Disclaimer: not mine

Chapter 4

It took a further two days to get Harry Potter's address, staying with a family called Dursley. A little more digging showed the wife was his maternal Aunt. By the time they found that all out, it was too late to make the trip so they had to wait until the next morning to leave London via train, very different to the one they'd seen in the Land of Snow. Thankfully it wasn't overly crowded and Naruto made sure Sasuke was nicely stuck between him and Sakura, just to make sure he didn't try to rush off ahead.

Finally, it was their stop and they got off, looking around as they followed the directions Sakura had made. Apparently they could take a 'bus' but it wasn't a long walk, not for a shinobi, so they chose to walk and take the area in. There were no signs of other shinobi around but then again, the ones they were worried about would be able to hide even from them.

The whole place made Naruto uncomfortable, it was all…the same. Konoha had personality, a mish mash of different kinds of buildings and colour. The only real way to tell these houses apart were the numbers out front and the gardens. "Creepy," he muttered.

"It is a little too similar," Sakura agreed.

"There, number four," Sasuke indicated, and Naruto looked over.

Just another identical house but…it had the nicest garden of the lot. And something about it felt…strange. He glanced at Sasuke, seeing the slight red tint behind the dark glasses, so he felt it too then. "What is that?" he asked.

"Energy, not chakra, not quite," Kakashi-sensei murmured. "A dome extending just beyond the property."

"Protection?" Sakura asked.

"A dome like that, it's most likely," he nodded. "Stay on guard."

Sasuke moved forward, stepping through the dome unharmed and went right to the front door. Sakura followed easily but Naruto hesitated, a protection…his hand went to the seal on his stomach, and then Kakashi-sensei's hand was on his shoulder, pressing him forward. Nothing happened. Sasuke was already knocking on the door as they joined him.

The door opened to reveal a tallish, thin woman with blonde hair and a rather long neck. Her face was pinched in an expression Naruto knew all too well, though not one he usually saw aimed at his teammates. "Yes?" she demanded.

"I'd like to see Harry Potter, please," Sasuke stated, and the woman looked him over.

"There's no one here by that name!" she hissed, slamming the door in their faces.

"Well, that went well," Kakashi-sensei's comment earned a glare, and Naruto didn't blame Sasuke.

"What now? The records said he lives here," Sakura spoke up as they moved back from the door.

"That dome would say he does too after what was on the files," Naruto offered, glancing around, but then he spotted a figure walking down the street. "That him?" The hair fit.

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Sasuke looked at where Naruto was, seeing a teenager walking down the road towards them, hands in the pockets of baggy pants. Messy black hair framed a thin, pale, face…too thin. All of his clothing was baggy, like he'd lost a lot of weight suddenly or they were hand-me-downs. The boy looked up, pausing when he saw them in the yard, brilliant green eyes almost hidden by blocky glasses. Sasuke felt his heart racing as he picked out features he'd seen on a hundred other faces once.

He could feel his hands shaking, shoved them in the pockets of his strange civilian pants to hide it. His heart was racing no matter how he tried to calm it. This…this was his family, eyeing them all warily.

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For the first time in years, despite how much the summer had sucked, he wasn't looking forward to going back to Hogwarts. People now knew Voldemort was back, the Minister had had no choice but to announce it with how many had seen him at the Ministry. The papers were calling Harry the Chosen One and it made him sick. They'd spent all last year ripping him to shreds and now they were clamouring for him to save them.

You'd think Dudley would be grateful for his saving him last summer but no…he'd 'fully recovered' over the year and was back to his normal self. He hit harder these days though and Harry wasn't as quick as he'd been when they were little, not enough running at Hogwarts to keep his speed up. Sometimes he wondered if it was all worth it, if maybe he should just say stuff them all and leave. The Dursley's certainly wouldn't care if they never saw him again. Most magicals just wanted him as a convenient scapegoat and occasional saviour. But where could he possibly go that they wouldn't find him? Especially with Dumbledore having his positions back.

His friends needed him though, so he couldn't leave. They were the only reasons he had left to stay. Sirius…Sirius was dead and it was at least partially his fault. Others held the blame too. He missed him, but he missed what he represented too, a chance to learn more about his parents, to connect with them, and the chance of freedom. Yeah, Sirius sometimes confused him with his Dad, but it wasn't his fault, he'd needed proper care after over a decade in Azkaban, care he couldn't get. He'd still done everything he could for Harry, and that meant a lot to him. Very few people had ever tried to help him.

