AN: I don't own any rights to the Harry Potter universe or RWBY.

This is a re-post of part of a story that I had taken down due to some personal issues. That said, I'm going to be re-working a few things that need to be changed with more of Remnant revealed to us. So for those that have been asking about this story, it is coming back, just slowly.

Harry stirred the potion as the instructions said to do so. He didn't really understand why Sirius was so adamant about learning to be an animagus. There also were books on Occlumancy and wandless magic. But then again, with the entire school ostracizing him, it wasn't like he didn't have the time to himself to learn and practice. Even after his performance in the first task, he was still shunned. There had even been talk about putting him on probation from Gryffindor. It was then that Harry knew he was truly on his own. He had shifted into survival mode, picking up spells and skills that he had neglected. Harry pricked his finger and allowed three drops of blood to fall. Once the potion turned red with blue smoke, Harry poured himself a cup. After drinking the sludge, he passed out. When he awoke, Harry grinned. He had an animagus form, but it shifted between a small cat and one the size of a horse. Interestingly enough, neither the potion, nor the process was intended to be used by a wizard with remnants of Basilisk venom and Phoenix tears in his system. But that is getting ahead of our story.

After taking the Triwizard Cup, Harry was tied to the tombstone watching the ritual. Part of him wondered what would have happened if he had taken the cup at the same time as anyone else and was glad he didn't. As the red drops fell into the cauldron, Harry decided to try to escape. For the first time, he willed himself into his cat form. Harry figured he really didn't have anything to lose. As the magic within the blood interacted with a rather delicate potion, it catalyzed the magic within the cauldron. This immediately destroyed Tom Riddle. The blast of magic traveled along the tenuous connections to the Horcruxes, thereby also destroying all of the evil wizard's anchors. Harry was knocked unconscious by the blast as his core was forced to absorb some of the magic, causing it to grow in size. The vortex that formed sliced Pettigrew in half. Because of his blood being the catalyst, a partially transformed Harry Potter was pulled through the silvery fire never to be seen in England again. Those sent to the graveyard to investigate the magical blast would find the Triwizard Cup, Harry's glasses, a bisected Peter Pettigrew and a cauldron that had been torn in half and a homunculus. There was also quite a bit of Dark Magic residue.

Once Harry fell through the fire, he awoke screaming. It felt like he was being pulled in multiple directions at once while at the same time being poked with white-hot needles on his scar. This spread to the rest of his body. It felt like what he imagined the cruciatus to be.

Harry was unceremoniously spat out in the dirt beneath a canopy of trees. Harry squeezed his eyes shut as the light filtering down kick-started a migraine. As the migraine progressed, Harry suddenly had knowledge of spells that he had never had before. It felt like each one was branded into his brain. There were so many that Harry couldn't begin to count them. He lay staring at nothing as knowledge of many different subjects seemed to pour into his brain. When this finished, Harry heard a small trickle of water and drug himself towards it. After quenching his thirst, Harry stared at his reflection. Black cat ears poked up through his hair. His eyes were still green, but had a slit pupil. As he inspected the changes, Harry discovered that he had a tail and his feet and hands had much thicker pads of skin.

A low growl was heard off to his right. Harry was shocked to see a bear unlike any he had ever seen. Its face held glowing red eyes and bony protrusions coming out of its back. The bear charged, but Harry jumped to avoid it and somersaulted high into the air. When he came down, it was on the back of this bear. Claws extended from his hands and feet allowing him to hold on. Needless to say, the boy was rather surprised at his new strength and additions.

After a few minutes of being tossed around, Harry decided that enough was enough. He had practiced various spells in preparation for the Tournament. Once he decided one, without warning, a white blast edged in green erupted from the palms of his hands. The bear, or whatever it was, dropped and blood began pouring out of it. Harry took a few steps away from the carcass and sighed. It might be the only food he would get for some time. Who knew how long it would take to get to civilization. Using a potions spell to separate the meat, skin, bones, and gizzards, the bear was dressed out in no time. There was an odd black substance that was pulled away and began to evaporate, causing a black haze to grow in the air before it was whisked away by the wind. After casting a spell to check for poisons, he found none. Harry started a small fire to cook the meat. There wasn't all that much on the animal. When it was cooked, he discovered that it was a sweet, peppery flavor. Harry climbed into a tree and fell asleep.

The next morning, Harry decided to try magic again. The bear's pelt turned out to be slightly resistant to magic. Eventually Harry was able to transfigure it into a large backpack. He placed the cooked meat in the pack and left to try to find civilization. He could see a tall cliff in the distance and Harry decided that he would try to get there. He was surprised that along the way, he encountered what he swore was a werewolf, but it was mid-day.

Harry jumped into the trees and used his new found strength and agility to beat a hasty retreat. Harry sat down once he had made his escape and decided on some lunch. For some reason he was much hungrier than usual.

Up at Beacon, Glynda Goodwitch frowned at a report. Apparently something had happened and over a large area of the Emerald Forest, the cameras were malfunctioning. She chose a team to look into the problem. Team WSPR had been acting up lately and a trip into the Emerald Forest would likely cool them down a bit and hopefully get them working together.

