Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. If I did, Dumbledore and Sirius would still be alive.

Early Morning Chats

I heard the familiar sound of the staircase creak but did not turn around to see who had descended from the boy's dormitory. I already knew.

"Potter," I said flatly, with no emotion what so ever. He stopped where he was.

"Evans," he replied, mocking me slightly. After only seconds of staring, unblinkingly at one another, we both smiled. He came over and sat next to me on the couch in front the fire as I put my book on the table in front of us.

"Sleep well?" he asked.

"Of course. You?"

"Like a baby." He yawned and stretched, rumpling up his hair as his hands dropped back down to his sides. As he did, I pulled my legs up onto the couch and tucked them under me. I watched him, taking note of how his muscularity showed through his shirt. Quidditch certainly did him some good. I looked past him for a moment, out the window on the far side of the room. It was barely five o'clock and the moon still cast an eerie light over the grounds. James yawned again and I looked back at him.

"You can go back to sleep you know. I don't mind." But I did. And he knew it.

"Nah, I'm not tired. Besides, Sirius is snoring again. I'd never fall asleep again. I swear its like a symphony," he laughed, "Anyway, this is a part of my day."

These early morning chats had become a routine. I had always been an early riser, ever since I was a kid. But James only started a few months ago; when his father died. That first morning, I just consoled him (he had later commented about how it was one of the first times we had spoke to each other and it hadn't ended up with me yelling at him), but every day after that we talked about school, friends, our plans for after Hogwarts, and nothing in particular.

"It's going to snow today," he stated.

"Really?" He nodded. "How do you know?"

"I just do. I can always tell when its gonna snow."

"Well I hope you're wrong this time," I had never liked the snow.

"You don't like the snow?" he asked, looking at me as though I was crazy. I shook my head and laughed at him. "How can you not like the snow?"

"It's too cold. And it makes it impossible to sit outside and read or take a walk."

"You know you don't have to be reading to have a good time," James teased.

"Like you'd know anything about reading?" I shot back and smiled. He knew I didn't really mean it.

"Oh come on, I'm not that bad."

"No, I guess you're not," I surrendered. He really had changed. Ever since the start of seventh year, James had matured. He no longer bullied other students just for annoying him or because he was bored. Although he and Snape still hexed each other quite often, from what I could tell, James was rarely the one who started it. I couldn't even remember the last time he asked me out. And though I hated to admit it, part of me missed that. Especially since we had begun our early morning chats. They had allowed me to get to know the real James Potter. Not the arrogant, cocky James Potter who the rest of the school knew. But the handsome, funny, nice and even occasionally sweet James Potter. He was still a little conceited and fairly cocky, but jokingly so and in a good way. A way that made me laugh. Of course, he was still mostly the same, but one small thing had changed that made him slightly different. He had grown up.

During the day, we still bickered constantly and got on each other's nerves. But at the same time, we got along. I had even sometimes hung out with him and the rest of the Marauders. His voice jerked me back to the present.

"Snow is great though," he urged. "You get to go outside and have snowball fights and make snowmen and go sledding."

"Getting hit in the face with a freezing substance is not my idea of fun," I argued.

"Well maybe if I was the one who hit you, you'd feel differently," James assured me. "You've never had a snowball fight Marauder-style," he smiled at me. He really did have a charming smile. "And if you're really lucky, you can catch Sirius off guard and knock him face first into the snow. That would defiantly make the lack of reading outside worthwhile." I laughed.

"Yes, that probably would."

"Well then, tomorrow once there is enough snow, you can join us in our traditional snowball fight. And I bet once it's over, you will love the snow," James challenged. I smiled at him.

"You're on," I agreed. Then, suddenly I shivered.

"You cold, Evans?"

"No," I denied stubbornly and his grin widened.

"Look outside." I moved my gaze from James's rather attractive face to the window and gasped. It was snowing. I eyed him curiously, wondering how he had known but he just grinned at me, proudly. We sat in silence for a while, watching the snow fall and then he looked at me. I could tell we were reaching the end of our morning chat. The sun was beginning to rise.

"Why do you hate me, Lily," James asked, as he did every morning. I gave him the same reply I always did.

"I don't hate you." But this time I added to my answer. "I've never hated you.

A/N: I don't usually write fanfics but I thought I would give it a shot. Reviews are greatly appreciated but please don't be too harsh. This is my first story. Constructive criticism is welcomed though. This is a oneshot...for now at least. I've been thinking about adding a chapter or two but I'm not really sure where I would go with it. So it would take some convincing which means...Review!!!!

Hope you enjoyed it!