Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, Hogwarts or anything else linked to the books. They all belong to J. K. Rowling. I'm just borrowing them to mess around with. Vincent and Damon both belong to me, I think…

Chapter 3

For weeks I hid my growing feelings for my best friend. It was difficult sometimes, during lessons I'd just sit there watching him out of the corner of my eye. It was torture not being able to tell him how I felt. He noticed that something was wrong almost straight away; he said that I seemed nervous around him; that I didn't seem to be able to look him in the eye. I just tried to laugh it off, make out that nothing was wrong. If he didn't believe me, he didn't say anything. I guess he just thought that if anything was seriously wrong, I would tell him in time. And if it were anything else, I probably would have told him. After all, Vincent was a good friend and I trusted him completely. But how could I tell him that I was in love with him?

We spent most of our time together, having only one or two lessons apart. And the more we were together, the more I worried about him finding out how I felt. Because I always hung onto his every word, I soon noticed that he didn't tend to talk about girls as much as the other guys I knew, but I also gathered that his father had never permitted him to mix with people his own age and therefore he was very inexperienced in relationships. I had no idea how he would react if he ever found out, part of me hoped that just maybe he would feel the same way, but I also knew that he could be angry or disgusted, knowing that I thought about him sexually. He was the only real friend I had ever had and the fear of him rejecting me is what made me keep my feelings to myself. Until one day I could take it no more…

On Valentine's Day, when all the students were sending each other cards, I sent him one. On the front, it had a picture of two wolves howling at the moon and on the inside were the words 'I noticed you a very long time ago. I just wish that you would finally notice me'

As we sat down to breakfast, Vincent was obviously amused to see the pile of cards that greeted me. Percy had one; no doubt from his girlfriend, and Damon had two. Vincent had three and after pushing my cards aside, I waited anxiously to see whom the other two were from. One was a rather cute one, from Harry Potter's friend, Hermione. The other had some romantic poem inside, which Vincent immediately laughed at and threw aside. Damon picked it up, just as the twins made a grab for it. He read it thoughtfully, glanced up at Vincent and smirked.

"Who is this girl?" he asked. "She seems rather keen on you"

"Someone who's father was employed to work for mine" Vincent said with a shrug, proceeding to open my card. "Haven't seen her for over two years, but she still insists on sending me these stupid cards. It is enough to drive you mad"

He pulled my card out of the envelope and read it. As he did he gave a smile and I knew he liked it. I was glad, since I did have a few regrets after sending it. I just wondered if he would figure out that it was me who sent it to him.

He didn't. Unfortunately. But he did put it on his bedside table and I noticed that he looked at it every time he walked past. I did ask him once, perfectly normally, if he had any idea who could have sent it. He looked faintly amused and shook his head.

"Could have been any number of people," he said casually. "The handwriting has been cleverly changed. I don't recognise it. I'm awfully curious though, I must say"

The next couple of weeks flew by and I began to find that my feelings were becoming too much to handle. It was getting far too hard, being around him but not being able to be close to him. I wanted to touch him, kiss him, run my fingers through his gorgeous dark hair, but I couldn't and it was killing me. So one night, I lay awake and though through my options. I couldn't tell him; that was out of the question. If he rejected me and the other students heard about it, I would never live it down. I would lose the last little bit of dignity and self-respect that I had if that happened.

Finally, in the early hours of the morning, I decided that there was only one more thing I could do…