After a failed and rather painful attempt to change back into human, Harry took the time to take stock of his senses. They seemed to be elevated far beyond what they normally were. Then again, he was using magic without a wand, so he felt it was just a side effect of whatever happened.

He heard footsteps coming through the woods. Harry had no idea where he was and looking like a half-cat would not bode well. Once again Harry jumped into the canopy and hid.

Walking beneath him was a quartet of what had to be fighters. Harry raised an eyebrow. The weapons they carried looked unlike anything Harry had ever seen. One looked like a rifle with a sword grip on it.

While he understood what they were talking about, Harry was confused. Terms like Dust, Aura, Semblance were odd. One term, obviously derogatory, was faunus.

The four gave off airs similar to Malfoy and his cronies. Harry was surprised as the four boys described one girl who apparently had a pair of mouse ears. Harry blinked. Maybe he could blend in with at least part of the society here. But it begged the question. Where was he?

Suddenly one of the boys turned and fired. Harry twisted out of the way to land on all fours.

Before any of the teens could react, Harry darted away. They gave chase.

After dodging some attacks, Harry finally had enough and jumped and planted his feet in one of the teen's skulls. Another jump had them all in between him and the cliff.

Harry saw red as they insulted him. He threw his hands out and a massive Banishing Charm hit the four boys and sent them flying up into the air and onto the top of the cliff.

Before they landed, Harry grabbed his pack and leapt away from where he was. He noted several glints of light and saw them to be cameras of some kind. Harry disillusioned himself and changed direction once again.

When Harry made it to the base of the cliff, there were steps leading up. When he started to climb, he saw a rather severe looking woman being trailed by the four he had tossed into the air coming down the steps. Harry found a few handholds and eased himself off the steps and onto the cliff face.

Once they had passed, Harry took to the stairs once again. Harry saw buildings in the distance. When he went closer to the edge, he could see a town below.

Glynda was not happy. Team WSPR had said they had been attacked by a band of faunus. Reaching the base of the steps, Glynda slid back a panel and blinked. A large amount of cameras were offline. She plugged in to watch footage and was shocked when one cat faunus took out an entire second year combat team.

She frowned as Team WSPR just attacked and didn't try to talk with the young cat faunus. She would show the footage to Ozpin. The faunus used Aura in a rather unique way. Or it was a Semblance? Either way, Ozpin would want to know.

Harry slipped onto a rather odd ship that looked like something out of a comic book. Wherever that portal had taken him, he wasn't anywhere that he knew of. The craft descended to the city below. Harry felt that he might be able to get a read on what was going on.

As Harry invisibly wandered the city, he was shocked. This was unlike anything he had seen before.

As he went down an alley, he saw a trio of men kicking a prone figure. Red fox ears peeked out from the figure's hair.

Harry blindsided the men. A few stunners had the men down and out.

Harry turned to the curled figure. It was a man with fox ears. He was beaten and bloody. Harry helped the man up.

"Are you okay sir?"

The man looked at Harry. "I've never seen a faunus like you before."

Harry shrugged. "I've always been different."

The man looked at the unconscious figures, he sighed. "It will only be worse when they wake up. They will think I did something to them."

Harry thought for a moment. A silver beam hit each man in the head. "They won't even remember it. They'll think they got drunk and passed out."

The man's eyes widened. "These are Boggis, Bunce and Bean. They are trying to drive me out of business. My store is the only one that caters mostly to faunus. They want nothing but to drive us all out of Vale. As it is, most of us have considered leaving. I know most of the faunus in Vale, but I haven't met you." The man looked at Harry quizzically. "And yet a young one like you took out three adults." He considered things for a moment. "My name is Mr. Red Vulpes. And you are?"

Harry shrugged, "Someone who is a little lost."

The man nodded. "I would like to thank you for helping me. If you want to follow me, I need to find a place to buy food for tonight. My wife is an excellent cook. You are welcome to join us." The man left it unsaid that his wife wouldn't let the teen leave without eating if he had run away from somewhere.

Harry stopped the older man. "I have a rather large amount in my pack. You are welcome to it if you can answer a few questions for me."

The man smiled and saw the full pack. When Harry opened it, sure enough, a large collection of meat met the man's gaze.

Red smiled. "You can stay all week if you like."

Harry was taken to a home that on the outside looked a little run down, but upon entering it, was cozy and well furnished. Red smiled. "If they think we live in poor conditions, they feel better about themselves."

Harry nodded. When all of the meat was removed, Harry's transfiguration of the pelt reverted and the pack became a pelt once again.

Mr. Vulpes prodded the large fur with one toe. "What is that?"

Harry shrugged, "Something that attacked me. I needed something to carry the meat."

When the faunus spread out the pelt he blinked. "You killed an Ursa?"

Harry blinked. "Yeah. Is that bad?"

Red blinked. "No. Young one, do you not know what the Creatures of Grimm are?"

Harry shook his head. "They don't have anything like that back home. But then again, I doubt I'll be able to return there anyway. It was kind of a one-way trip."

This shocked the man. The Grimm were all over Remnant. "You could sell that pelt for quite a bit of Lien. The spikes are useful in certain forging applications."

