Emma Watson as Hermione Granger

"The Harry Potter Girl"

Hermione Granger

• Hermione is a Muggle-born Gryffindor student, and the best friend of Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. Based on the chronology of the Harry Potter series it can be established that the character's birthdate is September 19th 1979. 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." Though Rowling has described the character of Luna Lovegood as the "anti-Hermione" because they are so different, Hermione's foil at Hogwarts is Pansy Parkinson, a female 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".
• Hermione's name is derived from William Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale; Rowling claimed that she wanted it to be unusual since if fewer girls shared her name, fewer girls would get teased for it and it seemed that "a pair of professional dentists, who liked to prove how clever they are...gave her an unusual name that no-one could pronounce." Her original last name was "Puckle", but Rowling felt the name "did not suit her at all", and so the less frivolous Granger made it into the books. Rowling confirmed in a 2004 interview that Hermione is an only child.

• Emma Watson has portrayed Hermione in all the Harry Potter films to date. Watson's Oxford theatre teacher passed her name on to the casting agents of Philosopher's Stone, impressed with her school play performances. Though Watson took her audition seriously, she "never really thought she had any chance" of getting the part. The producers were impressed by Watson's self-confidence and she outperformed the thousands of other girls who had applied.
• Rowling herself was supportive of Watson after her first screen test. When asked if she thought actors suited the characters, Rowling said, "Yes, I did. Emma Watson in particular was very, very like Hermione when I first spoke to her, I knew she was perfect from that first 'phone call."
• Watson was well-received for the first film; IGN even claimed that "from Hermione Granger's perfect introduction to her final scene, Watson is better than I could have possibly imagined. She steals the show." IGN also claimed that her "astute portrayal of Hermione has already become a favorite among fans."
• Before the production of Half-Blood Prince, Watson considered not returning, but eventually decided that "the pluses outweighed the minuses" and that she could not bear to see anyone else play Hermione.
• Watson has said that Hermione is a character who makes "brain not beauty cool," and that though Hermione is "slightly socially inept," she is "not ashamed of herself." When filmingChamber of Secrets, Watson was "adamant" that she wasn't like Hermione, but she reflects that "as I got older, I realised she was the greatest role model a girl could have." In 2007, before the release of Order of the Phoenix, Watson said, "There are too many stupid girls in the media. Hermione's not scared to be clever. I think sometimes really smart girls dumb themselves down a bit, and that's bad. When I was nine or ten, I would get really upset when they tried to make me look geeky, but now I absolutely love it. I find it's so much pressure to be beautiful. Hermione doesn't care what she looks like. She's a complete tomboy."
• Screenwriter Steve Kloves revealed in a 2003 interview that Hermione was his favourite character. "There's something about her fierce intellect coupled with a complete lack of understanding of how she affects people sometimes that I just find charming and irresistible to write."

• In the books, Hermione is described as having bushy brown hair, brown eyes, and large front teeth, until Goblet of Fire, when she is hit by a spell cast by Draco Malfoy that causes her teeth to grow uncontrollably until she has Madam Pomfrey magically shrink them to a size smaller than they were originally.
• Hermione's most prominent features include her prodigious intellect and cleverness. She is levelheaded, book-smart and is very good with logic, but at first, she has a tendency to panic in intense or scary situations (as with the Devil's Snare at the climax of Philosopher's Stone) and is not good at thinking on her feet. She is often bossy yet unfailingly dutiful and loyal to her friends--a person that can be counted on. Rowling stated that Hermione is a person that "never strays off the path; she always keeps her attention focused on the job that must be done." Despite Hermione's intelligence and bossy attitude, Rowling says that Hermione has "quite a lot of vulnerability in her personality," as well as a "sense of insecurity underneath," feels "utterly inadequate...and to compensate, she tries to be the best at everything at school, projecting a false confidence that can irritate people." During her Defence against the Dark Arts exam at the end of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Hermione reveals that her biggest fear is failure, after a Boggart takes the form of Professor McGonagall and tells her that she has failed all her exams.
• Hermione has an extremely compassionate side to her personality and is quick to help others, especially those who are defenceless, such as Neville Longbottom, first-years, House-Elves, fellow Muggle-borns, half-giants like Hagrid, and werewolves like Lupin. It was revealed by Rowling after the publication of the final book that Hermione's career in the Ministry was to fight for the rights of the oppressed (such as House-elves or Muggle-borns). Hermione is also very protective of her friends and values them so much that Rowling has suggested that, if Hermione had looked in the Mirror of Erised, she would have seen Harry, Ron, and herself "alive and unscathed, and Voldemort finished." Hermione has also learned to ignore what bullies such as Malfoy say to her, often preventing Harry and Ron from retailiating and thinking of some way to outsmart him. She accepts her status as a Muggle-born witch, and states in Deathly Hallows that she is "proud of it".

