In the Harry Potter series, Hermione is seen as one of the smartest characters in the books. Given her age, she’s often talked about as the smartest witch in her grade and viewed as being much smarter than her peers.
While it’s true that Hermione often was a lot smarter than her classmates, there were also times where this wasn’t the case. Hermione was great at things like logic and many kinds of magic, and she also was extremely studious. However, just like with anyone, she had her areas where she wasn’t as gifted.
Smarter: When she brewed Polyjuice Potion her second year
One moment early on that showed just how smart Hermione really could be was when she brewed Polyjuice Potion on her own. This was an extremely complex potion that was so difficult it could only be found in the Restricted Section.
This potion involved many intricacies and detailed instructions, yet Hermione was able to brew it perfectly. This shows how smart she is and also how dedicated she could be.
Not As Smart: How little she was able to understand Divination
There are many ways for a person to be smart. While knowing how to study and being good at more logical or scientific things is one area of intelligence, there are also more creative kinds of intellect.
Hermione was never really good at any type of magic that involved being more in tune with the subjective areas of life. While Trewlaney was definitely a fraud, Hermione couldn’t see that there was some value to divination in general, and so she never really even tried.
Smarter: Being able to use Wingardium Leviosa better than anyone
It’s clear from the first book that Hermione is really smart. She has clearly studied a lot and started learning magic on her own as she does a spell to fix Harry’s glasses on the train.
Then, in one of their early lessons, she shows how much more advanced she is than her peers at Hogwarts by being able to perfectly perform Wingardium Leviosa. While this might not have won her friends, it did show she was really smart.
Not As Smart: When she was just average during Lupin’s practical Defense Against the Dark Arts test
Just like anyone else, Hermione has her strengths and weaknesses. While she was really good at magic in general and did great in most of her classes, she wasn’t the best at Defense Against the Dark Arts.
She was still really good at it, but Harry was always better than her. Even Ron occasionally did as good as she did in this course such as during the practical examination at the end of her third year when Hermione wasn’t able to beat the Boggarts.
Smarter: Coming up with a way for the of Dumbledore’s Army to communicate
Hermione is someone who is able to apply the things she learns and studies to new ideas. This shows that her intellect goes beyond just being able to memorize facts because she’s also able to apply them in new ways.
When she comes up with the coin idea that will tell everyone the date and time of the Dumbledore's Army meetings, she’s taking the Dark Mark spell idea but using it for much better, and less cruel, ends.
Not As Smart: When she wasn’t as aware of the cultural norms of the wizarding world
This is something that really isn’t her fault by any means, but it’s just a reality of her situation. As someone who is Muggle-born, she didn’t learn about being a witch until just before she came to Hogwarts.
She also clearly studied hard to learn as much as she could about the wizarding world. However, this doesn’t mean she could have the same knowledge about the culture and practices of the wizarding world.
Smarter: The time she got ten outstanding O.W.L.s
Hermione always did extremely well in school, so it’s no wonder she was considered the smartest person in her grade at Hogwarts as well as one of the smartest students to ever come through the school.
When she got her O.W.L.s, no one was surprised that she had got top grades in ten of her classes and nearly top grades in one. While Hermione was sad she didn’t get only outstanding O.W.L.s, it was still an impressive accomplishment.
Not As Smart: She wasn’t good at types of magic that weren’t very black and white
The biggest flaws in Hermione’s intellect have to do with the fact that she sees things in a more black and white manner. She is someone who values only certain kinds of intellect, and she can’t always see the value of other kinds.
If she were not a witch, she would probably be a person who really values things like science and facts but doesn’t understand the creative arts so much. While it’s ok to not have these strengths, she could be more open-minded about some things.
Smarter: Her vast knowledge of Hogwarts and magic in general
One of the other impressive things about Hermione is how willing she is to work hard and study. It’s clear she’s very naturally gifted and picks things up quickly, but this doesn’t stop her from wanting to know more and be better.
She always studies hard and just loves to learn. She spends a lot of time learning about things others don’t even think about such as the mysteries of Hogwarts castle and magic in the wizarding world and how it functions.
Not As Smart: Her logical knowledge was great, but her intuition wasn’t strong
Once again, it's clear that Hermione’s intellect and intelligence functions best when it’s for things that she can see in a logical way. She likes to see things more black and white, and she isn’t so good at using her intuition or emotions to figure things out.
This is likely why in certain situations Harry is better at figuring things out than she is and why they often complement each other with their strengths.