Harry shrugged. "Why don't you sell it for me? You said you had a shop."

Any further conversation was cut off when the lady of the house called everyone to supper.

Harry was asked several questions by Mrs. Vulpes and her children. The oldest boy had enrolled in Signal Academy. He wanted to be a Huntsman.

Due to the talkative nature of the boy, Harry began to absorb some of the local knowledge. Faunus were discriminated against, sometimes rather severely. Mr. Vulpes actually had been denied from taking the Huntsman exam because of it. Aura was apparently energy coming from one's soul. It could be used as a defense or an attack. It didn't sound as versatile as magic, but in some ways was more beneficial. Everyone could use it. Dust was a substance with widely varying properties. It was an energy source as well as a catalyst for some of the attacks that the four teens had thrown at him in the woods.

Harry now knew that if he was still on earth, it was a place no one had ever been. When he looked out the window, it confirmed that he wasn't. There were two moons in the sky. One looked like it had been shattered.

Harry just stared at the sky for a time. Everything he knew, everyone he knew, was gone. Harry was barely holding himself together.

Red caught Harry as his knees gave way. After telling his wife he would look after the teen, the man shook his head. From what he could glean from what little the teen had said, he had woken up in the Emerald Forest after being kidnapped. While no one knew of this Great Britain, it also wasn't on the map they had shown the teen. It must have hit him that he was well and truly lost.

When the concerned faunus went back to his wife she fretted about the unfortunate boy. She also told her husband that he would be welcome to stay as long as he wanted.

Harry took the kind offer and learned as much as he could. He learned of the various Grimm, and how strong they were. Harry actually had his Aura unlocked by Red. After a few weeks, Harry decided to return to the Emerald Forest to see if he could find any clues or see if he could find a way home. The Ursa pelt was actually was worth a decent amount. Apparently Ursa skin rugs were rather popular. It allowed Red to get Harry some new clothes as well as some gear if he was intent on going back into the Emerald Forest.

In return, Harry used his knowledge to put up an aversion ward to anyone meaning harm to the residents of the home he was in. It prevented quite a bit of trouble, for which the family was very grateful.

Professor Ozpin looked over the footage that Glynda had managed to put together. A faunus with more animalistic features than any of the others he had met had used either Aura or a Semblance to throw a quartet of students from the forest to the top of the Initiation Cliff. Any further searches of the forest had come up empty. Ozpin's eyebrows rose as he found a feed Glynda had missed. One camera had seen something very interesting. The teen simply faded from view. Ozpin grinned. If he could talk to this mystery faunus, Beacon might have a new student, or at maybe even an apprentice to one of the teachers.

Harry didn't trust himself enough to apparate so he made his way back through town. This time, as he was properly attired, other than a few glares at his ears and tail, no one bothered him. Harry disillusioned himself and jumped aboard the transport back to the building that was set atop the cliff. Harry had learned the name. Beacon. It was a school for training elite Huntsmen and Huntresses. Harry had decided to investigate it if he couldn't find a way home.

After a few hours of searching, Harry found where he had landed. He only found the shattered pieces to his wand. Harry slipped them into his pack.

As Harry sat, he pondered his options. He could stay with the Vulpes family, he could investigate Beacon, or he could… A snort and a pair of angry red eyes broke him out of his thoughts. A Boarbatusk was pawing the ground and was ready to attack. Harry moved out of the way at the last second and it rolled into the tree. A simple piercing curse ended its existence. Once again Harry separated out the various parts. Harry grinned. He could be a Huntsman. Certain parts of Grimm were useful, but most Hunters didn't leave enough intact to be useful. Normally one dust round wasn't enough to take down a Grimm. This time as he made his way back to the cliff, Harry decided that he would live in the forest, investigating Beacon when classes were in session, and getting Grimm parts for Red to sell. From what he heard, faunus were usually overcharged for certain things. This was one of them. However, when they found out that Harry had a way of making the Grimm meat edible they were shocked. Normally it took weeks and special processes for the toxins to drain out, and as such the meat was very expensive. Most people didn't bother with it except to impress someone. Red had agreed to keep Harry's assistance a secret and the faunus of Vale were benefitting from Harry's efforts, so everyone won.

As Harry walked back to the cliff, he encountered two other Grimm that he dispatched in a similar manner. He disillusioned himself when he reached the stairs. He also forgot completely about the cameras.

Ozpin was shocked. The cameras had registered movement, and alerted him. A single blast of aura and moderately powerful Gimm were done in. He then witnessed them be ripped apart and the faunus packed away the useful parts and left the forest.

Ozpin ran to steps with Glynda on his heels. They were empty. A quick trip to the site of the attacks confirmed things for him. They had a very interesting visitor.

Harry had to dodge the rather severe faced woman and another man on his way back up the stairs. He almost smacked himself. He had forgotten about the cameras. Harry dropped his load off with Red and then returned. This time he was disillusioned. Harry sat in the grass at the top of the cliff and decided to try something he had decided on. If he couldn't turn back into human, maybe he would be able to go from his current state to a cat.

