Disclaimer: All HP characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies and all Naruto characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites.

Warnings: AU for parts of both worlds (i.e. kiss canon goodbye), mild character bashing, mild to moderate violence (there are shinobi involved after all), and a few others that will be announced as they crop up.

AN: This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance.

Chapter 6: A Strange End to a Strange Day

Thursday, August 05, 1999, Evening
No. 12 Grimmauld Place, London, England

Naruto hesitantly climbed out of the taxi as he watched his cousin pay the driver; he wasn't quite certain what to think any more after the week he'd just had. He knew it would have been far worse if Dudley hadn't snuck him out of the closet but it had been bad enough having to duck under the bed every time footsteps sounded on the stairs just in case the door to Dudley's room opened; least his older cousin or her husband catch him out of the closet. This evening had been a real doozy though.

He'd been eating a ham sandwich that Dudley had brought him when it sounded like an explosion had been set off downstairs and he'd been torn between panic and curiosity as he'd heard his cousin shrieking at someone else before she suddenly went silent. His sensitive ears had then picked up the angry retort of an unfamiliar man and he'd almost grinned to hear the man call Petunia a hag. It was at that point that Dudley had urged him to hide as the older boy left the room to investigate the disturbance.

The muted conversation he'd listened to after that had been kind of hard to follow and before he could puzzle things out, he'd heard footsteps climbing up the stairs and heading for the room. Not long after that, the eight year old had gotten his first look at the mysterious Harry that Dudley had mentioned repeatedly since his cousin had let him out of the closet. The boy looked nothing like a Namikaze with his coal black hair and dark leaf green eyes and Naruto had half feared that he might have offended the older boy after he'd blurted that fact out.

The cousin he hadn't even known existed (since the boy hadn't been included in Naoki's files) hadn't seemed to mind at all though as he smilingly explained that he'd taken after his father in looks before readily answering all of Naruto's other questions. The news that the teen (who didn't look anywhere near as old as Dudley even though Dudley had said they were almost the same age) was taking care of his godson was an encouraging revelation as anyone who would take in someone else's child to raise couldn't be all bad; especially when he spoke of said child with such obvious fondness.

Or, at least, so he hoped.

Harry had even shown open concern for Naruto and his things, something that had taken the eight year old aback since few people ever showed that level of concern for him. The cool jutsu that Harry had used to make all of Dudley's things pack themselves into the boxes and the one he'd used to fetch the things from other rooms had Naruto excited as he'd never seen anything like that before. The apparent evidence that Harry had been partially trained in the shinobi arts had him hopeful that he could openly train with the older boy (something he'd not been able to do since he'd first shown up at Petunia's house) and that Harry would teach him those cool jutsu.

Things had started looking up at that point and things had gotten even better after they boarded the ugly purple bus that had appeared out of nowhere. That had been fun! Next time he was so going to see if he could jump beds every time they bounced about. The only reason he hadn't tried it earlier tonight was because he didn't know Harry well enough to predict how the man would react and he really hadn't wanted to make Harry angry with him right off the bat.

Sadly, just when it seemed like things were going better than he had ever hoped (Harry being much as he'd imagined his uncle would be like), Harry's girlfriend had ruined everything as she immediately started yelling at Harry. The news that Harry had stood the girl up just to come get him made Naruto feel bad because he'd ruined his cousin's night but at the same time it made him feel warm and fuzzy inside because his cousin had cared enough to come get him despite the fact that he'd already had plans and had never met Naruto before. The rest of the fight had just been scary once Naruto had been insulted by the violent girl after he'd admitted his parents were dead and Harry offered to let him stay as long as he wanted.

Naruto learned another important thing that night; he never wanted Harry furious with him. A furious Harry was a terrifying Harry as he'd gone all cold and quiet like; not like the heated anger he'd heard in Harry's voice when he'd been talking to Petunia after he'd first arrived at his cousin's home.

"Come on, squirt," Harry called from where he was standing between two of the large houses that lined the street.

"Which one is your house, Harry?" Naruto asked as he glanced towards where he saw the number eleven hanging from the house on the left before he turned to eye the number thirteen on the house to the right.

"Number twelve."

