Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory.
Today, we’re going to be answering the age old question.,,
Harry Potter versus hermione Granger…WHO is more powerful?
I’m sure you’ve thought about that matchup a time or two.
But did you ever decide who was the greater practitioner of magic?
On one side, you have the boy who lived… the boy who would eventually kill the greatest
Dark Wizard of all time.
And on the other…
You have the smartest Witch of her generation.
And someone so tenacious, that she saved Harry’s life through sheer studying, and willpower,
time and time again.
Today, we’re going to compare the two, and see who really was the better witch or wizard
between them.
MAGICAL FEATS
When we look at Magical Feats, there’s no shortage of accomplishments shared between
Harry Potter and Hermione Granger.
In fact, some of their most impressive deeds occurred while they were fighting shoulder
to shoulder, taking out Death Eaters, on their path to defeating Lord Voldemort.
But we wouldn’t be doing our job, if we didn’t try to separate Harry’s feats from
Hermione’s, and see whose were greater.
We’ll start with Harry… and to be honest…
It's hard to sum up just how much the Potter boy achieved.
His seven years at Hogwarts were filled with horrible fights against Dark Wizards, terrifying
nights in the Forbidden Forest, and over a dozen battles against deadly beasts.
But if we try to narrow our focus, and choose a handful of Harry’s most astounding accomplishments,
these few are the ones that simply can’t be ignored.
One of Harry’s most overlooked powers was his ability to not only cast a Patronus, but
also, to make it corporeal.
For most book readers, and movie goers, the Patronus spell might seem like it’s rather
weak.
After all, it doesn’t cause any outright physical harm, like the Sectumsempra that
Severus Snape developed, or the Incarcerous Spell that Dolores Umbridge used against the
centaurs.
But the Patronus is actually one of the most difficult spells to master in the entire wizarding
world.
And conjuring the spell in the form of a corporeal beast was actually the sign of a master wizard.
If we think about that fact alone, then Harry Potter is more than a gifted wizard… he’s
outright powerful, too.
But to add even more weight to his achievement, Potter cast a corporeal Patronus when he was
only 13 years old, and used it to repel dozens of Dementors.
Most wizards couldn’t even conjure a formless Patronus, but Harry did it when he was still
just a boy.
And that was only the beginning, for Harry.
When we look at the wider breadth of his magical feats, there’s something that’s hard to
overlook.
Harry’s greatest feats were in defense against the dark arts.
And by that subject's nature, Harry learned most of what he knew through hands-on experience,
fighting against death eaters or evil beasts.
Which means, Harry’s skills weren’t limited to the classroom…
Harry was chosen by the Sorting Hat to wield Godric Gryffindor’s sword, and defeated
Salazar Slytherin’s Basilisk with it.
Basilisk’s were among the deadliest creatures in the entire wizarding world, but at age
12, Harry managed to kill one with the very weapon that Gordric Gryffindor used to duel
half of Britain, whenever his opponents weren’t able to wield wands.
Harry was also a naturally gifted flier.
From the first moment he picked up a broomstick, until his very last days on the Quidditch
Pitch at Hogwarts, Harry was one of the best seekers to pass through the school.
But most impressive of all, was that Harry became an auror at the Ministry of Magic at
such a young age.
Immediately after defeating Lord Vldemort, he was awarded a job, along with many other
veterans from the Battle of Hogwarts.
And by the time Harry reached 26 years in age, he was given a director’s position,
overseeing the entire auror division.
Now, when we turn our attention to hermione Granger, you might be curious how this witch
could compete.
But Hermione was no slouch.
She was often alongside Harry, standing shoulder to shoulder with the Potter boy, when he accomplished
all of these feats.
And her contributions were enormous.
Unlike Harry, hermione developed her magical skills by focusing on classwork.
She often prepared weeks or months in advance of scheduled lectures, and knew spells, charms,
and potions inside and out.
By the time Professor Snape or any other Hogwarts instructor came around to teaching a particular
magical concoction or spell, hermione was often already quite proficient at it.
And that type of hardwork and dedication paid off for the young witch.
Time after time, her expertise with spells and potions aided Harry Potter and Ron Weasley
in the group’s fights against dark creatures and wizards.
When hunting for Lord Voldemort’s horcruxes, hermione demonstrated her mastery of magic
by using transfiguration to augment her future husband, Ron Weasley’s, appearance at Gringotts
Bank.
But in that one field alone, hermione was somewhat of a master.
She could change almost any household object into a magical dragon, via the Draconifors
Spell.
And in a perhaps more frightening spell, hermione could easily change the form of objects into
tiny house mice, with the Snufflifors Spell.
Transfiguration was one of the hardest disciplines in the entire wizarding world, so hermione’s
ability to cast such complex spells was a sure sign of her status as a master witch.
Just like Harry Potter, hermione was extremely talented in the defense against the dark arts.
She was even able to conjure the incredibly difficult corporeal Patronus, just like Harry.
Although, hers took on the form of an otter.
But one of the biggest differences between Hermione and her friends was her ability to
concoct perfect potions.
