CHAPTER 11:

OF THE MAIDENS

Ozpin smiled as he flicked through the files on his personal Scroll, walking alongside Harry through the grounds of Beacon. "James was pleased with your progress," Ozpin said.

"Really?" Harry asked. "He was pretty sparing with the praise."

"True, but James does have a somewhat reserved nature when it comes to praise and compliments," Ozpin said. "He also wished to thank you for befriending Miss Polendina, as apparently she was not that good at making friends. In truth, I'm glad also. While James has not told me of Miss Polendina's true nature, it's not hard to guess, given that her father is one of the leading authorities on Aura generation, robotics and cybernetics in the world. And it warms my heart to see James treating her as more than a machine or a weapon."

"You probably have other sources for that anyway," Harry said. "So, why am I here?"

"Well, aside from catching up in person, I told you I wanted you to meet someone special. When he isn't doing specific investigations for me, Qrow sometimes escorts this person. Not that she needs it, normally, but better to be safe than sorry."

"She?" Harry asked. He already had a good idea of whom Ozpin was introducing him to, but he wanted to tease the immortal headmaster. "You do know I have a girlfriend, right? And harems are the province of those crappy anime series?"

Ozpin, who was sipping from his mug of hot chocolate, promptly spat it out, nearly choking. Spluttering and coughing, he shot Harry a look. "I would rather not split you and Miss Scarlatina up, Harry, her coming to Beacon aside. Incidentally, Glynda made it very clear that if you wanted to fraternise with Miss Scarlatina, that you do anything beyond kissing off the grounds. There's a number of places in Vale that amorous students frequent for off-campus liaisons, apparently…"

"Yeah, we're not quite there yet," Harry said hurriedly. The one time Yang made a joke about Harry and Velvet 'going at it like rabbits', Harry threatened to shave her head. And while Yang normally got angry at such a threat to her hair, she actually backed down.

"Very well. Nice to see at least one member of the younger generation taking it slowly," Ozpin said. "In any case, given what Mr Black has told me about your magic, I felt we could take the time to discuss procedures in certain situations."

"It's one of the Maidens, right?" Harry asked. "You're having me meet one of the Maidens."

"Correct. Specifically, Amber, the current Fall Maiden. The identities of the Summer and Winter Maidens must remain secret for now, as they are safe to my knowledge, and the Spring Maiden…well, Leonardo has claimed the one I knew has fled Mistral some time ago, so whether she is still alive, or whether there is a new one, is unknown. In all likelihood, they are somewhere in Anima. And I personally suspect that your aunt knows something of her whereabouts."

"Why is that?" Harry asked.

"Rumours, the last known whereabouts of the Spring Maiden, claims of a tribe of bandits using powers beyond that of mere Semblances…that sort of thing. The Spring Maiden was said to be last spotted roughly where Raven's tribe is known to travel, but as there are many towns and villages in that area, I can't be certain, and confronting Raven about it is sure to be counterproductive."

"So, what powers do the Maidens have, exactly? I mean, you were pretty vague about it."

"It varies from Maiden to Maiden, based on the season they have the power of, but they can manipulate any elemental property, such as lightning, ice, fire, and the like, regardless of the season they have the power of. They can fly and manipulate the weather. Amber, aside from the absent Spring Maiden, is the most inexperienced of the Maidens when it comes to her powers, though she should not be underestimated. She could certainly face off against most Hunters well enough, and she has been trained as a Huntress. Better to use those skills first before resorting to powers that can't be explained away as a Semblance."

"Smart," Harry said. "Most wizards and witches back home wouldn't be caught dead doing physical combat of any kind. So, what do they do?"

"The Maidens live their own lives, and I only call them out to action if there is a clear and present threat from Salem, or something like a powerful Grimm," Ozpin said. "If word got out that the Maidens exist outside of fairytales, then it would spark a scramble to harness their power as living weapons, and while they're nowhere near the level of some of Atlas' strongest ordinance, they are still potent enough that a war could be fought over their possession. I have seen it happen at least twice before, and Salem has occasionally managed to suborn Maidens to her side, despite my best efforts."

"So why tell me?" Harry asked.

