Disclaimer: Don't own anything of Harry Potter or Stargate Atlantis.

A/N: Wow! Thanks for all the reviews, I never expected to get such a big response to the first chapter. I'll never demand reviews for updates but they are certainly a motivator.

A/N 2: There is a lot of time passing in this chapter. I skimmed the first five years of school and tried to touch on the highlights only. So that means that much of Books 1 – 5 are left unsaid. By now, I would hope people are familiar enough with them. Two more things, I'm advancing the Stargate SG-1 timeline. Instead of beginning in 1997, it started in 1990. So by extension, that means the Atlantis expedition would begin in 1997. I'm taking creative license in John's promotion timeline. I realize it is extremely improbable to make Major that quickly but hey that's why it's fiction.

Chapter 2: The Early Years

June 29th, 1992RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk UK

"My father?" Jason asked softly. No this wasn't his father. He may have contributed his DNA but Michael Sheppard was his father.

Jack looked at Jason trying to gauge his reaction. "Yes, there can be no doubt that James Potter is your biological father."

"Dad's dead. He's not my father!" Jason said hotly while pointing at James.

James couldn't deny how much that hurt but he refused to back down now, not after finding his son again.

John tried to be supportive and added "Hey, we always wondered what they were like. Now you have a chance to get to know him."

Jason turned and looked at John like he'd betrayed him, but he refused to say anything.

"Harry…" James began only to stop when he saw the glares coming from both Sheppard brothers.

"Jason, I'm know what it's like to lose your parents. I'm not trying to take their place, really I'm not. I'd just like the chance to get to know you again."

"Just go away, all of you!" He practically yelled. It was too much, Jason just couldn't deal with this right now. And to emphasize his point, he rolled over in his bed so he was facing away from everyone.

Fighting his own tears, James prepared to leave but before he did, he made a promise. "I'll be here Jason, if and when you want to give me a chance."

9 months had passed since that painful day when Jason lost his parents. During that time, he had settled into life in Suffolk. Because he was living on the base with his brother, there were still kids his age to hang around with but he was slow to make new friends. It would simply take time to get over the death of his parents.

John had received a promotion to 1st Lieutenant for his role in the base defense. It was much quicker than the typical timeline but there was precedent for it. Along with his new rank, he was moved onto new aircraft for flight training. Just before Jason started school, he received his flight status for the F-15.

When Jason had first started attending the school located on the base, John had been concerned because he received multiple phone calls from concerned teachers. They were concerned about Jason; he didn't show any interest in any of the subjects and barely participated in class. It was a natural reaction to their parents' deaths but still John didn't want Jason to sink any further. From his own experience, he knew that Jason needed some sort of outlet. What John didn't know was that his parents' death was not the only thing bothering his little brother.

Almost immediately after waking up on the airbase in Suffolk, Jason began experiencing strange and vivid dreams. He didn't realize what was going on at first, not until the dreams began recurring every few days. There were two distinct dreams that kept recurring; one was simply eerie while the second was terrifying.

The first dream found Jason alone in a place unlike any he had ever been. The halls were lined with futuristic doors and panels like what he had seen in science fiction movies. All of it was colored with soft browns and tans. Transparent green decorative panels filled with a bubbling liquid and miniature trees lined many of the corridors. There were computer panels and displays were lifeless and covered with a sheer silk like cloth everywhere he looked. The light that filtered in through the windows was muted like it was being filtered. None of it on its own seemed impossible or fantastic. Even in his dreams, his experiences from Torchwood prepared him to accept such things. But he had never seen anything on such a grand scale because altogether the individual pieces painted a picture of a technologically advanced wonder.

When the dream had occurred the first time, Jason began to call out because surely someone must live in such an incredible place. But there was never any reply. Every time the dream came again, Jason found himself exploring the abandoned city and he imagined what it must have been like when people walked the halls and filled the city with laughter and life. Now, in his dreams the city was only filled with the ghosts and fading memories of those who had once lived there.

The second dream was more disturbing. These were the dreams that woke Jason up in the middle of the night. It was less of a dream and more of a string of flashes of fighting and death. In it, he was in the same city but this time it was filled with people, they looked human but wore strange white and tan clothes that seemed to be a mix between modern and ancient styles. Initially he was excited to see people filling the city but he quickly learned that they were facing a fearsome enemy that was pushing them back from all their territories. There were only flashes of the enemy, pale teal skinned beings with long white hair. Some looked like they the face of an insect while others appeared more like normal people but Jason knew he should be afraid.

Jason was afraid to tell anyone about his dreams, even John. He was afraid that he would be taken away from his last remaining family. So he did what any 11 year old would do and remained silent, slowly withdrawing further into himself.

In the end, there were two outlets that helped Jason begin to move past his grief and dreams to live life once again. The first had been when John signed him up for one of the martial arts classes taught on base. Reluctantly, Jason went to the first class. It was a mixed class of adults and kids so it gave Jason a chance to meet more people his age. More importantly, it gave Jason an outlet for the anger he had felt since the attack. Aikido provided him the outlet he needed to release his hurt and focus on something other than his feelings. Jason also enjoyed the class because it was something that he could do with John and for a time it allowed him to forget about his dreams.

The second outlet only came after Jason had begun his martial arts classes. James delivered on his promise. He never pressured Jason and let his son set the speed for everything. It wasn't that long before James began visiting Jason a couple times a week. It was slow going at first. There was a lot of guilt on both sides. Jason felt guilty because he was getting to know James and felt like he was replacing his dad. James felt guilty for all the years that his son had been lost to him.

