[HPforGrownups] Re: Am I the only one...

[Nanagose at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 135104

Milz:
>> Never said Hermione lacks intelligence. I've stated that she's not 
>> on the same plane of intellect as HBP or Fred and George.


Christina:
According to Sirius (GF pg 25), "Snape knew more curses when he arrived at school than half the kids in the seventh year..."

We know that Snape's maternal side of the family is magical.  How did Snape know so many curses?  Either somebody tutored him or he read a lot of books as a child.  Either way, he had enough time before coming to Hogwarts to explore the magical arts and develop a great deal of base knowledge.  Hermione is Muggle-born.  She didn't have access to magical books until she got her Hogwarts letter, and there was nobody in her family to tutor her in the magical arts.  
Her education began considerably later.  Before innovation can take place, it is necessary to have a secure foothold in the basics.  Hermione starts out a good few years behind Snape, just by virtue of her birth (we can assume that once she did find out she was a witch, she gobbled up information, seeing as she lists several books she has read before coming to Hogwarts).  I would give her a few years to catch up to Snape before declaring that his genius so far 
surpasses hers.

Christina