Hermione and Harry

I do think that Mrs. Rowling became, to an extent, a victim of her own success with the latter half of the series, from approximately Goblet of Fire on. And thus I do agree that she (Mrs. Rowling) was probably lazy and used Hermione to provide information that would have better come from Ron, or to solve situations that Harry could better have handled. It is odd that the prophesy speaks of one who would be Riddle’s equal, but that Harry is, in many ways, carried along right up to the last scene in the Great Hall.

On the other hand, he need not have been. Where did Harry and Hermione disagree?

• They disagreed over the Firebolt, call that one a draw - it did come from Black, but it was safe. Hermione here acts from the best of motives, she wants to keep her friend safe. I have no problems with why she acted, but how. Was it necessary to go behind Harry’s back the way she did? She makes one essentially yelled out assertion that the broom could have come from him, and when Harry does not immediately agree, she goes and reports to Professor McGonagall. I can see that most teens would be uncomfortable calling in authority this way, and thus that very few if any would have informed Harry in advance that they intended to do so. The part that concerns me is two fold. One, she did not really try to convince him at all. When you read the series through the first time this does not really stand out, but if you look at it holistically, it is part of a pattern where she expects people to follow her advice as superior to their own ideas. Secondly, she does not empathise with him at all. I get that she dislikes both sports in general and flight in particular. She should however be able to recognise that Harry disagrees, and is not wrong to do so.
• They disagreed over the rescue in 5th year. Hermione was right, but she handled it badly. Here I am mostly inclined to give Hermione a total pass, she was 16 and in over her head dealing with an adult situation.
• They disagreed over Malfoy as a death eater. Harry was right. I have read at least one fan fiction where Hermione eventually admits that she was, in sixth year, scared.¹ It is also possible that she is reacting to the way that Ron and Harry blamed Malfoy second year, when he was, that time, innocent.² Either way, it is clear that she is not really considering anything Harry says about Malfoy over the course of this year (In her defence, neither does anyone else). In retrospect we know that this is because of Dumbledore’s overconfidence.³ Either she is in denial (understandable, but unacceptable from someone lauded as being strong), or she was massively, stupidly, overly confident in authority to the point of abdicating responsibly for her own life and safety. If the former, she is a very human character, but not someone Harry can really depend on. If the latter, she is not actually intelligent.
• They disagreed over going to Godric’s Hollow. Again a draw - it was a trap, but there was a horcrux there that could have been destroyed if they had planned better.
• They disagreed over a Horcrux in Hogwarts. Harry was right. If Hermione had her way, the war would never have ended. It is worth pointing out here that, per Harry’s vision of Dumbledore at King’s Cross, his plan in having her accompany Harry was for her to slow him down.⁴
• They disagreed over the Hollows. Both were right at different times. She was right to pursue them initially when he didn’t want to, but she was very quick to give up on them after learning what they are, whereas he became very interested in them until much later. We are unsure over the importance of being Master of Death, so we cannot be sure how to call this one.
• They disagree over House Elves. We lack the information to call this one.
• They disagree over the potions book. Despite the use of Sectumsempra, I think Harry was right on this one. Certainly Hermione’s reasoning was wrong even if her conclusion was partially correct.

Overall, the list has Hermione unambiguously right one time, Harry unambiguously right 3 times, and the point contested between them another three times (one time we cannot judge where it falls). In other words, if Harry had been allowed to stand up to Hermione, he could have been allowed to show case his own reasoning skills and to have taken charge more. He would then have been more of the leader, more of Riddle’s equal.

On a related note, I very strongly believe that those who push the Harry/Hermione pairing have spent way too much time watching the movies (which certainly do push this pairing). While I have read, and accept, that there is a strong element of wish fulfilment in desiring the pairing for female fans, the text simply does not, at all support this pairing.