"Nor was I keeping potentially dangerous secrets from you that could have done you great harm. Seems to me, all of that was you. As I see it, you owed me your life and you repaid me with betrayal. But we'll let this judgment rune be the judge of who is telling the truth between us now."
The seconds passed. The rune was dark enough for everyone who could see her face to see it now. It steadily grew darker and darker as the magic in it read her guilt from her own mind, heart and soul. Every word he said had brought the specific incident or incidents to the forefront of her mind and the rune was reading her guilt or innocence accordingly. That was all his words had been for. Finally, when it was finished forming, the rune on her cheek was clearly visible for everyone to see. And that told everyone watching Magic had found her guilty as charged.
"There. Consider yourself paid in full. Now step aside so I can deal with your friends here. And while I deal with them, remember this. It was I who saved you when you found yourself stuck in that bathroom with a troll looking for a meal. It was I who battled the basilisk that rendered you into a petrified statue in our second year. Some would say you owe me your very life, Granger. Be grateful I don't claim it from you for the insult you've given me these last four years."
What the rune now adorning her face stood for would only be known to those who could read runes but Harry had just given everyone in the library a very big clue to at least part of what it stood for. Smug smiles were adorning many faces as the listeners realized Hermione Granger, muggleborn upstart, had just received a comeuppance they could never have dreamed of giving her but many had wished to deliver more than once over the years they had known her. No more would they have to bite their tongues or cheeks to keep from putting her in her place simply because she claimed to be the best friend of their Savior. Or she was the staff's favorite.
He had just openly declared in front of them all, she was no such thing and never had been. What was more, he had marked her and claimed ownership after a fashion which, in their society, made her less than human. And although the Slytherin amongst them knew there were at least two adults present, neither one had said a single word in protest to stop him from doing so. And that meant they believed he had the right to do so. The students didn't have to be able to read runes to know what that mark on her face signified.
The truth was, that one rune incorporated every crime Hermione Granger was guilty of according to her own mind, heart and soul. It would remain there, nice and clear, until first, she admitted to herself she deserved the mark. That she was guilty of exactly what he had said she was. And her mind would remember every single accusation he had made against her until she admitted the truth. She wouldn't be able to forget why she was marked.
And second, she began to rectify the situation that had created it. She'd have to ask for forgiveness and make amends for her bad behavior towards him. No more would she play the innocent and benevolently grant her forgiveness to another for her own wrongdoing. Like she had just tried to do here earlier in the conversation. Until she atoned for the wrongs she did, the rune would remain where it was. It would slowly vanish as she worked to make right the situation that had created it but not until then. In other words, she had to atone for her sins.
But given most of them had run afoul of her ego more than a time or two over the years, the gathering rather thought the mark would be there for a good long while to come. Because the first step to the disappearance of that mark was her admittance that she had done wrong to someone she had loudly proclaimed was her friend. And the Hermione Granger they knew, could never do that. She was much too proud to ever admit she was in the wrong.
Then she had to work at getting rid of it. So long as she professed to be innocent of any wrong-doing the rune would remain just as it was now. And Hermione Granger always claimed to be innocent easily pinning the blame on anyone who happened to be standing close enough to get blamed. She always played the perfect student who would never break the rules and the teachers always bought her act.
Although the magic to enact the spell had come from Harry, the mark had been created using her own magic. It had come from within herself and was being sustained by her own magical core. All Harry's magic had done was identify her as the person he was calling for judgement against. Nothing anyone else, including Harry, did now could remove it. And it was her own inherent magic that would keep it nice and fresh until the day she began to atone. All of the witnesses knew that even if they didn't conscious realize it. This magic they'd just witnessed was engrained in their very beings though none could say they knew exactly what Harry had just done to Granger.
Hermione only felt a slight tingle in her face where the rune was and she turned to Ron with a question in her eyes. "What did he do to me, Ron? Why does my face itch now?" She tentatively reached a hand towards her stinging and itching cheek.
Ronald, still silenced by Harry's wandless, wordless charm couldn't say a word to answer her. He was gaping at her wide-eyed and in terror as he looked from Hermione to Harry and back again. He backed away from Harry coming up flush against the librarian who was also studying Harry in just as much surprise as the Potions Professor hidden in the stacks. The Slytherin students were giving Harry appraising looks alternating with looks of smug satisfaction at the stunned and confused trio and wonderment towards their teacher in the stacks.
"Ron," Hermione said in a slightly louder voice. She spun towards Ginerva inadvertently giving the other half of the packed library a chance for a good look at the mark. Now it was the Ravenclaws turn to get a good look at her marked face. The Ravenclaw Tower had a good number of students there just as the Slytherins did. They wouldn't be Ravens if they weren't haunting the library whenever it was open and they had a free period. Like the Slytherins, they too had taken note of the conversation and made notes as to what was said when and by whom. Unlike the Slytherins though most of them knew something of what Harry had done to the proud Gryffindor.
"Ginny! What did he do to me? What is wrong with my face?"
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