13: An Object of the Past and One of the Future

Tomorrow I'd question him and tomorrow I'd find my answers. I wanted to know what he'd found in the river and why it was so important he'd risk he life over it.

I didn't bother trying to find any answers from James last night. He was still giving me the silent treatment and, frankly, I was also annoyed with him. What was he thinking? Jumping into a river in the middle of winter, a river where he knew someone had died. He was only lucky that the park wasn't completely deserted.

I'd left him on his own last night. My worry had slowly turned into anger and I couldn't bring myself to face him. I'd definitely face him today. I needed to know why he'd jumped into that godforsaken river. I'd never hated a place as much as I hated that river. It took my life, my family and it also nearly took my only friend away too. On the slightly optimistic side, if he had died, maybe I'd have had a friend in the afterlife but that was quite morbid to think about. I'd never wish this life onto anyone. It was lonely, even with a friend.

I finally heard movement coming from the once silent room where James had been sleeping. Mrs Potter had long since fallen asleep during her vigilant watch over her son. It had been an exhausting night for everyone, even me and I don't sleep. I needed to find out what James had picked on from the bottom of the river. What was so important that he nearly died for it? Maybe James was in a better mood this morning. I needed to know what was going on with me. I'd waited five years already and if James had found even a fraction of the answers I was looking for then I needed to know.

I hesitated at the doorway to the study where James had slept last night. He had definitely woken up, I could hear movement.

"Hey," James said as he spotted me. I could tell that he was feeling embarrassed about yesterday's events and I was in half a mind to make him suffer for worrying me but my curiosity outweighed my anger.

"Hey," I repeated back at him. We were both silent after that, awkwardly staring at each other, not really knowing what to say.

"So, drowning is no fun," James wryly said after a while. "See if I ever take recommendations from you again." I couldn't help it, I smiled. I was so relieved to be able to talk to someone again that I couldn't stay mad at the only person who'd made my afterlife a bit more bearable, yesterday's events notwithstanding.

"Well, I suppose it's an acquired taste," I laughed. "So what did you find in the river?" I studied James's expression carefully. He seemed a little unsure of himself. He bit his bottom lip thoughtfully before beckoning me over.

"I think this might be the answer to all of your problems, Lily," James said as he presented me with a piece of jewellery. To my surprise, I actually recognised it. I had been given it for my 11th birthday.

Me, my mum and Petunia had gone to a marketplace that had been set up 10 minutes away from our house as a treat. The golden necklace wasn't my intended purchase. I had originally been after diamanté bracelet the stall was selling but the lady had slipped in the necklace as free gift. I immediately fell in love with it. I refused to take it off. It was quite an unusual piece of jewellery and Petunia had hated it on sight. An hour glass sat in the middle of the circular pendant. Bright blue sapphires decorated the centre around the hour glass and the moveable rings were engraved with the words 'I mark the hours, every one, Nor have I yet outrun the Sun. My use and value, unto you, Are gauged by what you have to do'.

"I was wearing this when I died," I told James. "How is it significant?"

"Do you know what this is?" James asked, his eyes shining with excitement.

"It's just a piece of jewellery, isn't it?" I was confused. Why was James getting so excited about some necklace I was given off of a stall?

"This is a Time Turner, Lily," James said. "This is very significant!"

"And what is a Time Turner?" I asked. I was he'd stop stalling and just tell me his theory.

"We use these to travel back in time," James explained, "Although, I've never seen one up this close but I'm fairly certain that they don't usually have these blue stones."

"Time...travel? This is making even less sense. I haven't travelled back in time James, I've died!"

"You may not have travelled back in time but I've been thinking," James started and gestured at me, "You died but you've aged so it a way you're not actually dead, right?"

"Well, I feel pretty dead for an alive girl," I retorted sarcastically. Had the near drowning frazzled his brain?

"And Sirius mentioned cursed or magical objects," James continued as if I hadn't interrupted him. "This would explain everything!"

