Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter's universe. If I did, I wouldn't need to write fan fiction for it.

The Beginning in the End

Chapter 2

Harry was sitting at their usual table after a very exhausting day doing their OWL exams. True, today was the Defense exam and Harry was almost positive that he got an 'O' but he refused to admit it to anyone, most of all Ron and Hermione. Hermione had spent the first two hours poring over the pair as she tried to figure out what they had done wrong during the exam and, it was only by the saving grace of luck, that Harry was able to avoid hearing more because the pair had their turn to patrol the halls today. He was supposed to be going over notes for his exam on Monday, but he just couldn't get the sight and smells from earlier this morning out of his head.

To say he was completely off guard would have been an understatement and was thus very surprised when Ginny fell into his lap. "Hi!" She said cheerfully.

Harry laughed as he looked around the common room to find it completely deserted. "Well, hi to you too." He said as he leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips. "How was your day?"

"Dreadful, I had Umbitch today and she spent the whole lesson glaring right at me since I was there. I have to write an essay for Snape for Monday as well and can't find my potions book at the moment. Can I borrow yours?" She asked him with the largest brown eyes he had ever seen.

Harry couldn't help but laugh as he lifted her off his lap. "Sure thing, let's go grab it from my trunk and I can help you with it." The pair quickly made their way up to Harry's dorm and noticed that it was completely deserted.

Ginny, seeing a perfect moment and not wanting it to go to waste, closed the door and waved her wand to charm the door to make it unable to be opened by anyone by her. She then silently snuck up behind Harry and threw him on to the bed before falling on top of him herself. "Don't think you can get this all the time, I just haven't been able to get you out of my head all day."

"That makes two of us." Harry grinned before their lips met in a heated kiss.

Harry lost himself in the kiss and was thus caught off guard by the sound of a man's voice calling out. "Harry? If that is you, get out your Christmas present."

Harry realized who it was and dashed over to his trunk and swung it open to find his present from Sirus quickly. "Sirus? What are you doing? You could get caught."

Sirus' face just grinned at him. "I should ask you why you and Ginny are alone…and in your room…on your bed." He said with a large grin.

"Sirus, I haven't had a chance to even come to terms with it myself. If you tell anyone, I will tell everyone about her." Harry told him with a grin that rivaled his godfathers.

Ginny gave a giggle as Harry took a seat on the bed so she could see and talk as well. "Oh, Sirus is seeing someone?"

Sirus just grinned at her. "Not at the moment. Just forget it. I need you to do something, Harry." Sirus cleared his throat. "Get your cloak and the map and head for where we first met face to face. I can't tell you anything about what is going on but I promise you that it will all make sense when you get there."

Harry nodded as Sirus image faded away to show nothing but a mirror. He and Ginny looked at each other before she gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek. "I'll be waiting for you and I'll tell Ron and Hermione where you are." She said with a smile as she left the room.

Harry sat there for a short amount of time as he thought about all the things that had transpired today. As he thought, he gathered his invisibility cloak and the Marauders Map. He quickly activated the map and found Umbridge in her office, Filch up on the seventh floor and Snape in his class room with Dean and Seamus. He smiled at his luck as he threw the cloak over his shoulders and left.

The journey from the common room to the Whomping Willow went so smoothly that he wondered if something would go wrong. However, he didn't see another soul until he reached the willow and hit the secret knot with a stick and snuck his way into the secret passageway.

Harry just made his way silently until he came at the end of the passage and into the Shrieking Shack. He didn't expect their to be a pair of people waiting for him. "Sirus! Remus! What are you two doing here?" He said with a hand on his wand.

Sirus and Remus both raised their wands to him. "The name your father used around friends?"

Harry smiled as he raised his wand. "Prongs." He looked directly at Sirus. "Who was with me when you called?"

Sirus grinned at him as he lowered his wand. "Ginny. And on your bed none the less." He said with a chuckle. Harry smiled as he ran over and embraced his godfather. "Missed you too, Harry."

Harry then gave Remus a hug before backing away from them. "What are you doing? Umbridge is hunting you like crazy. And Remus, she hates werewolves more then she hates half-breeds. You both shouldn't be here."

Remus smiled as he handed Harry an old shoe. "We will be fine. Just take this." He said as Sirus reached out a hand and the three were whisked away by portkey.

When they stopped, Harry looked around the single room they were in and Harry grinned. The last time he was in here, they were caught during Dumbledore's Army. They were dragged up here so Fudge could throw him out of school and Dumbledore covered for them and then left. Since then, no one had been able to get back in to the room. Harry smiled as he looked around.

Remus took a seat in the corner while Sirus took one in front of the desk. The portraits were all sleeping and the silver instruments were working like they always had. Standing behind the desk, with his back facing the room, was the last person Harry expected to be here.

His silver hair hung long. As he turned and faced the three standing in the room, Harry could see the silver twinkle behind half moon glasses. "Harry, my boy." He said as a matter of fact.

