"An' they haven't invented a spell our Hermione can' do."
-- Rubeus Hagrid (CS7)
Hermione is easily the brightest witch in her year at Hogwarts. She is a Gryffindor who entered Hogwarts in 1991. Her parents
are Muggles, and both dentists (SS). She reads voraciously and tends to believe that anything worth knowing about can be learned
about in books. When she discovered, for example, that Divination was more of an imprecise art than an exact science, and that all her reading and research couldn't make a Seer out of her,
she took against it, and later quit the class. In her first year at Hogwarts, Hermione found herself disliked by most of the
other kids. She was a bossy know-it-all who told everyone else off for not doing everything according to the rules. She mellowed
somewhat over that first year and even more in the years that followed, but she has not lost her disapproval of rule-breaking.
Hermione has a brilliant mind. She has memorized many, many spells and can reason her way through difficult situations
that stump everyone else. By her fifth year, she could cast a Protean Charm - N.E.W.T standard magic (OP19). Portable, waterproof fires are a specialty of hers. She even spent one school year taking double classes using a Time Turner to be in two places at
once, but she found this too exhausting to keep up. She excels at most subjects and often helps Neville Longbottom through difficult Potions classes. Most teachers consider her a star pupil, although Snape calls her a show-off.
Hermione has bushy brown hair and brown eyes (CS13). Her middle name is Jane (WBD). Her birthday is September 19 (AOL) and
for a birthday present in 1993 she bought herself a large ginger cat named Crookshanks (PA4). Her best friends are Ron Weasley and Harry Potter; she also gets along very well with Ginny Weasley. In her fourth
year at Hogwarts, she found herself the object of the affection of Viktor Krum, a famous Quidditch player from Bulgaria, who
was a visiting student at Hogwarts from Durmstrang Institute. She returned his affection to some extent, although she seems to be developing an interesting relationship with Ron which
might grow into something more. Only time will tell.
Hermione has a developing social conscience and will work tirelessly for those she sees as oppressed or an underdog. She
was quick to take Neville under her wing and help him along, especially in Potions class. She bought Crookshanks from a magical
creatures store because no one had wanted him. She spent hours preparing a defense for Buckbeak, a falsely-accused hippogriff,
and later began to take an interest in the plight of house-elves.
Hermione has a younger sister who is not a Witch, judging by the fact that she isn't at Hogwarts (WBD).
Hermione's name
JKR chose the name Hermione from a character in Shakespeare's play "A Winter's Tale," although she says that the characters
are not at all similar. She thought it made sense for a couple of professional dentists to name their only daughter something
like that to show how clever they were. But she chose a very unusual name because she worried that, if there were a real child
somewhere who was bright and had larger-than-usual front teeth that had the same name, she might get teased (NPC).
Mr. and Mrs. Granger
Muggle dentists who have a very precocious daughter named Hermione. The
Grangers, while accepting the Wizarding world and their daughter's place in it, do not approve of using magic for quick fixes.
They insisted, for example, that Hermione's somewhat oversized front teeth be dealt with in the usual way: with braces. They
send healthy snacks by owl to Hermione at Hogwarts and come with her to Diagon Alley in August to help her buy her things
for school. What they tell their family and friends about their daughter and her school is anyone's guess, but they are certainly
proud of her.
Younger Sister
At one time in the writing process, Hermione "had" a younger sister, whose name
has not been given (WBD). Rowling decided not to include that character, so Hermione became an only child. (EBF)
