1865 | Tybalt is born, the third child to the Kirkes, a middle class family in London. John is a doctor, a high-ranking physician from a muggle family; Helena, similarly, is a family of lawyers.

1867 | And yet, Tybalt has known about magic for as long as he can remember, since it is this summer that sees a representative of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry show up at the house to talk to their parents about Atticus. And then, all of a sudden, his brother Atticus is off to boarding school. Magical boarding school. (They don’t tell the neighbours that, of course.)

1871 | And now Bianca follows in his footsteps: no one had been sure whether she would show a sign of being different or continue to be - well, normal. And that leaves Tybalt alone in the house - though all his boredom there is offset by his days at school. Ordinary school, that is, with friends to entertain and lessons to learn, and no magic to speak of.

1876 | At last Tybalt shows his first sign of magic, which means he’s a wizard too! (By now his parents are at least not surprised, if not wildly enthused.) Unfortunately, because his birthday falls after September, he has to wait another long year to attend Hogwarts.

1877 | Even more unfortunately, this year sees tensions escalate between the muggle world and wizardkind - there is outrage around London, and the Kirkes are only spared from being caught up in it because they have kept their children’s abilities quiet. It is at about this time, however, that Helena falls ill. Tybalt, only eleven and too excited about school, doesn’t pay much attention. When he arrives at Hogwarts, he is sorted into Gryffindor like his brother (and unlike his sister, who is in Slytherin).

1878 | Despite John’s good reputation in his profession, Helena has spent most of the past year bedridden, and she dies soon after the children return for the summer. It is a relief to get back to the castle, where Tybalt is far from a solemn child; his reputation as a class clown flourishes.

1879 | As much as he hates classes, Hogwarts continues to prove an escape. In third year he adds Care of Magical Creatures and Earth Magic. Back at home, his father has now remarried, to one Eliza Carter - their engagement came so quickly the year before that the suspicion lingers in the family that John and Eliza were probably already well-acquainted before their mother’s health began deteriorating.  

1880 | Eliza gives birth to a girl, Diana. It is as clear to Atticus and Bianca as it is to Tyb that John is more devoted a father to this child than he ever was to them. He gives his elder children generous enough allowances and most of what they might ask him for, but he hardly goes out of his way to keep in touch with them, and for the most part they keep out of London. Bianca is incredibly career-focused. Atticus is... more wild.

1881 | In fifth year, Tybalt finally makes the Gryffindor quidditch team as beater! He has been a keen flyer since first year and an enthusiastic participant in many school clubs, but it is on the quidditch field that he thinks that, maybe for the first time, he’s found something he really is good at. It also sees a nice boost to his popularity, but more unexpectedly, he falls into friendship with Elsie Beauregard, a housemate he has previously overlooked because she is so shy and bookish. It turns out she makes a pretty great friend. His study habits, however, don’t benefit too much from that good influence:

ASTRONOMY — P
CARE OF MAGICAL CREATURES — E
CHARMS — A
DADA — E
EARTH MAGIC — D
HERBOLOGY — A
HISTORY OF MAGIC — T
POTIONS — O
TRANSFIGURATION — E

1882 | Eliza gives birth again, to a boy, William.

1883 - 1884 | Seventh year sees Tybalt Gryffindor Captain, which he takes more seriously than he ever takes anything (...which does not sound terribly impressive, in itself). Also more serious than previously recognised is the Elsie situation, because the closer they become, the clearer it is that he has a huge crush. It takes him until graduation to muster the courage to come clean, of course. His NEWTs are... well, he’s passed, that’s all that matters.

CARE OF MAGICAL CREATURES — E
DADA — A
POTIONS — E
TRANSFIGURATION — A

It’s not as though he has career plans, anyway, so he decides to put good sense beyond him and cling to the one thing he has some talent at - quidditch. He has already had an eventful first taste of professional experience, having been selected second-string for the national team during 1883’s whirlwind of a World Cup, but now he gains a regular second-string position on the Chudley Cannons. His father, though the man takes little responsibility for their lives otherwise, supplements his crummy pay with an allowance.

1885 | A misunderstanding (and a fair amount of jealousy on Tyb’s part) sees he and Elsie stop speaking for a while, which is pretty miserable. Luckily, she forgives him and the rest of the year looks up considerably. This summer, dabbling in theatre sees Tybalt (and his brother) playing lead roles in a (spectacularly terrible) production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Hogsmeade.

1886 | He’s been happy on the Cannons, but when a first-string opportunity opens up on the Hogsmeade Howlers, he takes it.

1888 | Atticus is getting hella old, and Tybalt has promised to stop mooching off his brother, so he makes plans to move out into a Hogsmeade boarding house. His pay’s gone up a little, but his father’s financial support is getting less and less with every year, and it is becoming increasingly evident that he’d probably have better prospects if he had a real job... But who needs prospects anyway?

He does. He definitely does. January at the Cavanaugh quidditch party sees them busted in the library by Elsie's cousin Lucinda, no less, who puts it plainly that if he wants to have a future with Elsie, something has to change.

And they can't see each other like that anymore. In March, Tybalt tries to explain this to Elsie, but somehow that goes even worse than he has supposed, and now things have ended, and he's not sure Elsie even wants to marry him, anyway.

And then, just before Christmas, a chance encounter with her changes things again. She does want to marry him – just doesn't want him to have to give up quidditch.

1889 | Nevertheless, when the next season ends, Tybalt does, because he knows it's the only way, and he has made his peace with it. He starts at the Ministry in the Duelling Commission, because he's always been fond of duelling, and it can't be too bad, can it? It's not great, but it's something.

1890 | Tybalt gets a glimpse of quidditch life again when the World Cup comes around, and he gets a place on second string again. He still loves the sport, of course, but when his fellow beater hits a bludger into the crowd and someone dies because of it, he is perhaps relieved to have retired early. No doubt Elsie's relieved, too.

1891 | By the New Year, he and Elsie decide they're fed up of waiting, and resolve that by the end of next year they'll be married, one way or another. And they do begin courting, but...

Elsie comes over on her birthday in tears. She's pregnant. She's pregnant, and they're screwed. This was not the plan at all. So they elope in mid-May, and she moves in, and they'll figure it out as they go. It'll be fine. After the worst of the shock is over, Tyb finds out that, actually, he's happier than ever.

December 5th comes, and with it baby Bentley. A son.