As Much As I Ever Could {dramione}

Chapter 2

"So... Malfoy."

Hermione blinked, her mug halfway to her mouth. Ginny was giving her a scrutinizing look that had little to do with the display of caffeine that her pregnant self was unable to have.

"Yes."

They had officially unofficially been dating for a week and a half now. And dating Malfoy was every bit exhausting as Hermione always expected it to be.

He was clingy . If he wasn't taking her out to dinner, he was inviting himself over to her flat to take advantage of her fully stocked fridge, a habit she had acquired from her brief involvement with Ron.

But Hermione valued her alone time. A habit she had acquired from her not brief stint with Cormac, who had made himself entirely too comfortable sharing her space. The last straw was when he had refused to return to his apartment for clean clothes and had opted to use her underwear instead. After that, Hermione believe in the importance of personal space.

But with Malfoy... as much as she wanted him to leave, she wanted him to stay. He almost did, once. They had fallen asleep on the couch towards the end of a movie (something Malfoy loved about the muggle world) with her head resting against his shoulder.

He had actually fallen asleep first, little wispy puffs of air and slumped shoulders. And for some reason, Hermione made a conscious effort to stay still and quiet, hoping to not rouse him. And she fell asleep that way too.

It was still dark when she had woken up. The telly was stuck on a blue screen, the movie long over, and a blanket was thrown over Hermione's body. He was gone. And she had an awful kink in her neck for the rest of the day.

The dinners she could understand. Public displays of their new romance to convince Olivia that there really was something there, if the pictures in the Prophet had anything to say about it. The past two weeks she had graced the cover more than ever before and she hated the effort she now had to put into making sure she never had a double chin.

Pictures of them dining at lavish restaurants, laughing at each other's jokes, lightly grazing fingers (which was completely for the pictures benefit, thank you very much). If she were Olivia, she would be entirely convinced.

What she couldn't understand was the excessive time alone. There were no reporters in her flat. No opportunity for Olivia to see them out. And yet, here he was almost every other night.

It was because they were friends , Hermione decided. Friends were allowed to spend time alone together. Friends cooked dinner together, wiping flour on each other's noses and helping pick egg shells out of her hair. Friends watched movies until late in the evening, pressed up against one another on her small couch. Didnt they?

Even though it was odd, she was worried that if she called any attention to it; he would stop coming all together.

Up until now, she had completely avoided any interaction with Ginny. She knew if anyone were to sniff out their lie, it would be here. Between a multitude of brothers and her penchant for troublemaking (and thus, talking herself out of consequences), Ginny was a lying connoisseur.

But Ginny had off on Fridays. Knew Hermione would have off the day before the Ministry ball. And somehow had weaseled (no pun intended) her way into Hermione's flat with fresh donuts and coffee, something Hermione couldn't resist.

"And how long has this been going on?"

"A while." Hermione set down her coffee, folding her hands together so she wouldn't pick at her fingers nervously.

"Hm," Ginny narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing Hermione's form. For a moment, a lump formed in her throat. Did Ginny know? Until her friend sighed, picking up another donut from the box. "Well I can't say I'm surprised. I only wish you told me sooner. I know we're not actually sisters, but I like to think of each other as such. Kind of rude I wouldn't be one of the first to know."