Hermione Granger

Hermione Jane Granger (born September 19, 1979) is a student at Hogwarts and a very close friend of both Harry Potter and Ron Weasley.

Muggle-born to two dentists, Hermione nevertheless is widely considered to be the best student in all her subjects (except Defence Against the Dark Arts, in which Harry is the best), proving that parentage is no measure of magical ability. Many are envious of her intelligence, but few care for her occasional "know-it-all" attitude. As a leading student, she attracts the attention of many of the professors. In her third school year, Professor Minerva McGonagall thinks highly enough of Hermione to allow her the use of a Time Turner in order to fit extra classes into her schedule. Professor Severus Snape, on the other hand, treats her with a disdain second only to his dislike of Harry Potter himself. In the early books, Hermione seems to use her intellect as a shield, initially to cover her insecurities of being ignorant of the day-to-day realities of wizarding life. Coming to the wizarding world from the world of muggles allows Hermione to view things with a fresh perspective. As an example, she becomes concerned for the welfare of house-elves, and launches a campaign and an organization to promote their liberation from the shackles of servitude.

Hermione cares a great deal for her friends, and has a strong sense of morals. Though she does not have the same talent for rule-breaking as Harry and Ron, she has been known to overlook some boundaries when needed. Although she is certainly bookish, Hermione also demonstrates a real practical bent. She excels in areas of study that rely upon learning and technique, such as charms and transfiguration, rather than intuition or feelings. She is accordingly entirely scornful of classes in divination and displays an almost shocking, but refreshing disrespect for the divination professor, Sybill Trelawney.

In her relationships, she has once been romantically involved with Viktor Krum, however this is not the case as she has feelings for Ronald Weasley. Some fans interpret certain of her interaction with Harry to indicate romantic feelings. However this is strongly disputed. Intellectual and idealistic; extremely capable with a wand, Hermione as heroine is an interesting interpretation of a modern girl.