Chapter Three: Painful Memories
Lily stood under the tree, waiting for James. "He's cute and nice. He's a really nice person, almost like Sirius, but somewhat different. I just can't put my finger on it." thought Lily. She thought on what she would teach James today, the type of people Darleen gets along with. She had never liked the type of people that were Darleen's friends, but she didn't do anything about it, they were all like Darleen, bad people under a good mask. And James was just blind, blind to the fact he would suffer the same fate as Darleen's previous friends and boyfriends, that would destroy him for quite some time. Darleen had charmed many under her spell of kindness and beauty, but she was really a monster just like Snape and like Malfoy, who had convinient friends for convinient situations. As Lily though about this under the tree, she had been oblivious to the fact that James had gone over to her and sat down beside her and was now looking at her curiously.
"Lily?" he said. "Are you Okay?" Lily snapped out of her thoughts and saw a pair of big round brown eyes staring at her. "Argggggggggggggggg!!!!!" she shouted. Then she realized who it was. "Oh It's you James. Sorry, you just scared me a bit." she said calming down. James grinned. "So what's the menu for today teacher?" he teased. Lily chuckled. "Teacher?" she said skeptically. "Yeah. You teach me about Darleen. This is like a subject only without any grades." he said. Lily laughed at this. " I suppose so. Well, today I'll tell you about the type of people she likes and doesn't like." Lily said. She reached for a small paper bag and took out a small stack of Photos. James raised and eyebrow at this. "More Photos?" he asked. Lily nodded. "Yeah. Previous and current friends." she said. She took the first picture from the stack and handed it to James. It was the picture of a long black-haired girl with almond eyes and a nice smile. "Ryona Chang, Shan Yu Chang's sis. She was a very good friend of Darleen's until they got in a fight because Ryona supposedly stole something of Darleen's. Ryona is cool, crazy and really nice, and exceptionally good at astronomy. But she had one flaw, she was in love with Darleen's older brother, Kyle." explained Lily. James put the photo aside.
Lily handed him the next photo. This time a chestnut-brown-haired girl with nice bouncing curls that came down to her ear, that was sitting in a garden chair was on the photo. "This is Ellie Trynn. She too was nice, crazy and funny, and had exceptional actor skills. She's a muggle. Ellie and Darleen are not friends because once in 4th grade there was this Talent Show. Ellie did this spectacular skit and got top scores for it, but Darleen copied it and turned it around a bit. When Ellie found out, she was furious so she said Darleen was the worst friend ever and left." said Lily.
And so the afternoon carried on. Lily showed James all of Darleen's previous friends and told him why they weren't friends with Darleen anymore until she came to her current friend. Lily handed James the photo of a pretty blond-haired girl with Darleen. James recognized her immediately. "Sarah-Kate Ralphs. The slytherin girl nut case." he said. Lily didn't have to tell him anything about Sarah-Kate, because SK as her friends called her was right below Severus Snape on the marauders' list of pranks. Then she pulled out the photo of a young, brown-haired guy, of about 16, a photo she had taken last year. "Paul Ledger." she said quietly. James took it. He knew Paul, a Ravenclaw. He was a stuck-up egomaniac that cared for no one but himself. James looked at Lily. Lily looked away.
"Lily? Is something wrong?" asked a worried James. Lily just looked out into space. SHe couldn't tell James about Paul, it hurt too much. And as if something had snapped in her mind, memories she had tried to push back suddenly flooded her head.
" Me? Like you? A nerdy girl like You?"
" It's okay. I mean the dance is great. We couldn't of done it without you."
"He likes Darleen. I'm sorry Lil."
"He likes me. Too bad I'm dating Freddie or I would date him. He's really nice and cute you know."
"He doesn't talk to me Li! I even heard he called me a bookworm!"
"I don't EVER want to see you again!"
Then Lily started to scream "NO!!!!!!NO!!!! Go away!!!!". James hugged her and whispered "Lily, what's wrong?" into her ear. Lily snapped back into the world. She found herself embraced by James. "Are you Ok?" said James again worried. Lily nodded. "Yeah. I just...remembered something I didn't want to remember." she said quietly. James understood what that felt like. "Do you want to keep on or should we continue tomorrow?" aked James gently. Lily looked up. "No. It's okay. Anyway we finished. Tomorrow I'll tell you about who's after her too. And then we'll work out how you should meet her and everything." said Lily a bit more cheerful. James looked excited. "Really? Oh great!!!!" he said.
