Disclaimer: The only part of this fic that belongs to me, is the plot and the fictional character, Alex O'Brian. Everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling.

A/N: This fic has two POVs.


Chapter One: We Begin Here...

It was Alex O'Brian's fourth year at Hogwarts. This year things were, hopefully, going to be different. She hadn't had the best summer at her family's manor. Therefore, it was a relief to get out of the house and off to school.

She also came to the worst realization possible for any Slytherin. She liked Oliver Wood. This was dangerous on her part, because her parents had always encouraged her to marry a Slytherin. Alex, on the other hand, didn't care about that.

As much as her parents loved Alex, they didn't want to raise suspicion about their loyalty to the Dark Lord. Alex getting into Slytherin had helped them keep up their appearance, but Alex didn't care about her 'appearance'. She didn't even care about how her family was tied into the Dark Lord. She hated Lord Voldemort. He had only caused trouble for those that didn't deserve it. Alex argued the matter with her parents often, no longer wanting to debate the issue.


Alex heard chattering behind the curtains around her bed. She rolled over and tried to go back to sleep, thinking fondly of her dream. He had been in it, his brown hair swaying in the wind as he waited for the Quaffle to head in his direction. To Alex the Gryffindor keeper and captain was the best looking boy in their school.

"Alex! Wake up, wake up, wake up!" Annabel Tristan hollered with joy. She was bouncing on the balls of her feet and Alex could see her shadow behind the curtain. Annabel pulled open the silky green curtains and smiled at her friend.

"What if I choose not to?" Alex groaned as she rubbed her eyes gently and yawned as she adjusted to the light. She looked up at her, discontent seething from her soul.

"Then you won't get to see the hottest guy ever!" squealed Alex's friend, Kilee Jones, brushing a lock of hair with her fingers.

"And who might that be? Draco Malfoy?" Alex asked. She glared up at the canopy above her bed. She rubbed her hands through her black hair, paused, and looked at her two giddy friends.

"No, he's too young for us. We're talking about Marcus Flint! He came into the common room without his shirt on." Annabel giggled.

"He isn't very cute I'm sorry to say. He may have a very nice body, but he just doesn't have that allure." Alex shrugged. She didn't really like Marcus Flint as a person either, but she couldn't tell her friends that.

"Fine, be that way. We will go and stare at his amazing torso, while you sleep." Kilee Jones addressed. Her eyes sparkled mischievously like the jewels on her necklace.

"Okay, have fun." Alex pulled her blankets up to her jaw and tried to fall back into her magnificent dream.

Alex woke an hour later. She hadn't revisited him in her dream and was very displeased. She dressed and slowly made her way to the Great Hall. She looked for Annabel and Kilee, but neither was to be seen. She sat alone but amused herself by falling into her dream world and imagining him sitting with her.

She finished what was left of her eggs, exited the Great Hall and walked to the lake. The sun glistened on the surface like a handful of diamonds. Other students had flocked to the water's edge to enjoy what might be the last day of summer, knowing British weather.

Alex sat beneath a tree beside the water's edge and took out a small notebook and flipped to the last pages. The diary was used to record all of her dreams. She had heard somewhere that it helped make your memory stronger, therefore improving her magic. Ever since, she had recorded the most significant dream of the night.

Today, it was the dream of Oliver Wood. Unsurprisingly, many of the other entries were marked 'Oliver Wood' too, and Alex noted that she'd better keep this out of the way of everyone else – it didn't look good to be dreaming about a Gryffindor, and the Quidditch captain at that!

She took her quill to the paper and began writing in a daze as she remembered her dream.

Alex stood in the center of the Quidditch pitch. This was not the best place to stand in the middle of a match, but it didn't seem to matter. Besides, no one noticed her presence there. Except one brown haired boy, with scarlet robes. He was the keeper for the Gryffindor Quidditch team and he looked as though he wanted to leave his position guarding the three hoops, but thought better of it as the Quaffle and its carrier roared in his direction.

