In the Harry Potter series, the witches and wizards all have a wand hand, so what hand does Emma Watson, the Hermione Granger actress, use?
Emma Watson is not left-handed. Like more than 85% of the world’s population, Watson writes with her right hand. The character that Emma Watson plays in the Harry Potter series, Hermione Granger, is arguably ambidextrous. Right-handedness seems to rule the Harry Potter cast alumni as well. Most cast members are right-handed.
You can read more about ambidexterity, handedness in the Harry Potter series, and the handedness of the Harry Potter actors below.
What Does It Mean to be Ambidextrous?
While over 85% of the world’s population is right-handed, you would think that the remaining number of people are left-handed right? Well not exactly. There is a tiny percentage of people who are ambidextrous.
Being ambidextrous means that you do not have a dominant hand when it comes to performing tasks such as writing. The word ambidextrous is derived from the latin words ambi- and dexter-. Ambi- means “both” in the language while dexter- means “favourable”.
Ambidexterity is most likely attributed to brain symmetry because handedness is linked to one side of the brain being more dominant than the other, also known as brain asymmetry. Brain symmetry means that both sides of the brain are used equally or near equally and that translates to how the person uses their hands.
Being ambidextrous can be increasingly handy when it comes to playing certain sports and in activities like knitting. In baseball, being ambidextrous means that you can “switch hit.” That makes the handedness of a pitcher obsolete because the ambidextrous hitter can hit the ball from either side. What about the wizarding world though? Can wizards be ambidextrous?
Hermione Granger Could Be Ambidextrous?
In the Harry Potter universe, instead of being right- or left-handed the characters have their “wand hand.” That would be the hand that they use their wands with. The very first time this concept was brought up is in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone when Harry gets his wand. He visits Ollivander’s wand shop where the wizard asks him which hand is his wand hand. Harry presents his right hand.
In the books, Hermione granger’s dominant hand seems to be not entirely known. Some speculate that she is right-handed and others that she is a leftie. The best theory we’ve seen though, is that she is ambidextrous.
A Reddit user /u/Garrett15141 posted to the Harry Potter subreddit that there is an indication Hermione is left-handed in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. During an escape attempt she uses her wand with her left-hand.
In response to this comment, many users said that it is possible that Hermione is actually ambidextrous. The user /u/Obversa commented “Perhaps, it seems like a thing Hermione would train herself to do. Especially considering she had basically prepared everything on her own in Deathly Hallows, with her already anticipating the Death Eaters’ attack on the wedding.”
What About the Other Harry Potter Characters & Actors?
In terms of other wizarding world characters, not much is known whether they are right or left-handed. Some people think that Neville Longbottom is a southpaw, but this was never confirmed in any of the books.
While Emma Watson is not left-handed, she does have at least one co-star from the films who is a leftie. Matthew Lewis, who played Neville Longbottom, is left-handed. The character of Neville was always known to be a bit of a geek throughout the book series. So fans were pretty shocked when, in 2011, he emerged as a handsome hunk.
You can follow the link below to watch the wizarding duel scene from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix that shows a bunch of the different wizard’s “wand hands.” Huge Spoiler Alert though if you haven’t seen the movie yet!