Title: From Despair To Hope

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all related characters, names, etc. are property of J.K. Rowling, all publishers concerned and Warner Brothers. The only things owned by the author are the plot and any names not featured in the official Harry Potter books or movies. No money is being made from this, and no copyright infringement is intended.

Lily Evans, sat under a tall redwood tree by the edge of the Forbidden Forest, shredding tears for good reason. Her lively orange hair seemed to be saddened by the occupying mood. Her bright emerald eyes shone with betrayal and desire. Her whole body was numb despite the warmness of her cloak. Her legs were bent up to her chest and her lean arms were wrapped around her knees with her head bent. She'd been crying for hours on end, and clear streaks continued to cascade down the side of her cheeks.

It just wasn't fair. Throughout her six years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, she'd maintained her academic levels. She's had great friends. She'd even made a fair amount of enemies. All of the Slytherins for one, and the bloody Marauders. Her life had taken its course with destiny in her seventh, final, and current year at Hogwarts. But apparently, it must not have been destiny; for destiny wouldn't have allowed the event of a couple of hours ago to take their course.

She never should have agreed. She should never have agreed to that idiotic dare. It was simple enough sure, but when her heart unraveled, it became much more than just a game. Her so-called friends had dared her to simply except a date from James Potter the next time he asked her. That hadn't been it, though. She had to keep from refusing him until they were an item and then she had to dump him.

Lily hadn't minded at all, at the time. James Potter was arrogant as it was, so she hadn't even bothered to think about him feelings. Her being here, in the cold snow, a week after the New Year, was defiantly not her fault though. Sure, she'd tried to break up with James earlier, but it had turned out to be impossible.

She'd realized that within the two weeks that she'd been with James, her heart had unbent and she'd cared to look at another side of James. A side that portrayed just caring and emotional feelings, it was hard to believe this was indeed the James Potter. James had been so caring towards her. He hadn't pulled a single prank on anybody since that time she'd requested him not to on their first date inside the Whomping Willow.

She could still remember the event not far from a week away when she'd realized something. The Slytherins had found it amusing to have framed her for pushing a girl down the steps of the Hogwarts castle so severely, she was still spending her time in the Hospital Wing. She remembered how all her friends had doubted her and all the other Gryffindors had doubted her. She'd ran away from them and found shelter up in the Astronomy Tower. The wind had been so strong, she'd been afraid of getting blown away by it and the goosebumps on her arms and legs had told her quite clearly, that she should go back to the warmth of the Gryffindor Tower. She'd been stubborn though. She'd stayed there and had been taken by surprise when she'd heard a voice whisper softly in her ear, "I believe you."

She'd jumped a foot in the air and had turned around to find James holding out a cup of hot chocolate. She'd accepted it. They'd sipped the hot chocolate slowly without a word, and Lily had leaned into him. A sudden rush of air had caused her to shiver and James had spontaneously brought his arms around her to keep her warm.

She'd felt at that moment, that she had just found the one person she could spend the remaining of her life with.

And now it was all over. She had never felt the need to inform James of the dare she as performing, and when she'd tried to break up with him, she hadn't been able to do it. James had taken it personally though, and had called her a nothing. He'd called her a nothing.

"You wouldn't break up with me Lily! You're nothing without me," He'd said like it was a simple statement. A true fact.

She'd fled from the half empty common room and searched for a place to just be alone, but when she'd failed, she'd taken the last option. The Hogwarts grounds.

The moment James had uttered those words, it had felt like she was being forced to relive every ounce of pain she'd ever felt in her entire life. She should have felt free, but instead she'd felt as if he was abandoning her.

Lily noticed the sky darkening, but didn't give it much thought. She shuddered from the cold and her teeth starting chattering as minute flakes of snow began to slowly settle on the ground.

Lily tried to think when her life had miraculously taken a sharp turn and ended up facing sharp knives. She gave it some thought, and came to the conclusion that it was probably the moment she agreed to do the dare.

