Very loosely based of the classic Cinderella. I was originally intending for this to be a one shot but once I got started the ball just kept rolling. I wrote this on my iPad so the typos might be very unusual and I could guarantee there would be words missing but I won't because I'm clinging to this thing called hope.

Just a little note you may want to know before you begin to read this, there is going to be romance between Harry and Tom and no it won't be incestuous.

Summary: Harry James Potters life took a turn for the worse the day he met Mr and Mrs Dursley and their two sons Dudley and Tom.

Inheritance

Silver Polished?

Yep.

All furniture neatly dusted?

Of course.

Ah, but the laundry. Is washed? Is it ironed?

Oh right. That.

Well best get to it.

An introduction into the daily life of Harry James Potter, it was simple really. All chores should be completed before four in the evening on all days Monday through to Sunday. How did life come to this? Well you could say it had all started at the tender age of five when his Aunt Petunia became his 'Mother' Petunia but that was too simple. This life style didn't truly begin until a series of unfortunate events that began on the day he met Mr and Mrs Dursley and their two sons.

Things weren't always this way, life was different. They were different. But he supposed now the signs had always been there.

Chapter One; Lost in Time

1932

"Harry put on your jacket we're going to visit your aunt and uncle." Lily's voice was soft, feminine and smooth. Harry being only four ran to his little coat that had before been lying on the floor discarded. He didn't particularly want to go his relatives.

"Can I bring my toy planes?" He asked blinking innocently up at his mother which typically worked.

"No planes Harry."

He pouted at looked around for more possible toys to bring. "Can I bring my kite? The one with lots of colours." Lily shook her head and grasped Harry's hand into her own gloved one.

"No, I want you to actually to talk to them this time. No hiding in their garden alright Harry? At this rate I doubt they even know your name." He was slightly put out but nodded slowly none the less. He didn't remember their names either so it would be fair if they didn't know his.

"Good." She lead them outside and door clicked shut behind them. A carriage was already called for and his father was standing by holding the door open.

"Horse? Why are we going by horse! That's so slow." Harry frowned. He hated the carriages, they always managed to rock him into the wall.

"Now your Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon hate it when we use-" she whispered a wary eye on the coachman "-magic."

"That's stupid." Harry grumbled. Lily just smiled lightly and climbed into the carriage. His father, James ruffled Harry's hair and hoisted him in after his mother before gracefully stepping inside himself.

The 'Dursleys' as they were called had a nice house. It wasn't nearly as extravagant as Harry's own manor (or rather his fathers) but it was respectable. The town house was white and two stories high with a small garden in the front and larger courtyard in the back.

He hid between his parents legs as the adults greeted each other.

"Petunia! How long has it been since we were able to get together like this. Oh and those two must be your sons. Tom and Dudley was it?" Lily directed attention to the left of Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon. Standing side by side were two neatly dressed and clean children. Despite their well groomed hair the two boys couldn't look more unrelated, where Dudley was rounded from his nose to his protruding belly, Tom was skinny with sharper, even features.

"Right you are, that there is my dear boy Dudley. A real scholar he is. The future is looking very bright for him, very bright indeed!" Uncle Vernon puffed up proudly cutting his wife off from making any commentary before himself. Aunt Petunia looked mildly annoyed but hid it quickly with a tight lipped smile.

"Yes that's Dudley our youngest, about the same age as your own son... Henry was it?"

"It's Harry." Harry pointed out earning a very shrewd look from Mrs Dursley and a hard pat from his father. Children should be seen but not heard.

"Harry." She corrected pointedly before continuing much more pleasantly,

"And I'm sure you've met Tom before, he is but six now going on seven." No, Harry couldn't recall ever meeting Tom before now but that comment was likely aimed at his parents. The pleasantries carried on as such.

Eventually the three children were ushered into a nursery which happened to double as a bedroom for the two boys. Dudley quickly took Harry to show him what toys he kept in one of the large leather chest. It wasn't very interesting, muggle toys were so dull. Wooden swords, planes that couldn't fly and other knick knacks that stayed immobile.

