1854 | Francis Sr. and Marianne Rosewood have a healthy first son in 1842, but their troubles begin after that. Their second son, Cedric, dies of an illness aged five, and their next son dies in his cot, days after his birth. Edmund seems likely to remain their only heir and child – until Francis Jr. who comes as a late surprise. Or an unexpected blessing; though prematurely born, he is healthy and happy and hearty from the start.

1854 - 1865 | With only a much older brother to look up to, and Edmund already off at Hogwarts during the year, Frank grows up fully aware he is, in status, the spare – but his parents dote on him just the same, and his mother is intensely protective. Despite – or perhaps because of? – her attempts to coddle him and keep him close by, Frank develops a keen curiosity and sense of wonder. So there are more scraped knees and near-misses throughout his childhood than his parents or the governess would like, but on the whole he makes it through just fine.

1866 | Frank is delighted to finally get to Hogwarts, even if Edmund is long graduated already; he’s heard all about it, anyway. The Sorting Hat deliberates Ravenclaw for a long time for him, and he has imagined Gryffindor, but in the end Frank finds himself in Hufflepuff.

1867 | Edmund gets married.

1868 | Frank’s favourite classes are Potions and Herbology, but in third year, he adds Care of Magical Creatures, and also becomes an uncle.

1870 | Edmund and Chastity have another daughter.

1871 | In May, Frank gets excellent OWL results. Starting his sixth year in September, he takes Alchemy, Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, Herbology and Potions for his NEWTs.

1873 | Frank graduates this year with outstanding grades; Edmund and Chastity have a third daughter, Amity; and their father, Francis Sr., dies in a horrific splinching accident. Things in the family feel a little different now: Edmund steps into the role as heir more fully, inheriting the bulk of the family’s assets and undertaking the management of these finances as well. Frank, with a healthy allowance but little expectation of more, has planned to take a couple years on tour before settling down to some sort of a career – his mother wants him to be a healer – but Marianne, in mourning and as protective as ever, begs him not to leave just yet. Instead, Frank stays at home and apprentices with a respected Herbologist.

1876 | After three years of dutiful learning, Frank is bored of Britain, and finds a different wizarding naturalist to accompany on an expedition to a far-flung archipelago off South America to study exotic species.

1878 - 1889 | Two and a half years there and, rather than return home, Frank hops straight onto another outgoing study, and spends the next decade studying a variety of plants and animal species, particularly focusing on their properties and uses in potion-making. In this period, he spends time exploring Ecuador, Brazil and Mexico, and then travels through Asia, with extended periods in China, India and several islands in the Pacific. In 1884, his mother becomes ill with the laughing plague. Frank has asked her whether she wants him to come home – and he seriously considers it – but she assures him he should stay away, that wizarding Britain is all but in quarantine anyway. So Frank doesn’t, and the next letter he gets is one that she died and he has already missed the funeral.

1890 | So he keeps travelling instead. Frank next winds up in South Africa, and while he travels around the African continent in the next year he encounters a variety of magical species, including venomous boomslang snakes and the alihotsy tree. In letters from Edmund, he hears about his brother’s extensive investment in the Sanditon resort with a couple of old friends. It sounds quaint, and he’s happy that his brother is doing well, but he doesn’t plan to visit anytime soon; not when he’s busy doing his own thing.

1891 | While he has been out in the wilds and largely inaccessible, an agent of his family’s solicitor in Britain has nonetheless caught wind of his whereabouts, and when Frank finally stops in at the port of Mombasa, Kenya, is it to the news that his brother Edmund died at the end of September, in some fiendish storm at the seaside resort. Which means he is the remaining Rosewood heir. The agent explains that he must return in person to sort out his brother’s affairs and to see out the execution of his will. The family fortune is his to do with what he will, see – at least, once they’re sure he’s still alive. So, for the first time in fifteen years, Frank returns to Britain. That said, Frank has no interest in being the next Rosewood heir – or, at least, no intention of staying and settling down. He has his own plans, thank you.