Disclaimer: Let's see, I'm blond, have blue eyes, 5"3, and go to high school in America. Of COURSE I'm J.K Rowling and I wrote Harry Potter in the AMAZING amount of time that I have between classes. Not.

A/N: Hello all. Or, actually, just you, the one person reading this. Hi! Yep, I'm done... read on!

Harry, having just been partially strangled by his uncle and yelled at for something he was sure- sure came from a witch, wizard, or house-elf Apparating or Disapparating, was walking angrily, with his hands clenched, toward the park.

Absolutely nothing was right. Hermione and Ron- they pretended like they understood, but they couldn't! How could they? And now they were brushing off his questions like he wasn't important anymore, when he, Harry, had been the one to face Voldemort, when he, Harry, had been placed under the Cruciatus Curse, and when he, Harry, had been the one to watch Cedric...

Harry's eyes welled up with unshed tears- and he held them back. HE couldn't think about that.

As Harry crossed Magnolia Crescent and into the park, his thoughts turned to another person- Sirius.

Keep your nose clean and your head down, his Godfather had told him. Harry, though frustrated at Sirius for that 'oh-so-helpful' bit of advice, had followed it so far- or at least, he had resisted the overwhelming temptation to just up and leave Little Whinging.

Harry sat down on the last swing that Dudley and his gang of pigs hadn't broken yet. They always stayed in or close to the park, Dudley's little 'gang', either beating up kids for fun or taunting girls.

And maybe that was the reason why Harry gravitated to the park that evening- maybe he was, subconsciously, looking for a fight, some way to relieve all that pent up angst.

Well, for whatever reason, Harry got his dose of drama, and in doing so changed two people's lives forever- his, and one other's... the someone that he'd meet that night...

For a few minutes after Harry got to the swing set, he become restless, and got up, intending to prowl the park a little bit before going back to Privet Drive.

The sun had all but set by then, and there was little light left. However, voices floated through the semi-darkness to reach Harry's ears.

"Fuck off, you assholes!" a female voice shouted.

"Who do you think you're talking to, you cunt?"

Dudley's voice, Harry thought grimly, and started sprinting to where he heard the voices.

"Hmm, let's see, well I mean the people standing in front of me who dog-whistled at me, let me describe them for you- dumb, ugly, fat, so... tell me, who am I talking to?"

Harry was appalled at the girl's gall. Usually, even people that could ordinarily take on Dudley alone wouldn't have said that, and now that he could see the figures, he could see that the girl couldn't have topped 5"5 (though she had a figure that suggested she was at least Harry's age) and next to Dudley and his gang she looked like a midget. And yet she seemed insistent on taunting them.

After a few seconds, Piers Polkiss, the only one in Dudley's 'gang' that wasn't enormous or particularly stupid, stepped forward menacingly and said, "Little whore, thinking she can talk to us like that."

The others, obviously used to listening to Piers, mumbled their agreements toward one another. Dudley, however, was furious and turned to the others. "I'll take care of this bitch."

The female, far from being intimidated, stepped forward, "Oh really, and what are you sissies gonna do about it?"

Harry, who had been watching, transfixed, suddenly started running towards them, intent on saving the girl from being brutalized. He knew that if Dudley got to her, she was no match for him whatsoever- and he knew Dudley would try to hurt her.

Harry was right. Enraged, Dudley didn't stop to think and ran forward bellowing with his fist raised to strike the girl. Harry, still about five yards away and still unnoticed by Dudley's gang who was watching eagerly for bloodshed, opened his mouth in what he intended to be a warning cry.

But the girl just grinned, and when Dudley got close enough, ducked, and pulled on his arm. Dudley fell to the ground hard.

"Huh, ya know what they say! The bigger they are, the harder they fall. And man, did you fall hard," the girl stated gleefully in her American accent that made the sentence sound so cocky.

Harry was horrified now- he knew that even if she could take down Dudley, which was a feat in itself, there was no way that she'd be able to take on the whole gang. Eerily, he was reminded of Voldemort and the Death Eaters.

