Harry Potter: 20 Strange Things About Hermione’s Anatomy

Harry Potter was the hero of his book series, but he wouldn’t have gone far without the help of Hermione Granger. Hermione may have been raised by a pair of Muggle dentists, but that didn’t stop her from becoming one of the most accomplished witches of her era. Hermione was so trusted by the Hogwarts staff that she was given an incredibly dangerous time machine in order to take more classes, which goes to show how disciplined and intelligent that they thought she was.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child revealed that Hermione would succeed Kingsley Shacklebolt as the Minister of Magic, giving her the most high-ranked position in the Wizarding World in the UK.

Hermione may have become a head of state, but she had a lot of skeletons in her closet from her time at Hogwarts, as she had no problem breaking the law whenever it suited her needs. The fact that most of these infringements were somehow related to the conflict with Voldemort led to them being ignored when they were discovered, but it still proved that the former Deputy Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement only card about the rules when they worked in her favor.

We are here today to learn the secrets of one of the most powerful and talented witches in the world of Harry Potter – from the strict rules regarding her freckles to the hug that was so embarrassing that it had to be edited.

Here are the 20 Strange Things About Hermione Granger’s Body!

20 J.K. Rowling Thought Emma Watson Was Too Pretty To Play Her

The Harry Potter novel series was a huge success before the movies came along, which allowed J.K. Rowling to receive an unprecedented level of veto power over the project. It’s for this reason why the Harry Potter movies only starred actors from the UK (with a few rare exceptions) and why Dumbledore wasn’t allowed to talk about having a girlfriend in Half-Blood Prince.

J.K. Rowling could have sunk Emma Watson’s chances of taking the role of Hermione Granger, as she felt that Emma Watson was too pretty to play Hermione. It was only due to the fact that Rowling spoke to Watson on the phone first that she was convinced that the right person had been cast.

19 She Once Passed On Magical Powers To A Muggle

It’s tough being a Squib in the world of Harry Potter, as they get to see the wonders of magic without ever being able to perform it. Life would be a lot easier for Squibs if they lived in the continuity created by The Queen’s Handbag. In The Queen’s Handbag, the Queen has lost her handbag, which prompts Harry, Hermione, Neville, and Ron to try and use magic to find it. They attempt to use the Summoning Charm, but they are too far away.

Hermione is able to transfer the power of the Summoning Charm into a parchment so that it can be used by Muggles, which is then sent by owl to Buckingham Palace. This is the only time that the ability to transform magic into a form usable by Muggles ever appears in the series, which is why most fans agree that The Queen’s Handbag is non-canon.

18 Emma Watson Wasn’t Always A Given For The Role (Even After She Was Cast)

The producers of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone held extensive auditions for the roles of the main trio. Singer/songwriter Katy B auditioned for the role of Hermione when she was only eight years old and was dismissed when she revealed that she had never read the Harry Potter novels. She would go on to be a huge success in the UK and earn a number one hit with “Katy on a Mission”.

Charlotte Church was already a famous classical singer when she auditioned for the role of Hermione, but she was told that she was too old for the past, as Church was thirteen when she tried out for the role. There is a chance that Katy B and Charlotte Church may have been able to play Hermione in the later movies, as Emma Watson considered leaving the role following Order of the Phoenix as she wanted to focus on her education. Warner Bros. was able to accommodate Watson’s wishes, but there was a chance that the role of Hermione Granger could have become vacant for the last three movies.

17 She Wasn’t Allowed To Have Freckles

Hermione Granger was meant to be a lot less attractive in the Harry Potter books, which was partly due to how she cared more about academics than making herself look pretty. One of the strangest ways in which Hermione Granger was made to look more “conventionally” beautiful in the Harry Potter movies was in the removal of Emma Watson’s freckles.

Emma Watson has a lot of freckles, especially on her nose, but you would never know this if you had only ever seen her in the Harry Potter movies, as they were always concealed with makeup. Emma Watson had to fight for her freckles to be included in Beauty and the Beast. 

