Hermione is a bit worried, but gets over it quickly and repeatedly brings it up to taunt Malfoy.
And she never frames it in terms of Malfoy being hurt. I would need to check the scene, but I always remember feeling she was more shocked that a teacher would do this, not that it was cruel. I think she says something like, "It's good, though, that McGonnogal stopped it." It's like her sense of order in schools and teacher's behavior has been shaken--she knows there's something "off" in the scene.
But she doesn't go into protective!Hermione mode. She doesn't herself yell, "Oh my god, stop it!" as many girls would (perhaps Lavender had she walked up at the right moment). The students are probably mostly in shock or don't know how to react, but Hermione's tepid response never sounds very confident and she easily lets it slide, presumably since it's Malfoy. I immediately thought of that when she realizes the right thing to do with Montague is to tell someone what happened to him, but there again she easily lets the idea, which I doubt she would if it were a "good" person. After all, this is the person who smartly decided to hand Harry's broom over for testing because she knew even if it would make him angry, his safety was at stake.
no subject
And she never frames it in terms of Malfoy being hurt. I would need to check the scene, but I always remember feeling she was more shocked that a teacher would do this, not that it was cruel. I think she says something like, "It's good, though, that McGonnogal stopped it." It's like her sense of order in schools and teacher's behavior has been shaken--she knows there's something "off" in the scene.
But she doesn't go into protective!Hermione mode. She doesn't herself yell, "Oh my god, stop it!" as many girls would (perhaps Lavender had she walked up at the right moment). The students are probably mostly in shock or don't know how to react, but Hermione's tepid response never sounds very confident and she easily lets it slide, presumably since it's Malfoy. I immediately thought of that when she realizes the right thing to do with Montague is to tell someone what happened to him, but there again she easily lets the idea, which I doubt she would if it were a "good" person. After all, this is the person who smartly decided to hand Harry's broom over for testing because she knew even if it would make him angry, his safety was at stake.