"What do you mean? And how did he do it? Maybe we can undo it. There must be someone that knows how to get rid of it."
"Yeah," Ron nodded. "There is. Us. We know how to get rid of them because Harry told us. He told us when he gave them to us but we were so angry and full of self-righteousness we didn't listen to him. We didn't want to listen to him."
Ginny explained. "These are judgement runes, Da. He used the old magic to punish us for our sins against him. That means he called upon Magic itself after tricking us into admitting our guilt in front of neutral witnesses over how we'd all been using and abusing him for money and fame. Because he called upon Magic itself to judge us, it's our own magic that made these marks and monitors our behavior. He set the terms for the marks but it is my magic that judges my behavior. Just as it's Ron's magic that judges his. So long as we obey the rules he gave us, the marks don't and won't hurt us. But only we can get rid of them and the only way we can do that is to atone for what we did wrong."
She paused looking down at her lap sadly before adding, "But Da, even if I do get rid of my mark, it won't really make a difference for me. Every student here knows what I did to him and most of them have told their families as well. My reputation is ruined because I took the coin Professor Dumbledore offered without making certain I had a betrothal contract to go with it. And by being there in the library the day Ron and Mione confronted Harry about the matter, I confirmed to everyone there I not only knew I was being paid to date him, I was proud of the fact. You know what that makes me in this world. If we believed in a god or goddess, I'd request to be transferred to a convent but we don't so I doubt I'd be accepted," she finished with a wobbly smile and a touch of bitterness.
"After Mione got expelled, I got to thinking, Da. We Weasely's have always trusted and believed in Dumbledore. But I don't think he cares about or believes in us. As Gin reminded me after Mione got expelled, he knew Harry would find out about the payments because sooner or later Harry would come of age and even if we kept it a secret until then, the goblins would've told him when he takes over his inheritance. Even I knew Harry would see it as a betrayal. I know I told Dumbledore that more than once. But he always said not to worry about it. That he'd handle it so Harry would be ok with it. But he didn't, Da. And clearly Harry isn't ok with anything we did. Nor should he be. I wouldn't be if it was me it'd happened to. So why should he be?"
"I want to say he had no way of knowing Harry'd find out now. Or how he'd react if he did. But I can't. We all knew, Dumbledore included, just how very good Harry is at finding out things everyone's trying very hard to keep from him. So we should've expected him to learn the truth and we should've been better prepared to counter him when we discovered he knew. We weren't and I just can't help but think Dumbledore probably had a good idea how he'd react. I'm not saying he knew Harry'd use old magic or anything. Just pointing out he never once said anything to warn us of what Harry might try to do once he found out," said Ron bitterly.
"So now I'm stuck with the Betrayers mark and it won't ever go away. I might get rid of the rest of the rune. But not this," He pointed to the rune between his eyes on his brow. "Harry even told me it'd be there for the rest of my life. Because I betrayed him. Not just once but several times over the years. I can't even say I didn't mean him harm because, at the time, I did. My head was so swollen, I was trying to get him removed from the picture so I could take over his role and become the Hero everyone saw him as. So, as much as these marks have ruined our futures, I can't help but say we deserve them. We earned them." His smile as he said that was subdued and slightly twisted with bitterness but at least he was making eye contact again.
"Several people have pointed out we got off lightly, Mione and me. He could've denounced us and had us arrested by the aurors. I'd have gotten Azkaban, Dad. That's not an exaggeration. It's the truth. Because I tried to kill him in our second year when Ginny was in trouble. Kids here have told us Mione would be lucky if that's what she got. I can't help thinking they're right."
"You tried to kill him? Yourself? Why? How?" Arthur asked weakly as he paled over the admission.