Lily laughed. Then she looked up at him. "Thanks." she said. James looked at her. Her sparkling jade eyes looked at him with gratefulness. "For what?" he said puzzled. Lily smiled. "For worrying about me like you did just now." she said. James looked surprised. Nobody had every thanked him for woorying about someone. It was just, instinct. "Er. Yeah. No problem." he said running his fingers through his jet-black hair.
They sat there, looking at each other, as if a special bond had formed between them. They were now true friends. The sun began to set. Lily stirred and said " I better go. It's been really nice this afternoon with you." James smiled. "Wait for me. I'm going to the Gryffindor common room too." Lily stood up, but one of the pictures fell to the ground. James noticed it and picked it up. It was a red-haired girl with green-jade eyes eating an ice-cream with Darleen beside her, he realized it was Lily. He didn't metion it to her, at least he wouldn't...yet. He pocketed it and ran over to Lily who waited for him to catch up.
When they got to the Gryffindor common room, they split up. Lily went to her dorm and James stayed in the common room wondering around. Sirius came up to him. "I see your crush on dear old Darleen is going well with Lils, isn't it?" James looked at him. "Yeah. You could say that. Lily is a very nice person. it's hard to believe I didn't notice her before. She's a really good teacher too. But there is something about her that she doesn't want to tell me. She started screaming NO! GO AWAY! Halfway through our meeting. She was sort of in a trance. I don't get it." said James pacing back and forth before Sirius. Sirius's eyes went wide with shock. "I know but I can't tell. James, do me a favor. Don't ask her anything personal about her first 3 years at Hogwarts. Understand? And if you hurt her in any way, I'll make sure you get the worst prank Moony, Wormtail and me can think of. Got it?" said Sirius in a very harsh whisper. James looked up at him. "Okay Padfoot." "Good. Now would you like to join us playing another little prank on Snape or would you prefer to stay here and daydream about Darleen?" said Sirius in a cheery voice. James grinned. "Yeah. Let's get that git."
Lily stood under the tree, waiting for James. "He's cute and nice. He's a really nice person, almost like Sirius, but somewhat different. I just can't put my finger on it." thought Lily. She thought on what she would teach James today, the type of people Darleen gets along with. She had never liked the type of people that were Darleen's friends, but she didn't do anything about it, they were all like Darleen, bad people under a good mask. And James was just blind, blind to the fact he would suffer the same fate as Darleen's previous friends and boyfriends, that would destroy him for quite some time. Darleen had charmed many under her spell of kindness and beauty, but she was really a monster just like Snape and like Malfoy, who had convinient friends for convinient situations. As Lily though about this under the tree, she had been oblivious to the fact that James had gone over to her and sat down beside her and was now looking at her curiously.
"Lily?" he said. "Are you Okay?" Lily snapped out of her thoughts and saw a pair of big round brown eyes staring at her. "Argggggggggggggggg!!!!!" she shouted. Then she realized who it was. "Oh It's you James. Sorry, you just scared me a bit." she said calming down. James grinned. "So what's the menu for today teacher?" he teased. Lily chuckled. "Teacher?" she said skeptically. "Yeah. You teach me about Darleen. This is like a subject only without any grades." he said. Lily laughed at this. " I suppose so. Well, today I'll tell you about the type of people she likes and doesn't like." Lily said. She reached for a small paper bag and took out a small stack of Photos. James raised and eyebrow at this. "More Photos?" he asked. Lily nodded. "Yeah. Previous and current friends." she said. She took the first picture from the stack and handed it to James. It was the picture of a long black-haired girl with almond eyes and a nice smile. "Ryona Chang, Shan Yu Chang's sis. She was a very good friend of Darleen's until they got in a fight because Ryona supposedly stole something of Darleen's. Ryona is cool, crazy and really nice, and exceptionally good at astronomy. But she had one flaw, she was in love with Darleen's older brother, Kyle." explained Lily. James put the photo aside.
