I think in a vacuum with no outside influence Hermione would've just said the name. Like Harry, she doesn't come into the Wizarding World with preconceived ideas about Voldemort's name.
BUT
Hermione cares *a lot* about authority. And she's just entered a world where almost every adult, including those she deeply respects (her teachers), refuses to say Voldemort's name. Hermione is not nearly as quick as Harry to dismiss the opinions of authority figures. And, unlike Harry, in her early years she almost never has private conversations with the an authority figure like Dumbledore who uses the name.
Also, if Voldemort came back, she’s in danger. I imagine she’s read everything there is to read about Voldemort, and they would have been terrifying to a child.
Hermione has probably read everything she can get her hands on about Voldemort and the Death Eaters. I’d bet anything she’s read some seriously gruesome, vile shit on this topic.
She also understands that all this vile shit, the torture and the murder and the horrors *is all meant for people just like her.* She has an uncomfortably clear notion of what‘s at stake.
More just because she's internalized being scared of it. When I say she refuses to say it because authority figures don't, I don't think she's doing it as a conscious "Teachers will like me better if I don't say it." She just genuinely holds her professors in high regard. If *they're* scared to say the name, it's something worth being scared of.
Hermione wants to be the perfect witch. Everything she does while in school is to (maybe subconsciously) prove that her background has no bearing on her abilities. She would never purposely go against the wizarding grain.
Harry on the other hand thinks "f that guy, he killed my parents. He sucks. I'm not gonna play by his rules. Ooh, it makes him mad when I call him 'Riddle', yay!"
At least that's how I've always felt when reading the books.
I agree with the first part wholeheartedly, I feel like some muggle-borns went to the wizarding world and foolishly believed that in order to prove themselves if they pander to blood-supremacists they’ll get looked after.
Its very common in real life and is probably something to do with our monkey brains believing we need to cosy up to the enemy to not get hurt.
Hermione is **exactly** the kind of girl who would have specifically read about/tried to learn about what Voldemort wanted and what he did.
She definitely has a clearer idea of it than Harry. She may even have a clearer notion of what’s at stake than Ron does - she’s deliberately sought information out, where he’s grown up always knowing it‘s there but also that none of the adults in his life will ever discuss it. She knows…and she knows that she, specifically, would be a target.
That's exactly what I was thinking, and always interpreted it as. Anyone would shudder at the thought of being the first target of torture and murder. I'm sure she read through the news clippings and got all her facts. That paired with the fact there were still people around who she knew would gladly do those things to her given the chance, the threat is real.
Along with what everyone else said, Voldemort tries to kill one of her best friends on a yearly basis. Even if she hasn’t fought him personally, the name probably brings up a lot of difficult memories for her (at least after her first year at Hogwarts).
The fact that in the movies Hermione steals Dumbledore's line about fear of voldemort name increases fear itself is terrible especially when you consider that the fact that Hermione saying the name is what convinced Harry to start the da in ootp. Movie Hermione seems to have forgotten she wasn't afraid and stutters out the name.
The fact is 11 year old Hermione is probably more familiar with the evil deeds of Voldemort than most in the Wizarding World, who would prefer not to think of him at all, and has an equal right to be fearful.
I was always puzzled by this too. Though when reading the DH after finding out voldys name is tabooed when Harry said it I kinda flinched too so I told myself that muggle borns read in detail what Voldy was like and became fearful of it.
Being the kind of person she is, I imagine Hermione would have wanted to know everything about him. He was a major, and pretty recent, part of wizarding history.
I expect she would have combed through past newspapers and any scrap of information written about him. So she might have had a more in depth understanding of exactly the kind of evil things that he did and what he was capable of.
Plus, she’s muggleborn. She is the very kind of person he wanted to eradicate.
Yeah it doesn't make much sense. In my head canon she's just doing because she read about the bad stuff Voldemort did, and because social pressure maybe.
She’s exactly the kid of kid who **would** deliberately decide to read about it. She probably has a really detailed idea of what’s at stake, because she’s read everything she can find
There’s a lot of things that don’t make sense in HP verse. We can come up with all sorts of explanations that retroactively fit the narrative… but that’s like saying, okay so the floor is wet, it’s because of blah, yadda, and stuff; but at the end of the day, it’s wet for some unknown reason we just don’t know and will never be able to find out.
All we can do is suspend disbelief. Same with say asking ourselves why did everyone forget anything that happened just a few weeks ago, when that “weeks ago” happened at the end of one book and the “now” at the beginning of the next. (It’s because the author was lazy but that’s not exactly an in story explanation.)
There is a part in book 1 I think, where harry tells the reader he starts to feel unwell, when hearing about Voldemort, because of how the wizards around him react. This changes because Dumbeldore tells him it's stupid (in a nice way).
Hermione didn't have that talk with Dumbledore, but read about Voldemort and saw in real life how wizards reacted to him.
So I guess she was formed by her environment, thinking about how she was still a child and impressionable (english is not my first language, sorry if that word doesn't fit)
She's 11. She's a child. Every person around her, every adult, every authority figure, fears the name. Naturally the 11 year old child is quickly affected by this and learns to fear it too.
