Before we jump into this article, I just want to say that, for the record, I love Hermione Jean Granger more than life itself. And that is not an exaggeration. She is, by far, the greatest aspect of every single Harry Potter film/book/meme/etc. and the reason why I fell in love with the series in the first place.

In fact, six-year-old me was not too keen on the idea of sitting down to watch the first Harry Potter film when it was released as, to tell you the truth, the commercials truly terrified me. I still wasn’t sold on them until that frizzy-haired bossy little know-it-all walked on screen. From that moment on, I was sold. Not only was I sold but I feel as though I did my best to become my own little version of Hermione Granger. I wore my naturally straight hair in plaits for days so that it would curl into the massive puffball that Hermione wore proudly. I assembled the closest thing I had to a Hogwarts uniform and wore it daily.

A lot of people, both fans and non-fans, know at least a bit about Hermione. She's definitely one of the most recognized characters. But that doesn't mean that everyone really knows her; in fact, there are some things that people often get wrong about her! So without further ado, here are thirty things that everyone seems to get wrong about the intelligent, soft, emotional, and stubborn Hermione Granger.

30 Not Always The Good Guy

via: themarysue.com

It is important to note that there are several moments that exist within the books in which Hermione was in the wrong. I think we all tend to forget about that. Hermione was often very harsh towards anyone who disagreed with her and her stubbornness caused her to hold a frustratingly closed mind for much longer than necessary. In fact, her stubbornness caused her to exchange some pretty heated words with every member of her friend group at least once throughout the series. And don’t get me started on what she does to the enemies that dare cross her...

29 Friendless Muggles

Via: Inverse

You can tell from the first moment that Hermione is seen on screen that she did not have many friends in the muggle world. Her unintentionally rude remarks, breakdown when reminded of her friendless state, and fear of losing her place at Hogwarts all indicate that those two boys and that school are all she really had. Which goes to show why she was so afraid to lose it all and why she goes along with the boys on their dangerous and ill-advised adventures after their risk it all to save her from that troll.

28 A True Gryffindor

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I want to briefly focus on her aptitude for house Gryffindor. Her bravery, ruthlessness, commitment to equality, need to protect everyone around her, and constant willingness to throw down in order to do what is right makes her a true Gryffindor.

Look at other people who we consider true Gryffindors… James, Lily, Sirius, Ron, Ginny, Neville… though these traits exist in different forms for each one of these characters, each and every single one of them are just as stubbornly committed to doing what's right as she is.

27 Judgmental Nature

via: twitter.com

Hermione has a bad habit of judging the people around her before she even gives them a chance. She categorizes them based on surface traits and observed behaviors and is often very shocked when they go against the labels she has placed on them. Fleur’s love for Bill and battle-ready attitude went against her idea of her as a vain and flighty creature. Luna’s insight and intelligence conflicted with her loony persona. And Ron’s bouts of bravery and cleverness caused her to rethink the bumbling sidekick role she had placed him in.

26 Hermione Goes Hard

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Hermione leaped off of a ledge without hesitation onto the back of a dragon she intended to later free from its shackles while dangerous and life-threatening spells were being hurled at her. She locked a woman in a jar as a punishment for spreading lies about her and her friends. She led a woman to a fate worse than demise within the woods for daring to consider using an illegal spell on a minor. She stood up to Sirius Black and her own teacher for endangering her best friends. She set Snape on fire in her first year.

25 Reliance On Logic

Via Wiki

While it is true that Hermione is hyper-intelligent and logical, it is that dependence on logic that is sometimes her downfall. You see, Hermione cannot understand/properly perform magic in which does not solely operate on logic. Broomsticks do not make sense. She cannot see thestrals. Patronus charms must be conducted through emotion and happy thoughts rather than technique or skill. All of these forms of magic require a suspension of disbelief, a leap of faith, and an acceptance of the illogical things in our world. And all of that is just a little bit too much for Hermione.

24 S.P.E.W.

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Yes, she is fighting for equality for a creature that most of the wizarding world has decided to see and use as property. The main issue here is that the elves don’t want to be liberated. And literally everyone tells her that. But she refuses to listen. While it is true that some wizards do treat their elves with undeserved cruelty, most elves are in good positions and truly take pride in their work. But Hermione’s mind is shut to that idea entirely. She tries to force her ideas of freedom on them in a way that actually ends up offending them.

23 Soft When Needed

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So many films attempt to create strong female characters by making them incredibly hard and unforgiving. They see emotions as this fatal female flaw that must be eliminated in order to create strength and that simply is not true.

Hermione’s strength comes from her soft emotional core, not in spite of it. Yes, Hermione is brave, fierce, and could destroy anyone in her path if needed. But that does not mean that she doesn’t wear her heart on her sleeve, cry when hurt, or feel fear when facing off with her enemies.

22 Insecure Ambitions

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Though she does possess an innate curiosity and appetite for knowledge, I believe that she feared that her muggle status would put her behind her classmates so she over prepared in order to prove to both herself and to others that she belonged and didn’t have to play catch up like Harry did at many times throughout the series. That is why Ron and Malfoy’s insults cut her so deeply, both boys’ remarks made her feel as though her deepest insecurities were right and that she truly did not belong.

