Arthur smiled as best he could as he got the conversation back on track. "I'll try to find out for you, Ron. But she lives in the muggle world so it won't be easy. For now, you just concentrate on your schooling. Seems to me, you'll need it more than ever now." With that the teens were dismissed. Arthur stayed to talk with Augusta about how she had come to be sitting in Albus' chair and running his office as well as what she knew about the affair that resulted in two of his children being marked by another he had begun to think of as a son.
They talked for over an hour and by the time Arthur left the Castle he was much more settled about everything. He still had a lot of work to do if he had any hope of settling Molly down and saving the family from ruin. But while he had come to the school angry, upset and heartbroken over the story the twins had told them, he now knew Harry wasn't the one to blame. Yes, he had called upon Magic to try his children for their actions against him but he'd only done so because they forced his hand. If the children had been patient and waited for Dumbledore to straighten things out for them, they might not be marked at all. Better yet, if they'd just trusted him, Arthur, he might just have seen through Dumbledore's plot sooner. Maybe not soon enough to save Ginny but he might have been able to save Ronald and Hermione. Maybe. As it was, Albus Dumbledore had ruined his youngest two children.
He went to the Ministry to see what he could learn of Hermione's fate and was told she was taking advantage of a tutor so she could sit for her owls and maintain her wand rights. The Ministry was keeping an eye on the family because Hermione was consider a security risk for the Statue of Secrecy. In addition to having hired a tutor for her the parents had also hired a Mind Healer through St. Mungos when it was explained to them that many of the things Hermione needed help dealing with, she couldn't talk to an uninformed muggle about as it would violate the Statue and get the family into trouble with the Ministry. He asked that the family be informed of Hermione's outstanding Life Debt issue and did his best to explain what the circumstances of that debt was though he wasn't exactly sure himself. He only knew his son said she owed one to Harry just as his daughter did.
Then he went home to look for Ginny's betrothal contract. Molly was waiting for him and rounded on him angrily.
"What did you learn, Arthur? I hope you punished that boy for even daring to raise his wand against our beautiful children. Ron and Ginny didn't deserve that from him. After all we've done, this is how he repays us. Marking our children. Disgracing them. How dare he! What did Albus have to say? Did he make that boy remove them? Put him on probation? Expel him? After all, that's what he did to Hermione and all she ever did was help him. No more than he deserves," she ended on a mutter.
Arthur held up his hand and slowly lowered his pointer finger. "A lot." Lowering the second finger he said, "I didn't see Harry so no I didn't punish him." Lowering the third finger, "They did deserve it or the marks wouldn't be there. Magic judged them. Not Harry." Lowering his pinky, "They disgraced themselves with the things they've been doing while at the Castle. They haven't been entirely honest with us over the years and this is the price of their dishonesty." Folding in his thumb, "Albus said nothing because he wasn't there. He's no longer the Headmaster of Hogwarts and Lady Augusta doesn't even know where he is as he hasn't been seen since the first day of the Yuletide Holiday."
Frowning at his hand he shrugged and raised his pointer finger. "So naturally. No he didn't make Harry remove the marks." Raising his middle finger he smiled lightly. "No Harry isn't on probation." Raising the ring finger he added, "Nor is he expelled as he did nothing wrong." Raising the pinky, "Hermione got expelled because she was breaking the Hogwarts cheating rules and falsely representing herself. And Harry, which he never asked her to do in any manner. Her deceit led to a skewing of the marks for every student in her year as she was using magic to sign her name to his work and his name to hers. That means, Molly, Harry is a great deal smarter than anyone believed and Hermione is a great deal less intelligent. But I didn't fail to notice Hermione sure did enjoy taking credit for his intelligence whenever she could."
Pushing out his thumb again Arthur grinned sadly at his now completely open hand. "Harry didn't deserve anything Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Albus have done to him these last four years. Or you. And yes, I do know you too have been taking money from his vaults supposedly to buy his school supplies for him and then spending the bulk of that coin on our children rather than him. Because I do remember how the only things you've ever gotten for Harry was exactly what was on the school supply list for him and not one thing extra. Like new clothing. That ends now and I will be paying back each fraudulently spent coin you helped yourself to over the years because I now know Harry never authorized it at all as you told me he did. Now the piper has come playing his flute and he is collecting his due."
"In the meantime I want to see that contract Albus handed us for our daughter. I've just been made aware Albus Dumbledore is not in fact the guardian of Harry Potter and therefore has no legal right to be entering into contracts on his behalf. So I want to know who exactly did we tie our daughter's hand to."
Molly went pale as cuddled milk as she practically ran for her special drawer where she kept every parchment she considered important to her family.