August 13th, 2026 (Azalea)

Subject: August 13th, 2026 (Azalea) Thu Jul 04, 2019 8:41 pm

Summer had been great for Jake. With Hogwarts out for the summer, it allowed him a little more time with the children. Of course, he was on call with the Ministry more, and got called in more days than he would have liked, but the extra time with the children was always welcome. But, true to Newbury fashion, Jake kept everything low key with the children. Outings to the beach when the weather permitted, trips in to London to site see when the weather wasn't so promising, or else simply spending time together in and around their home.

The middle of July had seen the trio head off to Italy to experience the Quidditch World Cup together, and it had come up with varying responses.

Ivan had not liked the camping situation, finding the canvas tent to be too stuffy in the heat of Italy during the summer. Then, he had not been happy to find he would be sleeping in a camp bed for the week they would be staying. The Quidditch had been of only a little interest to the boy, instead his focus going on all of the 'different' people around the camping site. Ivan had struck up a friendship with a South African girl, and had been captivated with her stories about the country. A pen friend had been made for the boy by the end of their stay, which had put Ivan in much better spirits than before.

Adrienne had been the complete opposite of her brother, throwing herself in to the camping situation with full appreciation and learning how to cook on a camp fire (nothing extravagant passed marshmallows, but Adrienne was more than happy to pick out the white marshmallows and toast them on a stick and call that cooking. Adrienne had also taken to Quidditch like a duck to water, trying to keep up with all the play-by-play analysis, and watching the games like a hawk. Wanting to be as involved as she possibly could, Adrienne had tried to mimic the chants from the teams they'd been watching, but too many were too long, or jumbled or in another language for the witch to grasp. All, except one.

Adrienne had picked up on the Malaysian chant with gusto, joining in with the easiest of the chants happily -- no matter how creepy it sounded to the rest of them -- before breaking in to giggles. One such time had been early in the morning after watching Malaysia flatten their opponents, the young witch had woken and moved to her brother's side, gently whispering 'K-K-Kiran' in his ears, barely there, creepily close, terrifying Ivan awake and unfortunately waking their neighbouring campers too. It had taken a long time to get everyone sorted and calmed back down for sleep, Jake having to sit beside his son until he fell back asleep in a less than peaceful manner.

Throughout all the fun in Italy, though, Jake's mind kept going back to the missing piece of his family. Each time he retrieved his wallet to buy the children an ice cream, or a souvenir, two faces smiled out at him that weren't here. Mimosa was half a world away, from the limited amount of information he received about his daughter, in India once more. Why the witch kept heading out there, Jake didn't really know, but assumed it was to do with her career as a child model. He would find out, though, he was sure, when she arrived in his classroom for their classes in September.

Each time he did that, he wondered how his daughter would have reacted to the camping trip he'd arranged for the rest of his children. Would she embrace it like Adrienne? Or would Mimosa be a little less receptive like her brother? Jake already knew she loved Quidditch, so that much he didn't have to wonder, but with each moment he looked at the picture, the man couldn't help but feel frustrated with the hand he'd been unfairly given.

His eyes would always move to Azalea after that, smiling in much the same manner.

And then he would retrieve his card, pay for the children's items, and close his wallet, tucking the thoughts associated with all of it away for another time.

The end of July had seen Ivan's ninth birthday, a good affair in the back garden with a party with far too many children, helpfully catered for by his mom. Victoria hadn't been able to come home, again, due to some work thing that Jake hadn't really heard after being told she wouldn't be coming for her nephew's birthday. The boy had been spoiled rotten, as always, and Jake couldn't help but sit back and watch the children playing happily, wondering how Mimosa would fit in to all of this, had he known.

August bloomed, work continued, the children continued to exhaust him by running him ragged with everything they wanted to do with their daddy. His birthday had almost gone unnoticed -- or perhaps that was wishful thinking on Jake's behalf -- until lunch time when his mom had showed up with food prepped, the presents wrapped from herself, dad, Victoria and the children, and the celebrations kicked off once more. Ivan and Adrienne had been a little put out they'd 'forgotten' their dad's birthday for all of five minutes, before they were once again pulling him left right and centre to do everything to their whim.

The children had been put to bed late that night, much too excitable to get them down any earlier than Jake had. After bidding his mom and dad goodnight, Jake had retired to his own room, shedding his clothes as he climbed in to bed, phone in hand. A quick check of the general transfer news in the Quidditch world -- which had been fruitless at best -- and the man found himself lost in his thoughts again.

