Z.R. Stein

Lily Potter and the Escape to Remnant – A RWBY/Harry Potter Crossover crossover AU fic.

I do not own the characters of RWBY or Harry Potter in any way, shape, or form.

I got inspired and finished this early, yay! This chapter is also a bit info heavy, though more does happen as opposed to last chapter. Even though it's shorter...odd, that.

I said it in Shades and I'll restate it here and in AfE. If anyone wants to draw fanart of this, I'd greatly appreciate it. These two stories need covers and I am not a good enough artists to do it.

Send in your questions in a message or review and I'll answer them next chapter (as well as those from previous chapters)!

Lord, what the hell am I doing here? -Nicholas D. Wolfwood

. . .

As soon as they had reached the apartment, Lily withdrew the trunk from her satchel once again and returned it to its normal size. She came up within a minute, carrying Harry in her arms.

Sirius smiled tiredly and leaned down to kiss his godson's head, then promptly collapsed in an armchair.

"Well."

Remus sat down across from him and nodded, looking every bit as exhausted.

"Mmm."

Sirius ran a hand over his face, grimacing as he wiped away a fine layer of sweat and dirt.

"We're on another planet."

"Mhmm."

"Populated by Grimm...giant black monsters who ooze hate and malevolence and whose only purpose in life seems to be killing humans...and faunus."

Remus winced at the reminder of his new status and resisted the urge to run a hand over his new sensory organs. Lily rocked Harry back and forth while the gears of her mind whirled in thought.

"For right now, we need to get established. Set up shop, find someway to make money; there's a fairly substantial amount of Galleons in my trunk, but I'm not sure if they would accept our currency here."

Sirius sat up and asked "Wait...you're talking like you're planning on staying?"

Lily shifted Harry into a more comfortable position and shrugged.

"There's no way in hell I'm risking using the jumpkey again without more research, considering what happened. Even if it's possible to return to Earth, it might be months or years until I work out how to do so safely. Our arrival in Remnant was a fluke, a one in a thousand chance that resulted from conflicting magics. So yes...for right now, I'm planning on staying. It's not like we had many places to go, anyways."

Sirius' eyebrows scrunched together, and he asked "Well, what was the plan you two had for after you broke me out...thank you, again, by the way."

"Don't mention it, Padfoot." Remus said with a sigh "And as for the plan...well, we obviously couldn't stay in Britain. Lily and I had decided to leave the country, maybe to America or the continent. The Potters had a few properties outside of the isles, as did the Blacks...but that's all in the past now."

Lily hummed, saying "Remnant has it's own set of dangers, but at least here we don't have to worry about being hunted down by Aurors or hired Hitwizards for breaking you out of Azkaban. That's...something, at least."

The three of them lapsed into silence, only broken when Harry started to sniffle. Lily stood up and strolled into the apartment's bedroom to take care of her son's needs, leaving the two men behind.

Sirius remained in thought for several minutes before shaking his head in resignation. If he had been transported to Remnant months ago, Sirius had no doubt that he would be panicking by now. Hell, he probably would be climbing the walls after finding out that they weren't on Earth anymore. But now...well, after everything that had happened over the past few weeks: James dying, Dumbledore's betrayal of their collective trust, the end of the war, and being sent to Azkaban...after everything, he just felt so done. The collective consciousness of everything, God, and Merlin could all go screw themselves, Sirius Black was fed up with being the chewtoy of the universe. He had no more shits left to give at the moment.

Mind made up, Sirius shrugged, accepted the unacceptable, and decided to move on with his life. Taking a deep sniff, Sirius decided that he needed to move on to one very specific place.

"Ugh, I need a bath."

Remus chuckled tiredly and responded "Well, I didn't want to say anything...but yeah, you do."

"Flea-bitten bastard."

"That's the best you could come up with?"

"Give me a break, Moony, it's been a very long day."

After Sirius left, the amusement left Remus' face, and he murmured to himself "Yes...yes it has."

. . .

Ozpin stood before his window, looking out on the city from Beacon Tower. From up here, everything seemed so small, insignificant. Like chess pieces just waiting to be moved. Ozpin frowned and mentally reprimanded himself. That was not a road of thought he would permit himself to entertain; people were not game pieces, and his actions had much further reaching consequences than a simple checkmate in a game. Actions like choosing to trust these newly appeared wizards.