Lily handed him the next photo. This time a chestnut-brown-haired girl with nice bouncing curls that came down to her ear, that was sitting in a garden chair was on the photo. "This is Ellie Trynn. She too was nice, crazy and funny, and had exceptional actor skills. She's a muggle. Ellie and Darleen are not friends because once in 4th grade there was this Talent Show. Ellie did this spectacular skit and got top scores for it, but Darleen copied it and turned it around a bit. When Ellie found out, she was furious so she said Darleen was the worst friend ever and left." said Lily.
And so the afternoon carried on. Lily showed James all of Darleen's previous friends and told him why they weren't friends with Darleen anymore until she came to her current friend. Lily handed James the photo of a pretty blond-haired girl with Darleen. James recognized her immediately. "Sarah-Kate Ralphs. The slytherin girl nut case." he said. Lily didn't have to tell him anything about Sarah-Kate, because SK as her friends called her was right below Severus Snape on the marauders' list of pranks. Then she pulled out the photo of a young, brown-haired guy, of about 16, a photo she had taken last year. "Paul Ledger." she said quietly. James took it. He knew Paul, a Ravenclaw. He was a stuck-up egomaniac that cared for no one but himself. James looked at Lily. Lily looked away.
"Lily? Is something wrong?" asked a worried James. Lily just looked out into space. SHe couldn't tell James about Paul, it hurt too much. And as if something had snapped in her mind, memories she had tried to push back suddenly flooded her head.
" Me? Like you? A nerdy girl like You?"
" It's okay. I mean the dance is great. We couldn't of done it without you."
"He likes Darleen. I'm sorry Lil."
"He likes me. Too bad I'm dating Freddie or I would date him. He's really nice and cute you know."
"He doesn't talk to me Li! I even heard he called me a bookworm!"
"I don't EVER want to see you again!"
Then Lily started to scream "NO!!!!!!NO!!!! Go away!!!!". James hugged her and whispered "Lily, what's wrong?" into her ear. Lily snapped back into the world. She found herself embraced by James. "Are you Ok?" said James again worried. Lily nodded. "Yeah. I just...remembered something I didn't want to remember." she said quietly. James understood what that felt like. "Do you want to keep on or should we continue tomorrow?" aked James gently. Lily looked up. "No. It's okay. Anyway we finished. Tomorrow I'll tell you about who's after her too. And then we'll work out how you should meet her and everything." said Lily a bit more cheerful. James looked excited. "Really? Oh great!!!!" he said.
Lily laughed. Then she looked up at him. "Thanks." she said. James looked at her. Her sparkling jade eyes looked at him with gratefulness. "For what?" he said puzzled. Lily smiled. "For worrying about me like you did just now." she said. James looked surprised. Nobody had every thanked him for woorying about someone. It was just, instinct. "Er. Yeah. No problem." he said running his fingers through his jet-black hair.
They sat there, looking at each other, as if a special bond had formed between them. They were now true friends. The sun began to set. Lily stirred and said " I better go. It's been really nice this afternoon with you." James smiled. "Wait for me. I'm going to the Gryffindor common room too." Lily stood up, but one of the pictures fell to the ground. James noticed it and picked it up. It was a red-haired girl with green-jade eyes eating an ice-cream with Darleen beside her, he realized it was Lily. He didn't metion it to her, at least he wouldn't...yet. He pocketed it and ran over to Lily who waited for him to catch up.
When they got to the Gryffindor common room, they split up. Lily went to her dorm and James stayed in the common room wondering around. Sirius came up to him. "I see your crush on dear old Darleen is going well with Lils, isn't it?" James looked at him. "Yeah. You could say that. Lily is a very nice person. it's hard to believe I didn't notice her before. She's a really good teacher too. But there is something about her that she doesn't want to tell me. She started screaming NO! GO AWAY! Halfway through our meeting. She was sort of in a trance. I don't get it." said James pacing back and forth before Sirius. Sirius's eyes went wide with shock. "I know but I can't tell. James, do me a favor. Don't ask her anything personal about her first 3 years at Hogwarts. Understand? And if you hurt her in any way, I'll make sure you get the worst prank Moony, Wormtail and me can think of. Got it?" said Sirius in a very harsh whisper. James looked up at him. "Okay Padfoot." "Good. Now would you like to join us playing another little prank on Snape or would you prefer to stay here and daydream about Darleen?" said Sirius in a cheery voice. James grinned. "Yeah. Let's get that git."