Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Characters/Hermione Granger
From Wikibooks, the open-content textbooks collection
| Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter - Character | |
| Hermione Jean Granger | |
|---|---|
| Gender | Female |
| Hair color | Brown |
| Eye color | Brown |
| Related Family | Muggles |
| Loyalty | Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Albus Dumbledore |
Contents |
[edit] Overview
Hermione Jean Granger is the magical daughter of two Muggle dentists. Hermione is especially interested in academics and much of her time during the school year is spent studying, doing homework, or other things related to her classes at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Hermione often serves as the voice of reason when her two best friends Harry Potter and Ron Weasley get themselves into interesting or dangerous situations. Although seemingly stressed at all times due to schooling, Hermione is dependable when called upon, and is extremely adept at getting things done correctly and efficiently.
Hermione has a bossy sort of voice, bushy brown hair, and rather large front teeth, which she later has magically shrunk. Her birthday is September 19th. She was eleven years old at the start of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, turning twelve shortly thereafter, and thus is almost a year older than Harry.
[edit] Role in the Books
Note: Hermione Granger, while not the viewpoint character in this series, is one of the Trio, and thus is in almost every part of the action. A summary of her role in the books would, perforce, be a summary of the books. For a summary of Hermione's role in the series, it is best to begin here and proceed onwards from that point. The sections below will provide the bare outline of her role.
[edit] Philosopher's Stone
Hermione is introduced to us as a bossy know-it-all who looks into Harry and Ron's compartment on the Hogwarts Express. She seems disdainful of Ron's attempt to use magic, and says she's already read all the textbooks. Later she informs them that they should get their robes on as they will be arriving at the school shortly. Ron expresses the hope that she will be Sorted into some other house at the school, but she ends up in Gryffindor with Ron and Harry.
Hermione continues in the same manner, being the first to levitate her feather in Charms class. When a mountain troll appears in the dungeons, Harry and Ron together defeat it, thus saving Hermione's life; as a result of that, she also becomes a friend, and the Trio, as they have been called, are together for the rest of the series.
While this book serves mainly as an introduction to the magical world and the characters, there is a real quest involved. Harry becomes convinced that one of the teachers, Professor Snape, is seeking a small, valuable object, which he determines to be the Philosopher's Stone (known as the Sorceror's Stone in the U.S. editions). Apparently, the evil wizard who murdered Harry's parents, Lord Voldemort, had been killed when he attempted to murder Harry, but due to some advanced Dark magic, was possibly able to return, possibly with the aid of the Philosopher's Stone. It appears that Snape is trying to aid in that return, but is being blocked by Professor Quirrell. With help from Ron and Hermione, Harry manages to foil Lord Voldemort's plan to steal the Stone.
Finally, at the Leaving Feast, Dumbledore awards Hermione fifty House points for "use of cool logic in the face of fire". It turns out that Hermione is the top of the class, as expected; and she and Ron both promise to write to Harry during the summer.
[edit] Chamber of Secrets
Hermione surprises Harry and Ron by apparently having a crush on the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Gilderoy Lockhart. She has apparently read all his books, as is usual for her; surprisingly, though, despite his demonstrated lack of competence, she still seems to feel he is exceptionally talented.
After the writing on the wall says that the Chamber has been opened, there is much speculation as to what the Chamber is. Hermione, vexed that all copies of Hogwarts, A History have been taken out of the library, manages to convince Professor Binns to relate the story of the Chamber. Apparently, Salazar Slytherin, having fallen out with the other Founders, had left the school, first constructing a secret chamber, such that it could only be opened by his true heir, which contained a monster that would assist in purging the school of those Wizards who were not of pure blood (pure Wizard ancestry).
Suspecting that Draco Malfoy might know something about this, Hermione hits on the scheme of using Polyjuice Potion to disguise the Trio as Slytherins, and so get Draco to let down his guard. Harry and Ron, though amazed at her sudden willingness to break rules, agree to her plan. At Christmas, Hermione provides cakes with sleeping potion to knock out Crabbe and Goyle, so that Harry and Ron can take their place. Hermione, however, ends up half-transformed into a cat and cannot join them. She ends up in the Hospital Wing, remaining there for nearly a month as Madam Pomfrey assists her in returning to her normal self.
