I've never claimed to be good at writing, but I hope you enjoy nonetheless.

For as long as Harriett could remember, she was alone. Sure, she lived with her aunt Petunia and uncle Vernon, and their demon spawn of a son, Dudley, but they could hardly be considered a family. They sure didn't see her in that way and she was of a similar disposition. No, if anything the Dursleys treated her as little more than an unwanted pet at best, a downright slave on the other hand.

Perhaps her home life wouldn't be so intolerable if her social life, if it could be considered as such, wasn't so bad; non-existent, rather. Harriett had no friends to speak of. Dudley and his gaggle of gorillas saw no one ever spoke to her more than once, less they be bullied by mere association.

However, what baffled Harriett the most was the seeming ignorance of all those around. The neighbors, the school. They all knew she was the niece of the Dursleys, against their will of course, and yet they would never look twice when she arrived at school littered with bruises and in boys clothing three sizes too large for her.

Perhaps, Harriett thought, they simply didn't care.

"Harriett!"

She startled at both the shrill voice and the accompanying slam of her closet door. Harriett had been awake for some time now, pondering. For how long, there was no telling in the pitch black of her small space.

It must have been morning as neither her aunt nor uncle ever allowed her to sleep in. She was, after all, the unwilling cook of the family, when her aunt Petunia decided it so. And when she wasn't the cook, chores awaited her.

"Harriett are you up yet?" Petunia screeched.

If she wasn't before, she certainly would have been by then. It appeared as though it was going to be one of those mornings. An average day in her life, that is.

"I'm up!" Harriett responded loudly enough despite the dry of her throat. She knew better than to mumble. Her aunt particularly hated that habit of hers.

"We've got new neighbors and I'm baking my renowned lemon pie to greet them with! I need you to keep an eye on the oven!" Petunia continued to shout despite having established being awake. "I'll have your hide if it burns! I also need you to cook the bacon so you best hurry up and get out here!"

Her aunt's pie was hardly as good as she would like to believe, or Harriett would ever voice, much less renowned. However, what caught her attention was the mention of new additions to the neighborhood.

In the darkness of the closet, Harriett smiled.

Her aunt and uncle liked to retain a farce of a loving family to the outside world, which never truly lasted beyond the first few initial meetings. For however long they interacted with the new neighbors, she would be safe from their scorn. But not entirely so. Dudley was dense in both a physical and mental sense. He was ever the bully, no matter the situation.

Harriett quickly dressed herself, as she had little in the sense of a wardrobe, all stacked as neatly as she could in a pile near where she laid her feet.

She quickly exited her closet and was greeted with the sweet scent of lemon and mouthwatering bacon. It was too bad the scent of her Aunt Petunia's prized desert was all that was remotely pleasant, and she only ever got nominal and fatty pieces of bacon to accompany the small portion of eggs she was given.

Without further instruction, Harriett began on breakfast, only bacon as her aunt didn't trust her with the eggs. They burned quite easily. She learned that the hard way the one time she was tasked with cooking them. Harriett didn't eat anything but school served meals for a week after that.

"Don't forget the pie! It had better not burn now!" Petunia shouted as she set the table.

She had done so just as Harriett had finished closing the oven. The crust was visibly pale, indicating there was some time yet before it was done.

Groaning floorboards accompanied by thumping footsteps sounded from above, indicating both the male Dursleys had smelled the breakfast just as she had. It was a Saturday morning, so Vernon didn't have to work and school was not in session. They didn't wake on the weekends until the food was on the stove.

Vernon soon descended down the stairs first, with a yawning Dudley, still dressed in his sleepwear, following close behind. The stairs groaned louder than the floorboards upstairs and for once, Harriett was glad to have been called out from beneath the stairs early. Though she knew the stairs weren't likely to collapse on her despite their immense weight, she couldn't help but worry that they may one day do so, and she certainly didn't want to be inside if it ever did occur.

"Morning dear," Vernon grunted his greeting before offering his wife a whiskered kiss on the cheek.

Harriett received a glare as her morning tidings.

"When do you want to go meet the new neighbors?" Petunia asked as she poured her husband a cup of steaming coffee.

"Whenever you wish to, dear," Vernon stated with yet another grunt as he sat himself at the head of the table with the weekend paper in hand.

