AN: Hello and Welcome to my first ever story on ! (OMG I'm hyperventilating, I'm so nervous right now!) So anyways like I said this is my first story so please Please PLEASE go easy on me.

First of all, please forgive me for the cliché title but I really couldn't think of anything else. I promise the story will be better than it sounds though!

This story will mostly be about the relationship between Harry and Tom, although I haven't figured out what that relationship will be yet. THERE WILL BE SLASH! Mush later on but just know it will be there so if that's not your thing then hit the back button now. There will also be other pairings, but like I said I haven't really figured out who will be with who yet. Just know that most of them will be homo and not hetero. This story also doesn't have a beta so I'm sure there are a bunch of grammatical errors. I apologize for any you find but please try to overlook them.

If you like anything about the story or if you have any constructive criticism, then I would very much appreciate your feedback. I do not however, appreciate flames and any that I receive will be used to roast marshmallows and weenies and then thoroughly extinguished because Smoky the Bear said so!

I think I've wasted enough of your time so yeah...read and review please!

From Rags to Riches

Chapter 1: Another Day in Hell

Dreams

'Thoughts'

"Dialogue"

The soft sound of birds chirping floated through the air as sunlight trickled through the leaves of the tree that Harry sat beneath. He lifted his hands to the sky and felt the warmth of the rays mixed with the cool sensation of the wind. The young boy looked out onto the vast field of long grass and enjoyed the peace of the moment.Leaning his head back onto the trunk of the tree, he closed his eyes for only a second and when he opened them he was met with the sight of the most beautiful women he had ever seen kneeling in front of him. She had gorgeous, flowing auburn hair and a smile that seemed to take the place of the sun, it was so bright. But the most surprising of her features, were the glowing emerald eyes that seemed to mirror his perfectly. She opened her mouth to speak but even though her mouth moved no words came out. Confused, harry tried to lean towards her to hear her but found he couldn't move. The woman continued to speak her silent words and when it looked like she was finished she got up and started to walk away. Suddenly everything went dark and a cold chill ran up Harry's spine. He had no idea who this woman was but he didn't want her to leave. If she left then he would never feel the warmth of the sun again, he just knew it. With fear and dread coursing through his body, he forced himself to his feet and ran after the women but no matter how far or how fast he ran, she just moved further and further away. Finally, she stopped in front of a doorway that Harry swore wasn't there before and opened it. Standing on the other side was a strong looking man with messy raven hair and glasses. He had kind eyes and a mischievous air about him. The man smiled a joyful smile at her and then took her hand. 'They're going to disappear through that door' Harry thought 'and they're never going to come back. Faster, I have to run faster!' The raven haired man began to pull the woman into the room on the other side of the door, all the while staring lovingly at her. They stepped through the door together and slowly it began to close. Harry got to the door just as it clicked shut. He pulled on the knob, desperately trying to get it open again but to no avail, it was locked. As tears streamed down his face he banged on the door, hoping that the man and woman would hear him and come back, hoping that they wouldn't disappear forever. Feeling cold and empty he sank to the floor and yelled in a broken voice 'MOM, DAD, DON'T GO!'

Harry woke with a start, drenched in sweat, and tears rolling down his face. The sound of banging on his cupboard door traveled to him, along with a trill voice screaming at him to get up and cook breakfast. He took a moment to survey his surroundings and realized he had woken to another day of hell in the Dursley household. It was currently 7 o'clock Saturday morning, the time that Petunia always came down in order to unlock his cupboard so that he could fix breakfast for her darling family. Usually Harry woke up early and was ready to go by the time she unlocked the door, but today was one of the rare days that he overslept. 'Maybe it was because of that weird dream' he thought, trying to remember it even though it was already fading from his memory. Harry jumped when Aunt Petunia hit the door extra hard and demanded that he come out immediately. With a soft sigh, the small boy grabbed his clothes for the day, crawled off of his cot and out of the door to his "room". He was greeted with the sight of Aunt Petunia staring down her nose at him with a disgusted and impatient look.

"Well boy are you going to cook breakfast of are you going to make us wait while you laze around all morning?!" she demanded, lifting her nose up into the air as high as it could possibly go while still pinning him with her glare (which harry had to admit was pretty impressive actually.)

"No Aunt Petunia, right away Aunt Petunia." He recited in a monotone voice. He quickly walked to the bathroom to relieve his bladder and change his clothes. He went through his morning routine of washing his face and brushing his teeth and would have taken a short shower if he thought that his Aunt was patient enough to wait a few more minutes (but fortunately he knew better). After trying in vain to get his messy raven locks under control, he gave up with a frustrated puff of air and exited the bathroom.