As time passed, the two became more comfortable with each other. Early on, Jason had told James flat out that Michael was his dad but he would like James to be his friend. The words had stung James' heart, but he was happy that Jason wanted him in his life.

Many of their initial meetings were spent learning about each other and what had happened in the intervening years since Jason's disappearance. Jason shared most of his childhood, regaling James with tales of baseball games and adventures with John and his dad. The only topic he left out were his visits to Torchwood. As bizarre as it was, he was an 11 year old boy that had a top level security clearance. It was the only way that his dad had been able to bring him into Torchwood, so out of loyalty to his father if not the organization, Jason kept the secret.

James for his part gave Jason a more thorough picture of life in the wizarding world. He promised to give Jason a personal tour of the Ministry when he wanted one in addition to showing him the sights in Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. Like Jason, James shared most things but never brought up the subject of Lily or Thomas, only to say that things hadn't worked out. Even if he himself disliked or perhaps hated his wife, he didn't want to color Jason's opinion of her.

Like John, James was concerned with Jason's general lack of enthusiasm about anything during those initial months. He had thought to tutor Jason in magic but with his current state of mind, didn't think that it would be helpful or safe. That changed after Jason began his martial arts classes and began to take a healthy interest in life once again.

The early conversations on Jason's experiences with magic had been an eye opener for James. It had always been his assumption that Jason had simply performed an incredibly powerful piece of accidental magic. As it turned out, Jason had received some training in calming and centering himself. Apparently, Torchwood while not participating actively in the wizarding world had done enough research to learn that accidental magic was usually brought about by strong emotions. In giving Jason training to meditate so that he could calm and center himself, they inadvertently taught him to control not only his emotions but to a lesser extent it gave Jason control over his magic as well.

There had been the occasional incident of wandless magic from someone who was sufficiently powerful but those incidents were few and far between in the wizarding world. Now the question James was faced with was whether to tutor Jason using a wand or continue to explore his wandless magic to tap the limits of Jason's talent. He had even gone so far as to talk to his boss about it.

Croaker had been surprised to learn that Jason was capable of controlled wandless magic. It gave him some ideas that decided to have researched in the department. Specifically, if children were capable of wandless magic prior to getting their wands, what happened to change that ability? Was it a lack of use? Did magic fundamentally change as a person aged? Perhaps it was the use of wands and the strictly governed methods for casting spells?

Personally he didn't think it was the wands themselves, they were simply a medium to access one's magic easier. Rather it was the incantations and wand movements that were used when training young wizards and witches. The children were taught to only use their magic in a very specific way. It was his thought that this was the most likely reason. The adults capable of wandless magic were the ones that were the most creative that strove to work outside of the normal bounds of what was taught in magical institutions.

Never before had Croaker had an opportunity to work with a child that had learned some control of their magic without attending school. He recommended that James try one of the new wand alternatives that they had been testing. The prototypes had not been very successful not because they didn't channel magic as well as a wand but because the individual still had to replicate the traditional wand movements.

Together, they formulated a plan. Once an appropriate focus was found for Jason, they would use Hogwarts material for him to learn spells but James would focus only on the effects of the spells themselves leaving out movements or incantations. Since Jason wasn't going to a magic school there was no time table they had to work towards if it ended up taking longer.

Jason was excited to begin learning magic. After the death of his parents, he was more determined not to go away to school. And seeing what he was capable of that day, Jason knew he needed to learn more about what could and couldn't be done so he never hurt someone unintentionally.

Plus, he thought his focus was pretty cool looking. It was a black dragon hide fingerless glove. What would normally be the core of a wand was dissolved into the solution used to cure the dragon hide. In essence, the entire glove became infused with the core, which in this case was the powdered claw of a nundu.

Once the initial excitement wore off, Jason discovered the hard truth. Magic was going to take a lot of effort to learn. His days were quickly filled. If he wasn't in school or finishing his homework, he was at Aikido or spending time with James being tutored in magic. The constant activity helped to keep his mind off his dreams and to let the ghosts of his parents rest in peace.

June 29th, 1992Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry UK

Thomas Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived had an eventful first year at Hogwarts. It began on the Hogwarts Express which left from Platform 9 3/4s. To his delight, the press was out in force snapping pictures and begging for his time before he officially became a 1st year student at Hogwarts. He smiled and waved good naturedly to his adoring public before climbing on board.

In an effort to be seen by more people, Thomas chose the middle car. While waiting he began to go over his instructions from grandpa Albus. His honorary grandpa had recommended that he make friends with at least one half-blood or muggleborn. There assistance would be beneficial after school was complete. Besides it wouldn't be proper for the savior of the wizarding world to be seen as prejudiced.

Overall, the train ride proved to be uneventful. Of all the students that came to see him, he chose to be friends with Seamus Finnegan and Parvati Patil, a half-blood and pure blood respectively. There were other options that he left open until after the sorting. It simply wouldn't do to associate with Hufflepuffs or Slytherins unnecessarily.

Unknown to Thomas, Albus had threatened the sorting hat in order to ensure that Thomas was placed in Gryffindor. Albus had strongly doubted that he would make it in on his own merits. The boy was simply too sure of his own abilities and felt he was deserving of special attention. Slytherin would have been the natural place for him in any other situation. And so Thomas along with his new friends was sorted into the ecstatic Gryffindor house.

Tragedy struck the school on Halloween; a muggleborn witch by the name of Hermione Granger was killed by a troll. She had spent much of the afternoon and evening in a girl's bathroom crying after being tormented by Thomas and his two friends. It was on that day that the students and teachers began to see the real Boy-Who-Lived. He wasn't a savior or even a nice boy; he was a spoiled, self-important brat. Many felt that Thomas Potter was indirectly responsible for the death of a girl whose only crime had been to offer help when he was struggling with the levitation charm.