As Dudley got to his feet and started to charge again, Harry whipped by, grabbing the girl by the arm and tugging her along.

"What the-" the girl said, stumbling.

"Shut up!" Harry panted, "they'll kill you!"

Giving a little growl, the girl tugged her arm away and, though still running with him(Harry had to slow his pace for her), said, "Yeah yeah, whatever."

After running out of the park and making sure that they had lost the gang, Harry and his companion slowed.

After panting for a while, the girl straightened up and held out her hand to Harry.

"The name's Danny."

Surprised, Harry looked at the proffered hand and slowly reached out his own to shake hers.

"Harry."

Danny gave a half-smile and her eyes twinkled. From this perspective Harry could tell that she was about 5"3, shorter than him by a good three inches.

"Apparently this is how I make friends- starting fights."

"Erm, yeah, sorry about my cousin," Harry said sheepishly, looking downward.

Danny's eyes bugged out. "What? That pig was your cousin?"

"Yeah, I... erm... live with him, actually." Harry's head was all the way down, now.

As Harry looked up, Danny's face went through several emotions- shock, horror, sympathy, thoughtfulness, and then, last, mischievousness.

"Well there's a baddy in every family. With me it's an uncle- he's a lawyer."

Harry had to give a little laugh. Emboldened by the girl's sudden friendliness, Harry asked, "So, your American, right?" At the girl's nod, he continued. "So when'd you move here?"

The girl started to walk towards Privet Drive, and Harry followed, drawing up next to her.

"Well, actually, yesterday. My dad was all, 'Okay we're moving!' and I was like 'Where?' and he was like, 'England!'" She paused.

"Or, you know, something like tat. Anyway, so, here I am, land of the... erm... English," and there came the little half -smile.

"So how old are you?" Danny asked.

"Fourteen," Harry replied.

Danny brightened, then said, "Really? Are you gonna go to Stonewall?"

Harry shook his head, "Nah... I ... erm... go to boarding school."

"Aww crap, I finally make a friend and he's now even going to the same fuckin' school as me. That really bites."

Harry was surprised she already considered him a friend.

"Ah well," she continued, "we got all summer! Wanna come over tomorrow? The house is still a shithole and you gotta deal with my siblings-from-hell, but, whatever."

Taken aback by her offer, Harry stuttered an answer, "S-sure."

"Cool! Come around about eight, " the girl said happily, and then took a turn up the driveway that they had reached- Number 13 Privet Drive.

Harry's alarm woke him up at six o'clock the next morning, and Harry took the time before the Dursleys woke up to take a shower and eat a quick breakfast of cold cereal.

Apparently, Dudley hadn't recognized him last night, and Harry was very thankful for that- his aunt and uncle might have then forbid him to go anywhere if Dudley had told them about it.

So, after cleaning the dishes he had used and getting dressed in an outfit way too big for himself, he thought about the strange girl he had met yesterday. She had talked back to Dudley, and she hadn't even flinched when he attacked her... and what was perhaps the strangest thing of all, she wanted to be his friend.

She'll probably not want to be friends anymore when she gets new ones, he thought glumly.

But then he considered her invitation to come over and thought, well, it couldn't hurt, could it?

And so Harry started out down the street to Danny's house.

At eight o'clock exactly (he had to wait on the doorstep for a bit, but hadn't wanted to be early), Harry rang the doorbell, and heard a great commotion inside.

"Honey, who is-"

"Who do we kn-"

"That's for me!" Harry heard Danny's voice.

But before she could get it-"DOOR!" yelled a childish voice, and the door opened to reveal what looked to be a five or six-year old, looking up at Harry.

The little boy had sandy blond hair and blue, innocent eyes.

"Hi," the little boy said.

Danny appeared behind the boy who was apparently her brother and said, "I see you've met Jimmy," with her patented half-smile.

At the name Harry's eyes widened, and he simply, and stupidly, as he would think later, said, "Oh."

As Harry came in and shut the door behind him, he saw the multitude of boxes, hundreds, that enveloped the downstairs.