16 We Still Don’t Know What Happened With Her Trace

All underage wizards in the world of Harry Potter are placed under a spell called the Trace, which detects when they are using magic outside of Hogwarts. The Trace is a way for the Ministry to prevent underage wizards from revealing the presence of the magical community to outsiders, as it gives them the ability to quickly swoop in and cover up any unsanctioned use of magic.

We still don’t know the circumstances surrounding the breaking of Hermione Granger’s Trace, as she was technically several days older than she should have been, due to all of the extra hours she lived in during her third year at Hogwarts. Hermione’s use of the Time-Turner in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban should have made her a few days older than she was, so we don’t know if her Trace concluded early or whether it was tied to her physical birthday.

15 J.K. Rowling Confirmed That Her Favorite Smell Is Ron’s Hair

The power of true love is a recurring theme in the Harry Potter novels, as some of the most powerful spells in the world can only be conjured through loving another. Horace Slughorn explains that it’s impossible to replicate true love using magic or potions, though it’s clear that the Ministry of Magic tried at some point, as there is a room dedicated to the study of love in the Department of Mysteries.

Hermione is given the chance to smell the Amortentia potion in Slughorn’s class, which is said to smell like your favorite things. Hermione lists off several examples of what she can smell in the potion and is about to say another before becoming embarrassed and shutting up. J.K. Rowling revealed that Hermione’s favorite smell is actually Ron’s hair. We can only guess as to what Ron Weasley’s hair smells like and what Hermione found so compelling about it.

14 Harry & Hermione Were One Moment Away From Becoming Lovers

The Internet briefly became a battleground following the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, as the book finally resolved all of the romantic relationships in the series. The Harry and Hermione fans were especially angry with the last book, even though a Hermione/Ron relationship had been heavily hinted since Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. 

Harry and Hermione were a lot closer to getting together than people realized, as J.K. Rowling confirmed that there were certain “charged moments” where things could have gone a different way. The Deathly Hallows movies made a bigger deal out of these moments and you can really get the sense that if either of them had made the move, then Harry and Hermione could have ended up together.

13 Her Hair Changed Color Throughout The Movies

Hermione is described as having a bushy mess of brown hair that she rarely makes an attempt to tame. The version of Hermione that appeared in the Harry Potter movies originally started out with a hairstyle that was similar to what was described in the novels, but it became more stylized as the movies progressed.

One of the issues with changing Hermione’s hair was that it diminished the moment in Goblet of Fire where she is seen all dolled up for the first time, as she didn’t look that much different from how she normally looked. Hermione’s hair color also changed over the course of the films, as it became steadily lighter in tone and started to resemble Emma Watson’s natural hair color.

12 We Still Don’t Know The Nature Of The Spell Dolohov Used On Her

When Cedric Diggory perished at the end of Goblet of Fire, it opened the door for other prominent characters to kick the bucket in Order of the Phoenix. A lot of fans and pundits suspected that it would be either Hermione or Ron who would be slain in Order of the Phoenix, but it was Sirius Black who bit the bullet in the end.

There is a scene where Hermione is struck by an unusual curse that is created by Antonin Dolohov, leaving her incapacitated. This scene feels like it was written to give a false impression that Hermione was going to perish, even though she survived. We still don’t know the details of what Dolohov’s curse did to Hermione – it created a gout of purple flame that left no mark on its victim’s body, which obscured any damage it may have done.

11 Bellatrix’s Weird Chin Motions In Deathly Hallows – Part 2 Was Helena Bonham-Carter’s Emma Watson Impression

It was established in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets that wizards can change their appearance with the use of Polyjuice Potion. The ease of access to transformation magic meant that several different actors technically played the main Harry Potter trio, one of which was Helena Bonham Carter, who played both Bellatrix and Hermione pretending to be Bellatrix.

When Hermione/Bellatrix is trying to bluff her way into Gringotts, she keeps making weird motions with her chin & lower jaw. Helena Bonham Carter revealed in the behind-the-scenes footage that this was her attempt to mimic Emma Watson’s mannerisms, as it’s meant to reflect Hermione’s uptight nature.

