~ The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be the beginning. ~ Ivy Baker Priest

As human beings we often have to open ourselves up to pain, the idea that something might be worth the rocky road after the fear has passed. Yet, behind this realization is the cold hard reality of the human experience: we hide from pain. Whether consciously or not, we as humans tend to shy away from the difficult truth, from the reality which may crush the very existence of everything we have ever believed in. So, in an act of self-preserverence we barricade ourselves behind brick walls and steel bars, hoping that if we wait long enough the pain we're suffering will melt away. The problem with this, of course, is that in hiding from the pain we are only delaying the inevitable - the day when we realize that sometimes that pain is the very thing that we needed to feel.

As the school year came to a close, Harry and Ginny had finally left the safe confines of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This place, which had become a home to them in the past seven years, had seen the best and worst moments of their lives. From the wonder of a new place and new friends, to the magical world they were to discover and the hidden horrors which they were to encounter. It was in this place, hidden away from the reality of war, that their love had found it's true foundation and from there it had become the powerful force that won the very war which had taken everything away from a very special little boy all those years ago. And it was in this place, that the truth about Harry Potter's parents and godfather had been revealed. As the last days of spring faded away into the sweltering days of the English summer, the youngest Potters made their way back into the world, leaving behind a tangled web just waiting to be unraveled. Yet at the same time, there was this sense of trepidation about entering the next phase of human life without first facing the past which had got them there. Now, settled in the little cottage in which they called home, that same little boy who had lost so much all those years ago was finally beginning to find his way out of the darkness.

If one were to look into that yard at this very moment, in fact, they would see said boy (now an adult) sitting against an ancient oak tree, staring out over the pristine waters of the great pond which lay at peace behind the cottage. You would see the face of the legendary Boy-Who-Lived and you would stop for a moment and wonder about the expression, which at this very moment dominated his features, and realize that all the time in the world would never erase his pain. At the same time, you would see what his beautiful wife, Ginny, could see all to clearly: that her husband would never be able to truly move on with his life until he knew the entire truth behind his parents decision to keep their decision from his for over seventeen years.

"You know the water never moves unless there is something to disturb its peace" remarked Ginny as she made her was over to the place where her husband was resting. As she approached she could see the tired look in his eyes, the result of too many sleepless nights spent wondering about the past.

"Then we best not disturb It." he replied quietly whilst staring out over the calm waters.

"You know as well as I do that even the calmest waters must eventually flow, lest they become stagnant and polluted."

"Yet somehow, I don't believe we are talking about the pond anymore, are we?" Harry remarked with resigned smile on his face as he turned to greet his wife. He never got over her natural beauty, his breath taken from him as he gazed into the chocolate brown eyes of the one person he knew without a doubt he could depend on.

"No, we are not." she replied.

"I just..." Harry breathed.

"You know a wise man once told me that it is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. The worlds not black and white Harry, people make decisions and it's those people who have to live with their choices. Your choice to defy the sorting hat that very first year proved the kind of person you are and the decision you made every day of the war to put others before yourself proved you a loving and selfless person even when you of all people had every reason not to be. You care Harry, or we wouldn't even be here having this discussion. You care so much that it hurts you to think that someone could have done something that hurt you so much because they loved you enough to know when their lives were worth sacrificing. I'm not saying what they did was right and I can't condone the way they went about things but at the same time I can see that what they did was for love - the very thing which made you sacrifice yourself so many times to ensure that I was okay." whispered Ginny into the silence.

Harry turned and looked into those passion filled orbs, the one's which always seemed to hold such breathtaking clarity and compassion, while at the same time could be so undeniably full of fire. It was in those eyes that he could see the truth, the love that she had for him and it was then that he began to speak.

"When I think of my parents and Sirius, about what they did, I get this undeniable feeling of anger at the betrayal they laid at my door. I can't help but question how any kind of parent could possibly want to cause any child so much pain. Is that to say that I never want to see them again? That I don't want them a part of my life? A life which up until a few weeks ago was defined by the sacrifice they made? I don't know. I just...I don't know how much more of my life has been a lie and I don't know if I even want to know the truth anymore. I'm tired." said Harry in an impassioned voice. The tears, which had long been held at bay, finally seeping to the surface.

Ginny, seeing this placed her hands on either side of his face and looking him in the eye said in a broken voice "I know how much their decision hurt you. I know how much it still does, but can't you see your letting their decision change who you are. The loving, caring, selfless man who I love is right in front of me! The person you are, Harry Potter, is not defined by the decisions of others. Yes, your parents and Sirius's deaths did impact on the person you became; there is no questioning that the imprint they left on your life left behind an impression. But you...you are the person you are today because you had to make the hard decisions, watch the people you love fight for their lives and fight for your own existence. You're still fighting every day, just as you were during the war. Fighting to find your place, fighting to be the man I know you are. Don't let the actions of others blind sight you from what is truly important or who you are. You are just as special now as you ever were, if you weren't then all of this would never have happened."

Wrapping his arms around his wife and staring out over the pristine water which was only now beginning to flow, Harry James Potter finally came to a decision. "I don't know whether I'll ever be able to forgive them for what they did, but I know this much Gin. Everything I have ever done has been to protect the people I love, to ensure their safety in the hope that one day they would get to live the life they deserve away from all this pain and suffering. Maybe it's time I got that too. And the only way I can see that happening is to go back to the beginning, back to where this all started and try to make sense of the mess it has become." Harry stopped suddenly, smiled and chuckled softly before resting his forehead against Ginny's.

"I thank my lucky stars for the day love brought me to you, what would I ever do without you?" He asked.

"Hmm...let's think about that shall we?" she teased.

"Vixen"

"Back to the beginning?" she said.

"Back to the beginning?" he agreed, smiling softly before finally embracing his wife, where no words were needed to prove their love for many hours ahead.

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Hundreds of miles away in a magical castle, which to muggles would appear nothing more than the site of majestic Stone Age ruins, Albus Dumbledore stood in his office awaiting the return of the three people who had changed Harry's life forever. As he stood staring over the ancient grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he remembered the faces of hundreds of students who had walked these walls. He could hear every voice and see every smile, yet at the same time he could feel every tear. The time was coming for the truth to be revealed, he could feel it in his age old bones. The magic of the castle could feel it. Clasped in his hand was a single message sent via phoenix from the youngest Potter's cottage in Ottery St Catchpole. It read very little but the words said much:

It's time to go back to the beginning. It's time the truth was heard. 2pm tomorrow the web will be untangled. This is where this story begins.

As the old doors opened and Lily, James and Sirius walked through its ancient doorway, Dumbledore turned and handed them the letter. Having each read it in turn, Lily looked to the legendary headmaster with tears in her eyes and asked "The beginning of what?"

"The beginning of tomorrow. He's giving you a chance. Back to the Beginning, back to when it all began. It's time for the story to be told, it's time for the future to begin." As they all stood in reverend silence in the office of all Hogwarts headmasters, Professor Albus Dumbledore could feel the brewing storm and what a storm it would be. Yes, tomorrow the story would begin. After all, sometimes one must go to the past in order to be able to see the future.

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AN:/ Thank you to all who continue to read and review this story. In case you're confused, no this is not a time travel story, when I say back to the beginning I quite literally mean that the characters need to relive their stories to be able to move on and in the next update that journey will begin. Yours, bj188.

The Quote "it is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities" is from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. That and any other materials from the trademark (characters, names, events, related scenarios, creatures...ECT) belong to J.K Rowling and Warner Bros. alone. Only the plot bunny and opinions expressed in this story are mine.