Following Harry's gaze, Danny said wryly, "Yeah, we're not exactly unpacked yet." She scratched the back of her head with obvious amusement twinkling in her eyes.

Then, yawning, she said, "I haven't eaten yet, and my pancakes are just finishing, so we'll grab some and go up to my room."

As Harry started to protest that he had already eaten and didn't want to take their food, she started walking to the kitchen. Harry followed her, still protesting, and Danny stopped when she had gotten to the griddle where the pancakes sat and turned around to face him while a joking half-smile on her face.

"As my great-grandmother would say," here she put on a fake Italian accent, "you too skeenny- you need to eat! Whata dey feedin' you, eh? Ah make you some past, or some pancakes, eh?"

Danny laughed and Harry joined her, comforted by the fact that she didn't care, yet uncomfortable that she thought him so skinny.

After checking the pancakes, Danny threw back her head and yelled, "YO! PANCAKES ARE READY- COME DOWN IF YOU DON'T WANNA STARVE!" Which startled Harry so much that he jumped into the air.

Immediately after she yelled, Harry heard footsteps running down the stairs, to show a girl about Danny's height, and an older man who must have been her father. Jimmy, the child who had opened the door, was already seated at the table.

Danny took a huge stack of pancakes off of the enormous griddle, slid them onto a plate and set them down on the table.

As a younger girl came into the room, she said, looking at Harry, "Oooh, Danny's got a booooyfriend," which caused Harry to blush furiously- he really didn't think of Danny like that.

He started to protest, saying, "I'm not-"

But Danny cut him off saying, "Delia, remember, who makes your pancakes?"

Delia immediately said, "Sorry, sorry," and sat down at the table, exclaiming "Chocolate chip!"

As her father came in and eyed Harry, Danny said, "Back off Dad, he's not my boyfriend or whatever."

Looking a bit relieved, her father said hello politely, and then her mother, on her father's heel, said, "All right, but you really should be wearing something else, Danny."

Looking down, Danny shrugged- she was only wearing a T-shirt that barely came down to her knees.

"Whatever."

In the meantime, Harry stepped forward to her parents and stuck out his hand, introducing himself, "Harry, sir, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Her father looked shocked and then pleased, shaking his hand with a bright smile and saying, "You can call me Brian."

Then, turning to his daughter, said, "Maybe he should be your boyfriend- he's polite!"

And with that he, too, turned to sit at the table for his pancakes.

Danny rolled her eyes and ladled the remaining eight pancakes onto a big plate, heading upstairs and motioning Harry to follow.

As they got to the stairs and started up them, however, Harry had to avert his eyes- he could see Danny's underthings!

They got to her room and she closed the door behind Harry, flopping onto her bed cross-legged and inviting him to do the same.

"Kick off your shoes," she said, "we're gonna be here for a while."

She took a pancake from the plate and said, "Go on, eat!"

So Harry took one hesitantly from the plate and started eating it slowly, then a lot faster as he found she made great pancakes.

Apparently happy that he liked her cooking, between bites of her pancake, she asked, "So, why do you live with the pig?"

Harry, having just finished his first pancake, looked downward uncomfortably, "I... erm... well, my parents died in a car crash and left me with my aunt and uncle who," he gave a bitter laugh, "don't exactly like me."

Harry braced himself for the pity, but Danny seemed unperturbed.

"Huh. That sucks," she said matter-of-factly, and then Harry laughed.

"What?" she said, surprised.

"Well, I've never really gotten that reaction before," Harry managed to say between laughs.

And with that, the proverbial ice was broken, and Harry spent the next hour talking about his life so far at his boarding school, and all his troubles, just... leaving out the magic part. He also noticed the fact that Danny continually was trying to get him to eat- first the pancakes, which he did, and then the various foods hidden around her room.

Then, when questioned about how she stood up to Dudley last night, Danny smiled wickedly.

"Well, you see, for the past three years I've attended karate, tae kwon doe, and aikido lessons. Then she snickered. "Of course, I couldn't exactly throw him, but I could pull him down!"

