Hermione's rude comment

[Wanda Sherratt]

No: HPFGUIDX 74432

I've always respected Hermione's judgment and good sense, but at the 
beginning of Ch. 27 of OotP her comments about Firenze really grate 
on me.  Granted, Parvati is baiting her, but I think her remarks are 
pretty tasteless:

'Not really,' said Hermione indifferently, reading the Daily 
Prophet.  'I've never really liked horses.'
....
'He's not a horse, he's a centaur!' said Lavender, sounding shocked.
'Either way, he's still got four legs,' said Hermione coolly.

Wow, I thought, pretty fresh mouth on that girl, considering she was 
the one being called 'mudblood' for the last few books.  Would she 
say the same thing about Hagrid?

"I've never really liked giants."
"He's not a giant, he's a half-wizard!"
"Either way, he's still 8 feet tall."

Is this supposed to *mean* something?  The fact that basically 
nobody reacts, except a couple of girls who are signalling "silly 
schoolgirl crush" with every word, makes me think that there's 
nothing deeper here, which I find pretty disappointing.  It's as if  
Rowling is just following the template, which states that "Hermione 
must always have the last word," so she just comes up with some 
smartass comment for Hermione to say, whether or not it's in 
character or fits in with the rest of the story.  

Wanda