During this interval, Harry finds T. Riddle's diary. Hermione, once back in the common room, checks to see if it is hiding any secrets, but does not find any.
Some time later, Hermione reaches a conclusion based on the voice Harry alone seems to be able to hear, his ability to talk to snakes, and the origin of the Chamber. Characteristically (as Ron remarks), she doesn't explain, but says she has thought of something and dashes off to the library. On her way back from the library, she is struck by the monster, Petrified, and returned to the Hospital Wing. Much later, Harry and Ron visit her there, and find that she has been holding a page from a book balled up in her hand; the page talks about Basilisks, and the notation "Pipes" indicates that Hermione has guessed that to be how the monster, a Basilisk, is traveling about the school.
Hermione, when she is restored to health, is dismayed that exams have been canceled.
[edit] Prisoner of Azkaban
Hermione seems to be massively overloaded with books when we meet her in Diagon Alley. Intending to buy an owl, she instead ends up purchasing a ginger-colored cat: Crookshanks. Crookshanks immediately takes a dislike to Scabbers, Ron's pet rat.
Through the course of the year, Hermione perplexingly seems to be taking more classes than humanly possible. She seems to be enjoying the work, though, and is the only one to have finished an essay on Werewolves assigned by Professor Snape (then filling in for Professor Lupin, the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, who is ill). The strain does seem to be telling on her, as she occasionally acts uncharacteristically. At one point, when Hagrid is overcome at the thought of Buckbeak's impending execution, Draco Malfoy makes an insulting comment about Hagrid, and Hermione punches him.
At Christmas, when Harry receives a Firebolt broom as a gift, Hermione is suspicious of it and tells Professor McGonagall. McGonagall takes the broom to examine it for jinxes. Harry and Ron, angry with Hermione, say that she should not have told McGonagall; Hermione replies that it could have been sent by Sirius Black, who has broken out of Azkaban, and evidently is planning to murder Harry. This chills the relationship between Hermione on the other two, an estrangement that continues until late in the spring, when Professor McGonagall returns the broom as being safe. That same evening, however, Ron finds ginger hairs and bloodstains on his sheets, and guesses that Crookshanks has killed Scabbers, who has vanished.
Hermione's estrangement from Ron continues until near the end of the year, when Hagrid loses his appeal of Buckbeak's execution. With Harry and Ron, she researches options for a final appeal. When Hagrid reports that it has failed, and that Buckbeak is set to be executed at sunset, she, with Harry and Ron, visit Hagrid to console him. While they are there, Hermione finds Scabbers hiding in a milk jug.
As the Trio return to the castle, Scabbers escapes, and Ron runs after him, under the edge of the Whomping Willow. A large black dog drags Ron into a tunnel under the Whomping Willow. Harry and Hermione, aided by Scabbers, follow, finding that the tunnel leads to the Shrieking Shack, and that the large black dog is Sirius Black, who is an unregistered Animagus. When Professor Lupin arrives, Hermione mentions that she had known he was a Werewolf, ever since Snape's assignment of the topic in Defence Against the Dark Arts. When Snape also appears on the scene, all three of the students there end up disarming him; the power of the three combined spells throws him against a wall and knocks him out.
As the entire group (including a captive Scabbers, now revealed to be another unregistered Animagus, Peter Pettigrew) return to the castle, Lupin is hit by the light of the full moon and transforms into a werewolf. Pettigrew jinxes Ron and Crookshanks, transforms into his rat shape and escapes; Sirius transforms into a dog to defend Harry and Hermione from the werewolf Lupin. Sirius manages to send Lupin into the Forbidden Forest, but is caught by Dementors. Attempting to defend Sirius, Harry and Hermione are overcome, and awake in the Hospital Wing.
After a quick recap of the situation from Dumbledore, Hermione reveals to Harry that she has been attending her multiple classes by means of a Time-Turner, a device that will allow her to travel back to an earlier time. Dumbledore stresses that they must not be seen.
