A Right Rockin’ Holiday
27th December 2025
London, England
There was nothing – absolutely nothing – that felt better than being present for her little boy's birthday. Nothing. Jessamine hadn't known she would feel so strongly about this until she remembered she'd not been with her family for her own birthday, and that she might end up missing Camellia's next spring, and so she decided she would be heading home for the winter holidays because she could not miss Roscoe's fifth birthday. Nominally, it was just because it was half term. You know, so she could leave and hopefully most of the students would be gone, resulting in fewer shenanigans that could unfold back at the school. Merlin forbid they papier-mâché the common room again. That had been hell to fix.
But when Jess got back to Windsor and met her husband's gaze, she knew he knew – she'd missed them more than anything, and she was pretty sure the feeling was mutual.
In fact, even her rock-solid Cami had cried a little when Jess had hugged her. She hadn't expected that at all from her oldest, and she had to stare up at the ceiling and blink to prevent her own tears from spilling out. Thankfully, Cami had cheered up after noticing that Jess had brought the very sassy Asclepius with her, and she'd taken to the snake like iron to a magnet, asking to sit with him outside, a request Jessamine granted.
Roscoe had exuberantly shown her his new jacket, which looked as if it were right out of a Muggle '70s band's poster – all shimmering and multicoloured. Leander mentioned that Ros was super into disco music recently, which gave Jessamine an idea for his birthday. During her first night at home, she aggressively pored through issues of The Daily Prophet, scouring the pages for listings of family-friendly music performances. A lot were more modern than she'd hoped, which made her feel old, but she found a band playing some 'magically inspired covers' of Elton John and Billy Joel, which left her both curious and optimistic.
So here they were, at the Leaky Cauldron, ready to watch a group of young graduates rock the night away.
Of everyone in the family, it was, of course, little Roscoe who brought the party to the occasion. He was decked out in his fancy new jacket, a pair of sunglasses (which Leander had told Jessamine to let him wear and not to question it too much), acid-washed jeans and some cowboy boots. He looked very strange, but he seemed to be enjoying it, and that was really what mattered, given that he was the birthday boy. Cami, Jess and Leander had all chosen less eye-catching assortments of jumpers, trousers and travelling cloaks.
Roscoe also was ready to gorge himself on the treats offered at the Cauldron. They'd ordered a few cupcakes, one of which he had already managed to smash on his face, but he was more focused on some butterscotch sweets than the rest of the half-eaten cupcake. Such was the joy of being five, Jessamine supposed. You could eat all the things you wanted, in the weirdest ways possible, and no one could really judge you for it.
For her own part, Jessamine simply sipped at a hot apple cider and smiled.
The band entered and was greeted with a smattering of applause from the audience. Roscoe clapped his small hands together in giddy joy, his brown eyes lit up like flickering candlelight. 'Dad, dad dad dad dad dad I want glasses like those, pleeeeeease!'
Jess glanced at her son, who stared up at Leander with the biggest puppy eyes. He wiped some chocolate from his mouth with the back of his hand and smiled. Leander met Jessamine's gaze and smiled sheepishly.
'But don't you already have sunglasses?' Jessamine adjusted Roscoe's sunglasses so they were perched more securely on his head.
'Uh-huh. But more. They're cool, right Dad?'
Leander nodded. 'Yeah. Very cool, but now let's focus on the band.'
They continued to play. After a while, Camellia was leaning against Jessamine's shoulder, half-asleep, and Roscoe was attempting to bash his fingers against the tabletop in an imitation of a pianist. The steady thwip, thwip, thwip of his hands against the table had both Jess and Leander smiling, even if, on a different occasion, the sound might have been annoying.
After Roscoe got his sunglasses signed by some of the band members, they headed to the hotel they'd secured in Central London, with a lovely view of the Thames. Cami fell asleep nearly immediately, cocooning herself into a series of piled blankets and folding a pillow over her face. Roscoe himself was still bouncing around, and, in true five-year-old fashion, had begun to attempt to climb up Leander's leg.
'Whoa there, sport! Easy, now.' Leander picked up Roscoe and set him on the bunk above Camellia. 'We can't have you exhausting yourself before your birthday wish!'
'My birthday wish!?' Roscoe gasped and clapped his hands together. Cami groaned and adjusted her pillow.
'Your birthday wish! It's the most important thing. Jessie?'