"But there isn't a number twelve," Naruto pointed out as he scrunched up his face in confusion and studied the two houses again. "That house has the number eleven and the other one has the number thirteen."

"Ah, but twelve always sits between eleven and thirteen; even if you can't see it, you know it's there because that is where it belongs."

"Ano…"

Harry chuckled as he shifted Teddy into his other arm so he could drop his hand on Naruto's shoulder in order to guide him between the two houses. They'd barely taken two steps when another house suddenly grew out of the ground in the blink of an eye and shoved numbers eleven and thirteen apart and Naruto couldn't help but gape at the rusted number twelve half hanging off from the wall beside the front porch.

"See, right where it was supposed to be," Harry cheekily pointed out as he stepped back to collect his trunk from the curb while Naruto continued to stare up at the newly appeared house in awe.

"That was so cool! Is there a barrier around the house that makes it so other people can't see it until they step through it?" Naruto inquired as he eagerly followed Harry onto the porch; the eight year old immediately thinking the house had been hiding under seals of some kind.

"Sort of; we call them wards and the ones around number Twelve Grimmauld Place are designed to hide the house from everyone who doesn't already know the house exists and the only people that can bring someone new to this house are those that already know about it. There aren't that many people left that know how to find the house though, so we'll have plenty of privacy for as long as we stay here."

"I'm sorry I ruined everything for you with your girlfriend, Potter-san."

"Don't apologize for Ginny," Harry retorted in a mildly irritated tone but Naruto didn't know if he was irritated with him or if it was the topic he was irritated with; clarification came a moment later. "The only person responsible for Ginny is Ginny and we've been having trouble for the last year; so it was not your fault I broke up with her tonight. And I thought I asked you to call me Harry?"

"But she wouldn't have been mad at you if you hadn't had to come get me instead of going on your date."

"Ah, no, that was my fault; I should have sent her a message to let her know I couldn't make our date but according to what I learned from Ginny about what she set up tonight, I think you saved me from something far worse than getting yelled at by a red-headed harpy."

"Ano… what do you mean?" Naruto demanded in confusion as they stepped inside of the house where they came face to face with a short, demonic creature with huge eyes and bigger ears. "And what in the world is that!?"

"He is a house elf, Naruto, and his name is Kreacher," Harry explained as Naruto eyed the strange creature. "Kreacher, will you please take my trunk upstairs to the bedroom that I used the last time I was here and prepare the two rooms on either side of my room for Naruto and Teddy? We'll be staying here for a while."

"Does Master Harry wish for Kreacher to make supper for him and his guests?" Kreacher asked in a gravely voice.

"No, Mrs. Weasley sent some leftovers home with us; they're in the basket Naruto is holding. If you'll set the dining room and warm them up, then we'll have those tonight. I wouldn't say no to a cup of hot chocolate and a plate of your peanut butter and chocolate chunk biscuits for afters though."

Kreacher, who'd been looking positively murderous the moment Harry had mentioned the leftovers (and making Naruto think he might attack), grew happy the moment Harry had mentioned the hot chocolate and the biscuits before he disappeared with a pop; taking both the basket from Naruto's arms and the trunk that had been sitting beside Harry.

"This way, Naruto; if I know Kreacher, he'll already have everything set up in the dining room for us," Harry instructed as he headed down the hallway that ran beside a set of stairs leading upstairs. "While we're staying here, there are a few very important rules that I need for you to follow so that you don't end up hurt. First rule; do not wander off on your own to explore the house. While Kreacher has been diligently working to remove the dark artifacts that the previous owners collected, there are still quite a few of them left behind and they are all dangerous. I will give you a proper tour of the place tomorrow and show you those rooms that are safe for you to use."

"Second rule; please don't wander off outside alone. It is easy to get lost in London and there are a lot of unpleasant people that roam the streets not matter what the time of day. The backyard is unsafe at the moment but I'll start cleaning it up soon so that you'll have a place to run around outside when you get tired of being cooped up in the house. Right now though, there's just no telling what kind of wretched things have taken seed out there or what kind of dangerous critters moved in while the house was neglected."