It had been a mad scramble on Albus' part to cover up Thomas' role. While he could keep the public ignorant of what really went on, he couldn't control the students themselves. But it was too late to change his plans now. Albus was confident that when Thomas was found having rescued the Philosopher's Stone from Voldemort, he would once again regain the favor of the students.

And so Thomas and his two cohorts followed the carefully prepared clues laid out by Dumbledore. First discovering what was contained in the Forbidden Corridor. Then the trio learned of the various forms of protection. Despite the clues, there were pieces of information that Albus practically had to wave in front of Thomas' face in order for the boy to make the necessary connections. At times, Dumbledore wished that Thomas were more intelligent but the Savior of the wizarding world didn't need to be intelligent, just brave, powerful, and charismatic.

When the end of the year rolled around, Thomas, Seamus and Parvati found themselves struggling through the protections around the stone. By some twist of fate, Thomas managed to make it through without killing either himself or his two young friends. In the end, he faced Professor Quirrell and the spirit of Voldemort.

In the shadows, observing was Albus Dumbledore. He frowned when after retrieving the stone from the mirror of Erised Thomas was unable to defeat the simpering DADA professor. Doubt began to niggle in the back of his mind when he was forced to step from his hiding place and kill the hapless professor to keep Voldemort from retrieving the stone.

When Thomas awoke in the infirmary, Albus spun a tale worthy of Shakespeare himself describing Thomas' victory of Voldemort and the preservation of the Philosopher's Stone. He had ensured that Seamus and Parvati overheard the description so that they could spread the news around the school and restore faith in the boy.

Unfortunately, the other first years and the professors had witnessed Thomas' performance in class. Based on his less than spectacular results, most found it difficult to believe that Thomas would have been capable of defeating Quirrell let alone Voldemort. Quietly, dissent began to grow in the halls of Hogwarts as students and professors lost faith in the notion of a boy savior.

June 29th, 1993Suffolk UK

To the casual observer, Jason would look like your average twelve soon to be thirteen year old boy. He had friends, he continued to play baseball, he excelled in school, and he spent most of his free time practicing either his Aikido or his magic. It was true that he had been able to largely put his parent's deaths behind him with the help of his brother and James but there was still one problem that was plaguing him. The dreams that had first started after the attack, those dreams still continued.

In the time since they had started, the dreams had changed slightly. During the dream in which the city was empty, Jason found himself drawn back to the same room over and over. It appeared to be empty but for a pedestal that appeared to have some sort of control panel positioned in front of it. The third time he was drawn back into the same room, Jason gathered the courage to step on the pedestal. Immediately, the room sprang to life and a woman that appeared. She looked to be in her mid 30s with shoulder length auburn hair and a slim figure. This woman or hologram, whatever she was seemed to be conveying some message but Jason was unable to understand her language. Until he could find some way to understand what she was saying his reason for being drawn to room would remain a mystery.

The second dream hadn't changed so much as moved forward in time. Over the months, Jason realized he was seeing some great war play out on the monitors. He witnessed as countless space ships were destroyed. Tears fell as he watched the enemy strip whole worlds of their inhabitants. Every morning he woke from the dream he said a prayer of thanks because he didn't want to know what happened to those people that were taken. His imagination was bad enough but something told him the reality was probably much worse.

Taking advantage of a long weekend, Jason visited Jack in Cardiff. It was the first time since his parents' death that he visited any Torchwood facility. At one time, he'd wanted to join Torchwood like his dad, but ever since the attack he blamed them for what happened. If they hadn't spent so much time studying aliens or their technology instead of stopping them at their source his parents would still be alive.

His visit to Torchwood wasn't a sign that his feelings were changing. No, he had ulterior motive. Jason hoped that Jack would have something on the language he was seeing in his dreams. Using drawings of the characters seen in his dreams over and over again, Jason was able to show Jack the language he was looking for. After allaying Jack's suspicion regarding the source of his information, Jack agreed to check the Torchwood database.

As a Christmas present from Jack, Jason got a specially made dictionary that could be used to translate the language Jason saw in his dreams. It would take time to learn, but finally he would be able to at least understand the panels and displays even if he couldn't understand the spoke language.

The only major change in Jason's life in the last years was that he was staying with James now. Shortly after Christmas, John had been deployed over to Bosnia as part of the US' Peace Keeping efforts and providing humanitarian aid. No one was happy about it, but that was life in the military. The only other option would have been for Jason to live with Jack. Instead, James had rented out his flat in London and rented a small home in Suffolk so that Jason wouldn't have to change schools or leave his friends.

The relationship that James had with Jason could never be described as parental. Together with Sirius, they did everything they could to make sure that Jason had fun. The last thing James wanted to see was his son spending more time in books rather than out enjoying his childhood. Rules were not something that was enforced often, the only exception being something that would put Jason's safety at risk.

Luckily one of the areas that were the most fun for all three of them was practicing Jason's magic. The gauntlet had been a major step forward in accessing and controlling his magic. It had taken many months, but eventually, Jason learned to channel his magic without being angry or frightened. That was the point when he started to leap forward.

The only time James let Harry read a book on his own was after he had mastered the material. So far, Croaker had been correct. All he had to do was to describe the effect to Jason in order for him to replicate it in some way. For Jason that was ok, but what he had the most fun doing was trying to do what he had seen in cartoons or read in books.

"Ok Jason so you want to try a friendly duel?" James asked teasingly. They were practicing in the field behind his home which he had warded to prevent anyone from wandering onto the scene.