When she was just twelve years old, she managed to brew a batch of Polyjuice Potion, a liquid
that would transform you into anyone you’d like.
When Ron and Harry consumed the flask, their appearance flawlessly morphed into that of
Crabbe and Goyle.
But, this potion wasn’t a cute little magical drink that first or second years should have
been fooling with.
The consequences for a failed Polyjuice batch were high… and could often result in death.
If hermione was off by just one ingredient, or mixed the knotgrass or the lacewings at
the wrong time… the entire group of friends could have perished.
And through the years, hermione only got better.
Just like Harry, the number of enemies hermione faced became darker and darker, and by the
time their final battle against Voldmort took place, hermione was one of the finest witches
Hogwarts had ever produced.
And, just like Harry, she went on to join the aurors, and continue the fight against
the dark arts at the ministry of magic.
DUELING
Now, when we were diving into hermione and Harry’s magical feats, it was hard to avoid
the topic of dueling spells, because so much of their magical knowledge was learned from
first hand experience…
from fighting off death eaters and dark beasts.
And between the pair of them, they might have racked up more wins against Lord Voldemort’s
underlings than almost any other members of the Order of the Phoenix.
Let’s start with hermione…
As a duelist, Hermione was one of the best.
Even though she was just a student at Hogwarts, hermione was already deadlier with a wand
than many adult witches.
When she was only in her first and second years, Hermione had mastered the Levitation
charm before the other members of her class, and that was a sign of things to come.
Because, unlike some of the other power-house duelists from her generation, hermione liked
to mix all sorts of spells together while fighting against an opponent.
She could wrap a death eater up in a full-body bind curse, as easily as she could strike
them with the blasting curse.
Her mastery of dueling led her to defeat some of the darkest wizards and beasts under Voldemort’s
control.
She bested the Death Eater Antonin Dolohov, hit the werewolf Fenrir Greyback hard enough
to send him flying, and also scored a legit knockdown on Voldemort’s maledictus, the
snake known as Nagini.
But even though hermione was no slouch, it’s hard to contend with the likes of Harry Potter.
The boy who lived was forced to raise his wand against some of the most prominent opponents
in the wizarding world: Severus Snape, Draco Malfoy, an army of Inferi, and Lord Voldemort
himself… just to name a few.
But even though Harry faced off against such terrifying adversaries, he was lucky in one
regard.
He was a naturally gifted duelist.
Remus Lupin famously marveled at Harry’s skills.
And when Dumbledore mentored Harry, even the wise, old headmaster of Hogwarts must have
wondered…
how much of Harry’s skill was his own natural gifts… and how much was inherited from Lord
Voldemort.
Because Harry’s achievements, during his youth at least, were unrivaled.
Harry’s go to spell was the Disarming Charm, but that was just the tip of the iceberg for
the young wizard.
He was also dangerous with Stunning Charm, Impediment Jinx, and even used some of Severus
Snape's curses, like Sectumsempra, which would dangerously slash at opponents skin, and could
cause them to bleed out if they didn't’ get immediate medical attention.
Harry sometimes dabbled in the dark arts, too.
He utilized two of the three unforgivable curses.
Namely, the Imperius Curse, which compelled its victim to do whatever Harry wanted…
and the Cruciatus Curse… which induced immeasurable pain in its target, and was often used for
torture.
Harry used all of these skills to best a who's who of dark wizards.
He soundly defeated Corban Yaxley, Draco Malfoy, and even Fenrir Greyback… before eventually
achieving what no other wizard could… killing Lord Voldemort.
If we just look at the list of Harry’s victories, he might have been the most accomplished duelist
of the entire era.
CONCLUSION AND INTANGIBLES
As you know, it’s always difficult to settle a debate of who’s the more powerful wizard.
And this case is no different.
Hermione Granger and Harry Potter were among the greatest magic users of their generation.
And if either one of them had decided to join the Death Eaters, and serve Lord Voldemort,
the entire Second Wizarding War might have ended far worse than it did.
But thankfully, their lack of ego allowed the two to become friends, and work together,
in order to rid the world of Tom Riddle’s evil.
So if we try to decide who was greater, between the two, who would you choose?
Harry had the longer list of dueling opponents, and was more skilled in defense against the
dark arts.
His strange connection to Lord Voldemort also bestowed upon him particular skills that only
a true Slytherin heir would possess.
And Harry’s greatest intangible, the love that his mother passed to him by her sacrifice,
seemed to have empowered Harry throughout his years.
We also can’t ignore the fact that Harry got lucky..very often- almost as if he had
an IV of liquid luck running through his veins.
By comparison, hermione Granger’s own incredible record just doesn’t stack up.
And even though she would undoubtedly try her best to defeat any opponent, could her
dedication to studying and preparation be enough to contend with Harry?
It’s a tough call- but I think that despite Harry’s accomplishments, Hermione still
edges him out on raw magical ability.
But that’s just me.
What do you guys think?
Let me know in the comments below, and let me know WHY you made the decision that you
did.
If you like these VS videos I’ve also done:
Voldemort VS Grindelwald Snape VS McGonagall
And Sirius VS Umbridge
Until next time
Remember
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live