"Third rule; the kitchen is off-limits. The kitchen is Kreacher's domain and he can get right grumpy when any one invades his space and tries to steal what he sees as his work. If you get hungry between meals, you can just ask Kreacher to make you anything within reason and he'll usually be happy to serve you. Kreacher will also sneak into your room to clean it for you, so if you leave something out and can't find it, check where you normally keep it as he probably put it away for you while you were out of the room. It's also no use asking him to stop because he's too old to change his ways."

They'd reached the dining room by this time where they found the table already set and several piping hot dishes sitting where they would be well within reach of both place settings. Harry trailed off as he took a moment to pull out a tiny bag that he made grow before he dug into the bag and pulled out a child carrier that he made grow next. The teen then tucked the still sleeping Teddy into the carrier and set it on the table before taking the seat at the head table, leaving Naruto to take the one just to the left of his cousin's chair where a plate and silverware were already waiting for him.

"Go a head and take a seat and help yourself to anything you see on the table," Harry urged as he smiled at Naruto even as he began filling his plate with an assortment of unfamiliar dishes. "There is no need to stand on ceremony." The only sound that filled the room for the next few minutes was the sound of silverware and utensils clinking against the serving platters and the plates; Naruto taking a little of those dishes those that Dudley had given him to try and those that looked like they would taste alright while avoiding those that didn't. After a few minutes, Harry broke the silence once more as he asked, "Hmm, let's see; which rule did I leave off on?"

"Ano, the one about the kitchen being off limits and how the scary little man will pick up my things if I leave them out."

"Oh, right, that just leaves us with the last rule which also happens to be the most important rule," Harry stated as he set his silverware down and pinned Naruto with intense green eyes. "It is very important that you don't hesitate to speak up if there's something bothering you or if you don't understand something. I know exactly what it is like to be thrust into a whole new world and not know up from down. Dealing with trying to understand an entirely new culture is never easy and I am more than willing to answer any questions you have or get you whatever you need to make your stay here as comfortable as possible for you. I'd also appreciate it if you never lied to me. If you don't want to talk about something, fine, I won't force you but please don't lie to me, alright?"

Naruto could only nod in agreement as he stared at Harry with wide blue eyes. He still wasn't really used to people being willing to help him and while Naoki had said much the same thing, Naruto knew that it had been Naoki's job to help everyone that passed through the portals. Harry was under no such obligations and that made a world of difference to the eight and a half year old.

"Perfect! Now, I've noticed that you've not eaten anything yet; is that because you aren't hungry or because you aren't certain what everything is?"

"I know what a few things are; Dudley had me try a bunch of things but there are only a couple of those here and the rest of them look kind of weird."

The rest of the meal was spent with Harry describing each of the dishes for Naruto; patiently listing the ingredients and spices that were used in each one as well as offering suggestions of what could be added to the dish to improve the taste if it wasn't to his liking. Naruto in turn asked Harry what kind of ramen he liked only to discover that Harry had never tried any Japanese dishes let alone tasted the food of the gods. The blond swore right then and there to introduce his poor, poor cousin to the wonder that was ramen at the first opportunity available.

Halfway through the meal, Teddy finally woke up and Naruto had a brief glimpse of dark amber before the baby's eyes turned deep green to match Harry's eyes and his hair changed from bright blue to coal black. Knowing the kid could change his appearance and seeing him do it were two different things and Naruto couldn't help but exclaim how cool it was; his loud voice startling the kid and causing his eyes, hair, and skin to turn bright white in shock as he whipped around to stare at Naruto; his little lower lip trembling. Naruto apologized for scaring the kid but Harry waved him off and quickly distracted the little boy by offering him food and his hair and eyes soon mimicked Harry's features once more while his skin returned to a normal healthy pink.

Once they'd eaten their fill of the food that they'd been given by the older red head (Naruto uncertain of her name since he'd not been introduced to anyone because of the screeching redhead whose name was Jenny or something like that), Kreacher appeared and cleared the table with a snap of his fingers while a second snap made a steaming pitcher that smelled of warm chocolate, a tray that held several tasty things (such as a bag of marshmallows, a large cup of chocolate shavings, a shaker of cinnamon, and a bowl of whipped cream), and several plates piled high with different kinds of still warm cookies appear. Naruto sniffed the air appreciatively as the scent of warm peanut butter, sugar, and chocolate filled the room and made his mouth water.

