Disclaimer: .:Dutifully recites:. I, Nessa, do solemnly swear not to claim posession of Harry Potter or anything HP-related...it is copyright of J.K. Rowling, etc. .:Pouts:. Happy now? Also, Roman owns me, and Thomas...probably owns himself.
- - -
Nessa settled down in the Common Room, smiling to herself - everything seemed to be sorted out with Roman, back to the way things were before. Still smiling, she picked up her bag and pulled out her books and quill, setting them on the table in front of her, and giving a wide yawn - she'd been late to bed the night before, and the day had been fairly eventful, she wasn't surprised she was tired.
Looking up as someone else entered the room, she smiled at her younger sister tiredly.
"Hey, Mere," she said softly, "how has your day been?"
Merenwen grinned and gave Nessa a hug before sitting down at the opposite side of the table.
"Not too bad," she replied, beginning to pull out her own books. "I've certainly had worse...how about you?"
Nessa raised her eyebrows and widened her eyes expressively, and turned her gaze back down to her books.
"Let's not even go there," she murmured, letting out a small chuckle and gesturing that she'd tell Mere later.
Beginning to work on her Ancient Runes homework, her fingers slowly loosened on the quill and her eyes began to cross, so that she couldn't focus on her writing properly. Finally giving up, she dropped her quill and folded her arms across the table, resting her head on them.
'Just a short nap,' she told herself, drifting off to sleep. 'Just a...short...'
- - -
A man stands tall, back perfectly straight, and circles around the small, delicate figure in the same clearing.
"Are you ready?" he asks suddenly, standing on the left-hand side of the other person.
"I am," comes the reply, strong, clear, and strangely melodious - a female, then.
Nodding faintly yet approvingly, the man raises his own arm and lays his hand on the girl's forearm.
"You have proved yourself worthy of becoming one of our number," he intones, fingers visibly tightening on the girl's arm.
The girl stands impassively as he begins to murmur soft words, when she suddenly lets out a sharp gasp and sways on her feet, closing her eyes.
Unperturbed, the man continues, his voice slowly growing louder until he cries the final word at the top of his lungs. Gently pulling at the girl's sleeve, he pushes it up past her elbow, revealing a strange mark. An eerie glow begins to fill the clearing, highlighting both faces - the man, with a large smile of triumph on his face, and the girl, strangely familiar, eyes open again and gazing at the new mark.
"Welcome," the man says, lifting his gaze from the mark to gaze at the girl, "to the Death Eaters, Lessien."
- - -
Nessa jerked upright, sending her books and scraps of parchment flying about the room. Breathing shallowly and quickly, not quite hyperventilating, she stared out the window, eyes wide.
"Nessa?" a voice asked cautiously.
Jumping violently, she turned in her chair to look wildly about her, eyes finally settling on Merenwen, who was kneeling next to her, eyes concerned.
"Are you alright, Ness? I heard you whimpering," Mere added, laying her hand gently on her sister's arm.
Blinking rapidly, Nessa stared down at Merenwen, her breathing still too fast.
"I- I'm fine," she replied softly, staring down at where Mere's hand was resting, on her left forearm. Eyes widening further, Nessa moved suddenly and pulled her sleeve up, staring intently at her pale, unmarked arm.
"I just need to go see Roman," she muttered, getting out of her seat clumsily, and heading for the door.
"But Ness, it's too..." Merenwen began before sighing, watching Nessa disappear down the corridor. "It's too late to go visiting," she finished quietly to herself, sighing lightly and settling down in a chair to wait for Nessa to return.
- - -
Nessa paced outside the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room, tapping her nails together nervously. She wasn't supposed to be there, she knew that, but she had to talk to Roman! All she needed to do was figure out how to get into the Common Room itself.
Hearing footsteps behind her, Nessa tried to sink into one of the numerous shadows, thinking it might be a professor. The footsteps grew louder and louder, and Nessa held her breath, hoping she wouldn't be found. Suddenly the footsteps stopped completely - Nessa swallowed nervously, and, trying to breath very quietly, she attempted to move deeper into the shadows.
"What are you doing here, Ness?" a deep, familiar voice asked her. A hand snaked forwards and grasped her gently, pulling her into the dimly light corridor.
"I, er..." Nessa stammered, staring down at the ground and avoiding Thomas' intent gaze.