As the wood of the chair groaned rather audibly, Harriett found herself once more perplexed as to how such an unassuming chair could withstand the man's weight.

"Then we'll go shortly after breakfast," Petunia decided with a smile, "and once my pie is done."

Vernon smiled nervously and quietly cleared his throat at the mention of the desert, though Harriett suspected she was the only one to notice.

"Whatever you say, dear."

"I'm hungry!" Dudley whined from his own seat at the table. He had already devoured the orange juice his mother had set for him.

"Harriett!" Vernon bellowed despite her being in the very same room.

"Bacon's almost done," she meekly reported.

Harriett wondered if he realized she had no control over how long it took for the food to cook. He most likely did; just needed a reason to yell at her.

All things considered, breakfast was a relatively simple affair. Harriett was only able to eat her eggs as her Aunt Petunia had her checking the oven almost every half minute and the first time she left the table to do so, she returned to a plate devoid of bacon.

She didn't bother to ask for seconds as she was never given them.

Once the pie was done, Petunia ushered her husband and son off to dress themselves in their best. Harriett was given her only pair of clothes meant for a girl and not a tubby boy. A faded orange sundress she wore only on rare occasions for first impressions.

Soon, they were off to meet the new neighbors.

"The new neighbors live just three houses down, so we'll be walking," Petunia announced as she closed and locked the door behind her.

"But mum!" Dudley once again whined. "I don't want to walk!"

Harriett didn't mind but decided not to voice as much. It was a beautiful day in March with enough remnants of the cooler seasons to enjoy the mild wind on her bare shoulders, while also tousling her already unkempt hair.

"Cheer up son!" Vernon said as he patted Dudley's back. "I'll take you and your mother out to lunch when we get back!"

"Fine," the portly boy muttered.

Despite the gloomy response, Harriett could see Dudley's beady eyes light up at the mere mention of food. She already knew she wouldn't be joining them and they never allowed her to stay home alone. This had her nervously anticipating just which of their equally horrible friends she would be stuck with.

Harriett wasn't about to ask but she did take solace knowing Dudley's birthday was a few months away yet, so it wouldn't be Mrs. Figgs and her many, many cats. The woman herself was nice enough, but it was her numerous cats that she wasn't so fond of.

They always scratched her!

"You know," Petunia began as they trudged along at Vernon and Dudley's lumbering pace, "Beatrice said she saw the moving van yesterday but didn't get to see whom the new neighbors may be. Oh, but at least now we know we are getting new additions to the neighborhood. See, I told you so when they removed the sign!"

"Yes, yes, dear, you're quite right," Vernon agreed.

"I do wonder how they are," Petunia continued, apparently not noticing her husband's bored drawl. Or perhaps she was too excited to care. "Maybe they'll have children our Dudley's age? One can never have too many friends I always say. Oh, looks like we're here!"

Harriett studied the home. It was almost exactly like the Dursleys in appearance, a two-story brick home with both a large and a small window for every level. Then again, most homes on Privet Dr were similar in design.

The only differences Harriett could discern at first glance was the white home number painted on the mailbox displaying the number ten. That and their door was a bland white instead of mahogany. Vernon was quite proud of that purchase.

"You had better behave now, Harriett!" Petunia said, startling her.

"I will," Harriett said, though she was certain Dudley would not. He never did.

Vernon was the one to knock. As his fat hand rapped at the door, Harriett always wondered just why the man chose to knock so hard and excessively, almost resembling the urgency he would at times display when in a rush to use the restroom of their own home.

The door abruptly swung open.

"What?"

Harriett stared at the boy at the door. He seemed to be around Dudley's age, maybe a year or two older. His hair was unkempt, long, and a brilliant shade of blond while his eyes were narrowed and blue. She was drawn to his eyes in a way she couldn't quite comprehend.

Now Harriett had seen plenty of people with blue eyes before; Dudley had blue eyes. The boy before her, his eyes were glacial and they almost seemed to glow in the light of the sun. That, however, was not the only characteristic which caught her attention.

He had whiskers.

Or what appeared to be whiskers. Harriett narrowed her own eyes behind the scratchy round lenses of her glasses. Upon closer inspection, they were birth marks. Or scars, she wasn't quite sure which. There were three on each of his cheeks, mirrored identically, as though they were meant to be there.

