CHAPTER 7:

THE PROPOSAL

Beacon Academy, Harry had to admit, was impressive. While Hogwarts was based in an admittedly spectacular old castle, Beacon looked almost like an ultra-modern cathedral. At the top of the tallest tower were a group of glowing green orbs.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Qrow asked.

Harry nodded. Despite the antipathy he held towards Qrow for the moment, he wasn't yelling at him for now. His anger towards him had died down to a simmer. "So why bring me here and none of the others?" he asked.

"Well, Oz asked me to bring you here. You see, your mother used to be part of what you'd call an inner circle, although she was only brought into it shortly before she died. I personally reckon you're too young to be brought into this, but Oz put up a very convincing argument. I doubt Jimmy's going to be convinced when he hears about this, though."

"Jimmy?"

"General James Ironwood, the top military commander in Atlas," Qrow said. "Has a major stick up his ass, which is mostly metal. Don't get me wrong, Jimmy's good in a fight, good to have on your side, but he's too stiff and too cold, like a lotta people from Atlas. Still, better to deal with him than the likes of Jacques Schnee. Sirius was telling me about these Malfoy guys from Earth, and Jacques Schnee sounds like he'd fit right in. His oldest kid, Winter, is an uptight frigid bitch in more ways than one, but she's self-reliant and ridiculously skilled, I'll give her that, and Jimmy wouldn't let her get as far as she did in the Atlesian military without her being skilled. Dunno about the other two kids."

They continued walking along in silence, before Qrow finally said, "Shit, I'm no good at this. Look, I'm sorry for Raven and I kidnapping you. We did what we thought was best in a shitty situation. If that greasy-haired bastard hadn't been there, we'd have been able to explain things better. And Raven…well, I should have known better than to leave her to explain things to you. Your aunt isn't the nicest of people."

"I sort of gathered that. Taiyang gets a bit odd when she's brought up."

"Yeah, but I grew up with her. We're twins, you see. We grew up in a bandit tribe in the wilds of Anima, the continent where Mistral's located. They believe strength to be paramount. We'd raid people's villages without mercy, leaving them easy prey for the Grimm. I grew out of that when we were sent to Beacon. Y'see, we were sent here to learn how to fight Hunters by learning how they fought. But, well, for a time, we worked under Ozpin, fighting Salem. Tai, my sis and I, along with Ruby's mother Summer, we formed Team STRQ. Your mother, my girlfriend…she was on another team. Her big brother was overprotective, but he was also one of the best Huntsmen in the world, and a damned good man. Actually, Gretchen's disappearance was probably the beginning of the end. Hazel disappeared after threatening Ozpin and any working for him. Raven…well, not long after giving birth to Yang, she buggered off back home. She claims she wanted to lead the tribe, but…Gretchen was one of her best friends, and she thought Hazel had a point about Ozpin. Hell, I can see her point."

"Then why bring me in? Why allow your son to risk his life?" Harry asked.

"Harry, as protective as I am towards Ruby and Yang, I ain't gonna tell them they can't be Huntresses if they want to be Huntresses. Personally, I think I'm gonna have to personally teach Ruby how to fight, because she's been starting weapons training, and, well, she ain't that great. I've been teachin' for a while, and, well, you get an instinct for some things. Some kids aren't cut out to be Hunters, some take to it like a duck to water, and some, well, they need a helpin' hand. I think Ruby falls into the last category. In any case, if you're unable to come to Beacon, if you want to become a Hunter, we'll need to find someone to apprentice you to. Maybe yours truly, or maybe one of the teachers here. In any case, we will have to teach you how to fight, regardless. Your life's been in danger ever since Gretchen fled from Salem. And I dunno how effective magic can be against the Grimm. Frankly, I'd like to make sure my son can survive, even if we've got issues."

Harry would have made a remark about that, but they were nearly at the entrance, where Ozpin was waiting, a mug of hot chocolate in one hand, his cane in the other. Standing next to him was a stern-looking woman with blonde hair, green eyes, wearing glasses. Harry was put in mind of McGonagall, if she was in her thirties and looked sexy in a kind of strict way. "Who's that?" Harry asked.