"Is there anything else Master Harry requires?"

"No, I don't think so… though I just realized that I didn't properly introduce you to my cousin," Harry stated as he grabbed one of the pale ivory cookies (what Naruto would later learn were shortbread cookies, though Harry called them biscuits) and handed it to little Teddy. "Kreacher, this young man is Naruto Evans; he's my second or third cousin from my mother's side of the family and he'll be staying with us for the time being. Please treat him as part of the family. I've already warned him that the kitchen is off-limits."

"Does young Master Evans require anything from Kreacher?"

"No thank you, Kreacher-san," Naruto automatically replied as he distractedly watched Harry pouring out two mugs of dark chocolate and set one of them in front of Naruto while he began adding different items to the other cup from the tray Kreacher had brought.

"So, why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself, Naruto; such as your age and birthdate, the names of your parents, how long ago you lost your parents, a few things you like or don't like, and why the man that took you to the Dursley's pretty much abandoned you? And if you tell me what Dudley has already told you about me, then I will fill you in on the important things he might have left out."

"I was born on October tenth and I'm going to be nine this year. My parents' names were Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato; they both died the day I was born when our village was attacked. Eeto… I really like ramen, Izumi-chan's cooking, sudoku puzzles, flying, and training. I don't like mean people or uncooked vegetables," Naruto began hesitantly, carefully censoring his words because he wasn't sure yet whether or not he wanted to tell Harry about the Elemental Countries; though he was thinking he might tell him later because of the things he'd seen Harry do.

"Ano… Dudley told me that Lily-san died when you were just a baby. He said you'd been stuffed in the closet that Petunia locked me in. He told me that you can do all kinds of cool tricks but that Petunia didn't like that you could do them. And he also told me that I had a bunch of stuff in common with you. He talked about you a lot but mostly just to tell me how much I would like you once I met you because you were a good person."

"Wow, when I was your age I never thought I'd ever hear Dudley say nice things about me," Harry mused as he took a bite out of a golden brown cookie with thick chunks of chocolate and peanuts in it. He then pinned the eight year old with those piercing green eyes again as he casually asked, "Is there any particular reason why you don't want to talk about the guy that vanished and left you all alone in a hostile environment after he turned up with you at Number Four? If nothing else, I need to know the berk's name, so I know who I will be chewing out for endangering your life."

"There wasn't anyone else," Naruto blurted out after he spent a couple of minutes squirming beneath those green eyes that demanded the truth. "I came to England alone."

"Then who was the man that turned up at Number Four with you?"

"That was me; I made him and made him look like an adult; he was just a… a Kage Bunshin and he wasn't real. Petunia destroyed him when she hit him."

Harry tilted his head to one side like a curious bird as his brow furrowed slightly in puzzlement before he asked, "Can you make another one?" Naruto nodded reluctantly as he hoped he wouldn't be in trouble with Naoki for revealing that ability to his cousin. "Will you show me?"

Naruto bit his lip in uncertainty before he recalled the cool things he'd seen his cousin do earlier and he brought his hands up to form the seal he needed to create a shadow clone. Due to having gone several days without burning off his excess chakra with training and chakra control exercises and because he was nervous, he accidentally made a few too many and the room was soon packed with at least fifty copies of the blond. Naruto cringed as he watched Harry's eyes widen in shock only to be shocked in turn as his cousin began acting like a little kid as he got up and began poking and prodding the clones closest to him as he inspected him; the teen even tickled one of them, making the clone laugh so hard it popped in a puff of smoke that made Harry jump.

"Amazing," Harry exclaimed as he spun around a few times to take in all of the clones. "And you can change what they look like?" In response, the clones each used a henge to turn into different people and animals; a couple of them even cheekily turning into Teddy, Harry, and Kreacher (though those three disguises weren't exactly perfect because he didn't know them that well). "Bloody hell, I've never seen anything so fascinating before and I've seen some amazing things since my eleventh birthday. I would have given almost anything to have an ability like that when I was younger."