By means of the Time-Turner, Harry and Hermione return to Hagrid's hut, where they watch themselves rediscover Scabbers, and head towards the castle. They then rescue Buckbeak from the paddock where he had been secured pending his execution, and hide him in the edges of the Forbidden Forest. When Lupin transforms into a werewolf, Harry and Hermione return to Hagrid's hut; Harry, much to Hermione's dismay, then goes to see who it was that had cast the Patronus which had saved himself and Hermione earlier. Finding nobody there, he casts the Patronus himself, to Hermione's horror. He does point out to Hermione that his earlier self had seen him, and mistaken him for his father. Shortly, Hermione and Harry, mounted on Buckbeak, rescue Sirius and return to the Hospital Wing.
As they return to London on the Hogwarts Express, Hermione tells Harry and Ron that she has dropped Muggle Studies. As she had earlier dropped Divination, she could take all her courses without the Time-Turner, and so she had returned it to Professor McGonagall.
[edit] Goblet of Fire
Hermione accompanies Harry and the Weasley family to the Quidditch World Cup. There, she sees a House-elf, Winky, being mistreated. Later, a riot breaks out at the camp site, with apparent Death Eaters in hooded robes torturing the Muggle owner of the campground and his family. While in the woods hiding from this, Hermione, Ron, and Harry hear someone conjuring the Dark Mark, Voldemort's sigil.
Hermione later discovers that the kitchens at Hogwarts are staffed by over a hundred House-elves, determines that they are largely unpaid, and resolves to do something to improve their lot.
When the students arrive for the Triwizard Tournament from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, Ron seems to become infatuated with one of the Beauxbatons visitors, Fleur Delacour. Hermione is vexed by this attachment. She will later find that a Durmstrang visitor, Viktor Krum, is similarly attracted to her, but in the beginning she finds his presence, along with the gaggle of girls seeking his autograph, distracting as well.
When Harry is selected as a fourth Champion for the Triwizard Tournament, Hermione is one of only two people, the other being Hagrid, who initially believe that Harry had nothing to do with his name getting into the running. Hermione, as Harry's sole friend, helps him prepare for the First Task of the Tournament, and provides moral support for Harry during this period of estrangement from Ron. Ron's return to Harry's side following the First Task is a tremendous relief to Hermione.
The Yule Ball, which is a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament, finds both Harry and Ron dateless. Ron, out of desperation, asks Hermione, but she has already agreed to attend with someone else. Ron is incensed to find that the someone else is Viktor Krum, and accuses Hermione of fraternizing with the enemy. Hermione, responding to this, says that next time, Ron should ask her to one of these things immediately, rather than as a last resort. Ron seems mystified by this, but Harry thinks privately that Hermione knows Ron's feelings better than Ron does.
The Second task involves having the Champions recover something that has been taken from them. It turns out that the thing taken from Harry is Ron; the one taken from Viktor Krum is Hermione. After he has rescued Hermione, apparently Viktor invites her to spend the summer with him at his home. Hearing this from Hermione later, Ron seems angered by the revelation. Somewhat later, Viktor takes Harry aside to ask if Hermione is his girlfriend. Hermione reportedly talks about Harry a lot in Viktor's presence, and Viktor doesn't want to upset their relationship if it is serious. Harry tells Viktor that he and Hermione are only friends.
As she had done with the Second Task, researching ways that Harry could stay underwater for an hour, Hermione helps Harry prepare for the Third Task, drilling him on jinxes and protective charms. In the meanwhile, her curiosity has been piqued by Rita Skeeter, a muck-raking journalist who seems to be able to hear conversations when she is not visibly present.
Following the Third Task, Hermione discovers that Rita is an unregistered Animagus, and traps her in her beetle form.
[edit] Order of the Phoenix
Though Hermione is corresponding with Harry over the summer, her letters don't say anything about what is happening with the returned Voldemort. Frustrated, Harry sends Hedwig with a demand for answers and instructions to peck Hermione and Ron fiercely until they write good long letters back to him. Harry is not placated when he is brought to Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, where Hermione tells him that she and Ron were under strict orders from Dumbledore to tell him nothing. Harry only fully calms down when he is allowed to ask any questions he wants about the Order and their activities, after dinner. Hermione arranges to stay at that meeting as well.
Hermione and Ron receive notification that they have become Prefects. We will see that while Hermione carefully carries out the extra tasks she is given as Prefect, Ron is considerably less punctilious, using his powers in some cases for his own amusement. Ron also refuses to help when Hermione tries to stop the Twins from testing their Skiving Snackboxes on the first-years. Hermione is only able to control the Twins by threatening to tell their mother what they are doing.