After the match, Alex somehow found herself waiting outside the Quidditch pitch without really knowing who or what she was waiting for. She looked about her and saw the same brown haired boy walking toward her. He smiled as he walked up to her.

"Hi," she said uncertain of what to do or say next.

"Hey Alex, come swimming with us!"

The words did not match his voice. They were more along the lines of Kilee's and Alex knew she wasn't in her dream world any longer. Kilee had done a very good job of fixing that.

"I don't feel like it. Thanks anyway." Alex called to her friend.

"Suit yourself," Kilee shouted to her.

Alex finished writing her dream down and stashed her notebook in her jacket pocket. She leaned against the tree's trunk and sighed heavily and watched Kilee flirt fearlessly with Marcus Flint. What she saw in him, Alex didn't know, not that she wanted to in the first place.

Her eyes were set on the one person that she would never have; at least, not in this lifetime. She looked around and saw Oliver with his friends. He was laughing. He has a nice smile, Alex thought. He looked over at her, and she quickly turned away. She didn't want to be caught looking at him; that just wasn't proper for her.

She sighed once again, and stood up. She grabbed her jacket and began walking away.


Oliver watched as Alex O' Brian stood up and walked away from the tree. He noticed something drop from the pocket of her jacket, waited until she was out of sight and then started walking over to the tree.

"Where are you going?" Arron Sterling asked. Arron was a tall red haired boy. He was of the muscular build, lucky for him, as he never worked out.

"I just feel like a bit of shade," Oliver lied. He had got himself into the habit of lying to his friends when he needed time alone. The hard part was that his friends weren't as interesting as they thought they were.

"Alright," Arron shrugged to his other friends. Oliver walked over to the tree and looked around.

The notebook lay on the ground, unopened. Oliver kneeled beside it

and gently picked it up. 'Alex O' Brian' was scrawled across the cover, along with the words 'Open and DIE'.

"Sweet girl you are," Oliver said aloud.

Oliver took the risk and opened the diary. It was filled with up to the last page with entries that didn't look like diary entries. He read a passage.

He took me in his strong arms and held me close to him. He brushed the hair away from my face gently, almost as if he were caressing my cheek. I tilted my head back so that he could kiss me. His lips touched mine, not demanding, unlike the other boys.

Oliver shut the book when he heard his name being called. He turned around and saw Camille Alton waving to him. He waved back and put the small book into his trouser pocket.

"What were you doing all the way over there?" Camille asked when he came back to the group.

"Nothing, really. I was just getting some fresh air, that's all," he lied for the second time.

"Why couldn't you have done that here?" She asked, twirling her light blond hair between her fingers.

"Because the air just seemed clearer over there," Oliver had no clue what to say to her questions.

"Oh. Well, I heard about this party in the Hufflepuff common room. Since I can get us in, would you like to come?" She lightly touched Oliver's shoulder.

"Sure." Oliver smiled slightly. He didn't like her and she knew that. So why was she even flirting like that?

"Great! The party is at eight o'clock on Friday. I'll meet you at the Great Hall entrance. Then we can dash off to the common room," Camille verified.

"Okay. We'll see you on Friday then," Oliver nodded.

"Well, I have to go spread the news to a few lucky others." Camille sauntered off to another group.

"She really annoys me." Oliver admitted to Arron, who was watching with laughter in his eyes.

"She does get annoying quickly, but I highly suggest not alienating her. She knows about all the parties in this school. And she does have a nice figure, even though I hate to admit it." Arron pointed out. Oliver laughed.


Alex sat on the silver love seat in the Slytherin common room. The fire was slowly burning out, making the common room darker. Alex tried to relax against the plush cushions of the couch.

She pulled her jacket over to her and reached into the pocket. She felt around the pocket for her journal. It was missing. She looked in the other pocket, hoping it was there. Alex's heart filled with dread when she didn't find it there, either.

