I have used the name Ivy Potter in other stories, but the plots are not connected. I hope this is good, I write horribly in the third person. Tell me what you think.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

Ivy Potter had never seen the ocean before. Looking at it now was nothing short of breathtaking. She never thought she would get to see it, not while she was still at the Dursley's. But good fortune had smiled down upon her. Uncle Vernon had won a month long vacation through his work, and while they normally left Ivy with Mrs. Figg when they went on vacation, they could not foist her off for a month. After several long talks, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon decided that they would take their nine year old niece with them. She could always be left in the house during the day anyway. And so Ivy found herself in the car with her family, pulling into the driveway of a small but luxurious house that sat right on the beach.

For once, Ivy was glad that her Uncle insisted she bring all the bags in. The multiple trips allowed her get several chances to see the ocean view. She was even lucky enough to get a bedroom, since there were four. Aunt Petunia made sure she got the smallest one, but Ivy didn't care. It was worlds bigger than her cupboard. Her only regret was that while the Dursleys enjoyed the beach, Ivy was stuck inside alone, not allowed to join them.

It was four days before Aunt Petunia grew tired of their continuous visitations to the shore, and dragged her husband and son along out for lunch. Ivy wasn't put out at not being brought along. In fact, she was ecstatic. She held her breath and waited as she watched their car pull out of the driveway and disappear. Then, unable to contain herself any longer, she ran out of the back door, straight to the beach. She let out a breath and closed her eyes, feeling the sea wind on her face, listening to the gulls cry and sounds of people farther away, enjoying the feeling of sand beneath her toes and the taste of salt on the air. After several minutes of soaking in everything she could, she bent down to roll up her jeans. They had been Dudley's jeans before hers, which meant that they were several sizes too big, making her look even smaller than she already was. She would have been a petite girl on her own, but neglect and malnourishment hadn't really helped either.

Once her clothes were out of the way, she walked into the water. Aunt Petunia would have a fit if she got her clothes wet, and both she and Uncle Vernon would be furious if they ever figured out that she had gone outside. But Ivy didn't want to think about that. For now, she just wanted to enjoy the cold water on her legs and sun on her face.

A noise made her look up after about thirty minutes of peaceful wading. Two boys were chasing each other down the beach. One was blond, with skin turned a faint gold by the sun. The other looked like he may have been Italian. A couple walked behind them, both of them with the same blond hair as the first boy. Ivy supposed they were his parents. The man and the woman wore small, but sincere smiles that had never even come close to appearing on her aunt and uncle's faces. There was a sharp pain in Ivy's side. She knew that she would look forever if she had too, if only one day she could have that kind of happiness.

Ivy was so entranced by the the couple that she didn't even notice the boys getting closer.

"Blaise! Watch out!"

The next thing Ivy knew was that she was being knocked over into the salty water by the Italian boy. She came back up, spluttering and thoroughly soaked.

"I am so sorry..." said the boy, Blaise. He had fallen over as well, and was just as wet as she was. But he was in swimwear. Ivy had every reason not to get wet. Her lip started to tremble as she thought of her family's wrath. How long would the Dursleys be away? Would she have time to put her clothes in the dryer before they came back? And what about her hair?

"Are you okay?" the blond boy asked.

"I-I'm fine." She said, letting them help her up.

"I really am sorry. I should have been watching where I was going." Blaise said.

"It's fine." Ivy lied again. What on earth was she going to do? She needed to be dry!

No sooner than the thought left her mind, every drop of water on her evaporated, leaving her just as dry as she had been before she was shoved into the waves. Ivy gasped in horror. No! Not here! They couldn't know that she was a freak! What if they told Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon? She didn't think she could survive another beating like the one she had the last time her freakishness had showed. And it would probably be worse since she had been breaking the rules in the first place...

"You did magic!" the blond one cried, and Ivy gasped. He said the m-word!

"Draco." the mother warned.

"P-please... please don't tell..." Ivy begged.

"Don't you worry now, dear." The blond lady said, bending down to look Ivy in the eye. "Being a witch is a wonderful gift. I am one, and these three are wizards."

"What?" Ivy asked. These beautiful, happy people were like her? But they didn't seem like freaks at all. They seemed more like movie stars.

"Narcissa..." Her husband began.

"Well shouldn't we at least tell her parents?" The Narcissa lady asked him.

"We should let the Ministry handle it, we aren't certified to be explaining this sort of things to muggles. There is a certain protocol for it."

"My parents are dead, anyway." Ivy said softly, pushing her red curls out of her face.

"Oh, you poor dear, I am so sorry..." Narcissa said. Ivy just shrugged, not wanting the nice lady to feel sad because of her.

"It was a long time ago. I never knew them really." But far from comforting her, this just made the pretty woman look even more sad.

"What is your name?" The man asked. It sounded as if he already knew the answer, and Ivy was surprised to see that he was staring at her forehead. But then, so did a lot of people. She had a scar of an interesting shape, and since it was right on her forehead, it tended to catch the eye.

"Ivy." She said softly. The others' eyes widened, and they also looked towards her forehead. The two boys gasped. What was going on?

"You are Ivy Potter!" The Draco boy cried.

"H-how do you know my name?" she squeaked.

"You are famous!" Blaise told her. "You defeated You-know-who!"

"I never defeated anyone... and I don't know who." Ivy protested. All of them fell silent. The Girl-Who-Lived did not know her own story? And by her reaction to her accidental magic, it didn't look as if she knew anything at all about the wizarding world either.