Tom was currently sitting by the window reading a book Harry didn't recognise. While Dudley was rummaging deep within the chest pulling out bits of cloth Harry made his way over to the older boy.

"What book is that?" He asked in what he hoped was a pleasant manor. Tom looked up briefly, eyes glinted with mild annoyance.

"Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. I don't suppose you have heard of it?" The boy smiled with his eyes closed and head tilted slightly. Something was very patronizing about it especially since no, he had never had never heard of said book until now.

"Well.. no." Harry hesitated. Tom looked back to his book silently dismissing Harry.

Miffed he left the room and sneaked downstairs to spy on the adults in the drawing room but to his surprise he found his mother and aunt speaking quietly in the hallway next to the stairs. He paused out of sight feeling glad that the stairs were sturdy and did not creak.

"Couldn't you have consulted me before making such an outrageous offer to my husband, Lily." First said his aunt.

"I don't see what the big deal is? You'd love the manor. Besides it's only for a week." Then his mother.

"Vernon wasn't born into money like your husband. He can't just pack up and leave work as he wishes."

"Accountants aren't exactly struggling in poverty... but I suppose if he really can't find the time well then that's that." His mother finished. There was a silence where Petunia seemed to me mulling over those words.

"Fine. But I want every... Abnormality locked away and out of sight."

"Yes, dearest sister." Lily sighed.

"I'm serious Lily!" Aunt Petunia hissed in much more like a hushed shout.

Harry didn't know if he liked the sound of this. In fact he decided rather quickly he hated the very idea. His precious toys packed away all for some dull boring relatives. The very notion was ludicrous.

"Not my books! Please, I'd die of boredom without at least one thing to keep me occupied!" Harry cried as his mother pulled his favorite collection of Beedle the Bard books from his weak little grasp and levitated it into one of the many boxes that were currently being packed throughout Harry's room.

"You will have two young boys to keep you company. I'm sure they'll bring their own toys to keep you occupied." She said in a tone that left no room for arguments. But that didn't stop Harry.

"And what do you think they will think when they see this." He waved his arms about the very large and very empty room. A four poster bed, a writing desk that no four year old really has any use for and a bookshelf distinctly lacking books. Lily looked thoughtful.

"You're right. Go downstairs and wait with your father for tea I'll fix this before your bedtime." Harry turned to leave somewhat curious as to what his mother was going to do.

"And Harry, starting from tomorrow no calling any house elves for the duration of the Dursleys visit." Harry nodded dejectedly and marched down stairs and loudly as he could to silently voice his opinion on this matter.

When he returned to his room it was indeed to his surprise completely refurnished and then to his disappointment it was all muggle classics like what he had seen in the Dursleys nursery.

He skimmed over the bookshelf noting some managed to be both boring and hard to read such as 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'. He sighed in relief when he caught sight of his precious worn out collection of 'Beedle the Bard' all lined up next to a very pristine but similar looking collection of books itched with 'Grimm's Fairy Tales'.

He felt particularly bitter over a title screaming 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' at him.

The Dursleys faces were simply awed as they pulled up in their carriage to the Potter's estate. Even that Tom boy seemed impressed. You could say Harry felt rather smug. Greeting were exchanged and the adults were soon gone in the drawing room leaving Harry to look after their last two guests.

"Hello cousins of mine. Allow me to escort you properly around Godric's Hollow." He stated lamely knowing full well his voice was monotone and sounded like he just read those lines of a script.

He gave them a very brief tour of things, ending with his room which to his distaste had become a nursery. It wasn't like his family didn't have enough bedrooms as it was but his mother wanted to keep the manor as homely as you could keep a manor even if it meant imitating the Dursleys muggle home.

Dudley set out to looking through every thing. Even briefly the the closet but changed his mind when there was shocking only clothes.

"I thought you guys were filthy rich. Why haven't you got clothing cool!" Dudley exclaimed. Harry just shrugged and pointedly took one of his classic favorite Beedle the Bard stories 'The Tale of Three Brothers' and laid over a pillow on the floor.

A shadow appeared over him.

"What are you reading?" It was Tom. Harry looked up and played cool.