"Sure but just don't feel too badly when I beat you." Jason quipped.

They separated and moved to opposite ends of the field. When they both were in position, James called out "I'll give you a freebie, so take your best shot."

Jason had no illusions about winning this duel; he had only finished the second year material when it came to traditional magic. And his less conventional attacks took too long but since he was getting a freebie, he'd take advantage of it.

James watched as Jason raised his hand. Soon enough a ball of blue-green magic swirled into existence. Groaning, he should've known not to give Jason a freebie.

The sphere bounced on Jason's hand a few time before he whipped it at James. As it sped towards James, the sphere split open and grew in size.

An attempt to dive out of the way did nothing for James. The sphere swerved and caught James in mid-flight, sealing him inside.

Both of Jason's hands began to glow with power again. He clasped his hands together and a solid beam burst forth. The sphere was ripped apart by the impact.

Jason watched as the sphere absorbed the impact for a moment before it began to shred. Then the world went black.

A few minutes later, Jason moaned and woke up. He saw James standing over him with a smile on his face. "That was cute."

"What happened?" Asked Jason as he sat up.

"You made that sphere opaque, you never even realized that I apparated behind you." James explained.

Grasping onto James' outstretched hand, Jason pulled himself to his feet. "Maybe I should stick with more conventional attacks."

Surprisingly James shook his head. "Those are good, but that sphere was a very clever idea. I think what we need to do is help you perfect some of them. Wherever you get the ideas is good they just need some work to make them more practical."

Now it was Jason's turn to snicker. "My source? I read too many comic books and watch a lot of cartoons, that's my source."

"God when Sirius hears this…you truly are my son." As soon as he said it, James knew it was a mistake. "Jason I'm sorry I didn't mean that."

"No…no I mean it's true after all." He paused and turned to face James. "I'm sorry I can't be the son you want. It's just…"

James didn't let Jason go on. He wrapped Jason in a tight hug. "Jason, I don't want anything more than spend time with you and get to know the incredible young man you are becoming."

Trying to lighten the mood, James added "Now what say we have another duel but no freebies this time?"

"You're on." Jason laughed relieved to move past the awkward situation.

June 29th, 1993Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry UK

The second year at Hogwarts was no less exciting for Thomas than his first year. Sadly, Thomas continued to build on the bad reputation he had established for himself in his first year. By making use of his status as the Boy-Who-Lived, he forced Katie Bell, a chaser for the Gryffindor quidditch team off so that he could take her place. In fact, with this one move, he had accomplished something he'd been unable to do the previous year. He turned virtually the entire Gryffindor house against him.

The house may have been willing to overlook what he did eventually but it was not to be. His father may have been a star chaser and team captain in his day but apparently Thomas hadn't inherited his talent. There was no questioning his flying ability but his personality kept getting in the way of his playing. He insisted on taking the spotlight and refused to pass the quaffle. As a result, Gryffindor lost their first match to Hufflepuff in a spectacular manner and ended up coming in last place for the year.

Around the same time as his first game, strange incidents began to occur in the school. First the caretaker's cat was petrified. Then whatever it was decided to move onto students. Like the first year, Albus was completely aware of what was going on. The school wards had immediately detected the dark object, a diary, as soon as it was brought onto school grounds. It was his hope that this year Thomas would show some of the skills that would be necessary for him to defeat Voldemort when he rose once again.

Lily began to question Dumbledore's leadership for the first time after the attacks on the students began. She was concerned about her son; the Boy-Who-Lived needed a safe environment in which to learn. He shouldn't be subjected to all the stresses brought about by the supposed Heir of Slytherin and the attack.

Unlike Lily, Thomas loved the spectacle caused by the attacks. The newspapers were all over Hogwarts, giving him even more attention than the previous year. So lost was he in his own glory that he failed to take note when the headlines began to change from praise to condemnation because he was doing nothing to stop the attacks.

Things began to escalate until finally Dumbledore was removed from his position as Headmaster. But he felt he couldn't leave. Thomas could be hurt or even killed if he wasn't monitored so Dumbledore, with the help of Fawkes managed to stay in one of the unoccupied guest quarters.

At the end of the year, young Ginny Weasley disappeared into the Chamber of Secrets. Normally, this would have been dire news but Dumbledore was hopeful when Thomas and his friends managed to find the already opened entrance to the Chamber of Secrets in a long disused girl's bathroom. Perhaps Thomas was finally coming into his own. Sadly, his hopes were quickly dashed when the shade of a 16 year old Tom Riddle rapidly brought Thomas to his knees.

Again, Dumbledore was forced to step in and save the Boy-Who-Lived from certain death. The doubt at the back of his mind that began the previous year was stronger now. Was it possible that Thomas wasn't the Boy-Who-Lived? But if that was the case, who was the Chosen One? Neville Longbottom was a genius when it came to herbology but was otherwise an unremarkable wizard. The only other possibility was the younger Potter twin, but he hadn't been seen since that night all those years ago. Even if he was still alive, Dumbledore had no idea where he was or who had raised him. Sighing, he looked down at the unconscious boy. For now he could only hope that Thomas was the Chosen One but he would keep his eyes open.

August14th, 1995Suffolk UK

Jason was 15 now. His birthday had been legally changed back to July 31st after learning of it from James. School was going well, Jason wasn't the top of his class but he was near enough that grades wouldn't be a barrier to whatever college he ended up going to. His magical training was stepping up too. About halfway through the year, James began bringing Jason to the Department of Mysteries so he could train with a few of his fellow agents.

After the school year was done, Jason had a well-deserved vacation. He spent the entire month of July in the US playing baseball at an All-Star Camp. It had been a combined birthday present from John and James. He had been so excited because it gave him the opportunity to learn from players in the major leagues.

