Author: C. Night

Rating: PG-13

Category: Action/Adventure

Disclaimer: Anything that you, Harry Potter fan that you are, recognize does not belong to me nor do I claim credit for it. So all you lawyers trying to pick a fight with me... put 'em up cuz I didn't do nuttin & my main squeeze Big-D is in da house to defend me! Dudley Dursey puts up fists, looks around at the lawyers surrounding him, turns to C. Night and whispers "you do know that I don't exist right?" C. Night gets shocked expression, gasps and turns to face the insulted lawyers. "Well.... er... ya see..."

Note: I think I am pretty clear with it but just incase people get confused:

'...' indicates thinking &

"..." indicates talking.

Title: Getting Out or Dying Trying

Chapter 2: Fluidness of Motion

I slowly walked over to the hole and happily saw that I could definitely fit into this, but... what Estine had somehow neglected to mention was that the "flanking room" was gigantic and that the room that I was in was probably around twenty five feet above the floor of the next room.

I groaned and wished I had my wand. I simple Wingardium Leviosa and I would be floating gently down to the bottom of the room, but now... I would have to climb.

Estine who seemed to have not yet realized my predicament happily hissed, "Master and Estine go now. Bringers of fear come and Master gone, gone, gone!"

"Yes Estine," I hissed back slowly "Let's go."

I figured when someone is so freakin happy... who am I to bust their bubble. He would realize the problem soon enough anyway.

"You go first," I hissed gesturing to the hole and then the snake.

Estine seemed to get the idea for he then slid out of the hole and slid across the wall. I had never wished I was a snake or bird Angimus more than when I began that climb down the wall.

It was hard, but I found myself very thankful that the walls were made of brick and that I had my trainers on instead of my school shoes.

After a little bit I found myself getting into a groove, slowly inserting my hands into the biggest crevices in the wall, then moving my feet down to other little holes... tedious but effective.

Plus I had my own little cheering squad. Estine seemed to realize my predicament... being human and all (and without magic) and had decided that I needed someone to congratulate me every time I managed to get a firm hold and go a little faster.

Annoying? Yes. Effective? Yeah actually I did start to want to go faster just to hear that damned snake hissing his congrats. My theory is that it was because during my childhood I was so deprived of encouragement and positive expressions that now at sixteen I found myself trying to make up for lost time... with a snake no less.

The life I live... honestly!

Anyway... after well, way too long I got to the bottom and with a joyous cry my trainers had hit the floor.

Finally, I took a good look at the room around me spotting one thing that practically made me cry with joy... a door... a huge set of double doors almost as big as those in the Great Hall back at school.

I ran over to them- Estine quickly following after me- and tried to wrench them open. After struggling for a few minutes I realized that this wasn't going to work. And Damn it I was not about to kill myself trying to blast the damn thing open with wand-less magic. So I examined the room.

With a start I finally realized what the hell "high & long look but no- goers" (as Estine had put it) were. Windows. There were huge windows in the room. They appeared to be made of stained glass, but I couldn't really be sure. There was a bit of morning sunlight shining through the windows but as it was probably very, very early I couldn't see anything with that light source.

The room went up so high that I couldn't make out the ceiling, but I knew that if I wanted to get out I'd have to see.

"Estine," I said turning to the snake which was resting at my ankles, "are there any lights in here?"

"Fire lights on walls but now no fire," was Estine's confusing answer.

I looked around yet again and noticed that there were indeed candleholders lining the walls... but no fire.

"Damn it, this is impossible," I say aloud and when Estine looks at me startled I realize that I must have been speaking English.

Suddenly I hear a noise from above me. My head shoots up and I open my eyes wide in an attempt to see what is up there. I hear the noise again and this time I recognize it as the sound of someone or something whizzing through the air and then hitting the ground.

The "zzzzztt" noise is repeated around 10 times and I find myself picking Estine up off the floor and running toward the door again.

