Author's note: Firstly, a big thank-you to Jhordan for pulling me out of a writing block with the random line, "The toilet isn't working." Beautiful, thanks! Secondly, I'd like to give full credit to Roman for Thomas' nickname - I'm sure you'll see what I mean...

Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story that is related to Harry Potter. Roman's in possession of herself and me, and Thomas owns himself.

- - -

"Where were you the other night?"
"What do you mean?"
It was finally Friday, and Nessa finally had another spare block. Living up to her promise, she was sitting in the Three Broomstick with Thomas, who'd bought them both a butterbeer.

Thomas snorted lightly.
"Come now, missy, surely you've heard the rumours flying around the school. I expect everyone knows by now that you spent a night out of your dorm room…"
Nessa hastily took a sip of her butterbeer, and avoided meeting Thomas' eyes. Yes, indeed she had heard some of the rumours, each one more degrading than the last, but it wasn't like she could actually say anything against them - after all, she had spent the night out of bed.
"Oh, er…that," she began weakly, finally looking up at him. "You know how I needed to talk to Roman? Well, we did talk, and then I just, kinda…fell asleep…" She blushed, and shifted her gaze slightly, so that she was looking more over his shoulder than at his face. "Roman didn't have the heart to wake me, so we both ended up spending the night there, instead of in our dorms…"
"I see," Thomas replied, amusement shining clearly in his pale grey eyes. "I'm sure you've heard some of the conclusions people are drawing," he added, not quite questioning her.
"Yes, I have," Nessa murmured softly, her expression darkening slightly. "It's pathetic." She looked down at the table and frowned lightly - why did everyone have to assume the worst!?
"Hey, I never said I agreed with them, Nessa love," Thomas said quickly, reaching out and touching her hand lightly. "I was merely mentioning it."
Nessa smiled slightly.
"I know - I guess it's just an automatic reaction," she explained, looking back up at him.
Thomas nodded, carefully curling his hand around hers.
"Trust me, I understand that - if you want a school that's filled with gossip, you should try Beauxbatons. Anyway," he continued, watching Nessa, "not to pry or anything, but what were you and Roman talking about?"
Nessa eyed Thomas, slightly dubious. Should she tell him? After all, they'd only known each other since the start of the year, and hadn't really had much opportunity to talk properly. And he was Draco's cousin - Merlin, if he told Draco...
Almost impulsively, she began to tell him the whole tale, right from that night when she was four, all the way through to the dream. She briefly considered leaving out the Dark Mark section, but almost unthinking kept going, describing the dream in detail.

Thomas remained silent for a moment once Nessa had finished.
"That sounds famili…" he began, before cutting himself off, blinking, and trying again. "You're the only one in your entire family who can remember Lessien?"
"Nobody else remembers, no matter how many times I mention her," Nessa replied softly, toying with her necklace out of nervousness. "I just learned to stop talking about her after a while - it was upsetting everyone, especially Mum."
Thomas nodded, still looking thoughtful.
"It must have been hard on you, after all, you were only four."
"I had Roman - at that age, it was enough for me."
"But now?" he asked softly, looking at Nessa intently. "Why did you tell me? You've only known me a short while, as you so kindly reminded that night…"
Nessa flushed slightly – it had been a little cruel to remind him of that.
"I don't really know why," she admitted after a moment. "I guess I just…needed to talk to someone else, get a fresh viewpoint…" She shrugged, looking slightly embarrassed.

Thomas nodded again, his hand still wrapped around Nessa's. Glancing down at the table, he appeared to just notice that he was holding her hand, and he grinned slightly – she hadn't made any move to take her hand back.
"Let's go shopping," he suggested suddenly, having just done a mental count of how much money he had with him. Smiling at Nessa's slightly bemused expression, he added, "I want to treat my favourite Hufflepuff to something, anything – anything you wish at all."
Nessa's eyes widened. "Are you serious?" she asked softly, giving a small laugh.
Thomas chuckled and squeezed her hand lightly. "Perfectly, love," he said firmly, rising from the table and gently helping her to do the same. "Any suggestions on a place to go first?" he asked, guiding Nessa to the door.
"Not really – let's just wander, and see where that takes us…"

- - -

"Look what Thomas bought me today!" Nessa said excitedly, standing in front of Roman and twirling around in a circle.