Snape's Occlumency lessons hadn't helped him keep Voldemort out of his head, if anything the lessons had made it worse. Umbridge and her little gang had thrown Hogwarts's into more turmoil than even the Triwizard Tournament had. Her control had cut off most of the normal ways he would have had to check on Sirius. Kreature had played a part too, the horrid elf, and so had Snape. There was no way a group of kids on Thestrals should have beaten the Order to the Ministry. How long had he waited before telling them? Of course Sirius had come to the Ministry once the Order was told, he would have done anything to protect him, and he was going crazy locked up in that house.

So much had gone wrong last year and now Voldemort didn't have to operate in secret, Harry had seen the reports in the paper. The Brockdale Bridge had been destroyed with a death toll in the dozens, Amelia Bones killed…if Fudge hadn't been such an idiot then maybe it wouldn't be getting so bad. He was glad it looked like he'd be resigning.

He shoved his hands in the pockets of Dudley's old jeans, wandering the streets in the general direction of the house. The weather was horrible, had been all summer, apparently that was a sign of Dementors breeding….ugh, not something he ever wanted to think about. He slowed as he felt eyes on him, looking up to spot a man and three teens about his own age, definitely not locals. But…he didn't think they were wizards either. The dark haired one was staring at him, not like magicals did, no it was something…hope…fear…wonder…

Harry studied him even as the other teen stared at him, and he felt his heart leap in his throat as he took in his features. He didn't have any photos of the Potter's except his Dad but…that was his Dad's nose. Those were his own eyebrows…it wasn't possible, was it? it couldn't be, they'd know if there were other Potter's out there. But…people married into the Potter family, what if those features came from another line?

"Can I help you?" he forced the words from a dry throat. It could be a trick, the Death Eater's trying to get him, and he kept his hand wrapped around his wand, ready to draw and cast.

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Kakashi took in the teen before them, seeing the wariness in his eyes, but also the way he scanned Sasuke's face again. He could see the shred traits in their features, could Potter?

"Can I help you?"

Well, he had more manners than his cousin, although Sasuke was working on it. Green eyes were flitting between the four of them now, taking them in with more attention than the average civilian. There were shadows in those eyes, but the kid had been orphaned at a very young age and with the way the Aunt reacted…looked like he'd be better off in Konoha than with those people. Kakashi went over the dates in the files, he'd been very young when his parents died but that kind of trauma left a mark, especially if he'd been there. Had he?

At least they appeared to have beaten Itachi to the boy. Sasuke wouldn't have to live with that, not this time. He kept his eye on the kids but every other sense on their surroundings, not wanting to be caught off guard.

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Naruto watched as Sasuke kind of froze up when confronted with what had to be his cousin. The other teen looked wary of them but that was good, showed he had better instincts than the civilians around. And Sasuke wasn't answering his question. "Hi," he waved cheerfully, "I'm Naruto, and the idiot staring at you is Sasuke. Sorry about that, it's just, he…"

"He has my Dad's nose," the stranger answered quietly.

"Your Father was James Potter," Sasuke finally spoke, voice steady, not betraying the turmoil Naruto could read from him, the whole team could.

"Who are you…to me?"

"Your cousin," Sasuke answered. "Your great-grandmother was my grandfather's sister."

"I don't know anything about my family," the kid admitted. "Maybe that's true but how do I know it is?"

Well…okay, that was far. He was a civilian, he didn't know what clan meant to Sasuke or any of the others they'd gone to the Academy with. And it was probably good he was wary, he was a bloodline kid, no matter how far removed, which meant he'd be worth a lot to some people, even with Orochimaru gone. It made one less thing they'd have to teach him, to have some kind of suspicion of strangers, even if it felt weird to have it aimed at them when they were there to help him.

Naruto nudged Sasuke when he didn't move, he really was out of it now that the real Harry was right in front of them. But at least the nudge got him moving, pulling out the paperwork they'd taken plus the documents from the clan along with a translation Ero-Sennin had made. Sasuke took a step towards Harry who actually tensed slightly but at least he didn't bolt.

