The more she thinks about it, the more likely it is to drive her up a wall. Draco Malfoy is a lot of things—handsome, bright, intelligent. But mainly, he is conceited, arrogant and sosoannoying. So really, she doesn't give him much credit, does she? And by the low standards she has bastardized unto him, it's no wonder that she was so easily impressed about himnotbeing such a complete and total arse. Logically speaking, if she thought more highly of him she would she would be more prone to disappointment.
But still, it's kind of a spectacle when he starts being nice to her all of a sudden. Even if it is under a veil of insults.
The first time, they collide.
Like, they actuallycollide.Hermione is mature enough that she admits to it being partly her fault, as her mind was wondering to the rather interesting theory they discussed in Arithmancy earlier that day. As a result, she wasn't really paying attention to her surroundings. That being said, her mind wandering off into other planes of existence doesn't really explain why Draco did not move away.
The collision caused her to lose her balance, and her book bag (which really filled the connotations of book bag, by the way) was dropped along with her precious books—all of which were splayed across the floor. Before she has the time to maybe possibly maim whoever's dared to bump into her, she hears a familiar groan and then she thinksof course it's fucking Malfoyandreally, really?
"Granger, seriously? Can't you watch where you're going?" And then he stands up and extends his hand. She flinches before she realizes that he's just offering her a hand, and he rolls his eyes. "I'm not going to slap you, you idiot. Come on, up now."
Ignoring his hand, she stands up and dusts off her robe and starts to pick up her books. "Why can'tyoumove out of the way?" She says, and Malfoy ignores her. Malfoy wordlessly drops to the floor—see? Spectacle!—and starts tohelp herand then, when all of the books have been gathered, he violently pulls her book bag from her grasp and shoves all of her tomes inside of it.
"What—"
Malfoy shushes her and says, "Jesus Christ, Granger. Do you want to get scoliosis or something? This bag is heavy as all hell." He pulls his wand out of his robesand does a kind of flourish towards her bag. "I mean, I get that you're the biggest intellectual known to mankind, but can you please refrain from dying until you find the cure to lycanthropy or vampirism or something?"
He then proceeds to hand her book bag back to her using just his pinky finger, and before she thinks about something stupid like asking herself how he's doing that with his pinky finger, he drops it into her hands and then she realizes that he's put a feather-light enchantment on it. He is gone before she can thank him.
During dinner time, she is still totally thinking about that encounter when Harry unceremoniously plops down on the bench beside her, Ron doing the same across from her. After biting into a piece of chicken, Ron says, "How was your day, Hermione?" and that was when she stepped out of her head.
"Oh, um—" and she sneaks a glance at the Slytherin table where Malfoy was laughing and smiling and talking with his friends and totally not looking at her, "—actually, something odd did happen."
"Odd?" Harry asks, while piling some mashed potatoes unto his plate. Ron looks at her expectantly, and she takes a sip of her pumpkin juice.
"Well, yes. I bumped into Malfoy—"
"Bloodyferret." Says Ron.
"—after Arithmancy. Well, actually I kind of collided with him and—"
"I bet he did that on purpose." Grumbles Harry.
"—my books kind of spilled everywhere, and I kind of fell on my bum—"
"I'll hex him, I swear I will." Threatens Ron.
"—and he helped me gather my books and then he kind of violently took my book bag from my grasp—"
"Wait... what?" Demands Harry as he and Ron share a significant look.
"—then he put a weightless charm unto it." Hermione finishes. Harry kind of just looks gobsmacked, and Ron looks like he can't believe what he's just heard. Hermione just shrugs and shoves some peas into her mouth.
"I mean, it's odd." Harry says.Well spotted. "Reckon he's plotting something?"
"Plotting something? You think he has enough brain cells for that?" Ron just kind of rolls his eyes and shakes his head.
"He put a weightless charm on my bag, Harry. I doubt he's plotting a murder." Hermione says, and Harry just shrugs.
