Hermione mysteries

Some people have a theory that information about Ginny has been kept from the reader for a reason.
The same could be said about Hermione. She's the lead female character and yet:
We haven't been to her family's house. We don't know anything about her parents. Her feelings for the two boys appear to have been kept deliberately ambiguous in GOF. We don't know what kind of wand she has. We didn't see her look in the mirror of Erised. We didn't see her face the boggart in Lupin's class. We didn't see her under the imperius curse in the fake Moody's class.
Does anyone have any theories on why JKR has kept such information back?

Just for reference, we do know something about Hermione's parents -- they're dentists who prefer Muggle methods of fixing teeth than magic.

I agree we don't know her as well as Ron and Harry, but Harry is the main character, and Ron is his ultimate best friend. So we know more of them than we do Hermione, and that could be the simple answer.

But about her parents - perhaps there's nothing to know? They're just Hermione's mum and dad, who happen to be dentists. Perhaps they have nothing on the plot and so that's why we have yet to have met them. And we didn't see her face the Boggart in class, but saw her face it in her exam to balance it out. And her feelings for Harry and Ron have been shown numerous times ... friendship. That, at least, is not ambiguous.

True, but we don't even know their first names, where they live, even if hermione has younger siblings.

Hello, how you see i´m new. (Excuse myself for bad english)
But i hope you understand what i want to say or write.
So here we go: I think JKR has a reason for not realy introduce Hermione. My opinion is she need this mysteries, otherwise her story would´nt realy work. Look at yourself we all thinking about some question but can´t realy answer.
Hermione must come very important in later Book, thats the reason why we don´t realy know her. I mean there some other charakters we dont realy know, look at the Potters or the reason why Voldi want Harry kill.
This thing with the Mirror, i think it´s shows our weaknis. If we would know where here weaknis lay. It would take away a big part of later figths. So is it with Ron, he see himself with all things, what make him in GoF jealousy. By Harry is it his lost of Parents.

I think there's a trend from the past two books of Hermione becoming more important within the trio. She went on with Harry after Ron was knocked out in the shrieking shack/time turner sequences in POA, then helped Harry with the first task in GOF when he wasn't talking to Ron. Ron has been fleshed out pretty well: we've been to his home, got to know his family, got to know his problems etc.
Maybe as FlyingPhoenix says, the fact that Hermione is a bit of a mystery in some respects suggests we're going to find out more about her in future books.

:welcome: FlyingPhoenix!

I believe that we will find more about Hermione, because she is one of the main characters. We know her mental abilities, we know how much she likes to study, read and learn, but we don't know her desires. We should see her parents again, I guess. And I think that we'll see how she feels for Ron (or Harry) in the 5th book.

Hermione Granger
-Both of her parents are dentists.
-She is very good at school, vey smart, the first of the class, never breaks a rule (actually...since Harry and Ron are her best friends...eh...)
-Hobby: Reading...right? Books are her answer to all the questions; you'll find whatever you're searching for in the library.
-Probably Hermione is the only person in Hogwarts that has read "Hogwarts, a history".
-Her pet's name is Crookshanks, and it's a cat.
-She's the person Viktor Krum values the most. :D

I'd suggest that the reason why we haven't been to Hermione's house is because it's an ordinary Muggle house, and we know what they're like. Her parents do seem to be interested in the Muggle world (going to Diagon Alley in COS). It might be interesting to find out just what they think about having a witch daughter, and how Hermione feels about living in both worlds.

Some things like her parents names and her house probably are just not important to the story at all. However, i believe that she just has to play a very major role in the story later on, so she's being kept a mystery. We've gotten to know her so well, yet she's a mystery - why? Hermione however, has had very important roles in the books, without sounding like i'm putting Ron down - far more so than Ron. I believe there are will be a plot twist around the Hermione character sometime perhaps in book 6 or even the start of book 7.

We know from PoA that Hermione is excellent at keeping secrets (time turner). I'm not sure she has any secrets about her past or her parents, but if she did no one would suspect anything.

That is true. I mean if she can something like a Time Turner keep secret. Think about what more secrets she could have. Look at PoA in exame by Lupin, nobody know what she has see as Boggart. She says only: Professor Mcgonagal says she fails all.
And we think she means classes, but it could be so much more.

Thank you Guardian Angel for welcoming

Actually, i think that bit is self explanatory. Hermione's biggest fear is failure, plain and simple. Its other factors, like why we didn't find out about her and the Imperius curse, why her romantic feelings are kept hidden, why we don't know about her wand. Her cat, Crookshanks is also somewhat mysterious. I honestly think theres going to be some serious plot twists around her sooner or later.

you nkow have thought about that. i mean hermoine isnt always in the spotlight, but sheshined in POA. in GOF that was manly about crouch and harry. in COS that was mostly harry.
i love how JKR has these surprising twists. and that why she probably hasnt put her in the spotlight.
remeber this pattern
SS was all three of them
COS was HArry and hermoine
POA was hermoine and harry
GOF was harry by himself
(i'm talking abotu the big battles at the end of the books)
maybe in OOTP it will be ron and hermoine rescuing harry or something.

You also have to remember that Hermione was an outcast in the first half of the first book. The boys didn't want to have anything to do with her until the troll incident. Because of that, Harry and Ron had made a steadfast grounding in their friendship. Hermione has ground to make up in what the boys know about her. Although, because they are nearing their 5th year, you'd think that they'd know more about her, but maybe they know what they want to know about her. No one ever knows everything about their friends. Hermione could be keeping these things from the boys because she figures that it would add nothing to the friendship. Just knowing that her parents are Muggles tells the reader where she comes from and her upbringing.

For what it's worth, a lot of literature that is considered great has a major female character that is "hidden" from the reader. What I mean by that is exactly what Sirius said above. She is a principal character in the story, but a lot of her psyche is deliberately hidden from the reader.

In the past, literary critics would read these works and dismiss the importance of the female characters. Since the '60s, when feminist literary criticism emerged, many female characters went under intense re-examination to determine exactly how "unimportant" they were to the story.

What resulted was a whole new perspective on the construction of the female in literary works and how much information was either a) kept from the reader or b) provided by the author, but in such a subtle way that nobody noticed them until they started looking.

We ended up with scores of essays that tried to figure out what were the motives of the female characters, what were their thoughts on what was happening to them and around them, what were their views and convictions and so on.

A Harry Potter example is the Love Thread, and the discussion that Sirius alluded to. When the female character is "hidden," she actually gets the most attention nowadays. There is more to discuss because the information is not readily available. It's hidden, and we have to search for meaning. Through this process, the female character is thrust to the forefront and becomes the focal point.

Hermione did battle the boggart in the final exam... it was McGonagall saying she'd failed all her classes :LOL:

Actually, cedric - the interesting thing is that Hermione actually had more than what you speak of there.

PS/SS - All 3 of them, but Hermione helps figure out most of the stuff and goes on to the next challenge to get to Quirrel - without Ron.

COS - Hermione helps through her research a LOT, in fact, far more so than Ron did, even though Ron was around right up to getting through the entrance to the Chamber. Ron really wasn't all that much help interestingly.

POA - Hermione was distanced at the start, but really more from Ron than Harry. Her "fight" with Harry was very, very short lived. Interestingly though, in this book Harry doesn't go solo for the ending, Hermione is there with him.

GOF - Harry lost everything except Hermione, and when he got Ron back - it was still Hermione who gave him most of the help.

The point i'm trying to make is that Hermione has had a very front line role right from the very start, even though she's not the lead character. Interesting.

OOTP - While Ron and Hermione having the spotlight to save Harry may sound nice, the books are told through Harry, so this scenario can't really be done properly. One or both of them has to be with Harry, really. I could see a situation where Ron gets the spotlight with Harry, but not Ron and Hermione off on their own.

What i'm getting at through this entire post though, is that Hermione, although not the lead character, has been given a more...front line role than any of the other characters(Harry not included of course, being the lead character...). However, despite this, Hermione is still a great mystery. I cannot help but think that she is going to be the subject of a plot twist or two because of this role Rowling has given her. Right up at the front of the action, but yet a great mystery. As i said a couple times in this post, interesting.

Originally posted by Penelope Clearwater (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=236531#post236531))
Although, because they are nearing their 5th year, you'd think that they'd know more about her, but maybe they know what they want to know about her. No one ever knows everything about their friends. Hermione could be keeping these things from the boys because she figures that it would add nothing to the friendship.

Hermione doesn't really seem to confide her own personal thoughts with Harry and Ron - plus, they don't really seem to want to know. And now that Hermione's really growing up, you kind of wonder if she has a female friend somewhere. It's mentioned her and Ginny being together a few times, but are they really friends, or just friendly because Hermione's Ron's friend, and Ginny's Ron's sister? Somehow I can imagine Hermione having midnight chats with Lavender and Parvati in their dormitory.

Hermione's definitely a character that has room for development and a larger role in future books.

Wonderful post Perdita!

The information presented in the books is filtered through Harry's perspective, so some of what we don't know may be character driven. Harry tends to take people at face value. This possibly stems from the fact that he usually has bigger concerns, ie Voldemort, Black, the tournament. It's only when his personal view of someone is directly challenged that he really pays attention to them, and even then he rarely goes deeper than the immediate.

For instance, while he noticed Neville's reaction to the Cruciatus, it was Hermione that pro-actively confronted the problem. When Harry found out about Neville's parents, he didn't use the information as a jumping point. Rather he made a subtle change to his personal view of Neville and moved on.

Hermione isn't the type of person to volunteer much about herself. Maybe it's a learned behavior. Who knows what problems her intellect caused her in her other schools. Or maybe it's just part of her personality. But it's very important for her to project cool competence in everything she does. This acts as a barrier, and makes it difficult for people to really know her. Hagrid seems to see through it at least to some extent. But given Harry's personality, he doesn't even try. For JKR to reveal more information about Hermione, she would either need to change Harry's character to the point where he starts taking a deeper interest in people, or have events conspire to bring out the hidden parts of Hermione more blatantly.

[i]Originally posted by Ferrik
Hermione isn't the type of person to volunteer much about herself. Maybe it's a learned behavior. Who knows what problems her intellect caused her in her other schools. Or maybe it's just part of her personality. But it's very important for her to project cool competence in everything she does.

