Hermione Granger

[TruGryf]

I've been thinking the same thing -- that Hermione would want to finish her studies, Ron would go directly to help George out (although JK has said he eventually becomes an Auror, if I recall correctly; still, independent study is always an option there), Harry'd be where Ginny wanted to be, and Ginny, who apparently is set to become Chaser or Seeker for the Harpies, would probably return just to shake the cobwebs off her broomstick.
And it's such a good story to tell, that if I were you, I'd just throw an AU on it if they had a problem with it complying.

[Forrest]

I believe that all three would go back. Hermione would go back just to learn, she couldn't miss out on the opportunity. I believe that Ron would go back to be with Hermione, and Harry would go back so that he had the instruction for his Auror application. Don't forget, that while they've been out battling the forces of evil they've been focuing on DADA primarily, and to apply to the Auror Academy you need to have NEWTs in five classes (I can't remember them all), so he would need to get that before moving on. Once there, I believe Harry would "fast-track" the training.

The suggestion was made that Ron could complete his schooling by correspondence. I don't think that would happen unless he and Hermione were living together/married because he (like Harry) doesn't really have the motivation for self-paced study. Both Harry and Ron have always been pushed to study by Hermione, so without that push, I don't think Ron would stand a chance.

Forrest

[Phoebe Gruzelieur]

JKR said Hermione had a little sister, but she never got time to write her in. I think this really makes sense - Hermione's more of an elder sister than an only child.

Elder sisters - Are generally quite bossy, because they're used to having one or more siblings to boss about. They're often very focused and hard-working, as their parents spend more time on them, as they're the first child. The parents are also having first experiances with the child, so the eldest child is often motivated (and pressured) to do every thing first. And we all know Hermione's competitive. The eldest child is also the one with more hidden fears than their younger brothers/sisters because they're often scared their younger sibling(s) will out-perform them. This also makes them very competitive and scared of failure (like Hermione). And they tend to be quite rule-obsessed, because they're used to being in-charge and making rules, so they see how rules can be useful.

So, Hermione - an only child or an elder sister?

[FullofLife]

A little sister may have suited Hermione's character in the earlier books, but by DH I don't think it's possible to think she has a little sister. (For one thing, said sister never meets her at King's Cross while Hermione's parents do). Still,

They're often very focused and hard-working, as their parents spend more time on them, as they're the first child.

This, I find to be a little off. I'm the eldest child and I do consider myself to be hardworking (kinda) but not because my parents spent more time on me. In fact, if there is more than one child in a family, the trend is that the eldest child is forced to work on her own, help herself out, because her parents will be quite busy with her siblings.

Hermione's will to succeed may come from the fact that her parents are both dentists - obviously well studied muggles - and from the fact that she is the first witch of her family.

Rambling, here.

[Phoebe Gruzelieur]

Parents DO spend more time on the first and last children.

Consider:

I have one older sister who is 4 years older than me. So for the first 4 years of her life she was like an only child. If I had another sister that was also older than me it would mean that me and my (oldest) sister would have the most time spent on them, as I would get a few years after my two older sisters have gone off to university or work. If that makes sense. And parents are generally more ... concientios with the first child because it's their first and they're more likely to be worried about the child.

But anyway, the tangent must be stopped.

I was thinking about doing an AU story about Hermione's little sister's time at Hogwarts. Any ideas?

[pwcapone]

I was thinking about doing an AU story about Hermione's little sister's time at Hogwarts. Any ideas?

A big part of that story would probably be the sister's attempts to break out from under Hermione's shadow. The teachers would all likely have extremely high expectations of her, since her sister was one of the best students they had ever seen.

Since this story is AU, the sister could be going to Hogwarts at the same time as Hermione, adding to the fact that she would be living in Hermione's shadow the whole time.

[SarahGitty]

Q.Why do you think Hermione was sorted into Gryffindor instead of Ravenclaw?
A. 1.Well, I think that it was Hermione's priorities that got her in. Hermione is obsessed with studies, but she'll put down her book to save a friend- in other words, learning doesn't take precedence over mroe important things.
2. Remember, Hermione had just met up with Harry and Ron! She probably liked them, even if they didn't like her. When given the choice, and knowing the two wanted to be in Gryffindor, she probably chose Gryffindor over Ravenclaw.

Hope this helps!

