For a moment, Harry walked through a world of trees, grasses and bushes and he was beginning to be wonder if his power of detection wasn't a bit outdated.

Why ?

Because he didn't meet anyone yet !

Ozpin had been clear about it : without a partner you have almost no chance to attend Beacon Academy ! His 'master' had been pretty insistent about it and he didn't want to frustrated him at all ! Well, scratch that, he didn't want to fail himself.

After all, even if he was here and his main body in the Underworld, they were still the same. Normally, people would think it is odd to be at two places at the same time but he was Death ! Death was and still is everywhere !

Anyway back to present, Harry was still looking around, hoping to find someone. His aura had diminished a bit by now but it was strong enough to scare the Creatures of Grimm. He was about to use his powers again when he heard a voice.

A voice he didn't wanted to hurt at all…

"It's definitely this way… I mean... this way! It's definitely this way….Alright, it's official: We passed it !"

It was Weiss's voice…

Great !

Just great !

Of all people, it had to be the Schnee girl !

He must be cursed somehow !

But then he heard another voice, a familiar one as well, and 'she' sounded annoyed.

"Weiss, why can't you just admit that you have no idea where we're going ?"

It was Ruby Rose.

Now he felt sympathetic about the young girl…

Well… better her than him… because he had become Weiss's partner, he would have killed the girl already !

"Because I know exactly where we're going! We're going... to... the forest temple !" Weiss's voice echoed again.

Hidden by the shadows of the trees, he could see the two were clearly ready to lunge at each other's throat !The young man was conflicted of either leave them be or going to them. His thoughts were interrupted by the girls who started bickering again.

"Oh, stop it ! You don't know where we are, either !" Weiss hissed to Ruby in a somewhat angry tone.

"Well, at least I'm not pretending like I know everything !" Ruby retorted back in an equal tone.

"What is that supposed to mean ?!"

"It means you're a big, stupid jerk and I hate you !"

"Just keep moving !" Weiss snarled in frustration, clearly fed up.

"Oh, just keep moving! Hurry up! Waaaah! Watch where you're going !" Ruby began to say in a mock imitation of Weiss , to which Harry gave her a 9,5 out of 10, before adding in her normal tone "Why are you so bossy ?"

"I'm not bossy ! Don't say things like that !"

"Stop treating me like a kid !"

"Stop acting like a kid !"

"Well, stop acting like you're perfect !"

"I'm…Not…Perfect ! Not yet... But I'm still leagues better than you !"

Those words caused Harry to lost his cool and he stepped out of the bushes with a look of anger on his face.

"Are you sure about that Schnee ?" he snarled at the girl while crossing his arms over his chest.

The sound of his voice caused both Ruby and Weiss to stare at him with surprise.

"Harry ?!" The younger of the two cried out in shock at seeing him.

He gave her a nod before glaring back at Weiss who took a step backward, a bit afraid of him.

"How long have you listening to us ?!" she managed to ask him in a shaky tone.

"Long enough ! We could hear your annoying voice from the other side of this forest !" Harry answered her with a growl as his emerald green eyes brightened a bit.

Weiss and Ruby winced at the harsh tone before looking down at the grounds in embarrassment and shame. If someone walked in, they would think they were two kids being grounded by an adult.

"Ruby… I am not mad at you and in fact I wish you all the luck of the world because you will clearly need it..." Harry said to the younger of the two while glancing at Weiss at the last part.

"Hey !" Snow White cried out in outrage before recoiling at the glare he gave her.

"And you : stop acting like a brat and grow up ! Nothing will be handed to you on a silver plater and Daddy is not here to save him from harm !"

Weiss looked a bit angry at the mention of her father but she did flinched at the remonstrance. Nodding in satisfaction, the young man then took a deep breath before adding in a calm but stern tone

"I must leave you now… Still have a partner to look for… But if I heard one more thing from you…"

The menace was clear and they quickly nodded their heads in understanding before dashing away from there, leaving him alone.