"I may need you to go and help Amber if she encounters trouble," Ozpin said. "She can handle most things by herself, but I would feel more at ease with a back-up plan…"

They found her at the edge of the Emerald Forest, where Harry knew that the initiation took place. He had watched the previous year's initiation with Ozpin, Qrow and Goodwitch. Students were flung from special catapult platforms into the forest, and were tasked with retrieving certain objects (what and where varied each year), while the first person they made eye contact with determined their teammate.

Goodwitch was in conversation with a young woman only a few years' Harry's senior, with light brown skin, and brown hair and eyes. "…Nearly old enough to be my father, and he hits on me," the young woman said with a grimace.

"Quite. I assure you, as loose with the rules as Mr Potter is, he is considerably more courteous than his godfather," Goodwitch said archly. "I also know for a fact that he already has a girlfriend, who will be beginning her time at Beacon soon."

"Speak of the devil, and he will appear," Harry remarked. "And Padfoot will hit on anything. He once saw a photo of Sienna Khan, and said, 'I'd tap that'. Okay, she's a sexy tiger Faunus, and I see where he's coming from, but still…she is the leader of what has pretty much become a terrorist group. Any interesting food fights broken up lately, Professor?"

"They are interesting only in the cursed sense of the term, Mr Potter," Goodwitch retorted. "Combine food fights with Semblances, and you can only imagine the cost of cleaning, repairs, and replenishing wasted food stock."

The woman, though, chuckled. "Worth it, though. Ahh, I miss food fights. So, you're Harry Potter? I'm Amber."

He shook her proffered hand, feeling a slight thrill of power when they touched. "Good morning."

"It's safe to speak here," Ozpin said. "Harry had already inferred your status, Amber."

"Yeah. Sorry you got inflicted with those powers, Amber," Harry said.

She flinched, then shot a glare at Ozpin. "He doesn't know of how you gained your powers, Amber. He just views, presumably, the Fall Maiden's power as painting a target on you."

"Hmm. Interesting view, and one most people don't think of. Qrow also mentioned something like that. The truth was…" Amber seemed to gather herself before admitting, "The previous Fall Maiden, my mother, gave me her powers when she was stopping a group of Jaegers attacking our village. I think they were looking to capture her, on top of killing the Faunus in our town."

"Somehow, they found out about Electra(1) residing there," Ozpin said. "She wished to have a quiet life with her family, especially after what happened to Gretchen and Summer, but…"

Harry, trying to distract himself and the others from his rather inadvertent blunder, asked, "Is the power of a Maiden hereditary to any degree?"

"Not exactly," Ozpin said. "While it has passed through family lines before, this is partly because the usual recipient of a Maiden's power is the last woman or girl in the dying thoughts of the previous Maiden. Children of Maidens, or rather those conceived after the Maiden gains their power, do have a predisposition towards the power, but they tend to be any woman or girl from their teens to their middle age. They don't even have to be 'maidens' in the…ahem, euphemistic sense, as I have known women who had already had children to gain the power. They do fall under certain criteria. Even I don't know all the ins and outs of a Maiden's power, and I was the one who granted it to them in the first place."

"Couldn't you have written an instruction manual or something?" Harry remarked wryly.

"It was a spur of the moment gift," Ozpin confessed. "I was at my most misanthropic at the time, and they cheered me up, and out of the goodness of their hearts. I was on the verge of giving up after Salem instigated a pogrom against me and my reincarnations."

"That bad?"

"Worse. Your godfather spoke to me of Azkaban, and while I did not have the Dementors to deal with, it was the same thing, only self-imposed." Ozpin sighed quietly at the distant memory. "High up a remote, cold mountain, living off whatever I could get…that's what my own misanthropy, misotheism, and self-loathing had driven me to."

"Okay…that got dark real fast," Amber said. "Anyway, you want this guy to protect me?"

"On occasion," Ozpin said. "Qrow will be your main assigned shadow when the situation calls for it, but Harry and Mr Black will also take part. It was Mr Lupin who gave me the idea. Namely, a Portkey that will allow the bearer to travel to an assigned location. They can home in on a signal from, say, a Scroll. As a precaution to prevent you from possibly being traced, it will only activate when you use a certain emergency switch on the Scroll. Then, Harry, Qrow, and or Mr Black, will be notified by the Portkey making a noise or something, so that, if they aren't in the middle of something else, they can then activate the Portkey."

