Harry Potter: "But why's she got to go to the library?

"

Ronald Weasley: "Because that's what Hermione does. When in doubt, go to the library."

— Hermione's book dependency[src]

Minister Hermione Jean[18] Granger (b. 19 September, 1979[1]) was an English Muggle-born[3] witch
born to Mr and Mrs Granger. At the age of eleven, she learned about her magical nature and was
accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Hermione began attending Hogwarts in 1991
and was Sorted into Gryffindor House. She possessed a brilliant academic mind and proved to be a gifted
student in almost every subject that she studied.

Hermione first met Harry Potter and Ron Weasley aboard the Hogwarts Express, who found her
unfriendly and somewhat of an "insufferable know-it-all", an impression reinforced by her constant
correct answers and eagerness to please the professors. However, she stepped in to take the blame
from the boys after they had saved her from a troll on Hallowe'en in 1991, surprising them in a grateful
way and quickly becoming friends. She later played a crucial role in protecting the Philosopher's Stone
from Voldemort. In her second year, Hermione had a key role in the discovery of the Chamber of
Secrets, before falling victim to the basilisk unleashed upon Hogwarts following the opening of the
Chamber, but she recovered from the petrification under the care of Madam Pomfrey with Professor
Sprout's Mandrake Restorative Draught. The next year, Hermione was granted permission to use a Time-
Turner from the Ministry of Magic to facilitate her volition to study far more subjects than was possible
without time travel, though she and Harry later used it to rescue Sirius Black from the Dementor's Kiss
and Buckbeak the hippogriff from execution. During her fourth year, Hermione became an advocate for
the better treatment of house-elves, forming the association S.P.E.W., and helped in Harry's preparation
for the Triwizard Tournament. In her fifth year, Hermione was the driving force behind the creation of
Dumbledore's Army and fought alongside fellow D.A. members in the Battle of the Department of
Mysteries. In her sixth year, Hermione continued her role as Prefect and fought in the Battle of the
Astronomy Tower.

Hermione played a significant role in many other battles of the Second Wizarding War, as well. In 1997,
she fought in the Battle of the Seven Potters, alongside the Order of the Phoenix. Hermione and Ron
decided not to return to Hogwarts for their final year of studies, instead choosing to accompany Harry
on his quest to find and destroy Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes, a quest in which several of her actions
were essential. She destroyed Hufflepuff's Cup, a Horcrux, with Ron using a basilisk fang found in the
Chamber of Secrets. Hermione then fought in the Battle of Hogwarts, helping in the defeat of the Death
Eater who tortured her, Bellatrix Lestrange.

Following the Second Wizarding War, Hermione went back to Hogwarts to complete her education. She
later found employment with the Ministry of Magic, furthering the cause for the better treatment of
house-elves. Afterward, she was promoted to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, dedicating
to eradicate old laws biassed in favour of pure-bloods. Hermione eventually married Ron Weasley and
together they had two children, Rose and Hugo. She became the godmother of Harry and Ginny Potter's
eldest son James. By the year 2019, Hermione had become the Minister for Magic.

Contents[show]

Biography

Early life (1979-1991)

Granger family DH

A young Hermione with her parents

Hermione was born to Mr and Mrs Granger on 19 September, 1979. She was their only child[19] and,
although they were "a bit bemused" by the oddities displayed by their daughter, they were known to be
proud of her.

Upon turning eleven, Hermione was happily surprised to learn that she was a witch and was therefore
invited to attend Hogwarts. She eagerly accepted and took to studying magic even before she began her
first year at Hogwarts in the September of 1991, learning all the set spellbooks by heart and even
managing to perform "a few spells" successfully. In addition to the texts set by the school, Hermione
brought with her several other books for reference and to further her understanding of the wizarding
world,[3] to the point that she had looked at books and had more knowledge of the wizarding world
than some of her pure-blood/half-blood classmates.

Hogwarts years (1991-1997)

Terry Boot: "How come you're not in Ravenclaw? With brains like yours?"

Hermione: "Well, the Sorting Hat did seriously consider putting me in Ravenclaw during my Sorting, but
it decided on Gryffindor in the end."

— Hermione's use of the advanced Protean Charm[src]

Hermione enjoyed her years as a pupil at Hogwarts and took assignments, classes, and school rules very
seriously. She was often described as brilliant, to the point of being said to be "the brightest witch of her
age". Her favourite subject was initially Charms, and later Arithmancy. Given her keen mind, some
students - such as Terry Boot - wondered why Hermione was Sorted into Gryffindor rather than
Ravenclaw. She admitted that the Sorting Hat did consider putting her in Ravenclaw.