Roman scowled momentarily – bloody Thomas again! Deciding to ignore any references to Thomas for the moment, she concentrated on Nessa, blinking in surprise as she did so. The other girl was wearing formal dress robes and a cloak, but like nothing Roman had ever seen before. A deep forest green, the robes appeared to be made of silk, and were cut superbly, showing off Nessa's curves beautifully, if not a little too much for Roman's liking. The cloak was made of a fine, flowing velvet, shining slightly in the light and falling elegantly off Nessa's shoulders. Both were obviously expensive – the cut and fabric was enough to tell her that – and Nessa looked absolutely gorgeous in them.
"They're…You look beautiful, pet," Roman managed to say, after a moment.
Rising from her spot on the floor, she walked towards Nessa, and then hesitated at giving the girl a hug. Nessa solved the dilemma for her by stepping forward as well, and giving Roman a hug. Still slightly hesitant, Roman wrapped her arms around the smaller girl's waist, and rested her cheek against Nessa's head.
"You look stunning, kitten. I'm sure anyone would be delighted to have you on their arm," she added carefully, the silk feeling smooth under her fingers.
Nessa blushed and pulled back, smiling up at Roman.
"That's sweet, love," she said, looking embarrassed – she'd never been able to handle compliments too well. "So, ah…what did you get up to today, while I was out?"
Roman shrugged and let go of Nessa with one hand, keeping her right arm wrapped her the other girl's waist and gently pulling her to sit on the ground with her.
"Very little, pet, with you not here," she replied truthfully, settling comfortably back against the wall.
Nessa carefully folded her legs under her, and leant against Roman.
"A boring and uneventful day in the life of Roman de la Croix?" she asked, teasing. "Surely not."
"Ah, but it's true, kitten, I did nothing of interest."
Nessa laughed, still of a mind not to believe Roman completely.
"Well…did you want to do something now?"
"As much as I want to say yes, pet, it's getting a little late to do anything much. I'm just going to head for the Common Room, I think."
Nessa nodded slightly, understanding.
"I might head for the library," she said, looking at Roman, "see if I can find out anything about Memory Charms."
"A good idea," Roman affirmed, nodding as well. Shifting gently, she guided Nessa to be sitting upright and then stood up herself. "I'll see you in the morning, before breakfast, but if you need me before then, you know where I am."
"Indeed I do," Nessa said as Roman began to head off. "Sleep well!"

- - -

"The toilet isn't working…"
"Huh?!"
Nessa looked up from her book, completely confused.
"I said, the toilet isn't working," Thomas repeated, settling into the chair beside Nessa and peering over her shoulder at the book.
"I…see," she murmured, raising her eyebrows. "How does that relate to anything?"
Thomas grinned and shrugged.
"It doesn't," he replied easily, reaching out and pushing the book upwards so he could see the title. "Just thought I'd say it 'coz I could. '501 Spells to Modify Memories'?" he asked slightly incredulously. "That's not exactly light, bed-time reading, Ness."
Nessa flushed slightly and slammed the book shut, putting it down on the table in front of her.
"I'm, er…just doing some research."
"Ness, love," Thomas began, laughing quietly, "no-one volunteers to do research, and I know for a fact that it's not research for school work."
Nessa sighed and closed her eyes, rubbing her hand across her forehead.
"I know, and to be honest, I don't think I could read much more of it. I feel like my head's about to explode," she admitted, opening her eyes and looking at Thomas.
"I'll bet," Thomas replied, reaching out and gently pressing his cool hands against her temples. "Take a break," he advised. "Whatever you're doing, surely it can wait."
"I'm not sure it can," Nessa said quietly, looking seriously at Thomas.
He frowned lightly. "What's so important that it can't wait until the morning?"
"It's about…Lessien again."
"Oh…right," Thomas said, somehow looking a little uncomfortable. "About that, Ness…" he began, and then stopped, staring out the nearest window, his eyes widening slightly.
"What? Thom, what is it?" she asked, feeling vaguely nervous. Noticing him stare distractedly out the window, she began to turn around.
"Ah, nothing!" Thomas said quickly, shifting his hands slightly and turning her face back to his. "Never mind, it…wasn't anything important." He smiled reassuringly and gently caressed her cheek.
Nessa merely looked at him, and then gave a nearly inaudible sigh as he caressed her cheek, her eyes drifting closed.
"You like that, do you Ness?" Thomas asked, a small smile crossing his features.
"Yes…" she breathed softly, pressing her own hand against the back of his. Sitting like that for a few moments, her eyes suddenly flew open and her hand dropped away from his, her cheeks reddening. "Look, I…I'm sorry, we shouldn't…"
"We haven't done anything, so there's nothing to be sorry for." Slowly, Thomas lifted his own hand from Nessa's cheek, seeming a touch reluctant to do so. "Look, love, if you want my opinion, you've managed for twelve years without knowing about Memory Charms – what difference will one night make?"
Nessa sat for a moment, thinking, before getting to her feet and replacing the book back on the shelf.
"You're right," she said firmly, turning back to Thomas, "it can wait. Could you…I mean, would you mind walking me back to the Common Room?" she asked. Her cheeks had slowly been returning to their normal colour, but at her own question, they flushed slightly again.
Thomas grinned, and flourished a bow, holding his arm out to her.
"I would be delighted to escort you, fair lady, yet I fear I do not know the way," he said, quirking an eyebrow slightly.
Nessa smiled, and then hesitated – usually, the Houses tried to keep their entrances secret from each other, it was very rare for someone in a different House to know any of the other entrances. Throwing caution to the wind, she performed a small, elegant curtsey and then laid her hand on his arm.
"Gentle sir, just head for the entrance hall," she replied, a little flippantly. "I can lead you better from there."