"What do you want?"

His rather pointed question made Harriett look up to meet his eyes and immediately felt herself fluster. He was staring right back at her with the same disinterested, yet somehow annoyed expression he had greeted them with.

She was caught staring!

Harriett tried to make herself as small as she possibly could, taking a few shy steps backwards whilst Vernon fumbled with his words, his face quickly growing red. He was obviously none too happy to be spoken to in such a manner.

"E-Excuse me, dear, but are your parents home?" Aunt Petunia finally managed to ask.

The boy seemed to grow more annoyed.

"No, my parents – "

"Naruto, who's at the door?"

The voice was that of a man's, deep and coming from somewhere within the home. The boy rolled his eyes and turned his back to them.

"I don't know!" The boy, whose name had to be Naruto, shouted back.

"Na-ru-to?" Vernon struggled to repeat the boy's name to himself.

Harriett herself was having trouble pronouncing it within the confines of her mind. Despite this she did find the name unique and interesting. She'd certainly never heard anything like it before.

"What do you mean you don't know? You're at the door, aren't you?" The voice, now sounding closer and even deeper yet, questioned.

"Yeah, I am, but that doesn't mean I know who they are, old man!" The boy continued to shout.

"Oh my," Petunia muttered to herself, clearly disturbed by the interaction.

"Who are you calling old, you damned brat?!"

"Who else has white hair?"

"I've told you before, it's natural!"

"So you say," the boy said lowly and with arms crossed.

"I heard that!" The man shouted.

"You were supposed to!"

Harriett could no longer contain the giggle that she was so desperately trying to hold in.

Initially, she believed the blond boy was in a similar situation as she. The man's words certainly sounded harsh, however it soon became apparent that he gave as good as he got in terms of insults and soon a shouting match erupted between the boy and the unknown man in which they fired off insults at one another.

That was, of course, until her aforementioned giggles brought the boy's attention back to them. Her specifically. Harriett reddened at the slight smile he offered her and once again, she averted her gaze downward. Idly, she could feel the twin glares from the Dursleys.

"Well, who is it?"

Finally, the owner of the voice appeared at the door. For a second time, the Dursleys and Harriett were stunned at the sight before them. Towering behind the boy was a man with long and wild snow-white hair, as the boy had said, brown eyes shining with mirth, and an accompanying grin on his face.

Despite the previous interactions between the boy and the man, Harriett somehow knew the man was kind. Perhaps it was the way he placed a hand on the blond boy's shoulder, or the grin turned smile as their eyes locked; the corners of his eyes creasing briefly before his attention returned to the adult Dursleys.

"Neighbors?" He inquired.

"Y-Yes," once again, Petunia was the first to answer, with the slightest red to her cheeks. "We came to welcome you to the neighborhood."

"Well isn't that something?" The man patted the boy's shoulder, motioning him aside. "Well come on in then. I'm Jiraiya, by the way, and this is Naruto."

"Ji-rai-ya?" Vernon struggled with pronouncing the tall man's name as well.

Once inside, Harriett's curious nature had her looking about. Their home was also alike the Dursley's in general layout, as she had suspected. A small kitchen could be seen from the slightly larger living space they were currently standing in. They owned regular living room furniture, a bland beige sofa and recliner set. Nothing of note there.

What did strike her as odd was the lack of any real decorations. The Dursley's home was decorated with various pictures of the family, excluding herself, and even more portraits of Dudley, displaying his transformation from a small red piglet, into the large buffoon he was to date. Alongside the many pictures were knickknacks pertaining to both Vernon and Petunia's respective interests.

This home had none of that. There were no pictures on the walls, personal or decorative. No flowers or frilly doilies. Thinking on it now, Harriett couldn't recall seeing a doormat.

There was nothing to ornate the home at all.

"I'm Petunia Dursleyy," Petunia introduced herself first with an overly large smile. "And this is my husband, Vernon, our son Dudley. Oh, and that's Harriett."

Her smile seemed to abandon her at the mention of Harriett, who was still consumed with the household's seeming lack of personality to really notice.

They were new to the neighborhood, after all. Perhaps they were still in the process of moving in?