The new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Dolores Umbridge, surprisingly stands to make a speech when she is introduced at the Arrival Feast. Hermione, along among the Trio and probably alone amongst the students, listens to what she is saying, and summarizes it for Harry and Ron later as: the Ministry is going to meddle at Hogwarts. The form this initially takes is that Defence Against the Dark Arts class becomes effectively useless, teaching conciliation and theory. Frustrated with a class in which they are learning nothing, Hermione and Ron convince Harry to teach "a few students" real Defence. Apparently, Hermione's idea of "a few students" is about 28, as she says the idea seemed rather popular. As it appears that the reason for the lack of practical Defence teaching is fear that Dumbledore might be preparing an army to rebel against the Ministry, Ginny Weasley suggests the name "Dumbledore's Army".
It is Hermione who notices that Hagrid has returned, and she is instrumental in getting Hagrid to talk about his mission to the Giants, which he had carried out for Dumbledore. Hermione also attempts to tell Hagrid about Umbridge, and her new role as Hogwarts High Inquisitor, but Hagrid does not seem to care.
At Christmas, after Harry had witnessed the attack on Mr. Weasley, he worries that Voldemort is looking through his eyes at Headquarters, and that he may turn into a snake suddenly and attack his friends. Hermione cancels her skiing vacation to go to Grimmauld Place, and forces him to come out and talk with her, Ron, and Ginny. She remains there for Christmas, and visits Mr. Weasley in hospital. It is there that she learns about Neville Longbottom's parents.
To counter the misinformation about the return of Voldemort that is being put forward by the Ministry, Hermione, who still has a hold on Rita Skeeter from the discovery that she is an unregistered Animagus, requires that Rita interview Harry about the events surrounding Voldemort's return, write the story straight rather than as her usual brand of attack journalism, and give it to the Quibbler for publication. When the story appears, Professor Umbridge is incensed and promptly bans the Quibbler from the school, thus making it the most popular issue published ever.
Harry learns something about his father that disturbs him deeply, and determines that he must speak to Sirius Black about it. Having learned that Umbridge's fireplace is the only unmonitored connection to the Floo Network in the school, Harry resolves to break into her office and speak with Sirius. Hermione, reverting somewhat to her earlier, rule-bound ways, tries endlessly to persuade Harry not to do it, but in the end it is to no avail. Harry, using Umbridge's office and fireplace, speaks with Sirius and is not caught. Hermione is also nagging Harry to restart his Occlumency lessons with Snape, but Harry cannot tell her why those lessons have been ended and will not be restarted.
When Harry sees, in a vision, that Voldemort is torturing Sirius in the Ministry of Magic, he convinces Hermione to help him talk to Sirius via Umbridge's fireplace again. This time, however, they are caught. Hermione, seeing that Umbridge is about to use the Cruciatus curse on Harry to get him to say who he was talking to, convinces Umbridge that they had been working on a weapon for Dumbledore, and leads her on a wild goose chase into the Forbidden Forest. There, she engineers Umbridge falling afoul of the Centaurs, but runs afoul of their pride herself. Harry and Hermione are rescued by the sudden appearance of Hagrid's half-brother, Grawp, who recognizes "Hermy", and they make their escape into the woods as the Centaurs chase him away.
Harry and Hermione now meet up with Ron, Neville, Luna, and Ginny, and the six of them make their way to the Ministry to rescue Sirius. It is, however, a trap, and they are surrounded by Death Eaters intent on retrieving a Prophecy about Harry and Voldemort. Attempting to battle their way out, all except Harry are injured, Hermione seriously. Eventually, however, members of the Order of the Phoenix arrive to battle the Death Eaters.
When we next see Hermione, she is healing in the Hospital Wing. By the time the Hogwarts Express leaves Hogsmeade for London, she is fully recovered.
[edit] Half-Blood Prince
Professor Dumbledore says that Harry will be taking special lessons with him over the course of the year. He suggests that the content of the lessons, like the content of the Prophecy, should remain confidential, but that Harry should feel free to discuss lessons and prophecy with Ron and Hermione. Throughout the year, Harry will discuss what he learns from Dumbledore with both of them.