The small boy cried out in shock, as he was harshly pushed into the wall and landed in an ungraceful heap on the ground. Apparently Dudley wanted to give him his usual morning greeting. Harry glared at the ground as Dudley stood over him and laughed in an obnoxious way.

"Watch where you're going freak!" he barked at him, waddling his way into the kitchen.

Harry sat there for a few seconds, trying to get a grip on his anger. He curled his hands into fists, the nails digging in so deep that they left tiny crescent shapes on his palms. 'If only I could…' he started to think but immediately banished the thought from his mind. If he dared to fight back or even appear defiant, he would have to deal with Vernon or Petunia, and as cruel as Dudley could be, he couldn't compare to his parents. He didn't know if he could deal with another whipping or frying pan to the head after his last punishment two days ago. With great self-control, harry managed to swallow the anger and bitterness that threatened to envelope him. With emotionless eyes and a blank demeanor, the raven walked into the kitchen and started to cook breakfast for the Dursley's. Ever since he could remember, he had been doing the cooking, even when he was so short that he had to stand on a stool just to reach the stove. He was tall enough to reach the stove on his own now, but just barely, and he still had to strain to reach the back burners.

The small boy went to the refrigerator and got out six eggs and a pack of bacon. He cracked the eggs into one skillet and laid twelve strips of bacon down in another one. The heavenly sent of cooking food evaded his senses and he couldn't help but hope that the Dursley's wouldn't finish their meal so that he could sneak the leftovers while he cleaned the table, but he highly doubted it; the Dursley's always finished their meals. He went to get the bread and started toasting six pieces and when that was done started on Aunt petunia's porridge. His Aunt never ate more than a small bowl of porridge and some fruit in the morning. 'In order to keep my beautiful figure' she always claimed which harry grimaced at (there was nothing beautiful about his horse of an Aunt).

The food looked so appetizing and smelled so heavenly that Harry considered taking a little bacon and some eggs. The memory of what had happened to him when he tried that last time stilled his hand. Even though the wound had been healed for a long time, his chest burned as he remembered that horrible day.

By the time Harry had finished setting the table and was preparing it with food, Vernon finally appeared, shuffling into the room and demanding a strong cup of coffee. Harry quickly bustled to prepare the drink, knowing that his Uncle was twice as nasty when he hadn't had his first cup of Joe.

Petunia called Dudley into the kitchen from where he had been sitting in front of the television watching his Saturday morning cartoons. The small whale that was his cousin came bustling into the room and plopped down into the seat. the chair gave an ominous creak as if about to crumple under the weight. Fortunately (or unfortunately in Harry's case) the chair stayed standing on its four legs. With all of the Dursley's situated at the table, Harry brought over the last of the food and Vernon's cup of coffee.

"About time boy." Vernon sneered at him, placing the morning paper on the table and gulping down the steaming liquid.

With his job now complete, Harry went to stand in the corner and wait for the Dursley's to finish so he could get his list of chores from Aunt Petunia. Usually he didn't have that many chores during the weekday as he had to go to school, but during the weekends he was expected to clean the whole house. The small boy just hoped that today Petunia would give him some food before he started his chores or he was afraid he would collapse from hunger. He hadn't eaten in nearly two and a half days, ever since he had accidently kicked Dudley in the leg when he and his friends had tried to beat him up. His uncle had punished him severely for that and ever since he had felt terribly sick. His forehead was often hot and his vision swam in and out sometimes. He knew there were several open wounds on his back and could only hope that none of them were infected, but as long as he didn't think about it he could ignore the heat coursing through his body. He turned his attention to his uncle who was talking to his aunt about some promotion at work.

"It's a wonderful opportunity my pet. I'll be making twice as much as I do now and I'll be getting more vacation time, so we can go to that place you always wanted to visit. I'm practically guaranteed the job!" Vernon exclaimed, spittle and food flying hallway across the table.

"That's wonderful dear. And then maybe we can afford to put Dudley into that nice, big private school on the other side of town." Petunia replied, smiling in a way that made it look like she was sucking on a lemon. "Wouldn't you like that sweetheart!" Petunia cooed at Dudley pinching his cheek as he nodded once and then continued to inhale his food.

As soon as Dudley was finished with his food, he turned to his father and demanded money for movies and snacks. Vernon smiled proudly at his son, as if he had just told him that he had won the Nobel Prize. Vernon handed over a considerable amount of money as Petunia continued to smother Dudley with loving words and kisses before he walked out of the room (presumably to go watch television and eat more snacks until his gang arrived).

Petunia's eyes, which had stared lovingly at her child, turned cold in an instant as they turned to the small raven haired boy.