"Professor! You are here! This whole time that Umbridge has been trying to get into the office and you were here the whole time?" Harry asked astonished.

Dumbledore just grinned. "You didn't think I would leave this school with her in charge, did you? Now, Sirus showed me that letter of yours. I would like to know how you accomplished your Occlumency without Professor Snape's help because he told me that you have been failing outright."

Harry shook his head. "I don't know, sir. I just feel like I can."

Dumbledore nodded as he removed his wand from his robes. "Only one way to tell, Harry." He said as he turned the wand on Harry. He just took the seat next to Sirus as Dumbledore then cast the Legilimency spell. What caught everyone off guard was the fact that there was a spark in the air between the wand and Harry's head. "Impressive, Harry."

Harry's eyes had rolled into the back of his head as he spoke. "Time is a flowing river, with a pebble able to alter the flow." He said in his own voice before his eyes returned back to normal. "Wait, where did that come from?"

Sirus and Remus exchanged looks as Dumbledore walked around his desk. "Harry, do you know where you learned that?" He asked him.

Harry shook his head. "I don't remember ever learning that. Why? Does it mean something?"

Dumbledore pursed his lips as he looked at his wand. "Harry, do me a favor and do the exact opposite of Occlumency. Clear your mind. I am going to see something." Harry did as he was told and felt a tug as Dumbledore raised his wand to his temple and pulled away. A golden strand came with it, the exact opposite of when Dumbledore pulled out his own memories for the Pensieve. "Interesting. Harry, I think I might have an explanation. However, to make sure, I would like you to view this with me." He told him as he dropped it into the Pensieve.

Harry nodded as he looked at Sirus and Remus before joining Dumbledore. "What is it, professor?"

Dumbledore remained silent as the pair fell into the memory.

Harry was surprised to find himself in a misty area, with Dumbledore standing next to him. "Where are we?" He asked the Headmaster.

Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak but another voice answered him. "Your in your own head, Harry." A deep but familiar voice called out to him through the mist. Dumbledore focused himself on where he thought he head the voice from and Harry did the same.

The mist began to clear some as he focused and Harry was surprised to find someone sitting in a plush armchair with two more facing him. The man was older then Harry but quite a bit younger then Sirus and Remus. In fact…if Harry didn't know better he would have thought that he knew this person. He was dressed in all black but Harry couldn't make out any features until he and Professor Dumbledore started walking towards him.

"Ah, I knew it. The second I heard what you said I had thought that this might be the case." Dumbledore said as he marched in front of Harry and took a seat in front of the man. It was then that Harry made out a mess of long unruly black hair and emerald green eyes. "Harry Potter, meet yourself."

The older Harry smiled and tipped his hand as a sign of greeting to them. "Albus, it's really good to see you again. I haven't had a face to face conversation with you for almost ten years now." He shook his head. "Well, I talk to your portrait a lot, but it is missing something."

Harry was shocked as he took the seat next to Dumbledore. "But…I'm me so you can't possibly be me. It doesn't make any sense." He said in awe and wonder.

The older Harry gave a smile to him. "Yes, Harry, you are you. However, I had to change some things so I came back in time to help out as much as possible."

Dumbledore smiled at him. "You know, you and Merlin are the only two wizards who have ever attempted to do something like this."

Older Harry nodded. "As much as I am sure it would please you to continue with history for young Harry here, I know all about it. You told me…well, your portrait did anyway." He cleared his throat. "Anyways, before we get too far off subject, I should tell you why I did what I did and some things that might help."

Albus nodded his head and Harry just looked at the older version of himself in awe. "Okay, I had to come back because of things that have happened. Albus, yourself, Sirus, Remus, Mad-Eye, Snape and Fred Weasley all died during the war. Sirus was the first to die because I was tricked by Tom Riddle into believing that he had captured Sirus and taken him to the Department of Mysteries. He wanted the prophecy."

Albus nodded his head. "Yes, we are aware of that. However, your younger self seems to have mastered the art."

Harry blushed as older Harry laughed. "That was me. I created permanent mental charms to protect his mind from finding out about me or for that evil snake to plant that false image into it. The upside is that it works just like Occlumency. However, I am afraid part of myself leaked through early this morning."

He turned his attention to his younger self. "I'm afraid, Harry, that I was the reason you charged at Ginny like you did." He laughed. "She is such a great woman and I'm sorry for speeding up what would have happened anyways but only by another year." He winked at him as Harry blushed.

Albus smiled down at him. "I knew that they would get together at some point. I knew from the moment that you went into the Chamber of Secrets."

Older Harry nodded. "That is the one reason I came back. Ginny died, horribly, five years after the end of the war. I wanted to change what happened, to save her and myself. The only way I could do that was to change what happened during the war." He returned to looking at Dumbledore. "Albus, the diary, it's a horcrux."

Dumbledore sat upright. "I knew it, so all we have to do is destroy him and he will be gone forever."

