Chapter 1: The Tale of the Two Brothers.

Greetings, readers! It's Jonesman here with another story. I hope you find it enjoyable, though I must warn you that this one is a bit darker than my previous works. As it contains high violence, language, and other disturbing things Please note that I do not own Harry Potter or RWBY; these properties belong to their respective companies. Thank you for reading.

Remnant, Haven Academy

"My name is Oscar Pine, and I have a story to tell."

Now, you might be wondering why a simple farmhand from Mistral is attending one of the most prestigious academies for Huntsmen and Huntresses, the world's greatest warriors. Well, it all started when Beacon hosted the 40th Vytal Festival. This festival celebrates the end of the Great War that took place 80 years ago, where the neighboring kingdoms come together to celebrate and share their cultures through dances, parades, and a tournament for the academies to prove themselves.

However, an attack by the White Fang, a revolutionary group of Faunus, occurred during the festival. The White Fang was initially a peaceful protest group, but it became more violent after a change in leadership. This led to the city being overrun by the Grimm, monstrous creatures that seek out and destroy anything human or Faunus. This attack caused numerous casualties, including the headmaster, Ozpin.

A few months later, a voice in my head claimed to be the Headmaster of Beacon Academy, convincing me to leave my aunt's farm and embark on an adventure. I then met a huntsman named Qrow, along with team RNJR, a group of survivors from Beacon Academy who came to Haven looking for answers about what happened to Beacon. Ruby Rose, a young woman with silver eyes and dark hair with red tips, led them I also learned that Ozpin was an ancient warrior with the power to reincarnate into like-minded individuals.

Later, two other women, Yang (Ruby's sister) and their teammate Weiss, joined us. We eventually confronted the people responsible for the Beacon attack, which led to a fight breaking out at Haven when their assailants were driven off by the arrival of Blake another teammate of Ruby along with her family.

Oscar, a boy with tan skin and dark, damp hair, was getting ready for bed, unaware that his door was slightly open. Ruby walked in to check on him and ask about something her friend Nora had said. However, when Ruby caught a glimpse of Oscar, who had just come out of the shower, she noticed his toned torso. They both jumped in surprise when Oscar turned around and saw Ruby.

"Sorry, your door was open, and I didn't realize," Ruby mumbled. She was flustered as she turned away from him. But only a moment later, she stole another glance and noticed that he had a fair amount of muscle and a four-pack. "So, do you do any heavy lifting as a farmhand?" Ruby asked. She turned back around when she realized Oscar had caught her staring, and her cheeks heated up.

"I mostly attend to the gardens and occasionally help with the new animals," Oscar replied. He noticed that Ruby was eyeing him curiously, so he asked, "Is there a particular reason you're asking?" As he spoke, she noticed some scars on his back.

"Oscar, what happened here?" Ruby inquired, gently tracing the scars on his back. Oscar tensed as she traced her finger over the scars; they resembled imprints made by a belt buckle.

Quickly donning his nightshirt, Oscar concealed the scars and deflected Ruby's questions as she grasped his hand, forcing him to sit on the bed. Her gaze bore into him, filled with concern and a hint of determination in her silver eyes.

" Please tell me who did this?" Ruby asked, her tone worried and caring.

Oscar thought for a moment. "I think the people I was with before Auntie Em were human, but they had Faunus-like looks. And they spoke negatively about anything they considered abnormal, including clothing, same-sex relationships, and even me." He said it in a low voice. Ruby gently held his face and looked into his eyes.

"Oscar Pine, if anyone is abnormal, it's them," Ruby said, she then pulled Oscar into a tight hug, which he slowly returned. Then, Ruby stood up and kissed Oscar on the cheek before leaving the flustered farm boy behind with a determined look in her eyes as she walked over to her teammate Blake's room, knocking on her door. It opened to reveal an older woman with short black hair and large cat ears, Blake's mother Kali.

