Harry Potter: 15 greatest rivalries in franchise history

4. Hermione Granger vs. Draco Malfoy

Book or movie? The rivalry was clear in both the books and the movies.

Brief description of the rivalry: Draco Malfoy was raised to hate anyone other than a pure blood wizard. Discrimination is learned, after all. And naturally, since Hermione was Muggle-born, Draco hated her.

Hermione developed a hatred for Draco, too. That’s not all that surprising considering his attitude towards her.

Did it remain a rivalry? This would be one of those rivalries we’d see throughout the books and movies. Those learned behaviors were always going to be hard for Draco to beat, weren’t they?

However, like his rivalry with another character in the series, Draco would realize the error of his ways. While the two wouldn’t be friends, Draco would gain an appreciation and respect for one of the smartest witches of her generation.

Why it’s one of the greatest: There are many important elements to this rivalry. One of the biggest takeaways is about discrimination. The rivalry only started because Draco grew up to believe that Muggle-born witches were lesser.

Hermione, for the most part, was able to ignore his jeers. She proved that she was a witch to watch, someone who would show him and others up every chance she got. Hermione grew as a person considerably because of this bully in her life, and is a character we can all learn and take inspiration from.