"To plot doesn't really mean to follow through." And in the manic way that only Harry could pull off, he kind of does this shiver thing then he shakes his hand before he puts it under his chin. "Or whatever—anyways, I was wondering if you could help me with the Charms essay, 'Mione."
The Charms essay was due tomorrow. "Sure, how far along are you?"
Harry gives this kind of sheepish grin and she just knows that he hasn't done nearly enough. She just rolls her eyes when Ron gives her the same look.
She wasn't really asking for a lot right? Just that they do their homework, right? It's not thathardhonestly. Merlin, these boys.
"Fine. I'll help you with your damned Charms essay. We'll go the library after dinner."
At the library after dinner, the second thing happens. Hermione excuses herself from their table to look for that one specific book on that one specific topic that they needed for one specific part of the Charms essay.
When she finally finds it, it is on the topmost part of the stacks. Just her luck, Merlin forbid that bookshelves actually be height appropriate. How impractical.
She's trying to reach up to get it when she hears the sound of footsteps and then catches sight of the book flying through the air and into her palm. She looks at the direction of the book-getter-helper and then sees that particular shade of blonde that made her want to curl up into a ball and maybe just die or something.
"Have you forgotten that you're a witch, Granger?" He rolls his eyes and shakes his head. "And here I was, thinking that you were brilliant and clever and you don't even know how to get a book that's out of reach. How forgetful of you."
"Thank you, Malfoy." She says as Malfoy reaches up to get a tome from a high shelf. He takes the book and then turns—almost dramatically, Hermione thinks—and then he smirks at her and rolls his eyes.
"Don't be so dramatic, Granger." And then he chuckles deeply, and Hermione thinks that she can feel the sound to her toes. "No need to start beingniceto me—" how ironic, "—but anyways you're welcome."
And then he smirks at her one last time, leaving her dazed in his wake. Damn that Malfoy guy, damn him.
There was basically radio silence over the next few days after the library incident, and Hermione thinks nothing of it. She's crying into the ridiculous Potions essay Professor Snape has given to her as a punishment for being an 'insufferable know-it-all' in class and she's almost at the point where she's going to start tearing her hair out.
It wasn'therfault that Neville's cauldron was smoking. She was just trying to bloody help him get it together. Goddamn Professor Snape and his goddamn compulsive need to make Gryffindors suffer. Next time, maybe she'll just make her potion blow up. Just to spite him. Maybe—possibly. Probably not.
She's tucked into a seat in middle of the selves in the library and she violently shoves her quill into it's holder when she notices a certain blonde walking towards her table with purpose. She is, of course, alarmed at the inevitability of Malfoy catching her puffy eyes and cheeks, and she starts to viciously rub her tears away.
He slams the library books that he has gathered unto the table she was sitting at and then proceeds to sit on the chair across from her. She just kind of gapes at him as he glares at her and then he says, "Why were you crying, Granger?"
She glares right back and says, "None of your damn business, Malfoy." but it came out just a little bit too croaky for her liking and then she clears her throat a bit as he glares at her more intently.
"I'll help you with your damn Potions essay, Granger." He says while rolling his eyes and gesturing to the books. "You know, people don't just call you the 'Brightest Witch of Our Age' all willy nilly, you know? And I reckon that you've done something aside from being—what was it? An 'insufferable know-it-all?" Hermione makes a sound between a groan and a choke. "And frankly it would be kind of annoying if I weren't able to call you that anymore, so I went ahead and took initiative. Don't confuse this for kindness, or whatever. These are the books you needed for that specific topic, Snape—I mean Professor Snape—recommended them for light reading—"
And maybe because he was rambling a little too fast and Hermione was more than a little dazed (how does he always do that?) at the fact that Draco Malfoy was recommending Potions books to her to aid her in her essay-making endeavor of sadness, Hermione says, "Thank you, Draco." like she did a few days ago, only this time Draco doesn't smirk at her.
