CHAPTER 4:

SHOPPING TRIP

That day marked a turning point. Qrow had decided to leave after a discussion with Ozpin, apparently needing to get back to some mission or other, while Ozpin spent the rest of the day talking with the newcomers about Remnant. He answered a lot of questions, even from Ruby and Yang, who seemed excited to have the Headmaster of Beacon. Especially the former. He even answered some of their questions about their parents and Qrow, who had been in Team STRQ.

Hermione and Lupin seemed to be the ones who asked the most questions, though. Magic, it seemed, was rare here. Ozpin warned them to keep their abilities secret, or else call it a Semblance. The only known magic users on Remnant were the Four Maidens, holders of magic power that were related to the four seasons.

Adapting to the new world was surprisingly easy for the four from Earth. Harry and Hermione had been raised amongst Muggles, and so knew a lot about technology, enough to adapt quickly. Lupin had worked many part-time jobs with Muggles, as his status as a werewolf made him undesirable for many jobs. And Sirius, while behind the times, was better than the other members of his family, understanding, for example, the mechanics of an internal combustion engine, or the concept of electronics and a computer. Technology was more advanced here than on Earth, by at least several decades by Hermione's estimation, but it was still recognisable.

Ozpin admitted that he suggested Qrow leave for now to allow tempers to cool, so that Harry and his father would be able to have a civil discussion later. Sirius had made some snide remark about that: it seemed that he wasn't fond of Qrow. Then again, considering Sirius had left Harry with Hagrid to pursue Peter Pettigrew, well, glass houses and stone-throwing sprung to mind.

And there was also the worry about Lupin being a werewolf (would he transform on a world with a shattered moon?), and Hermione, having been attacked by him, possibly becoming one.

So, to take their minds off the rather heavy matters, Taiyang announced a shopping trip to Vale for the next day. They were on break from Signal for now, so they had time.

It was while on the trip over that the newcomers from Earth met their first Faunus, a rather timid brunette with rabbit ears, sitting nearby in the airship as it flew from Patch to Vale. She was their age, or maybe a little older. Harry was trying very hard not to stare. Taiyang, however, recognised her. "Velvet, how's things?"

"Oh? Oh, hello, Mr Xiao Long. I'm just going for a trip to pick up photography supplies and some books, amongst other things," she said.

Taiyang nodded. "Everyone, this is Velvet Scarlatina. She's in the year ahead of Yang's. Velvet, these two are my daughters, Yang and Ruby. You might have seen them at Signal. These guys are staying with us a while. This is Qrow's son Harry…though they're not on the best of terms for reasons, this is Hermione Granger, this is Sirius Black, and that's Remus Lupin."

The rabbit-eared girl nodded, giving a slight, if somewhat nervous, smile. "Hi." She seemed reassured by their friendly greetings in response. "I've seen Ruby and Yang around Signal, actually. Never really got to meet you before."

"I think I saw you before," Yang said. "Right, you head up the photography club. And aren't you friends with that fashion-obsessed girl, Coco something or other?"

"Coco Adel," Taiyang supplied. "Velvet…well, she's pretty shy. It doesn't help that you have some types that pick on her because, well, you know…"

"Because I'm a Faunus," Velvet said quietly. Her voice, oddly enough, seemed to have the Remnant equivalent of an Australian accent(1). "It doesn't help when the White Fang attacks."

"Well, that sucks," Harry said. "Besides, the ears make you look cute."

Velvet blushed a little, and Yang nudged Harry in the ribs with her elbow. "You smooth operator, you," she teased.

"Sooo, Velvet…what's your weapon?" Ruby asked.

On Velvet's confused look, Taiyang chuckled. "Ruby just loves looking at other people's weapons."

"Oh. Umm, I have a camera, and an attached hard-light projector. I can copy other people's weapons, and even use them temporarily. It ties into my Semblance, as I am able to use the weapons I copy proficiently."

"Oh, wow!" Ruby said, starstruck.

"Most people don't like my doing that," Velvet confessed. "They think it's cheating. And I can only use the images I take for a short period, before I have to take the photos again. But I can't use them quite as well as the people who have trained with them. I can mix up weapons in battle on the fly, though."

"Yeah. Maybe we should get Ruby and Yang in on one of Velvet's sparring sessions," Taiyang said. "Her main advantage in battle is her unpredictability and her ability to switch weapons on the fly."

"That sounds like one hell of an advantage," Sirius said with a whistle.

"Yes, but unfortunately, people don't like her taking photos of their weapons. You have to understand what weapons are to Hunters," Taiyang said. "Velvet means well, and she doesn't take photos without permission, but many don't take kindly to her doing it. That's part of the reason she has few friends, sadly."

"Yeesh, that bites," Yang said. "I mean, I understand a little of it, but if it helps you survive against a Grimm, I wouldn't mind you copying Ember Celica."

Velvet gave a small smile. "Thanks."