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Harry watched as Sasuke approached, holding a bundle of papers. Paperwork could be faked but…what Death Eater would know how to make them look like genuine government papers? He looked at the seals on them, seeing his own birth certificate, his Dad's…a Charlus Potter who from the dates was his grandfather and there, listed under parents were Henry Potter and Sarada Uchiha. Definitely a foreign name, just like Sasuke and Naruto. He thought Asian form at least Sasuke's looks and the sound of the names. Was it possible it was real?

Not like he could drag them to Gringotts, then again if this Sarada had married a Potter she had to have known about magic, could Sasuke? He couldn't just ask, especially on the street, but he couldn't exactly take them into the Dursley's. He couldn't feel any magic…no, there was, but faded…protective wards, he knew that kind of magic very well. He knew magicals had records in the muggle world, otherwise his parents' marriage and his birth would have odd or illegal, but he doubted most magicals knew. Apparently it was an automated system, births, deaths, and marriages when recorded with the Ministry were copied to the muggle records.

The idea of family…it was a dream he'd mostly given up on between the Dursley's and reading about the way the Potter family had shrunk over the last several magical wars. The odds of a long-lost cousin showing up so soon after he lost Sirius though?

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Itachi watched, feeling the childish urge to roll his eyes at his brothers' handling of the situation. He could almost feel the suspicion radiating from their cousin and didn't blame the boy at all. He didn't want to reveal himself, didn't want to traumatise Harry when the boy had nothing to do with their problems, but he may have to if Sasuke couldn't sort things out. His brother had changed and not for the worse, not how he had feared with his going to Orochimaru.

He listened to Sasuke give a reason for Harry to go with them, who had come up with that? Seriously? That story wouldn't hold up once in Konoha, everyone knew he killed the clan, it had nothing to do with their police duties. It was obvious that even a civilian could see through that thin cover story, looked like motivation was required.

"Such tales, little brother," he called softly.

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"Such tales, little brother."

Sasuke spun around, Sharingan active. There! On a roof only two houses away stood Itachi, strangely enough not in the usual red and black cloak. It seemed he had dressed to blend in as well, for once. His hand flashed to his concealed weapon pouch even as Naruto lunged for Harry, grabbing him by the arm, before looking to him.

"Go!" he yelled at the blond, while he'd prefer Naruto at his back, it'd take Sakura precious seconds to switch with him. Naruto removed the seal scroll and then they vanished. Harry was safe for now, letting them focus on Itachi.

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"Go!"

Naruto didn't need to be told twice. He hated the idea of leaving his team but Harry was a civilian and Itachi's target. He grabbed the scroll Ero-Sennin had sent along with the language seals, enough for each of them since it was a bit above Naruto's current skills to copy, and wrapped it around their joined hands, activating it and then feeling it pull them away from England.

They landed in a tangle and Naruto quickly rolled free, scanning their surrounds for any threats. He heard the sound of retching and turned to see Harry on his hands and knees, looking rather pale and squinting. Ah. Where were they….he looked around and then picked up the glasses to hand back to him.

"Easy, keep breathing," he didn't know what else to say, he wasn't a medic.

It would have been better if Sakura had been the one with Harry but it wasn't like they'd known Itachi was about to show up. She'd keep Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei in one piece and they'd soon be with them, surely before they even made it home. Sasuke was a lot more stable now, he'd be fine, he'd do a lot better than last time they faced each other, and he had the other two there to help.

"Wh…"Harry coughed. "What was that?" he wiped his mouth and looked up, accepting his glasses, looking around in confusion.

"Transport scroll, sorry about the rough ride, they don't usually cover so far."

"Where are we?" he got to his feet, but kept out of reach.

"Just outside Konoha, our home. You're safe here Harry-kun." He'd flood the whole area with clones to ensure it. They were close enough that backup would reach them very quickly if needed too. He dug out his canteen and held it out to Harry. "It's just water, to rinse your mouth."

Harry looked between him and the canteen but then cautiously accepted it, rinsing his mouth out before drinking some. "What's going on?"