I don't know if British families are like this, but some US families operate as "keep it in the family" and "what happens in the home stays in the home". What this means is you don't tell anyone what your parents, brothers and sisters are up to. It's just to put on a false facade of the perfect family, or an attempt to not burden others with your problems (the idea that if you have a complaint you should keep your mouth shut). I wonder if Hermione was raised that way.

It's also possible that Hermione feels that if she doesn't release information about her parents, she is protecting them from danger. Because she comes from a Muggle family, she is the only one that has any powers and she may not want to endanger her parents in giving too much information away about them.

Hermione isn't the type of person to volunteer much about herself. Maybe it's a learned behavior. Who knows what problems her intellect caused her in her other schools. Or maybe it's just part of her personality. But it's very important for her to project cool competence in everything she does. This acts as a barrier, and makes it difficult for people to really know her. Hagrid seems to see through it at least to some extent. But given Harry's personality, he doesn't even try.
xxxxx
Nice post Ferrik. I think in GOF Harry began to be a lot more interested in what's going on in Hermione's head. There's numerous examples of him wondering what she's thinking or correctly guessing what she's thinking. It seems to be the start of Harry wanting to know more about her.

Hello,
I think that Hermione will play a bigger role perhaps as i would like to see ,harrys true love.and jk did keep it back on purpose i think,think about it .First thing a writer does before beginning on her story is to devlope their characters so Jk has a developed character on hermione somewhere and may use it later .you know what i think ron may die also maybe in book 6 or 7!sorry bout that mad blast at the end but i thought about it and i think he will.

Originally posted by Turambar (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=236768#post236768))
Nice post Ferrik. I think in GOF Harry began to be a lot more interested in what's going on in Hermione's head. There's numerous examples of him wondering what she's thinking or correctly guessing what she's thinking. It seems to be the start of Harry wanting to know more about her.


I agree with Turambar. What he has experienced in GOF will likely make him want to get to know Hermione a lot deeper in the future. Why? Because she is so mature for her age and has such insight into humanistic behaviour and social issues. These are two things that, I expect, will be explored more in depth in the future battles with Voldemort.

Also, with the gravity of Harry's problems, I can only see Hermione becoming the confidant for him, the one that he goes to for advice and not have to feel shy or ashamed. They have started to build up this relationship already, so I don't see any reason why this would not continue.

What they have gone through together has probably changed his view of her already. In the future, they will only get closer and closer, and through this relationship, we will learn more about Hermione.

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Thanks for the compliment, Ferrik! :o

I think Hermione's played a sufficiently large role in the past books, although I agree that she's been portrayed in a somewhat narrow way (focusing solely on her bookishness, etc.) But we are learning more and more about her nature, her courage, her desires to help those less fortunate than her.

I agree that the reason we don't know certain things about her is that the stories are streamed through Harry's point of view. He doesn't know everything about her and she hasn't confided in him everything (for whatever reason).

But she's definetly one of the main characters and I have no doubt that we'll learn a lot more about her (and the other characters) in the much awaited upcoming books.

JK Rowling writes the books from an angled 3rd person POV... and that's angled from harry's POV. and the way she writes also has us learning information as it comes to harry, most of it that is. and i think as the plot becomes really complex and detailed, jk rowling honestly can't throw in useless information anymore. maybe we'll learn more about hermione when harry learns it and if it's really important... but most other things, we don't really need to know.

plus, all information that harry gets is either really crucial to the plot, or crucial to the continuous establishing of the wizarding world. that's why we learn so much about ron, so we can learn more about the wizarding world.

I think Hermione's role will be pivital, whether in a good or bad way I am still not sure.

Maybe we don't know more because Harry never asked.
We know that Hermione cares about her friends (helping Neville and Hagrid in addition to Harry). She's in school so a lot of her time is taken up with studying and she hasn't had time to develop many other interests. She's growing up so nothing about her is set in stone (well not much).
She probably doesn't think about romance. She keeps herself busy.

Harry didn't ask about Neville either. Maybe he'll get in the habit of asking his friends more later on.

That's a really good point Fuchsia. Harry is really proud and doesn't really seem to want to be over-inquisitive in regards to his friends. And she does care a lot about her friends. Hopefully we will get more information on Hermione some time or other. I'm hoping that it will be important to the story, but if personal details about Hermione aren't important we probably won't get to know all that we want to know.

I think we'll get to know something more :) JK Rowling has a great way of putting information in there without weighing down the plot.
She has planned so much. She has to tell us!

She is also really good at slipping important things in that the reader doesn't really think twice about. Maybe she will do this with Hermione. And I do think Hermion is to central of a character for us to never learn something about her and her family.

Actually, i think the fact that we don't know a lot about Hermione despite how much time she gets in the story means that she has a major role coming up, so JKR is being careful not to give away too much just yet.

Hermione is supposed to lighten up in book 4, maybe she'll start talking to Harry about some things more and we learn some stuff about her...

Hermione is a life friend who you grow up with and care about forever. No matter what Harry is doing she'll be there in some way for him. He's there for her too. Oh yeah we'll learn plenty :)
She's a young girl now so maybe there isn't a lot to know yet.

JK forshadows though, Sirius83. Why would she do that only to leave out information about Hermione?

Like Fuchsia said, Hermione is here to stay. So I do think that we will learn more about her and maybe it will even have some role in the story. Or it might be found out the same way we have found out about Ron, by them spending time together and talking, like all friends do.

Okay I have a few minutes to spare and as usual I'm going to be the voice of oposition.

Hermione's character is developed. Many pointed it out on the past's love threads. The bits of information we don't know about her are not contradictory or mysterious. As usual the voice of oposition.

I don't see Hermione as the lead character. Sorry! Yes she is one of the central characters, but as the lead no. I see her as equal as Ron. I'm not saying that she is important, she is very important but not to the point of being the lead.

When one's life is in danger you tend to reveal things you otherwise wouldn't. Maybe Hermione and Harry will be stuck in that kind of situation and will talk.

Yes, maybe all of Hermione's deepest, darkest secrets will be revealed. Everything we thought we knew about Hermione will be wrong and when she doesn't die in the near death experience, we will them be left with someone we don't know. :p

Yes! We'll discover what Hermione was really studying all of this time. :lol:

Well, she is also realy protective of Harry...and I wonder why???
I mean, Ron does not take things as seriously as she does; I think she knows something that Harry doesn't (that we don't)...maybe she read it somewhere or read some of it an figured it out the other part, and then maybe MacGonagall asked her notto tell anything to the boys.....what I'm almost sure os, is that SHE KNOWS SOMETHING...:ghost:

If the books were told from Hermione or Ron's point of view, I don't think we'd know all that much about Harry's home life. It's not something he discusses much at school. In fact, I think the only reason we know so much about Ron's is that it's sort of inescapable--most of his family is right there.

Maybe its because its late, but i can't seem to see the connection between the foreshadowing and leaving out info, Fuchsia? Come again?

I have to disagree that Hermione's character is developed. None of the characters are fully developed yet. Hemrione also isn't the lead character and i fully agree, but she has been getting more spotlight than Ron - however, for all the attention she gets, she remains a mystery in several ways. This only further adds to my belief that Hermione is due to be the source of a plot twist sometime later in the story, and thats when her mysteries will come out. There is no way she's been getting so much attention yet being kept such a mystery for no reason.

Hermione is still a mystery. She can shock you with rule breaking one minute and the next minute she is in her books and strictly sticking to the rules.

Posted by GilyAnn
I don't see Hermione as the lead character. Sorry! Yes she is one of the central characters, but as the lead no. I see her as equal as Ron. I'm not saying that she is important, she is very important but not to the point of being the lead.
xxxxx
Who said she was the lead character? I said initially that she was the lead female character which she is. Harry is obviously the lead character.

It´s the mysteries of Hermione that makes the Books interesset. I mean it´s not this mysteries, but others too.
Look at PS/SS with Snape. In the whole book we ask is he evil? At the end the answer is no. But there other question about him, why he is so bad spezial agains Harry? We´re all knew we have become answer about Snape in Book 3 and 4.

What about Hermione? I think JKR will make her lighten up in 5. But not change her in person. I mean she show us a other part. A part we don´t know. For example her desire and her feminin side, i think so.

To the point how important Hermione is, in my opinion she is very important. She has in every book the key in her hand. By her is the plot.
Uhm i think i show you what i mean:

1. PS/SS Without Hermione harry would´nt know about Fluffy and what he garding.
Later without her he would´nt face Voldemort/Quirrel.

2.COS She has all answers about the chamber of secrets in her hand.

3. PoA Hermione has the Time Turner.(thats my key, you know)

4. Gof. At the first sight we don´t see it realy, but she is it who teach Harry the Summoning Charm. It´s the charm who save later Harry live.
(Accio Portkey, you got me.)

I don´t like it but JKR make Hermione very important, even more important than Ron. After Harry is she the important Person in this books. And i think in 5,6 and 7 she will become more a part of this books.
I mean it´ll come dark times, am i right?! So and Hermione is muggleborn, so i think thats a problem. She is in someway in same danger like Harry. But Ron a pure blood haven´t this problem. I think Voldi would Hermione without a secound thougth kill but by Ron, he will think twice.
And what about what say JKR to growing in GoF. She says: Harry must face his fame, Ron his jealousy (All bad thinks, i mean problems) and Hermione face her politic. Uhm is this somethink bad i ask myself? No, i say first. But later what if it has something to do that she would do everythink for someone, who is in trouble. That could bring her in danger later, i´m wrong.

Sorry for this, but i want say it.

It's pretty obvious to me that Hermione has far more magical ability than Harry and Ron.... She'll play a HUGE part in upcoming books. Just hope she doesn't die...:)

In the first book, before coming to Hogwarts,
- Hermione had been routinely using simple spells - she says so in the train when she looks in on Ron and Harry whilst helping Neville look for his toad
- Hermione had virtually memorised "Hogwarts - a history"
- Hermione had all the accroutements that were needed for her first year, including clothing
- Hermione was already comfortable with many aspects of the wizarding world, from the media (Daily Prophet) to communications (Owl post)
Question: If her parents are muggles -
- did she instinctively discover the spells she had been using or did she learn them from someone else, and if so, who?
- can she do spells without a wand or has she had a wand for some period of time?

