That Hermione simply didn't tell the truth was something that also always bugged me...I mean if Harry and Ron had told the story alone it might have made sense that they worried about nobody believeing them (they did get into some trouble before...) but Hermione had never lied to a teacher before...and I doubt anybody had asked why Hermione was there in the first place.
There simply was no reason to lie as they've done nothing wrong... Ergo: she didn't really save them. I think that simply facing the troll and her defending them by telling the truth would suffice for their bonding.
Hermione isa quick thinker and she's clever so she knew what would happen if she had straight up told the truth. Had she said the truth and nothing but, she knew that Gryffindor house would lose points and all of them would be in trouble. If she took the blame and looked like the bad guy and let the 2 boys look like hero's there was a better chance of coming out on top and not lose points for the house. The teacher's knew Ron & Harry didn't hang out with Hermione. The lie worked. It took hindsight and me reading the series about 10 times through to remember what you learn later on. Hermione really is a genius.
But my point is that they wouldn't get into trouble for telling the truth! They haven't done anything to deserve losing points. They could have told that: the realization about Hermione's situation hit them as they were already on their way to the Griffindor tower and there was no time to lose. They planned to grab her, and go to the common room; not fight the Troll. She didn't know about the situation, therefore cannot be blamed for being in the bathroom.
See? No need to lie. She didn't save them by doing so. The truth was better than a lie.
Good deeds earn points for your house. Dumbledore said it early on. She knew if she made them look like hero's they'd get some points. She's sneaky like that. :D
See? No need to lie. She didn't save them by doing so. The truth was better than a lie.