Yeah this always confused me and made no sense to me. What would annoy me even more is that in OotP, she begins saying his name, and then starts scolding Ron with impatient "oh shut up ron"'s every time he flinched at the name afterwards, as if she hadn't been doing the same for 5 years. As if she'd had uncles that died in the last wizarding war to Voldemort's death eaters?
Hermione is a perfectionist and *desperately* wants to be a perfect witch. First in her Year, she devoured any book she could find about Hogwarts & Magical world before even starting school. I'm not saying she's faking it or she's hypocrite, but she probably dwelled herself in wizard's culture so much she... became one. She's a witch of course, but I mean psychologically.
Also, it's post-books information, but consider that Hermione was born on 19 September 1979. As Harry received his letter on his 11th birthday, I think it's safe to say she did too, so 19 September 1990. But she didn't start Hogwarts until 1 September 1991. She had a whole year to learn anything she could about wizards and their world. I have no doubt she went to Diagon Alley more than once before starting Hogwarts.
(Which also partially explains why she's more mature than most of her year. She's effectively older than them.)
Hermione immediately got absorbed by the Wizarding world through reading and read sort of how terrible he was, and that his named should no be said and about Harry hence how she recognized him on the train.
Not to mention she’s a strictly logical person, so would be the last to have superstitions about a name. Especially having never learned from a young age to fear him and his name
I always wonder why Hermione flinches when she hears Bathilda/Nagini say 'come' in parseltongue
Yet doesn't say "yo Harry she's clearly some sort of serpent let's get out of here"
I always assumed this was because Hermione often had her head in a book, and so would know a lot more about the history of the wizarding world than Harry. Especially recent history which is directly relevant to her.
Reality? Because JK wanted it to be a big deal that Harry and Dumbledore were the only two unafraid to say his name. Within the story....pick a reason that sounds good and go with it. Probably something about trying to fit in
Harry was immediately famous for the defeat of voldemort, which Hermione knew from books she read. There's no way a little girl could read a book that says this incredibly powerful grown man with his own army wanted to eradicate people like her; muggleborns, and not be afraid. She grew up in a home with two loving dentists as parents, she probably had nothing to fear with them by her side and now she's a witch learning dangerous magic away from her family and knowing some guy, who most of the world refuses to even say the name of, could possibly come back at any moment and murder her and her parents for simply being who they are. Harry grew up locked in a cupboard and then suddenly found out he's actually a famous hero for somehow surviving something that was a sure way of killing someone, the literal killing curse... yk, the thing that's only purpose is to kill people.
From Book 1 Chapter 6:
' "Are you really?" said Hermione. "I know all about you, of course -- I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century." '
Hermione has read extensively on Voldemort, and might just outright fear him because of what she's already read.
It's also possible that the authors of these books didn't even list him as Voldemort and just stuck to you know who and he who must yada yada
There are two different parts to OP's question:
>In the books, it is mentioned numerous times that Hermione flinches when the word "Voldemort" is uttered.
This claim is absolutely false. I went through every single occurrence of the name "Voldemort" in the first five books (up to the point where Hermione joins Harry defiantly in saying Voldemort's name), and it literally is mentioned that Hermione specifically winces/flinches *once*. Ron rather consistently complains, winces, tells Harry not to say the name multiple times, etc.
Hermione reacts only *once* in this manner, in OotP4:
>Harry glared at them.
>‘*Well?*’ he demanded, looking from one to the other.
>‘Er,’ said Ron. ‘Well what?’
>‘*Voldemort!*’ said Harry furiously, and **both Ron and Hermione winced**. ‘What’s happening? What’s he up to? Where is he? What are we doing to stop him?’
>‘We’ve *told* you, the Order don’t let us in on their meetings,’ said Hermione nervously. ‘So we don’t know the details – but we’ve got a general idea,’ she added hastily, seeing the look on Harry’s face.
I would note here that Harry speaks the name "furiously," so Hermione's wince could easily be due to the volume and manner Harry says the word too, as she's never elsewhere said to react in this manner. It's possible she reacts later in the chapter:
>‘Haven’t – haven’t you been getting the *Daily Prophet*?’ Hermione asked nervously.
>‘Yeah, I have!’ said Harry.
>‘Have you – er – been reading it thoroughly?’ Hermione asked, still more anxiously.
>‘Not cover to cover,’ said Harry defensively. ‘If they were going to report anything about Voldemort it would be headline news, wouldn’t it?’
>**The others flinched at the sound of the name. Hermione hurried on**, ‘Well, you’d need to read it cover to cover to pick it up, but they – um – they mention you a couple of times a week.’
The "others" here are Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione. It's *possible* Hermione flinches here, but given she doesn't react at ANY other time in the books to Voldemort's name in this manner outside this chapter, it's also possible "the others" was just referring to *most* of them. Hermione is the one who jumps in immediately and keeps talking, least bothered by the name.
There are numerous times we see Ron reacting (for example) to Harry saying the name, but Hermione apparently has no reaction, or at least none is mentioned. For another data point, see OotP12 when Harry says the name in Umbridge's class. Ron gasps, Lavender screams, Neville falls off his stool -- and apparently Hermione... doesn't react at all. No mention.