I think she was just SO enthusiastic about being a wizard, and becuase she read all the books, she learnt to do some spells, and also read about how wizards send post by Owls etc. She did once mention how she was surprised that she was going to go to Hogwarts; or at least I think so...

I personally believe Hermione will have a big secret; but I dont think we will find ot much more about her life outside Hogwarts.
We may not go to her house ever. I get the impression that her parents, although they like her being a witch, arent so keen on magic as she is - they wanted Hermione to have a brace to have her teeth straightened, instead of using magic.

HPmons,

I'm interested in your "big secret" idea. Would you mind elaborating on it?

Do you think that the secret will pertain to her magical abilities? Or do you think it will be a result of her muggle ancestry? Or do you think that it will be something along the lines of having secret knowledge of something about Voldemort and/or Harry?

Posted by Flying Phoenix:
To the point how important Hermione is, in my opinion she is very important. She has in every book the key in her hand. By her is the plot.
Uhm i think i show you what i mean:
1. PS/SS Without Hermione harry would´nt know about Fluffy and what he garding.
Later without her he would´nt face Voldemort/Quirrel.
2.COS She has all answers about the chamber of secrets in her hand.
3. PoA Hermione has the Time Turner.(thats my key, you know)
4. Gof. At the first sight we don´t see it realy, but she is it who teach Harry the Summoning Charm. It´s the charm who save later Harry live.
(Accio Portkey, you got me.)
xxxxx
Interesting Flying Phoenix.
In comparison to Hermione, Ron played the chess match at the end of PS, didn't really do anything much at the end of COS, had Scabbers in POA, helped a bit with training for the third task in GOF.

Quote:
It's pretty obvious to me that Hermione has far more magical ability than Harry and Ron.... She'll play a HUGE part in upcoming books. Just hope she doesn't die...
________________________________________________

Hermione does not have more magical ability than Harry. She just learns faster and is very book smart. She also spends alot more time studying than Harry and Ron. Harry was able to summon a petronus as a 3rd year. Harry was also the only one that was able to fight the imperius curse.

Im not really sure what kind of secret she will have really. But she picks up on things that other people dont - But like Turambar said, She was able to work out the Potion Puzzle in PS, she realised the chamber of secrets must contain a basilisk, and she also noticed that Lupin was a werewolf in PoA.

I think that she will pick up on something about Voldermort, possible helping Harry to understand how to defeat him.

Hermione is the main female character in the books. Although DD is wise, he doesnt know exactly what Harry is doing at every moment in his life, but Hermione does (or at least all of it in Hogwarts) and so if ever DD isnt around, she will always be there to help Harry. She still hasnt become wise yet, as she is still a teenager, and that is clear because of the fact that she still doesnt say Voldermorts name, but she will eventually Im sure...

Hpmons: it was Flying Phoenix who pointed that out.
Mad Eye Mike posted in the love thread that in GOF Harry was basically stripped of everything he was used to except Hermione.

xxxxx
Mike posted that these were:
"1. Ron as his best friend
2. Feeling AND being physically safe as long as Dumbledore was around
3. People treating him positively because of his fame
4. Hagrid always being there
5. Everyone at school looking up to him
It seemed like JKR deliberately began getting Harry used to the idea that things won't always be the same. The only thing that didn't change was Hermione and as a matter of fact she did. She began blowing off classes but it was to help him. No matter how much changed in Harry's life, one thing remained constant - Hermione being there for him. I believe that's got to mean something in JKR's world."
xxxxxx

This ties in with what Flying Phoenix and Hpmons were saying about Hermione's importance to the overall story.
Personally I think the reason why we don't know much about the Grangers is they could become more important in the next books if they become a target. We've been told that in the rise of Voldemort there were Muggle killings and killing the parents would be a way of getting at Hermione, publically named as Harry's Muggle-born girlfriend.
We could get to know them only to have them killed off as was the case with Cedric.

Thanks Turambar! Finally someone credited me when using my theories! Yay! :clappy: J/K.

Yes, Hermione is a very enigmatic character. If she wasn't, she would never incite the kind of discussion she does in various threads.

Hermione is crucial to Harry growing up. She is so smart and is always willing to help Harry when he's in need. Having such a clever witch for a friend is invaluable.

Doesn't anyone remember Hermione spent 1/2 of COS petrified?
Hermione has faults too. She IS bossy. She took it upon herself to give the Firebolt to McGonagall. She could've said something to Harry first.
I've always thought that was wrong.

Quote:
Doesn't anyone remember Hermione spent 1/2 of COS petrified?
Hermione has faults too. She IS bossy. She took it upon herself to give the Firebolt to McGonagall. She could've said something to Harry first.
I've always thought that was wrong.
_________________________________________

It was more like 1/3rd than 1/2. Hermione is becoming more laid back now.

I don't really understand. You say Hermione has more screen time than any other character in the books except Harry, but then you say she's an enigma? I don't get it.

Hermione isn't ALWAYS willing to help Harry when he's in need. When Harry brought his golden egg into the common room, she said he was supposed to figure it out himself.

Of course she's a very good friend in general, and a very helpful person.

If Hermione feels Harrys in any real danger she is always ready to help.

That's true about a lot of characters in the series. It's not a "mystery."

I also think Harry and Hermione identify with each other.
Both only children who grew up not knowing they had magical powers.
And, they had to be more independent because of it. No siblings to rely on. We know the Grangers take her on trips. She went to France (she knew all about boullibaise sp?). She is kind. She gives the boys Xmas and birthday presents (only speculating about Ron's b-day, as many have said it's "Harry Potter and the ***" not "Ron Weasley and the ***")
She cares about both boys. She's had to mediate between them several times. She's a good friend to have on your side.
Yes, I do think there's more to her and we're bound to find out what it is.

I want to know what Hermione was talking to Krum about before she went on the train.

Probably about visiting him over the summer. :)

Originally posted by Potter80 (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=241893#post241893))
I want to know what Hermione was talking to Krum about before she went on the train.


I would guess it's like saying good-bye to a new friend at summer camp. Exchanging phone numbers, addresses, and e-mail/IM names. They were most likely doing that sort of thing.

They could have been talking about just being friends.

They could have been talking about anything!

I agree with Turumbar. I worry about Hermione's parents in future books. Today I finished rereading GoF and I was struck by Volde's asking Lucius if he was ready to take the lead in a spot of muggle torture. I had always assumed Volde meant just torturing muggles in general, but today I felt Volde had specific muggles in mind (because he said "a spot" rather than "the spot").

I wonder if Volde will have Hermione's family tortured as a way to find or get at Harry.

Minor Hermione mystery: Do the guys ever get her gifts? Like what?
She must know what some of the other girls think about Harry and Ron, assuming she chats with them (which I think is not deep, just chit chat). What does she think about this?

Good point Linda. Draco hates Hermione and would tell his dad about her. Lucius knows Hermione scores higher on her exams than Draco. I think Harry and Ron do give Hermione gifts, they just don't mention it.

Linda, Voldemort was making a statement, not asking a question. He's saying that Malfoy was torturing Muggles at the Quidditch World Cup, but never came back to find him.

Hi Linda,

that's a very interesting question! Even though the story is told from Harry's pov, I cannot remember an instance when he has mentioned what he bought her for Christmases or birthdays?

That's very strange. And they never celebrate Ron's birthday either, even though it occurs during the school year. Same with Hermione.

As for what she thinks of what other girls say about Harry and Ron, she most often probably hears comments of how the boys are so great and whatnot...and since Hermione knows them personally, she probably would simply :rolleyes: at their comments. Not that she doesn't think they're great chaps, but she also knows their faults and so she might be wary of the hero-worshipping attitude of other girls.

They're not exactly from Harry's POV, and JK has said in interviews that he gets presents for them too. :)

They don't always talk about the other holidays either. Valentines day was only in the 2nd book.

Perdita: it was interesting that Parvati and Lavender's first reaction when being told about the Yule Ball was to look at Harry and giggle!

Linda: good point about Voldemort's comment. JKR said in an interview that all the important stuff in COS got into the movie and the movie made a big play of the scene with Lucius in Diagon Alley, where he got a look at Hermione's parents and mentioned they were Muggles.

I've been thinking about that a while now. Lucius showed that he knows about Hermione's muggle born status and are are shown him watching Mr and Mrs Granger. I can't help but think they're in a lot of danger now.

They looked at Harry and giggled because Parvarti wanted Harry to ask her out. She only wanted his fame though. Hermione's parents are in danger but I think DD knows this and will be protecting them.

Originally posted by delemtri
I don't really understand. You say Hermione has more screen time than any other character in the books except Harry, but then you say she's an enigma? I don't get it.


It's very possible and easy for a character to be a big part of a story and still be a mystery to readers in certain aspects. Hermione is the perfect example of this. What do we really know about her? She gets screen time teaching Harry, studying, going to classes, investigating, etc; but what do we really know about her personally? We know loads about Ron, but we really don't know much about Hermione other than she's a bookworm who's the brightest student at the school.

You´re right i think she and her parents will be one of the first victims.
Think about what Malfoy say´s at the end of GoF.
"They´ll be the first to go, now the Dark Lord´s back! Mudbloods and Muggle-lovers first!"
We do know, i think we do, that by Harry´s or better Dursleys House a security is. But whats with his friends?! We don´t know about this.
In my opinion Ron is´nt in such a danger like Hermione. I mean she is it, who was in Daily Prophet. I could swear it read, that she is muggleborn. Thats say everybody who want hurt Harry knows who he must start, right. I think that´s one of the reasons, why we don´t know her realy. JKR has from the beginnig Hermione real personality lost in shadow. Why? She have to show her in 5, 6 and 7. How she take the hate of other wizard and witches. It´s right Malfoy hate her, but he is only one who show it till now.
But now after Voldi is back, what will other dark wizards do. All wizards who hates muggleborn, but wasn´t brave enough to show, they will show it now.
Thats why we will learn more about Harrys mother, she has lifed in such a time, right. She was muggleborn and she has never know, how it´s to live without hate.
Im finish.