"I'm still not following," I said. I reached out for the necklace and James placed it in my open palm. I half expected it to slip right through me and fall onto the floor but no such thing happened. It was the most solid thing that I had felt in years. James was right about one thing, the necklace did feel really powerful and significant. I wasn't expecting what happened next. The whole room went dark. I was still conscious but it was like I'd teleported somewhere else. It was suddenly night time and I was in an alleyway. I was just an observer:

The alley is dark. The malfunctioning streetlight flickers intermittently in the adjacent street. The shadows are just dark enough to hide the two conversing figures. They keep looking up at random intervals as if expecting someone to interrupt them. The most peculiar thing about them, however, is the way they are dressed. Black pointy hats adorn their heads whilst long flowing robes cling to their tall forms.

To an oblivious passer by nothing strange is going on. To me however, something significant is taking place. One of the men, the taller, hands the other a golden object. The shorter man looks at the piece of jewellery in awe before carefully but quickly hiding it in his robes.

"And you're sure this will work?" the shorter man asks.

"It's never been tested before," the other says, "Only time will tell."

"I thought all of them were destroyed?"

"Almost all of them were destroyed," says the taller man, his sunken eyes bore into the shorter man's. "This is the only one remaining, and it's original purpose has been corrupted." The man grins and it's not a pretty sight. His stretching lips frame blackened teeth and gummy gaps. "Isn't that great?"

"If it brings our Dark Lord back then it'll be amazing!" The ginning is infectious, the shorter man gives a smile of his own.

"Indeed, you best run along and make the final arrangements," the taller man says. "Send your wife my regards." He disappears into nothingness, leaving the keeper of the jewellery along in the dark.

I gasped as James came back into focus. He looked at me with a worried expression but I was too much in shock to assuage his concern. I don't know what had just happened to me but I do know that my necklace just played an important part. I don't know how I knew but I could tell that what I just saw hadn't happened yet. Well, it had happened but way in the future. Why were they so interested in my necklace? The man had said that it had been...corrupted? Nothing was making much sense any more.

"Did you see that?" I asked a hovering James.

"See what?" he asked.

"It was like the whole room just disappeared!" I was feeling really distressed. I didn't know how many more strange events I could take. It was hard to believe that this had all taken place over a couple of days.

"You had a vision?" James asked with raised eyebrows. He took a step closer to me and tried to take the necklace from my hands but I pulled away.

"Yeah," I replied. "There were two men and they were talking about my necklace's original purpose being corrupted and that it would bring the 'Dark Lord' back."

"This is bad!" James's face had gone from interested to confused to outright distress. "I didn't realise how serious this all was. That's a Time Turner, Lily! They're dangerous at the best of times, there's a reason why I've never seen one up close. Only the Ministry are allowed to use them and even they are reluctant to use them. Not only that, you mentioned that they were talking about the Dark Lord. That's Voledmort, that's the leader of the Death Eaters! Ah, Merlin's Beard! I don't know what to do!" And with that James sank to the floor and buried his head in his hands.

"This is a lot bigger than me being a dead girl, isn't it?" I said but I already knew the answer to the question. I sat down beside James and asked, "What do we do now?"

"We- I have to tell someone," James said from beneath his hands. "And after the stunt I pulled yesterday, I doubt anyone will believe me."

"You have this," I said whilst passing the Time Tuner back to him. "That should be proof enough, shouldn't it?"

"I hope so," James replied whilst studying the cause of all of our problems. "If I end up in St Mungo's, come and keep me company, yeah?"

"Sure, I guess you won't have to hide the fact that you're speaking to a ghost there."

"Every silver lining, hey?" James chuckled humourlessly.

"Who will you tell?" I asked.

"Well, my parents will be the best place to start," James said as he slowly got up from the floor. "Maybe I should ask Sirius for help? At least that'll probably stop them from thinking I've gone mad." I guess there was a lot that Sirius needed to catch up on before we told James's parents everything. I was excited and very, very nervous at the thought of the adult Potter's knowing about my existence. What if they made me disappear forever?

"This has been a lot to take in," I said. "I need to take a walk and gather my thoughts." That was what I told James but in reality I was going to visit my family. If James's parents really knew how to help me then maybe I wouldn't be around for much longer and I wanted to say goodbye to them before it was too late, even if those goodbyes were one-sided.

A/N: So what has it been? Nearly 2 years? I am so, so, so sorry! =S I'm a terrible writer and an even worse updater! I don't even have an excuse, I'm just lazy!

If anyone is still following this story you're a saint! I'd like to say that my updates will be more regular from now on but from past experience, I don't know if I can promise that but I'll try my best. =)