On the first day, the kids were sorted into groups based on age, skill, and position. In the UK, Jason was considered one of the top first baseman for his age group, but he didn't expect that to carry over to the US, because honestly there wasn't a lot of competition. So it came as a surprise when he found himself in the top skill group for his age.

Jason found it was easy to make friends and his accent ended up being a great ice breaker. It always drew some attention and had people wondering why he played baseball until he explained that his parents were American. The highlight of the camp for him was playing with Mark Grace, the first baseman for the Chicago Cubs. Like all good things, before he knew it the month was over and he was on a plane back to the UK.

What he didn't realize until he was back in the UK was that the entire time he hadn't had a single dream. At least not one he could remember anyway. After so long now, they didn't disturb him the way they used to but he still couldn't understand what they trying to show him. He'd managed to learn enough of the written language so that he could at least get a general sense of what he was reading even if he didn't understand every word. In a moment of insight, he was able to begin learning of some of the spoken language as well when he tied the holographic lecturer to what he was reading. It was very slow going but he was making progress.

The other dream, the history lesson, as he came to think of it was the dream he still dreaded somewhat. It had become steadily darker. Whoever the inhabitants of the city were, it was obvious that they were losing the war badly. The people themselves were beginning to fracture. In the beginning they seemed to be unified in how the war was fought, but lately they seemed to be fighting with each other almost as much as they were fighting with the enemy.

Shortly after his return, John walked into his bedroom looking unusually proud of himself.

"Ok, I'm not sure I want to know what has you smiling like that." Jason said from his place on the bed.

"What, can't I bask in the awesomeness of my birthday present?" John asked affronted. He pulled out a chair from Jason's desk and plopped himself down into it.

John had been gone for close to a year but when he came back, Jason moved back in with him. James however had decided to stay in Suffolk to be closer to Jason.

John's laugh was infectious and soon Jason joined him after first rolling his eyes at his older brother. Not that he would admit it out loud, but his brother did get him the best birthday presents. "So what's up?"

"Well, I thought you might like to join me at a little ceremony this coming weekend." Said John casually.

All Jason did was groan. A ceremony meant he had to get dressed up and he hated wearing a suit. "Do I have to?"

John faked a hurt expression. "I guess it doesn't matter if my little brother isn't there to see me get promoted to Captain. It's not like it's a big deal or anything."

"Really? Captain already?! Wow John, that's great!" Jason gushed. It was true, there was still a bit of hero worship going on with his older brother. Now he was no expert on military protocol but knew that it was pretty unusual to make Captain so quickly. So he knew his brother must be pretty damn good.

"Does that mean you want to go now?" John couldn't help teasing a little.

"Why didn't you say so? Of course I'll be there!" Then Jason was off his bed and rummaging through his closet trying to find his suit. It was only a few months old so it should still fit. Holding it up, he asked "Do you think it needs to be pressed? I don't want to embarrass you."

"Hey, you could never embarrass me." He couldn't stop his eyes from roving over the suit though. "Still, it could probably stand to be pressed. We want you to look you best for any of the teenage girls that may be on hand."

"John!" Jason yelled as John ran from the room.

August 14th, 1995Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry UK

After a fairly uneventful third year, Thomas found his fourth year to be the worst year yet. Despite a promising start when the Headmaster announced that Hogwarts would be hosting the Tri-Wizard Tournament, things rapidly degenerated.

The students had just begun to warm up to him again after third year. Everyone seemed thankful to simply have a quiet year for a change. Plus, it helped that for once, Thomas tried to stay low profile after the disasters of his first two years. Even his quidditch had improved; he learned to be more of a team player. This more than anything helped his standing in his house. But all that good will was lost when the Goblet of Fire spit out a fourth name as a champion in the tournament.

Fleur Delacour, Viktor Krum, and Cedric Diggory had all been chosen as champions representing their respective schools. The students in the hall had just started to celebrate when a new name burst forth from the goblet. Even Dumbledore looked disappointed when he read the name and announced that Thomas Potter would be a champion as well.

Lily was furious. She flooed over to Albus' office as soon as she read the story in the Daily Prophet.

"Albus, what game are you playing at? Thomas should not be in this tournament." She practically screamed at him.

"Lily, it's a pleasure to see you this morning."

Her angry pacing stopped for a moment and she glared at her former Headmaster. Her green eyes had darkened with anger. "How could you allow this to happen? You promised me that he would be safe!"

There was only so much screeching that Albus could take in the morning. So Albus let go of his magic and felt it radiate off him in waves. "I've given you much leeway over the years but don't forget your place Lily Evans." Albus said.

The feeling of power overwhelmed her and for the first time in many years, Lily found herself cowed. "I apologize Albus. I am just so distraught. Is there anything that can be done to help Thomas? My little boy is not ready for something so difficult."

On that Albus had to agree. He wasn't sure that Thomas would ever be ready for something like the Tri-Wizard Tournament. "Of course, I will give Thomas some private tutoring. It must be kept secret though because it could be viewed as an unfair advantage by the other champions."

He watched as Lily finally was calm enough to sit down in one his chairs like a rational adult. "Pardon me Lily, but something else appears to be upsetting you."

"You knew didn't you?" Accused Lily, her temper once more rising. "You knew that brat was still alive!"

It took a moment for Albus to realize what brat Lily was referring to. After all, he was the Headmaster of a school of brats. There was only one brat that Lily would allow to upset her this much. "Harry? Are you saying that Harry is alive?" This could be the answer to his prayers if Thomas turned out not to be the Chosen One, than it would have to be Harry.