"Oh, Ruby right? If you're looking for Blake, I believe she's with your sister," She said.

"Thank you, but perhaps you could help me with something; I have some questions about Faunus," Ruby said. Kali let her inside, waving over an open seat as her husband Ghira looked up from his book.

After a brief pause, Ruby asked, "Okay, if these questions sound offensive or racist, I'm sorry. Have you ever run across people that looked like Faunus?"

Ghira was surprised and did not inspect that question, but he responded. "Well, no you are either a Faunus or not. As long as I know that if a human and a Faunus had a child, there's a 50/50 chance of the child being a Faunus. However, if a different Faunus couple were to have a child, the chance is only 1%." His wife, Kali, placed a hand on his shoulder as she asked.

"Why are you asking, sweetie?" Ruby explained that she was curious because one of her best friends was a Faunus. Miss Belladonna nodded in understanding. "Aren't you sure this isn't about your friend who had a bad home life with people who looked like Faunus?" Kali asked. Ruby was taken aback, and before she could answer the door flew open, causing Team JNR to pile up in front of it while Weiss and the rest of her friends tried to listen in on the conversation.

"What are you guys doing?" Ruby asked while Nora looked visibly embarrassed.

"Well, you know sending around, but the biggest question is, did you find out who the scumbags are that hurt cute little Oz?" Nora asked as the rest of her friends looked up as well.

Ghira responded, "Your loyalty to your friend is commendable. Unfortunately, I don't know of anyone who matches the description you've provided. If someone did exist, and they lived on Menagerie, I would make sure they were far away from here." Ruby expressed her gratitude for the conversation and left, while Blake stayed behind to deal with her family matters. As Nora put her arm around Ruby's shoulder, she reassured her,

"Don't worry, we'll find them soon enough. Once we do, it'll be open season." The other members of the group shared a wicked smirk as they brainstormed ideas for what they would do once they found the person responsible for hurting their friend.

Later that evening, Qrow, a man with a gray dress shirt with a long tail, black dress pants, and black dress shoes, determinedly made his way to Oscar's room.

" Hey Oz, I need to talk to you," said Qrow as he opened the door and saw Oscar examining the scars in the mirror.

"I know what you're going to say, Qrow," replied Oscar sounding much older. "But I don't have the answer right now."

"How could you not know?" asked Qrow of his former headmaster.

" Well, I don't go looking through my hosts' memories on purpose, Ozpin said.

" Then perhaps you should, and when we find these a-holes I call first dibs, Qrow declared.

Ozpin continued, "Well, I have some bad news to tell you, Qrow. There's a long waiting list, as after me, there's Ms. Rose who was the one who discovered Oscar's condition, and she's become quite attached to him."

"What?!" Qrow said.

"Oh, calm down, Qrow. Oscar isn't the first person I reincarnated to have a love life, and with everything he's been through, do you think they both shouldn't be happy? And what would Summer think if she knew you were trying to be her daughter's bodyguard?"

"Well, for one, she would graduate me from keeping them away from her as long as I could, and two, well," Qrow said, rubbing his neck as he heard a knock on the door.

Ruby called out softly, "Oscar, are you still awake?" Qrow transformed into a bird and flew out the window. Ozpin relinquished his control, and Oscar heard a knock at the door. He threw on his nightshirt and found Ruby outside, shivering in her hooded cloak and bare feet.

"Ruby, what's wrong?" he asked, noticing her anxious expression as Nora walked up.

" Did you ask him yet,"

Ruby replied. "Not yet, I was about to ask," but Nora decided to bring it up herself.

"The others are having a sleepover in the main room, and your attendance is mandatory, so farm boy; grab a blanket and a pillow and come on over."

Oscar was caught off guard by what she said and was about to ask Nora what she meant, but she simply threw him over her shoulder. "You heard me the first time, farm boy," Nora called.

Oscar shouted, "Nora! Put me down!" She was relieved to see her friends in the room.

