[May 8th, 1850] | Baxter Warren Keene is the first child born to Albert and Beatrice Keene on a warm spring day in Glasgow. He is a quiet infant, very content to watch those around him. His mother is nothing but adoring, smothering him in constant affection, his father however, knows little to nothing about babies and is not nearly as engaged. Their marriage is one of comfort, though not necessarily one founded on love and Bea has always craved children to fill the void, which is exactly what Baxter does.
[1853] | Beatrice suffers a tragic miscarriage in her first trimester and comes out worse for the wear. A young Baxter doesn’t quite understand what has happened, but clings to his mother because it seems to make her happy.
[1856] | Bax is joined by a healthy baby brother to be named Asa. This babe seems to be opposite of his older brother in every way, loud, but always happy, Asa is quite time-consuming, but Baxter is happy because his mother is happy. Albert seems about the same as the second arrival, choosing to retreat into his work and leave the children to his wife.
[1858] | In his first display of accidental magic, Baxter, in a rare showing of anger, accidental magic gave Asa polka dots all over his skin. The Magical Reversal Squad had to come to fix it and Baxter was terrified they were going to haul him away to prison or that his father would cast him out of the family.
[1859] | Catherine joins the family and quickly becomes the apple of her mother’s eye. Asa is a little put out, but again, if his mother is happy, so is Baxter. Catherine is a demanding babe, leaving the boys to play by themselves, which only gets them in all kind of hilarious trouble.
[School Year 1861-62] | This summer Baxter receives his letter for Hogwarts. The prospect of school is both fascinating and terrifying, but Bax is ready for the challenge. Shortly before he leaves for the castle, Albert falls ill. The last Keene child joins the family that fall, another boy to be named Perry. Perry is the true troublemaker of the family, but Beatrice, now a seasoned pro, handles him with ease.
Baxter is quickly sorted into Hufflepuff upon his arrival, though the Hat quickly debated Ravenclaw which baffles him; he feels quite at home in Hufflepuff. The excitement and freedom of school is unfortunately marred by Albert’s passing shortly before Christmas. Baxter returns home to grieve with the family and spend the holiday break with them, but is back to school in January. Frankly he’s kind of relieved to be away at school, as selfish as it is as he truly had no bond with his father and therefore wasn’t all that sad about it.
[School Year 1862-63] | Second year goes much more smoothly, though it is evident that Baxter is starting to open up a little more socially, which is not the best for his academics. A natural charmer, Bax is a people pleaser and easy to get along with.
[School Year 1863-64] | Baxter adds Care of Magical Creatures and Arithmancy as his electives. Both are fascinating, but he doesn’t give Arithmancy its due diligence. His mother had warned him this year he needed to buckle down and study, but Baxter was still not the most studious. Things like quidditch matches and late night common room exploding snap tournaments were far more entertaining.
[School Year 1864-65] | School seems to be flying by and fourth year is really no different, thought he supposes he should be gearing up toward OWLs, Bax figures he has one more year before he should really buckle down.
[School Year 1865-66] | With OWLs officially looming over his head, Baxter feels like he’s been slapped in the face in regards to academics. He’d never put much thought into his career path, though thought briefly about the ministry, as he really enjoys Care of Magical Creatures and knows there is potential there, but his father had been in the ministry so his perception is that it is a cold, impersonal place. The hospital has far more appeal and he thinks that his way around people will help in that respect. There’s just one problem… his grades are not where they should be. And so fifth year is spent in the library, trying to make it through OWLs without dying. It takes far more effort than he’s ever put in and he alienates a few friends in the process (though not the ones that matter) but he feels better for it and his grades at least reflect a turn toward the positive. His mother expresses how proud she is of him and that helps to spur him forward.
[School Year 1866-67] | With is newfound zeal for his studies, Baxter returns for sixth year with his sights set on the hospital. It may be a little late in the game, but his OWL scores were passable and if he busted his butt over the next two years, he could in fact, make it work.
[School Year 1867-68] | This year is eye-opening and Baxter is determined to make it count. He tries to enjoy seventh year to the fullest and make the grades for his internship. Fortunately, he manages to make it all work- and takes his NEWTs confident enough to apply for an internship at the hospital.
[1868] | Upon receipt of his grades, Baxter is accepted into an internship at St. Mungo’s in the Creature-Induced Injuries Ward. It’s everything he could have hoped it would be; engaging and dynamic. Baxter flourishes in the environment, quick on his feet, personable and focused, he impresses his superiors.
[1869-1875] | With his internship complete, Baxter throws himself head-first into his work. He finds the hospital a kind of controlled chaos in which he thrives on the difference between days, the challenge of the work at hand and the connection to people. Kitty goes off to Hogwarts in 1870 and is sorted into ----.
