It's terribly difficult not to simply disbelieve everything he says, even if it does all sound about right - or about as convincing as it ought to be.

Hermione sits there, across from Tom, and folds her hands in her lap. She nods when he's finished speaking, ruminating upon his confession. Then she remembers her note had promised him she would listen to him with an open mind.

So - with a breath, she does.

"I read a lot about you - or ... well, I read as much as there was available about you. Most of it, I learned from Professor Dumbledore. I read that there hadn't been a salvageable part of you." She knows that her argument is weak - after all, it's difficult to believe every text, what with authors like Rita Skeeter about, making a career out of propaganda.

But ... maybe she wants him to disprove that, too.