It is likely that the Sorting Hat ultimately put her in Gryffindor because Hermione chose to be in it, just
like Harry chose to not be in Slytherin. On the train she states that, "Gryffindor... sounds by far the best."
She proved her rightful place in Gryffindor with her steadfast bravery and loyalty to her friends,
Hogwarts, and Dumbledore's Army. After being Sorted into Gryffindor, Hermione shared a dormitory
with Lavender Brown, Parvati Patil, and two other girls.[20]

In spite of always wanting to follow the school rules, after Hermione became friends with Harry and Ron,
she would disobey the rules along with them in order to successfully complete their group affairs. For
example, she went with Ron and Harry into the third floor corridor in first year, which students were
temporarily forbidden from entering, in order to save the Philosopher's Stone; she assisted in creating
the Polyjuice Potion in their second year; and although Harry was the one who taught Dumbledore's
Army in their fifth year, she was the one who came up with the idea.

First year

Meeting Harry and Ron

"Are you sure that's a real spell? Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for
practise and it's all worked for me."

—Hermione's first interaction with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley[src]

Trio meet

The trio meet for the first time aboard the Hogwarts Express

Harry-potter1-sorting1

Hermione being sorted by the Sorting Hat

Hermione was a couple of weeks away from turning twelve when she boarded the Hogwarts Express in
1991, where she met Harry Potter and Ron Weasley while helping Neville Longbottom find his pet toad,
Trevor. Hermione demonstrated knowledge and talent with magic beyond most of those her age,
despite having only recently discovered that she was a witch. She wished to be a Gryffindor or a
Ravenclaw, and her wish was granted considering she did get Sorted into Gryffindor.

HermioneHandUp

Hermione's enthusiasm in the classroom

Hermione soon proved to be the best in all her classes, eager to please the professors and to help others
learn, albeit in a bossy way that made it difficult for her to make friends. Although she was a know-it-all,
Hermione did often help Neville Longbottom, who struggled in most classes other than Herbology.
Hermione strictly followed all school rules and tried to prevent other students from breaking rules and
getting into trouble. On one night, she followed Harry and Ron as they were leaving Gryffindor Tower to
duel Draco Malfoy. They were chased by Argus Filch, acting on a tipoff by Malfoy, into the third-floor
corridor — forbidden to students — where they came face-to-face with Fluffy, a three-headed dog
belonging to Hagrid. Later on, she argued that her spying was to their benefit when she pointed out the
dog had been standing on a trapdoor, which neither Harry nor Ron had noticed.

Hallowe'en

First floor girls bathroom

The mountain troll entering the bathroom that Hermione's in during the Hallowe'en feast

The friendship between Harry, Ron and Hermione was solidified when, on Hallowe'en in 1991, the three
were forced to confront a mountain troll, which had been secretly let into the school by Professor
Quirinus Quirrell. Unaware that a troll was on the loose in the school, Hermione had spent that day
crying in the girls' bathroom after overhearing Ron making unkind comments about her. The troll made
its way into the bathroom she was in, and Harry and Ron came to her rescue, saving her. When
Professors Minerva McGonagall, Severus Snape and Quirinus Quirrell arrived at the scene, Hermione
covered for the boys, claiming she was fighting the troll because she had thought that she could
manage, having read a great deal about them, and that Ron and Harry had merely come to help her
escape. From then, the three students were best friends and spent large amounts of time together.

Hagrid's dragon

Hermione sets fire to cloak

Hermione setting Snape's robes on fire during a Quidditch match

The incident with the troll was by no means her only adventure in that first year. During the first
Quidditch match, Hermione set Professor Snape's robes on fire when she thought he was jinxing Harry's
broom. In the spring of 1992, Hagrid, now a friend of Hermione's through Harry, managed to procure a
dragon egg, the unlicensed possession of which was illegal. The three children secretly helped Hagrid
care for the beast, which he'd named Norbert. When the dragon was discovered, she and Harry
smuggled it out of the school to some friends of Ron's elder brother, Charlie Weasley, who worked as a
dragon-tamer. On their way back to the dormitories they were caught by Argus Filch, who escorted
them to Professor Minerva McGonagall. Along with Neville and Draco, they received detention and had
50 points deducted each from their respective houses.

