Yes a new story. I couldn't help it. Muse is evil :(

Okay, so, I'm telling you all right now that this story is a girl!Slytherin!Not Dark!Harry story. I listed the characters as Harry Potter and Tracey Davis, because she will be one of Madeleine's friends. I will accept no hate for doing this; it's perfectly valid sense Madeleine is the female version of Harry (even though she is very different, she's also similar in some ways) and I'm sick of people sending me flames because they can't read.

Any questions about pairings, future plot, etc? Message me. I won't put it up here because some people may not want to know early.

Enjoy!

CHAPTER THE FIRST: THE ZOO

It smelled like mould, dirt, and stale air in the cupboard where Madeleine slept, but she was used to it after almost nine years. Yes, it may sound hard to believe, but this young girl really did live in the closet under the stairs. It wasn't because there weren't any other rooms left in the house or because she chose too – it was simply because her aunt and uncle, Vernon and Petunia Dursley, along with their dreadful son Dudley, hated her.

Madeleine Potter had been left at the doorstep of her relatives' house when she was still a baby, after her parents had died. She was never sure why the Dursleys had kept her; personally, she felt sometimes that she would be better off in an orphanage. She was forced to cook most of the meals, clean almost all of the house, do all the particularly difficult chores like mowing the yard, painting the fence, scrubbing the floors, and other such nasty, difficult things, but even all that would have been manageable if her Uncle Vernon, her Aunt Petunia, and her cousin, Dudley, weren't so very horrible to her.

"WAKE UP!" yelled Madeleine's aunt through the metal grate on her cupboard door, startling the young girl out of a particularly nice dream. "GET UP RIGHT NOW, YOU UNGRATEFUL BRAT!"

Madeleine groaned, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. The clock behind her (once her cousin's; Madeleine had nicked it from the rubbish bin when he, inevitably, broke it, and had repaired it herself) read 6:00AM.

"Ugh," Madeleine moaned quietly. "Why so early?"

"UP!" Petunia screeched, apparently not having heard her niece or simply choosing to ignore her. Madeleine could hear the clip–clop of her shoes as she went back into the kitchen, and the young girl reluctantly climbed out from under the covers. She knew what would happen if she didn't move quickly.

She had been dreaming about a giant flying motorbike, a dream she had had before. In fact, it was illustrated on her wall. Though the cupboard was small – seven feet by three – it held a decent amount of things. Of course, these things were Madeleine's only possessions in the world.

There was the cot Madeleine slept out, and on top of it was an old red and white striped blanket (frayed and clumsily patched), a matching pillow, and another pillow, smaller and silk, that was white and had been left with Madeleine when she was put on the Dursley's doorstep. Behind that was a short shelf that held the repaired alarm clock with the aforementioned picture hung above it, and on the left wall was a slightly longer shelf that held several knick–knacks Madeleine had found – army men, pens, rocks, a notebook, buttons, dried flowers, several small, half–broken toys, and a rag doll she had made in class. Over that hung two pictures she had drawn, one of herself and her parents (both drawn without hair, because Madeleine had no idea what they looked like) and one of her favourite type of flower. Next to these were two papers from her primary school that she was particularly proud of. At the end of her bed was a bean bag chair (also taken from the bin after Dudley ripped it, and repaired with tape), and next to that a large cardboard box that held all of Madeleine's clothes. She had in total one pair of tights, two pairs of socks, three skirts, two pairs of pants, three shirts, two sweaters, two jackets, and two pairs of shoes. Some of this (one pair of the shoes, one shirt, and one skirt) was only for 'fancy' occasions, such as when her aunt had company, and all of it was from a cheap second–hand store. While Madeleine liked most of the things well enough, they all smelled funny and nothing really felt right; it was either too big, too small, too worn, or just itchy.

Lastly, there were a set of shelves on the far wall, just where the stairs sloped down. Though presumably meant for storage, perhaps to hold linens or Christmas decorations, Madeleine utilised the shelves for her things. On the bottom shelf were five worn books Madeleine had managed to rescue from Dudley – Alice in Wonderland, Moby Dick, The Picture of Dorian Grey, Matilda, and James and the Giant Peach. The shelf above that held a Teddy bear and blanket, both things that had been left with Madeleine on the doorstep, and on the very top was Madeleine's prized possession.