Flying Phoenix, do you mean Hermione finding out about how Lily coped will help her survive?

In someways, yeah i think so. But the important thing is that she will have to learn not break at this hate. I mean more emotional survive then her real live. You know, when you have to learn how it is that some people hate you becourse you have other blood you will change your thinking and your doing. You´rent anymore free in your mind.
We know she is very smart, thats the reason why she will think about Lily. Maybe she finding out about Lilys time at Hogwarts.

Hermione probably knows more in this moment about Harry's past than Harry himself.

In the library there must be some biographical stuff about Harry's family, and in the newspapers of that time: every wizard would have liked to know all about the guy who defeated Voldemort when he was 1 year old and his family.

I think who the DEs will attack depends on what their goal is, and when it takes place. If their goal is to get at Harry, then they will go straight at Hermione. This is based on the premise that they will attack during the school year. If the attacks take place during the summer, such as trying to find out the exact whereabouts of Harry, then I can see them going at the Grangers and her parents suffering at the hands of the DEs in order to get information from her. But still, I see Ron and the Weasleys facing the same threat because they have actually been to Privet Drive to meet Harry, whereas Hermione has not.

Unless their goal is to terrorize Hermione only, then I agree that her parents are in very grave danger.

-----
It had not occurred to me before now that we truly have not seen Hermione going through much suffering. I like Flying Pheonix’s suggestion that it will be through an intense trial that Hermione will show her true personality, and her strength. I also like the idea that the other students who have had to hide their dislike of muggle-born wizards and witches will also begin to show their true colours.

As for learning about Lily, I doubt that we’ll learn about her through Hermione's research. If the information is all out there in the textbooks and newspapers, why hadn't she discovered them earlier?

It seems like Lily is also shrouded in quite a bit of mystery. Information is not readily available to anyone who wants to know, rather it is deliberately kept hidden away.

You´re right Perdita with Lily. That´s why i´m thinking Hermione will find something out. Possible more accidently. There won´t books or Newspapers about her in libery. The Reason is she wasen´t famous. I think thats the same with James he wasen´t famous, too.
With the fact that Hermione is muggleborn and after reborn of Voldi, i think harry will have to think about the fact that his mother was in someways in same boot. So he has to see things different, then he has it till now.

Actually, it seems Lily and James Potter were prominent figures in the fight against Voldemort. We're supposed to find out some big stuff on them aren't we? In any case, Harry being the boy who lived means everyone would have wanted to know about the Potter family in general. There would be records on them. Hermione could in fact probably find some stuff on Lily in the library, and with all the Lily/Hermione parallels, i'm guessing she could learn a lot from knowing about her.

I think one of the key things here is Harry has to break out of the habit of not asking questions. It's one of the first things we learn about him isn't it, in PS: "Don't ask questions - that was the first rule for a quiet life with the Dursleys."
Hagrid, Sirius and Lupin must know a lot about James and Lily for a start that they could tell Harry.
But I like the idea of Hermione finding out what happened to Lily. It makes the Hermione/Lily parallel more overt.

I agree that if Hermione were to somehow discover some important information by accident, that it would be a very intriguing mystery to read. In fact, Flying Pheonix made it sound so exciting in her description that I wish that that is what will happen. *Sigh*

However, I was under the impression that the conversation between DD and Harry would be the place where Harry finds out a lot, if not everything, about his parents' past.

Unless Lily knew some deep dark secret that is important to the fight against Voldemort, and yet she kept the knowledge of it from DD and James, otherwise I cannot see a scenario where Hermione's discovery might come about.

Hermione doesn't know anything yet, thats for sure. If she knew something about Harrys past she would tell him. I think she would feel that Harry has a right to know. I don't think there would be much imformation on the Potters life. I think DD would want to keep that a secret to keep Harry safe.

After reading all these excellent posts, I'm now (sorta) convinced that Hermione does know a lot about Harry's past. Of course there must be records about James and Lilly (James at least). And Hermione is an avid researcher and fact checker (remember how she looked up the animagus registry?).

Perhaps McGonagall and/or DD have asked her not to divulge what she knows about Harry just yet, because he wasn't ready. Similar to DD asking Harry not to let on that he knows about Neville's parents.

On another note, JRK was asked in an interview which character she is most like or who it was based on (I can't remember which). She very quickly answered "Hermione" and said something about not being proud of that because she (JKR) was a bit of a know-it-all/library buff at that age. How does this fit into what we're guessing about Hermione? Hmm...

I've just finished reading GoF for the 3rd or 4th time, and now I'm starting on CoS for the 3rd time. So many of you are so right...Hermione has been true and constant to Harry. Never doubted his character, never argued, never been "different." Always reliable. Ron's great, but I think I'd prefer Hermione as a best friend.

Linda:try posting in the love thread!
Good points. Apart from both being brilliant Muggle-born students, Lily and Hermione have a connection in that both are talented at charm work. Perhaps Hermione knows of a charm that Lily used which is important. It's likely to be something that's been hinted at.

What is Hermiones best subject?

She seems to be very good at transfiguration and is a favourite of mcGonagall's

She also seems to be very good at charms. Isn't her wand best for charms?

Don't forget Charms. Seems she's always doing well in that class, a favorite of Flitwicks as well, i believe. Pretty good at Potions too but we don't have any knowledge of her exceptional potions class work...charms and transfiguration...hum...

Posted by Sirius83
charms and transfiguration...hum...
xxxxx
The areas James and Lily were good at.

I wonder if Hermione’s wand has a dragonheart string at the centre? Maybe she will be able to use her wand to charm dragons. Norbert, for example, could return. In their fight againt Voldemort, Norbert could help them, and other N. ridgebacks from his colony could as well. After all, Hermione was one of the ones who saved him from death. Since he recognized Hagrid as his “mummy,� maybe he’ll remember Hermione and Harry as well, and agree to help them?

Ah…all of this reminds me of Dragonlance.

It seems to me that Hermione is good at all subjects. I don't think we have any information on what Hermione's wand is good for, thus the mystery around her.

a lil off the edge.i never realized how much we dont know.

One interesting point was made in this thread a few posts ago.
Harry had it drummed into his head to "Never ask questions."
This could be a huge reason he has never thought to go do research on his own to find out more about his family and his past.

I guess for this thread that would show why he doesn't know more about Hermione.

As for the development of Hermione's character, I thought that S.P.E.W. was an ingenious way to give us some insight on what Hermione is thinking. Her "mission" tells us that she is
-not afraid to stand up for what she thinks is right, even when no one else agrees with her.
-determined - nothing gets in her way when she has something in mind.
-loyal
-persistent - I think she will continue her House-elf freedom crusade in Book 5.
-intelligent (I know we knew this already) - she can apply what she knows to the issues at hand (displayed many times throughout the books) - she's not just book smart.

There's more but I can't think of it right now.

SPEW was a really good insight into her character. That is a really good point.

SPEW did tell us alot about Hermione, but she is still a big mystery. I hope we learn alot more about her in OotP.

Posted by EvilMeghan:
As for the development of Hermione's character, I thought that S.P.E.W. was an ingenious way to give us some insight on what Hermione is thinking. Her "mission" tells us that she is
-not afraid to stand up for what she thinks is right, even when no one else agrees with her.
-determined - nothing gets in her way when she has something in mind.
-loyal
-persistent - I think she will continue her House-elf freedom crusade in Book 5.
-intelligent (I know we knew this already) - she can apply what she knows to the issues at hand (displayed many times throughout the books) - she's not just book smart.
xxxxxx

SPEW, her take on the half giant and fame issues, and her reaction to the veelas not only add to what we know of her character but they also help define her values. They're areas where she has a lot of common ground with Harry. He was the one who brought up the house elf issue initially though he didn't like her campaign.

EDIT: Just on the issue of Hermione and her parents being in danger I notice that the movie made the Mudblood issue more overt in the Flourish and Blotts scene.
In the book it says Lucius looks at Hermione's parents and says "The company you keep, Weasley..."
In the film he says "And you must be Miss Granger. Draco's told me all about you, and your parents ... Muggles aren't they? There are cuts between Lucius, Hermione, Draco, Hermione looking at her parents and her parents in all of that.
It's emphasised or at least made clearer.

I forgot about that scene. Hermione and her family are in real danger now that Voldemort has come back to power. The Malfoy's will probably tell Voldemort about Hermione and her relationship with Harry.

The malfoys havent to do so. All what Voldi need to know stay allready in Daily Phropet. Thanks to Rita Skeeter the whole wizzard world knows how important Hermione is to Harry and of course that she is muggleborn. I ask myself if Hermione goes to bulgaria, this was in Daily phropet, too i think. She will be in realy great danger.

Originally posted by Puffskein (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=236361#post236361))
I'd suggest that the reason why we haven't been to Hermione's house is because it's an ordinary Muggle house, and we know what they're like. Her parents do seem to be interested in the Muggle world (going to Diagon Alley in COS). It might be interesting to find out just what they think about having a witch daughter, and how Hermione feels about living in both worlds.


I'm with Puffy---we may not know much because there is not much to know--and it's not essential to the story. Although we may be interested as HP fans, the general world of HP is not affected by the Granger's muggle ways.

(a bit off topic I know) But I think that Hermione wont be in great danger in the summer; just in the middle and near the end of the 5th bk.

Many people still dont believe that Voldermort has risen again, so Vol may keep a low profile at first, informing colse DEs of his plans, persuading past DEs to join him again etc. His reign of terror wont start as soon as he has been reborn, it will gradually grow, secret at first, and at some point, suddenly, the attacks will start.
When I say secret, I mean secret from most of the world. DD and his group will know quite a bit about Voldermorts actions, and Harry may have a few more dreams...

Didn't she face a boggart though? At the end of the year tests? In that obstacle course. She came running out screaming saying that McGonnigal said she'd failed everything. Right?