Amber looked at Ozpin, before saying, "I would ask if you're not being too paranoid, but…knowing what happened to my mother…"

"Yes," Goodwitch remarked, resettling her glasses on her nose. "Leaving aside the more ambitious politicians of the kingdoms, we also have rogue factions like the White Fang and the Jaegers, to say nothing of Salem."

Amber nodded, before turning to Harry. "I generally go out as a Huntress, helping people against the Grimm, and like Qrow, I also act as Ozpin's eyes and ears at ground level, keeping an eye out for unusual Grimm or possible signs of Salem's influence or her agents. I also keep an eye on the activities of the White Fang and the Jaegers, though lately, their activity is mostly confined to Atlas, while they act as Jacques Schnee's hired thugs in his mines."

"Yeah, Rusty said he's been trying to launch a full investigation into the SDC, but Jacques Schnee has too much influence over the Atlas Council. To do so, he'd have to invoke emergency powers." Harry smirked. "Didn't stop me from sending some interesting presents to that arsehole. Plus, I did a little bit of recon using the Cloak of Invisibility, taking photos within the SDC mines in Atlas. I've sent them to Rusty, and if he can't get Schnee to play ball, well, let's just say there'll be an anonymous leak of the photos and some copied paper files to Lisa Lavender."

"I don't know whether to reprimand you for your illegal action, or applaud you for doing something about it," Goodwitch said. "And 'Cloak of Invisibility'?"

"Oh, right. It's an old heirloom of my family's," Harry said, pulling it out of a satchel. "Dumbledore later told me that he believes it to be one of the Deathly Hallows, ancient magical artifacts supposedly given to three brothers by Death."

Goodwitch took the silvery cloth, and peered at it curiously. She draped it around herself, and murmured, as part of her disappeared, "My word."

"Yeah. I actually tried it while Qrow and I were facing off against Grimm, and, well, it doesn't stop them from sensing your emotions," Harry pointed out. "It won't stop sound or smell either."

"Still, it's rather fascinating," Ozpin said, taking the Cloak from Goodwitch. "Mr Lupin was kind enough to relay the legend of the Deathly Hallows when I asked him about fairy tales of Earth, and Magical Britain in particular. A wand made from an elder tree, supposedly unbeatable. A stone used to conjure up shades of the deceased. And a cloak of perfect invisibility." He handed the Cloak back to Harry. "A shame it may not be able to be copied."

"Still seems useful," Amber said. "There've been times when I would have been glad to have something like that."

"I'm sure. Limitations aside, it's definitely useful," Harry said, putting it away. "Anyway, you're fine with me helping you out if need be?"

"Ozpin vouches for you, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Just keep in mind, I can handle myself most of the time."

"We've also begun training in Occlumency," Ozpin said. "Mr Black had some texts he managed to pilfer from his old family's library with Dumbledore's help a few weeks ago, while you were in Atlas. I'll have you begin such training yourself."

"Sorry, Occlumency?" Harry asked.

"Right, it's a bit of an obscure branch of magic on your world, despite its utility," Ozpin said. "Occlumency is meant as a means of protecting one's mind against Legilimency, which itself is a magical means of mental intrusion. In crude terms, Legilimency is mind-reading, though it is considerably more complex than that, and can be used as a form of mental attack. The reason why I bring this up is that there may be Semblances capable of influencing people's minds. Mr Black brought it up with me while discussing an incident while he was in Vacuo. A girl who called herself Emerald had pickpocketed him, and he had thought, temporarily, that he had given her Lien, thanks to her Semblance. He eventually allowed her to have some of his Lien after he confronted her, but warned her against a repeat incident."

"Okay, good point," Harry said. "I'll have an excuse to stay here for long enough to see Velvet come to Beacon at least, and hopefully for a while after that."