"It's nice to meet you all, isn't it, Naruto?" Jiraiya said, lightly elbowing the boy who once again appeared disinterested.

"Sure," Naruto said, crossing his arms. "Well I'm going out for a walk. Getting a lay of the land and all that."

That was an excuse if Harriett ever heard one. Though she couldn't necessarily blame him. Dudley was already wondering about the home, even going as far as to look into cabinets. She certainly cherished the moments spent away from the Dursleys, as few as they were.

"Whatever," Jiraiya said dismissively. "Why don't you join me in the kitchen for some tea? We can even try out that delicious smelling pie!"

The adult Dursleys seemed pleased at the idea, Petunia more so. She took that moment to proudly present her pie to Jiraiya.

"Mom, can I go with the weird kid?" Dudley whined, already bored once he discovered there were no toys or food in sight.

Not even Dudley, who could eat just about anything, was fond of his mother's pie. Harriett thought that alone spoke volumes.

"Dudley," Petunia chastised without any real effort.

"Only if you behave," Vernon added with a smile and a chortle, his words also lacking any real stern undertones.

"Whatever!" Dudley huffed.

"Weird?" Naruto repeated to himself with narrowed eyes.

He didn't seem too pleased with the idea or the name and appeared ready to protest when a single scathing look from Jiraiya silenced him. A look which quickly returned pleasant as he smiled down to Harriett in the same kind manner as before.

"Why doesn't your daughter go along too?" He suggested. "It'll give us a moment to become fully acquainted."

"Oh, that won't be necessary," Vernon laughed the suggestion off. "She'll behave herself here. Won't you, Harriett?" His light-hearted tone quickly became stern as he cast her a warning glare.

From the corner of her eyes, Harriett saw the two neighbors share a confused glance.

"I want her to come along," Naruto said, turning his attention to her.

His words surprised Harriett. She couldn't help but stare back at him, wide eyed. There weren't many girls in the neighborhood and the boys never wanted to play with her, and that was before they met Dudley.

In the presence of the new neighbors, the Dursleys shared a look of reluctance before relenting.

"Very well," Petunia appeared to have tasted her own pie. "Behave yourself now, Harriett."

There was a none too subtle warning in her words.

"Y-Yes!" Harriett, whom was still thoroughly flabbergasted, nodded along with her agreement.

Anything to distance herself from Vernon and Petunia. It was too bad she couldn't escape Dudley.

"Let's go then," Naruto muttered.

Harriett followed behind the two boys meekly as Dudley prodded Naruto for answers about what toys he owned. She wasn't surprised to see he wasn't showing any restraint. He was a bully through and through, but Naruto was taller than him by at least a head and his overall stern expression didn't reference to someone who would be pushed around.

Harriett found herself blushing once more as she realized she had been staring at him again. He was wearing a simple white T-shirt along with pair of blue pants. His name was odd but the way he dressed and the English he spoke had her believing Naruto may have been American.

She had watched a few movies from America at school, mostly animated, but his accent did sound almost identical to the ones she'd heard. The older man's as well, now that she thought about it. Their names on the other hand, they sounded foreign beyond what she expected of the states.

Naruto and Jiraya. How odd, Harriett thought.

As they continued to walk Dudley seemed to grow impatient at Naruto's lack of any real response beyond prompt, "No's". Though he didn't seem too keen on pressing his luck against the taller boy.

That did not bode well for her, Harriett quickly realized when he turned his vile attention to her.

"Wanna see something funny?" Dudley asked mischievously.

Naruto offered nothing more than what sounded like a grunt and half of his attention.

"Look at her shoes!"

Harriett felt her heart drop and her face heat up when Dudley turned and pointed down at her shoes. Her aunt had purchased her current dress at a home sell, but her shoes were an old pair of Dudley's. They were torn, dirty, and had laces much too long. Dudley pointed out their quality and laughed.

"Gotcha!"

Grabbing her nose, Harriett winced in pain at the harsh flick she had received from Dudley's fat sausage finger.

"Hey!"

The intensity of Naruto's shout startled Harriett. She watched with eyes wide as he shoved Dudley to the ground, his bouncing fat cheeks quickly turning red and his beady blues widening in fear.

"You think that's funny?" Naruto continued angrily.

