Views of Hermione

[Eric Oppen]

No: HPFGUIDX 160368

As the originator (AFAIK) of the "Hermione Granger Is (or Will Be) Ever So 
Evil" theory, as well as the author of what I think is the definitive "Dark 
Hermione" story, "The Girl Nobody Knows---A Soliloquy" (up at Fanfiction.net 
and Fiction Alley), I think I can understand the people who don't like her 
or distrust her---even though I, myself, like her a lot and can identify 
with her in some ways.

She has many virtues: intelligence, fierce loyalty to her friends, and 
courage are the most visible.  At the same time, she has some very bad 
points.

One of her worst flaws is ruthlessness---IOW, she'll do what she has to to 
get what she wants, and anybody or anything that gets in the way be damned. 
_She_ has decided, on the basis of a childhood spent in Muggle culture, that 
house-elves, a non-human species with very different needs and powers than 
humans (muggle or magical; house-elves can do magic that humans can't) 
should be freed---whether they _want to_ be freed or not.  A lot of this, to 
be sure, can be laid to Dobby being the first house-elf she had much to do 
with, but Dobby is considered odd, at best, by his own people.  Generalizing 
from his own happiness at being free (or, at least, free of Lucius Malfoy; 
Dobby seems to have bonded with Harry to some extent, despite his nominal 
free status) Hermione tries to set all the house-elves at Hogwarts free, 
despite having no authority to do any such thing.  If her little plan had 
worked the way she wanted it to, she could have been expelled for sabotaging 
Hogwarts' workings.

She also had no problem with disfiguring a fellow student (admittedly, 
Marietta had betrayed a great many other students and could have caused 
their expulsion), and AFAWK she did nothing to remove the curse once the 
danger had passed.  Hermione decoyed a teacher into a situation where she 
was in real danger of death or various other nasty fates (anybody familiar 
with real Greek mythology will understand what I mean; centaurs were Not 
Nice People as a rule) and never seemed to suffer a moment's qualm about 
what she had done.

Other things she's done---stealing potions supplies and making Polyjuice 
Potion, for example---do not show her to be the most trustworthy person at 
Hogwarts.  If she likes you, you're all right, but if you're in the way, 
well, too bad for you.

Between her ruthless streak and her self-righteousness, combined with her 
ability to argue others down (it's not that she's necessarily right, but 
she's able to talk others into going along with her plans) Hermione could go 
Dark.  This doesn't mean she'd become a DE, even if she were 
eligible---there's too much bad blood on both sides for that to ever be a 
possibility.  However, she could become a sort of  "Oliver Cromwell" figure, 
imposing her own views on the rather anarchic Wizard World, possibly to its 
great detriment.

--Eric, whose nom-de-fanfic is "Technomad."