The clones dispelled with puffs of smoke in small groups a moment later since there was really no reason for them to stay. Harry grinned like a loon for a moment longer before he suddenly started frowning as his eyes fell on Naruto again and he dropped down into his chair and tapped his fingers on the table as if he was annoyed or frustrated.

"Why were you alone? Did you run away from your guardians? Are you in some kind of trouble?" Harry finally asked as he sat up and glanced up to study Naruto with concern. "Did you come all the way to England from Japan just to look for the Dursleys?"

"I… I never had any one to take care of me. I lived alone until I left the village where I was born and made my way to Japan to look for my uncle. Naoki-jijii found me almost as soon as I got to Japan and helped me look for him while I went to school to catch up on some of the stuff I missed. Naoki didn't want me to fly to England alone after he found Petunia but I thought I would be fine because she was supposed to be… and all I wanted was to find…"

"Family," Harry finished heavily as the nineteen year old suddenly looked far older. "May Merlin, Maeve, and Mungo give me strength in the face of adversity. Aside from the Nahokey gentleman you've mentioned a couple of times; does anyone else know that you are here in England and that you came to see the Dursleys?"

"All of my sensei from Asahikawa knew I was coming here… chikushou, I forgot! I was supposed to call Naoki and let him know I got here alright but I was so nervous about meeting Petunia and then…"

"You were a little preoccupied with the trouble you landed yourself in. There is no phone is this house and I couldn't tell you where the closest public phone around here is… Ah, I know; why don't you write out a letter to your friend and I will have Kreacher send it out tonight with the fastest possible courier and I'll see what I can do about securing a way for you to call your friend any time you want, within reason, while you are staying with me."

"Okay," Naruto agreed as he pulled his backpack off for the first time in days and dug into it for a pencil and a piece of paper (from his travel supplies). He then spent a good twenty minutes writing out a letter, making certain to apologize several times for not calling or writing sooner and to leave out the death threats that Petunia and Vernon had given to him. He then glanced up to ask Harry for the address of the house they were staying at so he could give it to Naoki when he noticed his cousin had just finished writing a letter of his own (using a feather of all things). "Ano…"

"Was there something you needed, Naruto?" Harry asked as he glanced up to meet Naruto's gaze as he carefully waved the thick paper he'd written his letter on back and forth to dry the ink.

"What's that?" Naruto inquired nervously as he eyed the letter as if it was a dangerous snake; completely forgetting about asking for an address in the wake of his renewed trepidation.

"I took the opportunity to write a letter of introduction for myself to send along with your letter; I would not want any of your friends to think that I was trying to take advantage of you. I also provided them with a couple of different ways that they can contact me, and you, since I do not have a telephone. Are you finished with your letter?"

"Yeah."

"Please pass it here then and I will seal it into the envelope with mine and you can write the address on the front."

"Can I… can I read…?" Naruto asked as he continued to stare at the letter that had been neatly folded into thirds and tucked into the thick envelope that Naruto hadn't noticed earlier.

"The proper way to ask someone for permission to do something would be to use the word 'may'," Harry automatically corrected courtesy of Hermione's many lectures on using proper grammar through the years. "While 'may' and 'can' both have similar meanings, the word 'can' usually refers to a person's capabilities rather than a request for permission. So when you ask 'can I read your letter' it implies that you are asking if you are capable of reading instead of requesting for permission to read the letter. And to answer your question, yes; you may read the letter I wrote."

"Arigatou," Naruto murmured softly as he accepted the letter that Harry passed to him; unsure whether he was thanking his cousin for the impromptu lesson (which had been helpful and easy to understand) or for permission to read the letter he'd written.

"You're welcome, squirt."

Naruto smiled at his cousin when he heard the warmth in his tone as he slid the letter out of the envelope so that he could read what his cousin had written. He wrinkled his nose when he realized that Harry's handwriting was nearly as hard to read as some of his own earlier attempts at writing romaji and English. He soon ignored the sloppy penmanship as he focused on the words instead.

To Whom It May Concern,

Please allow me to introduce myself; I am Sir Harry James Potter, a Knight of Her
Majesty's Realm [Order of Merlin (First Class)], Head of House Potter, and Regent for
House Black on behalf of my godson, Theodore Remus Lupin. I am also the biological
son of James Charlus Potter and Lily Potter (née Evans).