"Here's the man of the hour," Yang said, dressed in a set of pajamas that didn't leave much for a teenage farmboy to imagine.

"Why am I here?" Oscar asked as he got set down on a beanbag.

"Well, in short, I told Ruby you came to help her when she got knocked out at Haven. and I convinced her to talk to you. And followed to see the reaction, and I overheard a conversation."

"So, you all know," he said in a low voice. "Guess you don't need me anymore; I will only slow you down."

As Oscar looked down, Ruby and Weiss sat down next to him. "Oscar, I don't know what those people told you, but from what I've gotten to know about you, they have to be Grimm in meat suits for the way they treated you," Weiss said, and the others agreed. "And I believe, outside of Jaune and Blake, no one else here has the kind of family that most would consider 'perfect.'"

"Well, I wouldn't consider my own to be perfect, having lived with seven sisters who like to use me as a model," Jaune said, adding, "but I wouldn't trade them for the world."

"All right, enough with all this depressing shit. Who's up for s'mores?" Nora called as she looked over at Yang, who realized what she was thinking and backed away from her.

"Oh no, you don't, why don't you use some fire dust to roast some s'mores," Yang said as Weiss countered that it would be hazardous to their health.

"It's going to be hazardous to you if you get any of the stuff in my hair."

Observing the commotion, Oscar saw his friends making, as Ruby threw a blanket over him, laughing her head off, snuggling up to him, wrapping her arms around his torso. She fell asleep quickly, and Oscar soon followed. As he drifted off, he noticed a crow watching him with a warning look. Smiling to himself, he nodded at the bird, thinking of the wonderful friends he had made.

#

While Oscar slept, a middle-aged man in a green suit observed events in his subconscious. As Ozpin was exploring, he noticed a spider-like web with glowing strings connecting to several portraits of individuals Oscar had met, with Ruby and Emily Pine glowing the brightest. He assumed that they were whom Oscar considered his friends. While continuing his exploration, he noticed a completely snapped string and an older-looking string that hung by a thread that was connected to another portrait, which seemed to have faded out. Ozpin wiped off the smudge on the name plaque, which held the line that was barely holding on revealing the name to be 'Jay'. Murmuring to himself, he said, "Fascinating." Ozpin saw a locked chest and a murky portrait of seven people. Barely picking out two young boys were in the picture - one with black hair and green eyes, and the other with reddish hair and hazel eyes.

#

Earth, site of the Quidditch World Cup.

Meanwhile, in a parallel universe, a boy who looked exactly like the one in the photo woke up abruptly from a dream. "That was a strange dream," he thought to himself as he recalled the image of a tan boy and a girl with a red cloak surrounded by creatures made from shadows. He shook his head to clear it. He was supposed to be enjoying the World Cup with his friends, not ruminating on the past.

His name was Jacob Potter, but his loved ones called him Jay. He was known to the world as the boy who lived, the son of war heroes James and Lily Potter. However, only a few people knew that he had an older brother named Harry Potter, who disappeared 13 years ago during the attack by the dark wizard Voldemort. Many, including Jacob, believed that Harry was dead until last year when a man who betrayed their family broke into Hogwarts.

Two and a half months ago.

Jacob spotted a brown rat hopping uphill before jumping down into the roots of the Whomping Willow. He cursed as he had to duck to avoid a swinging branch that could have taken off his head. Suddenly, the tree stopped and calmed down. Jacob looked down to see Crookshanks sitting next to a knot in the tree. "Crookshanks? Remind me to give you a fish dinner when I get out of here," Jacob said before jumping down the hole and following the tunnel down. He emerged into a small room with stairs leading upwards, which he followed to see a brown rat trying to squeeze through a hole that was too small for him.

"Revelio Bestia!" The spell hit the rat, and it transformed back into a human. The rat-like man turned to see his pursuer. "Jay, look at you, you've grown up," Pettigrew said, acting friendly. It didn't convince Jacob, who still kept his wand pointed at him.

