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James Potter and the Hall of Elder’s Crossing

 

G. Norman Lippert

 

Not usually one to get myself involved in fan fiction (No, I do not have anything against it) I came across James Potter and the Hall of Elder’s Crossing. It had numerous reviews, mostly positive, some complainers, and there are also more books to this “series” as well.

 

James Potter is the oldest son of Harry and Ginny (Weasley) Potter, and older brother to Albus and Lily Potter. This book begins in James’ 1^st year at Hogwarts, and it appears that the more things change, the more they stay the same, i.e., some talk of Voldemort. Yes, he really was killed, and will not be making a guest appearance in this story (at least he hasn’t yet!)

 

James immediately makes 2 friends, Zane, who is in Ravenclaw, and Ralph, who is in Slytherin. Ralph is quiet, reserved, and not the “Slytherin” type, so it will be interesting to see how he grows in these stories.

 

Some things at Hogwarts have changed, such as this trio tends to hang out in all of their common rooms, depending on what they are up to. A Gryffindor and Ravenclaw in the Slytherin common room takes a bit to get used to!

It seems as if James cannot get out from under his father’s shadow, but we do not hear too much about the “old” Hogwarts students, except for small mentions here-and-there.

It seems as if Merlin himself was a horrible magician, and he has a couple people who are trying to bring him back from the grips of death. The alignment of the planets, along with his staff, robe, and throne are all that are needed for him to come back to life on Earth.

But as usual, all is not as it seems at Hogwarts. Merlin does make it back, but it certainly wasn’t what I expected.

So, the storyline seemed to revolve around how a muggle news reporter was able to gain access to Hogwarts. After sneaking in a couple times, Mr. Prescott was apprehended and questioned by the staff. They let him go, knowing he would bring back the video cameras to reveal to the world that there were witches and wizards among them.

The staff of Hogwarts however, used this to humiliate Mr. Prescott, making everything look like bad magic tricks. The source of the leak was revealed, and of course, all that was wrong was put right again. Hufflepuff won the house cup at the end of the year (I would have never saw that coming!) They were the only house to not lose significant house points due to being involved with the whole Merlin conspiracy.

It seems as if Headmistress McGonagall is looking to retire and they are going to have Merlin be the next Headmaster. Everything gets neatly tied up in the end, and the school year comes to an end at Hogwarts.

 

It was a good read, obviously different from the Harry Potter books, but a good story none-the-less. I will likely read the next book he wrote, as soon as I figure out what it is!