A/N: After the many good reviews I got for 'Lily', I decided to do a follow-up. Enjoy!
James
For once, it was a quiet November night in the Gryffindor common room. Most everybody had gone to bed. Only a few seventh years remained, finishing up homework they could no longer procrastinate on, or falling asleep in front of the fire.
James Henry Potter was doing both.
He had originally gone up to the seventh-year dormitory to finish his potions essay, but found that the combined snoring of Remus, Sirius, and Peter was too much too handle, so he retreated back to his favorite chair in front of the fire. Unfortunately, it was a little too quiet down here, and he found it unbelievably hard to keep his eyes open, especially in the soft warmth of the flickering fire. The chair was very comfortable too: soft and silky, with large pillows that were extremely easy for a seventeen-year-old boy to sink deeply into. James could feel himself falling asleep. His eyes were closing, his quill falling out of his hand…
"Your name is not boring, and I have proof."
James's eyes opened suddenly, and he was met with the sight of one Lily Ellen Evans. Her hair was slightly flat on one side, as if she had, herself, begun to fall asleep in the late hours of the night. She sat primly on the arm of James's chair, clutching a rather thick book in her hands. James squinted and turned his head to see the title: Wizarding Genealogy: A History of Surnames of Famous Witch's and Wizards. James laughed and ruffled his hair.
"What's so funny?" Lily asked, raising her left eyebrow at him.
"You actually went to the library and got a-what?-two thousand page book, just to prove to me that my name isn't boring?"
Lily bit her lip. "Maybe."
"Well, let's hear it." James sat back in his chair and rested his fingertips lightly against each other, no longer tired.
"Hear what?"
"Why my name isn't boring, or course."
Lily flushed and flipped through the pages of the book, resting somewhere near the middle. She looked up at James.
"Alright…well, the name 'James', or course, is best known for being associated with royalty…"
"Yes, but I'm not 'Royalty' in the slightest."
Lily looked up. "But you act like it."
"Excuse me? I thought you were supposed to be telling me how un-boring my name is, not insulting me!" James put a hand over his heart and had an expression of mock-hurt.
"No, I'm not calling you conceited…"
"Wow, that's a change…"
"Shut up." Lily flicked him on the head with one slender, long finger, and smiled slightly. "It wasn't an insult; I just meant that you're a natural-born leader. That's why Dumbledore made you Head Boy-people listen to you, people respect you. Everybody realizes it. You're the leader of your friends. You come up with the good ideas; you keep the rest of them together. People just naturally like you."
"Except you. You hate me."
"I don't hate you James. You just-get on my nerves sometimes."
They looked at each other for a moment and grinned.
"Oh, um, 'Henry' is pretty much the same," Lily flipped through pages, "Often associated with royalty, namely French and British…"
"Like King Henry the Eighth?"
Lily looked up. "Yes, actually."
"But he had six wives! How am I like him?" James exploded, rather loudly.
"Sh!" One of the few remaining Gryffindors looked at James and Lily angrily before turning back to his homework. James stuck his tongue out, and Lily giggled quietly, before continuing in a considerably softer voice.
"Well obviously women must have liked him. All the girls at Hogwarts-all the Gryffindors at least, have crushes on you. There's a few first-years, even, who have been talking about starting a fan club."
James smirked. "The James Potter Fan Club…hm…might have something going, there…"
"Oh, don't let your ego get bigger than it already is, James."
"Very well." He leaned back against the chair and grinned up at Lily. "Well?"
Lily looked at him, confused. "Well, what?"
"Lily, I highly doubt that you found 'James' and 'Henry' in that book of yours, surnames only, right?"
Lily sighed. "O.K., so I might have used one or two extra books to see if I could find anything interesting about your first and middle names."
"Did you?"
"Only the royalty association, which I already knew."
"So my name is boring, then."
Lily sat up straighter. "Your last name isn't."
"Isn't what?"
"Boring. Listen to this." Lily cleared her throat and read from the book:
The Potter family, probably one of the oldest wizarding families
in all of Britain, has a rather interesting history. The first recorded
Potter was the son of Merlin and a muggle woman, most likely with
the last name of Potter, as Merlin was said to have no surname. The
son, Viciny Potter, was the first wizard to look for other individuals
possessing magical abilities. He and.the fourteen wizards and seven
witches he sought out formed the Magic Guild, the first organized wizard
group in history. Viciny Potter married a member of the Magic Guild,
Dorea Caputte. Together, they had one child, a daughter, named Gorida.
Gorida, at the age of twenty-seven, married Drick Gryffindor. Their union
created the now-famous Godric Gryffindor. Three years after Godric, Rowena
Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, and Salazar Slytherin completed the building
of Hogwarts magic school, Godric married Rowena. Their child, James Harry,
took on the old family surname 'Potter' to avoid the pursuing of Salazar Slytherin
and his descendents. The Potters are now a (mainly) pure-blooded family, living in
the wizarding neighborhood of Godric's Hollow. Few notable happenings have occurred
centered around the Potters, save for a prophecy said by Helga Hufflepuff shortly after
James Harry Potter's birth. The prophecy, however, is kept a secret in the British
Ministry of Magic, and little is known about it. It has been rumored, however, that
the prophecy tells of a distant descendent of Godric Gryffindor being sought out by
a descendent of Salazar Slytherin.
Lily stopped reading, shut the book, and looked up at James.
"See? You're a descendent of Merlin, Godric Gryffindor, and Rowena Ravenclaw! You can't tell me that's boring!"
"No, I guess it's not." James looked thoughtful. "That's strange; my parents never told me our family went back that far…"
"Who cares, now we know that neither of us have boring names."
"That's true…" James broke of and looked at Lily. His face brightened up, and he smiled.
"What?"
"Earlier, when we were talking about King Henry the VIII and his six wives…"
"What about him?"
"You said that every girl in Gryffindor has a crush on me…"
"And?"
"Would you be included in that, by any chance?"
"Maybe."
"So…would you like to go with me to Hogsmeade next weekend, by any chance?"
Lily and James were both grinning quite madly now.
"Maybe."
James sat up; his eyes widened.
"Really?"
"Really."
Lily leaned down and kissed James lightly. Two or three of the procrastinating students clapped, and they broke apart, flushing.
"G'Night, James Henry Potter." Lily called, returning to her room
"G'night, Lily Ellen Evans!"
"Sh!"
"Oh, sod off, I have a date with the most wonderful girl on the planet!"