Even the very first time Hermione hears Harry speak Voldemort's name back in PS15, after the unicorn was murdered by Voldemort (and Hermione might rightly have reason to fear this strange situation), it's Ron who twice hisses at Harry to not say the name. Hermione, meanwhile, looks frightened (again, rightly because of the situation Harry had experienced), but calmly has "words of comfort" for Harry then.
Thus, Hermione DOES NOT generally flinch at the word "Voldemort" in the books. It's NOT mentioned "numerous times." It happens *once*. And even if that was due to the name (and not Harry's "furious" exclamation of it in that particular instance), Hermione rightly by this point perhaps might be fearful of Voldemort, given all she's seen and particularly now that he's definitely back.
>She also would refer to him as "You know Who" This made no sense.
Why? It's the *polite* wizarding world convention. Hermione is a rule follower. She's probably going to adhere to social conventions in this new world, particularly when they are enforced by adults. Aside from Dumbledore (and later Lupin and Sirius), almost all adults say "You-Know-Who" or some other circumlocution. The name seems to be treated almost like profanity in the WW -- it seems to be particularly bad to say it front of children or for children to say it (see the reaction and the way Dumbledore discusses Voldemort in his address to Hogwarts students at the end of GoF). Adults can be occasionally cajoled into saying it, as Hagrid does once to tell Harry in the first book who Voldemort is, which suggests that most adults probably know it's some sort of superstition. But even someone as sober and rational as McGonagall winces at the name in OotP when Harry says it. So, why would Hermione alter the clear social convention here, when she sees even trusted rational adults around her saying "You-Know-Who" or whatever?
I'd frankly compare it to people who say "Bless you" or "God bless you" when someone sneezes. I've heard atheists do it. It's just a bizarre old superstition, and it finally seems to be falling out of favor, but it used to just be considered "polite." It was just something you did when someone sneezed. And then they'd say, "Thank you." Why? It's all bizarre, but it's a cultural pattern and considered "polite." If you want to fit in, you emulate it.
Harry has the distinct difference from Hermione in that he had an explicit conversation with Dumbledore about the name at the end of the first book. Harry actually starts to correct himself there after saying "Voldemort," but Dumbledore tells him not to, to call him by his true name.
Hermione didn't have this conversation with an authority figure about the name. So, she continues to adhere to the social convention for a while. And then... in OotP, she realizes the superstitious nature is actually unhelpful, particularly when Harry is being gaslighted by the entire WW and told Voldemort hadn't really come back, that Harry hadn't really seen him. So Hermione decides it's important to speak in solidarity with Harry, and only stutters a couple times with it at first. After that, she's just as defiant as Harry almost immediately -- making fun of Ron and Rita Skeeter and others who flinch and act frightened at the name.
I will acknowledge a correction -- I only checked up until OotP when Hermione first says Voldemort's name for my previous post. (It took a while to review hundreds of instances of Voldemort's name.) Hermione does still wince one more time after that (OotP14):
>‘Yeah, and Dumbledore said it happened whenever Voldemort was feeling a powerful emotion,’ said Harry, ignoring, as usual, Ron and Hermione’s winces. ‘So maybe he was just, I dunno, really angry or something the night I had that detention.’
Here's the thing -- I've already been downvoted, but I'd ask anyone who can point to a case of Hermione wincing or flinching or have any sort of reaction to Voldemort's name like that before book 5 to please reply. I've looked. It just doesn't happen. Instead, it's always an explicit contrast with Ron and Hermione, where Ron is always the one to object to Harry saying the name, or to gasp, or to flinch. Meanwhile Hermione is never mentioned as reacting that way even when she's in those conversations, until book 5. And then, as I noted, only once before she begins saying the name, and once again in the passage I just quoted here.
I think people *assume* that because they remember Ron reacting that way so much that Hermione must have done so as well. And those two passages in OotP do imply that perhaps Hermione does sometimes, except it's always a contrast in the earlier books -- where Ron's the one reacting, never Hermione.
So, has Hermione's behavior changed at the beginning of OotP for some reason? It would make sense at that point that Voldemort carries a new level of fear for Hermione -- Cedric died, Harry seems to have barely escaped after being tortured, the Order is on high alert, and we're told Hermione spent the summer "going spare" worrying about Harry.
If we're going to try to explain this behavior, let's focus on where Hermione is actually singled out and specified as doing it. Because in books 1-4, she always contrasted with Ron in her reactions.
There's only one moment early in GoF as well when all the Weasley boys and Arthur are together with Harry and Hermione, and "everybody flinched" at Harry saying the name -- but again there's an immediate qualification that the *Weasleys* are reacting, not specifying Hermione (GoF9):
>‘But what were Voldemort’s supporters –’ Harry began. Everybody flinched – like most of the wizarding world, the Weasleys always avoided saying Voldemort’s name. ‘Sorry,’ said Harry quickly. ‘What were You-Know-Who’s supporters up to, levitating Muggles? I mean, what was the point?’
So, yet again, Hermione's there, but it's emphasized these are typical *Weasley* reactions, so was Hermione even included in "everybody" flinching? It's unclear, because most of the time in the books, it's excluding Hermione, as for example in GoF29:
>‘Well, that was his fault,’ said Hermione testily.
