Similar Differences, by siany

Trees rushed past the blond ninja as he struggled to keep up with the giant snake throwing bits of debris back at him as they went. It was going to lead him to Sasuke, he knew it. A branch whipped across his face but he didn't stop, he couldn't if he wanted to catch up. A clearing came into view occupied by two people and his hope flared as he came hurtling forwards out into the open, right in the path of a kunai. The blade dug deep into his back but that was not what the blond was worried about. The moment the weapon made contact with his skin he felt a sudden jolt at his navel and the world began to spin as he was jerked up and away.

XXOO

Harry James Potter was not the happiest sixteen-year-old in the world. In fact it would be quite accurate to say the exact opposite. At the age of one he had been orphaned and made famous all in one night by one particular Dark Wizard. The next ten years leading up to the revelation that he was, himself, a wizard were spent in the care of his less then caring aunt and her family. After being taken to Hogwarts he had had three relatively happy years (if you didn't count the yearly trips back to his aunt's house) where he had made some friends and found his godfather. Everything had been ruined though by the return of his parent's murderer and the death of his rival. That had been a year ago. His fifth year at Hogwarts had been all but unbearable and had been ended quite badly by the death of his beloved godfather. And now here he was, sitting alone in his room in his Aunt and Uncle's house shutting out the world in his own vain attempts to heal the void left in his heart by his wholly unfortunate existence.

A pecking at the window drew him out of his daydream and he opened it, letting the snowy owl into his stiflingly hot room. He didn't really bother about leaving his window open so that the relatively cool breeze could lower the temperature. Harry wanted it hot and uncomfortable. If he zoned out totally then that was all he would think about and the still fresh pain from losing the closest thing he had to a father would leave him, even if it was only for a few moments at the most. Harry petted the bird absently as he undid the letter from her leg and read the darn thing which was two lines telling him they would come to get him as soon as they could afford the people. Faint anger rose up in the boy as he remembered that one of them was a certain headmaster, but his anger died as soon as it came, not having the strength to maintain it.

Flopping down on his bed Harry sighed and buried his dead in his pillow. Long cried out he just lay there, losing all sense of time.

Maybe I should get something to eat... he mused vaguely as his stomach gave a rather painful growl. Or start on that potions-

POOF!

A large cloud of smoke erupted inside Harry's room and he was upright with his wand in had in a second flat. Panic seized him at what could possibly access his room where he was supposedly guarded by magic. Coughing not his own entered his ears and it sounded like more than just smoke was being brought up as a few drops a liquid hit the floor. As the smoke subsided Harry could see a huddled mass on the floor. Orange, yellow and blue where the prominent colours before Harry's eyes drew out the shape of the obviously male intruder. His spiky blond hair seemed to defy gravity as it was held up by some sort of headband. His bright orange jump suit was strange but not greatly so. What was startling to Harry was the sharp metal object protruding from his back, which was also stained with blood.

XXOO

Naruto felt himself stop just as suddenly as he had started. The smoke around him irritated his throat and he coughed rather violently, tasting the blood on his tongue as it dripped to the floor. Then the sting in his back registered and he gasped. The sun was no longer above him like it should have been but flittering in from a small window to the side. In an instant he had pulled the Kunai from his back and shoved it forward protectively, backing himself into a wall and staring, wide eyed at the boy staring back at him equally as shocked it seemed at the misplaced shinobi.

"How the hell did you get into my room!" Asked Harry once he had found his voice after what turn out to be a boy no older then he was himself had scrambled away from him and back to the door.

Naruto's eyes widened; that wasn't his native tongue but he could understand it.

"Shit!" He exclaimed loudly. "What the hell! Shit! Shitshitshitshit! I can-but that's not-holly crap I'm speaking it too!" Naruto didn't lower the kunai during his string of confused swearing. Where was he, what had happened?

"Who are you!" Yelled Harry when the blond didn't answer his first question. "And where did you come from?"

Calming himself down enough to get some relevant and reasonably intelligent thought into his head Naruto looked the other up and down. He didn't seem to pose a threat by the looks of him but the stick he was pointing at him could be potentially dangerous. He needed to find out if the boy meant him harm or not. Deciding to ignore the different dialect that he seemed to understand completely when he had never even heard it before, he dropped the knife and lowered his arm.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki and I don't know what the hell just happened. One moment I was in the forest chasing that giant snake and then when that was thrown at me" He pointed at the discarded weapon "I felt like I was being pulled somewhere by a fishing hook in my belly. Not the most pleasant of feelings but not the worst either." His breathing was completely calm by now but he was beginning to feel light headed. "Oh crap, please no..."

"'Please no' what?" Asked Harry utterly confused as to why this boy was chasing a giant snake in the first place let alone doing it willingly and getting in the way of what he presumed to be a portkey.