"She's like Neville, a little," Hermione murmured. On Velvet's look, Hermione clarified, "You remind me of a friend of ours from back home. He needed encouragement to be the best he could be. I don't think we really gave him enough…"

For this shopping trip, they were going to stay cheap. While they'd have to wait until they got some money themselves before they could start buying Scrolls (which, while near-ubiquitous, were expensive), cheaper things were another matter. One of their first ports of call was to a second-hand bookstore, run by a man called Tukson. Hermione, naturally, was in heaven, and Ruby zoomed around, looking for stuff to read herself. Lupin picked out books himself at a more sedate pace, as did Harry and Velvet. And despite his burly bulk, Tukson was a friendly man.

It was there that they ran into the first real bit of culture shock: money. Unlike the coins and notes of Britain, or the coinage of Magical Britain, currency seemed to be mostly on special cards like credit cards. Oh, there were Lien coins, but most buying was done with these cards.

They then went to a Dust shop, From Dust Till Dawn, one where Ruby loved to read the latest weapons magazines. She was already known to the elderly shopkeeper, as was Velvet, who used special custom Dust mixtures in her camera and hard-light projector. Harry stared at the tubes of Dust dispensers. Fire, Lightning, Ice, Water, Gravity, and so on. Dust was very much a cornerstone of life here on Remnant. Magic in crystal form.

Through Ozpin and Taiyang elaborating on Yang's comments earlier, he knew that the biggest producer of Dust via mining and synthesis was the Schnee Dust Company of Atlas. They were fairly famous…and rich, but it was claimed frequently by civil rights groups (and of course the White Fang) that they used what was pretty much slave labour of Faunus. Hell, there were rumours of press gangs shanghaiing children into this. These were claims Jacques Schnee and his underlings denied strenuously. It made a contrast to how his father-in-law, Nicholas, ran things: apparently the Faunus with long memories praised Nicholas Schnee's name as fervently as they cursed Jacques'.

Apparently Jacques Schnee had three children. The eldest daughter, Winter, had joined the Atlesian military, while the youngest daughter, Weiss, was known for singing in concerts for charity. Not much was known about the youngest son, Whitley.

They accompanied Velvet to a camera shop. Apparently most people took photos with their Scrolls, which was a bit of culture shock for those from Earth. But there were cameras and camera equipment for professional photography, though it was apparently all digital. Meaning computerised, Hermione explained discreetly: apparently digital photography had been used by NASA for space missions for years back home.

For Velvet, apparently, photography was a hobby, and not just something she used as part of combat. Apparently what drew Coco Adel to Velvet was the artistic style of Velvet's photos. Coco was fairly well known as something of a fashionista, and she loved style in all its forms. For some reason, her weapon was a handbag…that unfolded into a minigun.

Hermione stared at Velvet flatly. "You're kidding me."

"She isn't," Taiyang said. They were having lunch at a café not far from the camera store called Bean There, Done That. "It needed a lot of very expensive Atlas tech to get it compact enough to fit into a handbag, but that's what Coco Adel uses. It'd be very effective against hordes of Grimm. Training against them is not what we do at Signal, though given the Grimm appearing there, even in Patch, it's good to have them ready for practise."

"They're everywhere?" Harry asked.

"Everywhere there's human and Faunus," Yang said, with a shrug, as if to say it was obvious.

Taiyang nodded. "There was this place not far from Vale, where they tried to expand. Mountain Glenn. Used to be a nice place, but then, the Grimm invaded. Now, it's just a ghost town. Rumour has it that some psycho called Merlot was the one responsible. I think he used to work with Ozpin, until things went sour. He's not the only one." His eyes flickered over to someone walking down the street. "Speak of the devil…Roman Torchwick."

Those gathered looked where a young man in a white jacket, a bowler hat, and wielding a cane, strutted down the street. He had orange hair framing handsome, but sardonic features, one of his eyes made up with mascara. Close by was a girl about their age, rather short, with pink and brown hair, carrying a parasol. "That's Roman Torchwick?" Yang remarked.

"Sorry, who?" Ruby asked.

"Oh, that's right, you don't usually watch the news, Ruby," Taiyang said. "Roman's a fairly infamous thief. He's only stayed out of jail because he's useful to the crime bosses around here. Cocky, but skilled. That cane is also a flaregun, called the Melodic Cudgel. Got expelled from Beacon over getting into a fight with another student. Admittedly, that was after one of his friends got killed by a Grimm. But he crippled the guy he attacked."

"That's awful," Ruby mourned. "And the girl?"

"Ah, now she's also infamous. I don't know her name, but rumour has it that she killed the uncle of Hei Xiong. Hei Xiong is a crime boss and information broker most people call Junior, but he's nowhere near as bad as his uncle was. His uncle was known as the Boss…and he also…well, I don't want to say it in front of Ruby. But that girl gutted the Boss. Came out drenched in his blood. Said to be Torchwick's pet enforcer, despite her young age, and probably the only person he cares about, like a sister. Still, there are worse people out there. Be thankful I haven't told you any horror stories about a namesake of yours, Sirius. Some guy called Marcus Black. Infamous assassin."

