Disclaimer: Anything that rings a bell is JK Rowling's

A/N: The fact that this was a Valentine's chapter was a happy coincidence! Enjoy!

Chapter 56: The first date

Harry's POV

"No. Come back here." I grabbed Neville by his shoulders and pulled him down the stairs.

"I'm feeling kind of sick Harry. I think the cereal wasn't fresh this morning, the milk tasted bad. I should probably just call it a day."

"Call it a day? It's eleven in the morning? You just need to relax. Everything is going to be OK."

"Yeah Nev." I looked down at the dark bed of hair leaning against the banister of the grand staircase in the Entrance Hall, "Just do what I said, and everything will be just fine."

"Wait, what? You gave him advice?" Ky gave me a toothy grin and I turned back to Neville, placing my palms firmly on his shoulders, making sure his brown eyes bore into my own, "Listen to me very, very carefully Neville. Take whatever Ky said…and throw it away. Disregard everything!"

"Hey, I happened to have given him really solid advice!"

I turned away from Neville, "Oh yeah, like what?"

She shrugged and gave me a superior look, "I can't reveal my secret art of seduction-"

"She told me to kiss Alya once she gets here." Neville gulped and dropped his voice to a whisper, "And to use tongue."

"WHAT!" I turned to Ky who was scowling at Neville for revealing their secret.

"I happen to have it on good authority that girls like men who take control of the situation! A man who isn't afraid to get his hands dirty. An assertive man. And if you do what I told you Nev, today will be a whole lot of firsts for you." She smirked, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively and held her hand out for me to high five her. She rolled her eyes when I didn't. "Look, I got your back. I even made a booking at that inn at the end of-"

"You did what?" I cannot believe this was my girlfriend, "Listen Neville, do not kiss her when she gets here. That's for after the date when you're saying bye. Or maybe even during the date but definitely not when she gets here and definitely do not use tongue! Did you hear me? Do not kiss her when she gets here. And Godric, do not mention anything about an inn. Nothing!" I gestured with my hands for emphasis, "Now…" I looked away from his red face as he nodded profusely in agreement and down at his empty hands, "It's Valentine's day…she's probably going to be expecting something…did you-"

He nodded his head and patted his pocket, "I got her something."

"That's good. I know I might be overstepping here but she's probably going to want some flowers as well-".

"But Ky said girls don't like flowers."

I turned away from the sweating Neville to stare at my grey eyed girlfriend who returned my accusatory look with one of defence "Flowers are lame."

I took a deep breath and turned to Neville, "Girls like flowers Neville. Ky doesn't like flowers but what you're probably realising now is that Ky isn't a girl. She's a demon." I ensured that the last part was said light heartedly so she knew I was joking.

Ky wasn't just like any girl but that's what made her special, but her special needs shouldn't be shoved onto the poor unsuspecting Alya. And Neville was so excited for this date…he looked two seconds away from fainting at the fact that he didn't have any flowers for her. Where could we get some in two minutes, something else just dawned on me…?

"Did Ky help you pick out the gift as well?"

He nodded, fumbling in his pocket, and then held out a small box, "She said it was really pretty and that Alya would love it." I took it and I bit my lip, afraid to open the somewhat recognisable box. I clicked it open.

"There. You want flowers, there! Flowers!" She tossed a bouquet of red roses at Neville who fumbled but closed his hands firmly around them.

"Where did you get them from?" I hadn't even realised she left.

She narrowed her eyes at me and pouted, "Like I'll tell you, Mr I'm an Expert on Dating."

I grinned at the look on her face, she hated being wrong. I was no expert, far from it, but I definitely knew more than her in this regard. My grin softened the look on her face, and she let me in on the secret, "I just confiscated it from a second year Slytherin."

"You can't confiscate things, you're not a prefect."

"She doesn't know that."

"She! You took these flowers from a twelve-year-old girl!"

"You wanted flowers!" If Neville wasn't about to elapse into a fit of anxiety, I would have laughed at her lunacy. She spotted the box in my hand and smiled triumphantly.

