Hermione I was well pleased with. I'm actually quite impressed with how well Dumbledore knew Hermione and Ron, considering that they rarely actually spoke. He knew that if he gave Hermione a puzzle, she would take the time to fully understand it before she did anything rash. It's because of Hermione that we have most people's complaint about this book—that the middle is too slow. I think it was fantastic. The fact that we sit and do nothing for pages upon pages and get annoyed that they're doing nothing is exactly what Rowling wanted. She wanted us to be just as frustrated (well, relatively speaking) as our heroic trio were. Pretty effective, yes? Hermione played her part perfectly in keeping Harry's head on his shoulders. Yes, he was too rash and wanted to do things before he really understood them. Meet Harry. However, he is smart enough to trust Hermione's sense. He may argue and he may threaten to do it without her, but he always ends up listening. (Well, usually, anyway.)
Hermione has many notable moments in the book. There's the awful moment in Godric's Hollow when she fights off Nagini and breaks Harry's want. We've all been in that spot—when we have broken or ruined something of someone else's on accident—so I think we can all empathize with her. But I don't think anything can top destroying the wand of the only person who can defeat the most evil man on earth.
Another is when she modifies the memories of her parents. She knows that the only way to protect them is to disassociate them with herself. She does this, knowing full well that if she dies, they will never return to their real lives, that they will never mourn the loss of their only daughter. It's a truly heartbreaking moment.
You really see Hermione as a typical girl when Ron comes back after walking out on them. She had spent weeks feeling like he had abandoned her (and of course she loved him, so this was the utmost betrayal), wondering where he was, if he was safe, thinking he may possibly not even care about her, and didn't return his love for her. Of course, she couldn't say any of this to Harry, as she had never confided her feelings for Ron to him. Also, she knew he was mourning the loss of his best mate. So when Ron came back, instead of embracing him and being grateful, like most guys would think would be the natural result, she attacks. All of the frustration and fear and hurt that had been pent up over the last several weeks came out. He had hurt her and she had no inclination of letting him see her weak, never giving him the opportunity to do that to her again. Even listening to the story of him risking his life to save Harry and destroy the horcrux did nothing to dissuade her of her anger. He had hurt her and no part of this heroic feat had proven to her that he felt any remorse for that. Sure, she would have reacted differently had he been hurt or killed, but she could see that he was perfectly safe and thus didn't have to worry about his health.
My favorite Hermione moment of the book is, of course, the kiss. They're in the middle of the most important war of their entire lives and Hermione takes the time to notice when Ron stands up for the house elves. Hermione, who I took to be a more old-fashioned kind of girl, drops everything (quite literally) and kisses him. The two forget where they are, what they're doing, and finally embrace the love that has been growing for 7 years. (Seriously, what took them so long?!)
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