Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything associated

A/N: Flames and other plot bashing will be ignored as always.

CHAPTER ONE: The First

Two hazel eyes snapped open, their optics circled the circumference of the room taking in its appearance. The room itself was large, it could almost be compared to the size of a living room and then a bit extra on top of that. The first section of the room had been set up with two plush ruby coloured armchairs both facing a fireplace adorned with several Gryffindor flags that had been collected over the years. A large circular red rug was on the floor of this room and shared the same colouring as the two armchairs. Further on in the room there was a large doorway that led into a giant bathroom complete with a tub the size of an Olympic swimming pool. Finally the scene draws out onto a large four-poster bed containing a boy of roughly fourteen years of age, with charcoal black hair and hazel eyes who was currently laid in bed staring at the ceiling with his hands behind his head. James wasn't an ordinary teenager for many reasons, a large one being that James Potter was a wizard currently in the summer break before his fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Another large one was that James Potter, along with his two best-friends Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew were learning to become Animagi so that their other best-friend, Remus Lupin would have a more bearable time getting through those horrible transformations as far as his 'furry little problem' was concerned.

James rolled his body over to the left-hand side, pulling his glasses off the bedside table to the left of his four-poster bed and shoved them on his face. James had barely gained consciousness, but at the same time, he knew that he couldn't be wasting time today, he'd invited two of his best-friends Remus Lupin and Sirius Black over for the remainder of the summer holidays and the they would be arriving within the next hour or so. He'd invited Remus around this time because the next full moon wouldn't occur until the first week that they were back at Hogwarts so it would be safe for him to do so, and he'd not even fully finished asking Sirius when the young man had promptly told him that he'd be delighted to escape his ghastly parents for any extra time during the summer break. He'd also invited Peter, but unfortunately he was on vacation with his mother at the time so wasn't able to attend.

James hauled his body out of the four-poster bed, he collected a few items of clothing out of the inside of the drawers in the bedside cabinet and headed off into the bathroom adjacent to his bedroom to bathe. Once that was done, James dressed himself in a pair of blue denim jeans and a white shirt beneath a midnight coloured glossy leather jacket. The teen returned to his bedroom and grabbed his wand off his bed-side table and slipped it into his jeans pocket on the way out of his room. On the opposite side of the door frame was a particularly long hallway adorned with brilliant red carpet. The polished oak walls were covered in moving photographs of not only James, but his parents and his friends as well, they were practically his family now, after all.

He continued through the house until he reached a large stairwell at the northern end of the room and immediately began descending the steps down into the lower floors of his parents' estate home. It was sometimes strange for him that he lived in a mansion for the summer and then lived in a castle for the rest of the duration of the year, a reality that he sadly admitted most people could only dream about.

"Ah, look who finally woke up," Fleamont Potter said as he witness his only child step into the large dining room, "We thought you'd never get up."

James laughed some, dropping into a seat beside his father and giving him a cheeky grin, "I had to be awake today otherwise I wouldn't have."

Euphemia Potter released a small chuckle at her child's antics, then joined him and her husband at the table.

"James, we wanted to talk to you about something."

"What is it?"

"When do you think we should organize to take a trip to Diagon Alley so that we can all collect the school items you, Sirius and Remus will need for the coming year?"

"Have we already got our letters?" James asked mystified, he didn't remember getting them sent out quite yet.

"They arrived this morning, we didn't open them, but we recognized the handwriting almost immediately, Sirius and Remus' were delivered here as well."

"Guess, Dumbledore figured that they'd be coming to spend the tail end of the summer with us then," James said thoughtfully, "I was thinking that we should go mid-way through next week, that way Sirius, Remus and I have a decent amount of time to catch up beforehand."

"Good idea."

x-x-x-x-x

Albus Dumbledore sat in his office at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, reading through a particularly obscure novel written entirely in an indiscernible language. The elderly mage had a distant smile on his face as he perused through all the various information contained within the book. A sound collided with his ear-drums and Dumbledore gave a small smile without even lifting his eyes from the book he was studying, "Enter," the Headmaster said calmly.

"Professor Dumbledore," the woman said, striding into the room, a kind smile adorning her matronly features. She was dressed in a set of official-looking yellow robes with a high-wasted belt fastened around her figure, the symbol of the sun gleaming as the buckle of the belt and the final part of the outfit were the leather bracers won on either of her lower arms that went up to just below the halfway point of her forearm.

"Minister Jenkins, what might I do for you this evening," Dumbledore said with a bright smile upon his features, the man's sapphire eyes twinkling beneath his half-moon spectacles, "it is unlike you to visit at such a late hour."

"I wouldn't ordinarily, Albus, but the matter is of great importance."

Dumbledore nodded, "Of course, take a seat Minister, can I interest you in a lemon drop?"

Eugenia Jenkins lowered herself into one of the chairs opposite Dumbledore's desk, but politely declined the offer for sweets, she had a mission to carry out and that was the only reason she'd come here, "It is about three of your students."

"Three of my students?" Dumbledore asked, tilting his head to the side a slight amount, "Have any of them gotten in trouble with the Ministry?"

"No, that's not it at all. One of my men from the department of mysteries brought me some very interesting information this morning and I thought that I would share it with you so that if anything comes of it then you will not be unnecessarily surprised but you can be now while there are no other students around to start spreading rumours in case nothing does come to pass."

The minister reached for the wand stowed away inside one of the bracers on her arm and pulled it free before flicking it at Dumbledore's desk. A moment later a piece of parchment slowly came into view with a set of writing along it.

Soul-Bond

State: Dormant, Potential

Potential Bonded: James Ignotus Potter, Sirius Orion Black, Lily J. Evans.

"Well, this is quite shocking indeed," Professor Dumbledore said, his eyes still twinkling like mad, "at least it is only potential for now."

Eugenia Jenkins had to restrain herself from laughing, "Albus, you know as well as I do that as far as potential is concerned, where this world sees it is not a case of if it's more of a case of when."

"We shall see how things go, moving forward," Dumbledore agreed.