Padfoot127 you´re right she has say it. And all around has believe she means exams or classes, but she did´nt say it. She said she´d failed all. Maybe it has something to do with the timeturner or sómething else. I mean she has something hid like a timeturner, this something what realy difficult to hid, or not? Ron ask her everytime about her timetable, i think someone smarter had come to this Timeturner.
Well i ask myself what secrets could she hid more. I mean there is anything about her and this "failed all", where i can´t put a finger on it.
We have to wait till book 5 or never will it know.

Maybe she means she failed to help/save Harry and Ron...

Hermione has never failed to help Harry and Ron, she is always there when they need her.

Originally posted by Sam (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=256052#post256052))
I'm with Puffy---we may not know much because there is not much to know--and it's not essential to the story. Although we may be interested as HP fans, the general world of HP is not affected by the Granger's muggle ways.


I agree it is not important, but to just visit Hermione's houe for a little would be interesting.

Originally posted by Potter80 (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=260751#post260751))
Hermione has never failed to help Harry and Ron, she is always there when they need her.

I know, that's why I think her biggest fear may be not being able to do so.

Hermione' s biggest fear was failing her tests remember. I don't think Hermione would fear not being able to help Harry or Ron unless she failed and they got injured somehow.

Thats not right, she don´t say tests she said i failled all and this is different, we do only understand better think she means test. It could mean all things she does, or propose to do. I see it in someways like EvilMeghan it right it could be her fear to failed save they lives. I mean something can happen, what she can´t prevent. See at the end of GoF this with the portkey she was´nt there and she is´nt come to the idee that something could happen in the last Task like a portkey. Voldemort is stronger and has more knoweledge as Hermione. So she could failed at this point, i mean she is not a full grown witch and she can make faults she his human.

"Sh-she said I'd failed everything!"

Im not one for bizarre ideas (well, not usually) but we do not actually know that she saw professor McGonagall who told her she failed everything. Perhaps she saw something terrible, and much worse; and ran out screaming, but then when Lupin asked her what the matter was, she just made up something on the spot.

Or, maybe not.

I very much doubt we will get to see much of her life out of Hogwarts, since she is a muggle, and it would not be anything out of the ordinary. But, Im sure she will have an interesting role in future books.

I was just reading the beginning of this thread - and I remembered something. We didn't see her under the imperius curse in the fake Moody's class. And, in fact, we have had very few spells cast on her anyway. We have seen she is good at spells, but can she block them well? Would she be able to fight off an Imperius curse? I personally think that she will be put under an Imperius curse in the future. In Drama we once did a improvisation of Hogwarts, and I put Hermione under the Imperius curse (I was Malfoy); but somebody was suppose to do something, and never did, so it, sort-of, fell apart...Thrilling story I know...

That with the imperius curse is a good one. I mean somehow everytime when something happen what is important for later books, we don´t know what realy happen to one of Harrys friends. Its a important point to know how she would react under imperius curse. In the book its read that harry was the only one who has tried to resist this curse. My question is was Ron under imperius curse in the lesson, too? I can´t remember.
But something else. In GoF after this with goble of fire put Harrys name. Its read he went to the common room, but where was Hermione. I mean Ron was there, but Hermione not. Where was she? Only at the next morning is she there. I mean what had she done all the time between. This something what has realy bothering me in the whole time when i had read GoF. There was no answer and Harry has´nt ask himself, about this. I hope realy he do more ask in OotP.

I never really thought about where she was, but it does seem a little strange; she would at least be in the common room, even if she wasnt going to congratulate Harry. But I suppose it fitted in with the story that Harry didnt see her until after he saw Ron.

"Yeah, I know," said Ron who was skipping on every alternate step. He had had much more difficulty with the curse than Harry, though Moody assured him that the effects would have worn off by lunch time.

So Ron had been under the Imperius curse, and let it control him totally.

Thanks i have thought something has ring in my head. Yeah but i have think it was in a fanfic. I have to much read from this one.
That is what i thought it is strange, very strange. Maybe in libary or so. Look if it give a chance to go after the age-line, but i don´t think she would do so. This would said she had´nt believe him and by the way she had told Ron that its impossibile or so to go over the age-line

i'm pretty sure we saw ron under the imperius curse, but moody seemed to repeat the curse on harry until he could break out of it completely- maybe there simply wasn't time in the class to put hermionie under it too.

i think we will see hermionie flourish in the upcoming books- i have to agree with the suggestion that her parents are in real danger and maybe this would be the opportunity for us to find out about her in more detail.
:cool:

I'm wondering why Lupin didn't make Hermione meet the Boggart, as he didn't make Harry face it incase Volemort appeared, but we aren't told why Hermione also didn't have to face it. I think it may be due to him not wanting her to reveal that she had a time-turner. But if Lupin knows about it why hasn't Snape been told? Snape clearly has no idea about the time turner or otherwise he would have said when Sirius got away.

I think Lupin only found out about the time-turner after Harry and Hermione had saved Sirius. Before then, the only people we know who knew about it were McGonagall, DD and, possible Fudge.

You mean before the whole class, right. Yeah this is something else what i mean, when i said "everytime when something happen what is important for later books, we don´t know what realy happen to his friends(here more Hermione). I mean the boggarts are meanly in this book to show what the fear from each one is. And here again we don´t see Hermiones-fears, so is it with the imperius curse, her wand, her desire and go on. It show that JKR want in future books concentrate at her. JKR could plan something big what has to do with Hermione and all this things we don´t know about her. That we so small know her make her in someways importanter as Ron. Don´t get me wrong, but hey we know allready a many things about him, but her. Only simple things we do know about her. She like books, is very busy, protective for her friends and who are alone like Neville or the elves all good things. But we don´t know were she can get, of course her fear before flying but she can go over it if she have to. We do know something else, she is dame good to hid secrets and this is IMO very important. I mean she is like JKR herself and she can it, too.

I agree. We know of Hermiones abilities, and her achievements, and what she wants to achieve. But we dont actually know her thoughts, and her FEELINGS. The only thing we know is about her feelings is her friendships.

Things we know about Ron:
- his greatest desire is to be Quidditch captain and Head boy (be better than his brothers basically)
- His greatest fear is of spiders
- He cannot resist the Imperius Curse
- He is jealous of Krum, becuase Ron has feeling for Hermione
- He is jealous of Harry because he gets all the attention.

Things we know (or dont) about Hermione:
- We do not know her greatest desire
- she SAID her fear was McGonagall telling her she had "failed everything"
- We do not know if she can resist the Imperius Curse
- She like Krum, but seems to value Harrys friendship more
- She doesnt seem to show any jealous or anything to anyone.

Originally posted by Hpmons (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=263124#post263124))
He is jealous of Krum, becuase Ron has feeling for Hermione

This we don't know.

I havn't realised this before but if you think about it Hermione doe's have a rather 2D character.

I agree with Hpmons and Mega about the point with Rons feelings.
Mega is right, we don´t know for sure that Ron has feelings for her. I mean without quotes or rumors only facs from the books. It could have other reason why Ron acting how he acting. A example, we know he is jealous of Harry becourse he is famous and all this things, but what is if he is also jealous of Hermione. I mean she go out with Krum and Ron was a fan from this guy, right. He wanted the whole GoF till yule Ball a authograph from him or better that he talk to him. And than at Yule Ball his best Friend, who he has´nt thought as a girl till Yule Ball, too comes with this guy. I should begin to count: Harry is famous becourse of Voldemort, Hermione becourse of her smartness and Krum. Ron is´nt even in the Daily Prophet, though he is Harrys best friend.
Someone could say but Ron regonice Hermione allready before the Yule Ball, becourse he is at whole way to the greathall asking where she is. Thats right, but he have to read the Dailey Prophet, too. I mean he haven´t say anything about this to Harry after task one. No Jokes, nothing. I mean he has see that Hermione is a girl and that people in the wizzard world believe she has something going on with Harry. Malfoy do so and the half school, why should´nt Ron believe it?!

Originally posted by Hpmons (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=263093#post263093))
I think Lupin only found out about the time-turner after Harry and Hermione had saved Sirius. Before then, the only people we know who knew about it were McGonagall, DD and, possible Fudge.

Then why did he not make her face the Boggart?

Coincidence? It made it more humourous that we saw her fear at the end, and not at the beginning. Also, only she actualyl saw her fear; whilst in the lesson, everybody saw everybody elses fear.

And, it's also funny because Ron then were right when he thought the Boggart would turn into a failed test. :)

I think thats why we all think first that its failed test. but hey she know that they expect this from her. That her greatest fear could be failed the exame, she know how her friend thinks about her. So it would be strange when she run out and say something different. She is realy smart, you know.

I don't think that Hermione just failed her classes. She's really loyal to Harry and Ron and , since Harry's usually more w/ Ron than her, she probably has a lot more to do. It's possible she meant that she wasn't loyal at some point and she failed her classes and everything else she does, and she's probably hard on herself if she messes up on something. The boggart just shows us her worst fear is failure.

Hermione will grow and as she gets closer to Harry and Ron her fears will change.

Yeah, Probably.her fear of failure won't be as dominant when everything that has to do with Voldie comes into play.

We know nothing about her outside of her education. We know more about Snape then we do about her and she supposed to be a main character. Do you think JK put her in just so if Harry ever needs to find out something Hermione can just say it because she clever and proberly read it somewhere?

I don't think we have to know a lot more... I think we know quite a lot but it is ( or seems) unimportant, and it hasn't been extended to lots of text...

Hi, Mega. :) There's a thread entitled Hermione Mysteries (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7398) in this forum that addresses similar issues. This thread will probably be merged with that one or closed. If you're not sure whether a topic exists, run a search first.

This topic isn't about how we don't know nothing about Hermione. It's abot whether or not Hermione was just put in so she can say all the hard stuff so JK doesn't have to wast so much time explaining it.

We will more learn about her in future books. I mean JKR has her put into the books for more reasons than only to be smart. i think after rising from Voldi we will find a lot stuff about mudbloods. So thats the part of Hermione, she will be the one who have fight agains racism. In this time we will learn her feelings, more about her family and about her fears and maybe about her wand. She will become to a main main character, after Harry the importants Person in this books. I know there are Voldi and much more people araund, but they aren´t always around Harry. We will learn a lot about her

Borrowed this off GillyAnn in the love thread. Apparently, it's a quote from an interview with Rowling about the origins of Hermione's name.