10 She Was One Of The Few People Who Could Create Spells

There are still a lot of aspects about magic that we don’t understand, one of which was how the spells were created or discovered. We know for a fact that it is possible to create spells as characters like Severus Snape and Voldemort were capable of doing so, but we have no idea how this is done.

Hermione Granger created at least one spell during the story of Harry Potter, as she was able to craft a unique jinx that was used on the Dumbledore’s Army sign-up sheet. Those who signed the sheet had no idea that betraying the trust of the D. A. would lead to them having terrible boils that made up the word “SNEAK.” Marietta Edgecombe was the one who suffered the effects of Hermione’s jinx, but no one at Hogwarts seemed to possess the knowledge to break the spell, as Marietta still suffered the effects of the jinx for the next two years.

9 Her Teeth Were A Lot Bigger In The Books

Hermione was often described as being more unkempt than unattractive in the Harry Potter books, due to being more interested in academics than dolling herself up like the other girls in her year. Hermione was described as having large front teeth, which was something that she was sensitive about. Her teeth were magically shrunk in Goblet of Fire, leading to the big reveal where all of the boys realized how attractive she had become.

The shrinking teeth plot was dropped from the Harry Potter movies, but it was planned to appear at one point. Chris Columbus revealed on the DVD commentary for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone that they did try some scenes with Emma Watson wearing fake teeth, but they realized quickly that it would be impractical for her to do this for three and a half movies. You can still briefly see the teeth in a few scenes in the movie, most notably near the end.

8 She Was Based On J.K. Rowling

J.K. Rowling has always been hesitant to say who her characters are based on, which may be due to her cousin Ben publically claiming that Rowling stole the idea of Harry Potter from him, as they both hung out a lot as kids. One of the few Harry Potter characters we know for sure is based on a real person is Hermione, as J.K. Rowling confirmed that Hermione is based on… herself.

J.K. Rowling revealed that Hermione is a caricature of her own self as an eleven-year-old girl, in that she is meant to be an insufferable know-it-all, with the difference that Hermione actually knows what she is talking about most of the time.

7 She Was Given A Scarf & Perfume To Make Up For The Taboo Storyline Being Cut

An element from the Harry Potter novels that was ignored in the movies was the taboo on Voldemort’s name, which revealed the location of anyone bold enough to speak Voldemort’s name out loud. This is what led to him becoming known as “You-Know-Who” in the first place.

The Taboo plot was left out of the movies, which meant that producers needed to think up a new way for the Snatchers to find Harry, Hermione, and Ron in Deathly Hallows – Part 2.  Hermione was specifically given a scarf to wear throughout the last two films for this purpose, as Scabior used it to track her by her scent. This allowed the Snatchers to catch Harry, Hermione, and Ron so that they could be taken to Malfoy Manor.

6 A Scene Where Ron Finally Teaches Her Something Was Cut

Harry Potter was raised among Muggles, which gives him an excuse to not know the details of the Wizarding World. It’s far less forgivable for Ron to be so dense about topics that he should be familiar with, which often leads to Hermione educating him about magic and wizarding society.

There are many scenes in the Harry Potter series where Hermione teaches Harry and Ron about magical matters, but there was a scene cut from Deathly Hallows – Part 1 where the situation would have been reversed. There is a deleted scene that shows Ron teaching Hermione how to skip stones across water. This is in contrast to the usual situation of Hermione teaching Ron about magic, as Ron is now teaching Hermione about a Muggle past time, with the two of them becoming closer in the process.

5 The Scene Where Bellatrix Cuts A Word Into Hermione’s Arm Was Invented By Helena Bonham Carter & Emma Watson

In both the Harry Potter movies and novels, there is a scene where Harry, Hermione, and Ron are taken to Malfoy Manor. Hermione is tortured for information by Bellatrix, who uses the Crucuiatus Curse to inflict unimaginable amounts of pain on her.