"Oh this? This is The Tale of Three Brothers. I don't suppose you've heard of it?" Tom stayed silent for a moment before seating himself next to Harry.

"Sounds like a fairy tale. I noticed you have that book I was reading,you wouldn't mind if I borrowed it. I haven't had the time to finish it."

"It's not a fairy tale!" Harry sniffed. He was quite certain that that all these stories were very much true.

"And yes you may borrow it. But you can't keep it." Harry finished. Tom rolled his his eyes and got up returning moments later with said book under arm.

"These books 'Tales of Beedle the Bard' look like your classic fairy tales. I've never heard of them before. Where did you get them from?" Tom sat down and peered into the cream pages of Harry's book.

Harry wasn't sure what to say. He got them from Diagon Alley, a wizarding district. But these children weren't supposed to know about magic. But then again they also wouldn't know about Diagon Alley anyway.

"I got them from a book store. In London." Simple and sweet. Nothing conspicuous about that.

"Really? I used to live in London right near Cheapsid. Which book store was it? I might have heard of it." Now that was a tough one. He had no idea what any store in London was called.

Harry had to dig his way out. Tom was six, probably thought since he was the big kid he knew more than Harry. He probably did but that's besides the point, it also means he would completely overlook how much Harry actually did know about anything.

"I don't know!" Harry said squeakier than ever. Tom looked for him for a moment probably deciding whether or not he believed Harry and it seemed that Harry passed the invisble test because Tom didn't comment any further. Who would lie about a book store anyway. Silly muggles they would never understand, things like this would boggle their minds.

"I didn't know Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia used to live the city. Why did they move?" Change the subject.

"They didn't. They adopted me a year before they had Dudley." He said it as if nothing.

Harry however was very shocked. He dropped his book completely.

"You're an orphan!" He whispered the last part as if Dudley, who was very much distracted by some wooden blocks, would be mentally scarred by the information.

"Does this somehow change your opinion of me?" Tom asked with a pleasant smile which Harry was coming to recognise represented some kind of hidden threat.

"Not that there's much to change." Harry mumbled under his breath. Orphan or not this boy was the same amount of detestable as he ever had been. Tom hummed in acknowledgement and then looked thoughtful. They fell into a silence, each to their own book.

"Harry, come play with me!" Dudley groaned. Harry didn't want to play with stupid and very unmagical wooden blocks.

"I'm alright." He waved off. Dudley squinted his eyes at the two boys and their books.

"You two are so boring, Tom I understand. But Harry you should be playing with me!" Harry sat up now.

"Why should I be playing with you?" He asked.

"It just makes sense. Daddy told me that we should be best friends so we should right?" Harry nodded slowly, he had no idea what Dudley was going on about. They had just met properly the other week and Dudley and he so far had nothing in common.

"How about you come read here instead?" And as if to further confirm their incompatibility Dudley shook his head vigorously. Making a face he pulled his small stout body up.

"I don't care what daddy said no more!" He yelled incoherently and left the room. Is this what all muggle children are like?

"Dudley isn't particularly bright." Tom said from Harry's right, his eyes never left the book sitting delicately on his lap. Harry nodded his head. So Dudley was an exception? That made sense, Harry had met other magical children, some smart and some not so much.

A light thump acknowledged Tom had finished his book.

"Would you look at that, the sun is starting to set." The boy's head jolted to the window. Harry looked out as well. So it was.

"That book, what's it about." Tom looked at Harry with complete interest. It made Harry feel important and so he told Tom with more enthusiasm every detail of the the three brother's and their meeting with death.

Days passed and Harry found that he was enjoying Tom's company. The boy wasn't very nice by any means, Harry often felt Tom was looking down on him for reasons unknown. He also seemed to have dual personalities. With the adults Tom would be all smiles but with Harry he was almost expressionless. But even so he was always around and it made Harry realise how lonely he really had been in this large house with no one keeping him company other than the nameless tutors and shy house elves.