He chuckled quietly and let go of her, taking a step backwards and tucking his hands into his pockets. Nessa forced herself to calm down, and then smiled at him.
"So, ah...Madam Pomfrey sorted everything out, then?" she asked quietly, flushing slightly at the memory.
"Indeed she did," Thomas replied easily, his eyes never leaving her face. "Didn't even ask any questions, not like that nosy nurse we had at Beauxbatons."
Nessa smiled faintly.
"That's good to know," she murmured softly, shuffling her feet slightly as though uncomfortable. Thomas noticed and smirked slightly.
"You didn't answer my question," he reminded her, leaning back against the wall. "What are you doing here?"
Nessa wrinkled her nose - she'd hoped he'd forgotten about that.
"I need to talk to Roman," she replied quietly, staring at the ground, her hair falling around her face.
Thomas nodded, tilting his head slightly and looking at her. "I see," he said simply.
Reaching out, he carefully placed his hand under her chin and gently lifted her head, smiling at her.
"Much better," he breathed, brushing a few strands of hair out of her eyes.
Nessa lifted her gaze to look at him, a blush slowly spreading over her cheeks. He smiled down at her, his hand lingering against her redder-than-normal cheek.
Blinking in confusion, she cleared her throat and stepped backwards, the shadows half-covering her face. She gave a small, nervous laugh.
"Thomas, we've only just met," she said weakly, toying with her necklace.
He watched her for a moment, his expression unreadable and his hand dropping slowly back down to his side.
"I know," he replied finally. "Trust me, I know." Something flickered in his eyes, and he added, a little abruptly, "I'll go get Roman for you."
Turning on his heel, Thomas continued down the corridor and, reaching a spot a short distance down, very quietly murmured the password. About to step through into the passageway, he paused and turned back to Nessa.
"Come to Hogsmeade with me in our next break...we'll talk..."
He gave her the chance to nod in agreement, before disappearing into the Slytherin Common Room, the stone door silently sliding closed behind him.
Nessa barely had chance to collapse against the wall behind her, breathing deeply, when the door slid open and Roman came out, looking about her.
"What on Earth are you doing her, pet?" she asked Nessa quietly, looking at the other girl in concern.
Nessa watched as the door slid closed again, and then turned her gaze to Roman.
"We need to talk," she murmured, biting her lip lightly. "It's about...Lessien," she breathed
Roman blinked - there was name she hadn't heard for a very long time!
"Alright, pet," she replied calmly, taking Nessa's hand and leading her swiftly down the corridor. "I've got just the place we can go to talk."
Ducking down another passage, even more dimly light than the main Slytherin Common Room, Roman halted in front of a painting, and began murmuring rapidly to its occupant, who nodded once and stepped aside, causing the whole painting to slip sideways into the wall. Pushing Nessa through the secret passageway, Roman mutter a hushed thanks as she crossed the threshold, and received, and received a very muffled 'You're welcome' as the portrait slid back into place.
Nessa shivered - the passage was pitch-black, the air stale and cold. Running her hand along the wall to help keep her balance, she immediately wished she hadn't as the cold, damp slime covering the walls began to coat her fingers.
"Rome, where are we going?" she asked, her voice echoing strangely. Looking about her blindly, she stopped walking, worried that they'd get separated. Feeling a finger brush over the back of her hand, she obediently turned it palm-up and felt Roman grasp her hand. Sighing slightly in relief, she curled her own fingers around the other girl's hand.
"Where are we going?" she asked again, carefully following Roman down the hall.
"We're going somewhere we won't be interrupted," Roman replied, her voice slightly distorted by the strange acoustics in the hallway. "If something's happened to make you mention Lessien again after all these years, then I suspect we'll need as much privacy as possible."
Nessa raised her eyebrows and nodded weakly.
"You're not wrong there," she murmured, jumping slightly as her voice bounced back from the walls. "Where the hell are we, anyway? I'm starting to hate the feel in here!"
Roman chuckled softly.
"We're directly under the lake," she replied, slowing her pace slightly. "That's why it's so weird in here."
Stepping to one side, she gently guided the girl forward, and took hold of her hands, placing it against the wall - or, more to the point, folded Nessa's fingers over the rung of the ladder directly in front of them.
"Climb up there, pet, and we'll be nice and safe from interruptions and eavesdroppers."