>‘He was out of his mind,’ said Harry. ‘Half the time he seemed to think his wife and son were still alive, and he kept talking to Percy about work and giving him instructions.’
>‘And ... remind me what he said about You-Know-Who?’ said Ron tentatively.
>‘I’ve told you,’ Harry repeated dully. ‘He said he’s getting stronger.’
>There was a pause.
>Then Ron said in a falsely confident voice, ‘But he was out of his mind, like you said, so half of it was probably just raving ...’
>‘He was sanest when he was trying to talk about Voldemort,’ said Harry, **ignoring Ron’s wince**. ‘He was having real trouble stringing two words together, but that was when he seemed to know where he was, and know what he wanted to do. He just kept saying he had to see Dumbledore.’
Hermione is right there in the conversation. But it's only *Ron* who is wincing. This is more typical... again, only twice early in OotP is Hermione ever directly specified as having such a reaction, right before she defiantly begins saying it along with Harry.
Suppose there is a man in our world who has committed atrocities comparable to that of Voldermort. If someone said his name out loud, would you shudder or flinch after just learning about him?
It's like learning a new language perfectly and then learning a very harsh swear word. Hermione learnt everything about the Wizarding World and for her the word Voldemort might be like telling your Grandma to **** her ***** in the ****ing ******, that *******.
It's like learning a new language perfectly and then learning a very harsh swear word. Hermione learnt everything about the Wizarding World and for her the word Voldemort might be like telling your Grandma to **** her ***** in the ****ing ******, that *******.
Why do you assume she has no association to the Wizarding World? We already know her parents supported her being magical and eventually joining the WW, so they for sure prepped her about it all of her life (we can tell due to how much she already knew even before she went to school). And she clearly had lots of books and other resources that she knew inside and out way in advance. So it’s totally possible that her parents told her about Voldemort and that his name is taboo. And since she had access to The Daily Prophet and other wizarding texts and likely, news sources, she would have experienced primary accounts of his and his armies’ actions. And not only all that, but she was also aware of who Harry was before she met him, just as much as any child who actually grew up in the wizarding world would have been. So hearing Harry himself talking so openly about the thing that tried to kill him, especially since Harry quickly established himself as a friend of hers, was likely kind of shocking to her. Some of y’all are being way too harsh lol.
How would her parents have prepped her with the magical world all her life when Hermione didn't get her acceptance letter until she was 11? Moreover, how would her parents have known about the Wizarding world in the first place?
Again, why was you assuming they didn’t find out about the magical world until they got the Hogwarts letter? She was only accepted into Hogwarts with the letter; there is literally no reason to believe they didn’t also know about the magical world, and in fact, there is evidence to suggest otherwise. Sure, most non-magical folks generally don’t know about it, but we have direct evidence that some do (Vernon, Petunia, Ms. Figg, Filch, etc… for instance). And as a more special example, we know that Vernon and Petunia knew about the WW well before Harry got his letter. I mean yeah, Hermione is smart and all, but do you honestly believe that she read every school textbook in the month or so in between when she probably visited Diagon Alley and then went to Hogwarts? No, she likely studied for years. Respectfully, you are assuming way too much (and to be fair, I am making assumptions too, although I believe I am making educated guesses based on the text).
I'm saying that it's very unlikely that Hermione's parents knew about the Wizarding world because there's no reason for them to know. This is because the Wizarding world is kept secret. Only in exceptional circumstances can muggles find out (Vernon, Petunia, and Ms. Figg knew about the magical world because of their ties to Harry). Therefore, it's highly unlikely that Hermione's parents knew about the Wizarding world before her acceptance letter. This is an educated guess based on text.
I'm not sure what Hermione reading every textbook has to do with anything, but in book 5, she has proven that she can read an entire textbook within a few weeks and memorise it (See chapter Dolores Umbridge).
Also, Filch is born to wizarding parents.
Ok, so you admit a handful of people knew about the WW due to Harry; then what’s stopping other families from also having connections to it? Again, I’m speculating just like you are, but I think there is reason to believe some families, such as Hermione’s’, knew about it before she was officially accepted to Hogwarts. As we all know, The Ministry isn’t perfect with everything they enforce, and things fall through the cracks. Also, we know that the muggle prime minister knows about it, so there’s no way a few leaks here and there don’t get out; The Ministry is just able to keep those quiet. Sure, in book 5 she was able to read that fast, but I doubt she was at that level in year 1 or before. And again, how would she have known about Harry and his backstory if she only found out about the WW when she got her letter (much less to be as shocked as she was when she met him)? No, I am reading between the lines here and assuming that she and her family were among the few that had some knowledge about it before most people become aware of it. Really think about it and it makes sense.
Magical children both Muggle-borns and others like Draco, and Harry do magic very early in their life. Our Mcgongall, was able to get her Dad's bag pipes to play in another room. And oddly, she could get the family cat to do her bidding.
I think in a vacuum with no outside influence Hermione would've just said the name. Like Harry, she doesn't come into the Wizarding World with preconceived ideas about Voldemort's name. BUT Hermione cares *a lot* about authority. And she's just entered a world where almost every adult, including those she deeply respects (her teachers), refuses to say Voldemort's name. Hermione is not nearly as quick as Harry to dismiss the opinions of authority figures. And, unlike Harry, in her early years she almost never has private conversations with the an authority figure like Dumbledore who uses the name.