But, it just seemed the sort of name that a pair of professional dentists who liked to prove how clever they were, do you know what I mean, give their daughter a nice unusual name that no one can pronounce.

"How clever they were," not "how special she was." That sort of wrecks the image of general permissiveness and support for their daughter's uniqueness that I've always had regarding Hermione's parents. It also makes me wonder how much of Hermione's love of learning is innate, and how much is the result of her home environment. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure she'd be just as much of a bookworm if she didn't feel any pressure to do so, but it might explain why she'd fear failing an exam more than anything else.

Originally posted by Mega (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=267862#post267862))
This topic isn't about how we don't know nothing about Hermione. It's abot whether or not Hermione was just put in so she can say all the hard stuff so JK doesn't have to wast so much time explaining it.

Ah. In that case....

I don't think Rowling would have put so much of herself in a character who was purely there for exposition. She's always saying Hermione's the one she identifies with most closely. And FlyingPhoenix makes an excellent point about her role in exploring prejudice.

I wrote this explaning the character of Hermione for a book report for an english class last year.

Hermione is the “truth-sleuth” of the trio, “comfortable in the library and is always standing at a crossroads pointing the way” (Grynbaum) for Harry and Ron.

The character of Hermione is put into the series to act as an ancher to the Muggle community, the same as Harry is, IMO. Without her though, the boys would be lost in areas of their adventures. Remember, Hermione has a basis of logic, where Harry and Ron shine else where. Without Hermione's logic to solve problems, there is a piece missing from the books. To me, Rowling added the character of Hermione to add some depth to the plot and for another source of information.

Originally posted by Hpmons (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=263124#post263124))
"Things we know about Ron:
- his greatest desire is to be Quidditch captain and Head boy (be better than his brothers basically)"
"Things we know (or dont) about Hermione:
- she SAID her fear was McGonagall telling her she had "failed everything"
- She doesnt seem to show any jealous or anything to anyone."


Ron's greatest desire at age 11 was to be the best of his brothers. We don't know what we would currently see.
As for Hermione, her greatest fear was failure. I see no reason to doubt this. Also, what about Hermione's reaction to Fleur? Not a lot of warm fuzzies going on there. :D

This what Rowena said let me think about something. It isn´t little bit strange that Hermione only in her first year go home for christmas, but later not anymore. I mean she is the only child of her perants and do see her only for few weeks in summer. Yeah somebody will say she stay becourse of Harry, but she could at least miss her parents over chrismas. But nothing. I mean Ron has his family around him, with all his brothes and his sister and he don´t go becourse they go to his older brothers,right!? He is allways talk about his Parents what they do or not, but Hermione she said nothing. Only once as Ron ask her if she can ask her parents about Flamel. Thats when we hear her parents both dentist. She don´t say something about her parents by her own. I mean this is strange, when you the most time in a year away from them.

Yeah Penelope thats truth. IMO i see her as a key for all books. She is the one who has always the right things in her mind. Look at PS/SS and COS. Later in POA she was the one with the Timeturner without Sirus were dead or worst like dead. In GoF she teach Harry the importanst spell, its the summoning spell without this Harry would be in the Hands of Voldi.

I believe Hermione will become more important that she already is in the future books as Voldemort comes back to power and we see prejudice against Muggle borns as in COS again. Hermione grounds the 2 boys, without her they would have gotten into far more trouble. She does come to their rescue a lot with last minute information but there is a lot more to her character than that.

If Hermione was only there for giving out information then Rowling could easily have made her a pure blood wizard but that fact that she is Muggle born is of great importance in my opinion.

OOOOhhhhhh! Rowena Ravenclaw! I think you have something! The reason she fears failure is partly because of her parents! * lets out breath slowly* Thank you for that quote! I can think again! (Note: please don't ask! I have a forming theory in my mind that isn't fully baked.)
Flying Pheonix: Yes that is strange. I'll think about it while my theory is being completely formed!

Slightly off the general idea of this thread, but since it's titled "hermione mysteries" here goes;

Why isn't Hermione in Ravenclaw? I'm quoting from one of the Sorting Hat songs here " In Ravenclaw the cleverest are prized far above the rest" - or something very close to that!

I know Gryffindors are chosen for bravery, and Hermione is very brave, but her brains and cleverness seem to outweigh that.

NorthStar xxx

Well, JKR has said that Hermione's dialogue is the easiest to write just because she does, more or less, stick to the "facts".

In that respect, Hermione's role is to act as the "informed" part of the trio. I can't really say much else without repeating what's already been said, but I agree with what has been said thus far, particularly Penelope's post. :)

The reason i think Lupin didn't allow Hermione to attempt to take on the boggart was a simple one. How would Harry have felt if he was the only one who hadn't attempted to take on the Boggart, basically i feel he was just making it where will Hermione and Harry answered questions so they had already earned their house points, it was a way of not singling out Harry and making him feel like an outcast or different

FYI: I've merged Mega's thread "What Is Hermione's Role?" to this thread since, as Rowena Ravenclaw had mentioned, Mega's thoughts have been lightly discussed in this thread. So, to re-post Mega's thoughts:

originally posted by Mega
We know nothing about her outside of her education. We know more about Snape then we do about her and she supposed to be a main character. Do you think JK put her in just so if Harry ever needs to find out something Hermione can just say it because she clever and proberly read it somewhere?

Well, she is certainly an easy way to feed the reader tidbits of information.

Yeah, she is. J.K. Rowling said so on an interview on the CoS DVD.

Personally, I think it's just good writing not to go overboard on the introductions early on. In some books the first chapters read like factfiles on the characters, and it's really annoying to read. So the first books were, thankfully, void of that. Hermione did play a bigger part in GoF, and I think we'll learn more about her in the next book. Well, I hope so anyways.

i believe Hermione is going to be a much bigger character in the next 2 books possibly all next 3 books..........anyway i look at it something has got to give and i think the information pot is about to spill on Hermione,Charlie Weasely,Lupin,and much more on Sirius

Hermione has to be a huge part in the next 3 books, she has already been crucial to Harry becoming a great wizard. I think Hermione will play a vital role in the end of the book, something to do with the downfall of Lord Voldemort.

I agree with Potter80 about Hermione's role gaining prominence in light of the oncoming war.

This seems to be what Rowling might have hinted at when she said that Harry needs Hermione badly. We might see just how bad things get with Voldemort, and just how badly Harry needs her at his side.

Well I would say that Hermione's role would stay about the same, sidekick, but I don't know. She has a smaller role in CoS than Ron and a bigger role than Ron in POA. I think Hermione and Ron are always going to be second banana.

I'm not saying that Hermione could ever surpass Harry's importance in the books. However, I can see that she will become a stronger presence in his life than Ron will, and she will be important in more ways than one.

Personally, I don't think Hermione's role or influence will increase in upcoming books. She is the intelligencia of the three and serves as a reminder of Voldemort's prejudices and hatred -- she makes Voldemort's agenda more relevant to the reader and the protagonists alike. Similarly, she also gives an interesting "spin" on the events unfolding in the books as the only lead, female, Muggle-born character.

I can't see the books becoming more Hermione orientated, but I suppose we'll have to wait and see. :)

I think Hermione and Ron will both continue on as they are. I think they're already huge factors in Harry's world. They are the center of it. They may not always be where the story [the plot rather] but they'll be fighting by his side until the end.

I don't really know the reason why Rowling hasn't brought Hermione into the limelight.
But, I guess it is in Harry's perspective, and when you think about it, boys really don't have that intimate friendship at that age, with girls. There's always that thing that separates the girls and the boys. So naturally, we don't know much about her.
Though she has been the brains of the group, and probably will be for the rest of the series.
But I don't they'll be an increase of her role in the future books, maybe just providing vital facts here and there, but I don't think she'll actually rise from the shadow she's been behind for the last 4 books.
But, I could be totally wrong, maybe Rowling has kept this information from us, because it'll become vital in the future.
Time will only reveal.

I think Hermione is in the limelight when we need more information. I suppose Rowling could have told us why Hermione was in France.. ;)

She is very secretive [timeturner] but I think she wouldn't hold back anything with her friends without good reason.

IMO Hermione is not only the brain of the trio. This sound low as if i would say Ron is only the jokemaker, what he is´nt. Its much more complicater than that. Some says Hermione will be importer other say she will be the same. I think she has allready grow, much grow. I expect she will grow in later books more. She is´nt any sidekick off Harry. Not in my opinion, she is to important to be that. If Ron and Hermione were sidekicks Harry don´t need theme. But he need his friends and Hermione need he much more. After GoF Hermione is closer to Harry than Ron. Harry can tell her everything without fear she would think he lied or will autantion. Ron would think this, maybe he won´t say it but he would think that way. Alone from this point is she important. But much more if we learn more about her, what we will. Its obvious that JKR wanted that way. I mean we know in someways more about Snape. We know how she has write PS/SS and later POA. First in PS/SS we have ask is Snape bad? The answer was not realy! In POA we wanted know why he hate Potter so much? We know the answer and in GoF we got a answer, too. So but we have many questions about Hermione and we haven´t till now get realy answers. This say something. Its say we have to get all this answers in later books, who are get darker. JKR has need more books to answer questions about Snape and he is´nt a fan off Potter, but Hermione is different there are much more questions so JKR has to bring her more into the limelight to answer them. Hermione is´nt that girl who you think you get easyly a answer to a question. She is complexer. So thats why she have to be play a bigger role. No matter what will came. I don´t expect that Hermione go aside to let Harry face once more alone Voldi, no i think she want help him to survive. Alone from this point she has a bigger role more than only a brain and she is much more.

hermione is definately destined for great things in the next few books and i think the reason we dont know much about her now is so that when we do learn more about her it is 'special' information that will increase the level of the story. if JKR released all the info bout all the characters in the story it wld be boring as there wld be nufin left to find. hermione is therefore obviosly about to do something in which we will discover more about her otherwise undisclosed life

I found an interesting summary online of the charcter in The Winter's Tale that JKR named her for:

Hermione
I.2 / II.1 / III.2 / V.3

As the wife of Leontes she is a gentle firm and womanly character. She disappears from sight in the third act and does not reappear until the last scene.
Throughout the entire time she is on stage, she behaves with royal dignity and charm. She is also gifted with a lively intelligence and a fine wit.

