Hermione Granger is a signature role in the Harry Potter franchise, with countless fans citing her as their favorite character of all time (via The Love Nerds). It’s not hard to see why: when we first meet Hermione, she appears to be a haughty know-it-all, capable of dampening any situation or conversation. Upon their first meeting on the train, in fact, Harry and Ron are thoroughly put-off by her presence. To any first-time viewers of the first film, she may as well be written off completely from their friend group.
However, throughout the Harry Potter movies, Hermione blossoms into a fierce, deeply kind friend, who breaks all her own rules to aid her loved friends and, let’s be honest, save her friends most of the time in their moments of need. Hermione transforms from a snobby know-it-all to the best friend and adventure companion anyone could ever ask for, all while gaining a fantastic sense of humor and a knack for finding danger along the way. Although she is great in her own ways, her best wins are never talked about much or emphasized in the wizarding world. Yes, she was a rock star sidekick to Harry Potter, but what about all the times she was the superstar herself? Here are all the times Hermione Granger saved Harry and Ron.
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The Sorcerer’s Stone: Teaching Ron to Say Wingardium Leviosa
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Anyone who’s watched Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone remembers this line. “It’s leviOSA, not leviOSAR”. Yes, this is in fact one of Hermione’s haughty moments for sure. But, to be fair, she did him a huge favor in correcting him. When the mountain troll becomes loose in the castle and attacks the trio in the bathroom in a later sene, Ron uses this exact spell to save Harry from being bludgeoned to death by the troll. What would’ve happened if he had said it incorrectly?
The Sorcerer’s Stone: Discovering Nicholas Flamel and the Philosopher’s Stone
As the only one who actively reads in the trio, Hermione was naturally the only one who would’ve ever discovered who Nicholas Flamel was and how he played an important role in the hidden magical artifact, the Philosopher’s Stone. If she wasn’t there, they would’ve never been able to stop Professor Quirrell and Lord Voldemort from retrieving the stone.
The Sorcerer’s Stone: Saving Harry and Ron From Devil’s Snare
Again, her obsession with reading really came in handy here. As relatively poor students in the films, Harry and Ron would’ve never had the slightest clue how to evade the Devil’s Snare effectively if it wasn’t for Hermione. To be fair, it would’ve swallowed a panicking Ron whole, never to be seen again. Her informed, cool attitude wins again. This scene does go differently in the books, though. In the first book, Hermione is actually the one panicking, and Ron saves them from Devil’s Snare. Strange, huh?
The Chamber of Secrets: Discovering the Basilisk
Another huge win in Hermione’s list. After spending a large amount of time in the library in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, she discovered the monster was a Basilisk, giving Harry and Ron the ability to piece together the clues and stop the beast. Not only did she save Harry’s reputation by proving he wasn’t opening the chamber, she freed Hogwarts of a long-feared beast, saved countless lives from the snake’s murderous eyes, and gave Harry the ability to destroy his first Horcrux. 100% the savior of this film.
The Prisoner of Azkaban: Using Her Time-Turner
Clearly Hermione was the only 13-year-old in the whole school who could’ve been trusted with such a commanding piece of magic in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. If she wasn’t her, Dumbledore would’ve never given her the time-turner, which ultimately allowed them to go back in time to save Sirius and Harry from Dementors, save Sirius from imprisonment, and rescue Buckbeak from certain death. No doubt, she still had to teach Harry the rules of time-traveling on top of saving everyone. Her work is never done with these two.
The Goblet of Fire: Teaching Harry the Accio Spell
As terrified as Harry was to be performing in an event he wasn’t old enough and never signed up for in The Goblet of Fire, he would’ve been burnt to a crisp without Hermione. Before his dragon task, where he was, of course, assigned the fiercest dragon, Hermione taught him the “accio” spell. He wasn’t allowed a broom during the task, but he was allowed a wand to summon a broom with. He wouldn’t have been summoning anything without his intelligent friend.
The Order of the Phoenix: Making Harry the Teacher of Dumbledore’s Army
Although this save was more emotional than physical, it was touching all the same. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry struggled not only with self-doubt and anger, but with being cast out, titled a liar, and the overall negative publicity he never asked for. To help him gain his confidence back and keep him believing in their fight against Voldemort and the blind Ministry, Hermione made Harry the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher of Dumbledore’s Army. She was always in touch with his deepest, unspoken emotions, which would’ve made them a fantastic couple in the long run. J.K Rowling herself admitted Hermione should’ve married Harry.
