Although Hermione Granger was known as one of the strictest rule followers in the Harry Potter universe, the truth was that she was truly ruthless against those she deemed had wronged her. As a smart, determined, and loyal Gryffindor, along with her future husband, Ron Weasley, Hermione was an essential part of Harry’s trio of best friends who helped in his quest to liberate the wizarding world from the threat of Lord Voldemort. While Hermione was deeply kind to those close to her, she wasted no time getting back at anyone unlucky enough to get on her bad side.

It was not only notorious Harry Potter villains that Hermione plotted against, as her contentious relationships extended well beyond schoolyard bullies like Draco Malfoy, tyrannical authority figures like Dolores Umbridge, or reprehensible dark wizards such as Voldemort. The truth was Hermione’s feelings of ill will actually went too far on one occasion, as she ruthlessly pursued a person who some would argue was only doing her job. While this notorious newswoman did go down some unethical routes to pursue her stories, I can’t understand why Hermione was so cold-blooded toward her.

Hermione Goes Too Far In Her Battle Against Rita Skeeter

The Brutally Of Heromine’s Blackmailing Tactic Was Truly Jarring

Hermione’s battle against the Daily Prophet journalist Rita Skeeter began when this gossip correspondent started to publish damaging articles about her toying with Harry Potter and Viktor Krum’s emotions in The Goblet of Fire. These false accounts turned several Hogwarts students against Hermione and intensified jealousy of Ron, toward whom she harbored unvoiced romantic feelings. However, for as knowledgeable as Skeeter was about the happenings around Hogwarts, she did not realize that Hermione had advanced investigation skills of her own.

With a bitter grudge against Skeeter, Hermione soon deduced that Rita was a secret Animagus who would transform into a beetle in order to secretly listen in on private conversations. As a reporting tactic that breaks every journalistic ethics rule in the book, rather than reveal Rita’s bad behavior to the world, Hermione instead took the opportunity to blackmail Skeeter. With Rita trapped in a jar imbued with an Unbreakable Charm while still in beetle form, Hermione forced Skeeter to temporarily stop reporting.

In her quest for revenge, Hermione essentially caged Rita in a glᴀss prison from the end of the Triwizard Tournament until some time before the start of the next school year. The way Hermione treated Rita was truly barbaric and dehumanizing when considering this adult woman was trapped in insect form and forced to comply under the threat of having her career ruined. Although Rita deserved to be outed for her unethical journalistic practices, the ruthless tactic with which Hermione enacted her revenge had more in common with that of a Death Eater than an innocent Gryffindor student.

Hermione Is Ruthless At Other Times In The Harry Potter Series Too

Getting On The Wrong Side Of Hermione Is A Bad Idea

The ruthlessness of Hermione Granger extended far beyond her ill-treatment of Rita Skeeter, as her cursing parchment in The Order of the Phoenix highlights yet another layer to her brutal nature. This was the parchment that the members of Dumbledore’s Army were asked to sign to ensure nobody betrayed the group. However, unbeknownst to Hogwarts student Marietta Edgecombe, its curse was activated after she revealed their secret meetings to Umbridge, and she was stricken with pimples and boils across her face, forming the word “SNEAK.”

While Hermione’s ruthless impulses point toward a cunning and calculated mind, the truth was that all of this brutality stemmed from positive attributes of loyalty toward those she cared about the most. With a kind and empathetic nature, even when Hermione punches Draco Malfoy square in the face in The Prisoner of Azkaban, it was only as a result of the cruel way he relished in the impending execution of the hippogriff Buckbeak. Although Hermione may have pushed things too far at some points, her heart was always in the right place throughout Harry Potter.

Harry Potter

Created by

J.K. Rowling

First Film

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

First TV Show

Harry Potter

Cast

Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Tom Felton, Alan Rickman, Matthew Lewis, Bonnie Wright, Evanna Lynch, Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon, Richard Harris, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Alfred Enoch, Harry Melling, Gary Oldman, Robert Pattinson, Warwick Davis, Oliver Phelps, James Phelps, David Bradley, David Thewlis, Katie Leung, Jason Isaacs, Imelda Staunton, David Tennant, Jamie Campbell Bower, Timothy Spall, Robbie Coltrane, Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, Katherine Waterston, Ezra Miller, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Johnny Depp, Mads Mikkelsen

TV Show(s)

Harry Potter

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