The scene with Bellatrix and Hermione is different in the movies, as Bellatrix uses her knife to cut the word “Mudblood” into Hermione’s arm. The idea of Bellatrix using a knife on Hermione was actually thought up by Emma Watson and Helena Bonham Carter, even though it doesn’t really fit with Bellatrix’s usual style, as she is the kind of person who would prefer to use the pain inflicted by magic rather than using a Muggle weapon out of choice.

4 She Only Read Hogwarts: A History So That She Could Dish Out Exposition

Harry Potter is a newcomer to the world of magic in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, which was an intentional choice on behalf of the author, as it allowed other characters to explain unfamiliar aspects of the fantasy setting to the protagonist (and audience) in a way that made sense.

A recurring joke throughout the Harry Potter novels was that Harry and Ron had never read Hogwarts: A History, while Hermione had, forcing her to constantly explain things that she read in the book to her friends. J. K. Rowling was asked if Harry or Ron would ever read Hogwarts: A History and she said no. Hermione is the only one who ever read Hogwarts: A History, as it gave her a convenient way to provide exposition.

3 The Mirror Of Erised Would Have Shown Her Wrapped Around Ron

The Mirror of Erised will show someone their heart’s desire reflected back at them, which in Harry’s case meant being reunited with his parents. We only see Harry’s vision within the Mirror of Erised in the Harry Potter novels, but a few other characters describe what they see. The Crimes of Grindelwald revealed that Dumbledore sees Gellert Grindelwald within the mirror, which hints towards his unrequited love for his current enemy.

J.K. Rowling was once asked what Hermione would see in the Mirror of Erised and she said that Hermione would see herself, Harry, and Ron alive and well following the defeat of Voldemort. Hermione would also see herself entwined in an embrace with Ron.

2 The IMAX Poster For Order Of The Phoenix Made Her Curvier

The average movie poster looks like it was entirely made in Photoshop, with many actors and actresses being airbrushed to the point where they no longer look human. The IMAX poster for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix drew criticism for how it depicted Emma Watson, as it was clear when compared to the other movie posters that Watson’s bust had been made curvier, despite the fact that Hermione is supposed to be fifteen years old during the events of the movie.

Hermione’s waist was also made slimmer and her hair was lightened to make it seem blonde. The people at Warner Bros. claimed that the poster wasn’t meant to be the final product and its release was an accident.

1 One Of The Scenes In Chamber Of Secrets Was Extended Because Emma Watson Was Embarrassed

There is a scene near the end of the movie version of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets that had to be artificially lengthened in the edit, due to one of the kids being too embarrassed to perform it. The scene in question is Hermione’s return after being petrified, where she runs the length of the Great Hall to hug Harry, before shaking Ron’s hand.

Emma Watson was actually too embarrassed to maintain the hug with Daniel Radcliffe for too long, partly due to her still being a kid and partly because it took place in front of hundreds of other actors. Chris Columbus couldn’t get her to maintain the hug for very long, so he had to extend the scene in editing, which is hard to tell unless you know what to look for.

—

Are there any other interesting facts about Hermione’s body in Harry Potter? Let us know in the comments!

About The Author

Scott Baird
(2543 Articles Published)

Scott has been writing for Screen Rant since 2016 and regularly contributes to The Gamer. He has previously written articles and video scripts for websites like Cracked, Dorkly, Topless Robot, and TopTenz.
A graduate of Edge Hill University in the UK, Scott started out as a film student before moving into journalism. It turned out that wasting a childhood playing video games, reading comic books, and watching movies could be used for finding employment, regardless of what any career advisor might tell you. Scott specializes in gaming and has loved the medium since the early ‘90s when his first console was a ZX Spectrum that used to take 40 minutes to load a game from a tape cassette player to a black and white TV set. Scott now writes game reviews for Screen Rant and The Gamer, as well as news reports, opinion pieces, and game guides. He can be contacted on LinkedIn.

More From Scott Baird