Hermione Jean Granger ( ) is a fictional character in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. She first appears in the novel Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997), on the Hogwarts express as a first year student on her way to Hogwarts. After Harry and Ron save her from a mountain troll in the girls' restroom, she becomes best friends with them and often uses her quick wit, deft recall, and encyclopaedic knowledge to lend aid in dire situations. Rowling has stated that Hermione resembles herself as a young girl, with her insecurity and fear of failure. The character has had immense popularity. The version of Hermione portrayed by Emma Watson in all eight Harry Potter films from Philosopher's Stone in 2001 to Deathly Hallows – Part 2 in 2011 was voted the best female character of all time in a poll conducted amongst Hollywood professionals by The Hollywood Reporter in 2016. Character development Hermione is a Muggle-born Gryffindor, who becomes best friends with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. Rowling states that she was born on 19 September 1979 and she was nearly twelve when she first attended Hogwarts. She is an overachiever who excels academically and is described by Rowling as a "very logical, upright and good" character. Rowling adds that Hermione's parents, two Muggle dentists, are a bit bemused by their odd daughter but "quite proud of her all the same". They are well aware of the wizard world and have visited Diagon Alley with her. Hermione is an only child. But Rowling revealed in a 2004 interview that Hermione was originally intended to have a sister, but the planned sibling did not appear since she felt it "might be too late now" to introduce the character. Rowling has called the character of Luna Lovegood the "anti-Hermione" as they are so very different. Rowling said the character of Hermione has several autobiographic influences: "I did not set out to make Hermione like me but she is a bit like me. She is an exaggeration of how I was when I was younger." She recalled being called a "little know-it-all" in her youth. And she says that not unlike herself, "there is a lot of insecurity and a great fear of failure" beneath Hermione's swottiness. Finally, according to Rowling, next to Albus Dumbledore, Hermione is the perfect expository character; because of her encyclopedic knowledge, she can always be