"Well boy, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and clean the table!" she screeched at him in her nasally voice. She walked over to a cabinet and got out some stale bread and then walked to the refrigerator to retrieve some nearly molded cheese and a half rotten apple. After she was done she pushed the items into Harry's arms. "Eat this and then get started on your chores, the list is on the table." Petunia instructed, giving him one last disgusted look before leaving the room.

Knowing fully well that he wasn't allowed to sit on the furniture, Harry went over to the counter and devoured the food like a starving man (or staring kid in this case). With the last bite, his stomach gave a content rumble and then finally settled down. The raven haired boy stared down at the counter as he thought about the disgusted looks that his "family" always gave him. He knew that the Dursley's hated him. They had always told him that they hated him because his parents were useless, selfish, drunken bums who killed themselves and an innocent family in a car accident when Harry had just been a year and a half old. According to the Dursley's, Harry hadn't been in the car because his parents had decided to abandon him and had never truly loved him. The Dursley's always said that they could tell he would become just like his parents and so they had to punish him for the crimes he would commit in the future.

Harry believed the Dursley's completely and often felt guilty about what his parents had done and frightened of what he would do one day, but that didn't keep him from feeling angry and bitter each and every time the Dursley's mistreated him. When he was smaller, he used to be jealous of Dudley and all of the love and affection he received, but he now realized that he would rather be poor and neglected then fat, arrogant, lazy and rotten like his cousin.

He had often wished, years ago, that the man and woman he saw in his dreams were really his parents and that they would come to get him and tell him that they loved him and hadn't abandoned him, but he knew they couldn't be his parents since the Dursley's always said his parents had been ugly and disgusting. But it didn't have to be the man and woman. Harry just wanted someone, anyone, who was willing to love him. He wanted someone to hug him and praise him and comfort him. That was what he had always wished for. However, he had lost his hope a while ago and had accepted reality.

The young boy quickly rubbed his eyes where tears were threatening to fall and pushed the depressing thoughts from his mind. He went back to the kitchen table to clear the rest of the dishes and afterwards begin his chores. Harry had almost managed to forget about the terrible heat thrumming through his body and making his head fuzzy, but the heat spiked and for a second everything went black. The sound of shattering glass rang through his consciousness and a feeling of dread surrounded him. Harry hurriedly forced his eyes open and realized that he was leaning on the counter top. Two plates and a cup lay broken at his feet.

"What's going on in there boy?!" Uncle Vernon yelled from the family room as he got up to investigate the noise.

The small boy began to tremble as white hot fear plunged into his stomach like a bag of bricks. He hadn't dropped a single plate in the Dursley house since he was four years old. He grew nauseous as he remembered the cracking sound of his ankle breaking when his uncle had punished him for it. He could only imagine that this time would be worse, much worse.

He wanted to run but found his legs rooted to the spot as Vernon came into the kitchen and saw the broken dishes. Fury transformed his features to something grotesque as his face went from a glowing red to an angry puce. With steps much too quick for a man of his size, Vernon crossed the room and seized the trembling boy by his oversized shirt.

"YOU UNGREATFUL FREAK!" Vernon bellowed in Harry's face slapping the boy with his meaty hand. "WE FEED YOU, CLOTH YOU, AND GIVE YOU A WARM PLACE TO SLEEP AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY US?! BY DESTROYING OUR THINGS?!"

Harry's eyes widened as he took in the rage etched on his uncle's face. He hadn't seen the man this angry in a very long time and he instantly knew that after his punishment he wouldn't be able to walk for a week.

With a cruel and twisted smile on his face, Vernon leaned down and whispered in Harry's ear "I'm going to teach you a lesson that you will not soon forget."

Vernon grasped the boys arm and waddled out of the room, Harry stumbling along behind him. He headed for the stairs and the raven knew what was coming. Vernon would take him to that room and whip him with the belt until his back was a maze of long oozing gashes. Resigning himself to his fate, Harry prepared to completely erase his mind, the only defense against his uncle's brutality. Vernon was almost to the stairs when the sound of the doorbell rang through the house. Petunia froze in her seat where she had been observing the incident with uncaring eyes. Dudley looked disappointed that the punishment had been interrupted and Vernon looked torn between answering the door or just ignoring it and continuing with the beating. The doorbell rang a second time and Vernon gave an irritated sigh before walking to the cupboard and violently throwing the small boy inside.

"I'll deal with you later!" he promised before slamming the tiny door and locking it from the outside. The doorbell rang a third time and with an annoyed look on his face, Vernon went to the door and pulled it open.

"Can I help you?" he asked with a sour attitude.

"I believe you can" a haughty voice answered more civilly "is this the residence of Harry James Potter?"

Yay! Chapter One of FRTR completed! Now all I need are some reviews to give me the determination and confidence to continue with this story *Looks at readers with huge pleading eyes*