Harry grinned as it worked. He was a standard sized housecat. He lost control in his glee and reverted. When he tried a second time, he was a very large cat. He was easily the size of a large horse. When Harry reverted to his now normal form he grinned. With practice he should be able to go between the two.

As time passed, Ozpin became increasingly intrigued and frustrated. There was evidence of the faunus throughout the forest, but only a rare glimpse was caught on camera. He had even taken the relics for this year's initiation. Granted, they were just large gold and silver playing cards, but they had turned up in all places, a pawn shop. They drew lots for teams this year. The fact that the embarrassment made it into the Vale papers was not an issue in Ozpin's mind. All of the professors had now been informed of the presence of the faunus and would keep an eye out for any further interference. One of them had even given the teen a name that fit. Cheshire. A cat of legend that would disappear and reappear as he saw fit.

Ozpin was sitting at a table he had placed at the top of the stairs drinking his tea. He was determined to speak to this faunus. Ozpin had sat most of the day and saw nothing. There wasn't even the sound of a footstep on the stone stairs.

His attention was drawn to the grass moving slightly. A small black cat was slinking through the grass. The animal froze when it saw him. Ozpin put down a saucer of milk and smiled. It was a stray cat that had been seen by some of the professors. It didn't cause any trouble and seemed to watch whatever was going on at the time. For some reason it usually hung around the sparring fields. A few professors had even seen it sunning itself outside their classroom windows. A few female students always tried to catch it, but they never succeeded. The man stood and left. He would pick up the saucer tomorrow. The cat was very skittish, but harmless.

Ozpin shook his head. It looks like his vigil would have to continue tomorrow.

Every day Ozpin would sit at the stairs, waiting. It got to the point that Ozpin had a small veranda built. Sometimes he saw the cat, sometimes he didn't. Every once in a while he caught a sign of the faunus. Eventually Glynda would drag him back to work. She pointed something out. The faunus was taking the valuable Grimm parts. He had to be selling them somewhere.

Ozpin tried tracking down the source of these items but to no avail. None of the shop owners knew what he was talking about. Ozpin even made sure to ask the faunus shopkeepers. No one had seen or heard anything. Of course, in talking to Qrow at Signal and a few of the other academies, many faunus students from Vale had things like Ursa spines, Beowolf fangs, and Borabotusk tusks to help forge armor and weapons. This hadn't happened before. They also seemed to have insights into battle tactics against Grimm that were impressive.

This continued for well over three years. Cheshire had become something of an urban myth. The faunus of Vale closed ranks and said nothing. It was the humans who were speculating. Given the fact that there had been rumors of the cat stopping attacks on faunus, it was the humans who were the most curious. No one really remembered the encounters. A few eyewitnesses said that a male faunus with cat ears and tail stopped the perpetrators, performed some kind of Aura technique and disappeared. The attackers had awoken drunk and unable to remember the fights.

Ozpin sat at the table and huffed. Was this vigil really worth it? They now had to have professors have the relics in a bag. Last year they had disappeared when Professor Port turned away for a brief second. As Ozpin put down a saucer for the stray that called the grounds of Beacon home, he looked over the roster of new students and grinned. There were going to be quite a few talented people. Ruby Rose had potential. If Qrow had taught her that much, she must be good. A fox faunus was also rather gifted. His father had gone through Beacon as well. Ozpin hoped that the discrimination of other students wouldn't be too bad this year. He tried to put a stop to it whenever he could, but he couldn't be everywhere.

The stray cat was sniffing at the saucer. Even after all this time, no one could catch it. It was still as skittish as ever.

Ozpin mused out loud as he watched the cat. "If only finding this Cheshire was as easy as giving you milk. I just want him to not steal the chess pieces that I'm going to put out there in the Forest for this year's imitation. Is that too much to ask?" Ozpin shook his head. "We have a new crop of students that are likely going to try to catch you. A warning. One girl is exceptionally fast. You'll need to keep an eye on her. She wears a red cape."

Ozpin chuckled as the cat ran off.

Harry was pensive as he used his cat form to slip down the steps. The past two times he had taken the gold and silver items he didn't know what they were for. One year, he sold them to help a rather ill faunus from losing her home. The next, a young ram faunus wanted to start at Signal. He couldn't afford the entry fees. He was now on a scholarship. He would leave the chess pieces alone. Ozpin was an interesting man. He seemed to always want to catch Harry. The teen couldn't allow that. You never knew the man's true desires, but Harry was considering talking to the man. Maybe he would throw the man a bone.

Harry thought back over the past three years. He had come to see the Emerald Forest as much as home as the guest room at the Vulpes residence. Argent, Red's oldest, had applied to Beacon and had been accepted. His animagus forms were still secret, even from other faunus. One of the members of the White Fang had approached Harry last year asking him if he would join them. Harry declined. He would rather help people than fight.

With a lot of the instigators of fights now seen as drunkards, most of the normal populace was unwilling to antagonize the faunus of Vale. There were even Quite a few friendships that had cropped up between humans and faunus.

Harry waved his hand as he jumped down the steps. He could have apparated, but jumping down them was so much more fun.