It was a wooden keepsake box that Madeleine had never been able to open. Aunt Petunia had told Madeleine when she was five that she it was left to her by her mother, and that if she had any sense at all she had better not let Uncle Vernon ever see it. Madeleine listened.

Strangely, sometimes she thought her aunt might actually care about her. Sometimes, Madeleine caught Petunia looking at her softly. Sometimes, Madeleine saw a tear in her eye when Uncle Vernon hit her for this or that. Sometimes, Petunia even snuck her niece a snack when she had been told she was not allowed to eat for days. But sometimes…

"ARE YOU UP YET?" demanded said aunt, banging on Madeleine's door. The young girl jumped.

"Nearly," Madeleine replied, breaking out of her thoughts.

"Well move, girl!" Petunia said gruffly. "You'd better be in the kitchen and cooking in three minutes, or else! Everything has to be perfect for Dudley's special day!"

Madeleine groaned. That was why they were up so early! How could she have forgotten Dudley's birthday?

"What was that?" her aunt demanded.

"Nothing! I'm getting ready, Aunt Petunia!" Madeleine called. She heard her aunt walk away again, and began to dress. Madeleine was rather ordinary looking, or at least she thought so. She had long, tangly red hair, bright green eyes, a square face, a dimpled chin, and thick lips. Her skin was pale, probably from spending most of her time in a cupboard, and she had knobbly knees and elbows.

The thing Madeleine liked the most about her appearance, however, was the lightning–bolt shaped scar on her forehead. She was told she had gotten it in the car crash when her parents had died, and found it very interesting.

Quickly, Madeleine pulled on her favourite outfit; thick orange tights, a grey skirt with small flowers, and a blue jumper. She was still pulling on her shoes when she heard banging on the stairs.

Dudley was awake.

As usual, he stopped right above the area when he knew Madeleine's bed was and began to jump up and down.

"Come on Potter, get up!" he yelled obnoxiously. "We're going to the zoo!"

Madeleine glared at the ceiling as her cousin cackled and ran down the steps, brushing spiders off and opening the door.

She barely dodged Dudley as he went to push her, causing him to stumble into the wall. Before he could do more than glare, Madeleine shot off, giggling, into the kitchen. She didn't look it, but she was fast.

Her aunt glared at her as she entered, only to burst into happy squeals when Dudley followed. While Madeleine began cooking the bacon, Petunia fussed over Dudley. Uncle Vernon soon entered, and barked, "Do something with that ratty hair, girl." Instead of 'good morning', like a polite person might say.

"Stop being so ugly and I will." Madeleine mumbled to herself, grinning slightly at her own joke.

Every few days or so, Uncle Vernon would bark that Madeleine 'must get that nasty hair cut right away!'. Since the Dursleys never spent more than the very minimum amount of money on Madeleine, her aunt always cut her hair. Every time, Petunia would cut her niece's hair just below her ears, ragged and uneven, then make her some lopsided bangs to 'cover that awful scar'. The first few times, Madeleine had hated it. She liked how she looked with long hair, and her scar was rarely visibly anyway. She didn't even want to think about how much more she would be picked on at school if she walked in looking like that.

And then the most amazing thing happened. Actually, it happened each time Petunia cut Madeleine's hair.

It would grow back. Simple as that; by the next morning, her hair would be the same length as before, if not longer. Madeleine, personally, thought it was an emotion–fuelled superpower, like the people who can suddenly lift cars off of their children. She hated her haircut so much that her body worked overtime until it was back to normal – that made perfect sense to Madeleine.

While Dudley counted his presents, Madeleine thought with excitement about the day ahead. She couldn't wait to go to the zoo; animals interested her a lot, for one thing, but there was also the fact that no one even thought Madeleine was related to the Dursleys, which was the best inadvertent compliment Madeleine could think of. Every time she went in public with them, when Dudley through a fit because there were no Mars Bars left or Uncle Vernon refused to tip the waitress, everyone looked at Madeleine with pity, as if they assumed she was an outsider who had nothing to do with it. She loved that.