"Glynda Goodwitch, Ozpin's deputy headmistress and the combat teacher here. She was on the same team as your mother. Bit of a stick-in-the-mud, but she's a good person."

"Ozpin…Glynda Goodwitch…do you guys name yourself after the Wizard of Oz or something?" Harry asked. "I mean, you have the Scarecrow…so where's the Tin Man? Or the Cowardly Lion? Or Dorothy or Toto?"

"Uhhh, what?"

"Never mind."

As they approached, Ozpin smiled. "Harry, good of you to come here. This is my deputy, Professor Goodwitch. She was on the same team as your mother."

"Qrow just told me." He reached out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Professor."

A thin smile touched Goodwitch's lips, and she shook his hand. "A pleasure to meet you too, Mr Potter. Or would you prefer Branwen?"

"Potter for now," Harry said. "So…what exactly am I here for again?"

As they travelled in the elevator to Ozpin's office, Ozpin said, "As you know, magic is a virtual rarity in this world, more so than Earth. True, the presence of Aura and Semblances make up for it, and indeed, magic too is derived from the soul. However, aside from myself, the only true mages that I know of on Remnant are the Four Maidens. This in itself was no accident: the mages of Remnant were subjected to a destructive genocide orchestrated by Salem, as she recognised them as one of the threats to her power."

"And what does Salem want?" Harry asked. "Does she want to destroy the world? Conquer it?"

"Somewhere between the two. Salem acknowledges humanity's potential. Some small part of her still admires it, in her own twisted fashion. Her goal is the subjugation of humans and Faunus, not simply wiping them out, but subjecting them to eternal suffering. She holds a particular hate for me." The elevator dinged, and opened its doors to reveal Ozpin's office, a vast space, the walls seemingly having clockwork built into them, as if it was the inside of a giant clock. "I have been a thorn in her side for almost all of my life," he said, as he walked over to a desk, and sat behind it, peering at Harry from behind his glasses. "She delights in the suffering of Hunters, given how I train many here at Beacon, and I have influence with the other academies around the world."

"So why bring me here?"

After a moment, Ozpin said, "Professor Dumbledore came to see me shortly after he came to see you. We had, admittedly, a lot in common, and not just as headmasters of unusual schools. Dumbledore was filled with regrets about how he treated you, in sending you to the Dursleys, about not telling you why Voldemort was after you and your adoptive family. Indeed, he was filled with self-reproach."

"…Why did Voldemort come after me, then?"

Ozpin shrugged. "Apparently it was a prophecy, of all things, that drove Voldemort to try to murder you, believing that you were the one named in it. I put little store in prophecies. Fairy tales, yes, because such things have grains of truth, hints of the past, but prophecies? Sadly, Voldemort believed in it, a prophecy that claimed one born at the end of July would have the power to destroy him. In any case, Dumbledore gave me some advice, and Qrow has done the same. It was to be frank, as you deserved that much. While I believe you may be an excellent asset in the fight against Salem, it will be your choice whether to join me in a more active role. You will be targeted by Salem, though, for either capture or destruction, for the reasons we discussed on Patch, and we intend to train you up for your protection whatever you choose…but it is your choice to take a more active role in protecting Remnant."

"…I'll listen," Harry said. "That's all I will say."

Ozpin nodded. "Thank you. Where should I begin, then? I am certainly taking a risk informing you, and it goes without saying that this does not go beyond this room. Hmm, perhaps I should start with the most disturbing information."

"Is that wise, Professor Ozpin?" Goodwitch asked.

"If he ever does work for me in a similar capacity to his mother, then I had better lay my cards out on the table."

Qrow scoffed. "Okay, Oz. Just mind you don't make a mistake there. Harry, just don't get shocked when you hear what I think Oz is gonna tell you."

"What do you mean?"

Ozpin leaned back, steepling his fingers. "Tell me, Harry…how old do you think I am?"