"Do you wanna find out what the inflation charm can do to a human head?" Jacob snarled. Pettigrew pulled out his wand and cast the Cruciatus curse, but Jacob dodged it before tackling Pettigrew to the ground. He punched him in the face before wrestling the wand out of Pettigrew's grip and stabbing it into Pettigrew's leg. "Repetere!" he said, using the last spell that was used on him. Then he placed his wand under Pettigrew's jaw. "This is for Harry, you filthy rat!"

"Wait! Wait, Harry was alive!" Pettigrew cried out as Jacob pulled the wand away from his jaw but kept it pointed toward him.

Jacob demanded, "Start talking." He showed little patience but was curious about what Pettigrew had to say.

"James and Lily wanted to go on a date night, so they asked me and Macdonald to babysit you two. After that, I made up an excuse and went to meet the Dark Lord. While waiting outside, the place blew up, and I saw both of you in the crib, alive. I left when I heard someone apparate. That's all I know," Pettigrew explained.

"Why should I trust you?" Jacob inquired.

Pettigrew replied, "Look at me, I have no reason to lie." Just then, they heard someone coming up the stairs. Jacob turned to see Sirius and his father.

"Jay put down the wand and stepped away from him," James said. As he did so, James and Sirius moved in to pick him up, while Wormtail was led away.

Present.

Then a few moments later, he somehow managed to escape from the enchanted tower. Thinking back on the encounter, Jacob realized the truth of what Peter Pettigrew had said. But who else could be involved? He thought before being interrupted by someone calling his name.

" Jacob, we all have to leave, come on!" Sirius, his godfather, said as he grabbed Jacob's glasses and placed them on his head before leading him out of the tent while they watched a wildfire raging nearby.

"Get to the Portkey and stick together!" Sirius called as he pushed Jacob towards the Weasley family before running off to assist. The group of children fled from the chaotic scene, trying to distance themselves from the black-cloaked figures who were muttering to themselves. Suddenly, a cry caught Jacob's attention. Ignoring his friends' calls to stay with them, Jacob rushed toward the source of the noise. As he arrived, he saw a large puma had trapped two girls, a blonde and a brunette, in a corner. Without hesitation, Jacob grabbed a rock and hurled it at the animal, successfully diverting its attention from the girls.

However, as the puma turned to face Jacob, it charged at him with full force. Jacob managed to dodge the attack and avoid being mauled. As he looked back towards the girls, he recognized one of them as Daphne Greengrass, a classmate he had seen but never spoken to, and her younger sister whom he assumed was accompanying her. He shouted for the girls to run as fast as they could, while he tried to fend off the aggressive puma. Jacob reached for his wand in his back pocket, but to his dismay, it was missing.

Realizing that he had probably left his wand back at his tent, Jacob jumped onto the puma's back, wrapping an arm around its neck as it tried to shake him off. The animal's head hit him hard, breaking his glasses before it threw him onto a nearby shelf, knocking some merchandise to the ground. Jacob fell to the ground.

The puma turned its attention back to the girls, who were still frozen in fear, with no escape. Jacob knew he had to act quickly as the puma was now closing in on them. He grabbed a pitchfork lying nearby and ran at the cougar, which dodged and I tackled Jacob to the ground before it tried to bite at him. Jacob shoved the pitchfork into the cougar's open mouth, keeping its teeth away from his head. However, the claws scratched his chest, causing him to wince in pain before the puma snapped the pitchfork with its teeth.

With no other option left, Jacob quickly kicked the cat away from him before falling back down, crushing his chest in agony. The puma sensed that its prey was nearly done and took one last look at Jacob before pouncing with its mouth open and claws reaching out. Jacob grabbed the broken pitchfork and thrust it into the cougar's chest, impaling it. The fractured end of the pitchfork protruded from the animal's back as it fell limp, and the light left its eyes.