But realistically, the Dursleys and Madeleine looked about as much alike as a scorpion looks like a newborn baby. Aunt Petunia was a skinny woman, with a horse–like face, perfectly shaped hair, and a long neck. Dudley and Uncle Vernon were both huge, with pink skin, hardly any neck, and small, watery eyes. Vernon had a thick handlebar moustache and brown hair, while Dudley had smooth blond hair that lay perfectly on his fat head. Aunt Petunia said Dudley was a little angel. Madeleine said Dudley was an exceptionally large pig with a hair piece.

As Madeleine lay the plates on the table, which was difficult as there wasn't much room, Dudley finished counting his presents.

"Thirty six." He said, looking at Vernon and Petunia. "That's two less than last year."

Oh no, Madeleine thought. She began eating quickly, sensing danger.

"Darling, you haven't counted Aunt Marge's present, see? It's over there under that big one from mummy and daddy."

"All right, thirty–seven then." Dudley said, beginning to go red. Madeleine began to eat even faster.

Petunia obviously saw trouble coming as well, because she said quickly, "And we'll buy you another two presents while we're out. How's that sweetums? Two more presents. That's all right, isn't it?"

Dudley began to think; never an easy task for him. Finally, he said, "So I'll have thirty…thirty…"

"Thirty–nine." Madeleine couldn't help but put in. Really, who couldn't add two to thirty–seven? "You'd have thirty–nine."

Aunt Petunia glared at her, but Dudley said, "Oh! All right then!" happily, and began to open a present.

Madeleine was tempted to mutter something like 'dunderhead' under her breath, but her aunt would hear her, and she didn't want her food taken away; she was hungry.

Uncle Vernon, meanwhile, was chuckling at Dudley.

"Little tyke wants to get his money's worth, just like his father! Atta boy, son!" He ruffled Dudley's hair.

Soon, Dudley's friend Piers Polkiss arrived. He was a scrawny thing with a rat–like face. His job in Dudley's gang was to hold people's arms while Dudley hit them. It was Madeleine's greatest ambition in life to give him a good kick.

Half an hour later, they were all in the Dursley's car on the way to the zoo. Just minutes ago, Madeleine's uncle had taken her aside and threatened her…

"I'm warning you now, girl." He said, holding her to wall. "Any funny business, anything at all, and you'll be in that cupboard until Christmas. Understood?"

"I'm not going to do anything!" Madeleine protested, not sure if she should be afraid or angry. "Honestly!"

But Uncle Vernon, surprisingly, didn't believe her.

The car ride in the backseat with Dudley and Piers was like the seventh circle of hell. They were both loud and annoying and loved to pinch and shove her. While they drove, Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. It was one of his favourite things to do. Today, his topic was motorcycles.

"I had a dream about a motorcycle last night!" Madeleine exclaimed. "It was flying."

Uncle Vernon slammed on the breaks, nearly hitting the car in front of them.

"MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!" he roared at Madeleine, as if she stupid enough to really think such a thing.

"I know that! It was only a dream!" Madeleine protested. Personally, she thought her uncle was the stupid one. Everyone knew motorcycles didn't fly! But she still wished she hadn't said anything; the Dursleys hated anything out–of–the–ordinary.

Soon, they were at the zoo, and Madeleine was having the time of her life. The Dursleys had bought her a cheap ice pop at the entrance, and she loved being out of the house. After wandering around for a while, they made it inside to the reptile house. It was cool inside, and Madeleine relaxed for a moment, reading the plaques and admiring the animals.

"Come on, move!" Dudley's loud voice brought Madeleine out of her peaceful thoughts. He was beside her now, with Piers of course, which made sense because Madeleine had been looking at the biggest snake in the place.

Dudley rapped on the glass and yelled again. Madeleine sighed.

Why can't he just leave him alone? Madeleine wondered. It was bad enough when he was terrible with her – he didn't even know the snake.

"Dad, make it move!" Dudley wined in his father's direction.

Uncle Vernon wandered over and tapped on the glass. The snake didn't move. Dudley banged on it with his fist.

"Leave him alone!" Madeleine snapped, turning to her cousin and glaring. He ignored her, deemed the snake boring, and he and Piers wandered off.

