I thought James had brown hair and Albus had black hair?
Tattered-Dreams's avatar
I just found this comment, so excuse the months it took to get some kind of speculative answer. =)
In the books, it actually states that Lily has red hair and Al looks like his father - so black hair and green eyes. Only Al inherited the green eyes, giving both Lily and James Ginny's brown. Green is recessive, meaning for Harry to have his mother's eyes, he would not carry any gene/allele for his father's hazel eyes. For Albus to have green eyes, Ginny must possess a recessive 'green' allele, even though she also has a dominant 'brown' one. I hope that makes sense :confused: :O_o: :hmm:

We are never told canonically what colour hair James II has but I tend to assume black. If Lily takes her mother's traits, and Al his father's, then James would - I like to think - be the one with mixed traits. As we are told he doesn't have green eyes, so they are, in theory, Ginny's, I go with the assumtion he has Harry's hair.
This possibly hasn't helped, but I thought I'd try =) Ultimately, James' haircolour is not actually specified anywhere.
But couldn't he have brown hair?
Tattered-Dreams's avatar
Who would he get brown hair from?
All of the Weasleys and Lily Evans had red hair. Both James I and Harry had black. I am not 100% sure whether black or red is recessive (as true black, which Harry's is, is not as common as very dark brown). I'm fairly certain brown is dominant. You can check this if you want to be sure... If I'm right about brown being dominant, it wouldn't be possible - I believe - for James II to have brown hair.
Explanation: if the allele for brown hair was passed to him, it would have to come from one of his parents (or both), which is basic biology. Being dominant, that parent would have to exhibit brown hair themselves, as it would overpower the more recessive allele of red or true black.
Brown hair in the Potter or Weasley family lines could be a misconception brought about by the movies, in which James I is portrayed as having lighter hair :pissedoff: In the books' universe, it is stated many times he had midnight black hair - like his son. (Of course, James II could, potentially, have brown hair - even in the book universe - if one were to assume Ginny cheated on Harry and became pregnant, but I personally think the possibilities of that are slim to none).
I know this is hugely long, but I hope it made sense. :blushes:
Ultimately, though, there is a lot of creative license taken with fanfiction, and if it is just a question posed because you imagine him with brown hair, you are at complete liberty to continue on as you have been. =) Honestly, in your imagination, no one can tell you of for imagining he has hot pink dreadlocks tipped with neon green, so...
It was a serious question. I don't know shit about biology. Lols. :P

And don't worry, I didn't have the movies in mind. I just liked the idea of Harry's untidy hair in dark brown.
Do you think he could have dark red hair, then, like Lily? Or would it be ginger like Ginny's if it were red? It just seems a bit boring if both his boys have black hair. ^^

And don't worry about the length! ;)
What what?

You're the one commenting on a two-year old comment! ;P
TheTempestintheStorm's avatar
Which chows how slow i am 
Tattered-Dreams's avatar
Ooh. I'm gonna see if I can work this one out. lol.

James having Lily or Ginny's hair would, I'm pretty sure, depend on whether red is more recessive than true black. Bear with me. =)

Say True black is the dominant: Lily's red hair could be carried by Harry, and then passed to James (and, in fact, Lily II). With red being recessive, none of the weasley's would have any alleles but that, so James would show red hair. If shades of red hair are defined by alleles also, it would simply depend on whether Ginny's hair colour or Lily's is the more dominant. (Biology is very convoluted, though, and I only know a bit, so there are thousands of factors to consider). If shades of hair are not defined by alleles, then this is where my theory runs to an end; I don't know how James II would exhibit one colour over another.

If Red is dominant over true black, however: Lily would have to carry a black allele, because Harry has black hair. He would only have two black alleles. In order for Albus to show black hair (which, canonically, he does) Ginny would have to carry a black allele (I'm inclined to think this theory is the wrong one, because it would mean a recessive black gene being carried through two generations of a completely red-haired family). As long as Ginny passed on her dominant red allele to James II, he would show red hair. In this instance - if alleles determine shades of red - James would not have Lily's hair but Ginny's.

If you want solid answers, searching google should yield quick results. It'll explain the basics of allele pairs, dominant and recessive and which are which when it comes to hair and eye colours. Everything I know is from Equine genetic lesssons, really. I know which eye colours are dominant but I'm not so sure about human hair. just equine coat patterns. :omfg:

:phew: I think that reply was even longer, so again, I'm sorry but I hope it made sense. =) If you want to imagine him with dark brown hair (which now you mention, I kind of like) go for it! lol. I personally like(d) to think of both James and Al with black hair, but I realise some people may think it boring. :lol:
Anyway, what the hell. I think I'm gonna go ahead and imagine that James dyes his hear dark brown, because I don't really see Ginny cheating on Harry either. ;)
o__O
No, seriously, I think I understand the general idea. But would Lily's dark red and the Weasley ginger be the same "kind" of allele? Is it just "red hair"? I'm not sure I understand "With red being recessive, none of the weasley's would have any alleles but that, so James would show red hair." completely.
Tattered-Dreams's avatar
Genes, alleles and dominant/recessive genes are very complex. I love genetics, but there is still a lot I don't understand - especially since I've never studied human genetics.

Because of that, I know eye colour but when it comes to hair, I can't say for certain what causes the different shades of a particular colour. it could be genetic coding other than an allele, or even environmental factors after birth. If you're truly intrigued, I'd advise scouring the internet or looking at some basic genetic textbooks, as the basics are usually laid out in an easily understandable way (and would you believe, these are still the basics? :faint: ) Its better you do that than take my word for it, as some of this is my speculation and quite possibly completely off-base.

Just quickly: when I said the Weasley's would only have red alleles if it was recessive - if any of them had a single allele (all alleles are paired) of brown, true black or even turquoise hair, they would show that hair trait over red. This is only true if red is the most recessive. if black is more recessive than red, one of the weasleys could have a black allele, but still have red hair. :confused: I'm really sorry if I'm making this more confusing. :blushes:.

You go ahead and assume James dyes his hair! Why shouldn't he? lol. Its an easier answer than working out his genetic code or suggesting to Harry he might not be his dad...