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Sakura slammed her fist into the ground, sending debris flying up, shielding them briefly from view, ensuring Itachi couldn't cast genjutsu on them for a few moments. She grabbed her gloves, slipping them on even as Sasuke discarded his glasses, pulling his sword. It was a good thing they hadn't left anything at the hotel because she very much doubted they'd be going back. Storage seals were very useful for ensuring little baggage. She dodged a punch, going to grab the extended limb but he moved too fast and she dropped low, Sasuke lunging over her with his sword. She kept her gaze low, watching Itachi's hands and feet rather than his face.

They had to delay him for a few minutes and then they could retreat. They just needed to let Naruto get Harry to safety.

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Sasuke struggled to control his rage even as he felt a flood of relief that Naruto had made it out with Harry. No matter what happened in the next minutes, his cousin was safe. Not even Itachi could take on the whole village and Tsunade would ensure Harry was kept somewhere safe until they returned…and if they didn't.

He lunged of Sakura as she dropped, sword aimed for his side, but Itachi moved too quickly. Kakashi moved in on the other side, lightning screaming from his hand, and for a second, it seemed like he'd landed a hit, but no…just a clone. The three of them went back-to-back, weapons of choice in hand for them, while Sakura stood ready to hit anything that moved. He winced at the property damaged they'd caused; how would the locals explain it?

He attacked again only for Itachi to grab his wrist, pulling him close.

"Another time, foolish little brother," Itachi whispered in his ear, and Sasuke staggered as he was released.

"Sasuke!" Sakura yelled, aborting her rush at Itachi, instead moving to check him.

"I'm fine," he denied, searching for any sign of his brother, but there was nothing.

"We need to go," Kakashi-sense told them.

The screams were starting, people moving from their houses. Sasuke pulled the scroll he'd been given and Sakura moved close, why waste the others when one could take them all? Kakashi-sensei stepped in and then they were gone.

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Itachi watched them vanish. It was done, their cousin would be safe now. Danzō wouldn't dare make a move when the boy would be under Tsunade's watchful eye. He watched with interest as an old woman with a lot of cats stared at the damage and then the Dursley house before rushing off, muttering to herself, that was interesting.

Barely five minutes later some of the most absurdly dressed people he'd ever seen were flooding the scene, waving sticks around. They were very focused on the Dursley home and appeared quite panicked when Harry was nowhere to be seen. Did they have something to do with how the records had been hidden? He remained hidden, watching and listening.

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Harry accepted the canteen of water, using the hand he kept out of sight to cast a detection spell and it really was just water so he rinsed and then drank some, knowing better than to risk dehydration, especially when in strange surroundings. He kept his wand cupped in his hand, hidden by his sleeve, grateful for how long they were for once.

"What's going on?" he asked.

That hadn't been magic, at least no magic he knew. It had been similar to a Portkey but not exactly, a Portkey felt like a hook behind the navel that pulled you along, this had been more like…being pushed? And no hook behind the naval which while nice had made it feel even crazier. He pulled some wacky stunts on a broom but apparently even he had limits, which was why he'd been sick.

"We were attacked so I got you out of the combat zone," the blond answered.

"Attacked by who?" he demanded, finally straightening up.

"That's…better if Sasuke answers. Come on, Village is only ten minutes down the road, we'll be safer there."

"I need to get back," Harry crossed his arms. With no clue where he was, though he had the sinking feeling it wasn't England, he had no idea how to get back on his own. If he could find a Floo he could call Hogwarts or Grimmauld for help.

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Arabella rushed to her Floo, throwing in the powder to activate the call. "Hogwarts, Headmasters Office!" she yelled in a panic. Everyone out there agreed, Harry had been seen with strangers who had vanished before and after the fight.

"Ah, Arabella," Albus began and she cut him off.

"There's been an attack! Privet Drive is a mess and Harry's gone!" she yelled.

"None of the monitors have gone off," he denied.

"Albus, I'm telling you. It's a warzone out there! Half the street has been blown up. And Harry was spotted with some of those involved, they vanished as it began!"

"I'll send the Order," he ended the call.

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Tonks looked around the mess that had been made. How the hell were the alarms not blaring at HQ or the Ministry? Thankfully, Remus wasn't bad at memory charms since it was just the three of them. They could cover for him with the Ministry, she doubted anyone would ask too many questions about who Obliviated the Muggles anyway. They'd assume it was her and Kingsley alone probably. She did feel a little bad about him going in to question the Dursley's alone, but some of the wounded were in a bad way and needed help before the ambulances would arrive.