"Let's hope they learned their lesson…" Harry muttered to himself with a scowl before walking away from there as well.

"Poor Ruby… I don't envy her..." he added to himself while glancing at where the two girls disappeared.

Weiss looked to be a total brat… and someone who clearly have a Big Head. She was clearly a female version of Draco Malfoy. Ruby's hands will be full with that one… as well as whoever will become their team-mates. A shiver passed through his body at this.

Well, as he said earlier : better her than him !

Shaking his head to clear his mind, Harry decided to go straight toward where the Relics were kept, hoping to encounter someone on the way there. During his little walk, he did encounter some Grimm (Beowolves, Ursas and the likes) but they all mostly left him alone… or flee away from him as if the Devil himself was on their tails !

After a few minutes, and after getting rid of his aura, he stepped out of some bushes and found himself facing what looked like an Abandoned Temple.

The smaller part of the temple seemed to be mostly consisted of the broken ruins of a rotunda while the floor of the structure beared a symmetrical-like design. Three of the columns were broken and were laying around the area in pieces.

There were five stone columns still standing that hold up a circle of stones though…

Close to the temple were more ruins : they mostly consisted of stone towers and stone bridges situated over a large chasm. A stone bridge lead to a large central tower while smaller towers surrounded the main tower and seemed to be connected by long stone pillar-lined walkways.

However, he quickly looked away from the Temple to stare at the two figures present. Two figures he recognized as Yang Xiao Long and the Faunus Blake. One of them seemed to be holding… a Chess Piece ?!

Harry stared at it for a second before slapping his face. Really ? Chess Pieces as Relics ?!

Surely there was a better way to form the teams !?

At Hogwarts, people were sorted thanks to a Hat and sent to their proper Houses !

Harry sighed deeply before stepping closer with a smile on his face "I hope there is still some Relics left !"

Yang and Blake, at the sound of his voice, turned his head to look at him.

" Hello there handsome !~" the blond literally purred at the sight of him while Blake's eyes narrowed slightly.

" I don't think we properly met : my name's Harry James Potter ! A pleasure to meet you fair maidens..." Harry said with a small reverence.

Yang raised an eyebrow at this before laughing a bit while Blake rolled her eyes in amusement even if there was a bit of pink on her cheeks.

"You are definitely a Keeper ! No wonder Ruby likes you ! I'm Yang Xiao Long, her older sister !" the blond responded to him with a friendly smile.

"I know that already… I kinda hear your conversation last night… Sorry about that..." He said with an embarrassed chuckle.

"Damn I didn't realize we were that loud..." Yang whispered in equal embarrassment.

Blake, her, nodded at her partner's words.

"Not as much as the Schnee girl but close..." Harry replied with a small grin.

The Faunus snorted at this while Yang shot him a small glare.

"Speaking of which, I saw her with your sister…"

Yang blinked at those words before grimacing "I don't envy her..."

"Me too..."

"Me three..." Blake said with a nod and a small shiver.

"Anyway where is your partner ?" Yang asked him curiously while glancing around.

"I don't have one yet… Apart of Schnee and Ruby, I didn't see anyone..." Harry replied with a soft sigh.

Blake shot him a look of sympathy while Yang patted his head in comfort. He shot them both a soft smile before looking over at the Chess Pieces

"Well, might as well pick one...don't you think ?"

They both nodded before stepped out of his way as he walked toward the Relics. After a few seconds, he picked the Black King Piece. Why ? Because he was the KING of the Underworld after all.

"So what now ?" he asked the two girls with a raise-brow.

"Maybe we can wait for the oth-" Yang began to answer when a girlish scream echoed in the air.

"Some girl's in trouble ! Harry, Blake, did you both hear that ?" The blond asked the two.

"Pretty hard no too… unless I'm deaf, which I'm sure I'm not..." Harry replied with a small grin on his face.

The blond girl snorted at this with amusement clear on her face while Blake was looking at something in the sky, completely ignoring the two.