Ozpin was about to turn to head in when a scrap of paper floated in front of his face. The grey-haired man caught it.

The note read: 'Dear Professor Ozpin, I was unaware that those items were for Beacon's initiation. I apologize for taking them; however, the money gained from their sale was donated to some truly noble causes. If you're wondering, a young man who wanted to go to school can now afford to, and a hardworking mother didn't lose her house. You also have been sitting here for some time trying to catch me. I don't know why, you really haven't said. Or if you did, I never heard you in the time it takes to sneak past you. As a show of good faith, the chess pieces will be left alone. Once I can confirm you have nothing against me, maybe we can talk later.' The signature was of a smiling cat. Once the man finished reading it the paper disappeared.

Ozpin blinked. He then shook his head. Cheshire was able to get past him. Again. The Beacon Stray also never even registered the teen's presence during the brief encounter. That was almost equally as impressive. Ozpin definitely wanted to get the boy as a student. But he doubted it would be easy.

Harry curled up in a treehouse that he had built and warded against the Grimm. There was also a small cache of Dust Crystals that he had found in the forest. He had to shake his head at Mrs. Vulpes' actions earlier in the week. She was asking him again when he was going to settle down. He had a substantial savings and would be able to afford his own house. That is, if the realtors wouldn't hike up the prices because of his cat features.

The next morning, Harry had found evidence of a large Nevermore. Its feathers were extremely useful. However, the bird was proving to be elusive.

As Ozpin walked along the line of assembled students, he showed a few pictures of Cheshire. "Normally I would say that you need to destroy anything that stands in your way. I would like to issue a change to that rule. Many of you from Vale have probably heard rumors of a faunus known as Cheshire. Let me tell you the truth of those rumors. He exists. These are photos we have of him. A word of caution to you all. He is known to frequent these woods. He hasn't harmed anyone, however the number of Grimm in the woods have decreased because of him. He also took the initiation relics from the past two years making team assignments difficult. I did receive a note from him stating that he was unaware of their purpose and would leave them alone this year. He is highly skilled. He even can sneak past me. We only see evidence of his fights. He won't bother any student unless they bother him first. In fact over a year ago, he saved one team that had been ambushed by a herd of Boarbatusks. Every year we have a team that decides to try to catch him. Don't. The first negative encounter with him had the team flung from the forest floor all the way to the top of this cliff. The next had them hung on the spire of the main building in their underwear. Last year, one team was rather discriminatory in their words and actions about this elusive faunus. When they went to catch him, Miss Goodwitch found them trussed up in her shower. Naked. However, should one of you encounter him, please pass along a message that I wish to speak with him and he may choose the place and time."

Argent had to grin slightly. He knew Harry had a reputation, but that was hilarious.

Harry saw some shadows pass overhead. It looked like the fun was getting started. Just for kicks, Harry ended the spell that he had active almost every moment he was in the forest. Harry waved at the camera before disappearing once again.

Harry headed back towards his forest home and a pack of Beowolves was between him and his retreat. A white haired girl was shifting slightly, getting ready for and attack. Harry hit the largest Beowolf with a piercing spell, causing it to topple. The attention of the pack turned to Harry who had ended the masking spell. The white haired girl used the opening to send a jet of flame at one of the Grimm. She had to divert it due to a girl in a red cape with a massive scythe slashing at the same target.

The blast of flame had set the tree containing his treehouse burning. Harry screamed out, "You lit my house on fire!" Harry immediately summoned all of his gear that was in the treehouse. He tried to anyway. It looked like the Burn Crystal he found was detonated before it was wrapped in his magic. Why else would the tree catch fire that fast? He didn't lose much, but still, he didn't have all that much to begin with.

Ruby and Weiss turned and saw fleeing forms of Beowolves and a rather irate cat faunus.

When she heard a scream; Weiss blinked, then paled. Ozpin had said to not antagonize him. "You're the faunus Professor Ozpin warned us about!"

Harry glared at the girl and pointed at the fallen, burning tree. He growled out, "You burned down my house!"

Ruby grabbed her new partner and took off running.

When they stopped a good distance away, Weiss began to berate Ruby, but the younger girl was shaken up.

After quickly rendering the Beowolf he took down, Harry stuffed all of his things into a pack and began jumping through the trees. He knew where the girl was headed and he would be having words with her. Harry stopped to look down at a pretty blonde girl who was staring at a single hair that was fallen to the ground.

He was surprised to see the girl's eyes turn red. He was astonished at the severity of the girl's attacks. Harry noted to not even touch her hair. There was a pleasant odor in the air as she ran past him.

When she turned to face down the other Ursa, Harry had to smile at the look on her face as it fell. When the figure behind the bear stood still, Harry's eyes widened. The next thing he knew he was standing behind the girl. Harry took a deep breath. This girl, whoever she was, smelled amazing. The scent was different than the first one, but something about it was better.

Blake froze as a presence registered behind her. She noticed Yang take a defensive stance. She heard a deep intake of breath, something nuzzling her head right behind her bow, and a light baritone voice murmured, "You smell wonderful."