Despite the damage…it didn't feel like a Death Eater attack. And a young woman claimed Harry had been speaking with a group of other teenagers before everything went mad. She swore that when the attacker showed up, one of the teens grabbed Harry and they vanished. That sounded more like someone getting Harry to safety then kidnapping him. Maybe an older classmate who could Apparate? One of his Quidditch team?

When Remus emerged he had Harry's things with him and no answers except the strangers had gone to the house looking for Harry while Harry was out. With emergency services arriving they left, Remus for HQ while they went to make a report to the Ministry. One more thing to make Fudge look bad, he wasn't going to last much longer, it'd be better for everyone if he just stepped down.

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Harry blinked at the sight of the large gates set into a wall and in the distance a cliff with faces carved into it. That was not Mount Rushmore! There were people on the road, but no cars, buses, even motorcycles. Other than powerlines inside the walls, he couldn't really see any obvious tech. Then again, if they had some kind of magic, even power lines were a surprise.

They'd almost made it to the gate when a female voice called out from behind them and Naruto spun around, looking relieved. Harry turned to see the others, spotting his possible cousin immediately, the other teen was looking him over…searching for injuries?

"Are you both alright?" Sasuke asked, more demanded really.

"Harry threw up when we landed," Naruto helpfully pointed out, thanks a lot.

"That can happen," the older male assured them. "But we can get him checked over just to be safe. Have you given him the seal yet, Naruto?"

"Ah! Oops, sorry Kakashi-sensei," Naruto chuckled, and then turned to him. "Right, so we don't speak the same language. We're using a really neat seal at the moment but that's not going to help you in the Village." He scrounged around in his pockets before pulling out a piece of paper with something on it that looked like it might have some runes? Except nothing like the ones he'd seen in Hermione's textbook. "I just need to put this on you, and then you'll be able to speak, understand, and even read our language."

Yeah, let someone put an unknown spell on him? He wasn't that naïve, not anymore. When Naruto stepped forward, he stepped back. Could he make a break for it?

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Sasuke saw his cousin back away from Naruto and while frustrating, he could see why. No one sane would allow a stranger to use an unfamiliar technique on them, it was good Harry already had that wariness. It just wasn't very helpful at the moment and they were drawing too much attention. They needed to get Harry into the Village and safe. He didn't like the fact Harry had been ill either, but Sakura could look him over once they were home…not that it was home anymore, but he couldn't expect Naruto to put both of them up, besides his apartment was far too small for three. Maybe he could open up one of the smaller homes rather than use the clan heads one, there'd be less memories.

Kakashi-sensei went to intervene so Sasuke quickly moved forward, Harry was an Uchiha and therefore his responsibility. He carefully put a hand on his cousins' shoulder, feeling him tense.

"We aren't going to hurt you," he promised, and Harry looked at him, suspicious and yes…afraid though hiding it well for a civilian.

He'd have to see about giving him at least some limited training, even if only in evasion and how to get to safety. He didn't like how skinny he was either, proper food and good exercise would fix that though. Were the glasses due to whatever issue had caused Sarada to be sent away?

"You're an Uchiha, part of my clan," he whispered, not wanting the news to spread just yet, "that means you're part of the Village too, and under our protection. Let Naruto place the seal, it won't do anything except let you use our language, just like we're using yours now." he turned his head, brushing his hair back to reveal the ink behind his ear.

"What's this all about? Who attacked?" Harry asked him, and Sasuke really didn't want to tell him.

He'd have to, eventually, but not now. "Not here, later. He is…an enemy of our clan, he was there to kill you," he hated admitting even that much, but Harry needed to know how serious it was, he could tell he wanted to run. Not that he'd get far with them right there but it'd be better if he didn't try.

Harry stared at him before looking at the rest of the team, obviously torn before he finally nodded. "Okay…for now."

Sasuke nodded, relieved, and Naruto stepped up to apply the seal. Sasuke steadied Harry when he swayed slightly. Left over adrenaline from the attack probably, he was likely exhausted from everything. The sooner they reported and he could get Harry home, the better.

TBC…