After their run-in with Fluffy, Harry deduced that whatever Hagrid had retrieved from Gringotts was
beneath the trapdoor. Hagrid let it slip that "... What's under that trapdoor is strictly between
Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel". After much research turned up nothing, Harry was given a
Dumbledore Chocolate Frog Card by Neville, which mentions Dumbledore's work in Alchemy with
Flamel. This led Hermione to look at a large book on Alchemy which she had borrowed from the library
for "a bit of light reading". After consulting the book, she realised that Fluffy was guarding the
Philosopher's Stone.

The Underground Chambers

BluebellFlames

Hermione conjuring the Bluebell flames

Harry-potter1-trio chess

The trio stand as a unified front during the human chess match

Fearing that Lord Voldemort would return if he stole the stone, and believing that Snape was acting as a
double agent and attempting to steal it, Harry decided to steal it first. When he told Hermione that he
could go on alone, she rebuffed him. After the trio passed Fluffy, it was Hermione who freed Ron from a
patch of Devil's Snare he had dropped into by conjuring Bluebell Flames. She later got herself and Harry
through a challenge involving a Potion Riddle in order to obtain the right potion between many of them.
Hermione used her logic to figure out the riddle and let Harry go forward without her, as there was only
enough potion for one person.

Later, at the Farewell Feast in the Great Hall, Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Neville were all awarded extra
House Points for bravery and heroism, allowing Gryffindor to win the House Cup.[3] Hermione earned
hers by correctly solving Professor Snape’s potion riddle.

Second year

Hermione: "Well, if you two are going to chicken out, fine. I don't want to break rules, you know. I think
threatening Muggle-borns is far worse than brewing up a difficult potion. But if you don't want to find
out...."

Ron Weasley: "I never thought I'd see the day when you'd be persuading us to break rules."

— Hermione breaking school rules in an attempt to catch the Heir of Slytherin[src]

Before she started her second year, Hermione wrote several letters to Harry at Privet Drive, all of which
were intercepted by Dobby, as the house-elf wanted Harry to believe that his friends had forgotten him
in order to prevent his return to Hogwarts. She and her parents also accompanied Harry and the
Weasley family to Diagon Alley to shop for school supplies.
Harry-potter2 draco hermione

Draco Malfoy calling Hermione the derogatory slur "Mudblood"

It was during her second school year that Hermione first encountered the prejudice and hatred
surrounding her blood status, when Draco Malfoy called her a "filthy little Mudblood" after she told him
off for insulting the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Hermione had never heard the highly offensive term but
looking around at everyone around her, it was an obvious fact. Fred and George Weasley lunged at him,
and Ron even tried to hex him, but it backfired, as his wand had been damaged. To help Hermione feel
better about the incident, Hagrid urged her not to think about it, pointing out that she was a talented
witch, regardless of what bigoted people said about her Muggle-born status.

Harry and Ron were surprised, and Ron annoyed, by Hermione's obvious crush on Gilderoy Lockhart,
who became that year's Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. She scored full marks on the first quiz
in his class, which consisted entirely of questions pertaining to Lockhart's books, including a question
regarding his favourite colour (lilac) that most of the class had answered incorrectly. In fact, she went as
far as to doodle hearts on her DADA assignments, not knowing until later that he was, in reality, a self-
obsessed fraud.

Trio writing on wall

The writing on the wall and the petrified form of Mrs Norris

On Hallowe'en, 1992 Hermione attended Nearly Headless Nick's Deathday Party with Harry and Ron.
Whilst heading back upstairs, she followed Harry in a detour, after he claimed to be hearing voices. They
discovered the caretaker's cat, Mrs Norris, petrified and the walls vandalised. Hermione began spending
all her free time in the Hogwarts Library after she saw the writing on the corridor walls, which had said
that the Chamber of Secrets had been re-opened. Despite hoping to read about the legend, she could
not, as all the books had been previously checked out.

Hermione shocked everyone when she actually interrupted Professor Binns during a History of Magic
class, asking about the Chamber of Secrets. This was the only known time when a student had asked the
boring professor a question, and the class was interested in what he had to say. Professor Binns had
stated that Salazar Slytherin had hidden a chamber which consisted of a horrible monster. It had been
unleashed before once by an "Heir of Slytherin", petrifying many Muggle-born and had also killed a
Ravenclaw girl, named Myrtle Warren, who began haunting the girls' lavatory and became known as
Moaning Myrtle. Slytherin, a pure-blood loyalist, was against Muggle-born children being allowed to
attend Hogwarts, but he was outnumbered by the other founders and Muggle-borns like Hermione were
permitted as students. Slytherin fled the school, but rumours spread that he had built a hidden
chamber; it was said that the school had been searched many times, but no such chamber had been
found.

