Most of the students in the Great Hall glanced up as the post owls swooped in overhead, checking for familiar owls. Lily Evans was one of the few who didn't bother. No one she knew outside of Hogwarts would be sending her an owl. Her parents were Muggles and didn't understand the ways of the Wizarding world. Therefore, she was surprised when a handsome tawny owl gracefully landed in front of her, dropping a small package before taking flight again. Almost instantaneously, James Potter and his gang of friends were upon her, asking what was in the package.

"Obviously I don't know yet, seeing as it was only just dropped off," Lily snapped, growing annoyed. She reached over and removed the card from the top but just as she opened it and caught sight of the loping script, Sirius Black snatched it from her hand. He stood up straight and tapped his wand to his throat for a moment before reading in a booming voice that filled the Great Hall.

"Dear Lily,

I believe you shall find this present useful at some point in time. You shall know when the time is right.

- A friend"

"You got a secret admirer, Evans?" Sirius teased.

Lily's face now matched her long red hair. "Stuff it, Black."

James was scanning the Hall. "Who do you reckon sent it, Padfoot?"

"I dunno," Sirius answered, joining in the search. "That git McLaggen looks suspicious. Plus, I just don't like him."

James nodded in agreement. "I'm with you there, mate. Let's hex him after breakfast and then start looking for whoever wrote that note to Evans."

Remus, who had been silent up until now, rolled his eyes and said, "Calm down. First, don't talk about hexing people in front of me. I'm a prefect now, remember? And second, we don't even know what's in that package. Maybe you should see before you go flying off the handle."

Sirius and James sighed in unison but decided to listen to Remus. Sirius grabbed the package from Lily, causing her to let out a yelp of protest, but it was too late. Sirius had already torn the paper off, revealing a small hourglass. Lily grabbed it from him and studied it. The gold bottom glinted with sunlight as she read the words etched into it: Reverse Timeturner.

"What is it, Evans?" James asked, crowding around her.

Lily's annoyance won over her curiosity and she told James to, "Bugger off," before storming from the Great hall. James watched her go until Sirius leaned close and whispered, "So we're still hexing McLaggen, right?"

"Course," James agreed, fingering his wand. He needed some entertainment to take his mind of frustration that was pursuing Lily Evans.

-x-

"James, Lily, I wish you would reconsider your decision and make me your Secret Keeper," Dumbledore implored, trying one last time to change the Potters' minds. James opened his mouth to argue but Dumbledore held up his hand to silence him. "Yes, I know you trust Sirius, but Voldemort has ways of getting information out of anyone, even best friends."

James shook his head adamantly. "No, Dumbledore, I'm sorry, but I trust Sirius. He would die before he betrayed us."

Dumbledore studied him for a moment, his piercing blue eyes sharp. "And he very well may die to protect you. Is that what you want?"

James met Dumbledore gaze with a glare of his own. "Of course not. But Sirius knows how to take care of himself. He volunteered, for Merlin's sake!"

Sighing, Dumbledore removed his half moon spectacles and rubbed his wrinkled eyes. "I just wish there was another way."

Lily spoke up then. "I may have an idea, Professor." She had never really lost the habit of calling Dumbledore 'Professor.' "Years ago, back in fifth year, I got this package with an odd note. It said I would find it useful later on and that I would know when the time was right. I think that time is now."

James's eyes lit up as he remembered the package Lily was talking about. "Yeah, of course! What was it called?" He racked his brain for a moment.

"Reverse Timeturner," Lily supplied.

'That's it!" James exclaimed. "Where is it, Lils?"

"Right here." Lily dug into her pocket and when she withdrew her hand, the Timeturner lay nestled there.

Before Dumbledore could speak, Sirius burst into the room. "Wait!" he gasped. The other three complied impatiently. When he finally caught his breath, Sirius said, "I left Harry with Remus. I had to tell you something. James, don't listen to him. I'll be the best Secret Keeper you could have. I swear I'll never tell Him where you are. You know I wouldn't."

"Sirius, mate, you're a bit behind the times. Lily may have another way for us to go into hiding." James pointed to the sparkling object in his wife's hand. Sirius took it from her and set about examining it as Dumbledore seized the opportunity to offer his opinion of this new plan.

"I believe I know what the item you have is. Although I must say, I'm not quite sure who could have sent it to you, Lily, or how it could help you."

Sirius tossed the golden chain around his own neck and those of Lily and James. They ignored them, listening intently to Dumbledore. "It will send you into the future, but you will also exist in this time period. It is very complicated magic," he was saying. Bored, Sirius started fiddling with the object, turning it around as fast as he could, trying to see how many turns he could get in thirty seconds. Dumbledore noticed this a moment too late. "Sirius, don't –" he shouted but a white light already begun emanating from the center on the Timeturner. It spread, rapidly engulfing the three friends, who had barely a second to exchange terrified glances before a loud explosion filled the room and their world went dark.

-x-

Lily's eyes fluttered open and she blinked them furiously to clear her vision as she got her bearings. James and Sirius lay on either side of her and she noticed that they, too, were regaining consciousness. With a start, she realized they were still in Dumbledore's office. The old headmaster was kneeling beside her. He rose and offered his hand to Lily. Staggering to her feet, Lily tried to remember the events that led to her lying sprawled on the floor of Dumbledore's office. The memory hit like a ton of bricks and she groaned. "Sirius, what did you do?"