There was a part of Raven Branwen that was filled with self-loathing, a part of her she didn't acknowledge out loud. It was the part of her that was filled with disgust over walking out on Taiyang and Yang. It was the part of her that sparked her approaching Qrow after she found out about his nephew. It was the part of her that berated herself for taking the Spring Maiden's power.

That was, admittedly, something of a grey area. When the girl fell into their hands, it seemed like a godsend. Raven had tried to train the girl up, to use as a weapon in case Salem or her associates did ever come calling, but that proved to be an exercise in futility. If the power chose the Maiden, then it chose poorly in this case, and Raven, admittedly, coveted that power.

Then again, it was with surprising reluctance that Raven eventually killed the girl. It was because the girl was about Yang's age, so young. She had none of Ruby or Yang's fire, though. She had to admit, Ruby was very like Summer, and for all Summer's irritating optimism, she was also a great fighter, with spirit and gumption. Raven may have left Taiyang and Yang before then, but it was Summer's demise that put the nail in any coffin of any reunion. Summer was the glue that kept them together, and while Raven thought her a fool for thinking Salem could be stopped by conventional means, Raven still liked Summer. Even when Summer had Ruby with Taiyang, Raven still liked her. It was Raven who broke off the relationship with Taiyang, after all.

In any case, it had happened in a moment of rage and weakness. A particularly powerful group of Grimm attacked the tribe, and killed many, and all the Spring Maiden could do was cower in a corner, not use a power that she knew could destroy Grimm. Raven had been pissed, and had skewered the girl on her sword, snarling that if she couldn't use the power, then she should give it to someone who should.

The girl actually looked grateful to Raven's eyes. Or maybe her tendency to justify her own actions warped her memories to that effect. And while it wasn't the first death Raven regretted causing, it was perhaps the strongest. In her darkest nightmares, she saw the girl turn into Summer or Yang, but their dying gazes only showed condemnation.

Raven looked at her hand, the hand that wielded the sword that killed the Spring Maiden. She had once thought strength was everything, beyond all else…and now, she had such power…and yet, it felt so hollow. It meant she had to conceal her powers from any rival bandit tribes, or from anyone else who may exploit her, from Ozpin to Salem.

She thought about her family. Not just the extended family of the tribe, but of those she had left behind. Harry, while still in something of a snit about the events around him coming to Remnant, was at least cordial to her now, though he didn't think much of her banditry. And Yang…well, it privately hurt Raven to stay away from her as much as the reverse was true. But Yang didn't have the mindset to join the tribe. She was strong for her age, but she had too much of her uncle and Taiyang's influence in her, not to mention Summer's.

While Raven had been having doubts about her isolation from her family for some time, it was coming to a head. Something had to give. She just hoped it wouldn't end in disaster when it did…

CHAPTER 11 ANNOTATIONS:

So, Harry's met Amber, Ozpin's discussing security, and Raven's having dark thoughts.

Now, obviously, what I've written about the pre-Raven Spring Maiden's fate is, in all likelihood, fanon. I'll bet the actual circumstances may come out in a later episode of RWBY. But because I wanted to humanise Raven a little, and give her a slight but possible chance at redemption, I decided to spin the incident in a manner that, while still very much a betrayal of trust from Raven, she has a bit more reason, and it shows she was telling a part-truth while trying to justify herself to Yang.

I'm going with the concept that Raven was telling the truth about the Spring Maiden not being suited to her power, at least to a degree. It's already canon that she ran away from her training and responsibilities, and maybe she wasn't psychologically suited for them yet. And Raven's training methods wouldn't have helped any, if they're as harsh as her Social Darwinism tendencies. However, I also think that, while Raven's claiming it was a 'mercy' was definitely an attempt at justification, I'm also a little leery of her cold-bloodedly murdering someone she invested a lot of time and effort into, so I wrote up an incident that, while it didn't justify murder by any means, had Raven have a reason to kill the Spring Maiden other than lust for power. It was a spur of the moment thing that Raven actually regrets, partly because, well, it paints a huge target on her back. But also because, well, she regrets killing the girl.

This is not to excuse Raven for what she does in RWBY canon by any means. But I'm trying to turn her, even by degrees, into a better human being. Harry's influence is slight, but because she's gotten back into contact with Yang, the results are beginning to grow.

