He sighed heavily. "Now, given what has happened, I can see he never meant for you two to marry. I'm not sure why but I'd bet anything that contract I signed is either not a betrothal agreement or it's not legal even if it is. Because I can't think of any child Albus Dumbledore has guardianship of other than Harry Potter. And I can't help but wonder if that was a legal contract, just who did I tie you to if it wasn't Harry Potter as I thought it was at the time. Because if that contract is both legal and a betrothal contract, I'm almost certain it's not Harry who'll be your husband." Ginny paled. Her reputation ruined or not, she didn't want to be wed to just anyone. And Albus Dumbledore had proven he wasn't and never had been acting in the best interest of the Weasely family.
Pale and trembling Ginny whispered, "He isn't Harry's guardian, Dad. He never has been if the rumors we've heard are right. So the only person he can draw up a contract for is himself. I think. I don't want to marry him Dad. He's old. Ancient really. Ewww."
Augusta's lips twitched in amusement as she saw the girl shiver. Really the girl had a point. That would be one very unpalatable marriage contract for a girl her age. To Arthur she said, "You should know we are looking for Albus on charges of Mail Tampering for his actions during his tenure here as Headmaster. The auror department should've received the particulars on that by this time. And those charges should help you break the contract if it actually does exist."
Arthur turned green. He stood up. "Thank you Lady Augusta. I'll go take care of this now." To his children he said, "You just concentrate on your school work. I'll also talk to your Mum. I've already taken away her howler parchment and told the Prophet not to answer her calls or accept any messages from her. Luckily, I have friends there who'll make sure she doesn't get anything into the paper that will embarrass us."
Ron and Ginny stood up as well. "I'd say sorry, Da, but somehow it just doesn't seem to be enough you know. This whole thing is just… like a nightmare I can't wake up from," said Ron seriously. "Can you maybe also find out what happened to Hermione? I mean, I don't want to talk to her or anything. I know she's a lot of the reason this happened and I've come to realize I wasn't really in love with her as I thought I was. I was just used to always having her around. But still… I need to know what happened to her. She's been a part of my daily life for four years now and I can't help but be worried for her now that I don't know how she is. All we really know is she was expelled from Hogwarts for cheating and taken off premises by a pair of aurors. We don't know if they brought her up on charges, snapped her wand, bound her core, or what. And I don't think her folks know she owes Harry a life debt or what it means for her. That could be really bad for her because her debt was established in our first year then confirmed in our second. So it's a serious debt she owes him. Nor do we know if anyone bothered to explain the rune on her cheek. I mean, I know she said her Mum can read runes. But that doesn't mean she'll understand what it is or that Mione's magic is backing it."
Augusta interrupted, "Mrs. Granger can read runes? She's a muggle isn't she?"
Ron turned to the new Headmistress and nodded. "Mione said her Mum got into it as a hobby when she was going through her training to be a tooth surgeon as a way to relax and unwind. Apparently muggles also investigate ancient burial sites and stuff like our brother Bill does. So they learn to read runes and all other sorts of ancient writing. One of their biggest movies the year Gin was born was something called 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'. It's all about a guy who makes his living explore old tombs and stuff. He steals the treasures buried within them and then sells them to collectors or museums. I think. I never actually saw the movie or read the book but that's what Mione said it was about."
"Interesting," Augusta murmured.
Ginny smiled at their new headmistress as she expounded on the subject. "Hermione said muggles study all sorts of dead languages so long as there are examples of that language in written form for them to gather and make copies of. She said her Mum found runes interesting and challenging because they had nothing, absolutely nothing to do with taking care of peoples mouths and teeth. So she could relax as she studied them knowing nothing she made a mistake on was going to ruin someone's ability to eat or talk."