Blake whirled around and came face to face with Cheshire. His deep green eyes were looking at her and his tail was flicking lazily. Black cat ears rose from a messy head of hair.

It took Blake a moment to speak. Even with all of her time in the White Fang, she had never seen a faunus like this. The only things that had been said by the faunus population of Vale was that he helped them all. Nothing had been said about his looks. She had thought that the pictures that Professor Ozpin had shown were just exaggerated, but no, the teen did really look like that. "Um, thanks?"

This caused Harry to shake himself out of his trance. "So what brings two lovely ladies to my home?"

Yang relaxed slightly. "Today is our initiation at Beacon."

Harry shook his head. "I'm headed to where the trinkets are kept, would you like me to show you the way?"

The two girls looked at each other then back at their unexpected visitor. Blake nodded. "Sure. You aren't going to steal them are you?"

Harry shook his head. "Nope, but the white haired twit who burned down my house is going to get a talking to. She's likely headed in that direction. I'll let her come to me."

This caused the two girls to gulp. There was only one person that they knew who had white hair.

Yang spoke up, "Ozpin said at the top of the cliff he wants to talk to you."

Harry shrugged. "I was planning on speaking with him at some point. For the past three years he tried to catch me coming and going from the forest. He hasn't succeeded." Harry's smirk caused the girls to relax a little. "Shall we go?"

The girls were shocked to find themselves seconds later walking next to the teen, arms looped through his. Neither of the girls could remember how they got that way.

Harry grinned. "So, tell me what you like about Beacon. And why the Headmaster wants to see me."

Ozpin watched, shocked as Cheshire stuffed more into a pack than he had thought possible. He also saw the teen's anger at the Schnee Heiress. That would not bode well.

He watched as the teen made his way through the canopy and stopped to watch a fight. Ozpin's eyebrows rose when the teen flirted with the black haired girl, Miss Belladonna. That was new.

Ozpin checked the video feed. A few pairs had already retrieved their chess piece. He was glad that Cheshire hadn't taken them. Those were expensive.

After the girls had introduced themselves, Blake looked at Cheshire. "I've met a lot of faunus, but I've never met one like you before."

Harry grinned. "You probably won't ever again. I'm one of a kind."

As they cleared the tree line, they looked down on the ruins that Ozpin used to place the relics.

Harry jumped off the outcropping. "Pick your prize ladies. I'm going to wait for the firebug."

Harry had to chuckle as the two girls selected the knight piece. Yang looked at their guide. "Why don't you live in town?"

Harry shook his head. "Faunus aren't exactly respected, even in a moderately tolerant place like Vale. And I don't look like your average faunus. Besides, I like the forest. Since I came here I have seen that I am gifted in hunting the Grimm. A lot of faunus benefit from what I do."

Blake raised an eyebrow. "Are you part of the White Fang?"

Harry shook his head. "No. They asked me to join a year ago, but I don't like their methods and declined. The Grimm that I hunt, I harvest what is left. If you incorporate things like Ursa or Beowolf spines into the forging of a weapon, it can be more resilient. A Grimm mask makes a shield or armor stronger. Because Dust and Aura react to Grimm, it helps with infusing the Dust into the weapons. The better quality you have, the better the infusion. There are lots of uses." Harry looked at Blake. "I would venture a guess that the ribbon holding onto your weapon has King Taijitu leather in it for flexibility and strength. Many faunus can't afford these because of discriminatory pricing. I provide an alternate supply at reasonable prices."

Yang nodded. "At Signal, we forged our own weapons. Was that what the white powder we had to buy was? I know it wasn't Dust."

Harry nodded. "Not only that but some meat used in high-end cuisine is actually Ursa or Boarbatusk. There is a process to remove the ichor that is part of all Grimm. I get it done faster."

This caused Blake to blink in shock.

A scream pierced the air.

Yang shouted, "Some girl is in trouble."

Harry and Blake looked skyward. Harry's eyes narrowed as the girl in the red cloak came falling from the sky. He didn't see Yang's eyes widening as she saw her sister. Harry went to catch her, but a blonde boy collided mid-air with her and the pair landed in a tree.

Blake looked at Yang. "Did your sister just fall from the sky?"

Harry looked at Yang. "That's your sister?"

Yang blinked, "I…"

A growl across the meadow cut her off. Harry watched as a pink corona of energy flared around an Ursa. A voice yelled out "Yeehaw!" When it collapsed Harry noted a girl with orange hair on her head take a tumble before standing on the fallen Ursa. "Aww, I broke it."

She pulled a weapon and aimed it at Harry. When he made no move to attack, she then darted over and inspected a rook for a moment before dancing around with it. When her teammate called her, she skipped away.

Blake stuttered, "Did she just ride in on an Ursa?"

Harry shrugged, "What? It's fun."

Both girls looked at the boy in disbelief.

Ruby jumped from the trees to greet her sister. When Nora piped in, Ruby pointed at Harry. "Are you still mad at me?"

Harry narrowed his eyes. "Slightly. If you had spoken with your teammate before attacking, my house wouldn't be cinders. The other girl you were with, definitely. She's the one who torched it."

