Jesse Elman was (Hufflepuff) Headboy at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry during the school year 2023-2024.
*Please note: this is a work in progress.
Biography[]
Family lineage and early life[]
Jesse is Muggle born. He was born and grew up in London initially on a council estate in the East End. When he turned 8, his parents’ fortune changed, his father finally got the promotion he had been working for all his life and they were able to move away from the East End initially to Peckham, then, when his father became a partner in his law firm and, when Jesse turned 10, they moved to leafy Hampstead Heath.
Leaving the East End was hard for him as it was a loud, vibrant place and, everyone on the estate he was on, knew everyone else and everyone else’s business for that matter. He felt out of place in Peckham and particularly in Hampstead Heath because it was so quiet all the time, children were not allowed to play out on the street and he missed all the social interaction, good and bad of the council estate where everybody knew his name.
At a loss at what to do with his time after he returned home from school each day, he worked very hard at his homework and would very often do extended research of his own into topics on particular interest. At school, he was hard-working although he was always willing to take part in pranks and was very much liked by his class mates.
First act of magic[]
When he was about 12 months old, his parents decided that he needed to sleep in his own room regardless of how small it might be. So they emptied what had been, until then, a big cupboard with a window and turned it into a bedroom for him. His father created more space by putting up cleverly organised shelving along the walls and sorted out Jesse’s few possessions. They put Jesse into bed that night and heard him singing to himself for quite some time before he went to sleep, much longer than he normally would. When Jesse’s mum went to get him in the morning, all the stuff on the shelves had been reorganised. Thinking she was dreaming, she put everything back the way it had been only to find it changed again after his afternoon nap. The same thing happened the following day and, in fact, when she walked in whilst he was supposed to be napping she found him wide awake looking at his teddy bear floating just above his face.
His mum ran from the room terrified but, from that day onward, she never changed the order of his room again unless he had done so.
His parents told him this story many times and there were many instances in the childhood of things being out of place, lost objects found again mysteriously and other instances of “funny” things happening that neither his parents or himself could explain that is, of course, until he got his letter from Hogwarts when it all became clear.
Hogwarts School Years[]
He still cannot put into words the elation he felt as he read that letter at something finally understood and his excitement at the prospect of his new school.
Every year, upon returning to Hogwarts, he still felt excited when he first laid his eyes on the castle at the beginning of every term after the holidays. It is the only place where he could truly be himself and where he felt he belonged.
Jesse considers his best years at Hogwarts to have been his Fifth and Sixth Years. Those two years stand out in his mind particularly vividly because of the events which unfolded at the school. His Fifth Year started with the mysterious Hag followed by the arrival of a strange new teacher called Zimelda Zemeckis who was eventually ousted at the end of the Year by the much-weakened then Headmistress Hannah Fisher after a spectacular showdown between the two women during which it was revealed that Zemeckis had been a Death Eater and had inflicted torture upon many by means of the Cruciatus curse. His Sixth Year was marked by Judith Dorchester and her goons, Botts, Leech, Knotts and Ironhand being the most memorable ones, especially the latter who appeared to be a self-confessed pyromaniac. The Headmistress eventually prevailed though after disappearing again for several months along with Fox and a few students. During their absence things around the school became more and more difficult as much stricter rules and curfews were enforced which, being a prefect, he had to abide by. Both Fisher and Fox returned with Professor Romanov and Zimelda Zemeckis and there was a great battle in the Great Hall and with Inferi in the courtyard.
Compared with his Fifth and Sixth Years, Jesse’s Seventh Year was rather boring as he got on with his N.E.W.T studies as well as his duties as Head Boy.
Having received his results, Jesse is quite proud of them although he would have preferred a better grade in Charms. He hopes that the fact that he won the school’s duelling tournament will prove his skills with Spells and that that, along with his ‘O’ grades in Defence against the Dark Arts and Potions together with his ‘E’ grades in Transfiguration, Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures and Ghoul Studies, will enable him to be considered for training as an Auror.
Personality and Physical Appearance[]
Personality[]
Jesse is a very hard-working young man with good brains and he knows when to use them. He is very loyal to his friends as well as very kind and tends to see the good in everyone. That said, he does not stand any rubbish from people and will defend himself and his friends if and when necessary.
