Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, objects, or anything else that comes from J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series.

Warning: This story will contain scenes of violence, bad language, and maybe other themes

that some audiences may find unsuitable. You have been advised.

When You Have Nothing Left to Lose

Chapter 11:

After his revelation, Harry began scanning the area around him, intent on defending himself from any threat that may present itself. Lying on the ground closer to where he appeared, Harry noticed Michael Corner unconscious in a pool of his own blood. Harry walked over to the boy who would turn into his enemy cautiously, his wand at the ready.

When he was next to him, Harry kicked and heard a groan of pain. The Boy-Who-Lived smiled viciously, and healed the wound enough before stunning the future minister and dragging him to the treeline.

Once they arrived, Harry used magick to bind Corner's legs and hands together and finally woke him up.

"Ughhh. What happened?" The boy moaned before realizing the situation he was in. "Wait. You're here?! No! You'll ruin everything!"

Harry smiled wickedly then punched the other boy in the nose hard, breaking it easily.

Michael cried in pain, and Harry waited until the cries turned to whimpers before continuing.

"Hopefully, Michael, you now understand the situation you are in. I can do whatever I wish to you, and believe me I will if you do not start answering my questions. Are we clear?"

"Fuck you." Corner spit out.

Harry turned his head and smiled calmly. He then crouched down next to Corner without his face dropping. Suddenly he cast a wandless spell into the bound boy's body, eviscerating the target in multiple superficial cuts.

Corner cried and screamed in pain.

"Thank you for that. I was hoping I'd get to take out some of my frustrations on you. So would you like to change your earlier statement?"

The bound boy sobbed and nodded his head.

"What was that? Are we clear?" Harry smiled once more.

"Y-yes. We're clear."

Harry's fake smile dropped and he leaned back to sit with his legs in front of him. "Now, where are we?"

"Hogwarts." Corner groaned.

The Shadow Wolf nodded. "Good. Now, why are we both 15 again?"

Michael stayed silent, refusing to look up at his captor.

The Wolf's true smile came back, and Harry shoved his thumb into the newly created wounds on the boy's stomach. His smile widened hearing the screams.

"Okay! Okay!" Michael cried. "It's fifteen years ago! We're not just fifteen, everything is!

"Now, please, stop!" Harry removed his thumb and let Corner pant as he absorbed this information.

"What were you doing trying to get here?" The Shadow Wolf asked calmly.

Corner opened his mouth but was interrupted. "And don't just tell me that you were escaping from me. You wouldn't have come back here just because of that."

The captive boy nodded his head and sighed. "We were sending agents back here, so I used the opportunity to escape."

Harry nodded. "Continue. How many agents, and what were they sent to do?"

Connor gulped and reflected on his current wounds before finally answering. "We sent six, and… they're here to ensure things don't happen like they do."

The Shadow Wolf's eyes pierced Michael. "How?"

"Um… well… they… they're here to… kill you and Miss Greengrass. Without you two, everything else will fall into place." Michael stuttered out, too scared to stay silent but too stupid to lie.

"Who are they?" Harry was standing over the other boy now, his wand out.

Again Michael gulped, eyeing the wand in Harry's hand.

"Cormac McLaggen, Andrew Kirke, and Romilda Vane from Gryffindor. Ernie Macmillan from Hufflepuff. Then Marietta Edgecombe and Terry Boot from Ravenclaw." Michael cried to himself. "Please, I've told you everything. Just let me go!"

"I take it that all six of them will be as old as they were in 1995 like we are?" Harry ignored the question.

Michael nodded enthusiastically. "Yes. We thought it would be best to keep the agents safe. We replaced our bodies in the past. Now, will you let me go?! Please?!" Michael begged.

"Well, it seems I have only one option then. Eliminate anyone who tries to kill me, and get back to the future before your bastards are sent here." Harry stretched his muscles. "At least it feels good to be younger again. Thank you for your cooperation, former Minister of Magick Michael Corner. Your services are no longer needed. Avada Kedavra!"

The green light rocketed into Corner, who could do nothing but stare in fear in his last moments. Onc it impacted, his eyes continued to stare but lost all light in them, and his body collapsed further into the ground. Harry looked around and, using magick, dug a hole over 2 meters deep. Once the corpse was inside and the earth had refilled, Harry banished the rest out into the Dark Lake before setting his sights back on Hogwarts.

"Well this is absolutely fucked. How am I supposed to travel…" Harry had started making his way back towards the castle but stopped in his tracks. "Fucking time turners. That has to be it. Maybe Hermione will know something… No… better to just research it myself, but first…" Harry started making his way back to the castle.

Whatever "tasks" his past self may have had didn't matter he figured. What was important was getting back in one piece as quickly as possible. The Ministry in one final move had taken his victory from him, from all of his people. They had won the war, but now it was all at risk. In a way it was lucky that he was back so that he may stop this plot, but at the same time, Harry just wanted to enjoy the fruits of his labor. He wished to just have his life with Daphne.

Once more, Harry Potter had a lot to lose, and he was going to fight for it with the same vicious energy as when he had nothing left.

Arriving at the castle, Harry first made his way back up to the boy's dormitory, sliding in with a younger Gryffindor and using the opportunity to re-learn the password. If not for his lack of giving a fuck that came with age, he may have been embarrassed of the overly large clothes draped around him but did know well enough that he needed to stay inconspicuous.

