![]() Hermione Jean Granger is a fictional character in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. She initially appears in the first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, as a new student on her way to Hogwarts. After Harry and Ron save her from a mountain troll in the girls' toilets, she becomes close friends with them and often
uses her quick wit, deft recall, and encyclopaedic knowledge to help them. Rowling has stated that Hermione resembles her at a younger age, with her insecurity and fear of failure. Hermione Jean Granger is a Muggle-born Gryffindor student, and the best friend of Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. J.K. Rowling states that she was born on 19 September 1979 and she was nearly twelve when she first attended Hogwarts. She is an overachiever who excels academically, and is described by Rowling as a "very logical, upright and good" character. Rowling adds that Hermione's parents, two Muggle dentists, are a bit bemused by their odd daughter but very proud of her all the same." They are well aware of the wizarding world and have visited Diagon Alley with her. Rowling has described the character of Luna Lovegood as the "anti-Hermione" as they are so different. Hermione's foil at Hogwarts is Pansy Parkinson, a bully based on real-life girls who teased the author during her school days. Rowling claims the character of Hermione carries several autobiographical influences. "I did not set out to make Hermione like me but she is...she is an exaggeration of how I was when I was younger." She recalled being called a "little know-it-all" in her youth. Moreover, she states that not unlike herself, "there is a lot of insecurity and a great fear of failure" beneath Hermione's swottiness. Finally, according to Rowling, next to Albus Dumbledore, Hermione is the perfect expository character; because of her encyclopaedic knowledge, she can always be used as a plot dump to explain the Harry Potter universe. Rowling also claims that her feminist conscience is saved by Hermione, "who's the brightest character" and is a "very strong female character". Not much is known about Hermione's life before she entered the wizarding world. She was the only child of Muggle parents,Mr and Mrs Granger, both dentists in London. Mr and Mrs Granger were seen as "quite ordinary" and although they were "a bit bemused" by the oddities displayed by their daughter, they were known to be proud of her. In the summer of 1991, Hermione was surprised to learn that she was a witch and was invited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She eagerly accepted and took to studying magic even before she began her first year at Hogwarts in the September of 1991, learning all the set spell books by heart and even managing to perform "a few spells" successfully. In addition to the texts set by the school, Hermione brought with her several other books for reference and to further her understanding of the wizarding world. |