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James Potter is a series of fantasy novels written by author G. Norman Lippert. An unofficial continuation (sequel-series) of the original Harry Potter stories by J. K. Rowling, it follows the adventures of Harry's first-born son, James, eighteen years after the events of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Though written as a fanonical project, the series has become an international success, garnering millions of readers worldwide. As of now, the series has been translated into more than nine different languages.

The books are available for free download on the series Facebook page in PDF, EPUB, and MOBI portable formats. Audiobook versions are available from Living Audio, UK.

The Girl on the Dock, also by the author, is a series spin-off, and acts as an addition between the second and third installments. It's also the only one to be released to public booksellers.

As of January 22nd 2022 the new home for the James Potter Series is here

Synopsis

Beginning eighteen years after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (one year prior to the book's epilogue), a now adult Harry is married to Ginny Weasley, and the father of three children. The series revolves around James Potter, the eldest child, in his own adventures at Hogwarts and the American wizarding school of Alma Aleron.

Much similar to Harry Potter, each book in the series chronicles another year in James's life, to cover each year of his magic education. With the exception of the final story (James Potter and the Crimson Thread), which skips ahead two years after the previous book.

Beginnings & the Bloodline

The first book of the series, James Potter and the Hall of Elders' Crossing opens with James getting onto the Hogwarts Express, not too long after a mysterious break-in at the Ministry of Magic. It quickly becomes apparent that he's nervous, due to him feeling overshadowed by the great legacy of his father.

On the train ride, he makes friends with two Muggle-born boys. Ralph Deedle, and a quirky, American exchange student named, Zane Walker. Throughout the course of the book, James and his friends discover a plot to bring the legendary Merlin back to life to help wreak havoc on the Muggles, and essentially, unleash war between them and the wizarding world. James also discovers a group called, the Progressive Element, that are against Harry Potter and the Ministry and claim Voldemort to be a hero, and gradually sway public opinion to believe the same. In the process of this, he ends up making an encounter with a mystical tree spirit, that tells him of a bloodline of Voldemort, and that his father's battle is over, and his begins.

In the end of the book, the legendary figure (Merlin) ends up coming back, but on good terms, and takes position as headmaster over Hogwarts. However, the conflict with the Progressive Element is never fully resolved.

James begins his second year at Hogwarts in James Potter and the Curse of the Gatekeeper, returning after a summer that ended in the loss of a family member. But back at Hogwarts, he begins to find that the new headmaster may not be as good as he first thought, which leads him to the mystery of a dark being known as the "Gatekeeper," that is bent on mass destruction. The Gatekeeper is later banished, along with James' discovery that his recent crush, a graduating student named Petra Morganstern, is actually Voldemort's bloodline. Who, through circumstance, was cursed with the final shred of Voldemort's soul by use of an "eighth" horcrux (a part of his soul that he couldn't get back).

In America

Before he returns to Hogwarts for his third year in James Potter and the Vault of Destinies, a mysterious magical occurrence in Muggle New York leads his father, Harry, on an investigation in the United States. Not keen on keeping their family separated, Ginny brings James and his siblings (along with a few friends) to join him on his time in America. Leading to James's third year being spent at the American wizarding school of Alma Aleron.

Before long, he learns of the Vault of Destinies, a device that shows the very fabric of time itself. Representing every person, and their own individual destiny as a thread in an endless loom. But he finds that one crimson thread in the loom has been plucked from the fabric, leaving a missing piece in time, and signaling eventual chaos and disorder.

He comes to find that the crimson thread is none other than Petra herself, who later reveals the entirety of wizarding New Amsterdam to Muggle New York in an event that is later dubbed, the "Night of the Unveiling."

After the "Unveiling"

In the months following the end of the third book, a massive cover-up is made by the magical community in an attempt to conceil the wizarding world at large from the Muggles. This involves obliviation of thousands of people, and the evacuation of all citizens from New York.

At Hogwarts, James sees continued repercussions from the event, in which a new school exchange program has been set in place with Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, as well as the Muggle Yorke Academy. The latter being open to make the first step in bridging the gap between the Muggle and Wizarding people, in case the magical world can no longer be covered up after the "Unveiling." As the Vow of Secrecy continues to crumble, James discovers the whereabouts of the Morrigan Web, along with its eventual defeat. With it, is what will become of Petra as the crimson thread, and how it affects the future of his relationship with her, and the world at large.