Brewing potions

Hermione brewing Polyjuice Potion, used by the trio in an attempt to gain information from Draco
Malfoy

When Harry proposed the theory that Draco Malfoy was the Heir of Slytherin, Hermione and Ron
agreed. Hermione suggested that they brew Polyjuice Potion, and temporarily transform themselves
into Slytherin students in an attempt to find out the truth. She went even further by daring to check
Moste Potente Potions out of the library using a note from Professor Lockhart - who had no idea what
the book was - in the desire to research the potion. The book was in the Restricted Section and
therefore unavailable to younger students without permission from a teacher. She hoped that they
would be able to obtain a viable confession from Malfoy, if he was unaware he was being interrogated.
She brewed the potion in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, as no one used it due to Myrtle herself being
highly irritating. She also risked serious consequences when she stole potion ingredients from Professor
Snape's personal cupboards that were needed for the difficult potion, which took a month to brew.

Harry-Potter-and-the-Chamber-of-Secrets-2002-books-male-characters-29996396-500-375

The trio discuss possible theories behind Tom Riddle's mysterious diary

Unfortunately, Hermione was unable to join Harry and Ron in the ruse with Polyjuice Potion because the
hair she obtained from Slytherin Millicent Bulstrode during their scuffle in the Duelling Club was actually
the hair of Bulstrode's cat. Hermione grew fur and a tail, and remained in the Hospital Wing for weeks as
she did not transform back when the normal duration of effectiveness - one hour - was up. Harry and
Ron, however, were able to use the potion she brewed to transform into Gregory Goyle and Vincent
Crabbe, respectively. They entered the Slytherin common room, and through conversation with Draco
Malfoy, realised that he was not the Heir of Slytherin, and was not involved in the opening of the
Chamber after all.

Petrified Hermione

A Petrified Hermione in the Hospital Wing

Months after her recovery from the Polyjuice complication, Hermione suffered another accident.
Drawing the connection between Harry hearing voices in the walls and him being a Parselmouth, she
came to the conclusion that the creature attacking students must be a Basilisk, and rushed to the library
to conduct further research. On her way back from the library, she warned the first person she saw,
Penelope Clearwater, and advised her to look around corners with a mirror before going anywhere. It
saved both their lives, because they were both petrified when they spotted the basilisk's eyes through
the mirror instead of dying immediately as they would have done if they'd looked straight into its eyes.

Though she was petrified for the rest of the school year, Hermione was still able to assist Harry and Ron,
for she had torn out the page on basilisks and scribbled on it "pipes", referencing the manner in which
the creature had moved around the school undetected. Harry and Ron found it clenched in her hand
when they were finally allowed to visit her in the Hospital Wing. Using this note and other information
they had gathered, Harry and Ron were able to successfully put an end to Lord Voldemort's plans to
resurrect his body through his memory stored in an old school diary.

Hermione unpetrified

A fully recovered Hermione

Hermione was later cured with a Mandrake Restorative Draught created by Professor Sprout. Upon
arriving at the Great Hall, she was immediately greeted by Nearly Headless Nick. After hugging Harry she
exchanged an awkward greeting with Ron. Hermione was disappointed to learn that, as a special treat
for the school, Professor Dumbledore cancelled the students' end of year exams, but she was intensely
proud that her friends had solved the mystery.[21] That summer, Hermione went on holiday to France
with her parents.

Third year

"P-P-Professor McGonagall! Sh-she said I'd failed everything!"

—Hermione facing her Boggart[src]

B3C4M2 Magical Menagerie

Hermione adopting Crookshanks from the Magical Menagerie

Just before she began the 1993-1994 school year, while visiting Diagon Alley with Harry and the Weasley
family, Hermione met and adopted a ginger part-Kneazle cat named Crookshanks from the Magical
Menagerie. However, her new bond with her cat caused friction with Ron and his pet rat Scabbers, as
Crookshanks was always trying to catch the rat. Also at the beginning of this school year, Hermione
obtained a Time-Turner from Professor McGonagall so she could double up on classes, though this was
kept secret from everyone, even Harry and Ron.
When Harry received a Firebolt for Christmas with no note, Hermione reported it to Professor
McGonagall, thinking it was sent by Sirius Black, whom everyone believed to be a dangerous murderer
who was after Harry. His broom was taken away to be inspected, which caused a temporary rift between
the two friends. There was further social strain for Hermione when Ron accused Crookshanks of eating
Scabbers, who had disappeared.