Today was a particularly lovely day. Harry, Tom and Dudley were encouraged to go out on a treasure hunt. James handed the boy's a map and Lily packed them a basket. Unsurprisingly as soon as they were out of sight and in a large wild garden Dudley greedily took the basket from Harry and made his own way. Probably went to sit under one of the many trees and scoff down all the cheese scones. Harry rolled his eyes at his ever so plumping cousin and turned to his taller technically but not quite related cousin Tom.

"You want to do the hunt?" Harry asked.

"Alright." He snatched the map from Harry. "But I'm in charge. As if I'd trust a four year old to lead me around an unfamiliar forest." Harry rolled his eyes but went with it. They carried on like that barely talking. Harry was starting to feel very bored and just wanted to get home

"I think we go left here..." Tom turned towards a small river bank with a plank laid across it as a makeshift bridge.

"Sure..." Harry sighed. Tom gave him a sideways glance.

"You know, this could be the bridge the three brother's conjured when they met Death. We'd best be careful." Harry's head snapped up. That couldn't possibly be true.

"That's stupid." He gripped the edge on Tom's shirt as the crossed over the plank, looking all around. He won't let Death fool him. For the briefest moment Harry swore he saw Tom smiling but it was both too small and gone too fast for him to confirm.

Eventually they did find the treasure. It was a tiny wooden box filled with chocolate money. When they returned afternoon had set in and Dudley was nowhere to be seen. With an exhausted huff Harry let himself fall into the grass near a bed of roses. Tom who was carrying the box looked down at him before also settling on the grass and started snacking on the golden wrapped chocolate.

"Should we save some for Dudley?" Harry asked. As much as it pained him to admit, this box was meant for the three of them.

"That growing mass of flab? He can do without." Tom snorted. Harry hummed in amusement.

The sun felt incredibly pleasant on his legs, Harry could feel himself begin to drift.

"Vernon doesn't like me." Tom said suddenly and very out of thr blue effectively breaking Harry's trance.

"Huh?" He mumbled.

"He's jealous. A grown man is jealous of a six year old." That didn't make sense.

"How is that possible?" Harry rubbed his eyes. Tom looked at Harry his eye's sparking in something Harry couldn't recognise.

"Because he knows I'm better than him." Tom's lips quirked into a twisted smirk.

Harry frowned. That didn't make sense why would his uncle think his adopted son was better than him. There was challenge in in the way Tom was looking at him, it was as if he was daring Harry to oppose him. Harry didn't like it. It felt dangerous.

"Right..." He trailed off knowing fully well the disbelief was evident. Tom didn't even blink. He just simply continued to watch Harry with that same look and then he got up and brushed himself off.

"I'll see you at dinner, Harry."

After Tom's strange and very out of the blue confession he had taken to avoiding Harry. Well more like ignoring, avoiding made it sound like he was scared and hiding away from Harry. This soon became the last of Harry's problems.

His mother kissed him on the forehead and headed into town with his Aunt Petunia linked arm in arm. Bother were dressed in modest long gowns and petticoats. Vernon and his father were drinking brandy and smoking cigars while Dudley ran around pretending his very land bound airplane was flying. Harry was sitting on a the leather sofa pretending to read but was constantly sending Tom anxious glances. Should he apologise for what happened just days ago? What would he even say.

"Vernon! Vernon! Oh my dear Vernon!" Came a shrill scream. It was his aunt. She came bursting into the parlor looking like a complete mess. Both James and Vernon jumped from their respected seats.

"My God woman! Get a hold of yourself!" Vernon sputtered. Petunia ran into his arm's crying loudly. Vernon looked to James rather distressed.

"You must excuse my wife, it seems she's having one of her hysterics. Honestly Petunia, stop this at once!" Petunia just cried harder.

"Lily! Lily she- oh my dear God, Lily!" She wailed. Lily! His mother, what happened. Harry put the book he had been pretending to read down a sense of dread settling in. It would seem his father felt the same.

"What do you mean Lily?" He uttered before grabbing Petunia roughly by the shoulders off a disgruntled Vernon.

"Tell me! Is Lily okay!?" He shook her as if it would force her to answer.