He squints at her angrily and says, "No need to thank me, Granger. This is purely for selfish reasons, you know." And then he kind of smiles just thelittlestbit and it makes her want to do something reckless like kiss him on the cheek or something equally as mortifying, but it is gone in an instant. "Anyways, Father said that Ibetterbe doing this for selfish reasons but Mother actually says she finds it quite sweet, which is the single most absurd thing I've ever heard—"
"You wrote home about me?" Hermione asks, because holy shit what were they talking about again?
"Well, of course Granger, but I hardly see why you're focused on that when I've just about spoon-fed the essay to you." He sniffs and starts to open the book, showing her a page on the topic that she was really struggling on, and she's almost moved to tears.
Apparently, Draco notices. "Granger, do restrain from gettingtooemotional." Hermione is just really shocked from all of this niceness that he is showing her and now he's helping her withhomeworkand it's just about the sweetest thing that anybody has ever done for her in the entirety of ever (mostly because she is fully capable of doing her own homework,thank you very much,and hasn't actually let anybody catch her struggling).
"You are a blessing, Draco Malfoy."
Andthenhe smirks, and pokes her cheek. Hepokedhercheek."I know, Granger."
She almost tells him to call her Hermione.
"Ginny, it's just kind of odd, you know? Because he just kind of changed overnight and now he's helped me out with homeworkandwe're studying together every night. And he's actually kind of almostcharmingand sosoclever and intelligent but he's also sobloodyirritating."
"Well, I mean. It seems to me that he fancies you. He's a stupid ferret boy, and like, totally fit too—I get it right, yeah. And you obviously like him—"
"How am I being obvious?"
"Well, duh, why are you even asking? Anyways, before I was rudely interrupted, you obviously like him. Just go with it, maybe? It's not like you've got much to lose."
Only her sanity.
This particular night, like most other nights these days, Draco was rambling to her about the importance of knowing a particular theory and this particular topic and the she was rambling about a particular counter-theory and how it basically negates that theory and by now they've kind of settled into this routine of doing homework and studying and then rambling and debating and Hermione thinks about how his cheekbones shine just so in the library lights and how his hair was less put together when he was studying because he didn't care as much and how it suited him just a little bit more and how has she never noticed that single freckle just below his left eye and has he always been this clever?
Hermione thinks about how all of the best conversations she's ever been a part of have been with him (sorry not sorry, Harry and Ron, love you both to bits) and how that's only mildly pathetic. He is probably the smartest person she knows, excluding herself. He is just so goddamn brilliant ithurts.
"—and so that is why my theory completely stumps yours and—"
"You are so very brilliant." Hermione blurts out. When she realizes what she's said, she turns a delicate shade of pink. Draco pauses in the middle of his rambling, and kind of stares at Hermione with a confused look.
So she continues, "I—it's just—ugh!" She shakes her head. "You are probably the single most infuriating person I have ever talked to, and you also have a tendency to take losing way too seriously and you are kind of ridiculously arrogant and only mildly—"
"Is there a point to this?" Draco says as he pushes his elbows off of the table and crosses his arms. And yes, he's probably a little insulted. Great Hermione, just excellent. She can basically see the building blocks go up behind his eyes as he stares at her with a haughty look. "Because, you see, I'm not just hanging out with you because you think I'm an asshole or something. And it's not like I hang out with you because you're arrogant and conceited or whatever the fuck—"
"—there is a point. Just let me get to it, you prat." Draco scowls at her, and she rolls her eyes. "As I wassaying,you should only be mildly endearing, but I actually find youhighlyendearing. And I find that I quite enjoy your company, and I don't particularly mind your arrogance, and—I don't even know what to say to you."
She bows her head to hide the blush on her cheeks, and Draco just kind of stares at her with this adoring look in his eyes, and she's totally blown aback becausewow, his eyes are gorgeousandoh my gods, oh my gods.
"I know what to say to you." Draco says a matter of factly. "Or rather, what to ask." And he has that little smile on his face, the one she saw the last time she thanked him.
"You do?" Hermione asks, slowly looking up while staring him in the eye.
"Yes, I do." Draco says and then he slowly leans forward towards the table again. "Would you like to accompany me to Hogsmeade this weekend?"
Hermione, of course, says yes.