Hermione had a bad feeling in her stomach as soon as she saw Draco's face show up in their compartment window. And him being so polite and kind the whole ride to Hogwarts made her want to crawl out of her skin. She didn't know what he was up to, but whatever it was, it must have been his weirdest plan ever.
She kept exchanging skeptical looks with Harry and Ron, who had pointedly been silent the entire ride. Every time Draco spoke, they merely looked away from him in different directions. He had asked how their summers had been. "Fine." she had told him, though that was all she would give. Though Hermione hated Draco, she knew that ignoring him like Ron and Harry were would be childish, and Hermione Granger was nothing if not mature. She would handle this… incredibly unsettling situation with grace and dignity, though be sure not to play into whatever game Malfoy was creating.
"Hermione, how did you like the Muggle Studies homework this summer?" Draco asked her, and Hermione's eyes widened. Not only did he use her actual first name, but he also was talking to her about school work. Muggle Studies work. Maybe this was his plan; to get information for his homework out of her. She felt moderately relieved at the thought- at least that would be a more normal scenario than Draco just being personable.
Hermione sat up straighter. "It was alright. I had already read the novel that was assigned, so it was a bit duller than usual. But I managed to get thirty inches on it." she told him, unable to resist his bait of school work. Draco's smile widened when she told him this.
"That's quite impressive, Hermione!" he exclaimed, yet again shocking the trio. Did he just… compliment her? He really must want something. "It was so difficult for me to get through. I only managed 15 inches! Being a pureblood," he continued, and everyone watched him closely, knowing that there was no way this could be going somewhere that wasn't extremely offensive. "… really has made me ignorant to so many things in the world. I really am looking forward to Muggle Studies this term so I can start bridging the gap in my knowledge." he finished. Hermione had never been more surprised in her life.
"Do you… do you really mean that?" Hermione couldn't help but stammer.
Draco nodded, not missing a beat. "You won't believe me, but I mean it entirely." he told her, and Hermione frowned. She wasn't sure what to believe. The brunette curled into herself, leaning against the window, and quietly pondered the rest of the train ride. No one else spoke, either. It seemed as though they all had had enough weirdness for one night.
Once the train stopped in Hogsmeade, Hermione and her friends made their way to the carriages. Draco did not join them, but did bid them a very friendly farewell. As soon as he was out of earshot, Ron erupted. "What the bloody hell was that?" he asked, and Hermione shushed him. "Oh, come one, Hermione! You can't tell me that wasn't the strangest thing of your whole bloody life! What is that ferret face up to?" he continued, still shouting.
And then, Harry began laughing. Hermione and Ron stared at him, but soon enough joined him in his fit of laughter. It was rather comical, thinking of Draco Malfoy being nice to them, even if he was up to something. They decided that, whatever he was up to, they would let it go on for a little while as they tried to figure out what it was he really wanted.
The rest of the night went as expected. Dumbledore made his start of year speech, first years were sorted, and they stuffed their faces with amazing food. The trio told the rest of their friends about their train ride with Malfoy, and they all found it quite humorous as well. Hermione found it almost sad that it was such a wild notion that Draco could be nice- that he could, just maybe, turn over a new leaf. Certainly she didn't believe him, and she too felt that he was up to something. But there was a small hope inside her, from the part of her that was still young and innocent and thought the best of everyone, that he could change. But, the thought vanished as quickly as it came as the sound of Ron impersonating one of the things Malfoy had said on the train pulled her back into reality, giggling along with her friends.
After what seemed like years, the welcome feast ended and the students headed off to their dormitories. Hermione had almost forgotten about the strange train ride just hours before until - "Hermione!" she spun around and saw Draco Malfoy waving a hand at her. She raised an eyebrow at him. "I just, um…" he ran a hand through his hair, "Wanted to say goodnight. And to thank you for being so nice to me on the train today. I know it must have been difficult." he told her, surprising her yet again.
Hermione felt herself smiling back at Draco, despite how suspicious she was of him. "Sure…" she wasn't sure what else to say. Nice Draco was still throwing her off. "Goodnight." she told him, and hurried to catch up to her friends before he could say anything else. She definitely wasn't comfortable with friendly Draco.
Once in the common room, Hermione told Harry and Ron about what Draco had said to her. It seemed to worry them a bit, as well. "What ever this is," Harry deducted, "it seems like he's targeting you, Hermione." he looked concerned, and Ron hopped out of his seat.
"If he's got something mean in store for you I'll- I'll-" the ginger boy stammered, and Hermione patted his shoulder.
The girl sighed, "Look, I know Malfoy is a git, but it is just Malfoy. Whatever he's up to, I can handle it. It'll be fine." she told her friends, who seemed slightly comforted by this.
Ron sank back into his chair. "You're right. We've handled worse than that ferret face." he decided, seeming to already have forgotten how upset he had been just moments ago. Harry still seemed uneasy, but agreed that whatever it was Draco was planning, it couldn't be nearly as bad as anything that had already happened to them.