Emma Watson was only nine when she got the life-changing call informing her she was chosen for the role of the quick-witted Hermione Granger. It’s no exaggeration to say that playing one of the main characters in one of the most popular franchises in the world has immensely helped to build her acting career and secured her for life. Portraying a strong woman character, she has become a role model for countless of girls and women.
Many of us grew up wishing to be a part of the enchanting wizard world. It’s no wonder the Harry Potter franchise has earned such worldwide success considering the unique world of magic, original names for every little detail and the easily lovable characters. Even though each character has a certain sparkle that draws you to them, a considerable part of the fandom would argue that Ron and Harry would not have survived for as long as they did without Hermione. Here are Hermione Granger’s 8 best moments.
8 Casting Lumos Solem To Save Ron from Devil’s Snare
As of late, Harry Potter references have been going viral on the internet in a nostalgic manner. One of these is undoubtedly the trio's journey through personalized trials to get to the Underground Chambers in the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. The scene that's been spreading on social media is the iconic chess game, but what many forget is that Ron and Harry wouldn't have even gotten that far without Hermione's quick thinking. Right after getting through the Three-Headed Dog, they jump through the cover and land on the Devil's Snare which starts strangling them. If it wasn't for Hermione, they wouldn't have known to stay completely still for the plant to let them go. Harry and Hermione successfully escape its clutches while Ron keeps squirming. Thanks to Hermione's intelligence, she remembers that Devil's Snare hates the light and ultimately saves Ron's life with a Lumos spell.
7 Finding Out About the Basilisk
Despite her absence for the second half of the movie, Hermione somehow manages to save the day in the Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets as well. While trying to find out what's been causing all the petrifications in Hogwarts, she meets the same fate as the others. But when Ron and Harry come visit her at the hospital wing, they find a piece of paper crumbled in her fist. Just when they need the answers the most, they find them right there on the torn out paper from the library. Hermione finds out the creature they've been dealing with is the Basilisk and, more importantly, that people die when they make eye contact with it and that it moves through pipes. An important information that eventually helped stop Voldemort from returning to power.
6 Punching Malfoy
Draco's popularity has been on the rise ever since Tiktok went viral across the globe. Arguably, unrightfully so. People's arguments to excuse his awful behaviour range from "he's had it hard" to "it's because of his family's background." It's questionable whether that's enough to justify his abusive behaviour towards Hermione throughout the years by calling her a 'mudblood' and constantly bullying her. Harry grew up in an abusive enviroment with no family to treat him right and he doesn't feel the need to target his complexes towards others. It definitely felt rewarding to watch Hermione be the one cornering and punching Draco in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
5 Hermione At The Yule Ball
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Regardless of the weird romance that occurs in the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire between Victor Krum and Hermione, this movie showed us a new side to her character. In the previous three movies, Hermione was always shown as uptight and unwilling to have fun or break the rules. The fourth movie cannot be talked about without mentioning the iconic Yule Ball that is held between the three different wizard schools. Hermione's entrance to the ball wonderfully portrayed her confident feminity. After always being the one to solve everything, she allowed herself to let off some steam and focus on having fun—and, after three years of near-death experiences, being a kid at her first school dance! It was certainly a new, refreshing perspective on her character.
4 Lying About Dumbledore’s Secret Weapon to Umbridge
The Harry Potter fandom would universally agree that Professor Umbridge is one of the most annoying characters in the history of cinema. She is brainwashed by the power of the Ministry of Magic and uses it to bully and torture the Hogwarts students. When she interrogates Harry, who finds out that the Veritaserum has been used on the other students, she decides to use Crucio—one of the three unforgivable curses—to torture him. Hermione's quick thinking saves him once again when she comes up with a lie about Dumbledore's secret weapon in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. This results in Umbridge getting taken by the Centaurs.
3 Hermione’s Extendable Handbag
We're all aware that the last few Harry Potter movies are, tonally speaking, a departure from the first pair. They have progressively turned darker in the theme. The trio nears adulthood in two-parter Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and with that comes greater dangers. It's a suitable setting to showcase each characters' strengths and weaknesses—and it's no different for Hermione. Harry, Ron and Hermione have to escape Ron's brother's wedding after getting the intel that the Minister of Magic was murdered and the Ministry has been infiltrated. The decision to Apparate seems impromptu, but as it turns out Hermione has packed all of the necessary things they need for surviving out in the open in her extendable handbag.
2 Hermione Wiping Her Parents’ Memories
Indeed, this scene would feel a lot more personal if we had gotten a glimpse of their relationship before, but it stills holds a lot of power. Not only did the filmmakers create a magnificent opening for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, it also depicts everyone's own way of preparing for war. It shows the extent to which Hermione is willing to go in order save everyone she deeply cares about. Even if they won't remember her.
1 Destroying A Horcrux with Ron
Hermione and Ron destroying one of the Horcruxes in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is just a cherry on top among all the help Hermione has provided with finding them. Although it's true she doesn't have a proper fighting moment in The Final Battle that we all secretly wished for, she leads the way with her intelligence and manages to figure out most of the clues throughout their search for Voldemort's Horcruxes, such as figuring out the symbol of the Deathly Hallows and figuring out that Harry needed to eventually die (all on her own, too).