Harry laughed, and then she said, "I've actually already found a place where I could continue my instruction." Then she looked at him consideringly.

"Would you want to take it with me?" Then she grinned.

"Of course, with that hippo of a cousin, you might need it more then me!"

Harry laughed and said wryly, "Well, I would, but I'm a bit short on money- there's a bank, you see, with all of the money my parents left me, but I can't go there until a certain day- in about a few weeks."

Frowning, Danny said, "Hmmm, that sucks... maybe I could..." But then a light seemed to pop in her brain.

"Harry, I'll lend you the money and you can pay me back," she said firmly.

As Harry started to protest, she just repeated the sentence, easing his conscience by adding, "And it'll make it cheaper, because if there's more than one person then you get a discount.

Seeing Harry's stubborn expression, she added, "Think of it as a bribe to stay my friend."

Harry, about to protest at her comment, stopped as he saw her expression- the word 'joke' was practically written on her face. He accepted, vowing to himself that the first thing he would do would be to pay her back.

Danny appeared happy now and continued telling him about her life so far.

Apparently she was a budding prankster and, Harry thought, a lot like Sirius.

They went down and made lunch for themselves- simple sandwiches, and once again, took them up to her room.

Danny's sister was playing the piano, and had been playing the same song for about an hour. So, naturally, Danny was annoyed and took time to stop on the stairs and yell at her sister.

"Delia! Do you not know any other song! Jesus frickin Christ! And does it have to be Jingle Bells?"

But Delia just grinned, albeit a bit evilly, and said, "I do it ALL for you sister dearest!"

Ad so Danny continued up the stairs, mumbling about 'snot-nosed brats' and the like.

After about an hour more of talking, however, Danny got restless and said, "Well, how about we go see the karate place?"

When Harry agreed, she said, "Ok, just go outside the room for a second. I'll be right out."

And so Harry, carrying his current bag of chips, waited outside for her and she came out in shorts and a T-shirt proclaiming 'Metallica'. As they went downstairs, she grabbed a hoodie sweatshirt and a map of where the defense place was and yelling to her parents where they were going. Her parents gave her the money for the down payment on the lessons and Danny brought a little more for Harry- only five pounds more, as it was, because that was the special deal for siblings.

They walked about six blocks before coming to a rather small place in between a lot of different stores. They entered to see, to Harry's inexperienced eye, ten young kids in white clothing in front of a man with black clothing on.

Danny explained that the older man was the sensei, or teacher, and the kids were students.

Meanwhile the receptionist talked to Harry and Danny and took the money and their names down, also giving them the gis, the outfits that Harry had noticed the students wearing.

The sensei, after teaching the class, talked to them. He was a friendly-looking man with brown hair and green eyes, and he started the conversation by holding out his hand and saying, "Hello, as I understand, you are to study aikido," he said to Harry, "and you," turning to Danny, "are to be studying both aikido and jujitsu. I assume you have experience already?" He raised his eyebrow expectantly.

Danny, usually the jokester, was completely serious. "Yes sir," she replied.

"Good," he replied. Then he led them to a back room that was padded like the main training room, but only about one third of the size. Still, it could easily fit all three of them, with additional room to move around freely.

"I will now judge the level you should be trained on."

First he put Danny through her paces, first having her do twenty pushups, which she did easily, then throwing her to see if she could roll correctly (she could), and then put her to harder things.

By the time he was finished with her ten minutes later, she was sweaty and Harry was thoroughly impressed.

Then the sensei then had Harry tested, but this time all he did was see how many push-ups Harry could do without stopping. Harry could only do three completely. Harry's cheeks burning in embarrassment, but the sensei stated that it didn't matter and that he would build up muscle mass soon.

"However," the sensei said, "I recommend that you gain weight- it would be too easy for someone to pull you down in a fight if you do not. Also, you should both start running, preferably in the mornings, to increase your stamina. "

Harry and Danny nodded seriously, and had their lessons set at 8 o'clock on every day of the week except for Tuesdays and Sundays.

As the pair walked home, they set a schedule for themselves, so that every morning they'd get up before the sun rose and would run for two to three miles.