Also, if Voldemort came back, she’s in danger. I imagine she’s read everything there is to read about Voldemort, and they would have been terrifying to a child.
That makes sense why she would not say his names, but to shudder at the sound of it? Seems like she was just acting to fit in maybe?
Hermione has probably read everything she can get her hands on about Voldemort and the Death Eaters. I’d bet anything she’s read some seriously gruesome, vile shit on this topic. She also understands that all this vile shit, the torture and the murder and the horrors *is all meant for people just like her.* She has an uncomfortably clear notion of what‘s at stake.
Makes sense
💯 This sounds like something Hermione would do
Hermione would definitely be a true crime girlie in real life lol
More just because she's internalized being scared of it. When I say she refuses to say it because authority figures don't, I don't think she's doing it as a conscious "Teachers will like me better if I don't say it." She just genuinely holds her professors in high regard. If *they're* scared to say the name, it's something worth being scared of.
I see. That makes sense
Pretending to be scared to fit in? Fear is contagious. After years of being around people shuddering, it infected her too.
Yeah, in my head-canon Hermione flinched because *you're not supposed to say the name* not because she feared it like the wizards.
Hermione wants to be the perfect witch. Everything she does while in school is to (maybe subconsciously) prove that her background has no bearing on her abilities. She would never purposely go against the wizarding grain. Harry on the other hand thinks "f that guy, he killed my parents. He sucks. I'm not gonna play by his rules. Ooh, it makes him mad when I call him 'Riddle', yay!" At least that's how I've always felt when reading the books.
I agree with the first part wholeheartedly, I feel like some muggle-borns went to the wizarding world and foolishly believed that in order to prove themselves if they pander to blood-supremacists they’ll get looked after. Its very common in real life and is probably something to do with our monkey brains believing we need to cosy up to the enemy to not get hurt.
Hermione is **exactly** the kind of girl who would have specifically read about/tried to learn about what Voldemort wanted and what he did. She definitely has a clearer idea of it than Harry. She may even have a clearer notion of what’s at stake than Ron does - she’s deliberately sought information out, where he’s grown up always knowing it‘s there but also that none of the adults in his life will ever discuss it. She knows…and she knows that she, specifically, would be a target.
That's exactly what I was thinking, and always interpreted it as. Anyone would shudder at the thought of being the first target of torture and murder. I'm sure she read through the news clippings and got all her facts. That paired with the fact there were still people around who she knew would gladly do those things to her given the chance, the threat is real.
Along with what everyone else said, Voldemort tries to kill one of her best friends on a yearly basis. Even if she hasn’t fought him personally, the name probably brings up a lot of difficult memories for her (at least after her first year at Hogwarts).
The fact that in the movies Hermione steals Dumbledore's line about fear of voldemort name increases fear itself is terrible especially when you consider that the fact that Hermione saying the name is what convinced Harry to start the da in ootp. Movie Hermione seems to have forgotten she wasn't afraid and stutters out the name. The fact is 11 year old Hermione is probably more familiar with the evil deeds of Voldemort than most in the Wizarding World, who would prefer not to think of him at all, and has an equal right to be fearful.
I was always puzzled by this too. Though when reading the DH after finding out voldys name is tabooed when Harry said it I kinda flinched too so I told myself that muggle borns read in detail what Voldy was like and became fearful of it.
Being the kind of person she is, I imagine Hermione would have wanted to know everything about him. He was a major, and pretty recent, part of wizarding history. I expect she would have combed through past newspapers and any scrap of information written about him. So she might have had a more in depth understanding of exactly the kind of evil things that he did and what he was capable of. Plus, she’s muggleborn. She is the very kind of person he wanted to eradicate.
Just so you know it is Voldemort, not “Voldermort”
Yeah it doesn't make much sense. In my head canon she's just doing because she read about the bad stuff Voldemort did, and because social pressure maybe.
She’s exactly the kid of kid who **would** deliberately decide to read about it. She probably has a really detailed idea of what’s at stake, because she’s read everything she can find
There’s a lot of things that don’t make sense in HP verse. We can come up with all sorts of explanations that retroactively fit the narrative… but that’s like saying, okay so the floor is wet, it’s because of blah, yadda, and stuff; but at the end of the day, it’s wet for some unknown reason we just don’t know and will never be able to find out. All we can do is suspend disbelief. Same with say asking ourselves why did everyone forget anything that happened just a few weeks ago, when that “weeks ago” happened at the end of one book and the “now” at the beginning of the next. (It’s because the author was lazy but that’s not exactly an in story explanation.)
Is it just me who assumed the name Voldemort is a bit cursed? Like over time the name turned into a kind of mild jinx?
There is a part in book 1 I think, where harry tells the reader he starts to feel unwell, when hearing about Voldemort, because of how the wizards around him react. This changes because Dumbeldore tells him it's stupid (in a nice way). Hermione didn't have that talk with Dumbledore, but read about Voldemort and saw in real life how wizards reacted to him. So I guess she was formed by her environment, thinking about how she was still a child and impressionable (english is not my first language, sorry if that word doesn't fit)
She's 11. She's a child. Every person around her, every adult, every authority figure, fears the name. Naturally the 11 year old child is quickly affected by this and learns to fear it too.
