The first time we ever see Hermione Granger,she is introduced as a bossy,know-it-all,and,to be frank,pretty annoying bookworm who talks much too fast.We can tell she is kind,though,helping Neville with his toad,and this establishes an early-on friendship between the characters.Harry and Ron are very affronted by her somewhat frightening yet very annoying nature.Ron even says,"Whatever house I'm in,I hope she's not in it."Can you blame them for not particularly taking a very strong liking to her at first sight?I mean,here you are,sitting with a new friend on a train,eating chocolate frogs,talking,being very comfortable,and just having a good time,and this this random obnoxious know-it-all shows up and starts taunting and making fun of you,implying that she's already better than you before you guys have even reached the school.Well,that's what it seems like.Later,we figure out that it is just Hermione's nature to spout a lot of information all at once and that may make her seems like she is saying she's better than you,but really,she just can't help herself!She has to say all her knowledge for any given situation.Otherwise,she'll explode!
The next time we see her,it is yet again on the train,and she has most inconvenient timing.She comes in right after Malfoy,Crabbe,and Goyle have ran out of the compartment after Goyle had his finger bitten by Scabbers.The compartment is a mess,and Harry and Ron are extremely angry and annoyed,and Ron embarrassed also.Hermione comes in,forever the responsible one of the trio,even if they're not all friends yet,and asks what has been going on.Isn't she just the perfect prefect?Ron and Harry pretty much ignore her while until Ron asks Hermione,"Can we help you with something?"Hermione tells them they'd better put their robes on,and when Ron tells her to leave,she says in a sniffy voice that she only came back because people were being very childish outside.Then,before she exits,she tells Ron,"And you've got dirt on your nose,by the way,did you know?"This earns her a glare from Ron as she walks out.
We then see her again on the boats with Harry,Ron,and Neville,but there is little interaction between any of the characters because they are all so mesmerized by their first sights of Hogwarts.Then,when all the first years are coming into the Great Hall,Hermione whispers that the ceiling is bewitched to look like the sky outside,saying that she read it in Hogwarts,a History.Of course.
Then she is sorted.She jams the hat eagerly on her head.When she gets Gryffindor,Ron moans.He wanted Gryffindor,but now,if he gets it,he'll have to share it with this girl!How dreadfully awful!During the feast,Hermione is seen talking with Percy about classes and how she is really excited for them,especially Transfiguration.This shows her eagerness to learn and drive to take on a challenge.
Through-out the next 2 months,we see Hermione constantly nagging Harry and Ron,almost like a mother telling her children not to do this and that.At broom lessons,she tells Harry not to go after Malfoy.When she overhears about Harry and Malfoy's upcoming duel,she is very disapproving.When Harry and Ron are going out to the duel,she scolds them,intending to give them a piece of her mind then simply go back in the common room.This plan does not work out when the Fat Lady has left her portrait.However,this act of her telling them what she thinks in such a bold way shows that she is feisty.She also proves to be very clever,knowing Alohomora and seeing the trap door Fuzzy was blocking when no one else seemed to.And then there is her famous line,"We all could have been killed--or worse,expelled."Forever concerned with her studies.
Then there is another famous scene:Wingardium Leviosa.That Charms lesson where she just owns Ron,and Ron leaves the class in a very bad mood.This shows that she is not one to be tangled with,and she will fight back when necessary.
Finally,the trio unites and becomes friends on Halloween.Ron makes the remark,"She has to have realized she has no friends,"which Hermione overhears.Harry and Ron see her walking off,crying.She stays in the girl's bathroom all day,crying.She doesn't even come to the feast!This shows how emotional she really is,that she is a real girl and isn't just a book-worm,even though it takes Ron years to figure this out.She can be hurt,especially by words,just like anyone.And Ron did hurt her.But Harry and Ron rescue her from the troll in the bathroom,Ron using Wingardium Leviosa.When Harry and Ron were about to get in trouble for not following orders by following their prefects to their common room,Hermione steps up and says it was all her fault.She says that she thought she could take on the troll by herself,having read so much about them,and went in search for it.Harry and Ron are awarded points,Hermione has some taken away.
That night,in the common room,Hermione was waiting for them inside at the portrait hole.They all muttered thanks,embarrassed.But from that moment on,the three were forever united as friends.Because "there are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other,and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them."In this little adventure,Hermione proves that she can take one for the team and is grateful for help.She repays it when given.She is helpful and kind.The three of them,Harry,Ron,and Hermione,can work well together.
And they do.Hermione proves to be invaluable to Harry and Ron,checking and helping them with their homework.Harry doesn't know how he ever survived without her help,proving yet again just how very helpful she really is.
Hermione is also the one defending Snape all the way through the book when Harry & Ron are convinced he is trying to steal the Sorcerer's Stone.This proves 2 things:One,she cannot bear to think a teacher would do anything wrong,most likely because she looks up to all her teachers and models her life after them,and two,she doesn't judge a book by its cover.She is able to look through Snape's greasy exterior and see that he isn't bad at all on the inside,not really.He's just a teacher who's a bit mean.(Well,we all know he's a lot more than that,but that's what we knew back in Sorcerer's Stone.)
Then,when they're going for the Stone,Hermione does everything in her power to help.She even faces her fears of flying on a broom to try and find the key that will open the door.This shows that she is a true Gryffindor and is worth more than her wit.However,she brings that to the table too,helping to free Harry and Ron when they didn't hold still in the Devil's Snare by lighting a fire.She doesn't want Ron to get taken by the queen in the chess game,and screams when he is knocked out by the queen.
She provides wit and cleverness yet again by solving the Potions puzzle and shows how emotional she can get under pressure and in tough situations when Harry goes through to the mirror,almost ensuring his death in a duel with whoever could get through all those defenses.
However,Harry gets through all right.And then the feast comes,but the energy level at Gryffindor's table is lower than usual,and we all know why.Slytherin's gonna' win the House Cup again,and Gryffindor is in dead last place.Fantastic.
However,Dumbledore has some last-minute points to assign.Points that will become famous in the fandom.
"Second-to Miss Hermione Granger...for the use of cool logic in the face of fire,I award Gryffindor house fifty points."Hermione buried her face in her arms,supposedly crying.It could be because she's overwhelmed or just so happy or both.But I'd just like to take note that at this point,Dumbledore has emphasized a truly amazing characteristic of Hermione,one of her best.She can keep cool under extremely difficult situations,and take control of her emotions,even if she is the most emotional character in the entire series.
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| *"Wingardium Leviosa!" "Stop,stop,STOP!You're going to take someone's eye out.Besides,you're saying it wrong.It's Wingardium LeviOsa,not Wingardium LevioSA." "You try it then,if you're so clever.Go on!" "Wingardium LeviOsa!" |
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I take no credit for the pics.The ones with the * move when you click on them.
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