"…I dunno. Why?"

"When we met, Dumbledore compared me to a pair of friends of his, the Flamels, a pair of gifted alchemists who were the only people known on your world to perfect the alchemic catalyst known as the Philosopher's Stone. They lived for over six centuries with the aid of the Elixir of Life. I have lived for much longer than they have, albeit not necessarily by choice."

Harry blinked when he realised what Ozpin was saying. "You're…immortal?"

"After a fashion. When I described the method to Dumbledore, he said something about it being disturbingly like a Horcrux, a method he believed Voldemort to have used to gain immortality. Long ago, I was cursed by the powers that be for failing to stop Salem when she first rose to power. I cannot die, Harry. When my physical body perishes, my soul and memory transfer to another body. The process is wholly involuntary on my behalf, and the best I can do is teach my host how to survive and fight, how to tap into my knowledge and power. We eventually fuse. I am the sum totality not only of the original man I was before I was cursed, but of the countless hosts I've had since then. Not everyone who learns the truth about me react favourably, understandably. Your uncle, after your mother died, denounced me as a monster. Raven once called me a parasite on my hosts. I agree that they have points sometimes. I have had this current body for decades now, and I've managed to pass off the lack of aging as an effect of my Aura. Aside from the people in this room, those who know the truth can be counted on my fingers and toes. The last time my nature was exposed, which was by Salem, it caused a pogrom against me and possible hosts for several decades."

"It was because Professor Ozpin tried to publicly disclose the existence of Salem," Goodwitch explained. "She discredited him in retaliation. Salem delights in sowing discord. That attracts the creatures of Grimm far more effectively than outright destruction, as discord generates more negative emotion than mere destruction."

"I am certain she was behind the Great War, and the Faunus Rights Revolution that followed," Ozpin said. "She doesn't take overt actions, lest the people of the world realise that there is a common foe to be united against and destroyed. As for whether it is possible to destroy Salem…I don't know. I have tried many means, and like a mirror image of myself, she comes back from the grave. I have to match her subtlety, working by proxy. I detest having to play at being a chessmaster, because unlike Salem, I value people's lives. I see none of them as pawns or pieces, as expendable. The deaths of the Hunters I train hurts me. So do the conflicts that brew up around Remnant, because with every shot fired in anger between people…Salem wins by increments."

"Did she create the Grimm?" Harry asked.

"No, not initially. The Grimm were creations of one of the powers that be," Ozpin said. "No, she merely altered herself to become their Queen, even a progenitor of sorts. I believe you are her first experiment into creating a hybrid…or at least the first successful one. So…there you have it. Well? Are you still willing to work with me, knowing what I am?"

"…I don't know. I mean…I'm glad you're being frank with me, but…it's a lot to take in," Harry said quietly.

"I'm sure it is," Ozpin said kindly.

"Here. You need a drink?" Qrow asked, proffering his flask. Harry waved it away.

"He's underaged!" Goodwitch snapped, scandalised. Okay, so there was a bit of Hermione in her too, Harry thought. "I know you started such a bad habit early, but there's no reason to encourage drinking in your child at his age!"

"Glynda, when I first heard this shit, I wanted to drink more than I ever did before. And who can blame me? Salem's the stuff of nightmares. We've never managed to penetrate into her current territory that far yet, but we've seen some scary shit anyway. You only have to look at Harry to know this. Only Salem or one of her cronies, or someone like those crazy fucks Merlot or Watts, would experiment on an unborn child and infuse him with Essence of Grimm. My point is, this is overwhelming to Harry. Those idiots back on Earth thought him an Oum-damned messiah! Please tell me, Oz, that you're not going to have Harry in such a position this time!"