Ruby looked down, "I'm sorry. It was an accident. I don't really have any Lien or I'd help you rebuild."

Before anyone could say anything, an armor clad girl ran from a Death Stalker. Harry's eyes widened. The armor plates on those were worth a lot of money. Yang's outburst distracted Harry. As the flames danced around the girl, Harry mused that the blonde's Semblance was likely fire related.

Harry noted that the boy with pink eyes and the girl with an extremely short attention span now stood with the group. Harry was staring upwards. The Nevermore that he had spotted was flying around. Harry grinned. A Nevermore and a Death Stalker. Today was his lucky day.

When everyone commented on Weiss falling, Harry added, "I hope she breaks her leg."

He had to wince at the cracking sounds it made when she landed on the blonde boy.

When the redhead landed in a heap at the feet of everyone, Harry tried to stop the girl with the cape as she dashed towards the scorpion. Harry followed after. When Ruby turned away from the Death Stalker, Harry stopped and stared at the approaching Nevermore.

Yang passed him, intent on only her sister.

As the Nevermore flared its wings, Harry gathered his Aura. His body shone in blue and purple. Ruby cowered, but the feathers of the Nevermore hung in mid-air before reversing their direction and hitting the giant bird, causing it to veer away. The feathers then floated to the ground.

Everyone was in shock. Harry jumped high in the air and launched several immobilizing spells at the Death Stalker. He even managed to remove a pair of legs. This only made it madder. It was frozen in place as the group gathered at the temple site. Instead of finishing it off, he turned to face the girl who had destroyed his home.

Harry glared at the white haired girl. She glared back in return. "You owe me a new house."

Weiss huffed. "I'll buy you a cat bed."

Harry narrowed his eyes.

Blake didn't look too happy either.

Harry grinned. "Fine. I was going to take care of the Death Stalker and then maybe help you take down the Nevermore. Now I won't. I would get a move on if I were you. What I did is going to wear off soon."

Harry faded from view. This caused gasps from everyone.

Both teams berated Weiss for her rudeness. Ruby calmed everyone down and told everyone to grab a piece and get moving. The Death Stalker was twitching.

Ruby grabbed a knight, and Jaune grabbed a rook. They took off running as the Nevermore circled back around.

Harry watched them leave. Once the Death Stalked had moved past where he was standing, Harry sighed. They likely would get hurt if they could win at all. Harry grumbled as he debated for a moment. Even after all this time, Hermione was right. He had a thing about saving people.

When he caught up, Harry saw Nora blasting the Nevermore with grenades.

When the Death Stalker was stopped at the bridge, Harry assessed the situation. He frowned when the bird took out the bridge, separating the group.

When Nora blasted Jaune and herself over to join in the fight, Blake was knocked off the bridge and her weapon was thrown from her grip. Blake was in shock as she was floating in midair and the two parts to Gambol Shroud found their way into her hands. She noted that the colors surrounding both her and her weapon were the same as Cheshire when using his Semblance. She was then thrown upwards towards the Nevermore. As she tried to slice it, she found that the feathers were too tough.

Harry hit the Death Stalker with another impedimentia jinx to slow it down.

As the Nevermore crashed into the tower, Harry was able to freeze the debris long enough for the girls to get to safety.

It was at this point the Death Stalker loosened the footing of the bridge. A blue and purple glow surrounded the Death Stalker and it fell to the ground, twitching. The team used Jaune's sword and drove it between the armor plates, ending the scorpion.

Harry hit it with the spell to render it and watched the girls. He unconsciously apparated over to the central circle as Yang was blasting the bird in its mouth. The girls faltered when the ice broke, but the bird started screaming as it glowed blue and purple and was now stuck to the wall.

Ruby glanced over her shoulder and saw Cheshire holding the Nevermore in place.

She launched herself towards the immobile bird. As she ran up the cliff, the head separated from the rest of the body of the Nevermore.

Ozpin watched the action with an expression of interest. Cheshire had successfully helped both teams. Had the interaction between Miss Schnee gone better, he may have done more. Ozpin was curious about the faunus' Semblance. It wasn't one he knew of or had seen before.

Blake turned to Harry. "Why did you help us?"

Harry shrugged. "Just because snow princess there is an idiot doesn't mean everyone should be hurt. Those Grimm are dangerous."

On an impulse, Blake hugged the faunus. She whispered, "Thank you for saving me."

At her closeness, the smell overcame Harry once again. He returned the hug and murmured again. "You smell nice."

Harry made his way to the fallen body of the Nevermore. After he collected what was usable, Harry apparated his recent acquisitions to the underground room of Red's shop. He would discuss his price with Red later.

Harry apparated once again to Beacon. He shifted into his cat form and ran towards the hall where team announcements would be made. When everything was done, Harry was going to make his way to talk to Ozpin when a pair of hands was suddenly wrapped around him. Harry was shocked. No one was even close to him.

Ruby held a black cat up in the air. "Aren't you adorable! Who brought a kitty?"

Some of the upper year students were shocked that someone had caught what many students termed the Beacon Stray.

Harry laid his ears back and hissed. A claw-less bat at Ruby's nose had him free and Harry ran around a corner and hid before becoming invisible.

