A/N: I recently found this story after writing it several years ago. I'm very happy I did. :)

Humph

What did it take for a girl to fall asleep? I thought angrily, sitting up in my tepid four poster bed (Those copper bed-warmers worked wonderfully, by the way) and hitting my head on one of the posters. Another angry humph echoed around the room as I rubbed my aching head-which did absolutely nothing to ease the pain. Stupid, pretty princess beds.

I glanced around the room, hoping I hadn't woken anyone up. That would not be good. I couldn't handle a bunch of angry girls barking about their lost beauty sleep, especially when I hadn't gotten any myself. I listened closer, hearing the slight snores of my roommates- one particularly loud from Bethany I might add.

Nope. No one awake.

The smell of fresh dew on the grass drifted through the circular windows and around the room. Contrary to anyone not in Hufflepuff would believe, it was quite calming actually (don't give me that look). So why couldn't I fall asleep?

I slid out from my cozy bed and onto the freezing stone floors. I jumped in surprise, right back onto the bed. If I wasn't awake before, I was now. I supposed this was the way they kept people in their beds through the night. Well, I was way too awake now to go back to bed.

I edged off the bed slowly awaiting the icy sensation. It felt even colder now. I scurried quickly across the floor to the circular wood door only stopping to think how stupid I was not to put on my shoes before I came all the way over here. Too late now.

I dashed out into the tunnels and into the warmer wood floors of the common room. Oh, how I loved the common room! Even at night it looked happy, in its bright yellow banners and green, lively pant life (ha, I sounded like Bethany), but it was still dark, except for the slight fire almost always burning.

I suppose for a while I despised the color yellow and the whole common room, but I got over that after the first week (having the kitchens so close, helped a bit too!).

I walked over to a black upholstered sofa- a particular favorite of mine- and made a thumbs-up at a dancing plant the side table (I call him Phillip). He needed to be complimented or he'd be moody for the rest of the day. You didn't want to see that plant moody (I found out the hard way). He bowed and continued his dance- which consisted of his periwinkle petals and emerald leaves moving interpretively to no apparent rhythm.

I jumped onto the couch carelessly, before jumping right off (I was quite jumpy today, wasn't I?). I realized my favorite sofa was lumpy. How could it be lumpy? I took a deep breath before slowly taking out my wand from my pajama short's elastic waistband (So I sleep with my wand? It's not weird at all), before poking the lumpy thing lightly with its end. Whatever it was, it was soft. I poked it again, still unsure of what it could be. When suddenly, it moved.

I backed up into one of the walls staring at the thing on the sofa. It covered it up entirely. It moved again, the appendage falling off the side of the couch, twitching and shaking until I could scarcely make out fingers at the end. I moved closer to the shape, my eyes figuring out what I thought was who knows what, was actually a human body. Oops. It was a sleeping person the whole time? Well then.

Humph. Wow I did that a lot.

I put my wand back into my waistband and nudged the body hoping for them to wake up. I still had no idea who this person was. The face was turned away from me, but I could see short untidy black hair sprouting from his or her head. It could be Katherine. Perhaps she had bored herself to sleep in the common room talking about the common room. Or it could be Ethan;you'd think I would remember my own brother, though. But he didn't have black hair. Or maybe he did. The lack of sleep was starting to get to me.

I didn't need to think about it any longer. The body shifted uncomfortably, turning to face me.

"JAM-James!" I nearly yelled, but caught myself at the end. I really didn't need those angry sleepy girls to come after me. But seriously, how did James get in here! He's in Gryffindor!

James groaned and stuffed his face in the upholstery.

"Get up, you git!" I pushed him, but he rolled away and groaned again.

"Go away," he growled. Evidently he wasn't a middle of the night person.

Wait! This was my common room! How did he even get in here? Why was he here?

I nudged him again. He repositioned himself, but instead of groaning for the third time, he rolled off the edge of the sofa and hit the floor with an oomph.

He was awake now.

"Wha-" He said sleepily.

"James," I said, "What are you doing here?"

"Sleeping…" He said sarcastically.

"Ha-ha, you're too funny." I rolled my eyes. "Really, how did you get in here?"