21 Strong Of Mind And Heart

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Lazy fiction writers often create characters in tropes which are easily understood by audiences so that they don’t need to waste time developing a three-dimensional character and can move on with the plot. But Hermione is one of those special characters who is considered both highly intelligent and in touch with her emotions. She loves her friends and does everything she can to help and protect them while also being one of the most logical and intelligent people in the series. It’s okay to be both.

20 A Fate Worse Than Demise

Via: Screenrant

She did not belong in the muggle world. She could sense it since before she could remember. When she got her letter, she realized that there might truly be somewhere where she did belong.

And though there were a few social hiccups at the start, she was truly beginning to find her own place in this new world.

Somewhere where she truly did belong. And if she were to be expelled, then she would be forced back into the muggle world that never truly accepted her in the first place and be doomed to live out the rest of her life knowing that she had tasted paradise.

19 Lessons In Sorting

Via Popcorn Culture

Her ambitious and cunning nature could earn her a spot in Slytherin. Her appetite for knowledge and love of books could have put her in Ravenclaw. Her fierce belief in fairness above all else and need to protect everyone around her could have placed her in Hufflepuff with me. And her stubborn/ruthless pursuit of what is right is, most likely, what earned her her spot in Gryffindor. So why does she belong in this coveted house? Because she asked to. Same as Harry. Same as Sirius. Same as everybody else… except for Neville.

18 Rigid Morality

Via: Inverse

If it weren’t for her ruthless and brutal methods of righting wrongs, I would swear that Hermione would make the perfect Hufflepuff. This is due to the fact that she operates almost entirely on her own internal moral code. She will fight until the very end for what is right and would lay her life on the line in order to protect those who need it. And those who treat others with cruelty, act in the wrong, or hurt other people should be punished for their actions. In Hermione’s eyes, all wrongdoings must be corrected.

17 No Patience For Stupidity

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You see, Hermione has no patience for stupidity. And to her, those who believe things that she clearly knows are untrue are stupid. She even fights with Luna at times for being so silly as to believe in animals that are clearly make-believe.

In Hermione’s mind, Lavender is stupid to believe that her rabbit’s demise was foretold by the stars or some silly predictions. Parvati's faith in her tea leaves is laughable. And Luna should know better than to run off chasing after imaginary creatures.

16 Fears And Perils

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It is important to note that Hermione often reacts with anger when facing her fears rather than with timid caution. When she feared she lost Ron, she tore him a new one when he finally returned. When Harry refused to prepare for his Triwizard tournament task, she scolded him out of fear that he wouldn’t make it to see their fifth year. And when the boys silly exploration nearly caused her to be eaten by a three-headed dog, she snapped at them before heading to bed to calm down.

15 Romantic Inclinations And Embarrassments

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The brainy ones are rarely ever allowed to fall in love. But Hermione lets her heart guide her as much as she does her head, and that leads her to several schoolyard crushes and romances throughout the series. From Gilderoy to Krum, our brainy beauty has had her fair share of ill-advised crushes and several of those ended in embarrassments on her end. But she learned from her mistakes, she grew older and wiser, and she finally made a move on Ron because if she hadn’t I highly doubt that he ever would have figured it out.

14 A Closed Mind Opened

Via: 2D

Though Hermione is the embodiment of fairness and justice within the series, it is important to note that her mind is far more closed than one would like to think it would be. Experience, new relationships, and admitted faults help open her up to other possibilities by the end of the series but her new open mind was hard won. Hermione was utterly convinced that she was right about pretty much everything and it was excruciatingly difficult to try and convince her otherwise. Even if her stubbornness wound up hurting other people, she still would not give up her position.

13 Unsure And Uneasy

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One would naturally assume that someone as awesome as Hermione would never cast herself a single doubt. But Hermione did truly struggle with her own insecurities.

And though by the end of the series she fully embraces what makes her special and powerful, it was not always that way.

The best example of this is her reaction to the word “mudblood.” When first uttered in the second film, Hermione breaks down. This word is the embodiment of her greatest fears: that she does not belong in this world. But by the time that Bellatrix has carved it into her arm, she embraces the term.

12 Bursting With Emotion

Via The Flawed Guru

Hermione is almost entirely driven by her emotions and rarely able to control them. You might be shaking your head and telling yourself that I am an absolute nutter but nearly every single book in the series contains at least one outburst of uncontrolled emotions on the part of Hermione. Examples include her Troll-interrupted bathroom dash, cat-fueled breakdown, assault on Malfoy, Ron-directed bird tornado, as well as the Yule Ball stairwell fiasco, an absolute flurry of emotions hurled at Ron when returns to their Horcrux motivated camping trip out of the blue.

11 A Need For Belonging

Via: TV Movie

Hermione is the best witch at Hogwarts during her time there. Her skill is simply unparalleled and that is exactly how she likes it. But I don’t think that this stems from a superiority complex. When all is said and done, she knows where she belongs in her friend group. Ron is brash and lazy, Harry is protective and always ready to throw down if need be, Ginny is the jock, Luna sees things in a way that no one else does, Neville is loyal and gentle. And that leaves Hermione as the smart one.