The Potion Master's Apprentice

Prologue

The first years filed into the great hall for the sorting ceremony in two lines, among these young wizards and witches was none other than Harry Potter himself. All eyes were on Potter, the boy who lived, except for one set of coal black eyes which lingered with distaste for a moment before moving on to focus on a smaller boy further back.

The boy in question was short, at least for his age, had gray eyes, closely cropped back hair and wore a distinct expression of displeasure at where he was. He was the only student who was not looking around in wonder at his surroundings. His eyes were focused straight ahead and he most certainly displayed no desire outwardly that he wanted to attend Hogwarts at all.

As the lines slowed and stopped moving he stood as if a prisoner waiting for his death sentence to finally be carried out and had long ago been resigned to his fate, as it was inevitable. He appeared to be ignoring professor McGonagall as she called out the names of the new students one by one he was staring into space.

"Martin, James," called professor McGonagall loudly and James slowly moved forward, he had been listening after all and picked up the battered wizard's hat and set it on his head as he sat down, all in one fluid movement, with a sort of quiet grace that was beyond his years.

For five minutes the hat and the entire hall remained silent, then the hat shouted, "Gryffindor!" James replaced the hat and made his way to his seat as applause filled the hall. He sat down next to where Harry Potter would soon sit and mistakenly believe that it was him that Professor Severus Snape was watching intently and glaring at.

Severus studied James carefully, he knew that there was something not quite right about the boy but he couldn't put his finger on it. There was definitely more to him than met the eye, Severus could sense potential in him, potential more obvious than in any other student he would ever meet, even Hermione Granger.

The sorting had ended moments ago and Harry Potter was now blocking his view of James. Taking a small sip from his goblet he resolved to let it go for now but to keep a careful watch on this intriguing first year.

TBC

A/N #1: Alright so first to all those reading my Voyager story right now, I am sorry for the lack of updates but I have been ill lately and unfortunately had writer's block so I couldn't type any more chapters while I was at home sick.

A/N #2: This story is AU but loosely will follow the books up until the end of the fifth. Once I get that far I'll just have to see what happens.

A/N #3: There are hints of relationships in this story but they will only be hints, not the focus. This is my first Harry Potter fan fic so please be kind and review.