Act I: Scene 2
This scene introduces Hermione as a lady of beauty, charm, nobility, and obedience, with a fine sportive wit.
She is able to get the attention of Polyxenes, even though he is lonely for his own family and for his own court. In this scene, Hermione still behaves freely and has an ease of manner that is born of complete confidence in her husband and the perfection of her innocence.

Act II: Scene 1
In the accusation scene with her ladies Hermione speaks most mildly to her temporarily insane husband.

II.1 58-65 p.74

First she even takes his accusation as a joke and only later does she realize that he is serious, so secure does she feel in his love and affection to her. But she is not totally disillusioned by Leontes and therefore she suggests that evil planetary influence may be the cause of his distemper.

II.1 107-115 p.76

when Leontes orders her to be taken to prison, the only favour she asks is that some of her women attend her because she will need assistance in view of the imminence of her child's birth.
Courageously she tells her attendants not to weep; she let them save their tears for an occasion on which their mistress has really deserved prison.

II.1 123-124 p.76

She takes this imprisonment as a trial, a purification, and her only rebuke to her husband is loving, mild, and dignified:
"I never wish'd to see you sorry; now/ I trust I shall."

Hermione in this scene shows herself a good example of queenly dignity and wronged innocence as the accused woman. She is patient and at the same time she still seems in love with her husband, whatever he may do to her. She never loses her temper and always speaks lovingly, if sadly, to her husband, and is too proud to weep like a weak woman.

Act III: Scene 2
In her trial scene Hermione defends herself in an interesting manner. She marshals her points with skill and she argues well, but the very manner of her approach is one that could arise only from a complete confidence in her own innocence. She is the wronged wife, and that is the attitude she adopts. She knows that Leontes has sent to the Oracle and she is as a result confident that she will be vindicated, because she is sure of her innocence, and also because she has implicit faith in the gods. She even states her belief quite openly:

. . . if powers divine Behold our hutan actions, as they do, I doubt not then but innocence shall make False accusation blush,
and tyranny Tremble at patience . . . III.2 29-33 p.92

With this confidence born of security in faith and innocence, Hermione's speeches are in effect statements of her wrongs and of the purity of her past life.

Act III: Scene 2 44-49 p.93

She recalls the favour in which Leontes held her before the arrival of Polixenes, and speaks of her
performance of duty to Leontes. She claims that certainly she loved Polixenes, but only as far as honour required, with the kind of love that becomes a lady like herself; and further, Leontes himself had commanded that she show affection for his friend. As for the charge of conspiracy with Camillo, Hermione confesses herself ignorant of the reason for his departure from the court.

Hermione, though appalled at the fate of her child, still has courage and refuses to be frightened by the threats of her husband. Life does not mean much to her now since she has lost the favour of Leontes, whom she loves, and since she has also been forbidden to see her son Mamillius. Thirdly, her baby daughter has been torn from her and in effect murdered. She concludes by calling for the pronouncement of the Oracle to be read. But as we know, Leontes refuses the Oracle and Hermione disappears.

Act V: Scene 3
The character of Hermione has often been criticised because of the way in which she cruelly retires for sixteen years simply in order to make Leontes suffer.
But there is another possibility.
Hermione has heard the words of the Oracle, and in particular the specification that "the king shall live without an heir, if that which is lost be not found." The Oracle has given hope that the child Perdita may be found, but it also specifies that the king shall have no heir until the child is found. Consequently there must be no more children and Hermione willingly sacrifices herself to that end.
She is sacrificing herself on the altar of Leontes' repentance until the words of the Oracle are fulfilled.

Symbolically she is also important as the figure of womanhood, and also as a fertility figure in mythic terms. She is pregnant at the beginning of the play, and she brings forth Perdita, the child who is to figure as the redemptive character and youthful fertility figure for the rest of the play. Hermione's personality is seen reborn in Perdita, and therefore the theme of the cycle of life is dramatised. But Hermione is not simply a symbolic figure; much more than Leontes she possesses realistic qualities which strike at the heart of the audience. Her motivations are usually clear and her actions logically justifiable. In many ways she is the most memorable character of the play.

We aren't even sure of her age.

I think Hermione is what some people would call an "old soul". She is more insightful and intelligent than most of her peers and it makes her kind of a loner. Of course she is friends with Harry and Ron, but it isn't as if she shares her feelings with them - they don't even share with one another. In a way Hermione is isolated, I highly doubt she talks to the girls in her dormitory, but I think she probably has found a kindred spirit in Ginny, who now may know more about her than Harry and Ron. i.e. she wouldn't tell them who she was going to the dance with but Ginny knew.

Actually the age question was sorted out on the COS DVD. JKR approved the timeline on it. The Leaky Cauldron had a report on this. Hermione is the same age as the boys not a year younger or older but has her birthday in September, just after the start of the school year.

Turambar's right. At the beginning of PoA she says her birthday's in September and her parents have given her some money to get an early birtday present. That would make her younger than Harry (July 31st) but older than Ron whose birthday appears to be somewhere in the school year. (no confirmation as Ron's birtday is never mentioned but that seems to be the general consensus of most people)

Nobody has advanced any ideas on my earlier post " why Hermione is in Gryffindor and not Ravenclaw" :'(

Nobody has advanced any ideas on my earlier post " why Hermione is in Gryffindor and not Ravenclaw"

Because off the first few minutes in the train. I explain she is like Harry complete new in this world but she has enough brave to run through the whole train to search after a toad who isn´t even hers. This shows all abilitys for a Griffindor. She looks out for people who aren´t that strong like herself and is brave enough to do this.

As Ravenclaw she would only think at her school notes and what she can do to become better in this things. But she isn´t only a bookworm (Between: I bet there is a reason why she is so much for books. IMO If you read much and search advice by books you want have knowledge because only knowledge make you strong) how we know in GoF she don´t sleep or study for exame only to help Harry.

Thankyou FlyingPhoenix :)


However, I still feel there is another, hidden reason why Hermione's in Gryffindor - not hidden for any sinister reason but just that it hasn't come up yet. What's the first thing that you think about when you think of Hermione? Her bravery (and she is very brave, I'm not saying she isn't) or her intelligence? I think it is her intelligence.

Perhaps there is something about her which we have not yet seen - some act of bravery which reveals more about her. I just think her intelligence and cleverness outweigh her bravery from what we have seen of her so far. Cho Chang is in Ravenclaw, yet we know she is brave too - she is a Seeker, and resisted her housemates opinion of Harry (when all the Ravenclaws were wearing Potter Stinks badges, Cho didn't for example).

Coming in late to the conversation....as always! :p

Now back to topic, my favorite topic at that: Ms. Hermione Granger. Yes I believe she is a mystery. There's more to her that we have not yet found out. As she grows older, her character is changing. She constantly surprises me in every book. So what is else is there about her character that we don't know yet, that could surprise the heck out of me.

I want to know more about her family. I know, I know, they aren't imporant because they aren't wizards, but JKR could have Harry and Ron visit Hermione's home and we can get to know her, her parents, her lifestyle. Maybe we'll find out if she has any siblings (which I highly doubt), if she has cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents.

There's just more to know...I know it!

Its right the first thought is her inteligenc but I think always on this train scene of her because this bookworm personality is only there to hid her true person. I don´t think Cho is that brave. Hermione is much more braver than Cho because Cjo didn´t face a troll in her first year or had to walk around in second year with the knowledge that a basilisk is after her. You have to be really cool to go around with a mirror. Imagine you have to look into it because if you not do so you would died

I think it's degrees. Hermione is brave, intelligent, powerful, and a strong personality.

I think Gryffindor/Slytherin are more strong-willed/outgoing than Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. I think there are also things that we can't really see. I think a lot of the Sorting Song was for laughs. It's also based on personality. The arrangements work. Neville needs to be around stronger people to learn, for example.

The age thing is really what bugs me about hermione. I think she's the youngest. Some schools cut off after September or October. I went to school with someone who didn't turn 18 until the December after we graduated. The age thing is just so irritating to think about and not know.

I explain the kids don´t chosen like in a normal school. Its simple like this all kids who are born in year 1980 are automatic in same year like Harry. This say that somebody who was eleven already januar 1 1980 is in same year like someone who was turn eleven on december 31 1980.
That say Ron is the oldest than Harry and Hermione.
I think its important that Hermione is the youngest, because that say maybe she isn´t that much older than Ginny. This would explain why Ron is different to her in COS. He is a big brother and if someone around who isn´t much older as his own sister he is automatic protectiv to Hermione.

well, i have had an extra year in school cos of things like this. if hermione is the youngest, it makes sense, cos in scotland our "cut off" point was feb 14th, but in wales its Aug 31st, so i am one of the oldest, but i was in the middle in Scotland, so its poss that hermoine is the youngest, and it always seems that the younger ones in the class have the more brains!

I'm with Flying on that one. i was one of the youngest in my class because of my birthday.

I don't think Hermione's role is just to help the guys out and to be the informant. I think there's more to her character that we do not know of yet. There's something about her! I'm dying to know what it is! She obviously has changed since PS/SS. She has surprised me every time in every book, so I'm waiting for something major about her character, instead of actions, to surprise me next!

And I do believe that she maybe pressured by her parents to do very good in school. Sometimes I wonder if maybe they are abusive towards her and she fears that if she fails she'll be punished when she gets home. But, of course, this is just speculation due to the fact that I don't have any canon proof. And it would suck if another couple of Muggles are nasty. Harry already think the Dursleys are the worst Muggles in the world.

On the contrary, I'd like to see Hermione's home life and see that she is very laid back and that she, along with her family, are fun!

I also wonder if what she feared when she saw the boggart was actually failure and not something else.

I secretly wish she is the illegitimate daughter of either Sirius or Lupin. :sorry:

I think hermione's parents are just preoccupied and hermione is trying to get their attention by doing so well. I think that when they are around they are fun and she loves it but they aren't around a lot. I also think that she likes to be around Harry, Ron and Ginny so much because they are there for her when she needs it and she doesn't have to do well to get them to talk to her.