As Harry fell asleep that night he realized that he hadn't thought overmuch about Cedric or his 'friends' during the whole day. He still felt pains in his chest even thinking about the loss of what was a good human being from the world, but felt a budding happiness at the depression that he had shaken. And so that night, Harry fell asleep with a smile on his face.

I should end here... but I won't! Happy Birthday! =P

It on went for twelve days- Harry would get up, shower, get dressed in a pair of Dudley's old sweat he cut to be shorts and a T-shirt, and would go to Number 13 to pick up Danny.

After running two miles on days when they had martial arts and three on their 'off' days, they would go back to Danny's house and Harry would eat with Danny and sometimes her family if they were up by then or still in the house. Danny always made sure Harry ate until he was stuffed, hovering around him like a mother hen- actually, she kind of reminded him of the Weasley matriarch, and told her so. She swatted him on the head for that one.

After breakfast, the day would depend on where they went. If it was Tuesday or Sunday, then they'd usually watch a movie or just hang around (and on one memorable occasion they caught a bus into the city), or if it was a M.A day, as Danny called it, they would take their gis and headed over to the martial arts place where they would train from 9-11:30.

Then they'd head back to the Stoto household (Danny's house) and have a big lunch, as they burned off many calories training, and then, after Danny grabbed about ten bags of junk food (eight for Harry and two for herself), they would head off to explore Little Whinging, avoiding the Pig Gang, as Danny dubbed it, and just discovering places that they hadn't known about.

Lastly, they always ate at the Stoto household, and everyone there accepted him as, basically, a member of the family.

Harry could now do forty push-ups, and was doing good enough in aikido that sensei thought that if he kept up his progress then Harry'd be able to start jujitsu by the next week. Harry had also gained about eighteen to twenty-eight pounds- and had because of three factors. One, muscle mass, two, he was in a growth spurt and had, at last count, grown three inches, and the third being that Danny still watched over him, making sure he ate all he could, and stuffed him with carbs and the occasional fruit.

Harry had also stopped responding to any letters on Danny's advice- "Well if they aren't actin' like friends then forget 'em!- and consequently they sent more and more, though still useless. So, Harry, on one occasion, simply sent one phrase back to them. "Fuck you."

Hm. Danny was really rubbing off on him.

On the thirteentth day after he had met Danny, however, something happened. Something unexpected. Something odd. Something... I digress.

It was a Monday, and Harry and Danny went according to the normal schedule, until after Martial Arts.

"Gah, my butt bone is broken! I have a CONTUSION!"

Harry rolled his eyes good-naturedly. He was used to her complaining. He also knew not to respond, because the last time he did he was smacked- he was apparently just there for 'support'.

"Hmph. Why did he have to throw me so goddamn hard."

Harry started to laugh at the disgruntled expression on her face, but then froze. It had gotten cold- too cold.

He grabbed Danny's arm and pulled her into the alley on their left.

Danny had also felt the unnatural chill in the air, and whispered frantically, "Harry what's going on?"

Harry made a silencing motion by putting his finger to his lips and pleading with his eyes.

And then- it went dark. Horribly dark- the sun blanked out- like it wasn't even there. All the sound of the normal day was blocked out- the cars, the wind, all was gone. The two were in impossible, impenetrable darkness, like the alleyway had been cut of from the rest of the world and draped in an impossibly thick, black blanket.

"H-Harry?" Danny gripped Harry's arm in a vice.

The hairs on the back of the young wizard's neck were standing up, and goosebumps erupted on his arms.

No... not possible... he couldn't be here... not now, not in Little Whinging...

"Shh.." he whispered, and felt for his wand in his jean pocket. He grasped the hand , drawing it out, and then felt another sudden rush of chill air.

"Lumos!" The tip of his wand lit up, illuminating a towering, hooded figure, gliding towards them slowly...

He barely caught a glimpse of Danny, beside him, shivering and gazing exactly where the dementor was. Her voice took on a high pitch, "Harry? What is it? Harry? Harry?"