- - -

Thomas paced around the Slytherin Common Room, running a hand through his hair fretfully. He was by no means the only person there, but everyone else seemed to be ignoring him – except for the tall red-head curled up in a seat in the corner. Her clear eyes followed his path about the room, and she grinned slightly to herself. Getting up out of her seat, she wandered over and planted herself squarely in his path, chuckling lightly as he barely stopped in time to avoid crashing into her.
"What's the matter, porcupoppet?" she asked, raising her eyebrows at him. "It's not every day someone tries to wear a hole in slate tiles."
Thomas scowled faintly and crossed his arms.
"So we're playing civil today, are we?" he asked in reply, sounding a little caustic and frustrated.
"My dear, we play at being civil everyday," Roman said, still grinning, "but maybe we can actually mean it this time, hmm?"
Thomas continued to scowl, but followed Roman back to her corner, hanging back for a moment while she settled down before cautiously taking a seat himself.
"Now," Roman began, linking her hands together, "it's quite obvious to me that you're worried about something. If you weren't friends with Nessa, I'd leave you to your own devices and let you wear a hole in the slate. As it is…what's bothering you?"
Thomas stared at her a moment, expression unreadable.
"You must care about Nessa a great deal if you're willing to talk to me," he said finally, eyes not moving from Roman's.
"Yeah, well…let's forget about that for a moment, and concentrate on you. What's the matter?" Rome asked again.
"Alright then, just remember you asked for it. Let's say – hypothetically, of course – that something has happened to someone I lo- …care about a great deal, and they're really upset. I kinda…know something that might help, but then again, it might make the situation worse. Should I tell them, or leave it for the moment?" Thomas asked carefully, making sure he kept his expression blank.
"That's a deep one you've got there, porcupoppet," Roman commented, grinning at his reaction to the nickname. "Okay, so let's delude ourselves and pretend, momentarily, that this is hypothetical. I say that you should tell them – if you don't and they happen to find out that you know something, they're going to be offended and never trust you again. At least by telling them, you've been completely honest with them, and they can take their time to think it over. Make sense?"
Thomas nodded shortly, and got to his feet.
"Thanks, Roman," he said, heading for his dorm.
"Oh, and Thomas?" Roman called, smiling sweetly at him as he turned around and raised an eyebrow. "If you don't tell Nessa whatever it is you know, I'll be having a little talk to her – clear?"
"Subtle, Roman, very subtle," Thomas replied dryly, disappearing out of sight as he rounded corner to the Boys Dorms.
"Of course it was, Tommy. I am the epitome of subtleness," she murmured, smirking and settling back in her chair, gazing lazily around the Common Room once more – that had gone better than she expected. Humming cheerfully, she climbed to her feet and walked to her own dorm, listening to her thoughts – if he hurt her in anyway, that vow against violence might just have to be reversed.