1849 | Evander is born, the first child to Barclay and Evangeline Darrow.
1853 | Evelina is born early this year, and Evander delights in being a big brother to her.
1854 | Another boy joins the family, John. Evander is less pleased by this addition, and is determined to remain the favourite.
1858 | And if trying to be his parents’ and his sister’s favourite comes at little Johnny’s expense, he hasn’t meant it to. Evander is a persistently well-behaved child, but becomes fairly unforgiving of his younger brother in trying to bond with him: bossing him about, criticising him and telling on him whenever the opportunity arises. He doesn’t mean to be insensitive when he questions whether gangly little Johnny is an evil changeling, but it is kind of funny to think his brother might believe anything he says, even if it’s ridiculous make-believe.
1860 | But it is time to leave childish games like that behind, because in September, Evander goes off to Hogwarts. The family have suspected that Evander will be a Slytherin, but in fact the Sorting Hat sees him a Hufflepuff. This has a good effect on him as he matures, mellowing his determination and competitiveness, and instilling in him an earnest appreciation for fair play and hard work. (And in the end, he would much rather blend into the crowd than stand out.)
1862 | He warms best to the academic side of school, so in third year adds Arithmancy and Muggle Studies to his class load without qualm. He also takes music for a few years as an extracurricular, being as he is unenthused by the thought of playing quidditch.
1864 | In his fifth year, he is made Hufflepuff prefect, and takes this role entirely seriously. If he is not notably popular, he is at least widely respected, and makes every effort to get along with his yearmates as long as they are not overly disposed to rabble-rousing.
1865 | After excellent OWLs across the board, Evander whittles down his NEWT courses as follows: Arithmancy, Charms, DADA, History of Magic (taught by his uncle!), Muggle Studies, Potions and Transfiguration.
1866 | Although he has been an exemplary prefect for the last two years, Evander isn’t made Head Boy. (He supposes he lacks the charisma for it.)
1867 | Having sat his NEWTs in May, and gained his final grades in August (Os and Es on everything), Evander secures an internship at the Ministry. He spends his first few years of work in the Department of Magical Transportation, as part of the Floo Network Authority.
1874 | Finding his department under its leadership at the time something of a dead end, and that he has achieved all he can, Evander makes the move to Law Enforcement, learning the ropes there and then becoming an Investigator for the Improper Use of Magic office. It’s as adventurous as he’s ever going to be, frankly. Of course, it is overshadowed slightly by Johnny’s graduation and entry into the magical navy under some Captain Peppersmith. Evander is not wholly convinced by his brother’s career choice.
1879 | His father goes and gets himself eaten by a dragon. Gryffindors.
1881 | Johnny doesn’t seem to have any taken any lesson from Barclay’s death, nor any awareness of their duty as sons to look after their mother, because his brother has no apparent interest in staying close to home. Rather, he has started talking about an expedition. Evander, on the other hand, is very ready to settle down and start a family.
1882 | His plans to do so are soon disrupted. He has just been working up the nerve to ask to court a young woman with whom he is acquainted, only the fact that Johnny doesn’t come back and the whole expedition has just fallen off the map entirely plunges the family into an uncertain period of presumed mourning. Evander chalks this up as not the right time to get involved, and the young lady he likes – presumably not knowing how he feels about her, since he didn’t actually ever tell her – moves on and gets engaged to someone else.
1883 | Evander barely has time to mourn that, because not only has John officially been declared dead somewhere halfway across the world, Evelina dies, here and now. She had been closer to Johnny than him in the end, but it is a tragedy the family did not need. He can see his mother suffering for it, and he – the only one left for her! – can’t figure out how to be a comfort.
1884 | This tragedy he has seen coming; his mother had been wasting away ever since. She dies, and suddenly Evander is alone.
1886 | The mourning period passes quietly, and Evander goes back to work.
1887 | Having been more dedicated to his job than ever, he is promoted to head of the Improper Use of Magic office, which is not as high-flying a position as he had once expected to have by now - but he is not so ambitious as he had once imagined himself, either. And it’ll do.
And then John comes back from the dead.
1888 | About all he has managed to do with this development is project bafflement and concern his brother’s way, but the concern skyrockets when J. Alfred, intrepid explorer, survivor of the South American wilds, and apparent nutcase, decides to go exploring again. Will he never learn?!
1889 | Johnny does seem to survive this one. And will hopefully continue that trend, if that isn’t too much to ask. Preferably without too much incident.
1890 | Only a few weeks into the new year, and the Darrows discover that their niece has been orphaned and has no one else to turn to. Woefully unprepared, Evander nonetheless takes her in – because obviously he is the only option. It couldn't be Alfred. (Alfred is busy getting cursed and nearly dying, anyway.)
In July, Evander asks Caroline Delaney, an American debutante he has been seeing socially, to court him.
1891 | They get engaged in January, and marry in June – and it might have been sooner, if Caroline wasn’t off nearly dying in the Santa Antonina shipwreck in spring. Alfred proves he is capable of being useful by leading the rescue efforts.
