Hermione Granger Character Analysis in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

One of the novel’s protagonists, Hermione is of Harry’s best friends, along with Ron Weasley. Hermione is a first year student in Gryffindor with bushy brown hair, large teeth, and a bossy voice. Hermione is extremely clever but is also a bit of a know-it-all. Hermione’s desire to stand out and earn good grades perhaps stems from the fact that she is from a Muggle family and, like Harry, worries that she may not fit in with the other students or may feel that she is behind. Harry and Ron initially dislike Hermione because she is so adamant about following the rules (she even contemplates telling on them in order to preemptively prevent them from sneaking out at night). But after an incident in which Harry and Ron save her from a troll that is loose at Hogwarts, Hermione begins to see the value in sometimes breaking the rules, and the three become close friends. Hermione’s intelligence is instrumental in helping Harry: it allows her to literally save him when his broom is jinxed during a Quidditch match, and also helps her figure out who Nicolas Flamel is when they are trying to figure out what the three-headed dog is guarding. Additionally, like Ron, Harry’s desire to put others above himself rubs off on Hermione as well when she sets out to protect the Sorcerer’s Stone with the two boys. Only together are they able to achieve this goal; the three friends must work their way through a series of rooms containing different challenges that are meant to guard the stone. While Ron is instrumental in the wizard’s chess challenge, allowing Harry and Hermione to press on, Hermione remembers a key bit of information from Herbology and also solves a tricky logic puzzle that allows Harry to continue forward and try to prevent the Stone from falling into the hands of evil.

Hermione Granger Quotes in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

The Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone quotes below are all either spoken by Hermione Granger or refer to Hermione Granger. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Magic, Difference, and Belonging Theme Icon

Harry ignored her. Blood was pounding in his ears. He mounted the broom and kicked hard against the ground and up, up he soared; air rushed through his hair, and his robes whipped out behind him — and in a rush of fierce joy he realized he’d found something he could do without being taught — this was easy, this was wonderful.

Related Characters: , , , ,

Page Number and Citation: 148

Explanation and Analysis:

During Harry’s first flying lesson, Neville falls, and Madam Hooch takes him to the hospital wing, warning the other students not to get on their brooms without her there. Malfoy immediately grabs Neville’s Remembrall, which had fallen on the ground, and dares Harry to come get it. This moment, when Harry simultaneously tries to defend Neville and also discovers his talent for flying, provides two key insights into his character. The first is that Harry has no problem breaking the rules (ignoring warnings from Madam Hooch and Hermione) when he is doing what he believes is right. He does not hesitate to defend Neville, even while Neville is out of earshot, and works to get the Remembrall back. And because Harry is eventually rewarded for this rule-breaking by earning a spot on the Quidditch team, Rowling provides positive reinforcement for Harry to continue breaking rules. Secondly, this moment demonstrates another aspect of magic that exhilarates Harry and allows him to feel like he belongs. Finding something that proves his natural magical ability validates the idea that Harry does in fact belong in the wizarding world.

Hermione hung her head. Harry was speechless. Hermione was the last person to do anything against the rules, and here she was, pretending she had, to get them out of trouble.

Related Characters: Hermione Granger, Professor McGonagall, Ron Weasley, Harry Potter

Page Number and Citation: 178

Explanation and Analysis:

“SO WHAT?” Harry shouted. “Don’t you understand? If Snape gets hold of the Stone, Voldemort’s coming back! Haven’t you heard what it was like when he was trying to take over? There won’t be any Hogwarts to get expelled from! He’ll flatten it, or turn it into a school for the Dark Arts! […] I’m going through that trapdoor tonight and nothing you two say is going to stop me! Voldemort killed my parents, remember?”

Related Characters: Harry Potter (speaker), Professor Snape, Voldemort / You-Know-Who, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger

Related Symbols: The Sorcerer’s Stone

Page Number and Citation: 270

Explanation and Analysis:

“Oh, come off it, you don’t think we’d let you go alone?”
“Of course not,” said Hermione briskly. "How do you think you’d get to the Stone without us? I’d better go and look through my books, there might be something useful…”

Related Characters: Ron Weasley (speaker), Hermione Granger (speaker), Professor Snape, Voldemort / You-Know-Who, Harry Potter

Related Symbols: The Sorcerer’s Stone

Page Number and Citation: 271

Explanation and Analysis:

“That’s chess!” snapped Ron. “You’ve got to make some sacrifices! I’ll make my move and she’ll take me — that leaves you free to checkmate the king, Harry!”

“But —”
“Do you want to stop Snape or not?”
“Ron —”
“Look, if you don't hurry up, he’ll already have the Stone!”

Related Characters: Hermione Granger (speaker), Harry Potter (speaker), Ron Weasley (speaker), Voldemort / You-Know-Who, Professor Snape

Related Symbols: The Sorcerer’s Stone

Page Number and Citation: 283

Explanation and Analysis:

“Harry — you’re a great wizard, you know.”

“I’m not as good as you,” said Harry, very embarrassed, as she let go of him.