It wasn't like her to get involved in mischief, but something had overcame her. She recalled the moment-the previous September when she'd made the decision that turned out to be greater than she'd thought.

The scenery changed as the Hogwarts Express sped away from the heart of London and brought them closer to Hogwarts. Inside one of the compartments were five girls-four of them giggling hysterically and one of them frowning.

Lily Evans thought about it while she waited for her friends to stop the giggling. She had a decision to make. Eleanor, Claresta, Hope, and Anora had offered her a dare. If she succeeded, her reward was forty galleons. If she lost, she simply had to do all of their homework for a month. It wasn't a bad deal at all and she thought she might just be able to pull it off, but the catch was that the dare required getting involved in a relationship. With James Potter.

The mere thought of it made her laugh and she let out a snort. Her friends turned their attention to her again and she said, "I'm just thinking how stupid this is."

Anora mocked her outrage. "How dare you! We spent all summer trying to think of a suitable dare of you!"

Everyone laughed, including Lily.

"So Lily, are you going to do it or not?" Claresta asked.

Becoming an item with her significant other being James Potter and then getting the chance to dump him in front of the whole of Gryffindor House or the school was definitely worth it. What did she have to loose? She could do their homework, no problem, if she lost the bet, but if she won, she had forty more galleons to add to the Gringotts vault she'd opened at the age of twelve.

"Alright."

That had been it. She hadn't bothered to think about anything, but the money. Greed was a sin. So was lust. In fact, she'd probably performed the seven deadly sins in the eight weeks that she'd been talking to James politely.

There had been pride. There had been greed. Envy had existed at one point or another. There had been sloth when she'd been around James. There had even been gluttony, by her standards. And now she was feeling anger and lust both at the same time.

The vast blue above her was completely dark now and the stars shone brightly like diamonds. Even with the clear sky, there was snow. No matter how cold she was, she had no desire to face James again, but she'd have to. At one point or another, she'd have so she might as well go back now.

She stood up, hugging the cloak to herself for warmth, but to avail. She made her way up to the castle, but found herself moving slower than usual. She hadn't eaten in for hours and her regular diet didn't consist of much. Her limbs were numb and she could barely feel her feet. Cold air escaped her mouth, and her nose was frozen to match the temperature of ice.

Without warning, she lost he balance. The atmosphere swirled around her and her knees gave out. But before she collapsed to the ground, she felt strong hand grab her around the middle and pull her up.

"Lily, Lily?" She heard masculine voice calling out to her, but darkness had settled around her like a shroud.

She was conscientious as her feet were swept off the ground and she was being carried to hopefully-a warm place with a steaming mug of hot chocolate.

Fifteen minutes later, her prediction had indeed proved itself true. She was sitting on the couch by the fire in the Gryffindor common room, wrapped in a warm blanket and caressing a cup of hot chocolate in her hands.

In the seat next to her, was James Potter, not looking smug at all, even if he had just saved the day.

"What's wrong?" She questioned. She vaguely remembered having the feeling of never wishing to see or talk to him again.

"Can I keep you?"

"Excuse me?"

"I want to marry you."

Where had that come from? They were both much to young to consider marriage.

"I want to marry you because then I'll never be able to look at another woman's face again. I'll just see you with your bright green eyes and I'll always trust you and I'll never think any less of you. I made a mistake this morning. I wasn't thinking straight. My pride got to me and all I could think of was to bring you down."

Well, he hadn't exactly mentioned the one pin point reason why people got married. She sighed. James clearly wasn't thinking straight now either.

"I love you." he suddenly blurted out.

"Honest?" Lily asked without hesitation.

"My life depends on it." He held out a ring to her. He'd never seen her this serious in her life.

She looked at the ring- gold with intricate designs carved on the sides and emerald surrounded by diamonds. She considered his offer. Marriage. It was a gamble and a snare and an invitation to pain. It was compromise and sacrifice, and she'd be stuck with this arrogant idiot and his heirloom ring.

"I'll marry you." She replied, her smile not quite reaching his.

Finis