What's this? An update? From mspstar97 on Love You Forever? SHUT THE COMMON ROOM DOOR! I know, I know, I haven't updated in a while, and I'm sorry about that. But, I have been busy with school and whatnot. I'll try to be better about that in the future, but let me thank NY GE Pyromaniac, Aveline Archer, and xXAllegedAngelXx who reviewed the last chapter. Also, thanks to Spellshadow98 who reviewed the first chapter. Now, without further delay, on with the story! Enjoy!
Lily, James, and I lived comfortable lives from then on—well, as comfortable of lives as one can lead when living in a period of war against a dark wizard. We got along so well and peacefully that I sometimes forgot that there would be a new addition to the family very soon. But, of course, Lily and James always seemed to remind me of that at the weirdest times. One time, a few weeks after James began training me to become 'the best Chaser Hogwarts has ever seen', they reminded me of that fact in the very early morning, so early that it some call it night—3 AM.
"Why the bloody hell would you think of naming him or her Elvendork?!" Lily shouted.
"It's unisex!" was James's indignant retort.
"Well, I'll tell you what it is… bloody stupid. People will laugh at our baby for years because of that name, and I will not stand for you putting our child up for years of torture!"
"Well, I didn't realize that being logical and planning for both options both quickly and efficiently was a bad thing. Elvendork covers everything, and when we pick it, we'll be done with this blasted stuff for good!"
James was obviously going slightly mad from lack of sleep because even I cringed at the end of his response, knowing that Lily was going to be starking mad. And she was.
"James. Charlus. Potter. We will NOT be naming our child Elvendork; I don't care if it is unisex or not! How dare you act like this is something we can just do carelessly? How DARE you treat my opinion as neglible? And WHY do you not want to have another baby with me?!" came Lily's rather loud wailing response. She, I presumed, was also experiencing the maddening effects of lack-of-sleep…or now that I think about it, it was probably the pregnancy hormones.
"W-what?" James asked, bewildered, "Why would you think that I wouldn't want to have another baby with you Lily?"
"B-because you said that once we're done with this blasted stuff, we're done with it for good! That means forever! That means you never ever want to have another child with me again!" By this point, she was all-out bawling, and I imagined her throwing herself into James arms, pounding him, albeit weakly, with her fists. Yup, lack-of-sleep and pregnancy hormones are two things that you should never combine.
Of course, James, always the great husband, wrapped Lily up in his arms and shushed her until her sobs subsided and then whispered to her, "Of course I would love to have another baby with you Lily! I love you! You know how much I love you. I just want to get through this one peacefully before I think about a new one. You know, get one thing done right instead of messing up two things by doing both halfheartedly. And, ok, we won't be naming our baby Elvendork. We're just going to have to look for some new and better names. This naming stuff may feel bloody awful now, but by the time we're done, our child will have the best name at Hogwarts."
By this time, I had crept up to their room (bad idea, I know!) and was finishing my eavesdropping. Hey! I was already awake because of their row, so I was definitely going to finish listening to their conversation. I know eavesdropping's a bad habit, but I would have had to hear their row anywhere in the house because of my "super-hearing" so listening up close was better than my other option—listening in bed while fruitlessly trying to get to sleep. James was finishing whispering quiet comforts in Lily's ear, and I was sure she was smiling in his embrace by then. "Don't worry Lily, we'll find the right name. How 'bout we get started in the morning… Merlin knows we need some more sleep and I wouldn't be surprised if our row hadn't woken Milly up."
At this I pushed the door open and said, "It did."
James and Lily both looked at me with looks of amused surprise on their faces. I struggled to stifle a yawn and continued, "I heard you yelling, you were very loud by the way.I couldn't sleep at all, but then I listened to the conversation. I couldn't help it, you know I hear better than most! Sorry 'bout that by the way. But now, I was wondering, can I sleep here? I don't really want to go back to my room in the dark." I finished off with a huge yawn, one much too big for me to stifle.
James and Lily smiled at my little speech, and Lily said, "Of course you can, Milly. Hop in." She opened the covers, and I jumped in between her and James. James reached over to switch off the lights, and soon enough we were all fast asleep.
When I woke up the next morning, sunlight was streaming through the window blinds, and I was alone in the bed. James and Lily had probably left me to sleep a little more. When I went downstairs, I saw James and Lily surrounded by name books and plates of pancakes at the breakfast table. They were obviously taking the naming business very seriously, especially James—this was the first time I'd ever seen him not completely occupied by a plate of pancakes. Their discussion, which had obviously been going on since they'd woken up.
"Molly Phyllis?"
"No, too stuffy. For a boy, Ryan Jonathan?"
"Meh… Sylvia Joanna?"
"Nuh-uh…um… well…"
"Rose Julia?"
"Nope," I said, popping in, "Julia Rose sounds better. You should use that if it's a girl… Or maybe Luna Lily or something like that… Flowers are nice."
Lily and James looked up at me, then at each other. "Julia Rose…" James said, "Julia Rose Potter. I think that sounds good. Don't you Lily?"
Lily laughed and said, "Oh yeah, but I did like Luna Lily. But I do admit, I like Julia Rose better."