“Me!” said Hermione. “Books! And cleverness! There are more important things — friendship and bravery and — oh Harry — be careful!”

Related Characters: Harry Potter (speaker), Hermione Granger (speaker), Ron Weasley

Related Symbols: The Sorcerer’s Stone

Page Number and Citation: 287

Explanation and Analysis:

Hermione Granger Character Timeline in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

The timeline below shows where the character Hermione Granger appears in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...“a bossy sort of voice, lots of bushy brown hair, and rather large front teeth” (Hermione) knocks and asks if they’ve seen a lost toad. (full context)

When Hermione sees Ron about to do magic, she grows excited and asks to see it. Ron... (full context)

Ron and Harry introduce themselves, and Hermione is amazed to meet Harry (she’s learned about him from a few books on modern... (full context)

After Hermione leaves, Ron comments that he hopes he’s not in whatever house she’s in. Ron’s whole... (full context)

...finger. Goyle howls, throwing Scabbers off, and the three boys immediately disappear into the corridor. Hermione returns, wondering what’s going on and saying that they are going to get in trouble... (full context)

The students are sorted in alphabetical order. When it is Hermione’s turn, she is placed into Gryffindor. Ron groans. Harry notes that sometimes the hat takes... (full context)

...to turn a match into a needle, but by the end of the lesson, only Hermione has made the smallest amount of difference, turning it silver and pointy. (full context)

...what “powdered root of asphodel” and “infusion of wormwood” make together. Harry doesn’t know, but Hermione’s hand shoots up. “Fame clearly isn’t everything,” Snape quips. He ignores Hermione and asks Harry... (full context)

Seamus and Ron are also excited for flying lessons, but Neville is nervous about it. Hermione, too, is uneasy, as flying isn’t something she can learn from a textbook. At breakfast... (full context)

...and takes off, taunting Harry to “come and get it.” Harry grabs his broom, but Hermione stops him, warning that he’ll get in trouble. (full context)

Harry ignores Hermione’s warning. He takes off and glides easily through the air, delighted that he’s found something... (full context)

...he and Malfoy don’t know enough magic to do any real damage to one another. Hermione comes up to them, overhearing their conversation. She warns them not to wander the school... (full context)

...and Harry leave for the duel just before midnight. When they reach the portrait hole, Hermione is there to stop them. As she warns them, they climb through the portrait, and... (full context)

When Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville arrive at the trophy room, Malfoy isn’t there yet. Filch, on the other... (full context)

Hermione swiftly casts a spell to unlock the door. They all cram through the door, shutting... (full context)

The dog starts to growl menacingly, and Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville immediately fling themselves back out the door, flying down the hall once again... (full context)

...be inside it. Neville seems completely uninterested in what the dog could be guarding, and Hermione refuses to speak to Harry and Ron. (full context)

Harry and Ron return upstairs, and Hermione, who’s overheard their conversation, angrily quips, “I suppose you think that’s a reward for breaking... (full context)

...fly, beginning with feathers. Harry and Seamus are paired up, and so are Ron and Hermione. When Ron waves his wand around and says the spell, Hermione pretentiously corrects him and... (full context)

...from the classroom, Ron says, “It’s no wonder no one can stand her,” referring to Hermione. Hermione, who has been walking behind them, pushes past them, starting to cry. Ron is... (full context)

...students back to their dormitories. Harry and Ron start to follow Percy, but realize that Hermione doesn’t know about the troll. They hurry off to the girls’ bathroom. (full context)

Hermione is pressed against a wall, the troll advancing on her. Ron hastily grabs a metal... (full context)

...Quirrell dash into the bathroom. McGonagall is livid, demanding to know what Harry, Ron, and Hermione were thinking. Hermione lies and says that she went looking for the troll because she... (full context)

Professor McGonagall takes five points from Hermione for her “foolish” behavior and sends her back to her dorm. She then awards Harry... (full context)

...against Slytherin, and he’s nervous that he has to prove his skill. He’s grateful to Hermione for her help with his homework, seeing as he’s spent so much time training lately.... (full context)

Back in the common room, Harry relays what he saw to Ron and Hermione, concluding that Snape must have tried to steal whatever the three-headed dog was guarding on... (full context)

...hungry at breakfast. By eleven o’clock, the whole school is at the Quidditch field. Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Seamus have painted a Potter for President banner to surprise Harry. In the... (full context)

...No one seems to have noticed it, until Hagrid, who is sitting with Ron and Hermione, points out that it seems like Harry’s lost control of his broom. (full context)

...starts to roll, causing Harry to dangle from it by one hand. The crowd gasps. Hermione grabs Hagrid’s binoculars and looks at the crowd. She sees Snape, who has his eyes... (full context)

Later, Harry returns to Hagrid’s hut with Ron and Hermione for tea. Ron explains that Snape was the one jinxing the broom, but Hagrid is... (full context)

One day, as Harry, Ron, and Hermione return from a Potions lesson, Hagrid is bringing in an enormous tree to decorate the... (full context)

Hagrid tells the kids to cheer up—it’s the holidays after all. Hermione then reminds Harry and Ron that they should head to the library before lunch. They’re... (full context)

