Despite Harry's extracurricular activities such as Quidditch, going to Hogsmeade, and repeatedly defeating the darkest wizard of all time, his primary focus is at Hogwarts. Hogwarts, like any other school, works to provide witches and wizards with viable assets that will help them in their career endeavors after their seventh and final school year. In order to determine their educational dexterity, they had to take tests known as the O.W.L.s in their fifth year and N.E.W.T.s in their seventh year.
Ordinary Wizarding Level (O.W.L) examinations are standardized tests that determine if a student can go on taking specific courses their few next years. Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test, better known as N.E.W.T.s, are major determining factors in a witch or wizard obtaining their preferred line of work outside of Hogwarts. As much as people are willing to bet that Hermione is the best student, fans might be surprised to see how well some of the others performed.
Updated on February 26th, 2022 by Tanner Fox: The best Hogwarts students aren't always the most famous, though many of the heroes achieve some outstanding grades during their time as pupils in the Harry Potter story, and others have had such poor performances at the school that they stand out in their own ways.
Newt Scamander
A wizard with a particular predilection for the incredible bestiary of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Newt Scamander is an enterprising individual whose good intentions are often undermined by his propensity to get in trouble.
A Hogwarts student enrolled decades before Harry Potter would be born, the details of Newt's scholastic performance aren't quite known. Albus Dumbeldore, then a Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, took a liking to him, which implies that Newt was particularly gifted in the subject. Unfortunately, he was expelled from the school for endangering his classmates, meaning that he's technically one of the least academically accomplished Harry Potter protagonists.
Cedric Diggory
Cedric may deserve a pass considering his untimely demise. He was actually a brilliant student in every sense of the word. Cedric is introduced in his fifth year as the Hufflepuff team captain and Seeker. Not only is he handsome, but Cedric also made Prefect. He is notably gifted, as seen in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire when he continuously passes each test in the Triwizard Tournament.
However, Cedric only received three O.W.L.s during his time at Hogwarts. Whether this is because of the career path he had lined up for himself or because he simply failed at the others, it seems like a pretty low amount considering his potential. Cedric, unfortunately, died before he could take his N.E.W.T.
Luna Lovegood
Luna Lovegood also only is credited with obtaining passing grades in three O.W.L. courses. This seems surprising for a Ravenclaw, but, again, extraneous circumstances must be taken into consideration.
It is thought that she more than likely received a passing score for Care of Magical Creatures, considering she went on to be a Magizoologist. Luna also received O.W.L.s for Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts.
Fred & George Weasley
Fred and George left Hogwarts during their sixth year, but not before taking their O.W.L.s. The Weasley twins both earned three passing grades, each in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, and Herbology.
This is less than half of the number of high grades that their older brothers received, though Fred and George were never exactly revered for their book smarts. However, considering the two managed to open up a very successful joke shop, their O.W.L.s essentially become a moot point.
Draco Malfoy
It's never really made clear just how seriously Draco took to his schoolwork. However, it can be presumed that he thought he could get by on the coattails for his father, with Snape there to remedy his grade if need be. Perhaps this is why Draco only has three O.W.L.s., including one in Transfiguration, Potions, and Defense Against the Dark Arts.
Draco Malfoy's sixth year is his most damaging year at Hogwarts to date. His focus in this school year falls heavily on his role as a Death Eater and his goal to find a way to get his comrades into Hogwarts undetected. Also, it's more than likely that he never took his N.E.W.T.s.
Seamus Finnigan
Another Gryffindor whose terrible skills at Charms and Potions proceeds him, Seamus managed to scrape by with three O.W.L.s during his Hogwarts career. Believe it or not, Seamus actually received a passing grade for his Charms O.W.L. along with Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts.
The latter of those is more likely to have been made possible thanks to Harry's tutoring for the D.A. He even manages to procure his own Patronus during the Battle of Hogwarts, which takes the form of a fox.
Neville Longbottom
Neville has always been reprimanded for his school grades; he has a hard time remembering things—as audiences are well aware of from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone—and he struggles to procure a simple Disarming Charm during his lessons for Dumbledore's Army. However, it might surprise Harry Potter fans to know that Neville passed four of his O.W.L exams.
Neville received passing grades in Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, and Herbology. His "acceptable" grade for Transfiguration, however, did not allow him to take N.E.W.T level courses. But, considering the Battle of Hogwarts took place in his seventh year, this would not have mattered, and Neville never returned to take his N.E.W.T. He did briefly serve as an Auror before becoming the Herbology professor at Hogwarts.
Ron Weasley
Ron Weasley, who is always under the pressure to succeed just as his older brothers Percy, Bill, and Charlie had, received a total of seven O.W.L.s during his fifth year at Hogwarts. He passed every subject he took except for Divination and History of Magic, which were, quite notoriously, his and Harry's least favorite subjects.
Ron never returned for his seventh year to take his N.E.W.T.s. However, his sabbatical during his last year at Hogwarts was overlooked in favor of his defense against the Dark Lord, and Ron went on to become an Auror.
Harry Potter
Harry, who has always had an affection for a career as an Auror, has to obtain either an E or O in Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Potions, and Transfiguration in order to become one. Professor McGonagall, one of the most renowned professors at Hogwarts, had vowed to help Harry become an Auror—if only in spite of Professor Umbridge, who thought Harry could never become one. Harry obtained seven O.W.L.s in his fifth year, deciding never to return for his N.E.W.T.s.
Harry failed the same subjects as Ron, though he actually fainted during his History of Magic O.W.L exam. None of this seems to matter, though, as he and Ron both become Aurors at the age of seventeen and Harry becomes the youngest Head of the Auror Office at the age of twenty-seven.
Hermione Granger
Hermione Granger, the brightest witch of her age, might be the top female contender in the rankings of the best Hogwarts students, but she falls to the second slot. Hermione received ten out of twelve O.W.L.s in her fifth year. She received top marks in every subject except for Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry received an 'O' in this exam, and it is the only one he did better at than Hermione. She also did not take O.W.L.s for Divination or Muggle Studies due to time restrictions.
Hermione, being the book-savvy witch that she is, returned to Hogwarts to take her N.E.W.T.s after the second wizarding war. Hermione went on to work for the Ministry of Magic in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Around 2019, Hermione Granger became the Minister of Magic.
Percy Weasley
Percy Weasley always bragged about his grades and took to his positions as Prefect and Head Boy with pride. He received a total of twelve O.W.L.s and is one of only a handful of wizards to do so. He also graduated with perfect N.E.W.T.s.
Percy's brother Bill also received twelve O.W.L.s. It's been questioned how these two were able to take on all twelve studies, as Hermione tried to do this in her third year and only managed to do so with the help of the Time-Turner. Of course, these two may have been afforded similar opportunities.
John Dawlish
John Dawlish served as an Auror and accompanied Cornelius Fudge and Kingsley Shacklebolt when the then-Minister of Magic went to confront Albus Dumbledore during the events of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Little is known about Dawlish save, oddly enough, for his N.E.W.T. results.
During the confrontation, Dumbledore remarks that his results were all "outstanding," meaning that he's deserving of his position as an Auror. However, his actions during Order of the Phoenix only served to hasten the arrival of the Second Wizarding War, meaning that his studious nature apparently didn't help him after his school years.