A/N: This was written for my friend and beta Billy. It's kind of a side fic to my other Harry Potter story, but it isn't necessary to read that one in order to understand this.  Some mention of self-harm and child abuse. Oh and some of you might say that Oliver Wood is out of character in this, but I guess that it depends how you see him…anyone can act normal, even if they are hurting inside.

Summary: Set in Harry's 2nd Year. When a new boy comes to Hogwarts, he and Oliver soon become good friends But what will happen when Oliver finds that his feelings for his best friend are becoming deeper than he can handle? Oliver Wood/OC. Oliver's POV. Slash.

If Only You Knew

It's strange; the way things turn out at Hogwarts. I wasn't well known for the first year or two. It wasn't until I became Gryffindor Quidditch captain that people really knew who I was. Half the girls in school wanted to date me then, all the boys wanted to be my friend. But I knew that they didn't like me for who I really was. It seemed like nobody did, apart from maybe Percy Weasley and even he was more concerned about his work than making friends. About half way through my third year, I was injured during a game of Quidditch and forced to stay in the hospital wing for two weeks. Hardly anyone came to visit me, so I sunk into depression. Nobody noticed, but then again I suppose that no one really cared.

Things changed then. I'd always loved Quidditch, but almost overnight it became an obsession. Gryffindor had to win every Quidditch match; they just had to. I started to push everyone away even more, but I no longer cared. Quidditch was the only thing I cared about. It was the only thing I was any good at, the only thing that earned me any respect.

When we lost a match, when the depression became too much for me to handle, then I'd pick up my knife and cut at my own arm. The pain took away all of my feelings, the fear that I would never be good enough and the deep empty feeling of sadness that ate away at my soul. Since nobody knew, I probably would have carried on like it for the rest of my time at Hogwarts, putting on a brave face, covering up my scars. But then he came along…

It was the first day of my 6th Year. As usual we arrived and seated ourselves around our tables. Percy made me sit with him and Damon Brockwell, a guy I'd shared a dorm with since I first came here, but whom I'd never really got to know. Not too far away from us, were Fred and George the Weasley twins, Harry Potter and his two friends. Harry called over to me and I raised my hand in greeting, before sitting down next to Percy. Professor Dumbledore stood up and began making his start of term notices. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Professor Snape and a boy I had never seen before, come through the door by the staff table. Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall both looked at the boy and smiled, before turning back to us.

"Before the fist years are sorted," Dumbledore said loudly. "I have someone I want you all to meet. This" he continued as Snape gently pushed the new boy forward "is Vincent Darkshield. His father is a great friend of mine and he will be in the 6th year. I hope you will all make him feel welcome"

The new student looked nervous as Professor McGonagall placed the sorting hat on his head. "Gryffindor!" the hat called out, almost without hesitation. All around me, people cheered and clapped as the student took a seat next to Fred. I did neither; I'd given up showing any emotion at the sorting ceremony a long time ago. It wasn't Quidditch; therefore it held no interest to me. But I did look hard at him however; I think a lot of people did. Although he looked like us, he seemed different somehow. His jet-black hair was messy, with a piece that kept falling into his dark blue eyes. There were strange eyes, quite unlike anything I had ever seen before. They seemed to be endless and they certain hypothesis you. He carried himself with pride, although he was nervous, he held his head high, joked with Fred and George. That was something I had never been able to do and I envied him greatly. On the middle finger of his right hand, he wore a ring with a bright red stone in the middle. Even stranger still, he had what looked to be a wolf cub sitting at his feet. That would have made him the first student to be allowed to keep a wolf as a pet in a long time. Yes, there was something strange about him all right, an air of mystery.

When we were heading back to our dormitories, McGonagall called me back. When I went over to the staff table I saw that Vincent was there too. McGonagall introduced us and asked me to look after him for a few days. I wasn't particular keen on the idea, but I agreed.

Over the next few weeks, we grew closer. We sat together in classes, went to the common room together, sat together at mealtimes and helped each other with homework. I tried to kid myself that I was only doing this because I had been asked, but in reality, I liked Vincent. And he liked me too. For once in my life, I finally had a real friend, a friend who I could talk to and share things with. Vincent was pretty secretive about his life, all he would tell me was that his father couldn't look after him when his mother had died, so he had asked his friend Dumbledore to take him in and Vincent had ended up as a foster son to Professor Snape. He wouldn't even tell me exactly where he came from, but I didn't push him. He didn't know about my cutting, after all so I figured that we were even. But of course, things could never stay that simple…