In the Harry Potter series, Hermione Granger is the brains of Hogwarts. Accomplishing uncountable academic achievements, she is stated throughout the series as being the smartest student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and is often accredited for her successes through being awarded points for Gryffindor House and receiving the highest marks in all classes. Although Hermione has some knowledge outside of what she learns in books, her intelligence does not go far beyond what she studies, and is limited when required to apply her knowledge in real life situations. Most readers see Hermione's abundant knowledge as being the sole reason for success in crisis situations involving Harry, Ron, and Hermione. However, by carefully observing the personalities, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the students, we can see that all three individuals are necessary in solving problems, specifically with the entrapment of the Devil's Snare in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. This is important because friendship and working together are central to the novel to solve each problem the three students encounter. Without contributions from each Harry, Ron, and Hermione, the three students would never be successful with any trouble they face.
	
Although not solely responsible, Hermione did provide some actions that proved beneficial when dealing with the Devil's Snare. First, Hermione is able to instantly escape from the plant's tendrils, which later enables her to give direction and help her two friends escape from the same plant. Her advice is evidenced in the text; ""Stop moving!" Hermione ordered them," (Rowling 277). The use of an exclamation point in the dialogue, along with Hermione being described in the text as  watch[ing] in horror, (277)' shows Hermione's genuine concern for her two friends. She truly wants to help them, but is getting frustrated at their thoughtless behavior. Once the boys listen, the small piece of advice helps greatly in the situation, as the trio later finds out that a characteristic of the plant is that it tightens its tendrils as the person entrapped tries to escape, and therefore they need to listen to Hermione by ceasing movement. Hermione further helps in the situation through her book smarts by eventually identifying the plant and deducing from that information what to do to solve the issue at hand, demonstrating the vast knowledge she possesses. In the text, Hermione concludes, "Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare what did Professor Sprout say? 'it likes the dark and the damp ' (278)." Her ability to filter through the abundance of information in her head to come to a conclusion illustrates Hermione's attention to detail during class time and displays her extreme value of education. A normal student at Hogwarts would most likely not be able to remember a small detail learned from a book, but Hermione certainly can, making her useful in this situation. A final example of importance that Hermione contributes is her ability to follow direction well. Once Harry and Ron tell her what to do, she immediately acts by casting a spell and the boys are able to pull free. Her comprehension of the verbal direction given by her two friends was vital to their escape.
	
Hermione did offer useful knowledge, information, and action in the Devil's Snare situation. However, she also did some things that would have prevented escape, had the two boys not been there to give her advice. Hermione is undoubtedly does not perform well under pressure, as evidenced by several sentences in this short passage. The use of punctuation shows her hesitation and uncertainty of the situation. When trying to identify the plant, she says, "I-I know what this is   it's the Devil's Snare!" Although she did produce an accurate answer, the hyphens used in the dialogue indicate that Hermione was not fully confident in her ability to solve the problem. Furthermore, Hermione cracks under pressure when trying to remember what to do in order to destroy the Devil's Snare. After Ron comments on her identification of the plant, Hermione says, "Shut up, I'm trying to remember how to kill it!" Her word selection of  Shut up' and the exclamation point at the end of the sentence show Hermione's stress in the situation. If she were calm and content with the situation, she would not have snapped at Ron for merely speaking a few words. Instead, Hermione feels the strong need to be accurate and quick in solving the issue at hand and cracks under pressure, resulting in her scolding of Ron. She tries to remain calm, but her true feelings of anxiety are shown through her words.

Once Hermione identifies the name of the plant and what the plant likes, she completely falls apart and loses all common sense. Hermione states that Professor Sprout taught her that the Devil's Snare likes the dark and the damp. A person with common sense would use that information to deduce that the plant would not like the light and the dry. However, Hermione is oblivious to that thought process and has to wait for Harry to suggest lighting a fire. When Harry commands Hermione to make a fire to destroy the plant, she still is not comprehensive to the situation. In response to Harry's instruction, Hermione says, "Yes- of course- but there's no wood!" making a complete fool of herself. Hermione is a witch with a magical wand, giving her full capability to produce a fire in a matter of seconds. Yet she does not perform this simple action, because she has fully lost all practicality. She was able to produce knowledge learned through books, but cannot produce the knowledge to put the information together to act in the circumstances. 