Right – they'd baked a cake and brought it with them, although, given the sheer number of sugary things Roscoe had already consumed, Jessamine did not think he needed any more sweets before bed. But, of course, and rather dutifully to boot, she procured the small chocolate cake, set with five candles, from its place in the hotel's icebox. A softly murmured 'Incendio,' set the wicks ablaze. She went up on her tiptoes and held it up so Roscoe could hold it. He didn't reach out for it, but he did lean over.
Roscoe's eyes lit up, reflecting the firelight as he grinned. 'Okay, okay, I want... huh.' He stared into the candlelight, pursing his lips and folding his arms across his chest as he pondered. 'I want a guitar, a cool one!!' Then, he blew out the candles with a deep huff of air.
Smoke went into Jessamine's face, and into her nose and mouth as she laughed, unable to pause to ask Leander to procure some utensils so Roscoe could eat his little cake. Nonetheless, he seemed to understand the intention of her waving her free hand, and as he was taller than her, he boosted the cake up to the bunk bed and plopped the fork and knife next to the plate. Roscoe devoured the cake in minutes – 'Wow, a new record! Such talent in cake eating,' Jessamine commented, which resulted in a bright smile from Roscoe that melted her heart like warm candlewax.
It wasn't long before Roscoe crashed from the sugar high. He snored lightly from his bunk. Leander had already packed away the plate and silverware, and as he pulled on his nightclothes, he glanced over at Jessamine. In a hushed voice, he whisper-yelled, 'He does know he's not supposed to tell people his wish, right?'
Jessamine deadpanned at him. 'He's five. We're getting him a guitar if he wants one.'
Leander raised an eyebrow and got into bed. 'He's five. He'll outgrow a guitar.'
'You're right, but... well, you know, it's the thought that counts. And if it's what he wants...' Jessamine sighed and leaned back against her pillow. 'And I could teach him. It would be cute. Sweet. We could play songs by the Beatles, by Elton – he'd love that, I just know it. And I can't wait to show him Nirvana, and –'
It was then that she realised Leander had fallen asleep. She blinked, and then smiled fondly, and then decided it would be best for herself to try to sleep, too.
(But a few days later, very mysteriously, an acoustic guitar currently larger than Roscoe himself was nicely set beside his bed back in Windsor. Just in case.)
London, England
There was nothing – absolutely nothing – that felt better than being present for her little boy's birthday. Nothing. Jessamine hadn't known she would feel so strongly about this until she remembered she'd not been with her family for her own birthday, and that she might end up missing Camellia's next spring, and so she decided she would be heading home for the winter holidays because she could not miss Roscoe's fifth birthday. Nominally, it was just because it was half term. You know, so she could leave and hopefully most of the students would be gone, resulting in fewer shenanigans that could unfold back at the school. Merlin forbid they papier-mâché the common room again. That had been hell to fix.
But when Jess got back to Windsor and met her husband's gaze, she knew he knew – she'd missed them more than anything, and she was pretty sure the feeling was mutual.
In fact, even her rock-solid Cami had cried a little when Jess had hugged her. She hadn't expected that at all from her oldest, and she had to stare up at the ceiling and blink to prevent her own tears from spilling out. Thankfully, Cami had cheered up after noticing that Jess had brought the very sassy Asclepius with her, and she'd taken to the snake like iron to a magnet, asking to sit with him outside, a request Jessamine granted.
Roscoe had exuberantly shown her his new jacket, which looked as if it were right out of a Muggle '70s band's poster – all shimmering and multicoloured. Leander mentioned that Ros was super into disco music recently, which gave Jessamine an idea for his birthday. During her first night at home, she aggressively pored through issues of The Daily Prophet, scouring the pages for listings of family-friendly music performances. A lot were more modern than she'd hoped, which made her feel old, but she found a band playing some 'magically inspired covers' of Elton John and Billy Joel, which left her both curious and optimistic.
So here they were, at the Leaky Cauldron, ready to watch a group of young graduates rock the night away.
Of everyone in the family, it was, of course, little Roscoe who brought the party to the occasion. He was decked out in his fancy new jacket, a pair of sunglasses (which Leander had told Jessamine to let him wear and not to question it too much), acid-washed jeans and some cowboy boots. He looked very strange, but he seemed to be enjoying it, and that was really what mattered, given that he was the birthday boy. Cami, Jess and Leander had all chosen less eye-catching assortments of jumpers, trousers and travelling cloaks.