Hermione starts off this book being vexed at Ron, first for falling all over himself whenever Fleur Delacour appears (she is staying at The Burrow while preparations begin for her wedding to Ron's brother Bill), then again when Ron seems to abuse his Prefect powers, and again when Ron seems overly responsive to appreciative remarks from Lavender Brown. She also suggests that Harry is over-reacting when he says that he thinks Draco Malfoy has become a Death Eater.
Harry had not expected to be allowed to take NEWT-level Potions, but the new Potions instructor, Professor Slughorn, will accept his Exceeds Expectations OWL result as sufficient for entrance. Harry does not have a textbook, of course, so Slughorn loans him an old one, which Harry finds is full of notations. Hermione is upset that Harry, following the notations, is able to produce a better potion than Hermione, who is following the original text. When Ginny reminds her later about the dangerous aspects of following instructions in arbitrary books, Hermione uses several spells to see if the book is anything other than a simple book, but finds nothing. Hermione will remain upset at Harry's use of this book, which had originally belonged to one "Half-Blood Prince", throughout the year; she considers his use of the marginal notations in the book to somehow be cheating.
At the Quidditch tryouts that Harry holds, Hermione Confunds an aspiring Keeper, Cormac McLaggen, resulting in Harry selecting Ron as Keeper instead. Hermione later admits to having done it, but says that it was because she could see that his antagonistic attitude would be bad for the team as a whole. The readers may suspect that she had done it to give Ron a better shot at the position; despite the friction between Hermione and Ron, caused by Ron's response to Lavender, one can't help thinking that Hermione still cares about Ron.
Professor Slughorn has started up his "Slug Club", a collection of students he perceives as being rising stars. Hermione and Harry are invited consistently to these parties, though Harry repeatedly manufactures excuses to miss them. Ron is also upset at Hermione because of these repeated invitations, particularly as Slughorn seems to issue them to Hermione without seeming to notice that Ron is even present. Hermione mentions that Harry should attend the Christmas Slug Club party, and that they can each take a guest. Ron bitingly suggests that Hermione should take Cormac; Hermione says that she had been planning to take Ron, but if he's going to be so hard to get along with, perhaps she will take Cormac instead.
When Ron, needled by Ginny, starts an intensely physical relationship with Lavender Brown, Hermione becomes very cold towards him, and in fact does invite Cormac to the Slug Club Christmas party. She also warns Harry that the Gryffindor girls are scheming to get him to take one of them to the party as well.
Once at the party. Hermione is dismayed to find that Cormac is intent on getting her under the mistletoe. She asks Harry, who is attending with Luna Lovegood, to help hide her.
Ron gets poisoned on his birthday and ends up in the Hospital Wing. Hermione stays with him for the better part of the day, but evidently doesn't say anything until evening; when she does speak, to answer a question someone else has asked, Ron, though still apparently unconscious, says her name. Shortly, Harry and Hermione leave with Hagrid. Hagrid tells them of an argument he had overheard, apparently between Dumbledore and Snape, but Hermione is unable to learn anything from the fragments that Hagrid reports.
There is some friction between Ron and Lavender, as Ron gets discharged from the hospital wing without Lavender being told, and when she does see him, he is talking to Hermione. Hermione seems secretly pleased at the tension between them. Later, when Ron's spell-checking quill starts making errors, Hermione offers to correct his essay. Ron says, with a sigh of relief, that he loves her. Hermione, blushing, cautions him to not let Lavender hear that.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione have been taking Apparation lessons, and now Ron and Hermione have the opportunity to take the exam. Harry is still not 17, the minimum age at which one is allowed to take the test. Hermione passes on her first try, but Ron fails because he has left half an eyebrow behind.
In order to retrieve a memory from Slughorn, as requested by Dumbledore, Harry ends up deciding to visit Hagrid. As he, Ron, and Hermione descend from the dormitory, they meet Lavender. Harry is wearing his Invisibility Cloak, and so Lavender believes that Hermione and Ron have been up there alone together. Hermione reports the next day that Ron and Lavender have broken up. She seems pleased by this development. Hermione also reports that Ginny and Dean have broken up, and seems aware of Harry's pleasure at this information, much as Harry tries to hide it. Over the next few weeks, we see Ron and Hermione growing closer, until they seem to be very much a couple.