"Of course not! I'd rather have him as an inspiration to others wholly on his own terms!" Ozpin snapped. "I have seen many people touted as the salvation of Remnant, only to fall to the Grimm, or to Salem herself, or to the violence of humans and Faunus! Hope-bringers are the ones Salem delights in targeting! Summer, for example…we still don't know exactly what happened to her. Gretchen…well, we know now." Ozpin's face fell, looking every second of his indeterminately long age. "And there are so many who could be the hope of his generation, Qrow. Harry, Yang, Ruby…there's also Pyrrha Nikos, whom you may have seen on the news recently…and there are the hints of what James has been doing. Victory lies not in strength, but in hope, and other abstract qualities. The devotion and optimism of a simple soul. The determination and will of a tempered one. But I will not hold any of them up as exemplars unless they are ready and willing!"

Goodwitch resettled her glasses on her nose. "I daresay holding up Mr Potter as an exemplar would be a risky venture anyway, given his Semblance."

"I'm right here, you know," Harry snarked.

Ozpin looked at Harry, and nodded. "Sorry. Harry…I should ask again, are you willing to work with me?"

Harry, after a moment, chuckled bleakly. He realised he had made the decision long before he accompanied Qrow to Beacon. Hermione had once lamented to Ruby and Yang that Harry had a 'saving people thing'. Why stop what he was good at? "Yeah, I guess."

And the look of relief and happiness tinged with sadness on Ozpin's face said it all. "…Thank you, Harry. Now, let's try and see what we can find out about your abilities…"

CHAPTER 7 ANNOTATIONS:

So, Harry's agreed to work with Ozpin. Now, some of you may be wondering why Ozpin revealed such a secret so early to Harry. Ozpin is trying to ensure Harry stays an ally to him, and took a gamble based on Dumbledore's advice. Harry, with both the Silver Eyes and the were-Grimm form, may be a valuable ally, or a dangerous enemy. Thankfully, things like Legilimency don't really exist on Remnant (unless you're a mage from the Potterverse, or it's a Semblance), so there's a little less risk.

After the next chapter will be timeskip of a couple of years. There may be more until RWBY canon comes around.

Review-answering time! Have a Little Feith: I can't promise to integrate the Weasley twins into the story, but I might. As for the Patronus and the Silver Eyes being related, well, they have not dissimilar effects, but they have different degrees of power. It's like comparing a taser to a lightning bolt.

DocSlendy: Well, I dunno about taming her, but I do have an interesting pairing for Hermione.

DalkonCledwin: If you're talking about how I describe Dumbledore had clothing like a rainbow had dysentery, it was just Raven being snarky. I like that metaphor, using it to describe the Sixth Doctor's infamous coat in Doctor Who. I've also seen the Sonic Rainboom in multiple episodes of Death Battle, so I know what it looks like.

As for making Harry a Vizard (or however the hell you spell it), well, I was inspired by Ichigo's part-Hollow form from Bleach, but as I don't know as much about the series as I'd like (I've only read the first three volumes so far, and what I know about the series beyond that is from fanfics and a few looks at the various wikis), I'm not sure what a Vizard or Visored or whatever is, so if he is one, it's coincidental insomuch as I based it on Ichigo's inner Hollow. He will be as powerful as he needs to be for the needs of the story (so, not too OP, but able to pull out a win in a pinch), but at the moment, his inner Grimm is actually fairly weak (at least against seasoned Hunters or stronger foes, though against most Grimm and even some adversaries, it's overkill). And given how many times Ruby herself has used her Silver Eyes in canon, well, Harry isn't going to be able to use them at will, more as a sort of Limit Break when he is cornered.

Remzal Von Enili: You know, I might just do that, depending.

hakon2feb: I'm considering making Hermione part of a team at Beacon. And yes, he will interact with the various teams. Before the canon events of RWBY, he will definitely have interactions with Pyrrha and Blake, and I want to have Ozpin bring him in to bring Jaune up to snuff before he goes to Beacon. As for Harry's relationship with Qrow, Sirius and Remus, he will be on much better terms with the latter, but Sirius? Well, it'll be a warm relationship, but not like canon. And Harry will eventually think of Qrow as a father figure, but it WILL take until the beginning of RWBY canon for that to happen. His relationship will be a little better after the timeskip, after they've done some training together.

No numbered annotations this time.