A quick scan with one of his jitsu's confirmed his fear. "It was covered in poison..." Sweat was starting to form on his forehead. "It's spreading particularly fast. Probably meant for someone else since I just got in the way of it. Whatever you do don't touch the kunai. I don't know how potent it is still and even the smallest cut could be fatal. I'm presuming you're helpful if you haven't tried to attack me yet. I'm not about to hurt you either if it stays that way...not that I can at the moment any...way...Please get me to a hospital, a healer, anything..." Man he hated poison. Kyuubi's powers weren't really enough to be able to fight it off, though it did give him a little more time than most other victims.

Harry weighed up his options. This Naruto was obviously in a lot of pain and he had said he wouldn't attack him if he didn't him. Granted the blond had just been transported here by some unknown portkey. But the kid was very disorientated and Harry felt obliged to help him, even if he wasn't really sure how he was going to go about that.

His questions were answered moments later by a loud pounding on his door. It was locked, he knew and the intruder was sitting in the way. Carefully Harry pushed Naruto to the side and opened it himself to be greeted by the sight of his third year defence against the dark arts teacher's bedraggled form.

"Harry! Oh thank goodness, are you alright? There was a report of a portkey materializing in your room so I was sent to check it out. Did anything happen!" This was all spouted from Remus Lupin's mouth before Harry even had a chance to even register who exactly it was and it took him a moment to recover from the wave of words. A low groan from down near their feet caught both Wizards' attention and Lupin jumped, immediately whipping out his wand.

"Whoa!" Harry cautioned while grabbing Lupin's arm and forcing him to lower it. "His name is Naruto and he needs our help. He says he wasn't the one meant to be sent here by the portkey but he doesn't seem to know what a portkey is. He's been poisoned and needs urgent medical assistance."

XXOO

The portkey to St. Mungos was unpleasant for all concerned. Naruto hadn't wanted to go anywhere else the way he had come to Harry's room and had started to yell. Harry's family had presumably hidden somewhere, Harry wasn't quite sure, and Harry himself along with Lupin had had to carry the poisoned and struggling Naruto down the stairs and outside so that the waiting band of Phoenix members could rush them to the Wizard's Hospital.

Whoever this boy was he did seem to need magical aid and even if they wanted to just send him to a muggle hospital it wouldn't have done them any good. His memory could always be wiped if he didn't already know about the Wizarding world.

Harry was now in the waiting room. There was no point going back to the Dursley's now, not that he wanted to. There were already people going to fetch his things to take them to Grimwald place. It had turned out one of the poisons Naruto had been infected with had been the same snake venom Mr Weasley had been the year before so they had been able to heal him of that quickly enough. The one actually affecting the boy had been a common one which they had also fixed up in a jiffy. The Blonde's now returning, but rather groggy, protests rang through the whole ward until a rather stiff healer yelled at him and he quieted.

In truth the Uzumaki boy interested Harry deeply. Questions flitted in his head, like who was this kid exactly and what was he doing here, but he wouldn't be able to see him for a few minutes yet and the Order wanted to question him first. Wondering vaguely whether or not he would be able to sit in on this questioning he stood up and made his way to the bathroom he knew was on this level.

Everything was spotless in the ever white bathroom and Harry groaned. He hated white now-a-days since it seemed to mean something bad had happened. The door opened and closed and then a loud laugh erupted behind him, making the black haired boy spin on his heels to face the newcomer. Naruto was doubled over and laughing his head off, blocking the door by leaning on it. He looked up at Harry, grinned then focused on calming himself down.

"Oh that was a hoot, they'll find out in a moment." As if on queue a loud curse sounded somewhere down the hall and Naruto's grin broadened, self control evidently keeping his laughter away. "No matter where you are, men are always perverted." Chuckled the blond and walked over to the other, standing next to Harry, hands behind his head. "So what's your story? Where the hell am I? What is this device called a Pore key or whatever, and why am I speaking a language that I don't know?"

Harry couldn't help but chuckle at the Blond's antics. He was just so loud and happy at the moment it seemed to be rubbing off on him. "Since you gave me your name I should give you mine, I guess. I'm Harry Potter." There was no change in the others face to suggest he knew anything about Harry's so called great deeds so he went on, already liking the blond. "You're in England, a portkey is a teleportation device and as for your last question I have absolutely no idea. I'm actually rather confused myself about this whole mess. The adults will probably be able to explain things better than I can..." Harry turned his head to face Naruto. The teen was surprisingly easy to talk to; there had even been points where he had almost forgotten to angst. "But what exactly did you do to them?"