When Harry is invited by Dumbledore to assist him with the location and destruction of one of Voldemort's Horcruxes, Harry fears that this will leave the school unguarded. He charges Ron and Hermione with re-activating as much of Dumbledore's Army as possible, and guarding the Room of Requirement and Snape's office. Hermione, guarding Snape's office with Luna Lovegood, sees Professor Flitwick enter and tell Snape that he is needed. Snape, leaving his office, sees Hermione and tells her that Flitwick has fallen, and orders her to take care of him.
Hermione later discovers that the Half-Blood Prince of the book's title (and Harry's Potions book) is, in fact, Snape; he assumed that nickname because his mother, Eileen Prince, was a witch while his father, Tobias Snape, was a Muggle.
At Dumbledore's funeral, Hermione and Ron comfort each other. Afterward, Hermione and Ron say that they have decided that whatever Harry's mission is, they will accompany him, but Ron reminds him that first there is a wedding to attend.
[edit] Deathly Hallows
Hermione is one of the six decoy Harry Potters used in the escape from Privet Drive. She arrives at The Burrow safely. When Harry tells her that he can still sense Voldemort's thoughts, she is dismayed, reminding him that Dumbledore had wanted that channel closed.
Mrs. Weasley seems to be taking great pains to find separate things for Harry, Ron and Hermione to do while they stay at the Burrow, to prevent them planning to carry out the mission that Dumbledore has set Harry. Despite this, Hermione has prepared a small beaded bag which she says contains everything they will need, including, apparently, a small library. When Harry says that she doesn't have to join him on this mission, she points out that he said the same thing six years before and that she had not changed her mind since. She says that she has modified her parents' memory so that they no longer believe they have a daughter, and has sent them off to Australia with new identities to keep them safe. She also tells how she had abstracted books of Dark magic from Dumbledore's study after his funeral, and talks about ways of destroying Horcruxes. It seems that Harry had hit upon one of the very few ways to destroy a Horcrux in the Chamber of Secrets, namely Basilisk venom.
On Harry's birthday, Ron gives him a copy of a book, Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches, saying that he had gotten a copy earlier from Fred and George, and that it is pure gold; he's using it with Hermione. Later, Harry notes that Ron, uncharacteristically, is complimenting Hermione, and suspects that there will be a chapter about compliments in this book.
Rufus Scrimgeour, the Minister for Magic, arrives, saying that he has some bequests for Harry, Ron, and Hermione from the will of Albus Dumbledore. Hermione's bequest is an edition of The Tales of Beedle the Bard in ancient runes. Hermione points out that the Ministry have been holding on to these bequests for the full thirty days that they are allowed by law. She also mentions that the Ministry is likely interested in seeing Harry receive his bequest, the first Snitch he ever caught in a Quidditch match, because of the Snitch's "flesh memory": it is charmed to recall whoever first touched it, as a way of mediating disputes in close matches. Harry cautiously takes the Snitch from Scrimgeour, but to Scrimgeour's slight disappointment, nothing happens to it.
At Bill and Fleur's wedding, Hermione is surprised to find that Viktor Krum has been invited and has arrived. Ron, upset by Viktor's arrival, whisks Hermione off to the dance floor as soon as he can. When the wedding is interrupted by news of the fall of the Ministry to Voldemort, Hermione gathers the others to her and Disapparates the three of them to Tottenham Court Road in London. There, she provides Muggle clothing from her beaded bag, and the three of them stop in a coffee shop to plan their next move. They are attacked by Death Eaters and overcome them. Harry suggests that they should work a Memory Charm on the Death Eaters, so that they won't be able to report what happened; Hermione, though saying that she has never done that before, ends up working the charm on both Death Eaters and the waitress, while Harry and Ron clean up the damage to the café.
Once they have settled at Grimmauld Place, it occurs to Hermione that the portrait of Phineas Nigellus is a way that now-headmaster Severus Snape could get information about the actions of the Trio, and so tucks it also into her beaded bag. Harry finds Regulus Black's room, and connects him with the R.A.B. who had left the note in the fake locket. After a fruitless search of his room, Hermione recalls seeing a locket when they were cleaning up the place. They determine that the locket has been stolen by Dolores Umbridge. They decide to enter the Ministry and try to find where Umbridge might have put the locket.