The three were an interesting enigma. They were each strong, in their own way; he had gleaned that much from his perusal of their Aura. Sirius was a fighter and a clown rolled into one, full of determination and boundless spirit. He was the type of man to laugh in the face of death, one who could face impossible odds and come out on top by virtue of his sheer grit. His enthusiasm was tempered by some great suffering though, something recent, a dark stain on his soul that concerned Ozpin. Still...he would make a fine Huntsman if he chose that path.

The other man, Remus, was no less steadfast and loyal, though he had a much more peaceful disposition. He was thoughtful, introspective, and kind, overflowing with empathy. He too had his own tragedy, though his was an old pain, something he had suffered under for years. There was anger there as well, rage kept just below the surface of the skin of a mild mannered young man. If he learned to control it perhaps…

The red haired woman, Lily, was the most interesting of them all. She shined with the bright glow of hope and kindness, a truly honest soul (frankly, she reminded him of Summer). She was intelligent in a way that few were, always thinking, always analyzing. Ozpin wouldn't be surprised if she was a prodigy in whatever land she came from.

And there lay another question. Where were the mysterious magic users from? Qrow had spoken about the three before he left, voicing his suspicions about them being from a village outside of the Kingdoms; some backwater place where they had been completely isolated. However, Ozpin seriously doubted that was the case. During the course of their conversation, he had noticed that they really seemed to know...well, nothing about Remnant except for what they had heard from him or Qrow, even things that should have been common knowledge like the existence of Dust or Aura. He hadn't called them out at the time, though; right now, it was vital to build trust, and his own questions could wait.

So...the three of them likely weren't from Remnant. If that was true, Ozpin thought, there was likely only one possible place they could have come from, taking into account some of the aspects of their persons.

Striding over to his desk, Ozpin pushed a sequence of buttons, causing his monitor to appear above the clicking gears. The blank floating screen pulsed faintly as Ozpin entered in a code only he knew, delving into a series of files hidden on the Beacon servers.

Ozpin stared at the screen as he pulled up a picture he hadn't looked at in almost fifty years, softly speaking to himself.

"Perhaps...yes, I think they might be. It wouldn't be the first time a British wizard has found themselves in our world. Hmmm. How curious."

Closing out the screen, Ozpin smiled and poured himself another cup of coffee (with Glynda occupied helping the wizards settle in, there was no one present to cut him off from his private addiction). It was certainly going to be an interesting week.

. . .

The foursome of Lily, Sirius, Remus, and Harry all promptly crashed after cleaning themselves up some. They didn't awake until the next day (Harry still recovering from being under the effects of the claudicatus charm for so long).

After waking and eating some food stocked in a refrigerator (Sirius and Remus were not nearly as ignorant of muggle culture as most other wizards, though even Lily admitted to being out of her depth with most of the technology they'd seen in Remnant), the group sat down to have a planning session.

"Ozpin seems like he's trustworthy, or at least, he hasn't overtly manipulated us yet. I think we can rely on him...for now." Lily said as she fed a gurgling Harry.

Remus nodded as he nibbled on a banana, unconsciously scratching his wolf ears.

"I agree. We can accept his aid. I think our first course of action should be information gathering; we can find a library, read up on as much of the local history as possible. We should also see if Ozpin can lend us any magical books he might have; I know he said there aren't many wizards left, but there should be something."

"About that." Lily wiped Harry's chin and took a bite out of her own breakfast "I've been thinking about our dilemma since last night...I don't think finding a way home should be our priority right now."

Sirius and Remus glanced at each other, then at Lily. Remus was the one to ask the question on both of their minds.

"Why?"

"We were always going to be in danger wherever we went back on Earth, whether it be from Hitwizards, ex-Death Eaters, or even Dumbledore himself. He might be a manipulative bastard, but he's anything but weak, and he's not stupid either. He would have found us eventually. But here...no one from Earth can follow us here. We don't have to worry about any of that...and yes, it's quite dangerous here as well. The Grimm, especially, worry me. There are an immense number of unknowns. But...there's opportunity in Remnant. Just think of all the things that Ozpin mentioned yesterday." Lily's eyes began to shine as she continued speaking. "A physical expression of magic! Think of the possibilities! The applications of Dust have to be limitless! I mean, I mean, it could even allow Muggles to utilize magic!"

Remus blinked, eyes widening.

"Are you serious?"

"No, I'm Sirius."

Remus smacked a hand over his face as Sirius burst out laughing. Lily, however, was too caught up in her impassioned speech to notice.