She ran out of the castle and to the spot she had been sitting earlier and searched for the book everywhere until she came to the dire conclusion that someone must have taken her journal. At first, she thought it must have been a Slytherin, and groaned at the thought of their teasing, until a worse thought hit her. She had seen Oliver just before she lost it. Her mind swirled with the prospect of Oliver having it.

"This can't be happening." Alex frowned. She sank to her knees and couldn't find the strength to get up. "What am I going to do?"

Alex's world had fallen into pieces. Her journal was filled to the brim with the secrets of her dreams. Those dreams also held the secrets of her deepest desire. Taunting by her fellow Slytherins, she could handle. But knowing that Oliver Wood had her journal, sent chills up and down her spine.


Oliver looked out the window of the Gryffindor common room and watched as a girl fell to her knees under the tree where Alex had been earlier. He looked around the common room. He saw his friends across the room playing Wizard Chess.

The thought of reading the journal in the common room crossed Oliver's thoughts until he remembered the possibility of an empty dormitory. That sounded more appealing and he snuck off.

The dormitory was completely empty, luckily. Oliver strode over to his bed and flopped into it. He opened the journal and began reading.

August 19, 1991

About: Oliver Wood

Notes: It keeps happening. I keep dreaming about the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain. I don't even like him! Well, maybe I do but only a little.

Dream:

I was walking down to the lake when I saw him. He was sitting under my tree. He seemed to be waiting for something or, maybe, someone. I cautiously walked up, hoping not to disturb him. Unfortunately, he looked at me. Oddly enough, he smiled at me as though he had been waiting for me.

"Hi," he had an amazing smile.

"Hi," was all I could say in return.

"Would you like to sit with me?" his voice, too, was amazing. Thick with an Scottish accent. It made my heart melt in my chest.

"Yes-"

"Oy! Oliver! What are you doing up here?" Arron asked loudly. Oliver quickly stuffed the journal underneath his pillow.

"I was just sitting up here." Oliver grumbled. He had been interrupted before he could find out more about her dreams.

"Alright. We were just wondering if you might be up for a game of Exploding Snap." Arron shrugged and walked out of the room.

Oliver let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. He had almost been caught reading Alex's diary. He thought about reading it again but decided to go downstairs to the common room and play Exploding Snap so as not to raise suspicion.

"What were you reading?" Arron smiled mischievously. Maybe Arron had caught him. Maybe not.

"Nothing that you need to worry about." Oliver said lightly.

"I caught Oliver here, reading what looked like a diary. He stuffed it under his pillow before I could get a real good look." Arron was beaming as he informed the rest of their group.

"Arron, is it possible that you could be a girl. I mean with all the gossip you spread, I've been starting to wonder," Oliver retorted. Oliver had always picked his battles, and this was the one he decided to choose.

"Wood, I'm not as much a girl as you are. At least I don't write in a diary." Arron laughed. The rest of the boys looked at Oliver intently, wondering how Oliver would respond.

"Arron, even if I was a girl and even though you're my best friend, I wouldn't want to go out with you," The other boys howled.

Arron didn't have any comebacks for Oliver. "I guess you win." Oliver smiled. He always won the battles he picked.

"So, tell us about the new girl," A black haired boy to Arron's right insisted.

"Who are you talking about?" Oliver asked trying to continue on with the game and not turn beet red.

"You're turning red. Who is she?" Arron demanded, dealing out the cards.

"There is no girl. I don't like any girl!" Oliver kicked himself mentally. "That came out wrong."

"You bet it did." Justin, the boy to Arron's right observed. He set down the Ace of Clubs and looked up at Oliver.

"Now tell us who this girl is. I don't want to have to hex you." Arron taunted. Threats involving magic weren't taken lightly with Arron. He would hex you if he didn't get his way.

Oliver caved in and began telling them about the new girl he liked. He was careful to exclude all the important details, such as her name and house. Those two answers would get his head chopped off, so to speak, as well as endless taunting from Arron and their other friends.