With a fresh change of clothes, Harry made his way back down to the library, his old wand visible on his waist but his other wands hidden up his sleeves. Finding several books on the subject of time travel attempts from throughout history, the man turned boy began his studying. He knew he would be risking a paradox getting back, but he threw caution to the wind. He would not live his life like this. 'Besides,' Harry reasoned, 'with everything I know and how much stronger I am, I wouldn't be able to keep the past intact if I wanted to. Or would it be the future? Fuck, I hate time travel. I guess it would be this me's future but my past.'

"Harry, what are you doing here?" A young voice Harry had not heard in over a decade sounded behind him.

Harry sighed, having dreaded this but turned around with a smile. "Hey, Hermione. Just some studying is all."

Hermione's brows knit in confusion upon seeing the covers of a couple of the books strewn out around the table. "What about? That doesn't look like anything in our curriculum."

"No, just a personal project I may present if things go well. That's all." Harry deflected.

The bushy haired girl approached the table. "What exactly are you trying to do with time? That's a dangerous subject, Harry." Hermione picked up one of his books, much to his unnoticed dissatisfaction. "Besides, most of what's actually useful is forbidden for students."

"That explains why all of this seems so vague and undescriptive…" Harry muttered to himself.

"So?"

"So what?" The boy turned to her.

"What's the project's goal?" Hermione sighed.

"Oh…" Harry's mind raced for a moment before deciding on a course of action. "It's just theoretical, but essentially, the concept I'd present would be that you could send someone to the future. Not even trying to bite off more than I can chew and have it come back. Just want to see if it can be done. I know… pretty ridiculous."

Hermione's brows knit in thought, absorbing his idea. "It might not be…"

Now Harry was shocked. "How? What do you mean?"

"Well… I'd say it was ridiculous if you were trying to get it to come back since so many great witches and wizards have failed, but if you're just trying to send it one way… and most studies show time travel going backwards… It just may work! I'll see if I can get access to some other books you'll need! Just give me until tomorrow!" Hermione was bristling with excitement as she ran off, and Harry smiled. Things had actually worked out better than he could have hoped.

With only the exclusion of a few details and probably a couple half truths, Hermione would never realize he was trying to send himself forward in time, aging and all. He didn't need to return, in fact, it would be better if he didnt. Then if the theories he had been reading were right, he may be able to cancel out this journey from ever happening. He would just have his victory, his life back.

He also decided his stay here would be as short as possible. Nothing else mattered.

When it finally came time for dinner, Harry rushed and kept to himself for the most part, thinking through as much of the information as he could. He had already managed to tell Hermione to keep quiet on his "project" to allow him room to work on it. He especially stressed secrecy from Ron since the bloke would most likely not understand any of it he had said. The truth, however, was that he didn't trust the fool to hold onto the secret.

"So what you think, Harry?" The red haired boy in question asked.

Harry shook his head as if waking from a stupor. "What was that, Ron? Sorry. I've got a lot on my mind."

And so Ron dragged on about the teachers and their coursework, the amount of effort expected of them. Harry remembered sympathizing with the boy when he was that age, and, looking back, he could acknowledge the egregious load but also had time to teach him more. Coursework, studies. They were nothing compared to the war he had just fought. Then again, Ron he knew would grow up to prove to be a lazy git, especially from what the redhead's future wife had said.

Finally dinner was over, and the three made their way back to the common roof, where Harry would leave them to continue studying in his bed.

Then once the time had gone by and Harry was sure of his fellow Gryffindors' slumber, he got up and redressed. Having taken stock of his "new" belongings, he retrieved his invisibility cloak and quickly donned it before slipping away.

Making his way quickly and silently to the library, he quickly infiltrated the forbidden section. Harry knew he would not be able to borrow any volumes without evidence pointing to him. Hermione would hear of a book missing and surely be able to put two and two together. Worst case scenario, she would learn that the project was much more personal than he let on and would tell the teachers of what he was working on. Besides, if Hermione was getting her hands on books for him, she might possibly be fetching some of what he was looking at. No, the books needed to stay here.

That didn't mean Harry had to leave them alone though. His newfound youth would let him stay up much easier than he had in years, and for that he was thankful.

Using his cloak and and illuminated wand, he read for hours into the night before finally calling it a rest so he may get at least some sleep. His knowledge and, with it, his power was growing but had to ensure lack of sleep did not cloud his thoughts. He needed to be alert at all times. He may still be Harry Potter, but he was not the Harry Potter the school knew.

Exiting the library, the Shadow Wolf was grateful for his decision as his vigilance already seemed to be paying off. Going down the corridor to his left was a cloaked figure hunched over trying to obscure their shape.

Much as his adult name sake Harry swiftly and silently closed the gap to follow behind the person. Once they turned the corner, the man turned boy looked around to ensure privacy before sending a stun spell straight into their back.

Immediately they collapsed, and Harry dragged the body under his cloak to the nearest doorway. Easily unlocking it with a wandless flick, he dragged the figure into the room before turning them onto their back to reveal their face.

The Shadow Wolf's brows knit upon seeing it. "You."

AN: Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter! Coming out of my hiatus fully so trying to update and finish each of these stories I left behind. I truly appreciate all who have waited so long for new content, and your enjoyment inspires me. Every review always feels like a privilege.

As Always,

Occidere Prima Vel Occidi