I'll Cover You : Running on Empty
Running on Empty
Disclaimer : Everything's in chapter one

Harry catches the piece of parchment as Hedwig drops down on to the Gryffindor table. She pecks at his bread before squawking and taking off with the rest of the schools' owls.

"What is it?" Ron asks his best friend.

"Detention," Harry shrugs, the grin not disappearing from his face.

Hermione picks the paper up from where Harry had let it drift onto his plate. Her eyes widen as she reads the sheet. "Harry! This is detention for two weeks! With Malfoy and Snape!" She exclaims.

Harry just shrugs, and Ron stares at him in disbelief.

"What's with you?" Ron asks.

Harry sighs. "I had the first restful night of sleep I've had for weeks."

"The nightmares stopped?" Hermione asks, her voice edged in worry.

Harry gets up. "Yep."

Ron and Hermione exchange a confused look, but also get up and follow Harry out of the Great Hall. They keep a careful eye on him throughout the day, but his mood is just as good at dinner as it was at breakfast.

Harry checks his watch. "I'd better get going. Don't wait up for me - you know Snape. He'll probably conveniently 'forget' about me for a few hours."

Hermione watches him leave the Great Hall, practically skipping to the dungeons. Something pulls at the back of her mind. She hems and haws for long minutes before finally making her decision. She gathers her books and gets up from the table. Ron follows her sudden movements with his eyes in confusion.

"I'm going to the library. Meet me back in the common room later," She explains to him. He just nods, and she walks calmly in the direction of the library. As she nears the heavy, wooden doors, she turns around, retracing her steps, turning down hallways she only slightly remembers from years before.

She reaches the stone gargoyle and studies it for a moment. Luckily, Professor McGonagall exits the gargoyle at just that moment.

"Ah, Hermione . . ."

Hermione fidgets under the scrutinizing gaze of her mentor. "Um, I'd like to have an audience with the headmaster, but I don't know the password."

McGonagall smiles at Hermione's nervousness. "The Headmaster is free at the moment, as a matter of fact. The password's Snickers."

She turns and Hermione listens to the rhythmic clicking of boots on stone echoing throughout the cavernous hallway. When the sound fades, she turns her attention back to the gargoyle, uttering the name of the muggle candy bar. "Snickers."

The stone figure opens smoothly, uttering not a creak or a groan. Hermione steps inside and the gargoyle falls back into place, encasing her in a cloak of thick darkness. She fumbles for her wand, finally wrapping her nimble fingers around the end.

"Lumos."

The effect produced reminds her of her favorite muggle movie - Peter Pan. The tiny light flickers like Tinkerbell, illuminating just the stair directly in front of her. So, she holds out her wand and starts her ascent, slowly but surely.

The stairs continue endlessly, and with each one comes a new notch of paranoia. Hermione finds herself looking over her shoulder, jumping at shadows that she can't see. Finally, the light shines over an object directly ahead of her. She reaches out and runs her fingers along the substance, quickly pulling them back in pain, instantly slipping them into her mouth. When the stabbing pain dulls, she brings her wand to the tip of her ring finger, cringing at the large splinter of dark wood imbedded in the soft flesh of the inside of her finger.

Learning her lesson, she brings the light to the door to search for the handle, making a mental not to take care of the splinter later. After long seconds the large iron ring is illuminated. She pulls it towards her, stepping out of the way of the heavy object.

Hermione closes her eyes against the blaring light that floods the stairwell. As soon as she feels adjusted, she lifts her lids and steps into the office. Dumbledore looks up from his desk and smiles at her.

"Hermione. Sit," he tells her, motioning to the large chairs opposite his desk.

Hermione intends to just sit on the edge of the massive chair, but it sucks her in. she finds herself encased in cloud-light pull, immersing her in heaven.

"Make yourself comfortable. I just have to finish this letter," the Headmaster tells her, returning his attention to the papers on his desk.

Hermione takes the opportunity to look around her, taking in all of the gadgets and gizmos littering numerous surfaces - whether table tops, desks, or the beautiful marble mantle piece topping the wondrously large fireplace. Her mind drifts back to fourth year, when the imposter Professor Moody filled his office with all sorts of machines intended to detect the Dark Arts. Extremely ironic, actually.

