You could argue that Harry and Ron and their friends might not have survived until the final battle with Voldemort and the evil wizards and witches. They would have died earlier in the books; the Boy Who Lived would have been the Pre-Teen Who Died Tragically.
What’s right with Hermione
14-year-old Naomi Horn says the heroine of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series remains a depressingly rare example of a fictional female respected for her education and intelligence. In Hermione’s world, being smart is what makes her important.