[1876] | In June, on a routine visit Baxter has a patient by the name of Marlena Fitzpatrick. She’s vivacious and flirtatious and he lets himself get wrapped up in her. She has just graduated and is enjoying her first season and Bax is drawn to her though he knows that he is not exactly ready to start a courtship or anything similar, either emotionally or financially, but it happens anyway. They meet up over the course of the summer across a few social functions and continue to exchange letters throughout the year.
New Years that year Baxter plans a romantic evening, he wants to know what Marlena feels about courting before he asks her father about it. Baxter has been incredibly cautious in his decision making since graduation, and he feels the need to make sure this is something she wants before he takes the next step. Marlena on the other hand, informs him she is already engaged as of Christmas Eve and hadn’t yet told him, but she’s incredibly happy about it. Baxter lies through is teeth and says he’s happy for her. They part ways and Bax is more than brokenhearted. He throws himself into his work with more fervor than ever before. Work consumes him, robbing him of a lot of his previous ease around people in social situations. He becomes far more reserved and hesitant in society, which really begins to suit him just fine.
[Summer 1877] | Hogsmeade blossoms into a bustling burg for Wizarding kind and its own hospital is erected to handle the foot traffic. Baxter, still reeling from losing Marlena, decides a change of pace and environment would do him some good. He moves into the Artifacts Incidents ward after another short internship to learn the tricks of the department.
[December 1882] | After working himself into a good place, Baxter is promoted to Assistant Head of the department.
[1883] | Baxter meets a young debutante at the Hogwarts Coming Out Ball in May after being pushed to attend by one of his friends. A Miss Odira Browne, a pretty young lass fresh out of school. Their conversation is pleasant, though Baxter awkward as ever, she is striking.
This summer, Baxter admits he’s having rather inappropriate feelings towards one of the healers in his ward, in respect that he is her superior (get your minds out of the gutter). She is of the working class, but that is neither here nor there to Baxter. He keeps is strictly professional minus an outing here and there, chaperoned of course. Miss Browne resurfaces at the end of the summer and Baxter finds her just as striking as he did originally, though he again, keeps himself professional as she’s at the hospital for health reasons, not personal.
In December, Miriam resigns to work in Irvingly. Baxter takes that to heart but drags his feet as usual where women are concerned.
[1884] | The paper reveals that Miss Browne has married into the prestigious Potter family. Baxter is promoted to head of his department in October. He continues to flounder where Miriam is concerned. In December, Baxter is seduced by a veela into closet sex, yes you read that right; a baby results, but Baxter has NO idea about that debacle. He vaguely remembers it, but pretends it didn’t happen.
[1885] | Spring; Baxter reads in the paper that Mrs. Potter has been abducted and is missing. He feels more strongly about that than he recognizes, but has no idea what to do in that respect and in reality there is little he can do but wait to hear news. He finally gets his shit together in August and proposes to Miriam. He really has no idea what he’s doing, but he has grown exceptionally fond of her over the course of their relationship and that’s good enough right?
The decision weighs on his mind quite frequently and to escape he starts taking long walks. In October during one such walk through the cemetery, Baxter encounters a very pregnant Odira Potter near the headstones of some of her husband’s relatives. Startled, as far as he knew she was still missing, but here she was and she had no idea who he was- or who she was for that matter. It feels odd for him to be the one delivering all of this news to her, as they were merely acquaintances previously. Unfortunately the information seems to be a little too much for Odira and she goes into labor right then and there in the cemetery. Odira delivers a healthy baby girl and then Baxter delivers the pair straight to her family. The sense of obligation he feels is like a gravitational pull and he has a very hard time explaining why he feels so responsible for her.
[1886] | Baxter keeps a quiet eye on Odira from afar, though she keeps popping up in the least expected of places. One of those places ends up being on a cold November night his private study at a very, very late hour, in nothing but her nightdress with the news that her husband has died unexpectedly. The whole situation is terrible and heartbreaking to watch happen, but Bax helps her through it to the best of his ability. It sparks that nagging feeling that he’s been trying to ignore, but can’t quite dissipate anymore. Things with Miriam are steady, but they are no closer to a wedding, Baxter wonders if this is his fault or if it’s just not going to work out...
[1887] In March, after months of debating what to do, Baxter breaks off his engagement with Miriam. It kills him to do so, but he cannot prolong it any longer. Considering he knows what this feels like, he tries to do it as gently as possible, but there really is no good way to do it. He couldn’t in good faith enter a marriage he wasn’t one hundred percent committed to.
In December, Baxter is given the surprise news of a huge promotion. Though he has not been a department head for the typical length of time, he is promoted to Hospital Director. It’s quite the change, but after so many years in the field, he feels quite prepared to take on the task. His sister hosts a giant fundraiser in his honor for New Year’s, though he is not one for attention, he does have plans for the money that is donated. He has every intention of pushing the hospital forward in a clear direction and making the most of his new position.