"Lily, she's in the hospital." Aunt Petunias voice broke. Harry frowned. Hospitals were for sick and hurt people, from what he could tell his mother was neither of those. He looked to Tom and this time he was looking back at Harry.

His mother was dead.

On the day of her funeral even the Earth seemed to be in mourning, everything was dark and dreary. There were some people he recognised such as his godfather and his Uncle Remus along with many others he had never seen in his life. It was strange how you would know your parents your whole life but they might only know you for a small portions of theres.

Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, Tom and Dudley, they were all there dressed in black and leaving flowers. When the ceremony was over his father fell into tears, Petunia was quick to comfort him. Harry didn't like the way their hands lingered and their eyes met, he wanted to know what they were saying but he couldn't hear them from his seat.

He let it be, it's not like he'd see his relatives anytime soon. After all they were his mother's family and now she was dead.

It would seem that the two families wouldn't stay apart long. Only months later Harry found him in a familiar dark suit holding his father's hand standing next to a wider but equally shiny black coffin.

"Two loved ones just taken from this earth like it's nothing!" Petunia sniffed patting her cheek with a satin handkerchief. James let go of Harry's hand.

"I just don't know how I'm going to make ends meet, a widow and her two sons!" Petunia broke down into tears. Harry took a peek at the two said boys. Tom looked as composed as ever, Dudley however looked sickly and white. Harry would have felt pity to the poor boy if all his emotions weren't currently being over ruled with the anguish that came with losing his mother. They all had it hard right now.

"Family is family Petunia, you and your son's should come live with me if you ever find thing's are too hard." James deep voice made Harry's head jerk.

"So kind you are sir, but I simply cannot. We are of different kinds." Petunia sniffed. James looked around before leaning in speaking very hushed. "If it is about the magic you needn't worry, all guests in my home only experience the greatest of hospitality." Harry frowned, surely he couldn't mean...

"Should you so desire a 'normal' household I'd be at means to comply." Why would his father make a promise like that! He love magic just as much as Harry! He couldn't be serious.

"It's what Lily would have wanted for her sister." James proved just how serious he was.

Sure enough Petunia Evans Dursley and her sons Tom and Dudley moved in briefly after the funeral just a few day's after Harry's birthday. As much as Harry hated the arrival of these new 'house guests' there was a large improvement in his father who has been previously spending his day's locked away in his study. Suddenly he was out more, he and Petunia drinking tea and taking walks through the gardens.

Tom still barely spoke to Harry, he'd sometimes see the boy around the manor either writing in a little black leather diary or reading. Dudley and Tom had their own bedrooms now and Harry's father would buy them anything they so desired even giving them an allowance. As September arrived he saw Tom even less and Dudley more as both boys were transferred to Harry's grammar school where he and Dudley shared the same class.

Everything felt like it was starting to get better Harry thought. The day's that seemed dark and cold throughout summer was clearing even though the temperatures were dropping.

At dinner that night James grinned to them all.

"Boy's, Petunia and I have an announcement to make." They took each others hands. Petunia was wearing his mothers ring.

"We decided it would be for the best if we got married." He grinned toothily at Harry who smiled hesitantly in return. He didn't like this.

The wedding was white, flashy and many dark disapproving faces showed up.

"What are you thinking James! It has barely been a year and you're marry her sister? Are you even thinking about Harry!" His Godfather hissed.

"Of course I'm thinking about Harry! Who better to look after my son than the sister of the woman I loved, I can't be with Harry 24/7." He heard his father growl back. Suddenly everything felt lighter. Every day as the wedding approached Harry had felt a weight on his back get progressively heavier and the question of 'why' played over in his head.

It was for him. His father was doing because he loved him, his doubts left him. He wanted to help his father, he'd help create the loving family they had before tragedy tore it apart.

It had been barely two months since the wedding and his father was bed ridden. Why were things like this?

Harry clinched his fists together. Was this all because of that old muggle phrase 'only the good die young'. That was the only way this would make sense. He may have made jokes about his parents being old but he knew full well that neither his mother or father had a single grey hair on their heads.