But before I reach it I heard a spell coming at me. I couldn't hear the words said by my attacker, but by the red light I would say it was a stupefy.

I turn away from the door, realizing that being in a corner is making it even easier to attack me. I walk quickly and quietly desperately trying to hear where my attackers are and wishing that the sun would rise faster.

Suddenly Estine hisses urgently, "Behind Master!"

And without even thinking about it I duck and swipe my feet along the ground behind me. My attacker yells out startled and the fool drops his wand. I snatch it up quickly and raising it up to the ceiling I scream "Ardeo Lumnos".

The spell is a bit harder with a wand that isn't my own, but still takes effect wonderfully. The room is lit up and I see that the ceiling was probably around 10 feet above the hole I had come out of. The ceiling was also seemingly made of glass as were the many windows.

I also note with alarm that I have about 9 attackers (not including the moron whose wand I am now using) and that they are slowly forming a circle around me.

Acting quickly I begin to shoot spells wildly Estine hissing every now and then to let me know of an approach from behind.

After a few minutes I realize that I am getting no where. Each time I stun one of my attackers another simply wakes their companion and they continue to fight. I feel them beginning to get very close to me and I start to panic. These are not death eaters like those I fought last year in the Department of Mysteries. These are dueling machines which seem to be able to find my weaknesses in spell casting and use them against me.

For instance I have never been that great at conjuring objects from thin air so any time I do so to make an object to obstruct their paths they crush it easily or hurl it back at me with a banishing charm, knowing that I cannot control the object well enough to stop it. I continue to be forced to duck and dodge my own conjured objects until I give up on it.

I have to move. I have to run. I have to escape. And suddenly I feel the animal wake within me. My Anigmus form as McGonagall and I discovered together over the summer has a funny way of manifesting when I need it most. I feel the sleek black panther fighting for dominance over my human mind and I decide to give in.

The shift takes all of my navy blue clad attackers by surprise. 'Didn't know I could do that now did you?' I think coyly as I raise my hand er- paw to strike. I lash out swiping down three of my assailants in one blow.

'Those wounds will take more than an Enervate to get rid of' I think.

The remaining 7 aggressors (the one whose wand I have decided to join the rumble) back up slowly but one behind me Estine warns me has raised their wand. With my cat like reflexes I dodge the red light and pounce on my attacker. With my claws buried in her chest I hear the woman cry out in pain.

'That will teach you to mess with Harry Potter... the panther version that is.'

Deciding that I've had enough I call Estine to me (it is much easier to do when we are both animals) and have him climb on my back. He seems a bit frightened to come too close to my form but when he looks at my green eyes (the panther's are even more striking than my own... or so says McGonagall) he appears calmed and slithers upon my back.

My attackers seem to be preoccupied with their wounds or the wounds of their comrades but one manages to shot an impediment charm at me which slows what would have been a full panther sprint to the opposite side of the huge room. I still get their fast enough though.

I swiftly change back to my human form and use the wand (which somehow remained on me even in panther form) to point toward the ceiling and cry, "Funis Aspiro Adsensio!"

My pursuers seem very shocked at the spell and I know exactly why... I invented it. After months of practice with Flitwick I had become fairly adept at creating new charms and spells and getting them to work for me.

This one had a bit of transfiguration mixed in as it created a rope from thin air which attached it self to the ceiling of any room. Very nifty if I do say so myself.

The spell was actually a variation of the spell used to conjure ropes. I had actually created the ropes from the ceiling one day when I cast a rope-binding charm very, very wrong. I then decided to create a spell to do what mine had- hang ropes from the ceiling. I mean, why not?

Little did I know how handy that spell would be. Quickly casting a protection charm on my hands and making sure that Estine was securely wrapped around my wrist I began to concentrate.

I built up an invisible shield around me. Not the strongest one I had even made but the best I'd ever made in a hurry. Keeping it in place by casting a trailing spell and adding a firm 'Protego' for extra measure I began to climb my rope.