Hermione is pulled out of her thoughts as a great gray owl sails out the window, Dumbledore's letter attached to its left leg. Dumbledore ponders the young woman in front of him for a minute before proceeding.

"Yes, Hermione. What did you come see me for?"

Hermione looks into the deep blue pools of wisdom and her heart aches for that kind of knowledge. She pushes her own wishes aside for the moment, focusing on her worries about Harry.

"Harry's been acting . . . strange lately. I'm worried about him," she says, her brow creased in worry.

"How so?" Dumbledore asks.

Hermione takes a deep breath and plunges in, explaining everything that's been different over the last few weeks. "Firstly, he hasn't slept a wink in weeks. Actually, he says that he slept comfortably last night. But, until then, he was having these dreams that just made him more tired than he was when he closed his eyes. His fatigue is starting to show, and even Ron has noticed it. Then, today, he's bright and chipper. He practically ran to his detention in the dungeons!"

Dumbledore runs his fingers through his beard, deep in thought. "What were the subjects of these nightmares?"

Hermione shrugs guiltily. "I don't know. We've been so busy with studying and all that Ron and I were content to let it pass for a while, but his sudden change in moods today has me extremely worried."

Dumbledore sighs and remembers the exchange between Draco and Harry the night before. "I think that you should watch him more carefully for the net few weeks. Otherwise, all we can do is hope that this is just a funk he'll grow out of."

Hermione nods and lifts herself out of the chair. "Thank you, Headmaster."

She opens the door, leaving it open so that it'll shower a lane of light on the stairs. She climbs down the stone steps and then races back to the common room.

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"Hermione, you really shouldn't have," Ron tells her, his voice strained.

Hermione looks up from where her finger is soaking in soapy, warm water. "I know, but don't you think this whole nightmare thing is getting out of hand?"

Ron shrugs. "I guess, but he was fine today," Ron responds.

Hermione takes her finger out and looks at the splinter in annoyance. "That's what's so strange. He's been so down, and now suddenly he's so high."

Ron opens his mouth to answer, but the common room door swings open and Harry climbs in. He looks more subdued than he did before detention, but the edges of his mouth are still turned up in a small smile and his eyes are still shining. He joins Ron and Hermione in front of the fire place.

"How'd it go?" Hermione asks, screwing her face up in pain as she digs at the splinter with a needle.

Harry leans back in his chair. "Fine, I guess. But, for the next two weeks, we have to work in the Forbidden Forest."

Hermione and Ron both jerk their heads up to look at him in disbelief. Ron gulps. "The Forbidden Forest?"

"Yeah, there's some plant that Professor Sprout needs, and Malfoy and I have nothing better to do than to trampse around the woods looking for it."

Hermione looks at him in pure sympathy. "I'm sorry."

Harry shrugs. "It's only two weeks. Anyway, I'm going up to bed. Coming, Ron?"

Ron stretches and follows him, both saying their good nights to Hermione. They change quickly and climb into bed. As soon as their heads hit their pillows, both are fast asleep, but Harry doesn't stay that way for long.

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The blond haired figure's back is to Harry. It is growling at another figure, one that Harry cannot see. The piercing yell pulls at Harry, gaining his attention. He inches closer and closer.

The shadows grow darker and darker as Harry nears. He squints his eyes, but its effect is nonexistent. He strains his ears, but all hears is a high pitched screaming and the mumbled growl of the blond haired figure.

Harry crawls to the very feet of the figure and peers into the shadowy depths. Again, the effort is useless. Harry inches closer, but his elbow connects with the figure's foot.

"So, you want to know that bad, do ay?" The figure growls at him, staring down at him, his face still in shadows.

"Ah . . . um . . . " Harry staggers, feeling the wind knocked out of his lungs, not allowing him to talk.