Once inside, the Trio get separated. Hermione ends up being assigned to Umbridge as scribe for the proceedings of the Muggle-Born Registration Commission, which is where Harry finds her after searching Umbridge's office and finding nothing. Hermione observes that Umbridge is wearing the locket. Umbridge, in response to Hermione's question, says that it shows she is associated with the Selwyn family, a good pure-blood Wizarding family, it is too much for Harry and he Stuns her and Yaxley, who is assisting.
Managing to meet up with Ron, Harry and Hermione escape, but Yaxley is holding on to Hermione, so ends up on the doorstep at Grimmauld Place. Hermione blasts him away, and then Apparates the Trio away, but Ron is splinched and needs medical care. Hermione, though almost panicking, manages to get his bleeding stopped and settles him in their tent. This is the start of the Trio's journey through the wilds of England. Never staying in any one place for more than a few nights, they use Hermione's money to compensate Muggle shops for the goods they lift. Hermione, as the best witch, takes responsibility for setting the daily protective charms around the campsite, and as the only girl, ends up with the majority of the domestic duties.
When Harry has trouble dealing with Dementors later, Hermione determines that it is the locket that is at fault; it is sapping the will of anyone who wears it. Rather than risk losing it if their equipment gets lost, the Trio elect to take turns wearing the locket.
When Ron, who was unprepared for the privations of life on the run, leaves the group in a huff, Hermione is distraught. However, her faith in Harry and his mission never wavers. She accepts that they must visit Godric's Hollow, and prepares them for that visit. She helps Harry find his parents' graves, and visits their house with him, where she is scandalized that people have added words of support to the sign commemorating the night of Voldemort's first downfall. She accompanies him to Bathilda Bagshot's house, and assists in his escape when it turns out to be a trap, then nurses him back to health after their encounter with Voldemort. She then reveals that in the escape, a spell she had cast had nearly destroyed Harry's wand. After Harry's recovery, she tells him that she had collected an unopened copy of The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore from Bathilda's parlor. Reading the book, she is as distressed as Harry to discover that, at about Harry's current age, Dumbledore had been firm friends, albeit briefly, with Gellert Grindelwald.
When Ron rejoins the group, Hermione is initially furious at him, flying at him in a fury, and refusing to listen to anything he has to say. She does eventually relent, but things remain tense between them until the Trio visits Xeno Lovegood. There, Hermione reads The Tale of the Three Brothers to Xeno and the Trio. Xeno says that the three things given to the three brothers by Death are the Deathly Hallows. Hermione dismisses the Resurrection Stone out of hand, but wonders about Harry's Invisibility Cloak, as it is so very much better than any other she or Ron has seen or heard about, and admits that the Elder Wand does seem to have left a trail of murders through history. When the Death Eaters that Xeno has summoned arrive, Hermione allows them to see herself and Harry, but hides Ron, as they make their escape. She later says that the Death Eaters couldn't be allowed to see Ron because he was supposed to be at home with Spattergroit, and revealing him could result in reprisals against his family, but if the Death Eaters could report that Harry was really there, it might spare Xeno some punishment.
Later, the Trio are captured by Snatchers. Hermione is recognized as Harry's traveling companion, despite Harry being disguised, and so the three of them, along with Dean Thomas and the goblin Griphook, are taken to Voldemort's headquarters. There, Bellatrix Lestrange recognizes that the Trio are carrying the sword of Gryffindor, and questions Hermione with the Cruciatus curse to learn where she had gotten it. Hermione manages, despite the pain, to hold to the story that they had found it, that it was a fake. Ron and Harry free themselves, and Ron carries Hermione to Shell Cottage, where she quickly recovers.
The Trio now determine that a Horcrux is located in Bellatrix' vault in Gringotts, and with the aid of Griphook, and with Hermione disguised as Bellatrix herself, break into the vault. They succeed at entering the vault and finding the Horcrux, and then fly out on the back of the aged dragon who had been guarding it. The three of them then head for Hogwarts, where Harry has determined the last Horcrux must be.