Naruto just grinned and turned to face the door as it burst open to reveal two very angry and wand wielding wizards both supporting blood noises. "I used my harem jutsu; highly effective to annoy older males."

"You!" shouted one of the wizards at the door who was in all actuality (much to Harry's displeasure) none other than his Potions Master Severus Snape. "It's illegal for minors to use magic outside of school!"

"School! But I passed school years ago! And I'd hardly call a jutsu 'magic'!" shouted the blond rather rudely.

Passed...school? But he couldn't have been any older then Harry was. How could he possibly have passed school and be able to use magic if he was only 16? "Naruto, how old are you?" He asked over the still yelling teacher.

Naruto, who was totally ignoring Snape by now as the other tried to restrain him from attacking the young troublemaker, scratched his nose, causing Harry to notice the whisker like marks which donned his cheeks. "Well, since I was born on a day of national mourning no one's ever really noticed my birthday but it's been sixteen years since the attack so I'd have to say 16, why?"

"Because I'm that old and I haven't even finished school yet."

Surprisingly Naruto began to laugh. "That's because you probably don't go to a ninja academy, or you are really, really bad at Ninjutsu!"

"Nin...jutsu?"

"You know, fighting, jutsu, being paid to kill, escort, find cats."

"That is quite enough out of you boy!" hissed Snape, finally recapturing the boys' attention. "Dumbledore wants to question you immediately- and you," He moved his accusing finger to Harry. "Are to be moved to you know where just as quickly." Professor and student shared a death glare before looking away and Harry's expression turning to that of deep angst once more.

Naruto poked his tongue out at the older man making a rude gesture at him before bringing his hands together in some sort of weird form and he smirked. "One more for the road then, eh? HENGE!" There was a puff of white smoke and then instead of Naruto standing there, there was an extremely curvy naked woman. She winked at Snape and said man's head almost exploded before he roared in rage and the now male and clothed teen was chased out of the bathroom laughing his head off.

Harry stared after them in shock before turning his attention to Lupin who's own anger had long since subsided with the humour of Snape in such an awkward situation. The man winked at Harry, surprising laughter of his own and ushered the boy out of the bathroom in a much more amiable manner. It was going to take a little while to get Harry to safety and the Order members where needed elsewhere.

XXOO

Naruto sat in the large and comfortable chair staring at the old man who was staring back at him with equally blue eyes as his own. He had been forced once again to use one of those pore keys and was starting to learn to hate the strange contraption. What was worse was that each time it had been a different object so now he didn't know what would teleport him where if he so much as touched it. The old man pushed his half-moon spectacles back up his long nose and sat back in his seat, seemingly done with his inspection of the boy.

"So your name is Naruto Uzumaki, am I right?"

Naruto smirked and nodded proudly, pointing at his nose. "You bet ya! I'm Naruto Uzumaki, the number one loudest ninja in all of hidden leaf!" he half yelled as he always did while introducing himself or talking in general. It wasn't his loudest tone, that was saved for special occasions and when Kakashi was late. It was, however, one of the ways he got people to notice him. The good natured old man simply smiled and his bright blue eyes sparkled.

"Quite fascinating Naruto. I am Professor Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I can see why they gave you that title, though you are a long way from home if my assumptions are correct. Which Hokage currently resides over Konohagakure? The fourth? The third...?" Dumbledore let the question hang in the air.

Naruto's eye darkened a few shaded as he remembered both Hokages' deaths. "The forth died 16 years ago protecting the village from a demon...The third died some four years ago protecting the village from-holly crap Sasuke! I have to get back right now or I won't be able to help him!"

"I'm afraid that is quite impossible... I knew your third and fourth Hokages and am very sorry to hear of their deaths. I am clueless to where exactly the lost continent you live on is exactly. If you are here though I am very worried... it might mean our enemies are now allies and that would be very bad indeed. Now calm down, who is the current Hokage."

Naruto, unexpectedly even to himself, sat down without kicking up one of his usual huffs. "Her name is Tsunade. She was one of the Sannin..."

"And what is your rank?"

"Chuunin, though I'm not wearing my jacket today because I was chasing Sasuke." This old man reminded him a lot of the third Hokage. They both seemed to have the same sort of aura about them, probably because they were both leaders - and old. "So you don't know anything about Hidden Leaf going back how many years? At least sixteen if you didn't know about the fourth."

Dumbledore rested his chin on his hands, seemingly thinking very hard before he answered. "Well, I was much younger when I stumbled across Konoha. I'd have to say at least twenty years. I was exploring the world in one of my summer holidays and was taken into custody by your fourth and a group of ANBU." He chuckled absently "They were rather cold to begin with I must say. But once I began to talk with them they warmed up to me in the end; especially a youngster by the name of Kakashi."