Following two "uneventful" school years, the story concludes in James Potter and the Crimson Thread, with James's final year at Hogwarts.

Origin of the Story

Following the release of the last Harry Potter book, Lippert went on to write a follow-up story with Harry's son. 

"It started very simply. My wife and I rushed off on the night Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released ... and procured our copy of the book. Savoring it as much as we could, we consumed the tale over the course of a week. When it was complete, I felt thrilled with the climax of the series, and yet bereft, as did many of you, that I would know these beloved characters no more. The next afternoon, I sat down at my computer and began to write. I hadn't written anything seriously for years, but I felt compelled ... to push the Harry Potter story just a bit further."
—G. Norman Lippert

What began as a mere drabble quickly evolved into a complete novel. With the encouragement of his wife, he released the story online. Lippert, a computer animator by profession, created a custom website teasing the novel's release, featuring a computer-generated trailer of the Harry Potter logo transforming into the James Potter series logo.

The Books

Additional Works

Spin-offs

  • The Girl on the Dock: A Dark Fairy Tale is a spin-off featuring Petra Morganstern, a character introduced in the main series. Taking place between the second and third books, it centers on the struggles of her personal and home life following her graduation from Hogwarts.
  • Ruins of Camelot is an original story taking place years before the main series, during the medieval time of the Hogwarts founders. The main character, Princess Gabriella, is the last of a royal bloodline of Camelot, in the wake of a revolt against the kingdom. She has interactions with each of the founders, and also makes a cameo appearance in the fourth book of the James Potter series.

Other writings

  • Harry's First Christmas and Other Tales (2008): a Christmas-themed short story collection released online, including three stories featuring the Founders, the Marauders, and Petra Morganstern respectively.
  • The Technomancy Manual - an overview of Techomancy and other content introduced in the books not previously seen in Harry Potter.
  • The James Potter Compendium, Vol. 1 [1] - an encyclopedia of everything from The Hall of Elders' Crossing.

Reception

Following the release of the first story online, reception was mostly positive. Readers expressed how it was like a "spiritual successor - to J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series," and that you "forget J. K. Rowling didn't write it as you were reading it." By November 2007, some Harry Potter fans on the Internet speculated that the website it was published on might have been part of an elaborate viral marketing campaign for an official continuation or spinoff of Harry Potter, one either written or at least approved by Rowling herself. Afterward, Rowling's agent Neil Blair denied that she was in any way involved with the project,[66] and Warner Bros., the studio which owns the rights to the Harry Potter film series, denied that the novel was in any way connected to the official Harry Potter franchise.

However, it became the subject of much criticism. Reports had claimed that Rowling had threatened legal action against Lippert for allegedly violating her intellectual property rights by producing and publishing the novel, James Potter and the Hall of Elders' Crossing. A specialist in intellectual property law at Strathclyde University commented that, "If an insubstantial character from a novel is taken and built up by another author in a new story, that can be a defence against copyright infringements." Amidst all the buzz, Lippert then contacted Rowling's agency, who agreed to receive an advance copy of the story. For legal reasons, Rowling herself did not read it, but announced that she was happy to allow the free release of such stories, and supported the novel and any others like it.

In addition to the disputed legal threats, many readers expressed negative feedback to the story, even going as far as to say that he had "ruined Harry Potter."

But as quoted by Lippert, "the hateful notes were increasingly outnumbered by notes of thanks and praise. 'You're no J. K. Rowling,' most of the notes seemed to say, 'But I enjoyed the story. Thanks. And write more'" (July 25, 2009). Since then, Lippert has written four sequels, and has earned a wide following. The series is currently one of the most popular and widely-recognized Harry Potter fan-fictions to date. On the website Goodreads.com the series has more than 40,000 mostly positive reviews, the most for any fan-fiction on the site.

References

  1. (http://www.jamespotterseries.com/STORY_info.html) James Potter website. Copyright, 2009 by G. Norman Lippert. - Website currently unavailable.
  2. (https://www.facebook.com/jamespotterseries) James Potter on Facebook. [Last Updated: 2017]
  3. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_disputes_over_the_Harry_Potter_series
  4. (https://www.goodreads.com/series/45293-james-potter) James Potter Series at goodreads.com.

External Links

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