Wizarding Card of the Moment: Hermione Granger

Hermione Jane Granger (born September 19, 1979) is a fictional character in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter book series. The character is portrayed by Emma Watson in the films.

Hermione is a Gryffindor student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and is one of Harry Potter's and Ron Weasley's best friends. She plays an important role in many aspects of Harry's life, serving as a maternal influence on both Harry and Ron. Her birthdate September 19, 1979, makes Hermione the oldest of her classmates, as most were born in ca. late 1979/1980. Hogwarts only accepts first-year students who have turned eleven years old at the start of the school term on September 1. Therefore, Hermione was too young to join the previous class. She shows considerable maturity when compared to her close friends and classmates in both attitude and course work. However, she lacks maturity in other areas: she consistently responds negatively to Ron baiting her, generally cannot stand back and allow him to make a fool of himself, and has a tendency to bicker (generally flouncing off to bed if she is thwarted).

Hermione has brown eyes and, when she first appears, bushy brown hair and rather large front teeth. Many at the school have ridiculed her looks, including, on one occasion, Professor Snape. Hermione is very studious and can be bossy and fussy; she is one of the most intelligent students in her year and one of the best in the school. She is often teased for this, although Harry and Ron depend on her for academic help, and her knowledge and common sense prove valuable in overcoming the trio's challenges.

Hermione is brave and loyal and has a fierce political conscience, but sometimes has problems keeping her head in crises: one might note her problems in facing the Devils Snare in the first book (when told to light a fire, she memorably responds “There’s no wood!”, even though she had conjured magical flames earlier in the year), the unlikely lie she tells Professor Umbridge to save Harry in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (she claims that there is a weapon in the forest, created upon Dumbledore’s orders), and her failure to adequately subdue a Death Eater in the Department of Mysteries (she silences rather than stuns him, leaving him conscious, suggesting that in the heat of the moment, she forgot about non-verbal spell casting, despite evidence in the same book that James Potter knew of that in his Fifth Year at Hogwarts). Indeed, Hermione's intellect is strongest in memory and objective analysis, and less impressive when thinking on her feet. Although compassionate, she can be naïve and even insensitive when dealing with people, despite positioning herself as the "sensitive one" in the trio. For example, her ham-handed attempt to comfort Lavender Brown over the death of her rabbit. Screenwriter Steve Kloves has said that Hermione often shows "a complete lack of understanding of how she affects other people." According to Rowling, Hermione is deeply insecure and feels utterly inadequate underneath. To compensate, she tries to be the best at everything at school, projecting a false confidence that can irritate people.

Rowling admits that Hermione is in many ways based upon herself. Hermione's Patronus is an otter, which is Rowling's favourite animal. Hermione's middle name, Jane, (never mentioned in the books, only on Rowling's official site) is a feminine form of "John", as is "Joanne", Rowling's first name.

- from wikipedia.org