Secrets of a Slytherin Princess

After rushing out of her father’s office, Apollonia ran as far as her legs would carry her before collapsing just outside the library. Of all the things that she had to see in her father’s head, it had to be the biggest secret he concealed from her. Emerald eyes; she had seen those emerald eyes before, on herself and Harry Potter. And, the third pair belonged to her mother. She was sure of that because she looked an awful lot like her mother. Change her hair color to red and he was the spitting image of her mother. And, considering that she saw a man in that memory that looked like Harry, only one thing could be surmised from what Apollonia saw. “He’s my brother,” she whispered through tears.

“I would keep that to yourself,” a voice said.

Looking up, Apollonia saw her father coming over. “What are you doing here? I thought I made it clear that I wanted to be nowhere near you; I ran out of your office for a reason,” she said.

Her father nodded. “And, while I realize that, you have a few things to understand. First and foremost; he is indeed your brother, your half-brother. Secondly, you were never supposed to find out your connection to the boy-who-lived; it was to stay a secret.”

“Why?” she asked. If anything, Apollonia expected that she should know about her brother’s near-death experience when he was a year-old. Everything that happened over the years was something she could have been a part of, if only she knew that Harry was her brother. “Dad, I think I should have known if Harry was my brother. That’s kind of important.”

“Not telling you was in your best interest!” her father insisted. He rolled up his sleeve, revealing the Dark Mark. “I’m sure you know what this is.” Apollonia nodded. “Well, this is why you were never told of your brother. It’s why Potter was never supposed to find out that you were my daughter.” Apollonia paled, knowing that she caused that one. “The Dark Lord would most assuredly use you against your brother, something I have kept from happening. And, if you know what’s good for you, you will do as you’re told and keep this from your brother. When the time is right, he will learn his connection to you.”

“And, when would that be?” she yelled.

“It does not matter,” her father insisted. “All that matters is that you will not tell anyone what you have discovered tonight. Your brother is completely out of the question, and I doubt Mr. Malfoy would want to hear about it either. His rivalry with your brother is something that will not change and the distance between you both will increase should he ever learn the truth.”

When this was mentioned, something clicked and Apollonia understood what her father was doing, what Dumbledore implied the day they spoke about Harry. “You knew!” she exclaimed. “You knew that I would tell Harry who I was and that I would eventually find out why I felt such a strong connection to him. Somehow, you expected everything that was to come. Everything worked to your favor because I was starting to get curious; I’m sure Narcissa’s request helped as well, since that’s what caused everything.” She eyed her father. For some unfathomable reason, her father chose just now to reveal the truth, and that only came through force when she turned her father’s own skill against the man.

“That doesn’t matter right now,” her father insisted, waving it off. “All that matters is that no one must find out who you truly are. Until tonight, I had this secret contained to certain faculty members, namely Dumbledore, McGonagall, Flitwick, and Sprout. And no one else can know. Now, I suggest that you return to your room; we’ll discuss this later.”

Apollonia nodded, taking her things from her father and heading down the darkened corridor. Once her father was out of sight, Apollonia removed her brother’s invisibility cloak from her bag and draped it around herself. “Unbelievable!” she muttered as she headed towards the Room of Requirement. “I’m Harry’s sister and he isn’t even allowed to know it. That just makes things even more difficult, especially during Dark Arts.” She entered the Room of Requirement and slumped down, keeping an eye on Draco as she pondered her own dilemma. Unfortunately, she could barely pay attention to what her best friend was doing and eventually fell asleep while spying on Draco.

While walking down to the Quidditch Pitch, Apollonia could see two people flying overhead. She had no doubt that it was Harry and Draco. They seemed to be having a competition of some sort, but Apollonia couldn’t tell what about. It really didn’t matter either. “Rivals through and through,” she laughed. Her laugh echoed up into the air, causing the attention of two of the most important people in her life to focus on her. Having spotted her, both boys diverted their attention from the Snitch they were chasing after and dove after her. “Crap. Should have seen that one coming. Of course they’d come after me.”

“Apolla!” Draco yelled.

“Apollonia!” Harry yelled.

Rather than answering either of them, Apollonia headed for the lake, not really wanting to deal with either of them. Despite what she seemed to want, Apollonia was soon whisked into the air, towards the boys she was trying to get away from. Abruptly stopping in between the boys, she yelled at them. “Don’t DO that! Stop fighting over me!”

“Not a chance!” the both exclaimed.

Apollonia groaned. “This isn’t going anywhere. Draco, Harry, would you please just stop arguing over me. It’s unbecoming of both of you. I know you’re rivals—and always will be—but that doesn’t mean you can continue fighting over me. It’s just not right.”

“But, you’re my sister!” Harry objected.

“And, my best friend,” Draco added.

“Yes, yes; I’m both those things. And, I can continue to be both of those,” Apollonia reminded them. “But, if you continue to fight over me like this, I’ll step out of your lives forever.”

Both boys looked at each other, seemingly staring straight through the girl they were fighting over. Apollonia could see the gears turning in each of their heads. There seemed to be an unspoken bond forming between them. For the moment, it wasn’t clear as to what Draco and Harry were discussing, but she was glad they seemed to be making progress and putting their differences aside. They nodded and turned towards Apollonia. “Choose!”

Apollonia’s eyes shot open. It was light out and she seemed to have fallen against a wall.
“Damn it! How could I have fallen asleep?” she muttered. “I hope the invisibility cloak stayed on. Otherwise, I’m definitely in trouble; he’ll know I’ve been spying on him.” Apollonia clamored up, making sure that the cloak was still around her and headed to the Great Hall. Just outside, Apollonia removed the cloak, putting it in her bag, and headed in. As she walked in, she took a quick glance at Harry who spoke animatedly with his friends. I wish I could just tell him the truth. I wish Voldemort would just leave Harry alone so that I didn’t have to deal with this. His existence is making my life absolute hell, she thought as she slumped down into her usual seat. She hated that this secret existed at all.

Harry was her brother, and because of Voldemort wanting to kill him, she was incapable of telling him. Now that she knew Harry was her brother, nothing in the world would ever be the same. All that she thought was right in the world had been turned upside-down and shattered due to this single discovery. “Why me? Why did it have to be me?”

“Why you what?” a familiar voice drawled.

To Apollonia’s surprise, it was Draco hovering over her. “What are you doing here?” she asked. “Are you supposed to be sitting with Blaise, Theodore, Pansy, Vincent, and Greg?”

“I would,” he replied, “if not for the fact that you and I need to have a little chat. We both know what you saw, Apolla. Now, because of it, I have to spend my time doing something I never intended on doing. What were you doing spying on me from under an invisibility cloak?”

Apollonia paled. Crap! Caught!