Secrets of a Slytherin Princess

It was never Draco’s intention to once again approach his friend. But, when he saw her in the Room of Requirement, half-covered by an invisibility cloak, Apollonia once again forced his hand. The minute he spotted her, Draco willed himself to go over there and confront the girl who spied. He slid into the seat beside her, just as the same snowy white owl he saw before came swooping towards her. “What is Potter’s bird doing coming over here?”

“Don’t worry about it, Draco,” Apolla warned.

“Why not?” he asked. “It’s Potter’s bird.”

“Yes, and if you remember; I told him who I was,” Apollonia said. “Hedwig is the only way he and I can truly talk about this without anyone eavesdropping on our conversations; not like with you. Now, butt out, Draco. Leave me in peace like you have for the past few months.”

“I can’t do that, Apolla; not this time,” he warned, eyeing the emerald-eyed girl warily. She did not seem to understand the gravity of the situation at hand, how much danger she was putting herself in just by spying on her. “Now, I will ask again. What were you doing spying on me from under an invisibility cloak? You must have a reason for what you did, Apolla, and I want to hear it.” As Apolla removed the letter from the bird called Hedwig and unfurled it, Draco patiently waited for an answer from his friend. He wanted to know what was going on and would not accept no as an answer. He wanted to understand why Apollonia felt the need to spy on him. They were friends, so there was really no need for her to do something as low as spying on him; she could have asked. Not like he would ever tell Apolla what was going on, but he would have respectfully let her down.

“It doesn’t concern you,” Apolla said, reading the note from who Draco could only assume was Potter. “This is my business, not yours. I don’t intend on telling you what I’m doing.”

“Really, Apolla?” he asked. “You were spying on me! I think that’s enough of a reason for me to question you about what’s going. Just like I think you owe me a reason for you telling Potter about the Snape thing. You swore never to tell him or his friends, yet that’s exactly what you did. Why?”

At that, his friend turned to face him. “You really want to know why I did this. Think back on what you first found out. I told you that he was the only person who could help me save my father. And, that’s still true. You abandoned me with whatever you’ve been doing in the Room of Requirement and Harry was the only person I could turn to in order to help me. And, I know you might hate that, but Harry is my friend.” She paused briefly. Then, in a lower voice, continued. “I should have realized it a long time ago. How I never did is beyond me.”

Draco was completely mystified by his friend’s words. There was something going on with her, something she seemed to be concealing. And, he would deal with it shortly. But, for right now, there was something he needed to do: insult Potter. “Why exactly would you want to be friends with him? Saint Potter has been a thorn in my side; his very existence caused the Dark Lord to be destroyed for thirteen years. Him, and his mudblood mother,” he scoffed. Draco then breathed a sigh of relief. He felt better now that he insulted Potter.

There was no way he could have predicted the reaction he got though. Apollonia grabbed hold of Draco’s robe and pulled him outside the Great Hall. “Don’t EVER insult Harry and his mother!” she yelled. “There are things about his family—his mother especially—that you cannot even fathom. Even I didn’t, but now I know better. Just get over it, Draco, and accept the fact that I’ve befriended your enemy. And, accept the fact that his friends will soon learn the truth about me as well, because you can count on the fact that I will tell them.”

“But, Apolla,” he argued.

“No!” she yelled. “I don’t want to hear it. The fact is that you’re too absorbed in whatever you’re doing to care about my problems and helping me with them. At least I know they will. My father is important to me, and it’s always been nice knowing that he’s here at Hogwarts. After this year though,” she shrugged, “I don’t know. He might not be around and I hate that. So, I am going to do something about it. And, even if it means befriending the people you hate, I’m going to do it. It just needs to be done.” She was about to return to the Great Hall when she seemed to have remembered something. “Oh, and as for me spying on you this morning, blame your mother for that one. She’s the one who asked me to do it, knowing how much I really don’t like hanging around you when we’re in school.”

Apolla stalked away before Draco could get a word in edgewise. Confused as hell, Draco made a mental reminder to ask his mother in his next letter if what Apollonia said was the truth. He needed to know. Would his mother really ask Apolla to spy on him? And, the whole Potter business; what was the deal with her newfound friendship with him? She was never one to do that sort of thing. But, here she was befriending the people he despised merely so she could keep Professor Snape from losing his job as with other Dark Arts professors in years past. He didn’t want to see that either. But, he was not about to do as Apollonia had and try to fix things that she clearly couldn’t. Right now, all that mattered was for him to complete his task and ensure that Apollonia Snape was protected.