"Sorry about that. I know cousin can be a real ass," Madeleine said to the snake. The snake blinked sleepily and raised its head. It nodded.

Madeleine raised her eyebrows. She didn't know snakes could nod. She glanced around to see if anyone else had noticed. They hadn't. So she turned back to the snake.

"You can understand me?" she asked slowly. The snake hissed and nodded again. It glanced at Uncle Vernon and Dudley, then shook its head, as if to say 'I get that all the time'.

"I bet." Madeleine said, wrinkling her nose. "It must be horrible."

The snake nodded vigorously.

"I've never talked to a snake before…" said Madeleine, leaning closer to the glass. "Do you talk to people often?"

The snake shook its head.

"You're from Brazil, right?" she asked, nodding towards the plaque in front of the snake's cage. It nodded again. "Was it nice there? Do you miss your family?"

The snake jabbed its tail at the sign.

"Oh…" Madeleine said. There was a line of text at the bottom she hadn't read: THIS SPECIMEN WAS BRED AT THE ZOO.

"Me too." She said. "I don't remember my parents at all..."

Suddenly, Piers appeared behind her. "DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! DUDLEY! COME LOOK AT THE SNAKE! QUICK!"

Madeleine let out a cry as she was suddenly pushed hard onto the ground. She winced, seeing her bleeding knee and ripped tights and then glaring up at Dudley as he shouted for his mother and father to come see what the snake was doing. Madeleine was so mad she was shaking. She was sick of Dudley pushing her around like this. She had just as much right as him to see that snake, and Dudley needed to learn sooner or later that he just couldn't shove people out of his way. Something had to be done.

Madeleine glared at her cousin. His chubby face was pressed against the glass cage, sneering at the snake, and then something unexpected happened.

The glass vanished.

It was suddenly just completely gone, and Dudley and Piers both fell head over heels into the pool inside the snake cage. They screamed bloody murder as the snake seemed to glare right at them, then slithered out onto the floor.

Madeleine stared with wide eyes as the snake stopped before her.

"Brazzzzzzzzil here I come. Thankssssss, amigo." It hissed.

"A–anytime!" Madeleine said nervously, grinning. The snake slithered for the exit, hissing at people's feet and snapping playfully at their ankles. There was a sudden stampede for the exits as everyone tried to escape from the snake. Meanwhile, Dudley and Piers began to scream and yell yet again, drawing Madeleine's attention back to them, only to see that the glass was back. Petunia and Vernon ran forward, banging on the glass and yelling for Dudley, but Madeleine couldn't help but laugh. Finally, Dudley had gotten some of what was coming for him, and she couldn't bring herself to feel bad for him.

When she glanced back at her aunt and uncle, however, she saw Vernon glaring at her, and realised laughing had been a very big mistake indeed.

After many apologies by the zoo manger and the reptile keeper, they were finally in the car. Piers was soon back at home, Dudley was in a blanket given to them by the zoo, shivering and looking like he was probably scarred for life, and Vernon and Petunia were exchanging grim looks.

When they pulled into Number Four, Petunia and Dudley rushed in, followed by Vernon and Madeleine. Madeleine knew that something very bad was about to happen, and she found she was right when Vernon grabbed her arms and held her to the wall, glaring.

"What did you do?" he growled, squeezing her arms so tightly she yelped.

"I didn't do anything, honest!" she cried, her eyes starting to fill with tears from the pain on her arms. Could Uncle Vernon possibly have the strength to break them? She hoped not.

He ignored her, pulling her up closer to his height. All her weight was on her arms now.

"LYING BRAT!" he roared.

Madeleine knew she was supposed to just hang there until her uncle's anger ran out, not defend herself and just let him hurt her, but she just couldn't anymore! She was suddenly realising that she didn't deserve anything the Dursleys did to her – there was nothing wrong with her! All of the sudden, Madeleine couldn't help herself; she began to fight back.

"LET ME GO!" Madeleine yelled, kicking at her uncle's stomach, which was a very easy target, as it was so big. "I TOLD YOU I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING! HOW COULD I MAKE THE GLASS DISSAPEAR ANYWAY, YOU STUPID OAF!"