"Perhaps we should talk to her guardians." The man finally said.

"No! Please don't tell them!" Ivy gasped.

"Why ever not?" he asked her. He gave a concerned frown as she began shaking.

"T-they don't like it. I c-can't tell them! I'll be punished!"

Narcissa and her husband exchanged a dark look.

"My name is Lucius Malfoy, and this is my wife and son, Narcissa and Draco. Blaise Zabini here is Draco's friend." He introduced. "It is a pleasure to meet you Miss Potter."

"It is a pleasure to meet you too." she said softly.

After a quick, quiet word to his wife, Narcissa ushered the boys away.

"Your father wants to speak with Ivy alone for a moment." She explained. Lucius dropped to his knee when they were gone. Ivy stared. He did not look like the kind of man to be down on his knees. He wore rather normal looking summer clothes, but they didn't seem to fit him either. Everything about him, from his face, to his long, white blond hair tied into a ponytail at the nape of his neck, to the way he carried himself; it all gave him the air of a king or a lord.

"Ivy. I want to ask you something very serious, and I want you to tell me the truth, no matter how scared you might be. Have your guardians hurt you?" he asked. Ivy looked up in horror. How did he know?

"I can help you." He pleaded. "Just tell me the truth."

"Y-yes." Ivy sobbed. She had told people before, and it had never ended well for her. But now that someone looked at her with so much care and concern in their eyes, her willpower broke and the truth came tumbling forward.

"How badly?"

"N-not t-too bad usually. B-but it is w-worse when I do freaky things..." she sobbed, hardly able to speak.

"Do you mean magic?"

Ivy flinched at the word, but nodded.

"And how do they punish you?"

She did not want to tell him, but now that she had started talking to this man, she couldn't seem to stop.

"Uncle Vernon b-beat me one time, but most the time they just lock me in my cupboard, or d-don't feed me."

Lucius was starting to look angry now, but he controlled it quickly. He was mad at her! He thought she was lying!

"What is the longest time you have been without food?" He asked.

"F-five days..." she said in no more than a whisper. She silently prayed that he believed her. He was quiet for a moment before he got to his feet.

"Excuse me." He said before walking over to his wife and starting to speak with her. She looked horrified, and then began to vigorously nod at his words. Ivy began to have trouble breathing. What were they saying? Were they mad at her now, or thought she was a liar? Would they tell the Dursleys? Maybe they would decide she really was a freak and leave... She watched as they called over their son and spoke with him, who seemed to enthusiastically agree with what his parents were saying.

"POTTER!"

Ivy jumped and turned to see her Uncle. He looked furious and purple faced, thundering to her and roughly grabbed her by the arm.

"What do you think you are doing?" he shouted.

"I am sorry, Uncle Vernon, I-" she began, frantic.

"Inside! You are going to get it, you ungrateful little brat!" he yelled.

"Mr.-?" Lucius asked, having made his way over to them. Uncle Vernon looked a bit put off by being addressed by such an aristocratic looking man, but recovered quickly.

"What is it to you?"

"Well, first and foremost you are manhandling your niece. Second, I have reason to believe that you are guilty of neglect and abuse on her behalf."

Uncle Vernon's face darkened to a deep puce.

"Whatever this little delinquent has told you is a lie! She has been making up sob stories since she was little to gain attention!" he roared.

Ivy's eyes started to water. They would believe him. They always believed him.

"I do not think so, muggle. You will release that child at once, or you will see what a fully trained wizard is capable of." Lucius snarled. Uncle Vernon let go of her arm as if she had burnt him.

"You are one of them!" He spat. "One of those frea-!"

"It is in your best interest not to finish that sentence." The blond man growled. "My wife and I have spoken, and we would be willing to take her. You would never have to hear from any of us again."

This made Uncle Vernon pause.

"Never?" He asked. Lucius made an impatient gesture with his hand.

"After signing the necessary paper work."

Uncle Vernon was quiet for a few more seconds.

"Fine. I could care less. Take the brat."

Narcissa made a disgusted noise. She obviously didn't think much of the man who was willing to hand his niece over to strangers, and was happy that they had gotten to her before someone else had.

Ivy was euphoric. She was leaving the Dursleys! She was too young and innocent to consider that the Malfoys might not be what they seemed, and was lucky indeed that they had been the ones to have found her.

"Really?" she asked, "You would take me?"

"Of course we would." Narcissa said.

"But why?"

"Because you are a sweet, innocent little girl who deserves much better than to live in an abused household." Lucius said, glaring at Uncle Vernon.

"I do?" she murmured.

"Of course. Now go get your things." Narcissa said. Without wasting another second, Ivy ran back into the house and grabbed the clothes she had brought with her. Then she ran straight back out again.

"Hold on tightly to my hand." Lucius said. "We will be going home now, and it might feel a little strange."

Ivy grasped his arm, and opened her mouth to ask what they were doing, and why she had to hold on, but her words never made it past her lips. Instead, there was a popping sound, and Ivy suddenly felt like she was being pushed into a hole that was much too small for her as the world spun around them. It lasted only for a second before it stopped and the world righted itself. But as she looked around, Ivy realized that the split second had been more than enough. She was no longer anywhere near the beach or the Dursleys at all, and found that her surroundings had been replaced by what looked like the inside of a castle.

"Welcome to Malfoy Manor, Miss Potter.