[Chaser921]

I think Hermione was Sorted into Gryffindor and not Ravenclaw is because her Gryf traits outweighted her Claw ones.

Gryffindors are loyal, which Hermione shows that she is over and over again. She will do anything she possibly can to help Harry and Ron, even when it means breaking the rules, and in seven years, the only crush/love she was ever serious about was Ron. Even Krum never seemed to be more than a friend to her.

Gryffindors are leaders. Though she defers to Harry, Hermione is often the one to take charge when Harry and Ron don't know what to do. If she doesn't have a plan, she tries to reason one out so that they will still make some kind of progress. Her initial bossiness is a result of her leadership ability, though she later learns to tone it down.

Gryffindors are brave, and though Hermione is bad at DADA, she nevertheless participates in every battle. She goes with Harry to the Ministry in OotP, she goes with them to get the Stone, she fights in HBP, and she's on an incredibly dangerous mission in DH. She impersonates Bellatrix, which takes a lot of guts. She also slaps Draco Malfoy across the face, which I applauded.

Gryffindors are honorable. I take honorable to mean that they do what they think is right, no matter the circumstances. Hermione does this. She sticks with her friends, and when she thinks it's necessary, she breaks the rules.

Now, on to Ravenclaw.

Ravenclaw House's defining characteristic seems to be that it values intelligence. Hermione is certainly incredibly intelligent. She soaks up knowledge like a sponge, and retains everything she reads. She's very likely got a photographic memory.

Ravenclaw also values creativity. Hermione demonstrates creativity when she comes up with ideas to use the Polyjuice Potion, the Proteus Charm on the Galleons for the DA, and the curse on the parchment. Ron in particular is often shown as being impressed by her ideas.

Ravenclaws have talent, which Hermione possesses in spades. She's usually the first to master a spell, even when it's something difficult like the Patronus Charm.

Ravenclaws are witty. Hermione isn't incredibly "witty" from what I can see, though she does like to get into fights with words.

Ravenclaws also value wisdom, which I don't think Hermione has, but that's not her fault. Wisdom is something that I think you can only get with experience; it's like a combination of intelligence and experience. Dumbledore has it, and sometimes other characters show it too, particularly Luna, but I don't think Hermione does.

So, even though Hermione has traits from both houses, she tends to lean towards the Gryffindor ones, and those traits are the ones that lead her on the path that she takes in the books. Hope that helps!

Beth: A detailed and thorough post. 5 points! - awarded

[Phoebe Gruzelieur]

Gryffindors do not have to be loyal.

The Sorting Hat never says that Gryffindors are loyal

You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart.
Their daring nerve and chivilry
set Gryffindor apart.

Hufflepuffs are the loyal ones. It's just because Gryffindors are full of the 'good guys' and basically all good guys are loyal.

End of tangent.

This may sound cynical, but the reason Hermione was put into Gryffindor was so that she could see Ron and Harry on a regular basis. They obviously didn't like her, and if she'd been in a different house, they would have found it very easy to avoid her as they would have had no lessons with her.

[R_Ravenclaw]

This may sound cynical, but the reason Hermione was put into Gryffindor was so that she could see Ron and Harry on a regular basis. They obviously didn't like her, and if she'd been in a different house, they would have found it very easy to avoid her as they would have had no lessons with her.

But Hermione wanted to be a Gryffindor before she met Harry and Ron. Remember on the very first train ride? She told them that she'd been reading up on all the Houses, and she thought Gryffindor sounded the best. (Sorry I can't direct quote—I don't have my book.)

I've personally always thought that this said a lot about her character. She's this 11-year-old who knows she's freakishly smart, but she wants to be in Gryffindor. I mean, part of the reason was probably because apparently all the famous people come from Gryffindor, but a good portion had to be because she valued intelligence less than bravery and such.

She chose to be Gryffindor the way Harry did (except, if you ask me, Harry has never showed a single Slytherin tendency in the entire series). Didn't she also say something like, "But Ravenclaw doesn't sound too bad"?

It didn't sound too bad, but Gryffindor sounded the best. You see? To me Ravenclaw seems like a very straight-forward house. By straight forward, I mean that if you have this great thirst for knowledge and value intelligence above everything else, you'll be a Ravenclaw. We (Yep, I'm a 'Claw ) might be witty, sarcastic, or a million other things, but the dominating feature is our love for knowledge.

Hermione chose bravery. She's not a Ravenclaw.