"Who else would I be talking about? The ungrateful cretin actually had the gall to send me a letter. As if I care that he's alive. He probably just wants to leech off his brother's reputation."

"But how did he find out you're his mother? Surely he disappeared before he had any conscious memory of you as his family." Albus was confused and this annoying woman was not exactly forthcoming with the information he needed.

She sniffed "As if he would be smart enough to remember such a thing. No, James somehow found the wretch. Who knows what lies he told him, but he sent me a letter asking if I would like to meet. I was glad he was dead, why would I want to meet him now? Especially since he must be a squib if he is not here at Hogwarts."

"Quite right, why disrupt things now?" Albus asked rhetorically. He would have to investigate this. Hopefully the boy was not a squib. It was possible he attended a different school or possibly was home schooled.

Lily left not long after, content in the knowledge that Albus would begin tutoring Thomas personally. In her mind, this was just another sign of her boy's potential. Too bad she couldn't lord it over her friends, they would die with envy.

At the same time that the students once again turned their backs on Thomas, the Wizarding World sang his praises. The general opinion held that if the Goblet was going to spit out a fourth name, then surely that person must be worthy and capable of great things. It was this outlook that supported Thomas when no one other than Seamus, Parvati or Albus would even look at him.

With the private tutoring and advanced information, Thomas was able to muddle his way through the first two tasks. Against all odds, he managed to make it through to the third task in second place overall. In his mind it should've been first place but the judges were prejudiced against him as the fourth champion.

Somehow he made it through the labyrinth of the third task relatively unharmed. He was nearly at the center of the maze. The cup was visible on a brightly lit pedestal in the exact center. Then his blood chilled, Cedric was almost at the cup. No, he wouldn't let some Hufflepuff steal his glory. Too much work had gone into getting him here. Without a moment's thought, he unknowingly cast the spell that would save Cedric's life.

After stunning Cedric, Thomas moved without guilt or hesitation and grabbed the cup. Instead of being announced as the winner of the tournament, he was transported to a decrepit cemetery where he was quickly restrained by Peter Pettigrew. In horror, he watched as Peter completed a ritual to bring Voldemort back to full health using Thomas' blood.

"Ahh, the wizarding world's would-be savior, Thomas Potter. I must thank you for donating some of your blood." The newly embodied Lord Voldemort strode menacingly over towards Thomas until he was close enough to run one long boney finger down the side of Thomas' face. "It isn't here. Where is it?" Voldemort muttered.

"What isn't here my lord?" Pettigrew asked, moving up to stand next to his lord.

Voldemort felt the connection to each of his horcruxes; he could sense each of them. After all, each horcrux contained a portion of his soul. In his haste to unravel this mystery he didn't think to check the location of his other horcruxes only their basic existence. No, this wasn't possible. Three of them were missing. Nagini, his diary and the boy were gone. That could only mean that this wasn't the boy he'd attacked. The backlash of his spell had damaged his memory from that night so he'd always assumed that Dumbledore had gotten it right. But now, now he would have to investigate this to determine if the boy was indeed dead or merely hidden from him in some way.

While searching within himself Voldemort realized there was an unintended side effect of the ritual performed. There seemed to be a link between him and the Potter boy. It was different in nature than sharing a piece of his soul; it seemed to be more of a physical connection. If he was correct in his assumptions that he would be able to torture the wizarding world's savior from anywhere. True the connection would work in both directions, but Dumbledore would never put his precious Boy-Who-Lived at risk.

"Release him Wormtail. Let the pitiful boy spread the news of my return." Voldemort said with a cold laugh before apparating away.

August 14th, 1996Suffolk UK

Life continued on for Jason Sheppard. He had just finished his sophomore year of high school. Since there was a large contingent of American kids on the base, the school he attended was modeled after the US school system.

In the non-magical world, things had settled into a routine. Jason was a rarity in his school. He was popular and excelled in academics as well as being the starting first baseman for his varsity team. Consequently, he crossed cliques having friends in both circles. His Aikido training continued but rather than serving as an escape mechanism it was something that he and John could do together.

If only his life in the magical world were as simple. Shortly after the beginning of the new school year, Jason had come home to find John and James arguing.

"He has a right to know!" John said sharply. "I don't want him to get hurt because he didn't know what was going on."

"He's too young. It's just going to worry him." James argued.

"Then it's a good thing it isn't your decision to make. I'm his legal guardian, so I will be the one to decide what he needs to know." John didn't like pulling the guardian card because he felt like it was throwing Jason's adoption back into his face. But the fact of the matter was that John was in charge.

Jason thought it might be a good idea to step in at this point before tempers flared any higher. Putting his backpack down next to the door, he asked "What would worry me?"

Both John and James jumped at the sound of Jason's voice.

John gave James a hard look before explaining. "James has just been bringing me up to speed on current events in the wizarding world. He has some things that you need to hear."

James watched as Jason came into the room and sat down on the sofa next to John. He ran his hand tiredly across his face before beginning. "The Department of Mysteries has determined that Voldemort has returned."

"You mean Thomas was telling the truth? Then why is the Daily Prophet calling him crazy?"

"Our esteemed Minister, Fudge, would rather hide his head in the sand than admit that Voldemort is back. He's using his contacts at the Daily Prophet to run a smear campaign against your brother and Dumbledore. So far it seems to be working."

James stopped there which left Jason a little confused. If this was the news, then why were they arguing? None of it really affected him directly unless Voldemort decided to start attacking the muggle military. From what he read the man was brutal but not an idiot.

John scowled when James stopped. "That's not all that James has to share with us."