The next day, Hermione goes home for the holidays. Harry and Ron spend their days sitting by the fire... (full context)

...Weasley, who knit him a sweater and made him some fudge. The fourth is from Hermione: a large box of Chocolate Frogs. (full context)

...of green light” and a strange evil laugh. Then, just before the start of term, Hermione returns. She can’t believe that Harry was out of bed three nights in a row... (full context)

Later that afternoon, when Harry, Ron, and Hermione are in the common room, Neville returns with his legs invisibly bound together by a... (full context)

...something: Nicolas Flamel’s name. The card says that Dumbledore worked on alchemy with Nicolas Flamel. Hermione then gets a strike of inspiration: she pulls out a large book that she had... (full context)

Ron and Harry don’t know what the Sorcerer’s Stone is. Hermione explains that it transforms any metal into gold, and that it also produces the Elixir... (full context)

The day of the Quidditch match, Harry feels incredibly anxious. Hermione and Ron have secretly been practicing the Leg-Locker Curse to use on Snape if necessary.... (full context)

Harry returns to the castle, and Ron and Hermione meet him, asking where he’s been. They tell him everyone is waiting in the common... (full context)

Every time Harry, Ron, and Hermione pass the third-floor corridor, they check that Fluffy is still there. But Hermione also starts... (full context)

Harry, Ron, and Hermione decide to go down to Hagrid’s hut. They start to ask Hagrid more about the... (full context)

A few days later the dragon hatches, but when Harry, Ron, and Hermione sneak down to see it happen, Malfoy also ends up following them and seeing the... (full context)

The following week drags on. Harry, Ron, and Hermione help take care of Norbert (even though he bites Ron’s hand). Then Hedwig returns with... (full context)

...to twice its size, forcing him to go to the hospital wing. When Harry and Hermione visit him, Ron reveals that Malfoy had come to his bed to make fun of... (full context)

On Saturday, Hagrid says goodbye to Norbert and Harry and Hermione carry him up to the castle under the Invisibility Cloak. In the hall, they see... (full context)

Harry and Hermione make it to the top of the tower, where Charlie’s friends take Norbert from them.... (full context)

Filch takes Harry and Hermione to Professor McGonagall’s study. When they reach her, Neville is also there—he had been trying... (full context)

Harry tells Hermione and Ron what he heard, wondering if Snape convinced Quirrell to tell him how to... (full context)

The following evening, Filch takes Harry, Hermione, Neville, and Malfoy to Hagrid’s hut, announcing that they will be serving detention in the... (full context)

Harry, Hagrid, and Hermione follow a trail of blood until they hear something along the path. Hagrid arms his... (full context)

Hagrid, Harry, and Hermione see red sparks—a signal that Neville and Malfoy are in trouble. Hagrid leaves Harry and... (full context)

At that moment, Hagrid and Hermione run towards Harry and Firenze on the path, happy to that he’s okay. Back in... (full context)

...get the Stone. He is plagued by nightmares, and a little frustrated that Ron and Hermione don’t seem as worried about the Stone. They try to comfort him again, saying Snape... (full context)

...a stranger just happens to show up in town with an egg. Harry, Ron, and Hermione visit Hagrid, who reveals that the stranger’s face had been hidden by a cloak, and... (full context)

After hearing this information, Harry, Ron, and Hermione bolt inside, figuring that Snape or Voldemort must have been the hooded stranger. When they... (full context)

...to steal the Stone that night. Harry resolves to get to the Stone before Snape. Hermione and Ron warn that he’ll be expelled if he’s caught, but Harry is adamant. He... (full context)

Hermione and Ron acknowledge that Harry is right, and decide to go with him. That night,... (full context)

When Harry, Ron, and Hermione arrive at the third-floor corridor, the door is already open. Fluffy is there, and as... (full context)

Harry, Ron, and Hermione land on a snakelike plant, which starts to wind around them and constrict their breathing.... (full context)

...a locked wooden door on the other side. Harry spots broomsticks, and he, Ron, and Hermione each mount one, realizing that they have to find the correct key. Harry quickly spots... (full context)

In the next chamber, Harry, Ron, and Hermione find a huge, life-sized wizard’s chess set, and Ron concludes that they have to play... (full context)

Harry and Hermione continue on, though they’re shaken by what happened to Ron. In the next room, they... (full context)

Harry says that he will go forward, and Hermione should take the one that will allow her to go back, so that she can... (full context)

After Dumbledore leaves, Ron and Hermione visit Harry, relieved to see that he’s okay. Harry explains what happened to him before... (full context)

...the “best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years,” and fifty points to Hermione “for the cool use of logic in the face of fire.” (full context)

...King’s Cross station. Lots of students say goodbye to Harry, and Ron makes Harry and Hermione promise to visit him over the summer. Vernon arrives to take Harry home. Ron and... (full context)

Hermione Granger Character Analysis

Hermione Granger Quotes in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Chapter 9 Quotes

Chapter 10 Quotes

Chapter 16 Quotes

Hermione Granger Character Timeline in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone