While Hermione Granger might not be the main character from the Harry Potter series, she is one of the most important. She’s an extremely well-liked character, and many fans over the years have related to her and found her heroic.
While Hermione has many strengths including her intelligence and loyalty, she also has some weaknesses. We’ve put together a list of the five reasons why Hermione is the best member of the golden trio and five reasons why she was the worst.
Worst: She could get annoyed too easily
The characters in Harry Potter are all really young, so it’s not surprising that they don’t always have great emotional control.
While dealing with Harry and Ron at times would probably be frustrating, Hermione could get annoyed and fed up with people too easily. She wasn’t particularly patient, and she expected people to always be as smart as she was which wasn’t always fair.
Best: She knew a lot about Hogwarts and magical history
While Ron might have known about the culture of the wizarding world as he actually grew up in it, Hermione was the one who knew the most about magical history.
She was a voracious reader who loved to learn, and so she was always there to offer knowledge about how magic worked. Her information about things such as Hogwarts, spells, and more got the trio out of many tough situations.
Worst: She could be hypocritical about rule-breaking
Hermione was someone who always talked about the importance of following the rules, but she also broke them all the time. While she was most likely to break the rules when she thought it was going to save someone, she would also break them at her own discretion.
For example, she got upset when she thought Harry used Felix Felicis on Ron even though she herself had used the Confundus Charm on Cormac McLaggen.
Best: Her more cautious nature was a good balance
Harry was a person who made decisions based on his emotions and intuition, and Ron was someone who could be a bit too relaxed and not serious enough.
Hermione, on the other hand, was more cautious and thought things through before diving in. This was a great balance in the trio as they needed her more logical, measured approach to problem-solving to balance out the recklessness.
Worst: Sometimes she was too judgemental
While Hermione could be a kind and helpful person, seeing all the times she helped Neville out, she could also be pretty judgemental and close-minded about certain things.
She wasn’t particularly artistic or open to creative ways of thinking and tended to do things by the book. So, if she thought someone wasn’t smart enough or logical enough, such as Luna, she tended to look down on them.
Best: Her loyalty never wavered
Hermione might not get enough credit for her Gryffindor traits, but the truth is that she was extremely loyal. When she was committed to a person or a cause, she really gave it her all.
While Ron faltered at times in his commitment to helping Harry, even in a dire time while on the Horcrux hunt, Hermione never did. She was willing to stick the rough journey out because she knew that defeating Voldemort was the most important thing.
Worst: She could be too logical
Hermione’s logic was often extremely needed in the trio, and it was a positive trait that she had. However, there were times when this could go too far.
Given that Hermione was a literal witch in a magical world of spells and fantastical creatures, her insistence that certain things just couldn’t happen often didn’t make sense. She wasn’t open to things like Divination even though there was some truth to them.
Best: She was the one who planned ahead
As many fans have pointed out, without Hermione the trio wouldn’t really have gotten very far. While both Harry and Ron have their own strengths, it was really Hermione who planned ahead and made sure that things happened.
Whether it was a brewing Polyjuice Potion in their second year or packing everything they would need to go and look for Horcruxes, Hermione was instrumental.
Worst: At times, she was rude and dismissive
Hermione wasn’t a mean person by any means, but she had areas where she could be rude or uncaring just like anyone else. One person who she was quite dismissive of at first was Luna.
She thought that Luna was not worth taking seriously because she was eccentric and believed in some fanciful ideas. While Hermione might not have agreed with her, she could have been a little more open-minded and kind considering Luna was picked on.
Best: Her knowledge of magic saved them so many times
What really sets Hermione apart as a member of the trio is her intelligence and skill when it comes to magic. She’s considered the brightest witch of her age, and she’s both naturally talented and hardworking.
Her vast knowledge of spells, potions, magical items, plants, and more was vital in keeping the trio alive and also helping to defeat Voldemort.