James gave in. "Do you remember when I mentioned a prophecy to you?" When Jason nodded, he continued. "Dumbledore thinks your brother is the one mentioned in the prophecy. However, we don't agree."

"Who's we?" Jason asked.

John got up and walked into the kitchen while James began explaining again. "The Unspeakables. Look, um…if it isn't your brother, there is only one other possibility."

It was with a sinking feeling that Jason asked "Who's the other possibility?"

John chose that moment to walk in with a beer and handed one to James. "Tell him."

"You, you're the only other one that Voldemort could have 'marked' before his body was destroyed. Ok, let's take this from the beginning." James went on to describe the prophecy and the method for Voldemort's immortality, specifically the creation of his horcruxes.

"That's really fucked up." John said succinctly.

James swallowed half the beer before going on. "We think that the night of the attack Voldemort inadvertently made you one of his horcruxes."

Jason paled at the very thought that he might have part of Voldemort's soul in him.

"No whatever your uncle Jack did to help you that night destroyed Voldemort's soul. There is no trace of it or any link to him in you at all."

Both Jason and John sagged back into the couch in relief. "How many does he have?"

For the first time since he began his explanation, James smiled. "Including you, he had six. However, once we finished celebrating his downfall, we began searching for any trace of him using the same spell I used to find you. We never found any evidence of the man himself but we did find evidence of 5 objects infused with his signature, one of which was his familiar, a massive anaconda."

"So do you have all of these horcrux things?" Asked John. This wasn't a battle he could fight for Jason but he would make damn sure that he had as many advantages as possible.

"The snake is dead and one of the others was destroyed back in mid '93. The remaining 3 are in our custody, we're not sure what to do with them just yet."

James continued on explaining why they felt that Jason was more likely to be the one mentioned in the prophecy. Essentially it boiled down to the fact that Thomas appeared to be nothing more than an average wizard. He'd yet to show any signs of having any extraordinary power or talents that would set him apart. Jason on the other had while being above average in power had shown himself to be extremely capable in free form magic as they had taken to calling what he did.

To help put both Jason and John at ease James told them that the resources of the Department were searching for the best way to destroy Voldemort so that Jason would not be at risk. The downside was that his magic training was stepped up as well so he spent a large amount of his free time with James and the other agents. But, the training was more for protection from Voldemort's men should Jason be found. Croaker and others felt that Voldemort simply had too much power and experience to be defeated in battle by a teenager, no matter how talented.

During a tour of the Department of Mysteries one day in early October Jason saw something that made him think he was dreaming. They had been walking through the Death Chamber when he saw it, an ancient arch with a tattered curtain hanging from it. But it wasn't the arch that took him by surprise; it was the writing on the arch. It was the same as the writing in the city that he saw virtually every night now.

"What is that?"

"That's the Veil; we think it is a one way door into the land of the dead. The Ministry used to use it as a method of execution for criminals because anyone that passes through it dies and can never return."

Jason couldn't take his eyes off the arch. He knew that what James said was only partially right. It wasn't that it was wrong, but Jason knew that it did more. It was a like one half of a pair, it was set to connect to only to its twin wherever that may be. The characters on the arch seemed to designate the activation sequence necessary to create the bridge to the second Veil. But right now it was in its default position, which was set to nowhere. In its current setting, anything that passed through the arch would be destroyed.

"Ummm dad?" Jason said distractedly.

James stopped abruptly. Did Jason just call him dad? He'd always hoped Jason would feel comfortable enough with him one day to consider him a father but he never expected it to happen. "Yeah Jason." He said his voice thick with emotion.

Jason didn't realize what he had called James so he asked his question. "If the Veil sends everything to the land of the dead, why not throw the horcruxes through. Voldemort's soul wouldn't be anchored here anymore then." As much as he wanted to, he stopped himself from rolling his eyes. Some of the things that wizards came up with truly amazed him.

"Huh?" James was still trying to process the fact that Jason had called him dad.

"What's wrong with you?"

"You called me dad." Said James.

Now it was Jason who looked flustered when he remembered what he'd said. "Oh, I guess…I don't know it just slipped out. Do you mind?"

James just shook his head emphatically. "God no." Before Jason could pull away, James had grabbed him in a tight hug. "Umm, so what was your question again?"

Jason laughed and repeated it. For his part, James looked gob smacked. It wasn't something that they'd ever considered before and on the surface it appeared to be such a simple solution.

With Jason's idea in mind, the Unspeakables spent the next few months trying to determine if there was a downside to sending the horcruxes through the Veil. Given the nature of the work, it was mostly theoretical but in the end, everyone agreed that even if they weren't destroyed when they passed into the Veil, they would no longer be on Earth so if Voldemort were to die, his soul would be tethered to the land of the dead which is where he should be anyway.

By the end of Jason's sophomore year and near the anniversary of Voldemort's return, the Unspeakables eradicated the remaining fragments of Voldemort's soul. Thus, the Dark Lord was stripped of his immortality without any loss of life.

Despite the success with the horcruxes, Jason was still troubled. Since he had seen the Veil, his dreams had grown more urgent. It almost felt like the city was calling out to him and somehow it was connected to the Veil. Now he just needed to figure out what to do.

August 14th, 1996Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry UK

The summer following the Tri-Wizard Tournament, Albus called the Order of the Phoenix together again for the first time since Voldemort's disappearance in 1981. It was also the first time since their divorce that James and Lily were in the same room.

"My friends, I wish we could come together in better circumstances." Albus began the meeting. "It is as I feared, Voldemort has returned."