"Well, I'd like you to say something bad about that. I don't even like it, but I, being the bigger person, put my personal tastes aside and thought, if I was Alya Bellamy, would I like that. And guess what, she would! Because it is beautiful!"

I gulped and looked down at the sparkling diamond ring,

"I know it's a bit expensive Harry…I used most of my savings, but Alya is so worth it."

I looked at the beaming smile on Neville's face and thought about my words very carefully… "Neville, you can't give this to Alya."

"What? Why?"

I turned to Ky, "Why? Because any sane person would know that this is an engagement ring."

Neville fell to the ground, gripping the banister and settling on a step in complete shock. Ky rushed forward, "That's not an engagement ring!"

"Then why does the label under the box read…The Question Popper."

"This explains why the receipt said congratulations…"Neville buried his hands in his face and a few students laughed at him as they walked passed but stopped as Ky glared at them.

I dropped to the step next to him, "Look Neville, don't worry about it. You ordered it at the Jewellers in Hogsmeade, right? We'll sneak in and swap it for something else whilst Ky," I looked sternly at her and she turned her nose up at me, "Distracts Alya. Everything is going to be OK." He didn't look like he believed a word I said, "Hey, did you or did you not execute the perfect stunning charm during our last DA meeting? Not to mention a textbook disarming charm…you've got this. I have faith in you." He finally pulled his hands away from his face, the words that just fell out of my mouth seemed to affect him more than I could understand,

"Really?"

"Of course Neville." Ky once said that we didn't spend enough time with him…that we didn't let him know that we actually counted him amongst our inner circle. This was one thing Ky was actually right about.

"Is everything alright?"

I jumped off the step and Neville followed suit at the sound of the soft voice. Alya Bellamy hovered on the step above us in confusion, worry shining in her electric blue eyes.

"Wow…you look…wow."

Her cheeks flushed red, and she pushed a black curl self-consciously behind her ear at Neville's loss for words. I nudged him and he seemed to fall back to earth. I nodded my head down at the flowers in his hands, but his brown eyes would look at nothing but Alya.

"I do hope those are for me Neville?"

"Huh. Oh yes…of course." He fumbled onto the step above,

"I love them, they're beautiful."

Ky gave me a superior smirk as if the compliment was directed at her and I shook my head at her. She seemed to forget that she didn't pick out those flowers, she stole them.

Neville quickly backed down to our step again as Alya made to kiss him on the cheek in gratitude and I closed my eyes at the move, maybe I shouldn't have stressed not kissing her so extensively, I should have added a 'if she initiates it, go for it' clause.

I ignored Ky's 'I told you he should kiss her once she got here' stare and turned to the Hufflepuff, "Hello Alya."

"Hello Harry. Hi teammate!"

She smiled at us both and my smile widened at the forced smile on Ky's face. I stopped, letting Neville, who finally snapped out of his trance, walk ahead with Alya, whilst Ky glared at me for laughing at what Alya called her. To say that she didn't enjoy having to, albeit lethargically, hoist pom poms at the last quidditch match was a gross understatement.

"Oh, shut it."

"I didn't say anything."

"Oh well that's a shocker. Since when did you become ever so knowledgeable about the dating world?"

"Well, I have to keep my skills sharp, any day now I could have to search for a new girlfriend." She rolled her grey eyes at the joke and I took a step closer to her as we made our way down the grounds, tucking her into my side so as to protect her from the wind, "I nabbed you didn't I. I must be the most suave and skilled guy to achieve such an accomplishment."

She tried hiding the blush at the compliment and shoved her arms around my waist, "Thanks for not getting me flowers Harry."

"Thanks for wearing Esmeralda today, Ky." She laughed and it echoed through the grounds at the reference I made to my favourite garment she owned which peeked through her tee, a lacy black bra that I liked on her almost as much as I liked it off her.