"It would be very limited use of magic, probably dependent on what form of Dust it was, but yes. With the right crystal, a Muggle could control the elements or levitate objects just as easily as a wizard could, at least until the magic of the crystal was depleted. Or maybe Dust burns away or dissolves…"

Remus cast an amused glance at Sirius and said "So, basically you want to stay in Remnant because of all the discoveries that could be made."

Lily smiled sheepishly.

"Yes?"

The two men shared a chuckle before sobering up.

"It would be worth investigating some of the more fascinating aspects of this world." Remus said as he finished off his banana. "Aura and Semblances, in particular, sound quite interesting to me. As do...as do the Faunus. I'll need to read up on my...new species." Remus' lip curled downwards in a grimace, and the other two chose not to comment.

Sirius kneaded his fingers together and said "I think I'll leave the theory to you two. As for me, I'd much prefer to be doing something rather than sitting in a dusty library or laboratory. If we're really going to be staying in this godforsaken place, I think I'd rather become a Huntsman."

Remus raised an eyebrow at that and asked "Really? I didn't think you'd be quite so enthusiastic to be a member of law enforcement, Padfoot, after spending a week in Azkaban."

Sirius frowned, a quick shudder passing through his body before he calmed himself.

"Not going to lie, it was hell in there. You two only felt it for a few minutes, but the cold seeps into your bones after a few days...I can't imagine what it would have been like to spend years there. But no...this is different. I may not want to join the Aurors anymore, but Huntsmen seem to be much more than just bobbies. Remember what Qrow said...they're the ones who keep places like Vale safe. This way...I can protect Harry. I can make up for going after Peter."

Lily sighed and said "Sirius, I don't blame you for that. You've never been the most...level headed of individuals. You shouldn't beat yourself up over what you did. If I hadn't been taking care of Harry…" Lily's face darkened as she hissed out "I would have killed that rat myself for what he did."

Remus nodded in agreement with Lily.

"Thank you...but this doesn't change my mind. You know I'm not the kind of man to sit around on my bum all day. I think...I think this'll be good for me."

"You know, if what Ozpin said is true, you might have to attend school again just to become a Huntsman?"

Sirius scowled, clearly not having remembered that tidbit of information.

"Maybe there's a way around that?"

. . .

"I must admit, I didn't actually expect any of you to volunteer so easily. Though, what you're asking for is rather unusual."

The threesome had decided to visit Ozpin after breakfast, Lily toting Harry along in a sling. To his credit, the man hadn't even blinked upon seeing the child, simply taking him in with the same calm acceptance he always displayed.

"I know, but I don't relish the thought of returning to school for another six or seven years...and besides, it's not like I'm helpless. I was training to become an Auror...erm, police officer...before...before...uh...what happened."

Ozpin cracked a miniscule grin as Sirius trailed off before saying "There are a few precedents. Certain skilled individuals in the Atlesian military who were substantially older than the normal entry age of seventeen; a man I once knew who lived most of his life outside the kingdoms; a pair of twins from Vacuo who've since become teachers at Shade. Those with exceptional skill and determination may ask to be trained by a single Huntsman or Huntress, rather than attend one of the Academies."

Sirius grinned widely.

"That sounds like what I'm looking for. Where do I sign up?"

"Mmm. I do hope you realize how hard such a path will be. There is a reason more people do not become a Huntsman's apprentice. You will be learning on the ground, surrounded by danger at all times. Beacon is by no means an easy school to become a student of, but it will be far more forgiving of any mistakes than a professional Huntsman. Do you think you have the courage and dedication to undertake such a trial?"

Sirius suddenly looked less sure of himself, but after a moment, he nodded.

"I want to be a Huntsman. I need to protect Lily, Remus, and Harry. Please."

"Your determination is admirable, but I am not the one you should ask. Apprenticeships are approved by the Huntsman alone after they witness your skills. If you truly are set on becoming an apprentice, you will need to find a Huntsman or Huntress willing to give you a chance. Be warned though, such individuals may be few and far between."

Sirius nodded, mollified.

"And what about you two?"

"Ah," began Lily "I was thinking about researching Dust. I'm...well, something of a prodigy in Charms and Potions, youngest witch of the century to get my mastery in Charms, in fact. If I can get my hands on some Dust...let's just say there's quite a few things I can make that might help against the Grimm."

