A strong, feminine leader would be J.K Rowling’s Hermione Granger from the acclaimed Harry Potter series, leading her to be considered a modern day hero. Hermione was born in the muggle community to two dentists, Mr. and Mrs. Granger. She grew up as a normal human girl until the age of eleven when she was accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  Once she arrived at Hogwarts, she was sorted into the Gryffindor house where she became extraordinary friends with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. Once the three became friends, their lifelong adventure began. Hermione is an incredible role model and heroine because of her traits of courage, loyalty, and wisdom in which she illustrates throughout all seven books of the Harry Potter series.
One of the reasons that Hermione was put into the Gryffindor house was because of her courage. In all seven books, Hermione is always there to save her friends and herself from evil. As a muggle born witch, she is constantly looked down upon by other students who are born into pure-blood families. She first encounters this hatred when Draco Malfoy refers to her as a “filthy little Mudblood”(Rowling 498). She chooses to have courage and always stand up to her bullies by never letting them get the best of her. In later books, when facing Voldemort and his followers, she never backs down from defending Hogwarts and the rest of the wizarding world. In the sixth book, The Order of the Phoenix, Hermione fights against the death-eaters who infiltrate Hogwarts. She courageously fights to stop Voldemort’s followers from taking over the castle. Hermione’s strong demonstration of courage, throughout the novels, provides inspiration to anyone who may lack the trait of courage.

Another example of Hermione’s greatest traits is her immense loyalty that she has towards her friends and her school, Hogwarts. Even after quarrels and bickerings, Hermione always remains true to Harry and Ron. Being friends with Harry Potter comes with great risk in regards to her personal safety. Whether it's facing trolls in the girl’s bathroom or defeating Tom Riddle and his Basilisk, Hermione never leaves her friends’ side and always stays to fight. In their final year at Hogwarts, the trio is faced with the task of ridding the wizarding world of Voldemort and his seven Horcruxes. After traveling all over in search for them, Harry and Ron get into a fight that results in Ron abandoning the cause. Instead of Hermione leaving with Ron, the love of her life, she chooses to stay with Harry. She knows that staying with Harry is the best thing to do, not only for herself, but for the fate of the whole wizarding community. This choice shows her allegiance to Harry and Dumbledore. Hermione also exhibits loyalty when she and Harry decide to create Dumbledore’s Army. The organization forms in order to learn Defense Against the Dark Arts to help fight Voldemort, while also keeping Hogwarts safe. This secret project prepares the students to fight against the Dark Arts, showing Hermione’s deep-rooted love for Dumbledore and all that he believes in. Through these events, and many more, Hermione displays her profound loyalty to those that she loves by accompanying them in their times of need, even if it may put her at risk.

Finally, Hermione’s most prevalent characteristic is her wisdom. She is the smartest in her grade in Hogwarts and always uses her intelligence to get her and her friends out of difficult situations. Her wisdom causes other students to make fun of her and judge her, but she never lets it stop her from being the best she could be. A great example of her intelligence is when she solves Snape’s potion puzzle, used to guard the Sorcerer's Stone. Without Hermione, Harry and Ron would have drank poison and never gotten to the Stone. Another feat of Hermione’s intellect is the time she taught Harry how to do a summoning charm. This spell saves Harry while he is participating in the Triwizard Tournament, and this helps him escape Lord Voldemort in the graveyard by summoning the portkey. Without Hermione’s intelligence, Harry and Ron would not have been able to defeat Voldemort and his followers, and thus saving the wizarding world.

Hermione’s traits of courage, loyalty, and wisdom make her a great role model and heroine, and that is why I consider her my modern day hero. She constantly chooses to have bravery in the face of fear and never backs down when things become life risking and alarming. She always stays to fight with Harry and strives to make the wizarding world a safer place. Hermione also shows the most immense amount of loyalty to her friends and to Dumbledore. She stays by their side and always chooses their greater good over her own well being. Finally, without her wisdom, Harry and Ron would have never been able to defeat Voldemort and Hogwarts would have been destroyed. Her upbringing in the muggle world never limits or stops her from being the best she can be. Hermione constantly strives to be the best witch of her time, while also always being there to perform the duties of a hero.