Incidentally, I did edit the last chapter a little. Neither Ozpin nor Harry should know that Hazel's working for Salem yet. They suspect that may be the case, but they don't know for sure.

The next chapter may be a while. That being said, I've got a Kingdom Hearts crossover in the works. Oh, and I have a poll on my profile if you want to look at it. The next chapter will have Harry meeting a certain Invincible Girl…

EDIT: A number of guest reviewers who have a VERY bad case of getting on my nerves and spamming me with their so-called suggestions (really, they only want me to write things the way THEY want me to, forgetting very easily who the writer is) have raised objections to my pairing of Ilia and Hermione. Let me remind you here and now that YOU ARE NOT THE WRITER HERE. I AM. There have been plenty of fics where Hermione is in a same-sex relationship. And their relationship is not the focus of the storyline. I admit, I would struggle to write a same-sex relationship, if it were the main focus of the story. But if it's background, it's another matter entirely. Yes, it's OOC for Hermione, but frankly, it's fanfiction, and we see plenty of characters act OOC in fanfic.

You guys know who you are, and you have been warned. If you keep spamming my stories with your demands, telling me how to write my story, then you will be treated with the due contempt that spam deserves. Put up, shut up, or bugger off. I've tolerated your antics for long enough. I have it, clear as crystal, on my profile that I will NOT tolerate criticism of my choices of where to take the story.

Review-answering time! Remzal Von Enlil: Revenge is not always rational. Hazel thinks that Ozpin treats his students as disposable pawns rather than people. You'll note that, until Ozpin's reincarnation shows up, Hazel is invariably civil (berating Cinder for her failure aside) and calm.

Infernus est in animo: I've heard 'Vorpal Bunny' used to refer to the Monty Python rabbit. This is supported by the Final Fantasy wiki.

hakon2feb: As this was going to be a strict Harry/Velvet fic (and was originally a strict Harry/Neo fic), I decided against pairing Hermione with Harry. In this story, Hermione will be paired with Ilia. The reason why Harry was sent to train with Ironwood (and thus Winter) is that Ozpin trusts them to keep quiet about Harry's Semblance, and trusts their skill and competency as trainers. For all their conflict in RWBY canon, Ozpin seems to trust Ironwood on critical matters. I'd also like to think that, while Ironwood and Winter specialise in their chosen weapons, they are good enough with other weapons to help train Harry.

Black Fang: whitetigerwolf already did that with For Death's Amusement. If I do do another Potterverse/RWBY crossover, it's definitely going to be Harry/Neo. Then again, how about I put together Harry with a Baked Alaska? Nah, that wouldn't work…

Guest (regarding Cinder using the term 'Mudblood' when she's a Squib): Cinder may hate her family, but it's partly because she was treated like crap because she didn't have magic. I personally think that if she did, she would have been, at best, like a toned-down Narcissa. In any case, she used the term mostly to illustrate the different terms they have for first generation magic users. Given her attitude to those in her power, it's not a stretch to believe that she would have been.

A couple of posters pointed out Salem being an internet troll being scarily plausible. I did something not dissimilar in Under the Light of the Shattered Moon. In the BBS scene in Chapter 11: Discord and Concord, she posts on the BBS under the username of MissAnthropic.

Orochi323: You know, when you reminded me of Blake's theme, I actually thought, her name could, to a degree, be a reference to the revolutionary Roj Blake in the old BBC science fiction series Blake's 7. Think an inversion of Star Trek where the Federation is an evil dictatorship, and the main characters are criminals and rebels. Then again, it's obscure outside the UK, so I doubt that Monty Oum, Kerry Shawcross, and Miles Luna have heard of it, and Blake Belladonna acts a lot more like Cally from the show than Roj Blake…and is it me, or is Servalan a lot like Cinder or Salem? Hmm, food for thought…and I've derailed that train of thought thoroughly.

1. Why 'Electra'? Well, in Greek, 'amber' is 'elektron', and in Latin, it is 'electrum', amongst other names. And if you're wondering why it sounds like electricity is derived from it…well, you'd be right. Some of the earliest experiments involving static electricity involved amber.