"Blake did you hear that ?" Yang repeated to her partner after receiving n answer from the mysterious amber eyed girl.

Blake still ignored her and was still looking at the sky

"What should we do ?" Yang asked Harry instead who was about to answer when a loud cry coming from above caught their attention.

"HEADS UUUUUUUPPPPPPP !"

Looking up, Yang's and Harry's eyes widened when they saw Ruby falling from the sky ! However, before one of them could act accordingly, another figure appeared : Jaune ! The guy came flying out of nowhere, crashing into Ruby before sending the both of them into a tree.

Harry quickly rushed over to them and found the two hanging on a tree with Jaune hanging upside-down in a branch above Ruby.

"Hey guys are you alright ?" Harry called out to them with some worry.

Ever since he met the two (aka the day before), he grew slightly attached… especially toward Ruby who was innocence incarnate.

The young girl looked to be dazed by the crash but somewhat fine

"Ooh what was that ?" she grumbled to herself as she shook her head to regain her composure.

"Hey Ruby..." Jaune's voice echoed from above and she looked up to see him, waving at her from his place.

"Did your sister just fall from the sky ?" Blake asked Yang with a somewhat shocked look on her face.

The blond was about to answer when several crashing noises were heard coming from the forest ahead of them. Then an Ursa came out, claws swiping, just as a pink blast of energy hit it in the back and it crashed to the ground, depositing its rider.

"YEEEE-HAAAAW !" the newcomer said as 'she' rolled off the Grimm. However, she quickly became sad once she get up

"Awww its broken..."

The newcomer was a fair-skinned young woman with orange hair and aqua blue eyes who was wearing wears a collared black sleeveless vest (with her emblem on the back of it), with a blue central front section with red accents.

Under the vest, she had a white sleeveless t-shirt with a heart-shaped cutout above her breast line in the center accompanied with a pair of white detached sleeves on each arm, and a pair of light pink fingerless gloves. In addition, she had a short pink skirt with a single white layer under it.

Her white ankle boots had pink soles with part of her emblem, a lighting bolt, on them and low heels with pink laces, the tops were folded over revealing the pink lining. As if it wasn't enough, she had a silver armor piece that wraps around her waist, under her breasts and around the back on her neck with metal connecting each piece together at the front.

As the new girl observed the carcass of the Ursa, someone else entered the fray.

It was a young man with long black hair ending midway down his back with a magenta streak on the left side along with pink eyes. He was swearing a dark green, diagonally-buttoned, long-sleeved tailcoat that was red on the inside, with black and gold trimming and pink cuffs.

The trimming was going down the right side of his torso and formed a black collar. Along with this, he had a black, long-sleeved shirt beneath the suit and light-tan pants with black shoes. His hair was tied back in a low ponytail.

They all watched as he leaning against the Ursa's corpse, panting in exhaustion

"Nora ! Please... Don't ever do that again !" he managed to say before looking at the Beast back… only to see that the girl wasn't here anymore !

Looking around frantically, he soon found her looking at the Relics in the Temple… more precisely at the golden pieces. When her eyes landed on the Golden Rook, she grabbed it before dancing around

"I'm queen of the castle ! I'm queen of the castle !" Nora sang to herself as she jumped around with the piece in her hands.

"NORA !" The boy called out to her from his place.

"Coming, Ren !" Nora said as she stopped dancing before rushing toward him to stand by his side.

Harry stared blankly at the girl : she looked even more energetic than Ruby ! Now he felt sympathy for the guy…

"Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa ?" Blake asked her partner again with shock.

"I..." Yang began to say inly to interrupted (again) by a screech coming from their right, and another girl came onto the fray as a gigantic Scorpion-like Grimm destroyed trees in its chase after her. The girl dodged its giant claws and kept on running.

She was a tall and muscular fair-skinned young woman with red hair and vivid green eyes that reminded Harry of his dead mother Lily. The newcomer was wearing her red hair in a waist-length ponytail, curled slightly into a loose ringlet. She also wore light-green eyeshadow around the far upper corners of her green eyes.

