August 4th, 1853	John is born the eldest boy of the Collins family, a middle class family from East Bourne, on the English Channel. He is quickly nicknamed Jack and a welcome addition to the family. The rise to the middle class spans a few generations as originally his ancestors came to England to escape destitution in their home countries. Slowly but surely they were able to find work and build a sustainable lifestyle for themselves.
1854	Evelyn joins the family quickly after Jack, a little over a year after his birth. Too young to know any different, the pair have always been thick as thieves growing up.
1857	Emma is the newest addition, a loud, demanding baby leaves Jack without a good first impression, though she grows on him quickly. Evelyn is pretty excited to have a little sister, however.
1859	The last of the Collins children is born, and subsequently named Byron. This age gap is strange for Jack, but he adapts quickly enough. He’s proven to be a fairly well-adjusted child, quiet and observant at first, but headstrong and confident when he knows what he wants.
1862	A late display of magic (Evelyn has already beat him!) leaves him breathing a sigh of relief. Of course it was a calculated risk, but Jack was never one to shy away from an adventure and jumping off the cliffs with the other boys was far too enticing! Of course getting stuck in the rope was not anticipated and therefore the following magic that kept him from smacking his head on the rocks below and landing safely in the water as hoped!
1864-1871 Hogwarts	Jack is off to Hogwarts. There is a very brief case made for Ravenclaw, but Jack is ultimately placed in Gryffindor, much to his elation. He finds his housemates to be delightfully impetuous and as adventurous as he is, which only prompts lots of shenanigans and fun. Siblings join him at various intervals, but Jack is focused on school. He enjoys the independence, the freedom to study things of interest to him and he falls in love with creatures and oddly enough, potions. One of his professors says he would make a good healer and Jack takes that to heart, but isn’t sure what he wants to do after school.
1871 Graduation	Left him at a crossroads; his parents urged him to pick a ministry job, but Jack would never be the desk job kind of guy. Instead, against all of their wishes, he took the years after graduation to travel the world and study magical creatures from the various continents. His apparation license became invaluable to him. Many times he was doing research for authors wishing to write books about creatures, or even those looking to write fiction and needed all of the details. He loved his job, the traveling, the excitement, the adventure. Jack visited every continent, even the Americas, finding South America especially fascinating. Australia and the Far East also proved to be very educational but when Emma wrote him to tell him she was getting married, he realized he started to miss home. While he loved traveling, it would be nice to at least be in the same country as his family, especially now that it was growing in size.
1874	Still unable to work behind a desk, Jack finds himself looking at either the ministry or the hospital for his internship. While he truly enjoys working with creatures directly, he can't imagine working for the ministry, and so begins an internship at Hogsmeade Hospital in the Creature-Induced Injuries ward.
1875	Jack begins his healer's position in the same ward. He proves to be steadfast and level-headed even in the most gruesome of situations, his previous work with creatures becomes a critical benefit to his work. He continues on in this manner for quite some time, working through the days and though he is a social kind of guy, tends to avoid the scene and the season as much as he can. Of course things always happen when you least expect them to.
1881-1882	Jack meets a Miss Magdelena Davis. Though she is fresh out of Hogwarts and Jack does not think it appropriate, he cannot help but to feel the pull toward the young woman. Their courtship is fast and furious, and much to his mother’s dismay, Lena and Jack eloped in Spain on March 1st, 1881. The pair welcome a son, Emerson in early 1882, and Jack is able to purchase a modest home for them to share in Bartonburg.
1885	Tragedy strikes during the summer term when Lena and the babe she is carrying both lose their lives to a horrible miscarriage. Truly heartbroken, Jack’s only salvation is his remaining young son, but he doesn’t know how to cope well enough to give up his work. Jack has no choice but to entrust Emerson to the nanny during work hours and do his best to be with his son around the hospital.
1886	Jack takes on the position of assistant healer-in-charge of the ward. The change is good for him, it gives his life a little more purpose after losing Lena and the baby.
1890r	May of 1890 Jack is promoted to Healer-in-charge of his ward and it's frankly a little terrifying.
1893	Emerson is due to start Hogwarts in the fall and Jack is turning 40 shortly before that. He's feeling old and lonely and wondering if this is it for his life.