Harry Potter ~ Classical Fairytales

Cinderella

It was a lovely summer day and the sun was shining brightly, as the birds sang in the trees and cats sunbathed in the sun. However, despite the lovely weather, was a very unhappy young girl. Unhappy, as her mother was dead and her father had remarried to another woman, a widow who brought along her two daughters. Lily didn't expect them to be left behind, but she wanted them to be kind. However, the stepmother, Ellen Cracknell, was fed up with hiring new people to look after her very fussy daughters, Petunia and Dolores and didn't want to waste her time finding a new one. On the day she moved in, Lily kindly offered to help move their belongings. After several hours she helped move everything in, by herself.

When her father arrived home from work, she was punished for breaking one Dolores' prized cat teacups and was sent to bed without tea. All the kind things, kind words, thoughts and loving touches were for her own daughters. Not just the kind thoughts and love, but also the beautiful dresses, expensive shawls, delicious food, comfy beds, as well as all other home comforts. All this was presented to her spoilt daughters. But, for the poor unhappy girl, there was nothing at all. No dresses, only her stepsisters' hand-me-downs. Which were either far too big for her small frame to wear or wear terribly torn. No lovely dishes to dine on, nothing but scraps. No nice rests and comfort. The unhappy girl had to work hard all day, and only when evening came and she had finished her long list of chores, was she allowed to sit for a while by the fire, near the cinders. The place where she also slept on the floor. This is how she got her nickname for when she was demanded to assist, Cinderella. Only when her father was around was she called Lily, for her name was Lily Evans and her step-sisters became Petunia and Dolores Evans.

When Lily wasn't working, she would talk to the dog. She would sit and talk to the dog for many hours.

The dog said, "Woof", which really meant "Cheer up! You have something neither of your evil step-sisters have and that is beauty."

It was quite true. Lily, even dressed in rags with a dusty grey face from the cinders, was a lovely girl. She had long, red hair, which grew darker as she grew up. While her stepsisters, with their ugly hearts, no matter how splendid or elegant their clothes, were still as clumsy, lump and ugly as they always would be.

A boy across the road noticed the girl. He looked through the window as she would tidy the garden and clean the window panes. He followed her, hidden from sight, as she walked everyday to the market. The lonely boy watched from afar as the unhappy girl grew sadder. As they got older, the boy would still watch. His dark brown hair grew longer, which hid is face. He had less time to do so, as he had to work. But still, he would follow her every moment her could. He wanted to talk to her, but he never could.

One day, soon after Lily's forgotten seventeenth birthday, beautiful new dressed arrived at the house. A ball, for the prince to find a wife was to be held at the Court. The stepsisters were getting ready to go to it. They demanded that Lily do their make-up, as she had a delicate hand. Lily was ordered to style their hair and somehow squeeze them into their new dresses. Lily was shouted at to hurry, for a button had pinged of Dolores' dress and had to be reattached. Lily, didn't dare once ask, "What about me?" for she knew very well what the horrible answer would be.

"You? You're staying at home. You'll be to busy to go to the ball. You need to wash the dishes, scrubs the floors and turn down the beds for your lovely stepsisters. They will come home very tired and sleepy from the ball," Cinderella sighed at the dog.

"Oh dear, Sirius," Lily muttered, for that is what the name on the dog's collar said.

The dog murmured in response, "Woof."

After her family had left for the ball in a carriage, Lily started her chores. As soon as she had finished, something amazing happened. By the fire, where Lily was sitting all by herself, there was a burst of light and a wolf appeared. Lily was about to scream and the dog stepped forward to guard the girl.