She barely registered the wand, and Harry had to ignore her cries, trying to concentrate on the task before him.

"Expecto Patronum!"

His voice sounded distant and weak, he could hear his Voldemort's cruel, high-pitched laugh almost perfectly now. Have... something ...happy...

The dementor's hands were on his throat, he knew he'd never again see the light of day... and then human hands cut across the dementors, a voice, not his own, screaming, "Noooooooo!" and the dementor being shoved back a couple of feet by what looked to be a purple force.

Harry, regaining his senses, looked at Danny, now standing next to him, in shock, who, though still looking terrified, also looked determined.

He couldn't give up, had to protect this girl, this girl who he had befriended... he had to...and gathering up his strength and remaining happiness he cried, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

An enormous silver stag leapt out of his wand, prongs catching the dementor in the midsection and tossing it back, in the air. Defeated, the creature turned and flew, bat-like, into the air and away from Little Whinging.

Harry couldn't believe it... dementors? In Little Whinging? The sun had came back now, and Harry grabbed Danny's arm, urging her on.

"Come on, we've got to go..."

Danny stumbled and then started sprinting, Harry drawing up alongside her.

"Your... house," he panted, still running on the adrenaline from the close escape.

They got to the Stoto household, luckily no one was home, Harry hurried and unlocked the door with his key (Danny always managed to lose hers so she had given him one) and the two raced up to Danny's room.

After running onto her bed and curling up in the fetal position for a few seconds, she uncurled herself and sat hugging her knees to her chest after fishing a sweatshirt off of the floor and throwing it on.

"What... the fuck... was that thing?" Danny's voice was shaky.

Harry had been staring at his feet dumbly, but his head snapped up and turned to look at Danny. Though she had said she had seen it, he hadn't registered it until now.

"You... saw that?"

Danny's voice, regaining it's usual pitch and sarcastic sound, said, "Hm, let's see, tall, dark, and NOT so handsome? Yep. What the hell was it? And what is that?" She pointed at the wand Harry still held in his hand.

Harry looked down at his wand, surprised. He had forgot about it. Harry took a calming breath.

"Okay, I'm going to tell you a lot of stuff you may think is crazy, but please, just listen. And answer this one question. You know that force field thing that pushed it back?" She nodded.

"Was- was that you?" Harry asked.

Danny looked uncertain, then, "I... I think... I don't know." she looked down at her hands.

"All I remember is after seeing ... it ... choke you, I pushed its hands away and just... I just wanted it to go away... " Her eyes lit up, as if talking about a precious memory.

"And I just... pushed it out... like it was instinct... I don't know."

"Accidental magic," Harry breathed.

Danny perked up. "Did you say magic? As in, bibbity bobbity boo?"

Harry looked confused, and Danny waved her hands. "Forget it."

"Erm, well, anyway, you know how I told you how I went to a boarding school? It's actually a magic school."

Danny raised an eyebrow. "No shit."

It was more of a question then an answer. Harry took it as a signal to continue.

"Yeah. All of the people I told you about were real, though. Their personalities, too. Like Draco Malfoy? Arsehole, and prejudiced, too. Just, not racially, but with blood. Like my friend Hermione, she's muggleborn, which means her parents are muggles, and Malfoy calls her a 'mud-blood', which is a very derogatory name for a muggelborn witch or wizard. Malfoy and his type- the evil git type, that is, only consider you worthwhile if you've got magic bloodlines and heads stuck up as far up their arses as themselves."

Even though she was a bit PO'ed he hadn't told her before about all of this, she still had to smirk at some of his comments. She was really rubbing off on him.

"But, getting back to what I brought this up for..." Harry hesitated, looking anxious, until Danny, in her impatience, snapped her fingers in front of him.

"Yo! Potter, come on!"

"You're a witch."

"Thanks, love you too hon."

Harry blushed.

"I mean as in, magic," he explained.

"Huh," Danny said thoughtfully. Then, grinning, she said, "I'll need a hat."

A/N: You! I see you! That is a horrible habit, not reviewing. I BEG! PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAfAASE review!