Vernon was turned even redder than normal, and Madeleine could see a vain on his forehead bulging out. A particularly hard kick got his stomach, and he pulled her off the wall before slamming her back against it, jarring her head but especially hurting her back.

"You nasty, lying, ungrateful brat!" Vernon growled. "You're going to pay for that, girl, you're going to wish you were never born."

Madeleine screamed as the pressure on her arms increased even more, tears running down her face. He slammed her into the wall again, and this time her head hit first. Stars burst under her eyelids, and she groaned in pain.

"I'm not lying!" she managed. She couldn't help but defend herself. "One minute the glass was there, then it was gone! It was like magic!"

"THERE. IS. NO. SUCH. THING. AS. MAGIC!" Vernon roared. He pulled back one huge fist, and Madeleine closed her eyes and braced herself, ready for the hit.

Something CRACKED hard against the wall by her head, and Madeleine opened her eyes just as her uncle howled and dropped her all the way to the floor, cradling his fist in his other hand.

"YOU LITTLE BITCH!" he screamed at Madeleine. Before he could do anything – kick her, most likely – Petunia intervened.

"Vernon, that's enough." She said firmly, putting a hand to his shoulder. "She couldn't have hurt your hand, and you know that. Now let's go and ice that before it swells. I'll lock her in the cupboard."

Vernon's hand must have hurt, because he nodded curtly, sending one last glare at Madeleine, still on the floor, and stomping into the kitchen. Petunia pulled Madeleine surprisingly gently to her feet and guided her to the cupboard. Madeleine was very grateful, and she nearly said so. Once she was sitting on her cot, her aunt glanced around, then whispered, "I'll bring you some ice and a snack later. Now try to rest, dear."

She closed the door, and Madeleine heard the click of the lock, but it didn't really register. She couldn't stop staring at the spot where her aunt had been. Madeleine had never been given ice for her many wounds, though she had snuck it before. Her aunt had given her snacks when she was denied food on more than one occasion, but had never offered to. Petunia had never before cared if Madeleine was rested or not. But the most shocking part of her aunt's words was the last one – 'dear'. Petunia had never called her niece 'dear' before, or anything like it.

Maybe…maybe her aunt did love her after all, Madeleine thought. Just a little bit.

But still, Madeleine's head hurt, and her back hurt, and of course her arms hurt. She lay back against her striped pillow, holding her little pillow to her face and crying from the pain while at the same time wondering how her uncle could have missed when he was a mere two feet from her. All of the sudden, she heard a quiet click.

Madeleine opened her eyes and looked for the source of the noise. At first, nothing really looked out of place in her cupboard. Her first thought was that maybe one of her army–men had fallen off the shelf, but they were all in their spots.

"OH!" Madeleine cried, jumping up. It was the chest from her mother – the one she had never been able to open. The lid was sticking up.

Madeleine scrambled for the shelf, grabbing the box and pulling it down into her lap. The first thing she saw inside was a piece of paper with notes scribbled on it in a looping handwriting:

Madeleine (the pronunciation mad–ah–line; meaning strong) Lily (after me; meaning innocence, purity, beauty) Jamesina (after her father, meaning one who supplants) Potter

It was written on a piece of stationary decorated with lilies. One of the few things Madeleine knew about her parents were that their names had been Lily and James – that meant that this letter must have been written by her mother.

She ran her fingers over it gently. Madeleine had never known her middle name – or apparently, names – until now.

"Madeleine Lily Jamesina Potter." Madeleine said aloud to herself. It sounded nice, she thought. And even better, it was after her parents.

But there was more in the box. Much more, in fact. As Madeleine pulled item after item from the chest, her eyes grew wider – how did it all fit? The chest looked – from the outside at least – to be about a foot long and four or five inches deep. But there were dozens and dozens of things in here, all with a little note explaining about them.

The first thing Madeleine pulled out was a necklace. It had a silver chair, several clear stones, two silver metal flowers, one silver gemstone-shaped pendant, and a silver locket with pictures inside. The pictures, Madeleine noticed with awe, were of three people – a black–haired man, a red–haired woman, and a small baby. This, Madeleine realised, must be herself and her parents.