As I climbed the rope I recalled one time in primary school when Dudley had been bragging to his friends during gym about how fast he could do the rope climb that they had been practicing.

I had, at the time, been 8 and probably the smallest, lightest kid in my year. Gathering up my courage I challenged Dudley to a rope climbing race and made him swear that if I won he wouldn't pick on me or even talk about me to anyone for a week.

Dudley in return made me swear to go around telling everyone in school what a wonderful cousin he was and how he was so kind to me (in an attempt to squash the rumors going around within the groups of girls that Dudley was a jerk and a bully.)

Confident in my abilities I had agreed to the bet and we arranged it so that when we were rope climbing in gym class the next day he would go on one rope and I on the other at the same time.

I think our gym teacher caught wind of what was going on because he made us go last... I think the idea was to try and make it so we didn't have enough time to go. However, the other kids in the class climbed remarkably more quickly than usual and at last Dudley and I were the last ones left.

I distinctly remember the feeling of the rope under my sweaty fingers and the pounding of my heart on my ribs. It wasn't so much that I was scared of loosing, but I was scared of giving up this chance. The chance to show all my peers who had been told by Dudley that I was a freak they should stay away from that he was wrong. That I was normal and had skills like everyone else. Hell, at that point in my life I would have been willing to be friends with Draco Malfoy if just to have a friend.

Finally I remembered the sound of my teacher's voice saying "Go!"

He sounded so disappointed in the two of us for having to race like this, for having to prove ourselves like this and thus ruining his class. Of course, I realized, this teacher was going to get into severe trouble... I mean what kind of administration lets a member of its staff get off scott free for allowing two students to engage in a potentially dangerous race in their class.

In addition what kind of teacher lets students do that? But Mr. Doire (our gym teacher) knew about the constant antagonism between my cousin and I, and was giving me a chance to resolve at least a fraction of it.

I felt horribly guilty. And I, at eight years old, decided that I never wanted to gain something only at another's expense.

I remember jumping off the rope after climbing only two feet off the ground. I remember walking over to Mr. Doire and asking him if I could do the rope climb another day, and finally watching as Dudley declared loudly that he had beat me without even taking his feet off the ground.

I also remember a week later watching Mr. Doire's face light up as he watched me climb the rope faster than anyone in the class. It was in that moment that Doire realized what I had done for him. Before, I think he had some lingering doubt that I may not have been a good climber or that I was afraid of loosing. But when he saw me climb with confidence in my movements, he knew just exactly why I had thrown the race.

It was my first true taste of being a hero and I still to this day think it was worth it.

It became a standing joke with Dudley and his friends that I was terrified at loosing and I did indeed have to go around telling girls how wonderful Dudley was, but every time I saw Mr. Doire after that day I knew I did the right thing. Both for him... and for me.

Now, here I was. Rope climbing again. I had gotten much heavier over the years (no thanks to Aunt Petunia), but I still had my same grace and speed.

I think I have some kind of innate fluidness of motion once in the air. Flying, rope climbing- once my feet are off the ground I truly begin to move.

I was about half the way up now. My pursuers were crowded around the bottom of the rope shooting spells at me. But they all bounced off my shield harmlessly.

I was somewhat surprised though. There were no Unforgivables among the spells they were firing. Otherwise my shield would have shattered in an instant.

It made me wonder just who it was I was fighting. None of my assailants had said a word. No taunting jibes or even words of encouragement or planning to each other. The only way I even knew their genders was by the sounds of their voices when shooting spells.

They aren't death eaters though I though as I heaved myself up another few feet of rope. They were wearing navy blue robes... not the pitch black of death eaters... or the blood red of Aurors either (but why would I be fighting Aurors anyway?)

