To say that the Donovans are normal is perhaps the most accurate thing to say about them. An unremarkable family in a decidedly average neighborhood; just about as normal as normal can be. On the socio-economic front they differed ever so slightly, perhaps, as they were on the nicer side of well-to-do.

Geoffrey Skyler Donovan is the first and only child of Charles and Valerie Donovan. Both come from a long line of lawyers in their respective families, so it happened that they met in school and the rest, as they say, is history. Though his parents always hoped that their son would follow in their footsteps, they decided long before he was born that they would focus more on encouraging him to follow his own dreams and aspirations, whatever they might be.

They could never have imagined how far off the beaten path their son was destined to go, nor how willing he was to accept that destiny despite all the challenges it could, and likely would, bring.

Before he was born Mr. and Mrs. Donovan decided to relocate them to a quieter suburb in Mr. Donovan's hometown of Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk, England. With their careers still on the rise they felt it would be prudent to have family nearby just in case, and Mr. Donovan's parents were more than happy to spend whatever time they could with their only grandson.

Geoffrey, or "Rhys"—an amalgamation of the end of his first name and the start of his second name that was his grandfather's creation "because your name is just too formal"—as he came to be more commonly known, lived quite comfortably with his family. They were, and still are, very close. Weekend trips, overseas vacations, sports camps and other such activities were a common enough occurrence provided his parents' schedules allowed for it. If it didn't, his grandparents were more than willing to step in and take him somewhere fun. Camping, for one, was very frequent because it was just so easy to pack up and leave for a night or two over the weekend.

Once he started primary school, and as he got older, he honed in on a few interests that solidified the bond he and his small, extremely close group of friends shared. In addition to the outdoors, he also came to very much enjoy skateboarding, tennis and video games.

As for school...well. He did okay; not great but not horrible either. It helped that he had many people around him who encouraged him and helped him along. They quickly learned that his biggest issue was focus. He was always more interested in going out to do something fun, so his parents in particular had to work with him to find ways to help him keep his focus on the schoolwork so he could pass. And pass he did.

All that said, Rhys, by all accounts, grew up to be a very normal, rather good-natured kid. Of course he was still disciplined when he did something to warrant it, and there was the occasional family problem that would crop up here and there—life isn't perfect for anyone—but overall, life pre-Hogwarts was good.

And then, of course, his letter came.

First Instance of Magic:

He was playing a competitive game in the living room and losing horribly. It upset him so much that he didn't notice the bit of smoke coming up from behind the stand where the console was housed while he grumbled on the couch about his loss. By the time he did notice, it was far too late. The TV soon changed to display an error screen and, upon closer inspection with his dad, they found that his console was unfortunately very, very toast.