Known as the "brightest witch of her age," Hermione Granger, played by the inimitable Emma Watson, is one of the standout characters in the Harry Potter franchise. Wickedly smart, a steadfast friend, and always willing to stand up for the little guy (literally, in the case of the Hogwarts house elves), Hermione was key to Harry and Ron's survival. Given her vast intelligence and her quick wit, Hermione is responsible for some of the best lines in the entire series. Whether she is stepping up to defend her friends or coming down on them for their stupidity, here are 10 quotes that have cemented Hermione as an icon of this beloved fantasy series.
10 "Now, if you two don’t mind, I’m going to bed. Before you come up with another clever idea to get us killed. Or worse, expelled."
Emma Watson as Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
During Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry and his friends were introduced not only to the wonders of the Wizarding World, but the dangers as well. Returning to the Gryffindor common room, the trio are caught on the changing staircase. Let off at the forbidden third-floor corridor, the trio attempts to avoid the caretaker, Mr. Filch, by stepping behind a locked door. In the room, they find the vicious three-headed dog (later named Fluffy), barely escaping with their lives. Upon returning to their shared common room, Hermione delivers this quick line that has since become iconic.
This quote is one of the first real looks at Hermione Granger. While her bookish nature and intelligence were introduced earlier, this was the first to showcase her true priorities. Given that the trio was nearly killed, you'd think that the threat to her life would be front and center. However, it is the fact that the trio entered a forbidden area, that their education is put in jeopardy, that truly concerns her. This was one of the first real defining moments for Hermione, though her growth throughout the series would see this fear of expulsion fade as they begin to tackle more serious injustices and threats.
9 "You! You foul, loathsome, evil little cockroach!"
Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy in Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban
During Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the third-year students were introduced to the hippogriff named Buckbeak. While Harry had a magical experience flying with the creature, the vile Draco Malfoy insults the creature, resulting in a vicious attack. His father ordered a death sentence for the hippogriff. While traveling to Hagrid's hut, Draco taunts Harry and his friends, asking if they have "come to see the show." Hermione, enraged, pulls out her wand, delivers this iconic line, and proceeds to break the cruel young man's nose with a swift punch.
There are very few times in the series where we see Hermione succumb to rage. She gets defensive of her friends, sure, but this was the first time in the series that we truly got to see her let loose. This iconic line is delivered so quickly and brutally that you fully believe that she is about to destroy Draco Malfoy. Instead, she puts the wand down and resorts to a more primal attack. Still, given her generally controlled demeanor, this was both a frightening and highly satisfying moment in the series.
8 "Just because you’ve got the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn’t mean we all have."
Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry, Ron, and Hermione formed Dumbledore's Army to help their fellow students study their defensive magic. Through their interactions, Harry became incredibly close to Cho Chang, who still grieved the loss of her ex-boyfriend, Cedric Diggory. In a tumult of emotion, the pair shared their first kiss. While recounting the events to his friends, Ron struggles to understand the powerful emotions that led to the intimate moment, saying that a person would explode if they felt so much at once. Hermione turned on the sass, delivering this humorous line.
This line was hilariously delivered, resulting in the cast breaking into hysterical laughter. It was a great moment, not just because Hermione got to utilize her biting wit, but because it reminded viewers that these are just kids. They're talking about Harry's first kiss, laughing about the ridiculousness of the situation. They are poking fun at each other, and in a world where Voldemort has just risen, and the apocalypse is on the horizon, this tenderness and innocence are so necessary. This is a moment where they can just relax and sink into their youth, even for just a moment.
7 "Stop, stop, stop. You’re going to take someone’s eye out. Besides, you’re saying it wrong. It’s LeviOsa, not LeviosAR."
Hermione and Ron in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
In the first film, the students of Hogwarts were introduced to a number of new classes. One of these was Charms, taught by the diminutive Professor Filius Flitwick. Their first Charms lesson saw the students learning Wingardium Leviosa, the Levitating Charm, but Ron struggled with the simple spell. While Ron swung his wand around violently like he was trying to swat a fly, Hermione stops him and delivers this line. With a smug smirk on her face, she proves that she isn't just proficient in theory, but in practice too by perfectly levitating her own feather.
This was the first moment that really threw the spotlight on Hermione's personality. She wasn't just the smartest person in the room. She knew that she was the smartest, and while earned, this pride and arrogance didn't earn her any friends. She was book smart, not people smart, and this led to Ron's insult that sent her crying to the girl's bathroom and set her face-to-face with a wild troll. Still, it's a hilarious line, and while it has some story significance, especially since Ron uses her advice to defeat the troll, the spotlight on Hermione's character here can't be overlooked.
6 "At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to buy their way in. They got in on pure talent."
Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
By Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry and friends' second year at Hogwarts, Harry, Ron, and Hermione's friendship had made them nearly inseparable. While heading to the Quidditch pitch for practice, the Gryffindor team is stopped by the Slytherins, who have earned special permission to use the pitch to train their new seeker, Draco Malfoy. Seeing trouble brewing, Ron and Hermione take Harry's side, and while Draco boasts, Hermione puts him in his place with this line, which has Malfoy firing back by calling Hermione a Mudblood.
