Disclaimer: It's still a Sue-fic, people! JKR. Not mine. Got it?

Chapter Thirteen: Single White Idiot

January came and went with no more mid-afternoon escapades from me or Harry (after a tongue lashing from Hermione and a "why-didn't-you-ask-me" from Ron). The four of us settled into the end of January and the beginning of February by getting ready for our O.W.L.s every evening and occasionally finding an hour or two just to chill out in the common room. Malfoy's little business endeavor never did pan out and Harry and I were on good terms again after our little weirdness. Before any of us realized it, the middle of February was upon us and so was another Hogsmeade weekend. Not just any weekend—Valentine's Day weekend. The Friday nights before a Hogsmeade weekend were always filled with talks about what to do in town, who would be going with who, and other assorted gossip. That was idle chitchat compared to the storm Hermione and I walked into the night before Valentine's Day.

"Oooh! Hermione, you're going with Ron, right?" Lavender Brown exclaimed from her bed.

Hermione and I had barely gotten into the room before the wave of girlish whimsy hit us full force. Lavender and Parvati Patil were hunched over Lavender's bed over what appeared to be a pile of clothes and were giggling like—well—schoolgirls. Hermione looked at me and arched an eyebrow. We were getting fairly adept at reading each other's minds—like now when she was saying, "Do we have a whole night of this?" I laughed as she flung her books onto her bed.

"I assume you're talking about V-day plans?" I asked.

"Of course!" Parvati rolled her eyes, "So what about it, Hermione? Are you and Ron…" she trailed off.

"We're spending part of the day together, yes." Hermione answered, but didn't look up. I could tell she was blushing without even looking at her. Things between her and Ron had been—shall we say, "heating up"—the last few months. I think the kicker was when they were pounced on by Peeves one evening as they were leaving the library hand in hand. I hadn't been able to get all the details, but I did find that a tangled tapestry and large quantities of water had been involved. I think they'd begun to feel like they were neglecting Harry because lately they'd been hanging around the common room more often. Ron and Harry had been spending more time together, which had left Hermione and me with "girl time"—however, with Hermione, it always turned into "study time".

"Do you guys have dates?" I asked as I slid into my flannel pajamas.

Giggles ensued. "Parvati is going with Dean Thomas and I'm going with Justin Finch-Fletchley. What about you, Reggie?" Lavender asked.

Hermione tied her hair up into a loose ponytail as she stepped over near the basin to wash her face. She turned to me for a moment and grinned, "Yes, Reggie—what are your plans for tomorrow?"

I smirked and stuck out my tongue as I pushed a bandana over my brow to keep my bangs away. I was hoping my sarcasm would keep the vultures at bay long enough for me to come up with an excuse. Finding a date hadn't even occurred to me until we'd stepped into the room. You don't really believe that, do you? My mind was still pointing and laughing at me—it was a lie. Harry hadn't mentioned anything about the weekend even after Ron had told him that he and Hermione were spending part of the day together. Oh, sure we were all supposed to meet up later that day and hang out, but it still left that big gap of time—nearly four hours for Harry and I to wallow in our single status. But at least you can wallow together, I told myself. Does wallowing make a date? You can be miserable on a date—can't you?

"Well, Reg?" Parvati asked, breaking my train of thought, "Are you and Harry going out?"

"Huh? Oh! No!" I exclaimed. It sounded forced even as I said it, "I mean, we're hanging out—at least I think we are, but it's not a date thing. More of a moral support thing—showing up single together, ya know?" You're babbling again, moron!

"I thought Harry was going with Cho," Lavender commented.

I choked on my toothbrush, which made Hermione stifle another giggle at my expense. The comment caught me by surprise because Harry hadn't said anything about his plans for tomorrow. I thought we were still getting together—come to think of it we hadn't actually made our plans solid.

"Yeah, hang on a minute." I spit out into the basin and wiped my mouth, "Lemme ask him quick." I strode out the door and made my way down the stairs.

It was well after midnight and when Hermione and I had left we (plus Harry and Ron) were the only ones still down in the common room. I was just coming around to the end of the winding staircase when I caught a snippet of conversation.

"So are you and Reggie…" Ron trailed off.

