"That's my favorite t-shirt, but you may wear it." He said, flashing his most charming smile. Hermione held on her table, so she would not fall on the floor from the dazzling smile she just received. Harry slipped in his "bed", bare-chested and Hermione did the same, but not bare-chested, of course. He was not able to sleep at all. He had his arms behind his head, and was staring at the ceiling, without really seeing it. He was trying to resist to the impulse of jumping on Hermione and. well, you know. He had been trained to fight against Death Eaters, Dementors and even Voldemort, but never against male hormones. How could she ever fall for someone who's the target of a serial killer for now almost 16 years? Criss-cross hairs and an ugly scar in the right middle of the forehead. Never listening to teachers and doing what pleases me when it pleases me. That's just impossible for her to be in love with me. These were the thoughts that were constantly running through his head. He finally got to sleep, thinking that he was working the next morning. Hermione woke him up at 7o clock, and he got up at once, making Hermione blush because he was almost naked. He dressed up fast and went downstairs with her. They stepped in the large kitchen and saw Alan in deep conversation with a girl Harry had not see the day before. "Lauren!!!!!" Hermione screamed. The girl turned around and screamed "Mione!!!!!" and Hermione jumped in her arms. Seeing the puzzled look on Harry's face, Hermione giggled. "This is my godmother, Lauren Malis. Lauren, this is Harry Potter, my best friend." Hermione said, smiling broadly. "Hello, Mrs. Malis." Harry said, in a polite voice. "Hello Harry, and don't call me "Mrs. Malis" but Lauren." Lauren said, with a small laugh. "When are we starting, Alan?" Harry asked. "Uhm. Off for today, what d'you say? I'll pay you anyway, OK?" He said, blushing slightly and looking at Lauren hopefully. "OK, cool, but you don't need to pay me; I don't really need the money." Harry said, catching the hint. Alan smiled broadly at him, and Harry turned to Hermione. "Should we eat, pretty lady?" he said, before he could stop himself. She blushed furiously and said "Yes, sweet-talker." Harry laughed and they ate calmly, while listening to Alan and Lauren's conversation. It just dawned on Harry that Alan didn't have a girlfriend nor Lauren had a boyfriend. He looked at Hermione and she gave him the look that she knew what they were doing. "They're flirting! My Godmother with your Boss! Well, good thing he came here. Lauren was feeling lonely these times." Hermione said. "Yeah, well, Alan told me that he could do with a girl in his life. You should see his apartment and his warehouse. I never saw a mess like that. He doesn't eat well neither. Always fast food and stuff." Harry said. Harry and Hermione were thinking the same lines. Get Alan and Lauren together before the moving finished. But it seemed that they didn't need their help after all. Each time they were talking, Lauren stopped in the middle of a sentence to sigh and smile, and Alan was acting. just not like the typical macho Alan. Hermione asked Harry what he wanted to do on his free day. "I was thinking of going at the mall buy myself some new clothes, I didn't work for nothing." Harry said. "OK, that should be fun!" Hermione said excitedly, thinking of what she would tell the girls in their dorm about going shopping with the famous Harry Potter. So they each went to take a shower (NO! Not in the same!) And Harry dressed up nicely to go out with Hermione. He looked in his wallet and made quick calculations on how much he could spend on Hermione. They went downstairs and Hermione asked her dad if she could borrow his brand new Honda S2000. Her father just smiled and gave her the keys. "Who'll drive?" He asked, his voice now skeptical. "Harry will, he had his license 2 weeks ago and Alan made him drive the truck every time they went out." Hermione said, proud of her best friend. "OK, but bring it back in one piece!" Mr. Granger said, joking. Harry went to take one of his CD and they went in the black car. He putted the CD in the radio and pressed Play. The beat "Murderah" from Eazy-E started and Harry played with the buttons of the Treble and Bass to have the best sound. They got out of the garage and Harry drove carefully until they reached the corner. The moment he turned it, he pressed on the accelerator and they started zig-zagging between cars. Harry was a very good driver, due to Quidditch; he had the reflexes of seeing the obstacles faster. Hermione was holding on her seat, her knuckles white and her face red with a mixture of fear, excitement, shock, passion, anger and love for the man who was driving the car. Two times, Harry yelled after old blokes that were blocking the traffic because they were rolling like 50km/h (which was in fact the limit.) They arrived at a light and they were first in the line. Next to them was another sports car, an Eclipse from Mitsubishi. The guy was with his girlfriend. He looked at Harry and said "Yo! How much does this car goes top-speed?" "More than your ride can handle, fuckin punk." Harry said fiercely without even looking at him. The guy pressed on the accelerator a couple of times, to force Harry in a drag race. Harry looked at the guy, and he took out a stack of money. Harry did the same. Hermione looked at Harry with a look that meant that she didn't understand a single thing. Harry just asked her "Do you trust me?" "Yes, I do." She responded at once, her voice not hiding the apprehension at what was going to happen. Harry pressed on the accelerator too, and they both waited for the light to turn green. The guy in the Eclipse looked at Harry and pointed to a sign post, about 500 meters away. Harry only nodded, and readied himself. The light turned green and both cars went off top speed. Harry was having the advantage. The S2000 was far more powerful than the Eclipse. Harry was about ten meters in front of the guy, and Hermione was holding on her seat, as if it was her only chance to live. 120, 130, 140, 150, 160, the car was now 175 km/h and way ahead of the guy's car. Harry arrived first at the signpost and he stopped in the parking of a small shabby restaurant. The guy stopped next to Harry, and got out of the car. Harry got out too, and putted his hand out. The guy dropped the stack of money in Harry's palm, and went back in his car, cursing the S2000, Harry, Hermione, and about everything that was Honda. Harry laughed and counted the money. It totalized. "Wow! 500 pounds! What was that you just did, Harry???" Hermione asked, her voice still shaking. "That was a drag race. The guy gave me a challenge, when he pressed a couple of times on the accelerator. He showed the money, which meant it was obviously for money. To accept the challenge, I had to show him an equal amount of money. And you know the rest." Harry finished, dreading Hermione's reaction. He was shared between two thoughts, or she would curse him to thousands little pieces screaming that he could have killed them both and break the brand new car of her father, or she would simply strangle him. "YOU COULD HAVE KILLED US! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING????? IF YOU EVER DO THIS AGAIN I'LL- I'LL- I'LL KILL YOU!!!!!!!!" She yelled at the top of her lungs. "Damn, calm down Mione. I didn't kill us, and I was thinking, well, I- I wanted to impress you, but looks like it didn't work. Sorry" he said sadly, looking at his feets. Hermione looked shocked on the outside, but deep inside, she was totally impressed. Harry was a really good driver. Now he looked as if he would never drive one km ahead of the limit.