Dumbledore smiled gently and spoke before Sirius could give Lily his undoubtedly indignant reply. "I'm afraid Mr. Black has sent you into the future. Though just how far, I'm not sure of. The only thing we can do is continue with the spell as planned and hope our future selves figure things out."

James rubbed his head wearily and said, "Fine, the Timeturner was a long shot anyway. But Sirius is out Secret Keeper."

-x-

Lily's eyes fluttered open and she blinked them furiously to clear her vision as she got her bearings. James and Sirius lay on either side of her and she noticed that they, too, were regaining consciousness. With a start, she realized they were still in Dumbledore's office but that the old headmaster was no longer in the room. Staggering to her feet, Lily tried to remember the events that led to her lying sprawled on the floor of Dumbledore's office. The memory hit like a ton of bricks and she groaned. "Sirius, what did you do?"

Sirius, who had been dusting off his robes, whipped his head up and asked incredulously, "Me? How was I supposed to know that would happen?"

"Maybe," James started, climbing to his own feet. "If you had listened to Dumbledore instead of playing with the Timeturner, we wouldn't be in this mess!"

"I couldn't help it! Teachers bore me and it was shiny!" Sirius complained.

Lily held up a hand to silence James's retort when she heard footsteps rapidly approaching. Moving quickly, she placed Disillusionment Charms on the three of them and, grabbing each by the arm, led them to a corner far from the door. Moments later, the door flew open and in walked Minerva McGonagall, followed by a dark haired boy that McGonagall called "Harry." I always liked that name, Lily thought, thinking of her son. Then McGonagall mentioned Dumbledore. Lily was instantly alert, listening raptly to the conversation. She had to bite her lip to keep from gasping when she heard that Dumbledore was dead. She could feel James and Sirius tense on either side of her and knew they were fighting similar urges. It took a second for Lily to realize that McGonagall had called the boy Potter. She risked a glance at James and saw the realization dawn on his face as he turned to meet her gaze. He squeezed her hand. Yes, Lily told herself. He had to be their son. No one other than James Potter's son would talk to a teacher the way this boy was. Studying him, Lily saw how much he resembled his father. The same stance, the same features, even the same messy hair, although she suspected Harry didn't purposely mess his up.

Three other professors joined the two, Professor Flitwick yelling something about Snape. As the conversation went on, it all became clear. Snape had murdered Dumbledore. And her darling little boy had witnessed it. A tear leaked from the corner of her eyes and slowly made its way down her cheek as she hung her head in shame. Her sweet child had witnessed a murder. Where was her future self? How had she allowed this to happen? James nudged her and she glanced up in time to see Harry leaving the small office. He turned in their direction for a moment as he pulled the door shut and Lily once again had to bite back a gasp as she saw a jagged, lightning-shaped scar, clearly visible against the pale skin of his tired face. The door slipped shut a second before Lily realized that now they had no way of following Harry. They were stuck here until the teachers and the newly arrived Ministry delegation left. This could take a while. Lily squeezed James and Sirius's hands and they settled onto the floor as quietly as possible to wait, taking advantage of the loud argument McGonagall was having with the new Minister of Magic.

After what seemed like a lifetime, the Ministry officials left the office, followed shortly by the three professors, leaving McGonagall to collapse into Dumbledore's chair. She let out a long sigh before saying, "I know you're there, so you might as well come out."

Lily was taken aback by McGonagall's acknowledgement of their presence but complied by removing the charms on James, Sirius, and herself. McGonagall gave them a weak smile and motioned for them to be seated in front of the desk. They took the seats and stared at their former professor, trying to process everything that had happened in the past few hours. "Professor Dumbledore told me that you would show up eventually, though I rather think he expected to be alive to greet you."

"Was that…?" James asked hoarsely.

McGonagall nodded slowly. "Yes, that was your son. That was Harry. A lot has happened since you last saw him. Things that will be hard for you to understand and accept, but I will try my best to explain them. But first, Dumbledore left a note for you. Just in case, I suppose." She reached into the top desk drawer and when she pulled it out, she held an envelope bearing their names in a familiar loping script. The same handwriting that had been on letter that came with the Timeturner. Lily tore it open and eagerly read it, her face falling a little more every line. By the end, she was weeping. The things her little boy had gone through. She and James dead, Sirius in Azkaban and then murdered, everything had fallen apart. Mutely, she passed the letter to James and Sirius, neither of whom could keep the tears from spilling over when they finished. The three friends were stunned. That's why their future selves weren't around. They were dead. James locked eyes with McGonagall and asked the questions they were all thinking. "What about Harry? He is the one Voldemort was after. Why wasn't he killed?"

"From what Dumbledore told me, Lily died to save Harry and that protected him. When Voldemort tried to perform the Killing Curse on him, it rebounded and nearly killed Voldemort he fled and Harry became the Boy-Who-Lived." McGonagall sighed again. "You've missed a lot. Harry is probably the single most famous wizard of all time. He has been since he was one."

Lily stared at the door her no longer little boy had gone through only minutes before. "He seems so…old."

"He's been through a lot. More than anyone should ever have to go through, especially not a child such as himself. Although I suppose he's no longer a boy."

"No, he's not," Lily agreed sadly.