The redhead was wearing a brown overbust corset with a vertical strip of lighter brown in the center. Additionally, she had an elastic, black, A-line mini skirt and brown opera-length gloves on both arms. She also had a red ankle-length sash that wrapped around her skirt.

There was a small circular bronze plate (where her emblem could be seen on it) on her right hip, opposite two pouches with both connected to a belt. Underneath her hair, she had a brown circlet adorned with a pair of small, green, teardrop-shaped emeralds on thin chains. She was also wearing a large bronze gorget around her neck and a bronze bracelet on the upper half of her left arm.

Harry noted that unlike the other girls present, the redhead had an armor on her : bronze greaves that started below her mid-thigh before continuing downwards into her boots. She also had a bronze bracer atop the sleeve on her left arm. Her high-heeled boots were brown in color with bronze trim, matching her skirt and sleeves and reaching up to mid-calf.

She looked like a Spartan would in Ancient Greece !

"Jaune !" the redhead called out to the blond still hanging on the tree he crashed on earlier.

"Pyrrha !" the guy called back and Harry instantly understood that the two of them were partners.

However, he quickly focused back on the Scorpion Grimm with narrowed eyes. Completely missing the fact Ruby was running off of the branch she laid on previously or Jaune's whines.

Ruby landed on the ground and the second she got up, someone called out to her "RUBY !"

Turning her head, she saw her older sister approaching her and became excited again "YANG !"

As the two sisters approached one another with raised arms, someone come between the two, knocking them off balance

"NORA !"

Harry glanced at the scene with slight amusement before looking back at the girl, Pyrrha, who was still being chased by the Scorpion Grimm. Sighing deeply, he unsheathed his blades before rushing forward.

A few seconds later, the massive Dark Scoripion stopped dead in its tracks... before falling heavily to the ground, its body cut into several pieces. Its prey, Pyrrha, turned around to stare at the carcass in shock before looking at the one who just killed it, Harry James Potter.

The young man was staring at the body with boredom as he twirled his blades in his hands before putting them back in their sheaths in a quick motion.

"Far too easy..." he grumbled to himself before looking at everyone who were staring at him in shock "What ?"

" Did she just run all the way here with a Death Stalker on her tail ?" Blake asked Yang while pointing at Pyrrha before looking at Harry with shock

"And did he just killed it in a second ?"

Yang, instead of answering, became really angry as her hair turned into literal flames while her lilac eyes turned blood red

"I can't take it anymore ! Can everyone just chill out for two seconds before something crazy happens again ?!"

A few seconds after her short outburst, Yang calmed down while Ren ran to a dizzy Nora.

"Damn and here I thought only redheads had such a short temper..." Harry commented with slight amusement and some snickers could be heard from some of the people present.

Pyrrha and Yang thought shot him small glares but he only smiled back at them while Blake and Ruby suddenly looked at the sky. The young girl then approached her sister before tugging on her sleeves

"Ummm… Yang ?" Ruby said while pointing at the sky.

Looking up, they all sawWeiss Schnee hanging on a talon the size of her entire body that belongs to a gigantic Crow-like Grimm.

" How could you leave me ?!" The Ice Queen called out to Ruby from her place.

" I said "jump" !" Ruby shouted back to her.

"She's gonna fall..." Blake commented while looking at the Schnee Heiress.

"Please do !" Harry said with hope shining in his emerald eyes which caused Blake to glance at him with amusement.

" She'll be fine !" Ruby denied it with a shake of her head.

"She's falling..." Ren commented with a blank tone.

"YES !" Harry cried out in joy at the sight of Weiss jumped off the Dark Bird's talon.

However, his joy turned into disappointment when Jaune jumped off the branch with arms outstretched to catch her. Then the two fall hard on the ground with Weiss sitting on Jaune's back.