Harry, Petunia, Tom and a doctors whose name he didn't care about stood around the bed his father breathed heavily upon. Dudley should have been with them but he was probably gorging on cake in the kitchens.

"I just don't understand. I've never seen symptoms like this throughout my entire career. It's almost as if he isn't human!" The doctor ran a hand through his hair and Petunia paled. Harry frowned and pulled on his 'step mothers' petticoats.

"I think he we need to get a different doctor ma'am." He couldn't bring himself mother or anything parental related but it seemed even stranger to be calling her aunt at this point.

"One of our kind." The doctor gave him a very confused glance and Petunia paled.

"No." She said sharply. "I-I'm sure this kind young man has everything under control." She stuttered, breaking into a sweat.

"Harry dear, Tom sweetheart, I think it would be best if you two go outside and play with Dudley. Adults are speaking." She ushered them out. Harry struggled, he didn't want to leave his father like this.

"Harry. Leave at once." Her voice had gone cold.

"But you can't save him like this! It's useless you mu-"

"Not another word!" She snapped and forcefully grabbed Harry to pull him outside.

"I don't want to hear even a utter not even a whisper on such abnormalities or you boy will be out and on the streets in less than a second!" She slammed the door to his fathers bedroom leaving a quite Tom.

"What did she mean by that?" Oh so now he wanted to talk to Harry. Harry glared at Tom and muffled a very irritated scream in his throat before stomping away not even bothering to answer him.

It was that evening Harry was invited back into his father's room. This time everyone was there including Dudley.

"Harry." His father whispered. Harry pulled himself from the vice like grip Petunia had been keeping on him.

"Papa!" He cried. James reached out weakly and tenderly held Harry's hand.

"I'm sorry I won't be able to stay here with you." James smiled sadly, his eyes seemed to sparkle.

"Be a good boy Harry, look after the house for me. One day it will be yours." Harry knew his tear were falling on the expensive silk sheets but didn't care.

"I don't want a house if you and mum aren't here to live in it." His voice cracked. James let out a single breathy chuckle and then not so much as an inhale more. The hand that had been holding Harry's went lax and dropped. He grabbed it with all ten fingers and buried his head into the palm.

There was a priest there reading the bible and Petunia too shed a few tears. Dudley was silent and shuffling his feet until Petunia led him out. Tom stalked up to Harry.

"Welcome to the club." Tom whispered darkly into his ear before exiting the room leaving Harry with a cold hard hand in his own and a heavy heart in his chest.

At the funeral Sirius had insisted Harry come live with him.

"James didn't write down a will, I assume he didn't think he'd need one seeing as you had been his only child." He told Harry.

"According to muggle law his oldest son is to inherit everything by default. The land the money, but you're not a muggle and neither was your father. By wizarding law everything with be yours when you come into age which is seventeen. Of course you'll have a trust fund opened at eleven but until then I say you come live with me. You can't stay there! You won't be able to practice magic or play Quidditch." He kneeled down to Harry's height.

"Trust me when I say this. ThemPetunia Evans I knew was not a nice girl. She may be playing it up nice right now but when it comes to magic, who we are, a raging beast of hatred rears it's ugly nose." Sirius pulled Harry out and away from the funeral reception to be completely out of range of any eavesdroppers.

Harry shook his head.

"Uncle Padfoot, I have to stay! Papa wanted me to look after the house, I don't want to leave them in my home not knowing what was going to happen. It'll be okay, you and Uncle Moony can visit me and look after me all you wish but please don't make me leave Godric's Hollow." Harry stated and Sirius just sighed and gave him a soft smile.

"As stubborn as ever you are." He pulled Harry into a tight hug.

"I know it hurts. Never be afraid to ask me for anything." Sirius smoothed Harry's hair. Harry sniffed. He would not cry, no crying, stop crying. Why does his heart feel like it's tearing into pieces?

So there we have it. Harry a naive four year old with no power to do anything living it up in the 1930s. I hope you like it so far, I wrote it all on my iPad so my mistakes were tended with a very dodgy auto correct.

I'd love to hear any comments or criticisms so reviews are very much appreciated!