I am contacting you due to the connection you purportedly have with my newly discovered
cousin, Naruto Evans. I am sad to say that my maternal aunt was less than cordial in
receiving my cousin upon his arrival here in England due to a rare mental illness that has
progressively grown worse through the years. Thankfully, our oldest cousin, Dudley Dursley,
was able to intervene on Naruto's behalf and he did not suffer any physical harm at the
hands of my aunt.

Unfortunately, I am fairly positive that Naruto was verbally abused during the short time he
was left in my aunt's care though the full extent of said abuse is currently unknown as Naruto
has only been in my care for a few short hours as I write this letter. I will see to it that any
issues that come up as a result of said abuse are addressed appropriately as they appear.

I strongly urge you to avoid any and all contact with Petunia Dursley (née Evans) or her
husband (Vernon Dursley) for any reason as her mental health has rapidly deteriorated since
Naruto's arrival and her condition is expected to degenerate further in the near future. In
light of the seriousness of my aunt's declining health, please list me as the primary contact
for all matters dealing with the Potter, Black, Evans, and Dursley families.

My contact information is as follows:

Sir Harry James Potter
c/o Phoenix Transports
No. 27 Gryffindor Ln
Godric's Hollow, Devon, England

Or

Black Family Regent
c/o Hawking International Services
No. 12 Grimmauld Place
London, England

Or

Harry Potter
c/o Night Bird Ltd.
Gringotts Bank
Diagon Alley, London, England

In the event of an emergency where time is of the utmost importance, please contact your
local government office and provide them with my full name (including all of my titles)
along with a brief description of the emergency and they should have the means to get a
message to me within twenty minutes or less (depending on my current location at the time
of contact).

You may also list Dudley Dursley as a secondary contact; however, Dudley is currently
in the process of moving his primary residence and will be temporarily unavailable. Once
Dudley's move has been finalized, I will forward you his contact information so that you
will have it for your records.

Additionally, I wanted to assure you that I intend to take responsibility for my cousin's
needs for as long as he wishes to remain here in England. As such, I am fully prepared to
provide due compensation for any financial debts that you incurred while my cousin was
in your care.

If, after reading this letter and Naruto's accompanying letter, you still feel uncomfortable
with the situation; I am more than willing to make arrangements so that we might meet
face to face either here in England or in Japan in order to discuss the matter. Plans are
being made to secure access to a telephone so that Naruto may contact you whenever he
wishes.

Sincerely yours,
Sir Harry James Potter

Naruto frequently had to ask Harry what some of the words meant as he'd not come across them during his lessons and by the time he finished reading the letter he had a hundred and one questions he wanted to ask but they were all so jumbled up in his mind that he couldn't actually voice any of them out loud. He was also completely confused as to why his cousin (who'd not even known him a full day) was willing to go to the lengths he'd said he would (both in the letter and more than once directly to Naruto since they'd met). Then there was the absolute terror Naruto felt that none of what had happened that evening was real; that he'd wake up in the morning and find that he was still trapped in the closet.

Eventually, Naruto managed to ask one question that was more like thirty questions all rolled into one; "Why…?"

Harry stood up from the table, made his way to Naruto's side, and placed a hand on the blond's head before he answered Naruto's loaded question with, "Because we're family."

Translations: Japanese to English

Ano – uh, um, or huh
Arigatou – thank you
Eeto – let me see…
Ojiisan/jiisan/jijii – grandfather or old man

Techniques/Skills:

Henge no Jutsu – Transformation Technique
Kage Bunshin no Jutsu – Shadow Clone

Notes:

The reason why there were three different addresses listed in the letter was to give the appearance that Harry could be reached through more than one means. In actuality, any muggle mail sent to Harry will be picked up by magicals means and transported directly to him regardless of what address is on the front so long as it has one of the three magical courier services listed. Or at least that is the way I see it. If he had a muggle address he could have gotten regular post as well but the warding around Grimmauld Place kind of negates that.

10-24-15: Minor edits made to chapter to fix spelling/grammar mistakes and removed unnecessary author's notes.