Hermione could not have defeated the Devil's Snare without the advisement of both Ron and Harry because of her lack of application of knowledge and loss of common sense. Each of the two boys made individual contributions to the overall situation in his own way, even though both are entangled by the Devil's Snare for the majority of the scene. Ron offers humor to the scene through dialogue to enlighten the mood. After Hermione identifies the name of the plant, he snarls, "Oh, I'm so glad we know what it's called, that's a great help." He obviously isn't being literal with his words and rather is trying to make the heavy situation less intense. Whether done so intentionally or not, his wittiness allows all three students to slightly calm down and not stress as much over the issue at hand. After each time Ron speaks sarcastically, the trio of students is able to take a deep breath, relax, and regain composure of the circumstances. Ron adds further sarcasm after Hermione gives the lame excuse that they can't make a fire because there is no wood; "HAVE YOU GONE MAD?" Ron bellowed. "ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?" Ron is repulsed that Hermione loses all common sense, forgetting that she can perform magic, and reacts in a firm, yet sarcastic way by yelling at her. Ron's yelling may have upset Hermione, but if it weren't for his reaction, she would not come to the simple conclusion of casting a spell to defeat the plant. This same quote shows Ron's simplistic thinking, which contributes to the ultimate solution to the problem as well. He recognizes that the complex problem requires an extremely simple solution, and lets that be known. Ron's practicality is vital to defeating the Devil's Snare. Without Ron's simple-minded thinking, Hermione would not have destroyed the plant and Harry and Ron would not have escaped.

Harry's thoughtfulness, recognition of others' success, and ability to remain calm are essential in escaping from the Devil's Snare. Once Hermione says that the Devil's Snare likes the dry and damp, Harry says, "So light a fire! (278)" providing the exact solution that saves himself and Ron from entanglement. Harry uses the information Hermione produces to provide a solution to the problem. This is usually the case when it comes to Harry and problematic situations. He is normally not the one who originally obtains necessary information to solve problems he encounters. Rather, Harry is the one to piece the information produced from outside sources together and combine it with his practical knowledge to provide an ultimate solution. In this case, Harry uses the information Hermione has stated to provide a simple, yet extremely useful solution. Harry knows that he cannot be successful on his own and comprehends that he must rely on the guidance of others to succeed. This unselfish realization is shown when Harry says, "Lucky you pay attention in Herbology, Hermione (278)." Harry recognizes that without Hermione's knowledge of the plant, he could not have arrived at a conclusion to kill the plant. He gives credit where credit is due by complimenting Hermione on her vast knowledge. His appreciation causes Hermione to relax, relieving the stress of what has occurred. With this simple statement, Harry's down to earth personality is revealed, which contributes to the eventual success of the Devil Snare's demise.  In the passage, Harry speaks very little, saying only ten short words during the course of the time he was entangled. This simple fact demonstrates Harry's ability to remain calm in stressful situations. He trusts that things will turn out fine, and remains composed, collected, and focused. He knows that losing his mind and overreacting to the circumstances will not be of any help to solving the problem, and therefore keeps his mouth closed except when offering good advice and suggestions on how to conquer the Devil's Snare. Ron recognizes Harry's tranquility after the two boys have escaped the plant's tendrils by adding, "Yeah, and lucky Harry doesn't lose his head in a crisis- (278)." Ron recognizes that Harry's ability to remain calm was essential in the death of the plant and states its importance.

In the passage of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone involving the Devil's Snare, Hermione, Ron, and Harry each made individual contributions that led to the death of the plant and the escape of the three students from its entrapment. Hermione offered intelligence through knowledge of books, but was unable to apply her knowledge because she does not work well under pressure and has a lack of common sense. Although Ron is entangled by the plant and cannot help himself, he offers humor to lighten the mood of the situation, causing the three students to relax and regain composure. He also possesses great common sense and recognizes simplicity, causing him to make Hermione realize that she has the ability to solve the problem in a matter of seconds. Harry is also entangled in the Devil's Snare and cannot free himself, but he helps the overall situation by piecing together useful information to ultimately give the solution that results in the death of the plant. Harry also helps by maintaining composure and keeping calm in the stressful situation. He trusts that the problem will be solved and gives credit to his friends where credit is due. If the contributions of any of the three Hogwart's students are removed, the students would never arrive at the conclusion that brought the death of the Devil's Snare and the freeing of the three students. 


