning and the sun was already shining. He got up and groaned as once again, his muscles ached. It was a different sort of ache this time though. It wasn't from using his muscles too much and it wasn't from exhaustion; it was more from doing something very different. Which, Harry supposed, it had been.
He looked for Mir but he was still soundlessly asleep. Harry thought back to what he had said yesterday. "You need to learn how to fight." That was true. He couldn't leave it to Mir to bail him out of trouble all the time. After all, Mir wasn't always going to be around. There was no telling when they would get separated. Even if he wasn't great at fighting it would still be good to know that he could try a little more successfully to defend himself. If he could distract who ever he was fighting for a moment it would be okay. He would be able to run away doing that. He was a fast runner; he knew that much. Harry had always come first in his year when they had races or sports days.
These thoughts lead Harry onto another question. How had Mir gotten away from the two boys chasing him? Had he fought them or had he managed to lose them in a crowd somewhere? He would ask him later.
Harry's stomach growled. He looked over at Mir again. Mir was still sound asleep and showing no signs of waking. Harry decided that he would surprise Mir and go out and buy some food for them. He knew where the money had been put for safekeeping. He took a little of it with him and exited the building.
Outside there were few people in the road. Harry supposed that it was still too early for most people on a Sunday morning. He hoped shops somewhere were open. He found a couple of shops that were open a few blocks away.
Upon entering the shop an assistant came over to him. "Are you okay? Are you lost? Where are your parents?"
Harry smiled, feigning innocence. "I'm okay, sir," he said in a sweet voice. "My mum asked me if I'd buy her some stuff. We live across the road there."
The assistant smiled kindly. "Okay then," he said. "What are you looking for? Maybe I can help you."
Harry thanked the man profoundly and told him what he wanted. As soon as he had paid for the food and left the shop he pulled a face. He hated having to act like that. That was like the teacher's pet in school had been. She had driven Harry insane. It was like she actually enjoyed school. If the teacher forgot to ask for their homework she would always remind them and as soon as anyone did anything wrong she would immediately tell the teacher. Harry wasn't the only person she drove insane.
He returned to the flat and smiled as he saw Mir now lying on his back with his arms and legs extended in all directions and set about making breakfast for him.
AN: Thanks for reading. Review if you have time (criticism welcome). Loonz.
