He explained what the fifth years had seen in the Library and explained that yes, what Potter had done to the Triad was legal and justified. That they were in essence tried by Magic and found guilty by Magic. That it was their own gift that would be used to hold them to the rules of their punishment. It helped, he told the children, that even wizarding law said Harry had the right to punish them for their crimes if they admitted to said crimes in front of witnesses. Which they so obligingly had.
It had taken him a few minutes to explain to the children that the magic Potter had used was neither light magic nor dark magic. It was Judgment magic used in the days before the Wizengamot and still legal because the 'gamot hadn't ever gotten around to formally outlawing it. Judgment magic in those days had been widely used when one magic user accused another of wrongdoing. Though it was still legal today, most people had forgotten about it and didn't try to use it.
This Severus knew was nothing but the truth of the matter. He'd made a detailed study of the current laws when he'd realized the error of taking the Dark Mark and found Albus wasn't really a better Master than the Dark Lord. Albus had implied just having the mark on his arm was illegal and he could get Severus arrested just for having it on his forearm. But the law said no such thing. Being marked was not a crime. Nor could the person who administered the mark be arrested for doing so since having or baring a mark wasn't against the law no matter what said mark was for. You still had to prove the marked person had done something illegal.
He'd decided then and there he needed to know how he could help himself when the day came and he was no longer of any use to Albus Dumbledore. Because he knew when that day arrived Albus would toss him aside without a care for whether or not he'd survive the tumble. And that was only if he didn't force him into a position where he'd be breaking the law in front of witnesses so he could be legally arrested and detained. because the Albus that he knew didn't leave tools or toys he was finished using or playing with laying around where another might pick them up and use them against him. He would seek to make sure Severus wasn't and never could become a threat against him.
As a result of all his study into the laws, he knew Harry could've chosen to punish the Triad in any manner he wished so long as said punishment didn't involve permanent enslavement, incarceration, dismemberment, or death. His justice hadn't involved any of that. Well, except for the Betrayer's Brand seeing as how that one would never go away. But no one was going to protest that mark and disfigurement wasn't against the rules. So it was quite likely that even if someone did protest it,( Minerva, Albus) they wouldn't get far. Because while the Patron Rune was a behavior modifier it wasn't permanent. All it did was force them to change their undesirable habits. The Betrayer's Rune didn't force Mr. Weasely to change his behavior at all so that didn't count either.
However, seeing as the Mark had been formed by his own magic and not Potter's, it was very clear it wouldn't be there if the punk wasn't indeed guilty of betraying Potter. So again Harry had been correct. It was his right to administer punishment upon the brat who'd tried to kill him. And it could've been worse. No matter what the Triad thought, things could've gone a hell of a lot worse for all of them. And probably would've had their punishment been delivered by anyone but Harry. Merlin knew, Severus would've done a lot worse to them for what they'd been doing to a child under his protection. He might not like Potter and Merlin knew he resented being his Guardian/Protector but he definitely would've taken vengeance for the boy had he learned of their duplicity before Potter had acted against them.
The Triad were still free to act as they wished, go where they wished and do as they pleased so long as what they chose to do or say didn't in any manner impinge upon Mr. Potter, his actions or his character. They were free to live at home and attend school. They could play sports, study as they would, take whatever classes they like, or even quit school and get jobs of their choosing to support themselves. Mr. Potter wasn't controlling what grades they received or even demanding a minimum standard for them to remain enrolled in Hogwarts. And with the two Weasely children, he most certainly could do that if he chose. He was the source of their scholarship. He could set the rules for that quite easily. Nor was he demanding they withdraw and attend a different school where he wouldn't have to see them any longer as he so easily could've since he paid their tuition here. Merlin knew, if anyone else had been paying their tuition, Ronald Weasely would've lost his scholarship half way through his second year here seeing as he rarely got a mark higher then a 'D'. Potter had even made a point of telling that blowhard he knew there were other secondary level magical schools he and his sister could attend. Yet they were free to remain here at Hogwarts.
The punishment wasn't permanent since by acceding to the rightness of the brands and then atoning for their wrong doing, it was possible the marks would fade away in time. It'd take a lot of time for the runes to fade but the potential for them to do so was there. And that was all that was necessary by law.
He paused in his step as he thought he really did want to know just how and when Mr. Potter had learned that spell and the laws that allowed him to bring it into play today. That was something he never expected the Potter he knew to know of. Let alone know well enough to be able to actually enact it against three of his enemies. He continued on his way for once happy with the way his day had gone.
For that matter, he thought, he wanted to know what else Mr. Potter was hiding in that head of his. Because if he was hiding the ability to do spells that old and powerful as well as the knowledge of said spells, there was no telling how much the boy really knew or could do. For that matter hadn't he heard the brat say he hadn't made himself any fresh Throat Soother yet? Since when could the Brat brew his own potions? If he could brew that, what else could he and was he brewing for himself? He intended to find out.
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