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Background
Hermione is Muggle-born, that is, the child of two non-magical parents. Her
parents, both dentists, are (according to Rowling) "a bit bemused by their odd
daughter, but quite proud of her all the same". When asked in 2004 if Hermione
was an only child, she replied, "I always planned that Hermione would have a
younger sister but she's never made an appearance and somehow it feels like it
might be too late now." Therefore, it is considered canon that Hermione is an
only child.
When Hermione first appears in the series, she already seems to know a great
deal about magic, Hogwarts, and the wizarding world. How she first realised her
magical abilities and first encountered other wizards has not been revealed
beyond an off-hand remark Hermione makes about being "ever so surprised" when
she was invited to enroll at Hogwarts. For years it was widely assumed that she
was born in September 1980, the same year as Ron and Harry. However, Rowling
pointed out that to attend Hogwarts, one must be eleven years old, and Hermione
was born on 19 September 1979. Therefore Hermione is nearly 12 when she begins
school in September 1991.
Rowling revealed on her website that Hermione's wand is made of vine wood with a
dragon heartstring core. Each of the trio's wands have one of Mr Ollivander's
three preferred cores, with Harry having phoenix feather and Ron having unicorn
hair. Her wand's wood, vine, is the wood ascribed to her birth month in the
Celtic calendar.
Hermione's name is pronounced "her-MY-oh-nee" (IPA: /hə(ɹ).maɪ.ə.niː/), as
readers find out in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. This was the most
frequently asked question J.K. Rowling received, so in this book she cunningly
had Hermione teach Viktor Krum how to pronounce her name properly (without much
success). Rowling said she obtained it from William Shakespeare's The Winter's
Tale, claiming that she wanted it to be unusual since if fewer girls shared her
name, fewer girls would get teased for it. The name "Hermione", appropriately,
is derived from "Hermes", the Greek god of invention, inspiration, eloquence and
quick thinking. It is also the name of the legendary Helen of Troy's daughter in
Greek mythology. Hermione's surname "Granger" may be derived from that of Joseph
Louis Lagrange, one of the greatest mathematicians of the 18th century. Another
possible explanation is that the name Granger has been taken out of the book
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Her surname was originally going to be "Puckle"
(this can be seen on her classlist) but it was quickly changed by Rowling
because it didn't suit her. "Puckle" is a term for a goblin or elf.
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