The sheer fury in which he spoke frightened even Harriett herself, and she was not the attention of his anger. Dudley, still on his butt, began to back-peddle with all the grace of an inebriated crustacean until he reached the curb. The slight variation in the height between the curb and the road had him rolling onto the street, his shirt riding up to reveal his round belly.

"I-I'm telling my parents on you!"

Harriett had never witnessed Dudley so shaken. Or run so fast.

"Yeah go and cry to your mom ya fat oaf!" Naruto shouted after him.

She flinched slightly when he turned his attention to her. Harriett remained rooted in place, still affected by the sudden violent display and the frightening look on his face.

Naruto blinked a few times before his expression softened.

"Are you okay?" He asked just as softly.

"Y-Yes!" Harriett almost shouted.

Naruto sighed and began scratching at the back of his head, further displacing his already untamed mane. Harriett flinched again and closed her eyes when he reached his hand outward, only to open them when she felt a warm hand ruffle her own hair softly.

He was smiling at her.

"You're a good kid," suddenly, he sounded so much older than he appeared. His tone of voice had even dropped an octave. "I can tell. If he ever gives you trouble again, you'll tell me, yeah?"

In that moment, Harriett realized something. He had stood up for her and protected her. No one had ever done that before.

"Hey," Naruto tapped her red nose softly. "Don't overthink it too much. Now come on, why don't you show me around?"

"Y-Yes!" Harriett had never flustered so much in so little time! He had protected her and she had yet to say more than a single word to him. She really wasn't sure what to say other than to introduce herself. "I'm H-Harriett, by the way. Harriett Potter."

"Uzumaki Naruto," he too reintroduced himself. He paused for a moment, as if considering something. "My first name is Naruto. That's just how I introduce myself."

Harriett nodded in some understanding, though she was feeling even more confused as to where he could possibly be from.

"Wait," Naruto began, eyes narrowed inquisitively. "Potter? I thought your parents said their last name was Dursley?"

Harriett looked down. Would he make fun of her for being an orphan? Many of the children at their school did when Dudley revealed as much.

"My parents died in a car crash when I was young. I don't really remember them," she admitted with eyes downcast. "Aunt Petunia is my mother's sister. I've been living with them ever since I can remember."

"Hey," the soft of his voice had her looking back up to him. "I know this probably won't make you feel better but, well I'm an orphan too."

"Really?" Harriett asked, astonished. "But that man," she trailed off.

"That old goat's my Godfather," Naruto finished with a smile. "I mean, do I really look as ugly as he does?"

Harriett giggled at his description of the man from before, as well as in recollection of their rather humorous interactions. Her was sadness was momentarily set aside and in it's place embarrassment at his latter question.

She didn't think so.

"Ya'know," Naruto began with a different smile in his eyes, "I knew there was no way you could be related to those people."

When he didn't continue, Harriett did.

"Why do you say that?" She asked.

"Because you're way too cute to be their daughter, or that idiot's sister."

Harriett burned.

"Y-You're teasing me!" She accused, secretly hoping he wasn't. That would be another first, someone calling her cute, that is. At least from someone close to her age. She was occasionally complimented by elder people dressed in odd clothing.

Naruto continued smiling, though she noticed it wasn't one of mock or malice. She knew those all too well, unfortunately.

"I am, but in a friendly way," he admitted.

"Friendly?" Harriett questioned timidly.

"Yeah," Naruto said as if it was nothing, and maybe to him it wasn't. But to Harriett it was a cruel promise depending on his answer. "So, Harriett, wanna be my friend?"

"Y-Yes!"

She had done it again. Harriett no longer bothered fighting back her blush as she heard him laugh again. Though she somehow knew he wasn't laughing at her. At least not in the way she was accustomed to. In fact, he almost sounded happy, a sure contrast to his earlier behavior.

In that moment, as Naruto tousled her hair, she smiled because she was happy too. Incredibly so. For the first time in her life, Harriett Potter had a friend.

Hoped you guys enjoyed the chapter. Just so you all know, I haven't read the entirety of the Harry Potter books. Only the first book. I've got the entire series on audible. I intend on writing as I listen. I feel that way Naruto won't have author's insight or whatever.

Oh, and the pairing are in the tags.