Physical Appearance[]
Brown, shaggy hair hangs over a ine, friendly face and hazel-grey eyes. Jesse wore glasses at school and is very relieved that he no longer has to wear them. He generally dresses quite well and does not like to appear scruffy although, since becoming an adult, he sports what could be termed a 'five o'clock shadow'.
Wand[]
Wood: Ash Wood[]
Core: Unicorn Hair[]
“Unicorn hair generally produces the most consistent magic, and is least subject to fluctuations and blockages. Wands with unicorn cores are generally the most difficult to turn to the Dark Arts. They are the most faithful of all wands, and usually remain strongly attached to their first owner, irrespective of whether he or she was an accomplished witch or wizard. Minor disadvantages of unicorn hair are that they do not make the most powerful wands (although the wand wood may compensate) and that they are prone to melancholy if seriously mishandled, meaning that the hair may 'die' and need replacing.”
Length: 12¼ inch[]
Patronus: husky[]
Animagus: brown husky (registered with the Ministry of Magic)[]
The breeze was cool as it ran through Jesse’s fur as he made his way through the Dark Forest. His paws padded softly but steadily against the frost hardened ground. The snow had stopped falling and, here and there, it had fallen off the branches and patches of green could be seen in the few clearings in the woods; signs heralding the end of winter. He ran until he reached the lake. The light of the moon danced across the water’s surface as Jesse bent to drink. As he drank, the water lapped at his paws.
He smelled them long before he could hear them, his sense of smell being so sharp that he can find out how much time has passed since an animal or being has crossed certain places as well as finding out all he needs to know about what he is tracking: height, proportions, weight etc. Standing on tiptoes to get a better sense of where the smells were coming from, he sniffed the air delicately several times then made his way back towards the cover of the trees. Crack! He could hear them now too. He progressed slightly deeper into the Forest just behind the first line of trees, waited then watched as they came into his line of vision. There were four of them, students from the school, two males and two females. He remained hidden as they made their way down the hill and towards the edge of the forest.
The bigger of the two males spoke first:
NPC1: “I think if we are going to have a small private gathering of our gang, we should do it around here, don’t you think? It’s perfect, far enough from the castle and the Caretaker’s hut so that we are not overheard and we could hide under the cover of the trees should one of the Professors come nosing down here.”
The bigger females nods and says:
NPC2: “Yeah, I totally agree with you, you couldn’t have picked a better spot really", she says turning to the younger male with a look defying him to contradict them then she frowns as she notices that neither he or the younger female are paying attention to them "what's wrong?"
The younger two look at each other and the girl stammers (NPC3) "I thought I saw something in the woods, did you?”. The younger (NPC4) boy nods and says "yeah, I did too, perhaps we should go?", he asks of the leaders.
Jesse had moved slightly from his hiding spot which is what had startled the younger two students in the first place. He did so again and watched the younger two students run away and the older two take a step backward and pull their wands out. He moved sideways again growling and watched with great satisfaction as the two older students also ran back in the direction of the castle. He didn't care about whatever they had been plotting for the time being, although he had overheard their conversation (it is unclear how much of it he would remember if any) but he did care about them being out so close to the forest. He followed from a distance as they ran away and only stopped when he saw them safely within the castle's grounds. Having made sure that they had run inside, he ran behind one of the pillars in the courtyard and emerged as himself. Pulling his cloak around his body, Jesse made his way quickly towards the Castle doors.
Beyond Hogwarts[]
Jesse has been training as an Auror since he graduated in June 2024. His mentor (Maynar Trumbull -NPC) was suddenly taken ill on their last expedition the following Christmas and made a very slow recovery in St Mungo’s. Trumbull was expected to retire due to ill health once he had made a full recovery, so Jesse had been without a mentor since early February. The Ministry of Magic were aware of that fact and informed Jesse in early March of 2026 that they were talking to someone and that he would be contacted soon. He was therefore very relieved to finally meet his new mentor, Auror Eugene Longnecker as March 2026 drew to a close.