Nessa nodded numbly and began to climb without question, ignoring the slightly slimy feeling of the rungs beneath her fingers. Feeling earth under her hands instead of metal, she carefully stood on the small piece of land, just high enough for her to be able to stand without crouching. Hesitantly, she stretched outwards and felt along the earth walls, searching for any sort of passage.
After a short moment, she heard Roman's soft chuckle behind her.
"Upwards, pet," the other girl breathed, reaching over Nessa to press against the ground overhead and carefully open the trapdoor there. "I should have mentioned where it was, but never mind."
Nessa smiled slightly to herself and grasped the edges of the open space over her head, pulling herself over the rim and swinging herself out of Roman's way.
"What is this place?" she asked softly, looking around curiously.
"This is my little hideaway," Roman answered, appearing through the hole and standing up. "I found it the first year we were here, and I've been using it since, whenever I've wanted some time to myself."
Nessa nodded absently, continuing to look about. "I can understand needing to get away," she replied after a moment, turning to face Roman and shivering slightly. Roman merely smiled and carefully lit the fireplace in the corner.
"Come sit down, pet, and we'll talk," she suggested quietly, settling down on the cushions placed near the fire.
Nessa let out a soft, slightly shuddering breath, and walked to Roman, sitting down near her.
"You remember what I've told you about Lessien in the past, don't you?" she asked softly, not quite looking at Roman, but catching the other girl's silent nod none-the-less. "Well, I had a dream about her tonight- not like the others," she added in a hurry. "Not dreams about the past. This was different - it was more like a dream of the present."
Quietly, she began to describe the dream, toying with the hem of her skirt, not looking at Roman.
"It was...scary," she finished, biting her lip lightly. "It was like I was really there, standing in the clearing, watching that...man put that mark on my sister's arm."
Roman stayed silent for a moment, her eyes unreadable.
"Do you think it was real?" she asked after a moment.
Nessa nodded, shrugging uncomfortably.
"I do - I have no reason to believe that it's real, no reason to think that Lessien's alive or a Death Eater or that she even existed outside of my imagination, but...I just have a feeling - it's real, and it was happening tonight." Slowly she looked up, gazing almost nervously at Roman.
"Do you think she's really alive?" she asked softly, her eyes filling with tears. "Do you think it's true?"
Roman moved, and gently wrapped Nessa in a hug.
"Pet, I believe you," she said, rocking the smaller girl slightly. "I have since the first day you mentioned Lessien, and if anything, this dream makes me believe you more."
She heard a small, inquiring noise from Nessa, and began to explain. "Being in Slytherin means I tend to hear some things that I'd rather not at times. That mark you described sounds like the Dark Mark all Death Eaters have imprinted in their left arm - he uses it to summon them to his side, it burns hot upon him touching the Dark Mark of another. Pet, nobody outside Slytherin could know that, and very few people in Slytherin know it either. I just happened to...overhear it," she added, before Nessa could ask.
"You really believe me?" Nessa asked in a small voice, curled up against Roman. "You aren't just humoring the fantasies of a mad girl, are you?"
Roman smoothed Nessa's hair, holding her close. "Love, there's only one mad girl in this room, and that would be me. You're a perfectly, wonderfully sane woman - trust me, I've known you long enough. Although," she continued, pretending to sound thoughtful, "if you really were all that sane, you wouldn't have made friends with me in the first place."
Nessa gave a small, weak chuckle, and wrapped her arms around Roman.
"Thank you for that," she said softly, moving one arm to wipe the tears off her cheek.
"Rome," Nessa murmured after a few moments of silence, "what should I do about Lessien?"
Roman frowned lightly and tightened her arms around Nessa.
"I think we need to sort out what happened that night, why you're the only one who remembers," she replied, rubbing Nessa's back lightly. "Obviously it was some sort of variation on the Memory Charm - have you ever tried asking Arness about those sort of charms?"
"No, I haven't," Nessa murmured sleepily, her eyes drifting closed. "Never thought of doing that..."
Her voice trailed off, and her breathing began to slow down, evening out.
Roman looked down at Nessa, and gently smoothed back the girl's hair, trailing her fingers down her cheek.
"Sleep well, my love," she murmured, leaning her cheek against the top of Nessa's head and closing her eyes. "Sleep well..."
- - -