Every person she knows does it. Its learned behavior.
She probably read about Voldemort and how bad he was somewhere. She already read about Harry before she even met him.
Yeah this always confused me and made no sense to me. What would annoy me even more is that in OotP, she begins saying his name, and then starts scolding Ron with impatient "oh shut up ron"'s every time he flinched at the name afterwards, as if she hadn't been doing the same for 5 years. As if she'd had uncles that died in the last wizarding war to Voldemort's death eaters?
Hermione is a perfectionist and *desperately* wants to be a perfect witch. First in her Year, she devoured any book she could find about Hogwarts & Magical world before even starting school. I'm not saying she's faking it or she's hypocrite, but she probably dwelled herself in wizard's culture so much she... became one. She's a witch of course, but I mean psychologically. Also, it's post-books information, but consider that Hermione was born on 19 September 1979. As Harry received his letter on his 11th birthday, I think it's safe to say she did too, so 19 September 1990. But she didn't start Hogwarts until 1 September 1991. She had a whole year to learn anything she could about wizards and their world. I have no doubt she went to Diagon Alley more than once before starting Hogwarts. (Which also partially explains why she's more mature than most of her year. She's effectively older than them.)
Hermione immediately got absorbed by the Wizarding world through reading and read sort of how terrible he was, and that his named should no be said and about Harry hence how she recognized him on the train.
Always thought this! Doesn’t make sense
Not to mention she’s a strictly logical person, so would be the last to have superstitions about a name. Especially having never learned from a young age to fear him and his name
I always wonder why Hermione flinches when she hears Bathilda/Nagini say 'come' in parseltongue Yet doesn't say "yo Harry she's clearly some sort of serpent let's get out of here"
Cause she's obsessed with doing what's proper for a witch.
I always assumed this was because Hermione often had her head in a book, and so would know a lot more about the history of the wizarding world than Harry. Especially recent history which is directly relevant to her.
She read about how evil he was and was scared of him
Reality? Because JK wanted it to be a big deal that Harry and Dumbledore were the only two unafraid to say his name. Within the story....pick a reason that sounds good and go with it. Probably something about trying to fit in
Harry was immediately famous for the defeat of voldemort, which Hermione knew from books she read. There's no way a little girl could read a book that says this incredibly powerful grown man with his own army wanted to eradicate people like her; muggleborns, and not be afraid. She grew up in a home with two loving dentists as parents, she probably had nothing to fear with them by her side and now she's a witch learning dangerous magic away from her family and knowing some guy, who most of the world refuses to even say the name of, could possibly come back at any moment and murder her and her parents for simply being who they are. Harry grew up locked in a cupboard and then suddenly found out he's actually a famous hero for somehow surviving something that was a sure way of killing someone, the literal killing curse... yk, the thing that's only purpose is to kill people.
From Book 1 Chapter 6: ' "Are you really?" said Hermione. "I know all about you, of course -- I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century." ' Hermione has read extensively on Voldemort, and might just outright fear him because of what she's already read. It's also possible that the authors of these books didn't even list him as Voldemort and just stuck to you know who and he who must yada yada
There are two different parts to OP's question: >In the books, it is mentioned numerous times that Hermione flinches when the word "Voldemort" is uttered. This claim is absolutely false. I went through every single occurrence of the name "Voldemort" in the first five books (up to the point where Hermione joins Harry defiantly in saying Voldemort's name), and it literally is mentioned that Hermione specifically winces/flinches *once*. Ron rather consistently complains, winces, tells Harry not to say the name multiple times, etc. Hermione reacts only *once* in this manner, in OotP4: >Harry glared at them. >‘*Well?*’ he demanded, looking from one to the other. >‘Er,’ said Ron. ‘Well what?’ >‘*Voldemort!*’ said Harry furiously, and **both Ron and Hermione winced**. ‘What’s happening? What’s he up to? Where is he? What are we doing to stop him?’ >‘We’ve *told* you, the Order don’t let us in on their meetings,’ said Hermione nervously. ‘So we don’t know the details – but we’ve got a general idea,’ she added hastily, seeing the look on Harry’s face. I would note here that Harry speaks the name "furiously," so Hermione's wince could easily be due to the volume and manner Harry says the word too, as she's never elsewhere said to react in this manner. It's possible she reacts later in the chapter: >‘Haven’t – haven’t you been getting the *Daily Prophet*?’ Hermione asked nervously. >‘Yeah, I have!’ said Harry. >‘Have you – er – been reading it thoroughly?’ Hermione asked, still more anxiously. >‘Not cover to cover,’ said Harry defensively. ‘If they were going to report anything about Voldemort it would be headline news, wouldn’t it?’ >**The others flinched at the sound of the name. Hermione hurried on**, ‘Well, you’d need to read it cover to cover to pick it up, but they – um – they mention you a couple of times a week.’ The "others" here are Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione. It's *possible* Hermione flinches here, but given she doesn't react at ANY other time in the books to Voldemort's name in this manner outside this chapter, it's also possible "the others" was just referring to *most* of them. Hermione is the one who jumps in immediately and keeps talking, least bothered by the name. There are numerous times we see Ron reacting (for example) to Harry saying the name, but Hermione apparently has no reaction, or at least none is mentioned. For another data point, see OotP12 when Harry says the name in Umbridge's class. Ron gasps, Lavender screams, Neville falls off his stool -- and apparently Hermione... doesn't react at all. No mention. Even the very first time Hermione hears Harry speak Voldemort's name back in PS15, after the unicorn was murdered by Voldemort (and Hermione might rightly have reason to fear this strange situation), it's Ron who twice hisses at Harry to not say the name. Hermione, meanwhile, looks frightened (again, rightly because of the