Jacob pushed the dead puma aside and turned to the girls, who were now standing behind him. He could see the fear in their eyes, and he knew he had to act fast. But before he could say anything, a green beam of light shot into the sky, forming a colossal skull composed of what looked like emerald stars, with a serpent protruding from its mouth like a tongue. The girls gasped as Jacob quickly lost consciousness, wondering who or what had cast the ominous spell.

#

St Mungo's Hospital, First Floor.

After a while, Jacob wakes up and realizes he's in a hospital bed, connected to several bags of light blue liquid. He sees his family sitting next to him, but his vision is still blurry.

"Hey!" Jacob exclaims, catching his family's attention.

"Seriously, Cub? You were almost turned into a chew toy by a large cat and all you can say is 'Hey'?" Sirius asks, looking like he needs some sleep. He then shakes his head at his godson.

"Where is Greengrass? Are they alright?" Jacob asked, trying to sit up only to fall back, clutching his bandaged chest as James placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Take it easy, son," James said, handing him a cup of water. Jacob took small sips from it. "And to answer your question, the Greengrass sisters will survive."

Then Jacob asked, "What about the cougar?" as the head healer entered the room.

"That was a Maledictus," said Head Healer Smethwyck as he checked Jacob's vitals. "You're lucky none of its blood spilled on you, Mr. Potter."

"Maledictus?" he asked.

"Think of it as a curse that allows you to transform into an animal, but eventually the transformation will become permanent," the healer said. "And I believe you have a visitor."

Jacob turned toward the door and saw the girls he had rescued, followed by a tall man. "Greengrass," James greeted the man.

Mr. Greengrass said, "Potter, our children have something to discuss." He pushed his eldest daughter forward.

"Greengrass, coming to see how green the grass is on this side?" Jacob joked, taking in the young woman's long blonde hair and icy blue eyes.

"Potter, it seems the potions in your system haven't messed with your sense of humor. But, we owe you a life debt, and I ask you to leave my sister out of it," Daphne said, and Jacob nodded in understanding, having heard of the seriousness of a life debt.

"Greengrass, I have a suggestion that I believe we can both be on board with. Turn to your sister and hug her," Jacob said, causing his family to be surprised. Daphne hugged her sister, thinking it was goodbye.

"Congratulations, our life debt is settled," Jacob said, and Daphne was shocked.

"What? That's it?" Daphne sputtered, not understanding what had just transpired.

"Well, if you insist," Jacob said, pretending to put his hand to his chin before laughing. "I'm just messing with you, princess. Just cherish your sister, okay? You don't know how lucky you are." Jacob mumbled the last bit.

Daphne gave him one last look before leaving with her family. Mr. Greengrass asked James to stay behind for a private conversation before the Weasleys and Hermione entered the room.

"What was a snake doing in here, Ron?" Harry asked.

"Just settling a life debt, Weasley," Jacob said, noting the venom in Ron's voice.

"Hold on, she's the girl you saved; you should have let her get eaten," Ron said only to get smacked on the side of the head by his father.

Arthur scolded his son, "I'm not sure where you got your manners, young man, but you don't say things like that, do you understand?"

"Ronald, you have to let your prejudices go; I've met Greengrass before, and she has never used the m-word around me.

"Just because she didn't say it out loud or out in public doesn't mean she isn't," Ron said quietly down as his father placed a hand on his shoulder. Then a knock on the door interrupted them; a woman with gray hair and a monocle entered the room.

"Chief!" Sirius called standing at attention.

"Auror Black, do you know where Potter senior might have gone off to? Bones asked.

Sirius said, "He went off with Greengrass."

"Well, no matter. You would do just fine. I'm here to ask Mr. Potter about the incident with the Maledictus," Bones said as Jacob gave his report. When he got to the part where he stabbed the Maledictus with a broken pitchfork, his friends looked at each other in shock. "You did a brave thing, Mr. Potter," Madam Bones said, "Stupid, but brave."