Today was Mimosa's birthday, but he had no way of contacting her to wish her a happy birthday. Well, that was untrue, he could have written to her. But as her professor, and with the young witch not knowing the truth, it was difficult to write to her wishing her a happy birthday without it coming off as weird. So, the man had simply thought it, as hard as he could in that moment, in the hope that somehow... somehow Mimosa would know that she did mean a lot to him.

Rolling on to his side, Jake had reached in to his top drawer of his bedside, extracting his wallet, and opening it once more. Lying back flat, the man looked at the five people in the picture, a small, sad smile upon his lips as he took in the image of something that...

The man's eyes moved to Azalea, a soft sigh leaving his lips in that moment. Most of the time, he didn't know how to be around the witch. He'd wanted to be mad with her at one stage, having left him whilst she was pregnant, with the note saying she would be heading home, and not... wherever she'd ended up. He'd wanted to help her, too, feeling it was what was required of him because he should have done more, known better, that she wouldn't have gone home. There had been the confusion of how he was supposed to feel when his ex walked back in to his life -- or, rather, was somewhat pushed back in to his life by her guardians. And now... Jake didn't know how to feel about the witch.

She was the mother of his first child. She'd been the woman he'd first fallen in love with, shared firsts with. Azalea had helped to cure Victoria's condition, given her the ability to walk again, run, dance.

And yet, she'd lied to him, abandoned him for no good reason. Because of all of that, Jake had not known about his daughter until she was much too old, and too many things had been decided on her behalf...

Playing should have, could have or would have, though, was not going to make things better. It just didn't allow for things to be quite so simple, though. The confusion of everything, Azalea's return, his wife's confirmed death, Mimosa's real identity as his child, and the fact he couldn't control any of it, it had taken it's toll.

Reaching for his phone, Jake unlocked the device and brought up the messages tab. Clicking Azalea's name, only a scant few messages were displayed, denoting on when Azalea might like to meet with the children, and confirming details. The messages were all impersonal, really, perhaps from Jake's behalf more than Azalea's, looking over them only showed as much.

Sucking his lower lip in to his mouth, Jake bit on it lightly as he considered, glancing to the time in the top right corner and knowing he didn't have long before he would miss the witch's birthday. The day that had bound them time and time again, it seemed.

23:49pm, Thursday 13 August 2026
Happy Birthday, Azalea! I apologise the message is so late, I wasn't sure if I should send you a message or not. But... I haven't forgotten your birthday! It's our daughter's, too, so make sure you make double the wishes, just in case. See you soon, Jake x

Pausing for a moment, Jake reread the message, deliberating silently.

Letting go of his bottom lip that had started to go numb, Jake's thumb pad touched the send button. Moving quickly, the man turned his phone on silent, and then clicked the lock button, placing the device face down on his bedside before he looked back to the picture in his wallet.

For a family that wasn't one, they did look good all together.

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~ Auror ~ Profile ~ DADA Professor ~
~ In a Relationship ~ 36 ~ Father ~ 6' ~ American Accent ~

Subject: Re: August 13th, 2026 (Azalea) Thu Jul 11, 2019 1:40 pm

After having seen the splendor of the Clement's silver jubilee, it had once again dawned on Azalea the kind of world her daughter lived in. The kind of world Jacques lived in. The witch had stopped herself from asking Josh if he too frequently inhabited the same world because she got the feeling he was a far more private person than the Clements. While his own estate lacked nothing in finesse, they certainly did not host such lavish parties.

And the witch almost wondered if it was by chose or something else. Though it had to be by choice, why else would the large estate remain populated only by the main family, the staff and the occasional guest? Unless...

Maybe she was the reason for the lack of a social outlook for the Murrays. Joshua's mom, whom Azalea had had the pleasure of meting only once, had looked unnamed by the fact that it was the brunette who had come to see Ethan off instead of his usual nanny. Not that she had said anything beyond a few words but Azalea got the impression Lady Eleanor Murray thought more highly of the au pair.

Seeing Jacques' parents was like witnessing soemthing from a priceless oil painting at an art gallery. No stranger to lavish spectacles, the young mother had not been impressed by the palace grounds or the hard work that had clearly gone into the planning of the event. No, she was mesmerized by how the Lord Louis Clement. Those silent glances almost made her feel as if she was witnessing soemthing private, intruding upon the couple's special moment. She wondered if Jacques saw it too, and how he dealt with it on such a regular basis.

But then again, the way the heir apparent paid attention to Mimosa was in a somewhat similar manner. Though there was nothing intimate about it - as there shouldn't be - there was no denying that he cared deeply for the child. The only person missing from the family equation was the sister her university friend spoke so fondly of. Apparently seh was doing some concert in the States and regrettably could not join in the affair.

