Cause of Everything

Disclaimer: No one really owns anything, it's all God's. He put us here, he gives us ideas, he takes us from here when it is our time. If Harry Potter did belong to anyone on Earth it is J. K. Rowling's.

I'd like to say that I'm dedicating this story to my friend's dad. May you rest in peace in Heaven above. We will miss you.

Chapter 1 Almost

She looked out, it really was a beautiful sight. Easy to get caught in thought staring at it in a trance, but now wasn't the time to think about that. She had to do it before someone noticed she was missing and came looking for her. Ha! No one cared, why would they come looking for her? She was the lowly, teased and picked on, outcast. She was even lower than Snape.

She shut her eyes to reflect on her life. She had had enough! This life was nothing, but torment! She had no friends, and now no family. She had had enough this was it, the end. Her time had come.

She opened her eyes. She was ready. She didn't want to live. Without friends she had been living for seven years, but without family, she couldn't.

She took a deep breath, her last breath and shut her eyes preparing herself for the inevitable pain she was certain to feel. She jumped.

Or rather she tried to. At that moment the cause of everything stopped her. "What do you think you're doing, Lily?" James Potter asked pulling her off of the small wall that surrounded the astronomy tower.

She wriggled to be free, but his grip on her wrists was too strong, "Let me go!" she cried. 'He had caused everything she had felt it seemed. She, Lily Evens, had no friends because everyone did what James Potter did they copied him trying to be popular. He teased her constantly, ever since first year. Since third year it was that he would ask her out. It was commonly known that Lily didn't date. The girls were jealous of her, so they were even worse than the boys who simply ignored her.

"No Lily," he replied firmly.

"How did you know I was here?" she spat at him through tears. He hadn't let her stop her suffering.

"I've been watching you for the past seven years every night when you came here I followed."

She froze in the middle of trying to be free. Why is he so interested in me? Why couldn't he just leave me alone? Why? "I've never seen you here before," she replied steadying her voice trying to sound stronger than she felt.

"You can't see through invisibility cloaks can you?" he asked giving her a small, grimgrin.

"You've been spying on me for the past seven years!" she shouted at him. She was growing angry and fast she was not one to be messed with when angry.

"Shh," James said in a soothing voice, "Lily, please don't get angry. I'm sorry. I really am, I know I shouldn't have been spying, but I'm glad I did or else I would have lost you forever."

"You can't loose something you've never had, Potter, and you never will," Lily spat at him. She began to struggle again catching him off guard, but she still couldn't get away.

"Lily relax. I'm not going to let go until we're back in the Heads' Common Room. Look I'm sorry to do this to you, but you've already tried once to kill yourself, I won't risk a second time."

"Why do you care?" she shouted at him. "You never have in the past! You've always pranked me, teased me, turned the whole school against me! Why should I believe you? Why should I trust you? Why should I trust anyone?" she was crying uncontrollably now.

"Lily, shh dear," James pulled her against her so that she was sobbing into is chest, although she was trying to push away on the inside, she just couldn't, "I have always cared about you. I have always loved you."

"Quit calling me that!" she shouted through sobs. "You sure have done a great job over the past seven years of showing me you care at all if I live or die!"

"Lily, I'm sorry. I want to repay you," he tilted her chin up looking hopefully into her eyes, but instead of seeing warmth or anything good all he saw was hate, sadness, lost. "Please Lily, I'll do anything."

"Let me go then!" she replied defiantly.

He smiled a shadow of a smile, not his usual arrogant one, but one of true compassion and love, and replied, "That is the only thing I can't do. Come it is late and we need to get you to bed."

He released one of her wrists, but still held onto the other tightly, led her over to the door where a silver, shiny cloak was laying. He picked it up and draped it first over her then himself. He felt her shiver, who wouldn't it was in the middle of November and it was pretty cold outside. He put his arm around her shoulder and felt her stop walking and tense up before continuing.

Then next thing she did was what really surprised him, she leaned into him a bit he could feel her shivering still.

When they finally got to the Heads' Common Room James rounded on her. "Lily, why?" was all he could manage.

She just sank into the nearest couch, bringing him down with her as he had not released her yet. "Lily?" he asked again.

She had managed to stop crying, but still her eyes were red and her cheeks had red streaks on them from crying. "Oh yes I'm just going to tell you everything! How I feel, so that you can make fun of me tomorrow when you don't care again!" she was getting hysterical now, first he teases her for seven years then she has no friends then this morning a ministry owl tells her parents are dead then her sister tells her it's her fault they're dead and that she's not invited to her wedding and now to top it all off Potter decides he wants to be her best friend all of a sudden.

"Lily, Lily," James moaned, "What's wrong? What could have made you want to kill yourself?" he asked shivering at the mention of her killing herself.

"If you care so much you should have asked seven years ago!" she was starting to get fed up with James.

"Please Lily, just tell me. You can't go to bed until you tell."

"Fine!" she said exasperated in defeat. "I haven't a single friend since I started here because everyone does what you do, in this case tease and torture me. I can live with that, but I can't live without family. My parents were murdered by… by Voldemort last night and that's what the first owl was this morning. The second was my sister disowning me," she tried to stay strong and not cry, but it didn't work as soon as she finished she began to cry.

"I'm sorry Lily. I didn't know. Will you forgive me?" he asked when he really was thinking more along the lines of will you go out with me?

"I guess, as long as people will just leave me alone," her voice quivered. The realization dawned on her, and it hurt as much as death itself, turning towards James she broke into sobs again.

"Lily? What's wrong?" James asked unsurely a second ago she was fine now she was sobbing again. He pulled her close so that she was crying into his chest.

"What am I supposed to do after Hogwarts. Petunia already claimed the house and the money. I have nothing."

James could have laughed with relief if it wouldn't have made her mad, but instead he said, "You'll stay at my house. My parents always wanted a daughter. They'll love you."

"Thank you, James." She felt a bit more relaxed now that she knew a bit more about her future. She backed up a little to look him in the eye, "Won't your parents mind?"

"They'll be delighted to have someone to keep us in line," James smiled.

She tilted her head to the side in confusion. She looks so angelic and pure and beautiful James couldn't help but think. "Sirius, Remus, and Peter stay at my house for most of the summer," James answered her unasked question.

"Ah."

"You'd better get to bed, you look dreadfully tired," James told her as he stood up then gave her his hand which she gratefully excepted.

"Thank you James, for everything," Lily smiled and gave him a peck on the cheek then walked to her privet dormitory. "Goodnight James."

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Hi. I needed to reupload this chapter, as there were a few 7's that should have been seven's. Please review even though I realized this chapter is pretty short.