Author's Note: I was going to wait to post this until I had more written, but seeing as it can stand by itself, and because I got such LOVELY reviews (THANK YOU all of you!), I figured I'd post sooner. Now, this means that I don't know how soon I"ll post after this - but I'll do my best:)

Chapter 5: What's Life Without Coffee?

Making her way down the stairs to the common room, Lily felt almost lonely. It was tradition for her and Chloe to eat breakfast together… they would wait for each other, walk down together, and eat together, no matter what. That way they could stay close, no matter how hectic life got. But now, here she was… breaking a seven-year-old tradition. All because of a stupid, meaningless row.

As she approached the portrait hole, she was greeted by none other than the subject of her deepest confusions, with his customary messy hair.

"Morning, Evans."

"Morning," she said without thinking, before she realized who she was talking to. "Oh… it's you."

"Mph." Apparently Lily wasn't the only sleep deprived one this morning. In fact, James was so sleep deprived that he slammed his head trying to climb out of the common room. As she climbed out after him, she found him sitting on the floor, rubbing his head and groaning. Somehow, she found herself feeling sorry for him.

"One of those mornings, huh?" she said.

"Mph," was the only reply.

She smiled in spite of herself. A tired James Potter was almost tolerable. "Hey." She squatted down in front of him, resting her elbows on her knees. "I can absolutely relate."

Now he actually managed to look at her. One eyebrow went up, then the other, and a tired grin crept into his face. "Are you actually being nice to me, Evans?"

She rolled her eyes. "Honestly? I'm too tired to care."

"Hm…." His eyes lit up. "Coffee?"

Her jaw dropped, and then she grinned. "Coffee!"

They high-fived and Lily helped James to his feet. Together, they made their way down to the great hall.

Neither of them noticed that about half of their peers were glancing in their direction and looking confused. In fact, neither noticed anything for a while as each downed numerous cups of coffee and Lily realized that she had skipped dinner the night before. As she was attacking her third bagel (she literally had to attack it – it was one of the enchanted variety that didn't want to be eaten, much to James' amusement), she heard James swear under his breath, and looked up to see Professor McGonagall on her way over. She looked inexplicably worried.

"Mr. Potter, could I speak with you for a moment?" Lily met James' eyes in fright – this was obviously about the demolished suits of armor!

"It wasn't him, Professor, it was me!"

The professor's brow furrowed, and Lily bit her tongue. "Miss Evans, I haven't the faintest idea what you are talking about, but I can assure you that this has nothing to do with you."

She sighed. "No, professor, I swear he was just trying to stop me, I was…"

"Miss Evans, for the last time, neither one of you is in any form of trouble! Now, Mr. Potter, if you please?"

James stood, looking bewildered, and followed her out of the great hall. Lily groaned and opted for another cup of coffee. The half-eaten bagel sidled slowly off of her plate and hid under an unused napkin, furious about being covered in cream cheese.