The Order of the Phoenix: Saving Harry From Being Tortured by Umbridge
Everyone’s most hated villain in the franchise: Dolores Umbridge. As most of us know, Umbridge went to extreme lengths to thwart any ideas, actions, or groups that sought to deviate from what the Ministry wished everyone to believe, even using forbidden spells and torture methods. In this specific moment, Hermione saves Harry from the Cruciatus Curse by pretending to relinquish key information to Umbridge. Quick thinking is evidently her strong suit.
The Deathly Hallows Part 1: Apparating the Trio Away From the Wedding
A general sense of doom hung over the trio after Dumbledore was killed and Voldemort started rising to power once again in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. They stuck around for Bill and Fleur’s wedding to maintain some normality before taking off on their adventure to retrieve the rest of the remaining Horcruxes. Ultimately, the wedding was ruined when they were informed the Ministry had fallen and Death Eaters began attacking. Thanks to Hermione’s quick thinking, she apparated the trio far away, where none of them would be harmed or followed.
The Deathly Hallows Part 1: Never-Ending Bag of Supplies
In complete Hermione fashion, she had a never-ending bag already prepared before the wedding, stocked with anything and everything they could possibly need while Horcrux hunting. As all of us know at this point, neither Harry nor Ron could ever be this organized, forward-thinking, or prepared. Hermione knew everything they would need without knowing where they were going or what they’d be doing. This scene qualifies as one of her best moments in the franchise.
The Deathly Hallows Part 1: Apparating Away From Yaxley at the Ministry
After launching their wild idea of infiltrating the Ministry, the trio takes Polyjuice Potion to impersonate ministry workers to get Slytherin’s Locket from Umbridge. Although they succeeded, they transformed back into themselves in the presence of Yaxley and Umbridge, causing the former to aggressively pursue them. Running out of options, Hermione apparates them away from Yaxley to safety. Although Ron is hurt in this scene, it’s a better outcome than what Voldemort’s Ministry had in mind.
The Deathly Hallows Part 1: Setting Up Protective Enchantments
Shortly after getting them away from the Ministry, Hermione was fast at work to save their lives once again. Knowing Voldemort’s followers could potentially find out where they were, she set up protective enchantments around their campsite to conceal them and keep them safe. Clearly, this was another situation where Ron and Harry would’ve been found and caught long ago if it wasn’t for Hermione.
The Deathly Hallows Part 1: Realizing the Sword of Gryffindor Can Destroy Horcruxes
In her usual fashion, Hermione spends all of her free time researching an issue until she has a solution. That, my friends, is dedication. As usual, Harry and Ron sit around and wait for the answer to appear mysteriously. While camping, they have trouble discovering how they are going to destroy any of the Horcruxes once they acquire them. Fortunately, Hermione discovers the sword of Gryffindor is the key to their success. Now, how will they find it?
The Deathly Hallows Part 1: Noticing the Deathly Hallows Symbol
Although Harry first saw the symbol on Xenophilius Lovegood’s necklace, he didn’t put much thought into it until Hermione mentioned she kept seeing it in various places and felt the symbol truly meant something important. Once Harry acknowledged Lovegood’s necklace, Hermione insisted they went and paid him a visit to go find out more information, leading them to discovering the Deathly Hallows.
The Deathly Hallows Part 1: Saving Harry From Being Killed by Nagini
This specific scene was not Harry’s brightest moment, especially when he blindly followed who he thought was a non-verbal Bathilda Bagshot into her home without a second thought. When Hermione sensed something wasn’t right, she went running for Harry, ultimately saving him from being killed by Nagini and apparating them to safety. Harry’s wand broke in the scuffle, but it’s better than being snake food.
The Deathly Hallows Part 1: Concealing Harry’s Identity With a Stinging Jinx
In one of her brightest moments, Hermione’s quick thinking saved Harry once again. In an effort to save Harry from the Snatchers and the Death Eaters, she hit him with a Stinging Jinx, which disfigured his face and kept his identify concealed for the most part. Bellatrix had a suspicion that Harry was himself, but without Draco’s explicit agreement on the matter and Harry not looking 100% like himself, they decided not to act at the moment. This leads to Harry and Ron going to the cells below, rescuing all who were captured and escaping Malfoy Manor to safety with the assistance of Dobby.
The Deathly Hallows Part 2: Acquiring the Gringotts Dragon to Escape
After breaking into Bellatrix’s vault at Gringotts and being abandoned by Griphook in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, the trio were in deep trouble. While being attacked by security, avoiding a fire-breathing dragon and trying to find a way out of the confusing building, Hermione comes up with her wildest idea thus far: hopping onto the dragon and flying away to victory. Although Harry and Ron think it’s too dangerous, they have no other choice. In the end, they escape scott-free, evade security with the Horcrux in hand, and avoid the mass killing spree Voldemort goes on at Gringotts just moments after they leave.