Jacob said, "But I killed someone."

"You may have, but it could be ruled as self-defense. Speaking of which, the Maledictus happens to be a serial killer who has a four-thousand G bounty on her head. There have been reports of her work all around Europe," Bones said, shocking the group.

"How many?" Hermione asked hesitantly.

Bones seemed to think for a moment. "Eleven known victims were all under the age of 30, but there was one case of a seven-year-old," Bones said.

After hearing this, Jacob felt better.

"Chief, how come we didn't know about this?" Sirius asked.

"She usually keeps a low profile, often attacking nearby non-magical settlements which are usually marked down as animal attacks," Bones answered before turning back to Jacob.

"One more thing, Mr. Potter, is this your wand?" Bones pulled out a wand, and Jacob nodded it was his.

"This one was found at a crime scene where the Dark Mark had been cast. As a son of a high-ranking Auror, I suggest you get a holster for your wand, Mr. Potter," Bones said as she set the wand down on a nearby table before leaving the room as James came back in.

" What did Greengrass want to talk to you about, Prongs? Sirius asked.

" He asked if we could house his daughters for the rest of the summer. The Maledictus was an assassin and had him spooked, so I came here to ask Jacob's opinion on it."

Ron asked, "Jay, are you going to let that snake stay with you?" Sounding more outrage.

"Enough, Ronald," Hermione said. "Just because some of in that house antagonize us doesn't mean they are all evil. The sorting hat briefly considered me for Slytherin." Ron muttered something under his breath and left with his father, leaving the Potters alone.

"What do you think, son?" Jacob asked.

"There was no interaction between the Greengages and the Death Eaters. If that is what you are asking, they did support pureblood rights, but they never supported anything anti-muggle born.

"What do you think, Mum?" he asked, turning to his mother for her opinion.

" I think your father is trying to get the situation between all of us straightened out, but if you want my vote, she's welcome to stay until you go back to Hogwarts since she did save your life," Lily said as Jacob fell back onto the bed with a sigh; his parents were not helping.

#

The Potter Manor.

"Home sweet home!" James exclaimed as he brought his son inside and helped him settle onto one of the couches. The Greengrass sisters followed them in.

Lily asked, "Do you want me to show you both to your rooms?"

Daphne replied, "That would be nice, Miss Potter," and followed Lily upstairs. Meanwhile, Jacob went to his room and moved a few cabinets to reveal a black box. He looked at his project and smiled before picking up a golden pendant that had a picture of him and his brother. He sniffled to himself before hearing a knock on the door. Jacob quickly closed the charm and hid it as he saw Daphne standing outside.

"Your mother said it's time for your potion, and she will be by to change these bandages," Daphne said, pointing to the bloodied bandages. She noticed the box he was looking at earlier and asked, "What is that?"

Quickly closing the cabinet, Jacob replied, "It's a personal project of mine. Can I ask you something?" He turned to face her. "Why did you help me? You could have left me there; someone would have found me."

" Well, it wouldn't look good for me if I left "the boy who lived" for dead. Plus, you did save me and my sister's life," Daphne replied. She noticed Jacob's reaction to the name and asked, "You said something to get me curious about how lucky I am. What was that about?"

"It's nothing. You said I was under some potions and didn't know what I was doing." Jacob snapped. Daphne noticed the pendant and put two and two together. "You had a twin, didn't you? How are you even alive? Usually, when one twin dies, the other doesn't last long afterward," she asked.

"Leave!" Jacob shouted as Daphne left the room.

She looked back briefly and muttered an apology before disappearing through the doorway. Jacob rolled over onto his side and pulled the locket from under his pillow. He stared at it for a moment, then held it up to his face and sniffed it. Closing his eyes, he drifted off to sleep.

A/n Repetere recast the last spell that was used.