Greed
From the second Hermione Granger was born, she was greedy. Even before then. The universe had intended for her to have a twin, but even foetal Hermione had to eat all of the nutrients, starving her counterpart. Even in utero, she was like this.
In primary school Hermione kept her pristine crayons locked away in her bag. Her Barbies never left her room. “You must learn to share,” her mother had sighed one day, after a failed attempt to borrow one of her daughter's books. Hermione had always wondered why she had to share. It felt like a communist agenda. Ownership and protectiveness seemed to be woven into her genetic material.
At Hogwarts, her greed only worsened. Whilst the purebloods told her that the magic belonged to them, and so she harvested it, learned to control it. She bested everyone in every class, she proved that magic belonged to her. Ron had laughed at her thirst for knowledge on an almost daily basis, even calling her greedy. It struck a nerve in Hermione, watching as the boy stuffed his face and yet had the nerve to call her greedy. He wasn’t wrong, per se, just hypocritical.
During the war, Hermione’s greed spiralled. She felt that she owned Harry. This only worsened each and every time that she saved his life. Death continued to try to take him from her, but she was smarter than Death. You see, Hermione's greed wasn’t superficial. It was animalistic. Like a hungry animal, she watched Harry, allowing him to explain his nonsense ideas, knowing she would have to save his skin again.
When Ron left them in the Forest of Dean, she became ecstatic. Harry no longer had to pander to his insecure best friend, they were finally alone. Until Bellatrix took Harry, locking him in a cage. Her Harry.
It was Hermione's first time killing, besides a bird in her youth who had stolen her chips. She remembered the freedom rushing through her as Bellatrix Lestrange's blood gushed from her throat. She relished the shock on Malfoy's face. But most of all, she was overjoyed when Harry saved her, saying he could never leave “my best friend”.
My Best Friend.