Roscoe also was ready to gorge himself on the treats offered at the Cauldron. They'd ordered a few cupcakes, one of which he had already managed to smash on his face, but he was more focused on some butterscotch sweets than the rest of the half-eaten cupcake. Such was the joy of being five, Jessamine supposed. You could eat all the things you wanted, in the weirdest ways possible, and no one could really judge you for it.
For her own part, Jessamine simply sipped at a hot apple cider and smiled.
The band entered and was greeted with a smattering of applause from the audience. Roscoe clapped his small hands together in giddy joy, his brown eyes lit up like flickering candlelight. 'Dad, dad dad dad dad dad I want glasses like those, pleeeeeease!'
Jess glanced at her son, who stared up at Leander with the biggest puppy eyes. He wiped some chocolate from his mouth with the back of his hand and smiled. Leander met Jessamine's gaze and smiled sheepishly.
'But don't you already have sunglasses?' Jessamine adjusted Roscoe's sunglasses so they were perched more securely on his head.
'Uh-huh. But more. They're cool, right Dad?'
Leander nodded. 'Yeah. Very cool, but now let's focus on the band.'
They continued to play. After a while, Camellia was leaning against Jessamine's shoulder, half-asleep, and Roscoe was attempting to bash his fingers against the tabletop in an imitation of a pianist. The steady thwip, thwip, thwip of his hands against the table had both Jess and Leander smiling, even if, on a different occasion, the sound might have been annoying.
After Roscoe got his sunglasses signed by some of the band members, they headed to the hotel they'd secured in Central London, with a lovely view of the Thames. Cami fell asleep nearly immediately, cocooning herself into a series of piled blankets and folding a pillow over her face. Roscoe himself was still bouncing around, and, in true five-year-old fashion, had begun to attempt to climb up Leander's leg.
'Whoa there, sport! Easy, now.' Leander picked up Roscoe and set him on the bunk above Camellia. 'We can't have you exhausting yourself before your birthday wish!'
'My birthday wish!?' Roscoe gasped and clapped his hands together. Cami groaned and adjusted her pillow.
'Your birthday wish! It's the most important thing. Jessie?'
Right – they'd baked a cake and brought it with them, although, given the sheer number of sugary things Roscoe had already consumed, Jessamine did not think he needed any more sweets before bed. But, of course, and rather dutifully to boot, she procured the small chocolate cake, set with five candles, from its place in the hotel's icebox. A softly murmured 'Incendio,' set the wicks ablaze. She went up on her tiptoes and held it up so Roscoe could hold it. He didn't reach out for it, but he did lean over.
Roscoe's eyes lit up, reflecting the firelight as he grinned. 'Okay, okay, I want... huh.' He stared into the candlelight, pursing his lips and folding his arms across his chest as he pondered. 'I want a guitar, a cool one!!' Then, he blew out the candles with a deep huff of air.
Smoke went into Jessamine's face, and into her nose and mouth as she laughed, unable to pause to ask Leander to procure some utensils so Roscoe could eat his little cake. Nonetheless, he seemed to understand the intention of her waving her free hand, and as he was taller than her, he boosted the cake up to the bunk bed and plopped the fork and knife next to the plate. Roscoe devoured the cake in minutes – 'Wow, a new record! Such talent in cake eating,' Jessamine commented, which resulted in a bright smile from Roscoe that melted her heart like warm candlewax.
It wasn't long before Roscoe crashed from the sugar high. He snored lightly from his bunk. Leander had already packed away the plate and silverware, and as he pulled on his nightclothes, he glanced over at Jessamine. In a hushed voice, he whisper-yelled, 'He does know he's not supposed to tell people his wish, right?'
Jessamine deadpanned at him. 'He's five. We're getting him a guitar if he wants one.'
Leander raised an eyebrow and got into bed. 'He's five. He'll outgrow a guitar.'
'You're right, but... well, you know, it's the thought that counts. And if it's what he wants...' Jessamine sighed and leaned back against her pillow. 'And I could teach him. It would be cute. Sweet. We could play songs by the Beatles, by Elton – he'd love that, I just know it. And I can't wait to show him Nirvana, and –'
It was then that she realised Leander had fallen asleep. She blinked, and then smiled fondly, and then decided it would be best for herself to try to sleep, too.
(But a few days later, very mysteriously, an acoustic guitar currently larger than Roscoe himself was nicely set beside his bed back in Windsor. Just in case.)
fin.