Secrets of a Slytherin Princess

Upon taking his leave of the common room, Draco headed towards the Room of Requirement. He tapped the matching pendant in his pocket and sighed. Apollonia would never quite understand what was going on. The reasons for her protection were concealed from her; Draco only ever spoke of the reasons with her father. Draco was not about to allow his friend to suffer through the fate that awaited her; he stepped up to save her from such a fate. “If she knew of the fate that awaited her had I not intervened, Apolla would be thanking me.” Though, such a thing currently seemed impossible. The order Draco invoked was still in place meaning she was to stay as far away from him as she possibly could.

Professor Snape felt the need to try and intervene in Draco’s plans however, both when it came to his mission for the Dark Lord and protecting Apollonia. He failed to understand that Draco was doing what he thought was right; the Death Eater mission would hopefully be over with so he could focus all of this attention on protecting Apollonia from the terrible fate that still awaited her. But, until he completed his task, Draco could not protect the Invisible Slytherin as she was known. And, that fact kept her protected for the moment; her invisibility—her ability to hide in plain sight—kept her safe until Draco could truly protect the young Snape daughter from what was planned for her.

The snake pendant would help do exactly that. It would hide Apollonia from the war that was raging around her. Professor Snape himself stated that he wished for his daughter to stay out of the war. Draco did not quite understand his reasoning—most of the older Hogwarts students would get dragged into the war anyway; why not her as well—but complied with the older man’s wishes since they coincided with his own. Apollonia was the one person he knew that seemed to have no desire to enter the fray that was the Wizarding War and he wished for it to stay that way. She was protected; she was safe.

Somehow—in a way that Draco, to this day, could not figure out—the Dark Lord learned of Apollonia’s existence and planned on recruiting her into the Death Eaters. When Draco learned of his master’s intention to do so, the Malfoy heir interceded to protect his innocent young friend. He refused to allow her—both for Professor Snape and himself—to be a part of this. One of us must remain innocent, Draco thought as his hand curled around the matching snake pendant. Father’s mistake forces me to take up the mantle, both for my family and for you. Apolla, you will not be a part of this, not if I can help it.

Draco returned to the Room of Requirement and continued working on the Vanishing Cabinet he had been working on since school began. This was part of the reason the snake pendant was Apollonia’s Christmas gift. Protective measures were being taken so as to ensure that she was protected when it came time for his first mission for the Dark Lord to conclude. If not for the Vanishing Cabinet, there would have been no need for the snake pendant. The Vanishing Cabinet—whose twin was sitting in Borgin and Burkes—was to be used to destroy Hogwarts. And, by doing so, it would put his closest friend in danger. Ergo, the snake pendant. For as long as Apollonia wore the pendant round her neck—which would be awhile since Draco had no intention of removing it for her—she would be protected. Her safety is of the utmost importance. Both for her sake and mine.

For five long years had Draco been protecting Professor Snape’s daughter. He was not about to stop now that he joined the ranks of the Death Eaters. The pair had been friends since the end of first year and he was not about to give up on that friendship simply because of the Dark Lord’s wish for his allegiance. And, it wasn’t as if Apollonia was the daughter of someone his family hated; quite the contrary really. She was the daughter of his Head of House, his favorite professor. But, it seemed as if the Dark Lord had his heart set on destroying the friendship Draco had with Apollonia, perhaps suspecting that the dissolution of their friendship would allow for Apollonia to become that which the Dark Lord wished her to be: a twisted Death Eater. It simply couldn’t happen; Draco wouldn’t let it.

Apollonia Snape often compared herself to her mother, something Professor Snape told her throughout her childhood. Draco, at that moment, wondered just how much. The Invisible Slytherin never spoke of her mother, so Draco never quite knew just how much his friend was like her mother; the topic just never came up. All the young Malfoy could go on was the fact that Apolla’s mother was no longer alive, for she would have raised her daughter if she could. Maybe that’s the reason Professor Snape wants his daughter to have nothing to do with the war; maybe he’s protecting Apolla because of her mother’s death.

If that was indeed the case—even he didn’t know if it was and he didn’t want to ask—Apolla’s protection truly was all that mattered. The Dark Lord, no matter what he tried to do, couldn’t bring Apollonia into this world; she would lose herself—her innocence—if the Dark Lord had his way. Draco removed the snake pendant from his pocket and stared into its emerald green eyes. Simply by looking into the snake’s eyes, Draco could watch out for Apollonia, see what the matching snake saw. In his current situation, this was the only way to protect her. He was far too busy with the Vanishing Cabinet and his task for the Dark Lord to protect her in a normal fashion, so this would have to do.

As far as Draco could tell, Apollonia was in no trouble at the moment; she seemed to be pacing the Slytherin common room. “What the hell?” he heard his friend exclaim. “Why can’t Draco see things my way? I’m losing him; I’m losing him the way I’m losing everyone else I care about. First Mum, then Dad and Harry; now him. This is exactly why I hate Voldemort; he ruined everything about my life. All I can do is hope that Harry defeats him; it’s my only chance at having a normal life. Even without Mum, I might get a normal life once all of this is over.”

Draco peered away from the snake. From his observations of his friend’s actions, it could be surmised—with complete clarity—that the young Malfoy was right in his assertion to protect Apolla. She chose to side with Saint Potter and his merry band of misfits. There was no way to sway her from the light, to play turncoat and support the Dark Lord after she so ardently supported Potter. “I’ll lose her either way,” he realized. It was clear that Apollonia’s allegiance to the light was sure to cause problems; the Dark Lord would never allow her to live if he knew that she supported Potter. Apolla would be the one to start a revolt against the Dark Lord if she were allowed to live through whatever takeover was made.

Under no circumstances was Draco willing to allow something like that to happen. Not only was she Draco’s closest and oldest friend, but she was Professor Snape’s daughter. He didn’t want to lose her. And, so long as she was a supporter of all that was good and right in the world, he would. The Dark Lord will try to suck her in. He’ll try to force her to become a Death Eater. I can’t let that happen. I can’t. In that moment, Draco came to a conclusion, his only choice in the matter if Apollonia was to choose Potter over him. She’ll have to stay away; the Dark Lord will never try to pull her into this and force her to do things against her beliefs if she’s no longer a part of my life. This was his only option at the moment, his only true chance at protecting Apollonia Snape from the horrors of the war the Wizarding World was getting ready to face. Draco clutched the snake pendant in his fist, slamming his fist into the wall. “Sorry, Apolla, but things are going to change. You can never come near me ever again; I don’t care how much you may want to.”