"I don't know, Ron," Harry muttered, "I mean, we're supposed to get together tomorrow and hang out, but I don't think it's a date. I mean, I don't think."

Jesus, he sounds worse than I do.

"What about you and Hermione?"

"Well, we're just going to walk around the shops, I think. Maybe stop in the Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer—maybe lunch. You guys should come!"

"It's your date, Ron. I don't think Hermione would be too happy with you if we tagged along."

"It's Hermione!"

"Exactly."

"Alright, so what are you and Reggie gonna do all afternoon by yourselves?"

Harry was silent. He was as dumbstruck as I was. This could've been the opportune moment to slide nonchalantly into the room and ask if we were hanging out tomorrow—re-establish the whole "we're-hanging-out-as-friends-and-nothing-more" plan. What if it really were a date tomorrow…would that be so bad? Harry and I had been friends since the moment we'd met on the Hogwarts Express—together we'd served detention, played pranks, and cut classes. His friendship had come to be one of the few stabilities in my life—you just don't think of your friends in that way. Ron and Hermione do. Well, they were the exception to the rule. Somehow, they'd managed to tread that shaky ground between dating and friendship and had survived thus far, but I wasn't ready to take that chance with Harry. Just go out there and ask if he still wants to hang out tomorrow. Ask about Zonkos! Ask about—

"Reggie?"

I screamed and fell down the last few steps, landing flat on my back at the bottom of the stairs. Looking up, I could see Hermione clasp her hand to her mouth in something of horror and amusement. At least someone thought it was remotely funny—I couldn't feel my legs.

"Reg, are you okay?" Ron and Harry sprang up from their chairs by the fireplace and were over beside me. They at least had the decency to look concerned.

I winced as I sat up, "Yeah. Fine. Ow." I pushed myself up to my feet, "I was just coming down to see if—"

"We're still on for tomorrow? Yeah," Harry said, offering an arm for me to lean on, "Hogsmeade, right?"

"Yeah," I muttered. I leaned on him for a moment getting my balance back. I out of the corner of my eye I could see Ron and Hermione exchanging a smirk. I wanted to smack it off their faces, but the throbbing pain in my lower back distracted me too much to take aim.

"Graceful, as always, Reg." Ron laughed.

"Shut up," I smirked.

"Did you want to grab lunch down in Hogsmeade tomorrow?" Harry asked.

I looked over at him, as I finally stood on my own. His face looked flushed, but I had a sneaking suspicion that didn't have anything to do with being near the fireplace. His eyes were shifting between the floor and my face while his mouth kept twitching with a nervous smile. Yes. Say yes. SAY YES, STUPID!

"Y-yes." I finally stuttered, "I mean, yeah, that sounds good." I started fidgeting with the edge of my t-shirt.

"Okay. How about we meet down by the Great Hall tomorrow. Say noon?" Harry smiled.

"Sure. It's a—plan." You wanted to say date. Admit it.

"Okay, then. Now that you two are settled," Hermione grabbed my arm and started dragging me back up the stairs, "We'll see you both tomorrow!"

I barely had a chance to wave goodnight to Harry and Ron before Hermione had flown up the stairs and hurled me back into the room. Lavender and Parvati were still hunched over the bed, but looked up as we made our grand entrance.

"So what happened?" Lavender squealed.

"They have a date," Hermione said, grinning at me.

"We do not," I muttered as I walked over to my bed, "We're just meeting up to have lunch tomorrow."

"What are you going to wear?" Parvati chimed in.

"I dunno. Clothes," I said, "The usual jeans and t-shirt."

"No no no," Hermione said. She crossed the room and dragged me to my feet again, "We're going to have to do something about your outfit tomorrow. You can't go on a date—"

"I'm not going on a date with Harry!"

"—Looking like, well, you." Hermione finished, smirking at her little comment.

"Ha ha," I said as I rolled my eyes.

"Reg, seriously. He's meeting you tomorrow." Hermione said.

"Yeah."

"For lunch."

"So?"

"He asked to meet you on Valentine's Day to go into town for lunch."

"Duh."

"Just the two of you."

"Ummm…yeah."

"Alone."

Crap.