Older Harry shook his head. "There are six more." Dumbledore looked shocked. "It's the reason he looks so…inhuman now. Hufflepuff's Cup, Slytheirn's Locket, Ravenclaw's Diadem, a ring at his grandfather's cottage, his pet snake and, unfortunately, young Harry here."

"Wait, I'm a what?" Harry asked his older self.

"A Horcrux." Dumbledore told him. "It's a very dark and nasty piece of magic. What it does is that it separates the casters soul into multiple pieces. How did you come by this knowledge?"

The older Harry smiled. "From you, sir. We worked out the cup and snake, you found the ring during this coming summer, and whatever you do, DO NOT, put it on. Better yet, don't even go looking for it. Send one of the order members. You see, the ring is not just a ring. It's one of the Hallows."

This caught Dubledore's attention. "The Resurrection Stone?" He asked the older Harry.

He just nodded and turned to his younger self. "The Deathly Hallows is an old wizarding tale like Cinderella or The Frog Prince. It tells of three brothers who meet death and, because they outsmart him, are given three treasures. The Resurrection Stone, The Elder Wand and Death's Invisibility Cloak. These things, together, are known as The Deathly Hallows. The problem we have is that someone," He glared at Dumbledore at this, "has been in utter fascination with them since he was a young man."

Dumbledore just blushed. "I admit, I have been rather foolish about them in the past. It's one of the reasons that I had your father's invisibility cloak on the night he and Lilly died."

Harry looked confused between his elder mentor and his older self. He knew he had nothing for respect for the old man, but his older self talked to him like there was unfinished business between them. "You said you knew where all these horcrux were?"

Older Harry smiled at him. "Yes, I do. The hardest one to get to will be Hufflepuff's Cup as it is in the Lestrange Vault in Gringotts. I'll let you figure out how to get to it since Ron, Hermione and I had a blast trying. Still the only break in at Gringotts, thank you. The others will be much easier besides Nagini, which is at his side most of the time. The ring is located at the Gaunt Cottage. The diary, of course, has been destroyed and Slytherin's Locket was in Grimmauld Place. If you can't find it there, Mundagus Fletcher has it."

"Wait, what?" Harry asked his older self.

"Do you remember that golden locket that no one could open when you were cleaning this past summer?" Harry nodded. "It's a horcrux. That's why no one can get it to open but you can."

Harry thought about it for a moment before getting what his older self was telling him. "Parselmouth." He said as the older version smiled at himself.

"Exactly, now the Lost Diadem is actually located at Hogwarts. It's in the Room of Requirement in the form of the room students use when they need to hide something. Look for a chipped bust of an old warlock. It has it on his head. However, all these are simple compared to what Harry must do."

Dumbledore looked sadly at him before looking back at Older Harry. "I understand. I will tell him later. Right now, however, Sirus and Remus are waiting for an explanation and I wouldn't like to keep them waiting. I understand that, should I need you, you will be here?"

Older Harry nodded. "For a short amount of time. I wasn't sure on how to make the spell work so I would remain forever. It's really difficult to place part of your conscience away in someone else, even if that someone is a younger version of myself."

With that the room filled with white mist again and Harry felt himself returning.

"To say that was quite interesting would be an understatement." Dumbledore told the other two men when they returned to his study. "Harry performed a remarkable feat of magic."

Harry felt his face glow red in embarrassment. "I don't think I actually did anything. It was someone who I will never become now."

Sirus looked confused at both of them. "When did Harry start talking in riddles like Albus?" He asked Remus loudly.

Luppin just shrugged. "Beats me. Albus? Care to explain?"

He nodded. "In due time, gentlemen, however I think we should return Harry to the Gryffindor Common Room and then call a emergency meeting of the Order. Harry, practice everything you know as much as you can. Be ready for anything since I'm not sure what is going to happen now. Tell only who you think you must and even then only what you can. Don't let Miss Granger get to involved in trying to solve the mystery that you know could change everything."

Harry nodded as he looked around the room. "How am I going to get back?"

All three grinned as Fawkes landed on his shoulder. "If you need me, call me on the mirror." Sirus told him before clapping him on the shoulder. Remus smiled at him.

Dumbledore nodded his head. "When you need me, I will be there." was all that he said before Harry felt a rush of heat and closed his eyes.

A/N: So, what do you think? I know I am working with a new area that I don't think has ever been done before so I would love to hear what everyone thought.

I always thought that this was a great idea and I don't think I have ever seen it done before. To answer the question I know is coming, Harry still has an imprint of his elder self in his head. It's like an interactive memory more then anything else.

Golden Quartet chapter is next and I might get to the beginning of the action in the story. I haven't yet decided beyond that.

Sorry that this took so long to get out. Thank you for remaining loyal and relaxed as I got over my massive case of writer's block and distraction in the shape of Halo: Reach. I promise I will have the next chapter up in a timely manner, I'm just not sure when that will be.

Until then, read, love and review.

Oh, old poll closed. New poll. Sirus' crush. Muggle or Muggleborn? You decide.