This was my entry for WattRowling's Godric's Hollow contest. Enjoy!

My eyes widen with a kind of pleasure, a kind of hope I've not felt in many years, as I stare down at the shiny little object in my hands. I can almost see my face reflected in the golden rings; the hook of my nose, the obsidian of my eyes, the night-black hair hanging like a curtain around my face. All the things I hate about myself. All the things she'd make me feel better about.

She's gone. I failed her all those years ago. But with this, I may just be able to save her now. I flick it over in my hands, the chain hanging loosely over the rapidly drumming heartbeat in my wrist. This is it. My chance to save her. My chance to make everything right.

In a faraway corner of my mind, I can hear the old man's voice. "Severus," he whispers. "Leave it alone. You can't change what already happened. It is too dangerous, Severus. Leave it alone." But how can I? With this little trinket, seemingly innocent but overflowing with obscure magic, I can fix the one thing I've always regretted most.

I can finally save her, my heart, my love, my Lily.

The time-turner glitters in the light of a weak winter sun. Though I am excited at the thought of what I will do, I have still taken some time to think this through, to plan. That is why I find myself in the ruins of her house.

I'd nearly forgotten what this place looked like; nearly managed to banish the scene from my nightmares. But here I am, staring across the rubble that was once Lily's house. And it will be again.

I turn the tiny hourglass, over and over and over, and when the world stops moving I find myself in the house. Not the ruin, the house. I've done it. A hoarse laugh escapes my throat as I smile gratefully down at the golden trinket in my hand, in awe of the incredible power of such a small tool. I've done it.

Going back this far is difficult. Inaccurate. So I'm not sure exactly where I am - or rather when I am. I look around in an attempt to find a clue as to my whereabouts.

I'm standing in the living room. A sofa in a corner is supplemented by a baby crib. There are several toys on the coffee table and in the large oaken bookcase is a picture of a plump baby, squealing at me with his little arms outstretched as if I'd lift him up.

Harry. Doubtlessly and undeniably Harry. That means I can't be that far off in time. I know they're still alive and I know Harry has already been born.

A short, high-pitched scream startles me out of my search. My gaze shoots back towards the sofa. Just next to it, in the door opening leading to the kitchen, stands a beautiful woman. The girl who fills both my best daydreams and my worst nightmares. The woman who both gave me a life and ruined it. Lily Evans.

As she stares at me with a clear expression of shock on her face, a million emotions fill my heart, playing a game of cat and mouse with the words in my throat. A wave of happiness, a sprinkle of disbelief, a flickering flame of hope that I desperately fuel. It is all I have left.

In the background, the muffled screams and cries of a young child float towards us, but we both ignore it. For now. I'd ignore it forever if it meant I could watch her a little longer.

Lily is the first to recover. "S-Severus? Is that you?"

I take a step forward, but freeze when she equally takes a step back.

"It's me," I whisper, relief nearly managing to drown out the pain that stung me when she flinched away from me.

"What happened to you?" she asks. "Why do you look so..."

"Old?" I finish her sentence with a sad smile. That's because I've been forced to live more than a decade without you. But I can't tell her this; I know perfectly well the dangers of toying with time. I can't tell her where I'm from. I'll have to find another way.

Slowly, I shake my head. "It doesn't matter what happened to me. Lily, I've come to warn you. You are in terrible danger."

I take another step forward, but she mirrors my movement, sending another invisible dagger through my heart. Doesn't she know how much I care for her?

"What do you mean, I'm in danger?"

If you stay here any longer, you will..." I swallow hard. How is it that such a small word is so difficult to say? "You'll die." I push the words out with effort.

Lily hesitates. "What are you talking about? How would you know?"

"I can't tell you. Just trust me, Lily. Please, just this once, trust me." I reach out to her, pleading, begging for her to come with me. She does not take my hand. I wait, listening to the sounds of Harry's cries becoming less and less urgent.

"The last time I saw you, you'd just become a death eater," she spat. "And now you waltz into my home and ask me to trust you? I'm not sure I'll ever trust you again, Severus!"