Also these pursuers wore masks but not the stark white masks of Death Eaters (Aurors don't wear masks). They wore... well I couldn't even see what color masks they were. Perhaps they weren't even masks. Maybe they were obstruction charms or some kind of shielding illusions.

That would be helpful on my scar I thought idly looking at the wand still clutched in my hand as I climbed. I wished it was mine.

Suddenly struck with a bout of inspiration I took one hand off the rope and aimed the other one with the wand in it down at the cluster of wizards and witches below me. Then I shouted, "Accio my Wand!"

I practically cried with joy when I saw my wand shooting up towards me from the pocket of one of the wizards below. I snatched it up and put the second wand I had stolen in my pocket.

The wizards and witches below seemed to be making some frustrated noises as I could hear some mumbling even from as far up as I now was. 'So they can talk,' I though, 'Just not to me.'

Satisfied with my conclusions and the reacquisition of my wand I gathered my remaining strength and climbed even faster toward the top of the rope.

One of the wizards below seemed to be struck with some sick inspiration as I heard a loud shout and then both felt and saw the rope sever at a point just above me. I screamed terrified and as I began to fall back down I aimed my wand at the part of the rope still attached to the ceiling and shouted, "Adiungo Diffingo!"

Amazingly enough the spell I had just made up (thank Merlin I knew the Latin words for connect and again) actually worked and the rope joined together again.

Still shaking from my fear I continued to climb the rope faster than before desperate to reach the glass ceiling.

Looking down to make sure that the group below had not thought of anything else I was shocked to see that they had lit the rope on fire and although the flames had quite a bit to tear through to reach me, I still had to hurry.

I reached the ceiling and screamed, "Reducto!" The pieces of glass flew around me and I shut my eyes tightly before much damage could be done.

The hole I had made was not too huge as it seemed that the ceiling had several protection spells on it so that it wouldn't collapse at the slightest pressure. In fact thinking about it I had to be pretty damned powerful to make the size hole that I did.

It was a tight squeeze and I am pretty sure that the cut I got along my right thigh would take a long time (or a particularly vile potion) to heal. But I was out of that room and seemingly on the roof of whatever building it was I was in.

It seemed my pursuers were getting desperate now that I was on the roof. I saw the bright lights reflecting off my shield and smirked, 'Not this time.'

I severed my rope and sent the flaming object back down to the pack of aggressors and then as if as am after thought I pointed my wand at the pack and bellowed, "ACCIO WANDS!"

All at once 9 wands came flying up at me and I snapped most of them in half. Except for one that felt particularly good in my hand. (Not as good as my own did, but... still).

Finally just to be sure they didn't follow me I slowly charmed the hole I had made in the ceiling back to normal. Tedious process (since the ceiling had protection charms on it and all) involving a variation of the 'Reparo' spell, but it had to be done.

'So long suckers!' I thought.

But then I realized... I was trapped on a roof.

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Author (C. Night) Notes: YAY! I got a review! Holy crap! Thank you very, very, very much to Sea- Turtles for taking a minute to do that. It really made my day. This chapter, I think was a bit better than the last. Definitely longer this time. Estine I noticed got a bit quieter, but hey there is always the next chapter. Harry is in for quite a long haul so don't go away... the escape from the ceiling... next chapter! And if you are reading PLEASE REVIEW! And if anyone knows how to get italics, underline, and bold to come up I'd appreciate the tip. :-)

All the spells Harry made up have some kind of root in Latin please don't get too nit-picky on me seeing as... well I made them up. Oh and I could probably use a beta-reader.

Another Author Note: 12/26 I am pretty far into the next chapter (its longer than the other two) and I got a bit stuck at one point. I would like to include something but it would involve a bit of romance between Harry & Blaise Zabini (who I would make a girl). I was going to make this strictly action/adventure but I don't know- it seemed interesting. Opinions? Let me know. I could always write a separate story with that romance in it. So review! Tell me what you think. And thanks to Linky2 your questions will be answered one much sooner than the other.

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