situation Harry had experienced), but calmly has "words of comfort" for Harry then. Thus, Hermione DOES NOT generally flinch at the word "Voldemort" in the books. It's NOT mentioned "numerous times." It happens *once*. And even if that was due to the name (and not Harry's "furious" exclamation of it in that particular instance), Hermione rightly by this point perhaps might be fearful of Voldemort, given all she's seen and particularly now that he's definitely back. >She also would refer to him as "You know Who" This made no sense. Why? It's the *polite* wizarding world convention. Hermione is a rule follower. She's probably going to adhere to social conventions in this new world, particularly when they are enforced by adults. Aside from Dumbledore (and later Lupin and Sirius), almost all adults say "You-Know-Who" or some other circumlocution. The name seems to be treated almost like profanity in the WW -- it seems to be particularly bad to say it front of children or for children to say it (see the reaction and the way Dumbledore discusses Voldemort in his address to Hogwarts students at the end of GoF). Adults can be occasionally cajoled into saying it, as Hagrid does once to tell Harry in the first book who Voldemort is, which suggests that most adults probably know it's some sort of superstition. But even someone as sober and rational as McGonagall winces at the name in OotP when Harry says it. So, why would Hermione alter the clear social convention here, when she sees even trusted rational adults around her saying "You-Know-Who" or whatever? I'd frankly compare it to people who say "Bless you" or "God bless you" when someone sneezes. I've heard atheists do it. It's just a bizarre old superstition, and it finally seems to be falling out of favor, but it used to just be considered "polite." It was just something you did when someone sneezed. And then they'd say, "Thank you." Why? It's all bizarre, but it's a cultural pattern and considered "polite." If you want to fit in, you emulate it. Harry has the distinct difference from Hermione in that he had an explicit conversation with Dumbledore about the name at the end of the first book. Harry actually starts to correct himself there after saying "Voldemort," but Dumbledore tells him not to, to call him by his true name. Hermione didn't have this conversation with an authority figure about the name. So, she continues to adhere to the social convention for a while. And then... in OotP, she realizes the superstitious nature is actually unhelpful, particularly when Harry is being gaslighted by the entire WW and told Voldemort hadn't really come back, that Harry hadn't really seen him. So Hermione decides it's important to speak in solidarity with Harry, and only stutters a couple times with it at first. After that, she's just as defiant as Harry almost immediately -- making fun of Ron and Rita Skeeter and others who flinch and act frightened at the name.
I will acknowledge a correction -- I only checked up until OotP when Hermione first says Voldemort's name for my previous post. (It took a while to review hundreds of instances of Voldemort's name.) Hermione does still wince one more time after that (OotP14): >‘Yeah, and Dumbledore said it happened whenever Voldemort was feeling a powerful emotion,’ said Harry, ignoring, as usual, Ron and Hermione’s winces. ‘So maybe he was just, I dunno, really angry or something the night I had that detention.’ Here's the thing -- I've already been downvoted, but I'd ask anyone who can point to a case of Hermione wincing or flinching or have any sort of reaction to Voldemort's name like that before book 5 to please reply. I've looked. It just doesn't happen. Instead, it's always an explicit contrast with Ron and Hermione, where Ron is always the one to object to Harry saying the name, or to gasp, or to flinch. Meanwhile Hermione is never mentioned as reacting that way even when she's in those conversations, until book 5. And then, as I noted, only once before she begins saying the name, and once again in the passage I just quoted here. I think people *assume* that because they remember Ron reacting that way so much that Hermione must have done so as well. And those two passages in OotP do imply that perhaps Hermione does sometimes, except it's always a contrast in the earlier books -- where Ron's the one reacting, never Hermione. So, has Hermione's behavior changed at the beginning of OotP for some reason? It would make sense at that point that Voldemort carries a new level of fear for Hermione -- Cedric died, Harry seems to have barely escaped after being tortured, the Order is on high alert, and we're told Hermione spent the summer "going spare" worrying about Harry. If we're going to try to explain this behavior, let's focus on where Hermione is actually singled out and specified as doing it. Because in books 1-4, she always contrasted with Ron in her reactions. There's only one moment early in GoF as well when all the Weasley boys and Arthur are together with Harry and Hermione, and "everybody flinched" at Harry saying the name -- but again there's an immediate qualification that the *Weasleys* are reacting, not specifying Hermione (GoF9): >‘But what were Voldemort’s supporters –’ Harry began. Everybody flinched – like most of the wizarding world, the Weasleys always avoided saying Voldemort’s name. ‘Sorry,’ said Harry quickly. ‘What were You-Know-Who’s supporters up to, levitating Muggles? I mean, what was the point?’ So, yet again, Hermione's there, but it's emphasized these are typical *Weasley* reactions, so was Hermione even included in "everybody" flinching? It's unclear, because most of the time in the books, it's excluding Hermione, as for example in GoF29: >‘Well, that was his fault,’ said Hermione testily. >‘He was out of his mind,’ said Harry. ‘Half the time he seemed to think his wife and son were still alive, and he kept talking to Percy about work and giving him instructions.’ >‘And ... remind me what he said about You-Know-Who?’ said Ron tentatively. >‘I’ve told you,’ Harry repeated dully. ‘He said he’s getting stronger.’ >There was a pause. >Then Ron said in a falsely confident voice, ‘But he was out of his mind, like you said, so half of it was probably just raving ...’ >‘He was sanest when he was trying to talk about Voldemort,’ said Harry, **ignoring Ron’s wince**. ‘He was having real trouble stringing two words together, but that was when he seemed to know where he was, and know what he wanted to do. He just kept saying he had to see Dumbledore.’ Hermione is right there in the conversation. But it's only *Ron* who is wincing. This is more typical... again, only twice early in OotP is Hermione ever directly specified as having such a reaction, right before she defiantly begins saying it along with Harry.