Ozpin nodded and responded "An excellent idea. Sadly, research into the origins of Dust has proven to be quite inconclusive, and as it is intrinsically magical, it is rather hard for the scientists of Remnant to understand. If you'd like to pursue this and think it will bear fruit, I believe I can arrange for you to receive a monthly stipend for the purpose of research and experimentation. I should inform you that results will be expected within a period of three months, or I will be legally compelled to withdraw monetary support. Beacon's budget isn't limitless, and while I am granted a great deal of leeway by the Council, Lien that is spent must have an observable effect."

Lily nodded, a wicked grin spreading across her lips.

"Three months is more than enough time."

Ozpin turned to Remus, who said "Local history and technology were the two areas I wanted to study up on. It seems we're staying in Vale for the time being, and we'll need to know how to fit in with the people of the city. We're...somewhat out of our depth here, so my short turn plan is bring myself and these two up to speed on common knowledge. After that is taken care of, I suppose I'll want to look into Aura, but not until we're stable."

"A wise choice. You have a good head on your shoulders, young man. I can have Glynda provide you with some primers and textbooks to help you along with your study. I would advise you to learn how to use a scroll as soon as possible, as they do allow one to access most any information you desire."

Remus frowned and asked "But...magic and technology doesn't mix?"

Ozpin blinked, his neutral expression slipping in favour of directing a questioning look at Remus.

"They don't? Hmmm...I've never noticed any problems before. Is this a common issue in your homeland?"

All three wizards nodded, silently glad that Ozpin seemed to be avoiding asking about Britain.

"It's pretty much accepted that Muggles items don't interact well with magic. They might work for a few days, but eventually, magic will short them out."

Ozpin stroked his chin.

"I wonder...as you've never heard of Dust, I can assume such a thing did not exist where you came from."

Again, there were three nods.

"Perhaps...this is just a theory, but the 'Muggle' devices were run purely by mundane means, while all technology in Remnant is powered by Dust."

Lily's eyes widened comically.

"Everything!?"

"Everything. From cars to weapons to streetlights, Dust is the energy source that makes life in Remnant possible. And if every bit of technology is powered by Dust, then obviously, your own magic shouldn't pose a problem."

Remus swore he felt a foreboding feeling wash over him; it was almost as if Lily was cackling internally, exuding the aura of a mad scientist with a new toy. Merlin help them all.

. . .

After their meeting with Ozpin concluded, the three wizards retreated back to their new apartment to begin studying up on the new world they found themselves in. Or at least, it started out that way. Sirius soon grew bored and teamed up with Lily to decorate and renovate the small apartment with judicious use of magic and items dragged out of Lily's trunk, leaving Remus behind to do the boring reading.

After several hours, the two room apartment had changed drastically. On the surface, it didn't seem that different; there was a fresh coat of Gryffindor red paint on the walls, the furniture had changed to become larger and comfier, there was a new rug on the floor. The only oddity an average visitor would notice (if they were able to notice it at all due to the charms layered upon the doorframe) was the presence of a door that, logically, would simply lead into empty space outside of the building. Opening this door, however, revealed an entire other building's worth of space. There was a trio of bedrooms, a playroom, a more traditional wizarding kitchen, and the beginnings of a Wizard's laboratory, complete with a brewing stand and a shelf of books. Magic was, in Sirius' opinion, truly a wonderful thing.

Remus, meanwhile, had found himself fiddling with one of the 'scrolls' that Ozpin mentioned. The man had recommended they familiarize themselves with the technology of this world. Remus found himself amazed by the little device; back on Earth before they left, a digital watch had been considered quite high tech, and mobile phones were simply brick sized telephones. This tiny sliver of metal though...not only could it function as a phone, it was actually able to pull information from some sort of ethereal library called the 'scrollnet'. Or at least, that was roughly how Remus understood it (though he was more up to date than most wizards, Remus knew there were many Muggle technologies that he didn't know anything about).

It was a struggle to learn how to utilize such a device, but Remus Lupin was not one to back down from a challenge. Whether it was attending Hogwarts while a werewolf or scheming with his best friend's wife to break his other best friend out of prison, he would always give his very best. He would master this device.

Though he did briefly consider stopping after accidentally opening up a 'scrollsite' called 'FaunusXXX'. He wasn't a prude by any means, but wizarding culture wasn't exactly liberal, and those Faunus were very naked.

Their work done for the moment, Sirius and Lily flopped down next to Remus.

"I think that's enough for right now. How goes the research, Moony?"

