I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good

Well, I understand better why Jeremy was so helpful and kind when we met my parents in the queue.

On New Year's Eve his parents went out to a party, and Jeremy told me he knew where they'd stashed some butterbeer so we got it out to toast the New Year ourselves. And we had toast with jam, we tried some of the experimental kinds and made up new names for them and it was actually a pretty good laugh.

But then he brought up my parents. He said, 'Your Mum lives with your Dad, doesn't she.' He said it really casually, but I could see this look in his eyes.

I said, yes, it's legal because they were married before a certain date and had a child, which is to say me. They aren't allowed to have any more children and Mum can't have a wand and they can't have a broomstick or a floo connection and actually there are LOADS of magical things we they can't have because there's no way to ensure my Mum wouldn't use them. And if they ever broke the rules my mum would go to the camps and my dad would go to Azkaban or possibly the camps depending on MLE's mood. And when I turned eleven and went to Hogwarts I was assigned a foster family and I'm not allowed to talk to them or go to their house on holidays or anything.

And he said, but they're allowed to live together, at least.

I said, Jeremy, you'll never be allowed to live with Maureen. The rules are different now. He started to say he didn't know what I was talking about so I told him I'd seen the bracelet and he said, oh.

He was quiet for a minute and then he said, it's not illegal to give a present to your family's mudblood. There's nothing illegal about it.

I said it's illegal if you're snogging her, you know. Are you snogging her?

He looked really cross and said no. And then he said -- he's afraid, if he asked, she'd say yes because she was afraid. Of him. Even though he would never -- but she can't know that, not for sure. She might feel like she had to say yes. Anyway, Jeremy thinks it would be wrong to snog her if she's only saying yes because she's afraid. He only wants to snog her if SHE wants to snog HIM.

I said I agreed that this was a completely unsolveable dilemma and the only thing for it is to NOT SNOG HER EVER.

I mean for Merlin's sake even if she DID agree because she fancied him as much as he fancies her, if they got CAUGHT she'd be sent back to the camps so fast it would make her head spin. Do you think the Strettons would tolerate their son carrying on with one of the servants? Not for a minute.

And I told him, 'you know, if you want to be around her you'll have to come back here when you're done with your NEWTs. I thought you didn't want to? I thought you wanted some other job.'

He got all cross but admitted this was true. He doesn't want to work for his parents.

I asked him, why Maureen? And not some girl at school, because Merlin knows there are girls who wouldn't care about the trouble he got in our first year. It's been ages, he's stayed out of trouble since (mostly) and he's a Ravenclaw and his family has some money and they're purebloods.

He said she has the most beautiful eyes he's ever seen, and the way she smiles when she's trying not to laugh at something Gemma is doing is like seeing a sunrise, and I couldn't possibly understand because I'm just a little kid but he's in love and that's not going to change.

I said, well. You're never going to be able to marry her. And there's nowhere to go if you run away with her -- you aren't thinking of running away with her, are you? because she'd be afraid to say no, and it would put her in terrible danger if you were caught. Horrible danger.

He shook his head and said no, he wouldn't do that.

I said there are lots of people who fall in love with someone they can't have. What if Maureen weren't a muggleborn, what if she were a student at Hogwarts BUT she wouldn't give you the time of day? Or she snogged you and then broke your heart and went off with Orion Sandoval or someone. You'd have to get over her.

He said he thought he could get over her if he knew he couldn't have her because she didn't want him.

Anyway. I don't know what to think, other than that, he'd better not get Maureen into trouble by being a git. She didn't do anything to deserve getting in trouble.