-x-x-x-

"-and everybody started frantically adding the numbers together. Thank you." I paused to thank the waiter who brought us our butterbeers in the Three Broomsticks, "Where was I…oh yes. We're all trying to add the points together and of course Hermione is the first to realise that we're dead square with Slytherin for the House cup. Absolute draw! So close to winning it…and then." I clapped Neville on the shoulder, and he blushed into his plate of chips, "Dumbledore awards Neville points…"

"And you guys won the cup! You won your house the House cup in your very first year?" Alya looked at Neville, eyes brimming with hero worship.

"Well, it was only te-"

"And then there was the time that-" I couldn't remember any more stories to help Neville and I looked to Ky who was too distracted eating her burger. I kicked her softly under the table and she glowered at me in annoyance but joined in the cause, completed my sentence.

"…that time that…he took Ginny to the Yule Ball and…she still says that that was the best date that she has ever been on. And let's not forget she kissed Blaise Zabini."

What? I was pretty sure Ginny never said that and I'm not sure Ky should be bringing up past dates with other girls! She gave me a knowing look in response to my quizzical one,

"You never told me you took Ginny Weasley to the Yule Ball last year."

"Er…I…Er…"

A thoughtful expression crossed Alya's face, "She's really pretty. Why didn't it work out?"

"Oh, it wasn't anything like that. She just wanted to go the ball but only fourth years and older were allowed to so she went with me."

Alya looked like she didn't believe him but the fact that he went to the ball with Ginny didn't seem to upset her…actually she kind of looked keener on him. They started a conversation, and I turned back to Ky, "You know you never did tell me what happened on your Yule Ball date."

"I went with Draco Malfoy. What did you think it was like?" I don't really know the specifics and I don't think Ky did either, but Malfoy was ignoring her of late, save for his snarky comments. He even got in my way when I was rushing her to the hospital wing when that bludger hit her. This surprised me, because I knew that Malfoy and Ky had some sort of civil relationship with each other, which had a lot to do with the Newspaper debacle she told me about. In the end, I was right about him. Malfoy was a prat who was impossible to even attempt friendship with. Whatever civil relationship they had, had disintegrated and he showed his true snake colours. Ky for all her intelligence didn't realise that his drop in civility coincided with a specific time, the day we officially started dating. But I did, and I was well aware that he had some sort of feelings for her. I say some sort because I doubt his capable of genuine feelings.

"You never did tell me what happened on your date with Chang."

I smiled at her, remembering the day we kissed in her lab. I leaned in close and whispered, "It ended in a way that changed my life forever."

She grinned and suddenly the table was at my chest, drink spilling everywhere, Alya and Neville looked at me in shock,

"Sorry…" I banged my chest lightly, "Down the wrong pipe."

"Here, have some water."

I took the water from Neville, grateful that Ky and I were sitting on the inside of the booth, so nobody could see that Ky had pressed her bare foot and was still pressing her bare foot against my…happy place. Luckily choking could take the blame for my red face. She smiled and I didn't dare make a sound, preventing the sounds of pleasure my lips were aching to make. I pretended to take in the menu again, adding more cover to the sinfully good thing she was doing by opening it in front of me. It felt like the hottest day of Summer in this booth.

Minutes later she lowered her foot, and I loosened my death grip on the table, feeling as if the whole pub could see what we were doing but Neville and Alya were too engrossed in their own conversation to even pass us a side long glance. I cleared my throat and relaxed back into my chair,

"A thank you would have sufficed."

She smiled at me, her grey eyes dancing with joy at what she just did, "And where's the fun in that?"

I tipped back my butterbeer and drank it in one go, relishing the look on her face.

"So, are you guys up for it?"

I put down the glass and wiped my lips, "Sorry? What?"

Alya smiled at the look on my face, "I haven't seen the Shrieking Shack before, and I would really like…to. Is everything OK?"

My face was apparently a mirror of my feelings at the mention of that place…that was the place where Ky was nearly…

"Sure. I just need to go to the ladies and we'll head on up there."

"I'll come with you."

I turned wide eyed at Ky as she and Alya left the table. She returned my look with a discreet tap on her ring finger, reminding me that Neville and I had something to do. We'd have to discuss this afterwards.