Once at Hogwarts, Hermione and Ron between them determine that if they can get into the Chamber of Secrets, they can destroy the Horcrux they have just found. When we see them again, they are carrying a destroyed Horcrux and a bundle of Basilisk fangs. After they have explained what they had done, Ron suggests that hey may want to warn the House-Elves in the kitchen that a battle is about to happen and they may want to get away to save themselves, and Hermione, apparently impressed with this display of real feelings, kisses him fiercely.
As the battle heats up, Hermione demands that Harry look into Voldemort's mind to see where he is. Harry finds him in the Shrieking Shack. The Trio immediately leave for the Shack by way of the tunnel under the Whomping Willow. Arriving there, Harry witnesses Voldemort killing Snape, under the impression that this will result in him gaining power over the Elder Wand. Snape, seeing Harry, releases a cloud of memories; Hermione produces a crystal flask, which Harry uses to collect them, before Snape dies.
As Voldemort calls a temporary end to hostilities, the Trio return to Hogwarts to join in the recuperation. Harry sees Hermione and Ron heading for the Great Hall, but knows that his own business will take him to the headmaster's office.
At the end of the final battle, Harry, Ron, and Hermione return to the Headmasters' office, where Harry explains what he has done to the portrait of Dumbledore, and uses the Elder Wand to repair his own wand, to Hermione's evident approval.
In the epilogue, we learn that Ron has married Hermione, and that they have two children, named Rose and Hugo.
[edit] Strengths
Hermione's greatest strength is her vast intellect. Through her knowledge of the magical world, she has, in the course of the series, helped Harry and Ron on several occasions. As she is generally caring, compassionate, and always see things from a "rule-abiding" point-of-view, Hermione often presents Harry and Ron with alternate ways to approach their problems.
Hermione is also skilled in organization and planning, culminating in her brilliant preparations for the Trio's horcrux quest during Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
[edit] Weaknesses
At times, Hermione's intellect has kept her from making the same connections about other people and their motives that Ron and especially Harry instinctively sense. Hermione feels self-conscious about her physical appearance. She is afraid of failure — her Boggart was Professor McGonagall telling her she had "failed everything," and she was upset when she missed one O (Outstanding) on her O.W.L.s, earning only an E (Exceeds Expectations) in Defence Against the Dark Arts.
[edit] Relationships with Other Characters
Over the course of the series, Hermione and Ron have developed a tentative romantic relationship, although they are both hesitant and unsure about what the other really feels, at least until the end of book 6. Hermione and Ron's sister, Ginny, are close friends. She attends the Yule Ball with Viktor Krum, a visiting student from the Durmstrang Institute. Hermione often stays with the Weasley family and shows more fondness for Percy Weasley than other characters do.
While Hermione and Harry have been very close over the course of the seven books, their relationship has never become romantic, despite the apparent wishes of many fans of the series. From very early in the series, even as early as the end of the first book, there have been hints of a developing relationship between Hermione and Ron, and no similar hints of any relationship between Harry and Hermione. In fact, by book 4, these hints are so obvious that Harry is noting them, even if Ron remains oblivious.
Hermione's romantic relationships with other characters are covered in more depth here.
[edit] Analysis
Hermione seems to be the most rational of "the trio," though also the most high-strung. She is consistently the best student at Hogwarts in almost every subject and would almost certainly have become Head Girl had she stayed at Hogwarts for her seventh year. Hermione is deeply afraid of failure and seems to have an almost obsessive-compulsive drive to finish her schoolwork and to follow the rules, though she has somewhat mellowed with regard to the latter in later books.
[edit] Questions
- How does Hermione handle stress? What does this show about her as a person?
- Hermione is loyal, practical, and honest. Which of these qualities is the most important in a friend?
- How does Hermione's relationship with Harry differ from her relationship with Ron?
- Hermione's main strength seems to be her intellect. Should she have been Sorted into Ravenclaw? Why or why not?
[edit] Greater Picture
Just like the Muggle world, the Wizarding world is contaminated with institutional prejudice, insensitivity and racism. Hermione brings a feminist viewpoint and is a champion for the downtrodden. Several times Hermione reminds Harry and Ron that an unknown "he" they are discussing may, in fact, be a woman. She confounds bigots like Draco Malfoy with her Muggle-born brilliance. One of her ongoing ambitions is to secure the advancement and rights of house elves and others who have been enslaved or poorly treated by wizards. Hermione becomes a one person symbol of civil rights activism and social progress.