My eyes widen, while my heart shrivels. "I know... I know the mistakes I've made. I'm paying for them in more ways than you can imagine. Please, Lily, I'm just trying to set some of them right. I can't... I can't lose you again..."

Her expression seems to soften a little, but the change is so fleeting I may just as well have been mistaken.

"What do you want from me?"

"Come with me," I plead. "Come with me and I'll keep you safe. I'll protect you."

She stares at my outstretched hand, a deep frown on her face.

"You've never protected me before," she says, her voice barely audible over the sound of my beating heart. "I don't believe you'll start now. If I am in danger, my husband will protect me. Now get out of my house." With that, she turns and walks in the direction of the now cooing infant. I stay behind, defeated and alone.

Is this it then? After all these years, I still cannot save her?

No. I cannot give up that easily. If she doesn't want to cooperate, I'll just have to find some other way to save her.

I look around the room one more time, spotting a Daily Prophet on the coffee table. Small but boldly printed letters tell me it is the first of October 1981. A whole month before that fateful day. Without a second thought, I leap across the living room and sprint up the stairs, two steps at a time. I dash through the first door in the upstairs hallway, which turns out to lead to the baby room, and step into the walk-in closet without taking the time to admire the magical amount of space in this outwardly rather small house.

Once hidden away, I eagerly spin the time-turner for the second time.

When the world gets back into focus, I find that hardly anything has changed. I breathe a sigh of relief; I am not too late. Without hesitation, I stride over to the door, only to freeze with my hand on the handle.

What am I doing? I haven't thought this through at all. How am I meant to save her from the Dark Lord at his strongest?

I should've sat down and planned this. I've only got one chance after all...

Suddenly muffled shouting comes from below me. It's a male voice. James Potter. Oh, how I loathe that man. Why did Lily have to marry such a horrible human being? Had she forgotten all the things he's done to me?

My blood freezes in its veins when I hear a second scream; this one just on the other side of this door I've still got my hand on. This one Lily's.

No!

Is he here? Now? I'm not ready!

As I hear my sweet Lily beg for her life on the other side of the door, I panic. All the flaws in my impromptu 'plan' suddenly shoot through my head, while adrenaline surges through my body. What if I get killed in this time-zone, while the other me is still out there somewhere? Or worse: what if the Dark Lord sees me? He'll never trust me again. Holding his trust is vital for the plans Dumbledore has for the future version of me. It'll have disastrous consequences. I cannot let him see me. So how do I save Lily?

I don't know, but I don't have any more time to figure it out.

Just as I move in to pull the door open, a blood-curdling shriek reaches my ears, worse than the one that plagues my nightmares. Worse than I could ever have imagined. At the same time, a flash of green shines through the cracks around the edges of the door. I know exactly what happened; I hesitated too long. My heart shatters into a million pieces as my knees give out.

I failed. I loved her and yet I failed her again. What kind of brainless idiot fails the same task twice? How could I have been so stupid?

My shaking hand still rests on the door-handle, like a life-boat holding me above water. Only it fails to keep me from drowning in misery and grief. All the hope I had built up since acquiring this little trinket, dissolves like a dream of sugar in the hot, burning destruction of a cup of tea.

Anger rises like sour bile in my throat. Twice I've tried to save her. Twice he has taken her from me. But there is still someone out there to save.

Without another thought, I push the door ajar and shoot out the first spell that comes to mind. It's a protective spell, fuelled and fed by all the emotions coursing through me; so many I can't even tell them apart.

My spell reaches Harry at the very same moment that his curse does. An explosion follows, ripping everything to shreds. Instinct makes me pull back into the closet with my arms wrapped protectively around my head. I don't know why I bother.

The force of pure magic splinters windows and crumbles walls. The noise of it all assaults my ears.

When it's over, it takes me a while to come to my senses. It takes me a while to bring myself to move. I have lost everything, yet again.

Until I hear the quiet cooing of an innocent child.

It can't be.

I open the door, hanging loosely in its hinges, just as the translucent glow of my shield fades away. A pair of bright, emerald eyes stare up at me innocently from inside a crib. Lily died, but her son survived, like he always should have.

Dumbledore was wrong. It was never Lily's love that saved him. It was my spell.