On the way back, Azalea had remarked on the Lord and Lady Clement's closeness to Josh, thinking out loud what it would be like to have someone look at ehr that way. That had lead to an interesting detour and a slight delay in take off but once they had arrived home, Azalea no longer had to wonder. Ethan had long gone to bed but that didn't stop Azalea from sneaking into his corner of the room to check in on the toddler, making his night nurse frown slightly. The day the servants in this mansion stopped judging her would be a day of celebration indeed.

Mimosa's birthday was just around the corner and Azalea had already declined the polite invitation, three trips to France in two months were getting a bit too many as Josh commented teasingly one evening. But even if he didn't had something planned - for he did, Azalea may not know what the blond had in store for her birthday but she knew for a fact he would not let it go uncelebrated - the American witch would have declined anyway. Mimosa would be too happy to notice ehr and well, she deserved to have her thirteenth birthday devoid of furtive glance and wistful half wishes.

It would also be Jake's birthday. Perhaps he would be invited and he could tell her how it was. If not, Jacques had promised her a full summary later in the month when they returned to university.

The thirteenth of August dawned unusual cloudy for summer time, making Azalea wonder why the weather had decided to turn on its head. However when the same question was posed to Josh, he had simply suggested they go out to investigate, immediately picking her up and carrying erh down the grand staircase, past the quiet, sleepy rooms, out the impressive front doors and into the lawns where they found themselves drenched in arm, tropical rain instead of he usual Welsh downpours. An hour later, another surprise had revealed itself in the form of the same herbs she had gone all the way to Versailles for waiting expectantly in a new area of the greenhouse. How Josh had managed to obtain them in such short notice and create a sustainable environment for the species, he would not disclose but in the end, it hadn't mattered.

By the time they returned to the manor, Ethan was awake and ready for the day. A change of clothes on the adults part and then breakfast together kick started the official celebration. The toddler had been learning to say the words "Happy Birthday Mother" in English, Gaelic and French and he displayed his impressive range at breakfast, making the corners of Azalea's eyes's prickle with pride.

The day passed blissfully, every activity designed to make her happy and allow Ethan to experience as much family time as possible. From Josh's own sparse details of his childhood, he had not enjoyed such moments in his own youth and Azalea figured he was determined to give Ethan all of it. Not for the first time, the brunette wondered how cold and dispassionate a mother would have to be to leave a child like that and never inquire about him afterwords.

But then again, someone had once left her. there was no shortage of awful people in the world...

Occupied with the day's itinerary, Azalea hand't looked at her phone once, though she had a feeling it must have gone off at least a few dozen times. And true to her guess when she finally did look while getting ready for bed at fifteen past ten, there were a dozen messages wishing her a happy birthday. Victoria's had come the earliest followed by Clara and Dad's, followed by Grayson's, then Tessa, Cieran, Jacques, even Annika had managed a message around six in the evening. She would thank everyone tomorrow, the witch decided entering the main bedroom to find yet another surprise - the last one of the day.

The next time Azalea picked up her phone was a few minutes to midnight and she was almost drifting off to sleep. the silent vibration jarred her eyes open, her glance landing on Josh first to ensure he had not been disturbed. Carefully maneuvering an arm from under his protective hold, she reached for the phone and saw the name that made her breath slightly hitch. Suddenly, she was no longer sleepy or relaxed.

Happy Birthday, Azalea! I apologise the message is so late, I wasn't sure if I should send you a message or not. But... I haven't forgotten your birthday! It's our daughter's, too, so make sure you make double the wishes, just in case. See you soon, Jake x

The witch reread the message several times, all the while watching the seconds tick closer to midnight. Did he expect a respond? Wasn't it just polite to reply? He said he hand't forgotten ehr birthday but did that mean he couldn't because it was also his and Mimosa's or if it meant soemthing deeper. Watching the time inch closer to the deadline, Azalea quickly began to type, hoping against hope she wouldn't wake Josh with her movements.

[11:59 P.M.] Happy Birthday,Jake. I hadn't forgotten either. Hope you had a good one!

As soon as she was done typing it, the witch hit "send", not giving herself time to reconsider. But she stared at the message long after it was sent. There was no way to tell if he'd read it, or if he was even wake to see it. And even if he had, would he just dismiss it as yet another birthday wish or read more into it like he had tried to do.

It wasn't fair, she had had a good day, she should be off into blissful sleep right now instead of wondering what the estranged father of her daughter was up to. It even felt wrong thinking about someone else with Josh right by her side, one arm still wrapped protectively around her even in his sleep. He deserved all her attention and mind space, not Jake Newbury.

Stubbornly, the witch reached for her phone again, purposefully deleting the text chain. out of sight, out of mind.

And yet, sleep still took hours to finally come.

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