For Harry Potter fans, patronuses hold many secrets. From Professor Snape’s doe – which symbolised his love for Lily Potter – to Harry’s stag, to match that of his dad James, the shielding spell was often used to conceal hidden meanings.

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But one character whose patronus has remained a mystery is Hermione. Cast your mind back to Harry’s sessions with Dumbledore’s Army and you’ll remember his best friend casting a patronus in the shape of an otter.

At the time, we didn’t think much of it – neither did we pay much heed to Ginny's horse, Luna's hare or Cho Chang's swan. But a scour of JK Rowling's Twitter feed suggests the author may have had special reason for equipping Hermione with an otter to fend off evil Dementors.

You see, she's rather a fan of them – as evidenced by this tweet:

And this one...

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The author has also spoken in the past about how she identifies with the future Minister of Magic. "I have often said that Hermione is a bit like me when I was younger," she wrote on her website. "I think I was seen by other people as a right little know-it-all, but I hope that it is clear that underneath Hermione's swottiness there is a lot of insecurity and a great fear of failure (as shown by her Boggart in Prisoner of Azkaban)."

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So, JK Rowling used her favourite animal as the patronus for the character she identifies with the most. Pretty neat, eh?

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