Occlumency - 4

"I didn't know Potter had migraines," Malfoy drawled. "Of course Occlumency can trigger them. I'm surprised Snape didn't tell you; it's most likely the reason you were never able to master it. People who suffer migraines rarely can."

"I don't get migraines," Harry said through clenched teeth, wishing they'd all shut up until his head stopped pounding.

"Whatever you say," Malfoy said, smirking, although his expression seemed to lack its usual vindictiveness.

"Fine. If it isn't a migraine, we can try again in a few days," Narcissa said decisively. She turned on her heel and strode from the room, beckoning Malfoy to follow.

"Can I get you anything, Harry?" Remus asked, gently squeezing Harry's shoulder.

"No. I'll be fine after I lie down for a bit. Just tell the others I'll be down later," Harry whispered, trying not to heave all over Remus.

"Very well. At some point I would like to discuss what you meant by precautions, however," Remus said, helping him to stand.

Harry grunted noncommittally.

He wearily climbed the stairs back to his bedroom, feeling old and tired. His head ached in a way that it hadn't done in nearly a year, and he was alarmed by it. He opened the door and slipped inside, catching a glimpse of his pale face in the mirror on his door.

Opening his trunk, he carefully withdrew the Pensieve that Professor Dumbledore had given him. One by one, he carefully extracted gossamer white trails of memories from the Pensieve with his wand and restored them to his mind.

Neither Malfoy nor the Order had learned anything about the Horcruxes tonight. As long as he remained vigilant, they never would.

********

September melted into October without Harry even being aware of the passage of time. He felt as if he'd flipped through the pages of every book in the library and still come up with nothing on Horcruxes. He'd begun to understand Hermione's dismay that the library had let her down. How could there be nothing written about something that obviously existed?

He'd continued his Occlumency lessons with the Malfoys, but hadn't made any progress since that first lesson. While Harry's head ached during practice and even for a short time afterwards, he hadn't experienced any of the visions or flashes of Voldemort's moods as he had during his fifth year. The sessions always left him feeling tired and drained, however.

A dismal, tense mood had settled over headquarters during the past week. The number of Dark creature attacks against Muggles had increased dramatically. In fact, Mr. Weasley said he couldn't remember a time when there had been more vampire sightings within Britain. Several high-ranking Ministry officials had gone missing within a short span of time, leaving those left behind overworked and anxious. Some of the wealthier families had gone abroad, as far away from Britain as they could get.

Members of the Order were spread thin trying to clean up one mess after another, leaving headquarters virtually empty most of the time. While this allowed Harry to do his research unhindered, it also meant that no one had had the time to look for Crabbe and Goyle's fathers.

The attacks on Muggles and Muggleborns had Hermione understandably worried for her own family. Mr. Weasley had promised that her family was being watched, but she still worried. She'd got a bee in her bonnet about returning to Albania, that they'd somehow missed something there.

Again, something in Harry's gut told him what they were looking for wasn't in Albania. Ginny had suggested that perhaps Voldemort hadn't spent all his time there, after all. Greece bordered a large part of Albania and maybe that was what inspired his use of the Parthenon. Harry allowed that it was possible, but regardless, he didn't think either place held any answers for him.