"Is this what you want to see so bad?" The figure lifts its sleeve to reveal the Dark Mark. Harry feels as if his heart has been plunged through his stomach into an ice bucket. The fear that closes in on him is immense and he bends under the pressure. He bites his lip, trying to keep the pain inside, but he just cannot. He screams.

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The next morning is dark and gloomy, just dark enough to fit Harry's mood. The fact that the nightmares are back seems less important during the day. As his four other roommates ready themselves for the day, Harry finds himself going about his business, even forgetting to think about the nightmares for a few minutes at a time.

As the day passes, Hermione takes note of the change from yesterday. Instead of the foolish grin he carried, he now has that solemn look plastered on his face. His eyes are again lined in dark shadow and his voice is slow and murky.

"Harry, we need to talk," Hermione tells him that night as they sit and do homework in the common room.

Harry checks the clock and shakes his head. "I have to go to detention, but we'll talk later, okay?"

Hermione nods numbly as he turns and leaves through the portrait hole. She sighs and begins to plan her cornering - how to force him to tell her the subjects of his dreams.

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Meanwhile, Harry trudges towards the ominous edge of the dark forest. He feels the old weariness return in full force, this time even worse. Before, he knew the nightmares were about Malfoy, so he could use Malfoy as a target. With these new, ambiguous dreams, Harry is only left with confusion.

As eerie "swoosh" and a fallen acorn tells Harry that he's reached his destination. Hagrid is already waiting there, and he forces a smile traced in worry at the slumped figure.

"Hey Harry," Hagrid calls.

Harry looks up and flashes a quick smile at Hagrid. "Hi Hagrid."

Harry tells him about his classes, and about Ron and Hermione until Draco finally arrives. His blond hair is illuminated by the full moon, which has appeared from behind the clouds. Draco wears his usual drawling grin as he approaches.

But, as the three enter the forest, Draco's grin is replaced by a slightly quavering frown. Harry almost laughs at the look of pure horror on Draco's face when an owl's "hoot" slices through the air. Draco starts to walk on the tips of his toes, and Harry finally lets out his laughter.

"Afraid that the crack of a stick might wake the boogie monster?" Harry asks.

Draco doesn't respond, but he does let his entire foot come in contact with the ground. Still jumping at every crack, every hiss of leaves in the wind, they reach a small patch of light purple flowers. Harry looks at them, and he feels himself dragged towards it. He tries to resist, but it's as hard as the two magnets he used to play with constantly. Dudley had gotten gum stuck on one of them, and so had used them as a new item to throw at Harry. Once they left, he had peeled the gum off and played with the two small magnets for hours on end.

Fang licks Harry's hand, the wet, cold slobber pulling him back into reality just in time to catch the moon, which has just appeared from its blanket of clouds. The silver light throws beams through the trees, illuminating the small patch of flowers.

"Come on, this is what we want. While the moon's giving us light," Hagrid says to the two young students who are totally engrossed in the forest around them.

Finally, Draco steps forward and squats down, picking the little flowers from where they left the earth's soil, leaving the root. Harry joins him and starts to pull out the purple things, falling Hagrid and Draco's example. The moon shifts and Harry's attention is diverted for a moment, for a moment long enough for Harry to pull the entire root out of the ground.

Its gold color catches the moon's beams, practically blinding him. As the moon shifts again, Harry takes a closer look at the root, finding that all the tiny, fiber roots are actually silver. He looks at the delicate flower curiously.

"Hagrid, what's this used for?" He asks, looking over at where Hagrid's massive hands have made a large pile of the plants.

Hagrid doesn't look up as he answers. "Never mind that, Harry."

Harry feels an urge to keep the flower and pockets it. He looks up, feeling a pair of eyes on his back, expecting to see Draco's silver orbs staring back at him. But, Draco is bent carefully over the flowers, a good-sized pile next to his feet. Harry shakes his head, figuring that his loss of sleep has caused him to start imagining things. He bends his head back to the flowers, pushing the pair of eyes into the dark recesses of his mind.

Sorry this chapter took so long to upload, but ff.net's been having so many problems, and I've been really busy. But, I will upload chapter 5 soon. Please, review . . . Thanks, Mara