James Potter heard the footsteps coming up the walk, knew in his heart that their secret had been revealed. How? He couldn't imagine. Peter would never betray them, couldn't be forced to. But he could have been killed, they could have found someone else who knew, someone willing to talk once Wormtail was out of the way.

He drew his wand, shoved Lily aside and gestured toward the back of the house. "Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off—"

Lily had tears in her eyes. She knew as well as he did that he didn't stand a chance. Voldemort was no normal duelist, and he had no limits or restraint. She leaned up, gave him one final kiss on the cheek, then turned and rushed for Harry's room.

James's heart was pounding, his wand trembling as he raised it to ready. Any moment. . .

A wizard appeared before him from thin air, swirling James's invisibility cloak off his tousled black hair. James blinked. It was like looking in a mirror, but this version was older than the current James. And he had a time turner around his neck. Hope flared wildly in his chest. If this was him from the future, that meant there was a chance he could survive.

"Did I save Lily? Harry?" he asked, looking around.

"Leave me," the wizard said, facing him, and the voice was not his own. It was then he noticed the eyes, Lily's eyes, in his face.

"Harry?" he breathed, staring with wild joy and terrified confusion. The stranger raised a hand, he held no wand but James felt his limbs lock rigid. The wizard took James's wand from his hand, tossed the invisibility cloak over him, and stood facing the door in the same ready stance that James had been in so recently.

What are you doing? James wanted to scream. It had to be Harry, had to be. . . but what was he doing, how, why?

"Leave me," the wizard repeated, his voice shaking slightly, dropped to a whisper. "It's the only way."

James couldn't speak, couldn't move, couldn't protest. His wand was out of reach, he couldn't even release himself nonverbally. He'd been so off-guard, so unprepared. How? How had this newcomer disarmed him so thoroughly?

"Protego," the wizard whispered. "Expecto patronum."

And it was his stag, but not his. The antlers were different, the shape of its body different. He had no doubts now, that must be his son. It couldn't be anyone else.

But what was he doing?

The door exploded inward with a crash and shattered. Not-James roared with fury. "You'll not have Harry! You'll not have Lily! Expelliarmus!"

But the green flare of answering light splashed against his chest and he fell, lifeless before he hit the ground, James's wand rolling away across the floor.

Voldemort laughed, a high thin cold laugh. "Fool Potter."

The evil wizard walked past, out of sight.

James heard Lily's voice, "Not Harry! Not Harry! Please—I'll do anything—"

"Stand aside, stand aside, girl!"

"Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!"

"Stand aside, you silly girl. . . stand aside, now. . ."

"Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead— not Harry! Please. . . have mercy. . . have mercy. . ."

Voldemort laughed. Lily screamed.

James watched the blank wall from under his invisibility cloak, still unable to move. Why was he unable to move? The strange wizard lay dead on the floor, his magic should have ended with his life.

He couldn't see, but had to imagine. Then green light flared, once. Lily's scream cut off sharply, dully, and he knew in his heart that she was dead. Please, not Harry too, he begged silently, but he knew that was the main reason Lord Voldemort had come here today. The prophecy.

Green light flared again, and James wanted to turn away and weep, wanted to collapse to the ground, but he couldn't move why couldn't he move?

A child's cry pierced the night. James's heart began pounding, he wanted to run to his son.

The stranger climbed in through the window, crossed to his own dead body, looked down at it with cold empty eyes. "Mortesalderia," he whispered, tapping his wand against the still face. James felt an uncomfortable prickle as the body shifted and changed. To him.

"Father," the young man said, finally turning to face James properly. "I could not come here without sacrificing too much. Leave me. If you understand nothing else, you must leave me. You cannot raise me, cannot stay with me. You cannot find me, cannot meet me. My destiny ends here," and he gestured at the body which appeared to be James, "saving you, as you were willing to save me."

"Why?" James choked out. "What do I have to live for? Without Lily? Without you?"

Harry gave the slightest smile, a grim one, his eyes dark with memory. "Live for me," he said. "I've seen too much, done too much, this is the only thing I could choose that would allow me to keep my self-respect."

"But dying?! Why, Harry?"

"Death is only the next adventure," Harry recited. "Trust me, I know what I'm doing."

He stared at the body on the ground, reached to his neck and pulled out a time-turner. James grabbed at his hand, but a flick of Harry's wand froze him unmoving again.

"I told you," the haunted young man whispered as he flipped over the golden hourglass once. "Leave me."

And he was gone.

-/-=-\-

Author's Notes:

I wrote this quite a while back. I hadn't posted because I always intended to do something more with it, but at the moment I have way too many long term projects already in progress.

Also, not really sure what I would do with it, to be honest. If anyone wants to adopt it, you're welcome to do so. I'd love to see what you write. ;)