Growing up, I never liked my name. Lily Evans. One of the single most boring names a young girl could have. Contrary to popular belief, 'Lily' was never short for 'Lillian', 'Lilymarie', or any other name my friends think up. It was always just plain Lily.
When I was about three, I began wishing for a movie-star name. A name that was glamorous. Marylyn, Cassiopeia, Melina, Helena. I just wanted a name that would make me stand out. Something original, creative. In my primary-school class, there were three other girls named Lily. Luckily, (For them, at least) they all had fascinating, exotic last names. One was Lily Mediterria, another Lily DelVinicio, and another Lily VanCleave. I, however, was stuck with Lily Evans. To make it worse, I had been stuck with the wonderfully original (note the sarcasm) middle name of Ellen. Lily Ellen Evans. It couldn't get plainer.
I don't even like lilies. They're flowers grown specifically for show. They're obnoxiously large, and most have only three measly petals. They're so weird, compared to other flowers! And in my third year of primary school, I discovered that if a cat ingests a lily, it can cause them to develop nephrotoxicosis! (That's kidney failure, by the way.) Now, before you ask what cat kidney failure has to do with my name, let me just tell you: I love cats. Absolutely adore them. I have two, Snowpuff and Morganna. I don't want the flower I'm named after to kill them! Poor little kitties.
Lilies are also the most common flowers present at funerals. Yes, lilies are commonly known as the 'flowers of death'. Or something along those lines. But it's morbid, really. My parents named me after the flower you leave on somebodys grave. Just bloody fantastic. Petunia used to joke about that, too. Everytime we'd go visit my great-grandmother's gravestone, my mum would give us each a white lily.
"How 'bout we just leave her here, instead?" Petunia would suggest, smirking visiously, "It'd be a hell of a lot cheaper than buying all these flowers."
And although I loathed my sister for suggesting such a thing, she was right. Lilies are one of the most expensive flowers you can buy. I don't see why; they're not beautiful in the slightest. In fact, lilies have got to be one of the ugliest flowers I've ever seen in my life. I can't believe my parents named me after such a flower. They're hideous. Really.
"What's troubling you, Evans?"
"Go away, Potter."
"What's wrong?"
I honestly cannot resist those puppy-dog eyes James Potter gives when he really wants something. Don't blame me, they're just so darn…puppy-doggy. So I caved.
"Just thinking about my name."
"What about it?"
"It's boring."
"Is not."
"Is too."
"What's so boring about Lily Ellen Evans?"
"It's just plain. Tons of people are named Lily, tons of people have the middle name Ellen, tons of people have the last name Evans."
"I like it."
"So?"
"So I don't see what's wrong with it?"
I sighed, and relayed all I had been thinking previously to him. How lilies are ugly, how Petunia teased me about the death-flower thing, even the cats. When I was done, he stared at me blankly for a moment.
"You named your cat Snowpuff?"
"James!"
"Sorry." He smiled.
"What?"
"You called me James."
"No, I didn't."
"Yes, you did."
"Did not."
"Did too."
"Potter, you are so infuriating!"
"Oh, so it's back to Potter now, is it?"
"It was never not Potter to begin with."
"If that makes you feel better, Lily."
"Don't call me that."
"Why?"
"I don't like my name."
"Why?"
"I just told you, it's boring!"
"No, it's not."
"Give me three reasons why it's not boring."
He paused for a second, simply staring at me.
"See, you can't."
"Sure I can."
"So go!"
"I'm thinking!"
I sighed, turning back to gaze at the fire.
"Got it."
"Shoot."
"One, lilies are totally different from any other flower…"
"I believe I already addressed that. They're weird."
"Let me talk, Lils! Anyway, they're totally different from any other flower. They look different, they smell different, they'd probably sound different if they could talk. They're original. There are no other flowers like them. They stand out from all the others, and that's why people like them so much. All the other flowers basically look the same. I honestly can't tell the difference between a rose and a chrysanthemum. But I always know when I see a lily. They're special."
"Roses and chrysanthemums look totally different, they…"
"Lily?"
"Hm?"
"Can I please finish?"
"Fine."
"Alright, reason number two: There are so many types of lilies."
"I don't see what that has to do with anything."
"Lily…"
"Fine. Go ahead."
"So there's the japanese lily, the tiger lily, the orange lily, the madonna lily, the canada lily, the easter lily, the regal lily, the panther lily and the carolina lily. And that's just the ones of the top of my head. So because there are so many different types of lilies, it's nearly impossible to hate every single one. In fact, most people love all kinds of lilies."
He paused.
"What?"
"Like you."
"What the bloody hell are you going on about?"
"I don't know if you've noticed, Lily, but everybody likes you."
"That's not true."
"Yes, it is. Everybody, in the Slytherins, think you're a good person."
"I doubt that. What's reason number three?"
"The actual meaning of your name."
"What d'you mean?"
"The name Lily literally means 'blossoming flower'. Flowers are commonly known as a symbol of beauty. You are beautiful, Lily, whether you think so or not. 'Blossoming Flower' would actually mean 'growing beauty'. Which you are. 'Ellen' means light. 'Light' means good. You're a truly good person, Lily, so you're middle name also fits. 'Evans' means 'gracious gift'. As far as I'm concerned, Lily, you are a gift from heaven, or God, or Merlin, or whoever's up there."
He reached up to brush a strand of my hair back from my face.
"So, in conclusion, Lily Ellen Evans, you are a good, beautiful gift from above."
He leaned down and kissed me lightly on the forehead before retreating to the boys' dorms. He stopped on the bottom stair, turned back to me, and called,
"At least be happy that yours isn't as boring as 'James Henry Potter'."
As I watched James walk away, I touched my forehead lightly.
Maybe, just maybe, Lily Ellen Evans wasn't such a horrible name after all.