This scene was great for the way it introduced the social division within the wizarding world, with Mudblood introduced as a social slur against those wizards and witches born to Muggle parents. This helps explain many of Hermione's future social justice endeavors, including her S.P.E.W. organization to help house elves. However, it also showcases her whip-fast wit and her willingness to defend her friends. Hermione is always seen as the smart one of the group, but she is almost always the first one stepping between those she cares about and the line of fire.
5 "Me? Books and Cleverness? There are more important things: friendship and bravery."
Hermione Granger Talking to Harry Potter in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
During the closing minutes of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry and friends are thrust into the trials made to defend the Sorcerer's Stone. The trio have had to rely on their individual skills to defeat these magical challenges, and after a brutal game of life-size wizard's chess, Ron is injured making the winning move. Hermione agrees to stay with him as Harry goes to collect the titular artifact, but Harry hesitates. He knows he's not as smart as her, but Hermione uses this line to let him know that he has what it takes. It isn't just intelligence that wins the day, but friendship and bravery.
In the context of Sorcerer's Stone, this line is incredibly important. It shows the character growth that Hermione had accomplished. From biting critiques to a heartfelt acknowledgment that her intelligence could only take her so far, Hermione truly showed how much she'd changed. Given the immensity of this battle, it had to be Harry who took it on. He was the most capable, even if he wasn't the smartest or most powerful. Ron's success at the wizard chess trial showed her that there were other forms of intelligence, allowing her to believe in Harry when he couldn't believe in himself.
4 "I’ve always admired your courage, Harry, but sometimes you can be really thick. You don’t really think you’re going to be able to find all those Horcruxes by yourself, do you? You need us, Harry."
Hermione Granger and Harry Potter in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
After the events of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry is at his lowest point. After watching the Death Eaters murder his mentor and friend Albus Dumbledore, Harry feels as if he must take on his new mission alone. The search for the Horcruxes will take him far across the wizarding world, and he will face danger at every turn. However, after revealing his plans to battle the darkness alone, Hermione sets him straight with this quote, paving the way for the trio's adventure in the following films.
This quote is impactful for several reasons. It showcases Hermione's sarcastic bluntness, but more importantly, it highlights the bond that has formed between Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They each bring something unique to the dynamic, and it is only together that they have defeated their greatest challenges. Harry might be the headliner, but he wouldn't have survived without Ron and Hermione helping him. The search for the Horcruxes nearly killed Dumbledore during his solo search, so of course, Harry needed his friends by his side in order to survive this ordeal.
3 "Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself."
Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
This particular quote is so iconic that it has become a sort of tagline for the series as a whole. During the opening of Chamber of Secrets, Harry and Hermione are shopping for school supplies in Diagon Alley alongside the Weasley family. While there, they are harassed by the Malfoys. Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father, takes a particular interest in Harry, especially after Harry uses Voldemort's name in the conversation. In defense of Harry, Hermione delivers this impactful one-liner.
For the entire series, Tom Riddle, a.k.a. Lord Voldemort, went by "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named." People were so afraid of the dark wizard that they refused to even speak his name. While Hermione does in fact hesitate to speak Voldemort's name herself, this line is the start of the revolution against him. It shows that it isn't just Harry and Dumbledore fighting his tyranny, and it acts as a spark that would go on to inspire an entire revolution against the dark wizards. Voldemort held power over people through fear. Take that fear away, and you strip him of his power.
2 "Who cares? It’s sort of exciting, isn’t it? Breaking the rules?"
Dumbledore's Army in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix saw the introduction of Professor Dolores Umbridge. After the resurrection of Voldemort in the previous film, the Ministry of Magic was trying to keep control of the wizarding populace, and they placed Umbridge in Hogwarts to control the educational system. Refusing to teach any practical magic and instituting hundreds of new rules, Umbridge forced Harry and the others to form Dumbledore's Army, a group dedicated to learning defensive magic with the threat of Voldemort on the horizon. After their first official meeting, Hermione shocks her friends with this iconic line.
Oh, how four years can change a person's perspective. From the little girl who was terrified of expulsion to the brave revolutionary, Hermione evolved more than anyone else in the series. Over the course of the films, she realized that rules are only as good as those who make them, and Dolores Umbridge was the worst of the worst, a horrible teacher and a tyrant. Hermione took pride in defying her new order, and the formation of Dumbledore's Army was a huge step in her growth as a character.
1 "You complete ass, Ronald Weasley! You show up here, after weeks, and you say, ‘Hey’?"
Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
During the events of the two-part Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the hunt for the Horcruxes puts a great deal of strain on the main trio. Influenced by the dark power of Voldemort's soul, Ron became frustrated with their situation, lashing out and eventually leaving his friends. However, he returns at the perfect moment to save Harry's and help destroy Slytherin's locket. Hobbling back into camp, the pair are confronted by an angry Hermione, who says this quote while berating and attacking Ron.
One of the key plot threads of the series is Hermione and Ron's budding romance. While it has its ups and downs (and there are many of both), the pair eventually ends up together through the course of the final two movies. While they aren't together at this point, Ron's departure broke Hermione's heart. It was a deep betrayal, and while Harry had the chance to forgive his friend, it took longer for Hermione to overcome her wounded feelings. It was also just an incredibly funny moment, especially as Hermione corners Harry and demands her wand.