"Then it's settled, we'll name our child Julia Rose Potter." That came from James whose face looked relieved.
"What if it's a boy?" I asked.
James' elated look faded quickly, and he said, "We'll name him Julia Rose too."
I laughed and shared a look with Lily who said, "We most certainly will not James Potter! We will find a brilliant name for our child if it's a boy, and we will find it now!" Her voice trailed off as she looked at the books again, a look of tired resignation began to pass over her face.
"Or, we could look after we eat breakfast. I'm starving, and I'm sure you are too. James' plate has barely been touched!" I said.
James chuckled and said, "OK, after breakfast it is." Lily began to protest, but, just then, her stomach let out a loud rumble, proving James' point. "We'll think much better when we're full."
So, then, with a flick of his wand, James cleared the table of all the books and then went to get me some pancakes as I left to go get the orange juice and Lily to go get the maple syrup and powdered sugar. The table was set, and we ate in silence until we were all completely full and content.
When we were all done, James clapped his hands together and said, "Alright! Time to get back to work!"
We opened the name books once again.
"We should name it, if it's a boy, Sirius!"
"No."
"Fine, Remus, then."
"No, James."
"Aww c'mon Lily… Peter."
"Well… Peter is a nice name…"
"Yeah! That's the spirit Lily!"
"Absolutely not," I cut in, "You cannot be serious… Don't name him after your friends! Nuh-uh… it'll lead to weird expectations and identity crises… probably when he's a teenager."
At that, James and Lily just looked at me funny. Lily smiled, and James shook his head and said, "Milly, sometimes you're too smart for your own good. Fine…no Marauder namesakes."
He looked so disappointed after that, so I sighed and said, "You could have a Marauder middle name, but I still don't think it should be Sirius, Remus or Peter."
"Fine," he sulked. A grown man sulking! Ha! It was hilarious! Still sulking he continued, "Let's go back to looking for first names."
And we did, James, Lily, and I voicing suggestions while at least one of us turned it down.
"Arnold?"
"Ugh no. Too prissy,"
"Regulus?"
"What are you thinking Milly? That's a constellation! Not to mention Sirius' brother!"
"Oh…awkward."
That elicited a few chuckles.
We went on for hours like this, some of names being Caelum (too exotic- James), Landon (too preppy- me), and the ever infamous Elvendork (UGH! GOD NO! BE SERIOUS JAMES!- Lily, as James and I were howling with laughter). The task was tedious, but after hours on end of searching, I came across a name which seemed to fit just right.
"How 'bout this one… Harry. It means to be a leader and has kind, noble, and popular connotations."
James and Lily both looked toward the passage I was pointing at.
"Hmm…Noble. Chivalrous. Courageous. I like it…sounds like the perfect Gryffindor name!" James said.
"James, don't set out house expectations for our child before it's even born! But, I do like it… Very nice."
"Ok, so Harry for the first name then? Alright so now for the middle name to fill the blank in Harry "blank" Potter."
We smiled and busied ourselves in the naming books again. But it was hopeless, nothing we found sounded good with Harry or suited everyone else's tastes. We were nearing our wit's end.
"Oh this is hopeless! Damn this bloody thing!" James shouted as he tossed his fourth naming book down into the formidable pile of used naming books.
"James! Language! And pick that book up and get back to work!" That was from Lily, obviously.
I ran my hands through my hair and let out a weary sigh, this search was becoming more dire by the second as names were being reused and re-rejected. Tempers were running high when I thought back to James' suggestions about Marauder names. I still didn't like the idea of having their names in the kid's name, not because I didn't like them but because I didn't want little Harry (if the baby indeed was a boy) to feel the need to compete in his father's eyes for affection because of his name. But, then I thought, "What about James?" James was a good name and it fit well with Harry as a first name so I threw it out there.
"James? Are you sure Milly? What about the whole identity complex thing?"
"It's less potent when named after an immediate family member instead of a parent's friend, which can lead to a competitive nature and low self-esteem."
"Oookaaay… well, Harry James Potter does sound nice. Plus, James is a great name, I would know. Lily?"
"I agree. It's a nice sounding name, and he'll always have a piece of us with him wherever he goes. I like it."
"So, it's agreed?" James said, "If the baby's a boy we will name him—"
I finished for him, "Harry James Potter"
Well, finally another chapter of LYF is complete! And Harry's existence is finally acknowledged! I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you'll let me know what you think in a review, yes I'm still asking because I'm getting a ton of hits and favorites and follows but only a few reviews from chapters. I LOVE HEARING FROM YOU GUYS! Please make me happy! Of course, I'll love you for reading too; it just helps me to know that you're enjoying it as well. Anyway, I'll try to update as frequently as possible, but I don't know how quickly I'll be able to get the next chapter out with school and my charity work.
I've started the Livingh Hope Club, and we're trying to raise money and awareness about the issue of female infanticide and sex-selective feticide. People are killing off girls JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE GIRLS! And I, as well as the rest of the members of my club/charity, more than 40 MILLION girls are "missing" in India alone. If you share my sentiments and want to help save the world's disappearing daughters please visit our website ( .org). I don't know if Fanfiction will let you see the link I just wrote down, so I'll write it here with spaces .org. I'd love to hear from you!