Naruto snorted with laughter "Nani? You met Kakashi-sensei?"

Dumbledore nodded "So the boy became a teacher. I see the little talk I had with him set him on the same path I took way back when. Oh, and the spell that changed your native language is slipping. We'll have to set it back up before it deteriorates so far you mix Japanese and English so badly you're unintelligible."

Naruto cringed. He didn't like this new form of energy manipulation. Though he had a feeling he would have to learn at least the basics while he was here. His mind wandered back to Sasuke. What was his rival doing now? He hadn't been able to help in the slightest. Anger at himself welled up dangerously for a moment before it settled back down and he grinned in resolution. He would just have to train really hard here and maybe learn something no one back home knew even existed.

A faint laugh broke him out of his thoughts and he looked back at the crystal blue eyes that crinkled in a smile. "Now, I must fill you in about our world."

XXOO

Harry went straight to his room the moment he stepped in the door at Grimwald place. Everything looked much cleaner than it had the last time he had been here. No doubt the Weasley's had already been here for most of the holidays and had finished the cleaning. The pictures of Sirius's family had been covered by a firmer curtain which had been tied down firmly to make it even harder to pull back. He didn't want to see anything right now. This had been the first time he had been here since his godfather's death and it was all too fresh in his mind. There wasn't going to be any Sirius to hug him hello, even if Mrs. Weasley would probably crush him upon finding him here.

He hardly recognised the room when he got there. The two beds were still the same but the wallpaper had been changed and the drapes too. He quickly closed said drapes plunging himself into semi-darkness and flopping down on the bed that wasn't covered in various object. He wasn't really looking forward to seeing his best friend quite so soon, even if he did miss him. He still needed to be alone, just a little longer.

He began to think back on the day. Did he do the right thing about trusting Naruto? What was happening to him right now? Snape had said Dumbledore wanted to talk to him, did that mean he was on their side after all? Sighing, Harry rolled over and stared at the ceiling. "I hope I get to see him again. I want to know who he is…"

"Who who is?"

Harry nearly jumped out of his skin at the voice, as it was he sat up too quickly and feel out of bed onto the floor with a loud 'oof'. "Ron! Don't sneak up on me like that!" He snapped rather too harshly and immediately felt bad. He stared at his feet as he stood up and sat back on his bed. "Sorry…"

The redhead simply laughed and sat down next to his friend. "Hey, if I haven't left yet you're in the clear. The amount of times you snapped at me because of all the crap you've been through I'm used to it by now. Sides…" Ron trailed off, deciding not to bring up the subject of his friends deceased godfather. "You alright?" He asked instead. "We heard someone appeared by portkey in your room! Geeze, that'd be freaky enough but you have evil incarnate trying to kill you!"

Yeah thanks, Harry thought bitterly but didn't say anything out loud. He needed friends now more than ever and he didn't want to stuff things up through something small. He hadn't told anyone about the prophecy and he didn't intend to until it became necessary or he had completed his task. He was in a surprisingly good mood after his encounter with Naruto in the hospital bathroom and he went as far as to grin.

"What?" asked Ron, noticing the smile on his face.

Harry hadn't smiled for a while before today and it felt good. "Oh, it's just the guy who arrived in my room gave Snape a nose bleed. Who knew that the potions master was a pervert." He knew that sounded wrong unless you actually saw the event. Snape was most certainly not gay by the way he had reacted to the sight of a naked woman but at the same time it was the truth. Let Ron think what he wanted; it was no skin off his back.

Ron himself burst out laughing. Causing Harry to smile again. "Well I guess I should go down and greet people. Your mum here?"

Ron nodded happily and both boys got up and began down the stairs.

XXOO

A month!

It had been a month since he had been transported here and he wasn't about to be going home any time soon. Naruto held the thin piece of wood in his hand and gave it a swish and flick, saying the incantation and watching as the feather began to rise up into the air. A month of learning basic spells, a month of constantly having the language spell cast on him, and a month since he had seen that Potter boy. He didn't know why he wanted to see Harry again, the boy just intrigued him, but most of all he reminded him vaguely of Sasuke. They had the same air of hatred around them. The old man hadn't told him anything about the other and he was starting to get annoyed.

Maybe he's an avenger too…He thought absently. Yeah, that'd make sense…

"Naruto, we're going to Diagon Alley today to get your things for school." said the old woman who had been teaching him today. Professor McGonagall pursed her lips at the idea. They had already discovered that he was a force to be reckoned with and she had lost him more than once when he was in her care. "But you are not going to run off today. You have a 'mission' as Albus puts it."

At this Naruto perked up. Seems the old man was trying to make him feel more at home giving him something to do. "What, Old lady McGonagall?" he asked, practically brimming with excitement.

"Well…"