"I have to check on something with Ron. I won't be long; we'll see you ladies outside the shop." They both nodded and Neville and I paid the bill and crossed the full pub, stopping at the gents for a quick skurge of the situation Ky left behind in my trousers. Before leaving the pub I turned to look at Ky, who was chatting animatedly with Alya at the bar, not bothered in the least bit.

Did she really just agree to go to the Shrieking Shack! What was she thinking? Was she thinking at all?

"There it is." I followed Neville across the road and into the glossy shop, Question Poppers. Despite its somewhat tacky name it was very posh, and the walls were lined with jewellery in an array of metals.

"-I am sorry but-"

"You don't understand. The last time I came here the price said eighty galleons. And now it's a hundred."

"I am very sorry young man." The grey-haired man behind the counter didn't seem it at all though, "But the last time you came in this shop was six months ago, hence the price increase. Now if you cannot purchase the ring, I have other customers to see too." The old man turned his blue-eyed gaze on us, "Good day gentlemen."

The other man barged out of the shop, Neville and I both looking at his exit. He looked familiar.

"I need to exchange this for something else."

The man looked down at the box and the receipt, "I am afraid I cannot help you; we do not allow exchanges to be done past a month of purchase."

"But it's only a day passed-"

I stepped forward, "Hello. We are aware of your policy but if you can please find it-"

"You're Harry Potter."

I stopped talking and gritted my teeth, fuck…it's been months since I had to put up with this. But then…when the opportunity presented itself…Neville owed me big time for this.

"Yes. Yes, I am…and I would think it a…personal favour if you could-"

"Say no more Mr Potter." I closed my eyes, this was the very treatment I loathed and yet here I stood, "Now what would you lads like instead. There's a new necklace just come in from Paris."

I turned to Neville, but he was looking out the window, "Neville?"

"Err… on second thoughts, never mind." He turned and rushed out the shop, the old man gave me a confused look,

"Er…thanks."

I rushed out after Neville who was halfway down the street. I watched as he entered Zonko's and had already exited by the time I reached him, "Neville, what is going on?"

"Hey!" I turned to the man who rushed out of Zonko's after Neville. It was the same guy who was just at the jewellers. "You left this on the counter kid." I realised why he was familiar now, he worked here. He held the box out to Neville.

"Ahh no Mr. I think you have the wrong person. I've never seen that box before in my life."

The man who was in his late twenties looked half disbelieving, half angry at the lie, "Listen here Kid. I saw you in Poppers, I don't need anybody's charity and definitely nobodies' pity."

"It's not-"

"Just take it back!"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

I realised what Neville tried to do, and even though it was very noble I also understood where the other guy was coming from, "Look. I'm sorry. My friend didn't mean to disrespect you. He doesn't need the ring, so you would be doing him a real favour by buying it off him."

The man narrowed his eyes at me and popped open the box. I could tell he really wanted it but then snapped it shut, "I'm sorry kid, I don't think I can pay you what you want."

"Well, you haven't even heard how much he wants for it."

He thought for a second, his chin length blonde hair clouding his face, "How much?"

"Eighty galleons."

"You paid eighty galleons for this ring?"

I cut across Neville, knowing he would be too honest, "No. Ninety, but he has had it over a month so can't exactly sell it to you at the original price."

The man's blue eyes stormed with thought and then he nodded his head, taking out a pouch of coins and handing it to Neville. They shook hands and I nodded at him turning to Neville,

"You were just going to give the ring away?"

"Well…I didn't need it and he sure looked like he did."

"And what were you going to buy for Alya once you threw over a hundred galleons away?"

He blushed and dipped his head, "I didn't think that far."

I shook my head, he may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but his heart was in the right place, "Come on, let's get you that necklace. Before you decide to donate that gold to some other cause."

A/N: A Valentine's day chapter! It isn't finished but I didn't want the chapter to be too long. How do you guys like this confident Harry?

Alya and Neville? Yay or Nay?

Please review and let me know what you think

Kalina