The Heartbreaking Hermione Detail Harry Potter Fans Ignored
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 broke a lot of hearts thanks to creator J.K. Rowling's decision to kill off multiple characters fans had come to love (RIP Hedwig) ... or at least like (RIP Mad-Eye) ... or at least tolerate (RIP Dobby).
Even characters that survived made major sacrifices. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) all left their families and went rogue from Hogwarts — their home away from home — in order to track down and destroy the Horcruxes. This wasn't that big of a deal for Harry, who didn't have the best relationship with his aunt and uncle anyway, but for Ron, it meant leaving the rest of the lovable Weasley clan (Percy aside). However, of the three, Hermione perhaps made the biggest sacrifice when it came to her family, who were Muggles and therefore somewhat oblivious to the major war going on in the wizarding world. And even after the Battle of Hogwarts, the books and movies never revealed the aftermath of her actions.
Here's the heartbreaking Hermione detail Harry Potter fans ignored — and what Rowling has said about it since.
Hermione barely got a chance to share her magic with her family
One of the saddest scenes in the Harry Potter series happens quite quickly. In a montage showing Harry, Ron, and Hermione leaving their respective homes, we watch Hermione wipe her parents' memories using the Memory Charm and remove all traces of herself from their lives, making them believe that they never had a daughter. As fans know, there are differences between the Harry Potter books and films, and in the book, it's explained that she convinces her parents (played in this movie by Ian Kelly and Michelle Fairley) that their names are Wendell and Monica Wilkins — not Mr. and Mrs. Granger — and that they want to move to Australia.
This brave sacrifice protects Hermione's parents from torture by Death Eaters. But as Reddit user u/mundungousfletcher pointed out recently, it also means that Hermione never got a chance to finally share with her parents all the magic she learned at Hogwarts.
As Hermione herself would tell you, there are strict rules about underage witches and wizards using magic. (Some of the mistakes that are hard to ignore in the Harry Potter movies involve witches and wizards, including Hermione, causally breaking these rules.) Between the ages of 11 and 17, Hogwarts students are forbidden from using magic performed with a wand when they aren't at school. The reason children under 11 are exempt from punishment is because they tend to have less control over their powers — and they don't have wands — so they might be using magic accidentally. This means that Hermione waited through six years of being a magical genius only to miss out on finally being able to show her parents what she was capable of.
What happened to Hermione's parents?
Neither of the Deathly Hallows movies nor the book upon which they're based follow up on Hermione's parents. Luckily, author J.K. Rowling has made a habit of dropping Harry Potter revelations since finishing the books. In an online interview in 2007, a fan asked Rowling whether Hermione was able to find her parents and restore their memories, to which Rowling replied, "Yes, she brought them home straight away."
There's also a chance that before the whole memory-wiping incident, Mr. and Mrs. Granger did have a chance to watch Hermione use magic at least a few times. Firstly, she might have accidentally used magic when she was under 11, although that may have scared her Muggle parents rather than impressing them. And secondly, as Reddit user u/DarkNinjaPenguin pointed out in the comments, Hermione's 17th birthday was in the September at the start of The Half-Blood Prince, which means she would have been allowed to use magic when she went home for the Christmas holidays that year and up until she used the Memory Charm.
Hermione's parents were able to get involved in some aspects of her life as a witch. For example, in The Chamber of Secrets they visited Diagon Alley, where they met their future in-laws, the Weasleys. That's more magic than most Muggles can handle.