The note attached read as follows:

Picked out by myself before I was even pregnant with Madeleine. The picture is of myself, James, and Madeleine when she was four months old. Taken by Remus.

Placing the locket and the note carefully in her lap, Madeleine picked out the next thing in the box. It was a bracelet covered with charms, and so was the next item, Madeleine found quickly. The charms varied from a doe to a maple leaf to a key to a baby carriage, and there were about twenty per bracelet. The first, which contained the key and baby carriage, among other things, had a note that read:

This bracelet was picked out by Lily for Madeleine. Most charms were picked by Lily, but some were sent from friends.

The other bracelets tag read:

This was mine from when I was a young, given to me by my parents when I started at Hogwarts.

Madeleine smiled – know she knew where her mother had gone to school as well! What a strange name, she thought, adding the bracelets to the pile on her lap, and grabbed the next thing. It was a ring. The band was silver, and there was a pendant edged with copper with a white flower in the middle, the glass around it cut like a gemstone and coloured a lovely shade of green.

Given to me in fifth year by James, the note read.

Adding that to the pile with a grin, Madeleine continued searching. The next item was an old–fashioned hair pin with eleven tiers sticking out, all with a small diamonds (or what looked like diamonds) at the end. The note attached to this read:

Given to me by my grandmother; was originally my great–great grandmothers.

Next were two wrist watches, one silver and quite old–looking (the card said it was made in 1870), and the other more modern–looking; the back read MADE IN 1960. Both had belonged to her mother, and, in the case of the older watch, her grandmother and great–grandmother before that. The both had metal bands and were very nice–looking. The four things after that seemed to be a set; all gold–based jewellery, the card explained that they were for special occasions, like parties or balls, and had belonged to her mother as well. There was a ring, a bracelet, a necklace, and a hair clip. The ring was an ornate gold poison ring with a small turquoise stone in the middle. The bracelet was a cuff–style with a very, very elaborate flower pattern accented with diamonds, turquoise, emerald, and rubies. The necklace had a chain accented with diamonds near the pendant, which was a ruby surrounded by small diamonds. Lastly, the hair clip had six rows of eleven stones each; the first row was blue stones of all sizes and shapes, and the rest the same but in brown, green, red, topaz, and pink respectively.

Next was a pink hair ribbon accented by plain white lace. It was very soft, and apparently had belonged to her mother since she was a little girl. After the ribbon came a brush and mirror set with gilded handles and pink and white flowers painted on the backs. Madeleine had never had her own brush before…

Then there were three porcelain dolls that had been her mother's when she was a child, and after that a beautiful leather–bound journal that Madeleine's father had had made for her while her mother was still pregnant with her. After the journal was a handsome leather purse, and then came the flood.

Madeleine found herself pulling out clothing item after clothing item – shoes, shirts, jackets, skirts, dressed, sweaters, and pants. In total, she found there were five pairs of shoes, a jacket, four sweaters, eight blouses, four skirts, five dresses, and two pairs of jeans. It wasn't an excessive amount; Madeleine had cleaned her aunt and uncle's closet, and they owned at least twice that each. But all of it was soft and lovely and smelled familiar. Madeleine couldn't help but hold the clothes to her nose and imagine this was what her parent's house had smelled like. Only two of the things, she could tell, wouldn't fit her – a beautiful pink dress, vintage, with a lacy ruffled top, and a pair of Victorian–styled white boots. The tag on those explained her mother had worn them when she was fifteen, and Madeleine promised herself that she'd take care of them at least until she was that old so she could wear them as well. Everything else, she soon found out, was either just her size or a bit big. She tried it all on, excited to start wearing some of the things (in small doses, of course, so the Dursleys wouldn't get suspicious), and feeling closer to her parents than ever.

Madeleine set out a few of the things, just to have them nearby. One of the shirts, a simple striped thing that was worn but very snug and soft, a pair of very used loafers that were comfortable, with creases from wear and stained laces, the journal, the first charm bracelet, the newer watch, and one of the dolls, which she curled up with under her blanket after packing everything else away carefully.

Even though her head still ached dully and there were vibrant bruises on her arms, Madeleine found herself feeling happier than ever as she drifted off to sleep.