Remus coughed, race still a little red, which thankfully went unnoticed by the other two.

"Quite well, though I'm afraid we have our work cut out for us. There's an entire world's worth of knowledge to slog though. So far, I've manage to cover some of the more basic facts and tentatively learn to operate the scroll like Ozpin suggested."

Sirius grinned cheekily and said "Fill me in then."

"Is this really going to be like back in Hogwarts when we were students? I can't always act as your walking cheat sheet, Padfoot."

Sirius whined in protest until Remus relented, rubbing his temples.

"Fine, you pathetic parcel of fur. The first thing to know is that the currency here is called Lien; I think the Headmaster mentioned it back in his office. It's not gold or silver, or even paper like the Muggle pounds or euros we know. It's a small, hard card that has a magnetic strip. It comes in values of one, five, ten, twenty, and a hundred, and each one is coloured differently, so the difference is easy to tell. There's also a special 'cent' card that represents fractions of Lien; it is refilled or depleted as you make purchases, and if it runs out, you can easily ask any teller to put more money on it."

Sirius blinked twice, trying to figure out the system.

"That's...remarkably straightforwards."

"It is."

"You're sure there's no 17 sickles to a Galleon or 29 Knuts to a Sickle...nothing like that?"

"Nope."

"...huh."

Lily rolled her eyes and asked "What else did you find out?"

"A lot. Even though they're called 'kingdoms', the four kingdoms are really more like Grecian or Roman city-states. They each have a civic council that is elected from the populace that holds most of the power, while each kingdom's military is comprised of citizens and is subservient to the council. Military service is mandatory for citizens in Atlas and Mistral, though only for two years, and Huntsmen are exempt. Luckily for us, military service in Vale is optional, so that's one less thing he have to worry about."

Remus paused and closed his scroll before continuing.

"Other than that, I read up on some of the history. Vale, Vacuo, Mistral, and Mantle have each existed for at least five hundred years, though the city state of Mantle is largely defunct now, with only the Atlas Huntsman Academy and some of the surrounding area safe. There have been a number of wars fought over that period, though the bloodiest was the great war of X792."

"Wha?"

Remus chuckled.

"You didn't really think they'd have the same calendar as us? The current date in Remnant is X857."

Sirius groaned from his chair, mumbling complaints.

"And I'm expected to learn all of this stuff? Merlin, this is going to be hard."

Remus' eyes crinkled in amusement as he laughed.

"Maybe you should have thought of that before asking about becoming one of the elite warriors of this world. Speaking of which, do you have any plans about how to go about getting an apprenticeship?"

Sirius shrugged, responding "Hell if I know. I had assumed I could just find one and try to dress up my magic as a fancy Semblance."

"That sounds…"

"...like a horrible plan."

Sirius glared at Lily and Remus, who were both giving him looks of bemusement.

"Ok, so maybe it isn't the most well thought out strategy, but there is no way in hell I'm going to school with a bunch of seventeen year olds."

Remus snorted at the mental image and added "Very well...how many Huntsman do we actually know?"

Sirius answered "One. Qrow...Qrow? You want me to ask Qrow?"

Remus shrugged and said "He knows about magic now, so you don't need to dress it up as anything else. From what I gathered, he's very good at what he does, and he doesn't have a partner at present. While you two were decorating, I read up on the Huntsmen; they're put into teams of four, two pairs of partners, upon entering the academies, and often they stay together even after graduation. Qrow is a skilled Muggle, and he's a Huntsman, so he could teach you, while you can contribute everything you know as a wizard to his missions. Plus...well, we weren't around him for too long, but he seems like the kind of man you would get along with."

Sirius steepled his fingers in thought.

"Hmmm...Qrow. That...that actually doesn't sound like a bad idea."

Years later, Lily and Remus would point to this moment as the proverbial 'one that started it all'. The beginning of the infamous partnership Black Qrow.

Couple things here.

Yes, the apprenticeship thing is totally made up. I think it makes sense though. Qrow did say that every day out in the field is worth a week at Beacon. If someone has the skills to keep up with a Huntsman, why not let them apprentice with one to become official?

And yes, Black Qrow is going to be a thing. No, it is not going to be a romantic thing. I have someone else in mind to ship with Qrow. No spoilers.

Lastly, yes, the date is also something I made up. It makes no sense for it to be 1981 as well in Remnant, and I thought I'd take a page from anime's book and make the date with an X. It gives it an element of mystery.