James rolled his eyes when most of the other members flinched at the mere mention of the man's name. There were times that James wondered why he even bothered with this group, it was an effort for James to even pay attention, and Albus had a tendency to ramble even at the best of times and now was no exception. Though it took him close to an hour to get to the point, Albus finally said that for now people should be on the lookout for Death Eater activity but there was nothing else to be done.

After the meeting broke up, Lily cornered James. "So you found that useless son of yours."

Taken aback by her snide tone, James was lost. He had no idea that Jason had tried to contact Lily. "What? I'm not sure what you talking about."

"Harry, unless you have some other son I'm not aware of."

"I don't see why you would care, but I found him 4 years ago. God Lily you should see him, he is a great kid." James stopped himself when saw that Lily didn't care at all. "How did you know?"

"He had the nerve to send me a letter. As if I would ever want to meet with him." Her voice had sunk from snide into outright hostility. "I don't know what lies you've told him, but keep him away from Thomas and I."

Even after all this time, Lily still hadn't changed. How could he have been so wrong about her? As far as he was concerned the only good thing to come from his marriage had been Jason. Before the argument could escalate any further, Albus came over to speak with them.

"James, Lily I was looking for you." Albus motioned for the two to sit down. When they were both seated, he explained his suspicions. "I'm concerned about Thomas. After he escaped from Voldemort at the end of the tournament, I examined Thomas personally."

Lily leaned forward worriedly. "What is it Albus? Is there something wrong with Thomas?"

While Lily showed a mother's concern, James remained impassive. In truth, he cared little for his son. He had grown into a person that he simply couldn't abide.

"I fear that the ritual used to return Voldemort to his body has created a physical link between Thomas and Voldemort. I suspect that Voldemort can use that link to physically harm Thomas. Now you shouldn't worry too much because it would also affect Voldemort as well but as his parents you need to be aware of the dangers."

"Albus, can't you break it?"

James asked the more pertinent question. "What happens if Voldemort is killed?"

"I hope that we can find some way to break the connection, which is why I included James. It is my thought that with the resources of the Department of Mysteries involved we should be able to find a way to sever the link. But if we don't than Thomas may very well die along with Voldemort."

His eldest son may not be someone he was proud of but that didn't mean that James was willing to let him die. He promised to speak to the head of the Department.

Per Albus' instructions, they did not relay any of this information to Thomas.

The specter of Voldemort was hanging over Thomas when he entered Hogwarts for the beginning of his fifth year. Whereas in the past the students had been cold or distant from Thomas, this year with the smear campaign running in the Daily Prophet many of the students were openly hostile. Few if any believed his claims that Voldemort had returned. His credibility was not helped by the fact that virtually all of the returning students knew he'd shot Cedric in the back. Even Seamus and Parvati had distanced themselves from him, having grown tired of being isolated from the rest of the school.

This year the Ministry stepped into the running of Hogwarts with the introduction of Dolores Umbridge as the DADA professor. In addition to tormenting Thomas throughout the year, she cemented Ministry control of Hogwarts resulting in the eventual sacking of Albus Dumbledore as Headmaster. In her new position as Headmistress, Dolores convinced the students that either Voldemort's return was a stunt orchestrated by Thomas and Dumbledore or to remain silent if they truly believed that Voldemort had returned.

By late March Lily had had enough. The Ministry campaign had started to spill over from Thomas onto her. She was becoming the laughing stock of the British wizarding world. On the last Saturday of March, Lily came to speak with Thomas during the Hogsmeade weekend.

"Thomas this can't go on." Lily said after erecting some privacy wards around their table in the Three Broomsticks.

"What can't mom?"

"You're the Boy-Who-Lived. The Ministry and the people should respect that. But after today that won't be an issue." Lily finished before standing and cancelling the wards.

"But mom how are we going to do that?" Thomas wanted nothing more than to have the students like him again. He was tired of being an outcast.

"Grab my hand." She ordered holding out her hand. When Thomas grabbed on, she apparated both of them to the Ministry of Magic.

Lily gave a brief thought to casting a glamour on Thomas to disguise his identity but decided against it. The wards would detect the glamour and raise an alert. The entry hall was virtually empty since it was a Saturday; the only floor likely to have any significant number of people was the DMLE.

"Mom, where are we going? How is this going to help?" Thomas whined.

"Stop whining! We're going to the Hall of Prophecies." She snapped impatiently while waiting for the elevator to arrive. Once they were both inside she pressed 9 for the Department of Mysteries.

"What good will that do?" He was craning his neck trying to see everything that was in the department. There were strange devices and pictures of creatures dotted all over the main chamber. Thomas would've stopped to look more closely if Lily hadn't been dragging him along.

"There's a prophecy that proclaims you as the Chosen One, the equal of Voldemort. Once we make it public, the Ministry and the wizarding world in general will give you the respect you deserve."

After walking a ways, Thomas and his mother found themselves standing in front of a heavy wooden door now. There was a banner over the door announcing it as the Hall of Prophecies. "Isn't there some sort of protection on them? I remember Flitwick mentioning the charm in one of our classes this year."

They were inside now. Lily was scanning the many shelves which were lined with opaque glass spheres that were labeled with various initials to designate the prophecy and the parties involved. "Yes, yes if you aren't a part of the prophecy, you'll be driven insane. But since you are the Boy-Who-Lived you don't have to worry about anything."

"Are you sure? I mean what if it's someone else." Thomas asked nervously. He was having second thoughts about this now; he didn't want to go insane.

"Nonsense, of course it's you. Ahh, here it is." Lily pointed to sphere that was clearly labeled SPT to APWBD. Beneath that there were more letters DLV, BWL – JS.

Trusting his mother, Thomas reached up and grabbed the prophecy.