Originally posted by Grace Granger (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=318553#post318553))

And I do believe that she maybe pressured by her parents to do very good in school. Sometimes I wonder if maybe they are abusive towards her and she fears that if she fails she'll be punished when she gets home.

Actually, I've always thought that she just really loves to learn. She has a talent for it and maybe some small part of her feels she has to prove herself, as a muggle-born. I think she has a genuine thirst for knowledge.

Northstar wondered why Hermione was in Gryffindor instead of Ravenclaw... Hmm, perhaps she asked to be put in Gryffindor? I dunno, but I think that although she's obviously smart, her bravery is far subtler and far greater. Hermione has followed her own instincts and done exactly what she believes in, even though it made her unpopular to begin with (and still does to a certain extent, as with the house elves). When you think about it, Hermione has traits which fit into any of the four houses - bravery, intelligence, she's hardworking and she has ambition in moderation, like most people. But the dominating trait is, I think, her bravery.

She has the broadness of spirit [her traits] that could make for a good Headmistress in the future.

I don´t think its a talent to read much. There is a reason, why she do so.
You have to know if you read much you are stronger because you has more knowledge. Its like playing chess. You can only play it if you know the rules.

There is something why she do so. Its obvious that through the books she is stronger. Look at the beginning this scene in the train.

Now if I´m right it is strange that Hermione crys that long in PS/SS. I mean I can understand that Ron´s words do upset her but crying over hours? Isn´t that to much? Why should she cry that long? It has to be a reason why? I mean he say she don´t has friends.

Maybe she was before Hogwarts often alone. Very alone and that is a reason why she starts to read. If you read you aren´t anymore alone. Not in your mind. But why should a eleven year old girl be alone? Its clear she wasn´t always a bookworm.

There is no indication that Hermione's parents are abusive in any way, shape, or form. They have been supportive and everything we know about them points to a good relationship with Hermione.

Flyingphoenix: Hermione has memorized all course books before she even gets to Hogwarts (year 1), she does A LOT of outside reading (and continues to do so even after she has good friends), she shows she's extremely organized in preparing for her first year exams as well. I think it is safe to say that she has been a book worm and has a well-developed thirst for knowledge.

I don't remember who brought this up, but I don't think the JK quote about her parents choosing her name based on their cleverness is that important. It doesn't mean they didn't think their baby was special. Besides, many times the name is chosen before the birth. If what you are trying to say is that it shows arrogance, I'd have to say that I think that is a big step that the Grangers thinking that they are clever for their name choice equals proof of abuse. Perhaps I misunderstood.

Hermione is just too comfortable with adults and respectful, to surmise that she has been left alone and neglected.

As a possible answer to FlyingPhoenix's question on crying...
Hermione has been living primarily in an adult world. Now that she has left home, her lack of friends her age coupled with possible homesickness, has been underscored by Ron's unkind comment. Hermione has hit the wall. She's found out that sometimes being clever does not help her in all situations.

As a side note, I don't recall the books ever saying that Hermione is the cleverest witch at Hogwarts. I do recall it being stated that she is the cleverest in her year.

She is extremely clever but who knows? She is the top of her year, best in her year, very organized, loves to read, respects teachers even when she doesn't like them (Snape and Trelawney), is very polite. She was most likely raised as an adult. when your parents have important jobs, like dentists, cops, doctors, lawyers, things like that, they get very preoccupied. i know that for a fact. They raise you to be an adult at all times. That could be why some people don't get a long with people their age very well. I think hermione does love to read because she does. it's a way to spend her time. She is a very caring person but hasn't had anyone to care for besides her parents. She gets ripped away from them, placed many miles away, with people her own age, with all the knowledge that she accumulated, and is there. If someone picks on you enough, most people start crying. She's probably been hurt quite a bit by Ron's comment and like Snowy owl said, she probably is homesick.

I've been going over the books as a warm up for OOTP and it's curious how many times Hermione does things that it says in the text "surprise" Harry. There's a pattern there for some reason.

She surprises Harry because he can't figure out girls yet.

Perhaps, or just because she knows so much about the wizard world and is so good at magic despite only just having learned it existed. What were these occasions when she surprised him, Turambar?

Love of books, reading and learning are inborn traits. A person can be encouraged to read or whatever, but those who are real bookworms, compulsive readers and would consider a world without books and/or the printed word torture have the reading bug in them from the start.

As to why Hermione cired so long in PS/SS, I agree with SnowyOwl and etc etc, Hermione was in a new world, with new people and totally isolated from her "normal" environment. She finally just had that one thing too much, and all the resentment and anguish spilled out. It was mentioned people called her a bossy know-it-all (overcompensation?) and having no friends (not used to being close with people her own age) and Ron's thoughtless comment was just the last straw.

And she is a good contrast to Harry and Ron to show how they don't know about girls, but also adults and the greater society in general. Hermione has a more adult outlook and worldview. She sees the broader picture quicker than Harry or Ron. Hopefully this will change as the boys age and mature.

I know Hermione doesn't show any signs of being abused, it was just a thought. I think too much for my own good. ;)

Anyhow, I was just thinking today that Hermione must have been ousted as a child in class because she is a witch. We know from Harry that he can do extra-ordinary things when upset or under pressure, like having his hair grow right after being cut. I wonder what Hermione did before she received her letter and if she was lonely because of her unexplained abilities.

My opinion on what she did before she got her letter was she probably read a lot before, after, and durring school. She also probably was considered a teachers pet. Those two can be guessed because of how she acts in the book. it's hard to break old habits. i also think she didn't relate well until harry and ron came along because people probably rarely did nice things for her (Saving her from a troll is nice in my opinion).

I bought a book about a month ago called "The Unofficial Guide to the Mysteries of Harry Potter" It's a very interesting book w/ many things in it about what might happen in future books and such. It said that JK said she got Hermione's name from a Shakspeare play called "A Winter's Tale" and the Hermione in that book falls in love with this guy and then the guy's best friend gets jealous and he ends up killing the other guy....maybe foreshadowing into later books. We already know Ron is jealous of Harry. Also Jk said that Hermione's character is the easiest of all of the characters to explain plot through because readers just assume she read it in a book. Think about it next time you read the books. Also...whenever Ron jokes about something he always seems to be right. Theres alot more stuff in that book i got. It's really really good! hope i gave ya'll sumthing to think about w/ Hermione. x0x*Candy

:evil: i never really noticed that all that much until I read this thread and that is a good butt thinking point:D maybe more is explained in the later books..or maybe the author doesnt plan to tell..lets you make it up for yourself..that wouldnt be to cool..we need to know from the one and only JK..what it really needs to be.;D

I think the reason that Hermione is in Gryffindor, and not Ravenclaw, is because she places more value in bravery and loyalty, than in wisdom and cleverness. Remember in the 1st book? "There are more important things than books, and cleverness." I think that's what she said.....but anyhow, her bravery and straightforwardness is subtle, but stronger and more everlasting than her intelligence.

About her not being as.....um, we don't know as much about her. Well....it is true. For god's sake, we know more about the Malfoy's! You'd think Hermione is more important than them...

etceteraadc, I don't think Hermione respects Professor Trelawny. I know that she respects Snape, but for Prof. Trelawny.....

Puffskein: Like I said I'm just going over the books again but the ones I've noticed so far (including Ron) are these:
1) When they first meet she tells him about the books he's in it says "'Am I?' said Harry, feeling dazed."
2) The troll: "Hermione hung her head. Harry was speechless."
3) In COS: Ron slammed [his book] shut. To Harry's surprise, Hermione followed suit."
4) The broomstick kit: "Knowing Hermione, he was sure it would be a large book...but it wasn't. His heart gave a huge bound...'Wow, Hermione!'
5) Trelawney: Harry and Ron stared at her with a mixture of amazement and admiration. They had never heard Hermione speak to a teacher like that before."
6) Firebolt: "To his great surprise, Hermione did not appear either excited or intrigued by this news."
7) Malfoy: "Harry, Ron, Crabbe and Goyle stood flabbergasted as Hermione raised her hand again."
8) And to the whole class's amazement, Hermione strode over to the trapdoor, kicked it open and climbed down the ladder out of sight."
9) Invisibility cloak: 'Hermione, I don't know what's got into you lately' said Ron, astounded."
10) Shrieking Shack: "Harry barely had time to marvel inwardly at the effort Hermione put into her homework, when Lupin started to laugh."
11) Time Turner: "Harry moved towards her, completely bewildered."

Excellent work, Turambar. :)

But #4 I don't know about that one.
Harry didn't expect to get such a cool gift but surely Hermione doesn't give friends presents that she'd like?

A lot of these are the kids in unusual circumstances. Normal behavior doesn't apply.
Hermione and Ron may well have thought Harry surprised them if the situations were reversed.
Maybe the point is we don't know what to expect from anyone until it actually happens.

Well, hermione says “Me! Books! And cleverness! There are more important things — friendship and bravery and — oh Harry — be careful!� well, there are probably a few things in between those but it's condensed. Hermione does read everything in books it's just her home life and her birthday that you can never find anything about. We know it's the 19th of september but not what year. Plus, Hermione seems to like Ron rather than Harry in a romantic way. You can tell by the way they fight after the Yule Ball in book four. When asked if something is going on between hermione and ron she said the answer is in book four. It's a dead giveaway.

Thanks Fuchsia. I'm not sure if it's anything romantic. Maybe it's just to show that Hermione can't be put in a box or labelled. Harry thinks he's got her sorted out and then she surprises him.

She surprises everyone, which really doesn't surprise me. My favorite surprise from her was when she hauled off and smacked malfoy.

OK

I'm a newbie to this forum... so I'll give it a shot.

Hermione the mystery....

Now JKR has said that there is alot of her in Hermione. And JKR doesn't tell anybody more than they need to know and only when they need to know. I think that JKR has left alot about Hermione in the dark so that Harry can discover the true Hermione through their experiences togeather. It would appear a lot to easy to simply have Harry be able to read Hermione like that. The true beauty to Hermione is how she's opening up in Harry's eyes. Not all at once but slowly and steadily. What is quick to bloom is even faster to fade.

Cheers!