"My hero..." the Ice Queen said mockingly while Jaune groaned in pain

"My back..."

Harry laughed loudly at that and Weiss shot him a dirty look, which was completely ignored. Pyrrha instantly rushed over to help her partner while Weiss brushed herself as if getting rid of dust and dirt off her.

"The Universe must be against us to allow her to live !" Harry whined as he pointed at Weiss

"HEY !" The Heiress cried out in outrage and everyone laughed at this until a roar caused everyone to stare back at the Crow-like Grimm still flying above them.

"Guys ? That thing's circling back ! What are we gonna do ?" Jaune asked everyone with worry.

"Look, there's no sense in dilly-dallying... Our objective is right in front of us !" Weiss said while looking at the relics.

Harry would never admit it but he was in agreement with the Schnee girl.

"She's right ! Our mission is to grab an artifact and make it back to the Cliffs !" Ruby said before giving a nod at the Heiress adding

"There's no point in fighting this thing..."

" Run and live - that's an idea I can get behind !" Jaune quickly agreed with the plan, much to Harry's amusement.

While Ruby and Jaune picked their pieces (gold Knight and Gold rook respectively), Harry was still eying the Grimm above them, making sure that it wouldn't attack. His aura was not unleashed so the Creatures of Grimm could freely attack him.

"Time we left !" Ren announced to the group while glancing at the Dark Bird above them.

"Right… Let's go !" Ruby waved to everyone before going forward.. except for a proud looking Yang and somewhat sad Harry.

Blake, noticing her partner staying behind, approached her "What is it ?"

"Nothing..." Yang said to her partner while looking at her sister before following the group.

Blake smiled at her partner before glancing at Harry "Aren't you coming ?"

"Why should I ? I don't have a partner..." the young man replied with a shrug.

Blake looked at him with sympathy before putting a hand on his shoulder

"I know but we are not leaving without you..."

"BLAKE ! HARRY ! YOU COMING ?" Ruby's voice echoed from afar

Blake and Harry shared a look of amusement before rushing after the group.

00/(Time Skip)/00

The group was heading out of the forest, walking into another abandoned series of ruins as the Crow-like Grimm still followed them from the air. It didn't tried to attack them at first… but the second they stepped into a clearing.

It dived down…

The group spread out before hiding behind some stone blocks while the Dark Bird perched on a high column, cawing.

"Well, that's great !" Yang grumbled in annoyance.

"What are we gonna do about it ? He is not gonna leave us alone !" Jaune asked everyone with panic.

Harry went deep in thought for a moment before his face brightened "I have an idea !"

"What ?" they all asked him in perfect synchronization.

"You will see hehehe~" Harry replied in dark glee before cackling.

"Hey what are you doing ?!" Weiss asked him with shock as he stepped out of his hiding place to reveal himself to the Nevermore.

"Come back !" Pyrrha, Yang and Ruby all said at the same time while looking at him with wide eyes.

Harry ignored them all as he looked at the Nevermore, who upon seeing him, cawed loudly before flying toward him !

"HARRY !" Ruby called out in alarm as she tried to rush to him only to be stopped by her sister.

The young man waited for a few seconds before unleashing a good portion of his aura while unsheathing his blades, going into an intimidating pose. The Nevermore stopped in mid-air, cawing in fright as it looked at the young man.

"GET OUT OF HERE YOU BIG FEATHER BAG !" Harry roared in a deep tone, his emerald green eyes became literal green fires.

The Nevermore cawed loudly in fear before flying away as far away from him as possible. Sighing deeply, Harry pulled his blades back to their sheaths before facing back the group… who were all staring at him with wide eyes of shock, fear and amazement.

"What ?"

"What was that ?!" Jaune asked him with disbelief

"I never saw a Grimm afraid before !" Pyrrha commented while looking at him with amazement.

"How did you do it ?!" Nora and Ruby asked him at the same time .

"I never have so many goosebumps before now..." Yang admitted while shivering a bit.

