Hermione comes of age

I'm not sure I have much to say in this entry other than I really like the way J.K. Rowling writes Hermione's "coming out party" in the form of the Yule Ball in The Goblet of Fire.

In the first three books, the descriptions of the young Ms. Granger were not particularly flattering. In fact, the first time we meet Hermione (aboard the Hogwarts Express in The Philosopher's Stone), she is described as follows: "She had a bossy sort of voice, lots of bushy brown hair and rather large front teeth."

The words "bossy", "bushy" and "large" used in this context do not make a for a very positive first impression.

And Rowling is very consistent throughout the first three books on these points: even though she becomes best friends with Harry and Ron, Hermione continues to be described as a bookish girl with bottlebrush hair and big teeth.

Things begin to change, however, in The Goblet of Fire. First, Rita Skeeter describes Hermione as "a stunningly pretty Muggle-born girl" in the Prophet article on Harry as a Triwizard Champion. Now, we have no evidence at that point that Skeeter had ever laid eyes on Hermione and Pansy Parkinson later undermines the description by shrieking "Stunningly pretty? Her?... What was she judging against -- a chipmunk?" so perhaps we shouldn't put a lot of stock in Skeeter's words but her article does represent the first time there is even a suggestion that Hermione might be growing into her looks.

Then comes the Yule Ball and the desperate search for dates. It is at this point that Rowling lets us in on a little secret: she had very cleverly used an earlier wand duel between Harry and Draco Malfoy as a mechanism to allow Hermione to "fix" her teeth.

As Ron points out, since Hermione returned from having Madame Pomfrey undo the damage Malfoy's curse had done, Hermione's teeth had become "straight and -- normal sized". Harry confirms this by commenting that Hermione's smile had indeed changed: "it was a very different smile to the one he remembered."

That's all great stuff and clever writing. But what I love most is the way Rowling sets up Hermione's grand coming out. First, she reminds us of how little romantic attention Hermione had been getting from anyone by having a very funny exchange where Ron and Harry have to admit that even they had failed to recognize that Hermione is, you know, a girl...

Then she establishes that someone has asked Hermione to the Yule Ball but no one, other than the couple itself, knows who her date will be. J.K. allows that mystery to deepen as Ron, in particular, obsesses about finding out who Hermione will be accompanying to the Ball.

Then Rowling has Hermione remove herself from the scene "to get ready for the ball" while the boys are still involved in a snow-ball fight. "What, you need three hours?" Ron gasps.

And finally, as the excitement builds and students gather in the Entrance Hall to wait for the Ball to begin, Hermione is nowhere to be seen. Where is Hermione? people wonder.

Then comes Rowling's topper: she has Hermione walk right into the Entrance Hall, on the arm of perhaps the second most famous student in attendance, and no one recognizes her.

"Krum was at the front of the party," Rowling writes, "accompanied by a pretty girl in blue robes Harry didn't know."

Fabulous.

Even better, when Harry looks again over at Krum moments later, his jaw drops.

The "pretty girl" with the Durmstrang champion is none other than Hermione.

"But she didn't look like Hermione at all," Rowling writes. No kidding.

And the reactions of the other students are absolutely precious: Parvati gazes at her with "unflattering disbelief", Pansy Parkinson "gaped at her" and Ron "walked right past Hermione without even noticing her."

It's a wonderful moment for Hermione and for Rowling. Beautifully written and entirely within character.

I have to admit, I did look up the timing of the writing of The Goblet of Fire in comparison to the filming of the Harry Potter movies to see if Rowling's decision to create a coming out party for Hermione in the fourth book was in any way related to the development into a lovely young woman of actor Emma Watson, who played the role of Hermione for the films.

Nope. There doesn't seem to be a connection. Rowling published The Goblet in 2000, the same year casting for the first Harry Potter movie was carried out. At that point in time, Emma Watson was still and awkward little girl, a perfect match for the Hermione of the early books.

Okay, maybe I did have a lot to say....