Secrets of a Slytherin Princess

It took all the strength she could muster for Apollonia to make it through the next few weeks. She despised the fact that any of this was going on. And, as she so learned by keeping an eye on her brother, Harry seemed to have learned that Draco was in the Room of Requirement. Unfortunately, he had taken to trying to follow him, especially since Apollonia could no longer do so. Because Apollonia spied on him earlier in the year, Draco took more precautions than ever to ensure that no one saw what he was working on. Harry will never find out what’s going on. I know it. Dad and I have both tried to watch over him, but he continues to rebuff any offer. Harry will surely be no different than us.

During the last week of February, while she was sitting in the library studying, Apollonia saw a streak of silver come barreling towards her. Tonks, she thought. Well, thank Merlin it came now. I don’t think Dad would take too kindly to a werewolf patronus coming rushing at me during class, even worse if it was in his class. It would be even worse if a dragon patronus erupted from my own wand to answer. Plus, Apollonia would rather not let Draco see the form her patronus took; it was not something she wished to discuss with him.

The werewolf patronus stopped just in front of the Slytherin, Tonks’s voice emitting from the beast. “Quarter-Blood Princess, I’ve been speaking with some of the Order members and it was suggested that, rather than placing the Fidelius Charm over the Dursleys, it might be better to send them into hiding. Voldemort knows where they live and might try to attack them. The wards only hold until Harry’s birthday. After that, the Dursleys are sitting ducks; we’re trying to locate a place to hide them. So far, there’s been no luck. I thought I might contact you to see what you thought of what was going on.” Once the message ended, Tonks’s werewolf patronus disappeared in a whiff of smoke, causing Apollonia gather up her things and rush out into the nearest empty corridor.

“Expecto Patronum!” Apollonia called, her mind shifting to the Dungeon Bat story. The Chinese Fireball from before erupted from her wand and Apollonia gave Tonks the message. “Firstly, don’t you dare mention the form my patronus took. I’m aware of what it is and what that might mean.” No matter what, Apollonia needed to make Tonks aware of that fact; Tonks was Draco’s cousin, even if it was never acknowledged, and she might mention the patronus the way Harry did. “Regarding the situation; should the need arise to change the location, I’ll speak with my cousin about it and give you an answer.”

Upon giving her message, Apollonia watched as the Fireball disappeared before heading to the seventh floor. A part of her wanted to go find Draco, see if Apollonia could get to him before Harry. If it was her brother who found Draco first, the Slytherin was sure that a confrontation between the two enemies was sure to occur. She didn’t want to see that happen, not with the precarious situations they each found themselves in; Draco was performing a task—which she was still clueless about—for Voldemort while Harry was being trained by Dumbledore himself to defeat the master that Draco and so many other wizards served. Her brother and her best friend were pitted against each other and had been ever since their years at Hogwarts began. But, it was even worse for the Slytherin at the moment; exactly how was Apollonia supposed to have a normal life if the people she cared the most about weren’t willing to associate with one another on a daily basis?

Apollonia reached where the Room of Requirement was located and walked by three times. Bring me to where Draco is. Bring me to where Draco is. Bring me to where Draco is.Unfortunately for Apollonia, the door refused to appear. “What has he done?” she wondered.

It appeared as if Draco saw to it that prying eyes would not get in there while he was within the room. All her attempt did was confirm that Draco was in the room. She knew that he was in there, but not how to get in there. That also meant that there seemed to be no possible way for Harry to get into the Room of Requirement and uncover what Draco was up to, whatever it was. Apollonia despise Draco for doing this to her, for making the younger Snape worry about all that he was going through; his safety mattered immensely to the girl. Draco would only make her worry even further if he continued to cut Apollonia out of his life.

Since she had no way of finding a way to see Draco, Apollonia meandered about the school in silence. There was no way for her to help Draco. But, at least Apollonia could take solace in the fact that Harry wouldn’t be able to go after him either. The Slytherin wished to handle this herself, though it was clear that Harry would want to butt into her investigation if he was ever around to discover that Apollonia could not ascertain the information that her brother required. How can I be sure that Harry won’t try to follow Draco? Yes, he’s a Death Eater, but he’s still my friend. I’m fully aware of all that’s been going on, but I’m definitely not willing to let my brother handle it when he’s only going to make a mess of things. Harry had too much on his plate already at the moment; there was no need for him to deal with what Draco was currently occupying his time with.

Harry was to be the savior of the Wizarding World; Apollonia knew that. She accepted that her brother was the only person in the world who could bring the Wizarding World back into a sense of peace. And, while her brother was focused on saving the magical community from the tyrant that threatened their world, it was Apollonia’s duty to keep the status quo, to ensure that those she cared for were protected. Every time however, she hit a snag; Draco refused to let her anywhere near him; Harry was clueless as to what was going on; and her father wished for his daughter to have nothing to do with the war going on around her.

As far as Apollonia could tell, the farther they got into the year, the more dangerous things became. She had no idea what Voldemort was up to, but it probably wasn’t good. The Slytherin slumped down in the corridor and saw at the wall for awhile before a silver wisp came careening towards her. Another one, she thought as the werewolf came towards her. What does Tonks want now? Drat! My dragon. That’s why it’s here.

Tonks’s werewolf patronus stopped just in front of her. Quarter-Blood Princess, I must say I was quite surprised to see your dragon. The symbol of my cousin. If your patronus is any indication, I think you might care for him more than you realize. Remember what I told you when we met; the werewolf patronus exists solely because I fell in love with a werewolf. Could it be possible that you did the same? I’m simply making a suggestion here. Think about that. It’s been suggested that my cousin is a Death Eater and that could factor into everything that’s been going on as of late.” The werewolf disappeared and Apollonia was left alone with her thoughts, wondering if what was said was the truth.

There was no way for the young Slytherin to know if everyone’s suspicions were as accurate as they appeared to be. Tonks, her father, Harry, Hermione; all of them, to some degree, suspected that Apollonia was in love with her best friend. And, if it was—even Apollonia didn’t know—that fact would only cause even more problems because of their opposing sides. Draco chose serving Voldemort as a Death Eater while Apollonia opted for her brother. If Tonks—and everyone else—were right in making such an assumption about how Apollonia felt, things would only end horrifically for all those involved.