Some of the students were telling team RWBY about the cat. They were also asking Ruby how she managed to pick it up. It was rumored that since the cat watched battle training, it knew how to avoid people when they used Aura.

Harry went to Ozpin's quarters. He changed back from his housecat form and knocked. Ozpin opened the door and was shocked. His quarry for the past three years was right in front of him.

"I heard you wanted to speak with me?"

Ozpin nodded. "Would you like to come in?"

Harry shook his head. "Professor Goodwitch is likely in there discussing class schedules and she isn't happy with me since my stunt with Team MPLE. If not she will be here soon. I wanted to let you know that I got your message and I was planning on meeting with you at the cliffs overlooking the Emerald Forest tomorrow after class starts. Any traps or ticks and you will never see me again."

Harry disillusioned himself and walked away.

Ozpin heard steps echo oddly down the hall. He leaned against the door. Finally! Now what to say to the faunus?

Harry had overheard Team RWBY talking about their dorm assignment.

He decided to pester the girl again.

He sat on the windowsill looking at the sky. The window was open and he heard the girls come in.

As the girls were walking towards their assigned rooms, Weiss turned to Blake. "Why did you hug that riffraff?"

Blake raised an eyebrow. "That 'riffraff' saved my life. He made it so both us and Team JNPR could win. Excuse me for expressing a little gratitude."

Yang nudged the quiet girl. "You sure? He did seem to like you. He was rather good looking. Part of me wanted him smelling my hair too."

Blake had nothing to say in response.

Weiss was the first in the room. "I'm taking this bed. I need my beauty sleep."

A voice echoed from the open window. "Don't you mean I get that bed? After all you did burn down my house. It wasn't much, but it was mine and no one bothered me. Besides, you would need to sleep for almost a week straight for it to do any good."

The girls were in shock as Cheshire slid through the open window.

Weiss pointed at the faunus. "You!"

Harry put his hand on his chest. "Me!"

Ruby asked, "Why are you here?"

Harry smirked and leaned against the bookshelf and glared at Weiss. "You owe me a place to live. I figure you can sleep on the floor like the animal you are. After all, what kind of person burns another's home to the ground and doesn't even apologize? You even insulted me afterwards." Harry mused, "Then again you are a Schnee. I've heard some disturbing things about your family's company. I guess the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree."

A smirking Yang pushed Blake forward. "You could share Blake's bed." This caused both faunus to blush.

Weiss huffed. "What are you doing in here? We could have been changing."

"I told you why I'm here, or weren't you listening?" Harry looked the girl up and down "Besides, if you were changing, I've seen better. You don't have much to see anyway."

As Weiss' face grew increasingly red and angry, Harry looked at Ruby. "I'll forgive you because you apologized at the first chance you got. Your teammate is another matter." Harry turned to Weiss. "I'll let you have your bed tonight. By tomorrow you'd better have other plans."

Harry winked at Ruby, Yang, and Blake. "Good evening ladies." He jumped out the window.

Harry soon found himself at the Vulpes residence. Red was in shock when Harry made his appearance. "Harry?! Do you know how much we can sell those for? Not only that, but one plate of the Death Stalker can help easily twenty students make armor. Of course if anyone else wants to buy some, we'll charge regular price." Red smiled. "In fact, I think I'll make some for you."

Harry tried to wave off the offer, but Red was insistent. The fox's reasoning was that Harry had faced down quite a few Grimm, but there were things far nastier than Beowolves and Ursa. Armor would be helpful if he took a hit. Which he had taken plenty of in the past.

Red also said that a lot of faunus were worried that Harry didn't have any armor when he hunted. The people who knew him all liked him. A few people had discussed the idea with Red and had slowly gathered the necessary materials. Red was planning to do it, but with the Death Stalker and the Nevermore materials available, Red had the opportunity to make a rather nice set of armor for his business partner. Red was gifted in forging. Considering Harry's contributions to the local community, a lot of faunus had a better future on the horizon. Thanks to Harry's bizarre Aura techniques, there was no more vandalism on their homes. That alone was peace of mind Lien couldn't buy. Quite a few locals had left the White Fang because of him.

Red watched as his wife fussed over the teen and smiled. Harry was meeting with Ozpin tomorrow, things would likely change. Harry had a good head on his shoulders. The Vulpes family was the only ones who knew that Harry wasn't from Vale. In fact once Harry learned what the Professors at Beacon called him he adopted that moniker when dealing with anyone else. Red knew that Harry was still keeping something for even them, but it was painful enough that he didn't speak of it. Red didn't push. It wasn't his place. He saw Harry like an adopted son.

Harry fell asleep looking at the ceiling. Who knew what would happen when he spoke with Ozpin tomorrow?

AN: As I said, this is a re-post. For those readers who have issue with the 'harvesting' of Grimm parts, this was written before it was mentioned that they dissolved after they died. It also is an important part in the beginning of the story. As such, I can't change it without completely re-writing everything. The black liquid that evaporates is what causes that in this story. I hope that Monty Oum wouldn't have minded that slight change to his universe. If that bothers you, please don't read any further.