"I'd deny he was part of my family, but…it's filled with psychos. I blame inbreeding."

Velvet looked askance at Sirius. "What sort of twisted family did you come from?"

"Mine, unfortunately. I'm lucky I don't have webbed toes."

"That's not what I saw in the locker room one time, Padfoot," Lupin remarked with a wry smirk.

"Shut the actual hell up, Moony," Sirius hissed through gritted teeth at Lupin.

"They went to school together," Hermione said on Velvet's confused look. "I don't think Sirius ever grew up."

"Oh."

It was a very pleasant day out, frankly, even if it was a long and tiring one. Harry and Hermione enjoyed talking to Velvet, as did Yang and Ruby, the latter two offering to be her friends at Signal, much to the bemused delight of the rabbit Faunus. They even traded Scroll addresses, something Harry and Hermione would have to deal with when they got their own Scrolls.

After parting ways with Velvet at the airport, with the promise of seeing her again, they thought the surprises of the day were over. But they weren't. Especially when they entered the house, and found someone there, with Zwei sitting at his feet, showing Zwei's ineptitude as a guard dog. And a very familiar flame-coloured bird was sitting nearby. A snowy owl flew over to Harry, and he all but laughed when he realised Hedwig had perched on his shoulder.

"Ah, there you all are," Dumbledore said. "I was beginning to get a bit worried…"

CHAPTER 4 ANNOTATIONS:

So, Harry and the others have met Velvet, and Dumbledore's come a-calling.

Now, originally, this story was going to be Harry/Neo, but in retrospect, I realised I was crowbarring Neo in in a way that didn't feel natural, and which might conflict with Harry's nature a bit. After some thought, I decided to choose to ship Harry with Velvet: she's adorable and needs more love as a character. Plus, I have some history with shipping Harry with bunny-eared characters: I shipped Harry with the Viera Mjrn in my Final Fantasy XII cracky crossover Nitimur in Vetitum, plug plug. Admittedly, Harry/Velvet isn't new, but hey.

Review-answering time! jgkitarel: Indeed. Though Dumbledore, at least the canon one, owns up to his mistakes eventually. Most of them, anyway.

Sakura Lisel: No chance of that happening at all. Raven bisected Snape, remember? But Snape has fixated on James Potter as a scapegoat for his problems, and transferred that to Harry that, once he learned the truth (which was shortly before the confrontation in the Shrieking Shack), he basically had a psychotic break, and decided, 'Fuck this, I don't owe this brat anything as he's not Lily's child, I'm just going to make him suffer'. This got even worse after Harry knocked him out in his inner Grimm form.

Duke Somerset: No. No. Hell no.

MidnightFenrir and comodo50: Harry basically wiped Voldemort and his Horcruxes from existence (this will be explained a little more in the next chapter) with the power of the Silver Eyes. Dumbledore realised this (he knows the Horcrux in Harry's head is gone, and when he analysed Quirrel's remains, he found something that suggested Voldemort no longer existed), and actually allowed Harry to stay with the Tonks family rather than the Dursleys, to make up for what he did. So no, no Year 4 shenanigans. Raven won't appear that often in the fic: Harry's understandably still upset with her for effectively burning the bridges Snape didn't, and she's not known for her affectionate side, but her relationship with Yang will be better than canon, and she will, through either Harry or Qrow, share information she deems necessary. Unlike canon, while her loyalties are still to the tribe, she will share more information with Qrow and Ozpin's faction, though she will be keeping her Spring Maiden power to herself. Harry may stumble across the truth, though.

georgiaboy: While you have a point, Dumbledore is meant to try and shape his charges into adults, and he has a bad habit of concealing information even from his adult followers.

Guest (regarding the poison): It's already pretty much been implied that the poison was actually the essence of Grimm pumped into Gretchen and Harry's bodies during Gretchen's pregnancy. Tyrian is the obvious conclusion when writing a story like this, but sadly, your review is like one of those questions on QI that gets the Klaxon.

Thunder Dragon: I don't need pointers on how to do Harry in Remnant, and I have read both stories, as well as EmeraldGuardian7's latest story, The Wizard's Apprentice. In fact, EmeraldGuardian7 and I have been in correspondence regarding a particular plot twist later in this story. What that is, well, you'll have to wait and see…

Kaiser Dragon: No, no, and no. Though I am drawing parallels with another mythical character…one who wields a spear and, like Harry, transforms into a monstrous form. If you need more hints, well, he's in the Nasuverse…

Drakefire Atomic: Again, good points. But I try to reconstruct Dumbledore, at least when I'm not bashing him for a story. I do have him give other reasons why Ozpin keeps Salem secret.

1. As Velvet's voice actress, Caiti Ward, is an Aussie, I thought I'd allude to that…actually, now that I come to think of it, in Final Fantasy XII, Fran, another rabbit-eared woman, is played by an Aussie, Nicole Fantl. Food for thought…