Ren and Blake stared at him with interest, curiosity and slight fear.

"I just used my Semblance… Its called 'Intimidation'… When I used it, people become scared of me..." Harry explained to them in a calm tone along with a shrug.

They seemed to buy his little lie because they all nodded their heads in understanding… even if Ruby and Nora were still looking at him with stars in their eyes. Weiss, however, looked at him with suspicions clear on her face but he ignored it.

"Well… That was a thing !" Yang commented with a smile and a thumb up.

Harry smiled at them all before the little group resumed their main quest, happy to not have this Nevermore on their trail.

00/(Time Skip)/00

Harry was now seating in an auditorium watching as Ozpin was making the teams.

"Russel Thrush...Cardin Winchester... Dove Bronzewing... Sky Lark..." the old man began to say as the screen behind himshowed each of their profiles while the boys in question were lined up for the applauding audience.

"The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL, led by... Cardin Winchester !"

Cheers echoed from the audience as the four left the stage. Harry was not among them as he looked at the four with narrowed eyes. Their arrogant looks clearly told him they weren't good people so he decided to keep an eye on them.

Taking their places were four people Harry recognized instantly.

" Jaune Arc... Lie Ren... Pyrrha Nikos... Nora Valkyrie... The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces ! From this day forward, you will work together as Team JNPR !" Ozpin announced loudly to the audience who cheered loudly for the four while Nora gave Ren a big hug.

However, Ozpin's new words caused Harry to become shocked

"Led by... Jaune Arc ! Congratulations, young man !"

A grinning Pyrrha offered him a friendly shoulder bump, but her new leader got knocked over which ended up with him falling to his butt in front of the laughing audience. Harry himself had allowed a chuckle to escape his mouth.

Then the next group climbed the stage and our hero smiled at the sight of Ruby, Blake, Weiss and Yang lining up in front of everyone.

" Blake Belladonna...Ruby Rose...Weiss Schnee...Yang Xiao Long... The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces ! From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY ! Led by... Ruby Rose!"

Harry clapped for the girls as a shocked Ruby found herself hugged by her sister. Weiss, her, looked surprised and didn't say anything.

"Thank you sir but what about Harry ?" Ruby asked the Headmaster with concern clear in her tone.

Blake and Yang were equally concerned as were the members of Team JNPR. He didn't get a partner after all !

"Lastly Harry James Potter ! Please come up the stage !" Ozpin called out to the young man in question.

Team RWBY stepped aside as our hero slowly made his way up the stage, ignoring the murmurs and whispers coming from the audience as he went to stand in front of the Headmaster.

"Mr. Potter, since you didn't make eye contact with anyone during the initiation, you would normally be disqualified from entering Beacon..." Ozpin began to say in a neutral tone.

Harry nodded his head in understanding but inside he was saddened to have failed his mission.

"But how can I let such a talented young man like you not join us after what you did !" Ozpin added with a smile as the screen behind them showed two particular scene to the audience.

How he literally cut to pieces the Massive Scorpion Grimm or how he used his Semblance to scare a gigantic Nevermore !

Impressed murmurs came from the audience. Glynda gave him a slight nod to which he returned out of respect.

"For the first time in the History of this Academy, you shall be the first SOLO team ! Congratulations young man !" Ozpin said with a tiny smile and cheers echoed again from the crowd.

Harry smiled as he found himself crowded by both Team RWBY and JNPR as they congratulated him. Ruby hugged him around the waist with Yang and Nora joining him while Ren and Jaune patted him on the shoulders. Blake and Pyrrha both nodded in approval while Weiss staid mostly silent. Maybe she was still unhappy to not be Team Leader ?

Ozpin watched the scene with a soft smile before taking a sip of his mug "It looks like things are shaping up to be an... interesting year..."

Harry, however, heard him and couldn't but internally smirking

"You have no idea old man~" he thought to himself with hidden glee before refocusing back on the people surrounding him.

"Mission accomplished !"

(To be continue…)