• Hermione is portrayed during the whole series as an exceptionally talented young witch. Rowling has stated that Hermione is a "borderline genius." She is the best student in Harry's year, as she is repeatedly the first student to master any spell or charm introduced in classes and even from more advanced years, as evidenced when she is able to conjure a Protean Charm on the D.A.'s fake Galleon coins, which is actually a N.E.W.T. level charm. She is also the first one to be able to cast non-verbal spells. Hermione is an exceptional duellist, capable of outmatching even Death Eaters, as shown in the battle at the Department of Mysteries, at the Lovegoods' house, and in the Battle of Hogwarts. However, Rowling has stated that while during the first three books Hermione would have beaten Harry in a magical duel, by the fourth book Harry is so good at Defence Against the Dark Arts that he would have defeated Hermione. Hermione did not tend to do as well in subjects that were not learned through books or formal training, as broom flying did not come as naturally to her in her first year as it did to Harry, and she showed no affinity for Divination, which she dropped from her third year studies. She was also not good at Wizard's Chess, as it was the only thing at which she ever lost. 
• Hermione's Patronus is an otter, Rowling's favourite animal. Her wand is made of vine wood and dragon heartstring core; vine is the wood ascribed to Hermione's fictional birth month (September) on the Celtic calendar.

• In The Ivory Tower and Harry Potter, the first book-length analysis of the Harry Potter series (edited and compiled by Lana A. Whited), a whole chapter titled Hermione Granger and the Heritage of Gender, by Eliza T. Dresang, is dedicated to the discussion of Hermione's role in the series and its relation to feminist debates. The chapter begins with an analysis of Hermione's name and the role of previous characters with the same name in mythology and fiction, and the heritage Hermione has inherited from these characters due to her name. Dresang also emphasises Hermione's parallelism with Rowling herself and how, as Hermione has some attributes from Rowling herself, she must be a strong character.
• The chapter also points out the fact that, despite being born to Muggle parents, Hermione's magical abilities are innate. Her "compulsion for study" helps both the character's development, which makes Hermione "a prime example that information brings power," and the plot of the series, as her knowledge of the wizarding world is often used to "save the day." Dresang goes further when she also states that "Harry and Ron are more dependent on Hermione than she is on them." However, she also remarks that Hermione's "hysteria and crying happen far too often to be considered a believable part of the development of Hermione's character and are quite out of line with her core role in the book."
  Philip Nel of Kansas State University notes that "Rowling, who worked for Amnesty International, evokes her social activism through Hermione's passion for oppressed elves and the formation of her 'Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare'".

• Hermione has been parodied in numerous sketches and animated series. In Saturday Night Live, Hermione was played by Lindsay Lohan. On his show Big Impression, Alistair McGowan did a sketch called "Louis Potter and the Philosopher's Scone". It featured impressions of Nigella Lawson as Hermione. In 2003, Comic Relief performed a spoof story called Harry Potter and the Secret Chamberpot of Azerbaijan, in which Miranda Richardson, who plays Rita Skeeter in the Harry Potter movies, featured as Hermione. Hermione also features in the Harry Bladder sketches in All That, in which she appears as Herheiny and is portrayed by Lisa Foiles. The Wedge, an Australian sketch comedy, parodies Hermione and Harry in love on a "Cooking With..." show before being caught by Snape. Hermione also appears as Hermione Ranger in Harry Podder: Dude Where's My Wand?, a play by Desert Star Theater in Utah, written by sisters Laura J., Amy K. and Anna M. Lewis. In the 2008 American comedy film Yes Man, Allison (played by Zooey Deschanel) accompanies Carl (Jim Carrey) to a Harry Potter-themed party dressed as Hermione.
• In Harry Cover, a French comic book parody of the Harry Potter series by the Pierre Veys (subsequently translated in Spanish and English), Hermione appears as Harry Cover's friendHormone. Hermione also appears in The Potter Puppet Pals sketches by Neil Cicierega, and in Team StarKid's theatrical productions A Very Potter Musical and A Very Potter Sequelplayed by Bonnie Gruesen.