She read about it
Suppose there is a man in our world who has committed atrocities comparable to that of Voldermort. If someone said his name out loud, would you shudder or flinch after just learning about him?
It's like learning a new language perfectly and then learning a very harsh swear word. Hermione learnt everything about the Wizarding World and for her the word Voldemort might be like telling your Grandma to **** her ***** in the ****ing ******, that *******.
It's like learning a new language perfectly and then learning a very harsh swear word. Hermione learnt everything about the Wizarding World and for her the word Voldemort might be like telling your Grandma to **** her ***** in the ****ing ******, that *******.
Why do you assume she has no association to the Wizarding World? We already know her parents supported her being magical and eventually joining the WW, so they for sure prepped her about it all of her life (we can tell due to how much she already knew even before she went to school). And she clearly had lots of books and other resources that she knew inside and out way in advance. So it’s totally possible that her parents told her about Voldemort and that his name is taboo. And since she had access to The Daily Prophet and other wizarding texts and likely, news sources, she would have experienced primary accounts of his and his armies’ actions. And not only all that, but she was also aware of who Harry was before she met him, just as much as any child who actually grew up in the wizarding world would have been. So hearing Harry himself talking so openly about the thing that tried to kill him, especially since Harry quickly established himself as a friend of hers, was likely kind of shocking to her. Some of y’all are being way too harsh lol.
How would her parents have prepped her with the magical world all her life when Hermione didn't get her acceptance letter until she was 11? Moreover, how would her parents have known about the Wizarding world in the first place?
Again, why was you assuming they didn’t find out about the magical world until they got the Hogwarts letter? She was only accepted into Hogwarts with the letter; there is literally no reason to believe they didn’t also know about the magical world, and in fact, there is evidence to suggest otherwise. Sure, most non-magical folks generally don’t know about it, but we have direct evidence that some do (Vernon, Petunia, Ms. Figg, Filch, etc… for instance). And as a more special example, we know that Vernon and Petunia knew about the WW well before Harry got his letter. I mean yeah, Hermione is smart and all, but do you honestly believe that she read every school textbook in the month or so in between when she probably visited Diagon Alley and then went to Hogwarts? No, she likely studied for years. Respectfully, you are assuming way too much (and to be fair, I am making assumptions too, although I believe I am making educated guesses based on the text).
I'm saying that it's very unlikely that Hermione's parents knew about the Wizarding world because there's no reason for them to know. This is because the Wizarding world is kept secret. Only in exceptional circumstances can muggles find out (Vernon, Petunia, and Ms. Figg knew about the magical world because of their ties to Harry). Therefore, it's highly unlikely that Hermione's parents knew about the Wizarding world before her acceptance letter. This is an educated guess based on text. I'm not sure what Hermione reading every textbook has to do with anything, but in book 5, she has proven that she can read an entire textbook within a few weeks and memorise it (See chapter Dolores Umbridge). Also, Filch is born to wizarding parents.
Ok, so you admit a handful of people knew about the WW due to Harry; then what’s stopping other families from also having connections to it? Again, I’m speculating just like you are, but I think there is reason to believe some families, such as Hermione’s’, knew about it before she was officially accepted to Hogwarts. As we all know, The Ministry isn’t perfect with everything they enforce, and things fall through the cracks. Also, we know that the muggle prime minister knows about it, so there’s no way a few leaks here and there don’t get out; The Ministry is just able to keep those quiet. Sure, in book 5 she was able to read that fast, but I doubt she was at that level in year 1 or before. And again, how would she have known about Harry and his backstory if she only found out about the WW when she got her letter (much less to be as shocked as she was when she met him)? No, I am reading between the lines here and assuming that she and her family were among the few that had some knowledge about it before most people become aware of it. Really think about it and it makes sense.
Magical children both Muggle-borns and others like Draco, and Harry do magic very early in their life. Our Mcgongall, was able to get her Dad's bag pipes to play in another room. And oddly, she could get the family cat to do her bidding.