James sat up from the floor, yawning. "The barrels." He laughed. "I just had to watch a couple of first years to get it right. Took me since last year, though."

"And you didn't get doused in vinegar?" I had to admit, in my first year I may have gotten soaked (Don't laugh! I bet you would have, too, had Bethany not been yapping about Fred so much. I blame her).

"May be once," he grinned.

I raised an eyebrow.

"Or twice."

I had to laugh. "I wish I could've seen you!" The thought of seeing James covered in vinegar, left me unable to stay on my feet. I fell to the sofa in a fit of giggles. "You just sloshing around outside the barrels! I bet the first years thought you were absolutely insane!" I was dying.

"Yeah it was dumb, ha-ha," he smiled, "but at least I got in!"

My laughter hadn't quite died down. "I still don't see how. We haven't had a break in a thousand years! And James Potter breaks in. Hilarious!"

"It took me forever, Lexi," he said, getting up from the floor and onto the sofa, "But I just had to do it!"

The air was still filled with my giggles. "Why." My curiosity had gotten the better of me.

"See- Dad and I- were having this bet," James started, "He wanted to know what the Hufflepuff common room was like, 'cause he never saw it."

"You mean he's seen the other ones?" I really wanted to see the Gryffindor common room or Slytherin- I wondered if they really did have the skulls of past Hufflepuffs as candle holders.

"Yeah! He's seen 'em all except Hufflepuff! But he doesn't really say much about it, though…" James' statement trailed off with wonder. We all knew bits and pieces of what he did for the Wizarding world, each from a different point of view of our parents. We weren't allowed to hear the Ministry's version until fifth year. They didn't want us to get ideas. Whatever that meant.

"So what are you going to tell him?" I challenged, bringing my knees to my chest and resting my head on them.

James gazed around the room, "that it's very… circular."

"Yeah, it is." My laughter filled the room again (I know I'm pretty easy to get a laugh out of). "Anything else?"

"It's very yellow and surprisingly green." He pointed to the foliage around the room, then to Phillip, the plant that literally never stopped dancing.

I leaned over James' shoulder to get a better look at Phillip. He was shaking his rear leaves for us. How charming. "Compliment him on his dancing." I whispered.

James turned to stare at me in disbelief. I rolled my eyes. "Just do it." I said.

"Um, Good job?" I smiled at James' attempt, but Phillip, took it as a real compliment. He bowed and started to fist pump his right leaf (I wouldn't really call that dancing, but I would never tell Phillip that).

James turned to me for explanation. "Phillip gets really mad when people don't like his work…" I laughed remembering our issue first year (First year was not a good year).

"His name is Phillip?" James said.

"Me and Bethany call him that- Phillip the dancing plant- has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"

"No…not really."

"Well, I like it!"I smiled, "But then again I'm a Hufflepuff, I like everything." I joked.

James' face got surprisingly serious. "Does it bother you that you're in Hufflepuff?"

"Why would it bother me?"

"C'mon, you know."

I paused for a moment. "No, doesn't bother me at all," I smiled. "I love being just and loyal. They're my favorite parts of myself."

"But don't you want to be brave or smart or even-blech-cunning?"

"I am all those things," I looked into James' eyes. "I can be those things and still be a Hufflepuff."

"The sorting hat put you…?"

"The sorting hat just puts you where you think you belong; it's all how you see yourself."

James cocked his head and had wonder in his eyes. I nearly never saw him without a smile and a comeback.

I rested my hand on his forearm. "The smartest witch in all of England could be put into Gryffindor, because she values her bravery the most."

James paused for a moment, putting on his thinking face (if he had one). "If I wasn't a Gryfindor, I'd want to be a Hufflepuff."

"With me?"I giggled, before yawning a bit and sinking down into the sofa's black seat. Soon I was curled in a little ball. "I think you should stay just the way you are, James Potter." I said truthfully. It didn't matter what house he was in, he would still be his mischievous, funny self.

"You too, Alexa Finnigan," James chuckled lightly, nestling into the dark upholstery.

I sunk lower into the sofa and my little ball, my eyes fluttering until they closed completely shut.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading. Please review. XOXO