Secrets of a Slytherin Princess

The next few days drifted by peaceably, which Apollonia was rather thankful for since she spent three and a half months around the Carrows. Christmas dawned on the Burrow and found Apollonia curled up by a small crackling fire. She was not in the mood to stay in Ginny’s room; she snored and it was not conducive for Apollonia to get a good night’s sleep, which she needed with the amount of worrying she did over the past few months. It was there in which the Order of the Phoenix found the young Snape when they came down on Christmas morning, just as they were getting ready to open gifts. As per usual, Apollonia was seated by Tonks, though it appeared if it was done deliberately this time. She wondered what the reason was for that, but soon dismissed the thought as gifts were passed out. In the wartimes, there wasn’t much that could be done gift-wise because Voldemort kept a sharp eye on everything that was going on. Somehow though, the rebellion was able to give the Order a proper Christmas, though Apollonia was unsure as to how.

There were a few simple gifts, ones that Apollonia could tuck away to be used later—though she noticed that her father and Draco didn’t send anything; not all that surprising because of their association with the Death Eaters and hers with the Order and Resistance—but, it was the Lupins’ gift that really struck a chord with her. Once all the gifts were handed out and opened, Apollonia realized that there was no gift from Tonks, which made the Slytherin wonder; since reconnecting with the metamorphagus at the beginning of the year—and subsequently sharing her biggest secret with the older woman, thus cementing her trust in the young Snape where others wouldn’t—Apollonia considered the two to be close. Not seeing a gift from her made her wonder about what was going on with that.

It was becoming early afternoon when Remus pulled her aside in order to make something known to her. “Ms. Snape, Dora and I came to a decision about something. We spent the last few weeks discussing it and agreed that you should be a part of our child’s life; you and Harry.”

“What Remus is saying,” Tonks stated, “is that we want you to be the godmother. Should we run across Harry during the next few months, he will be appointed as godfather.”

Apollonia looked at the pair amid rapt interest; she did not like what Remus and Dora were implying, the possibility of either one—or both—dying. “You mean like if anything should happen to either of you, Harry or I would be the ones to take care of this child?” she asked.

“I doubt that will ever be needed,” Tonks said, waving it off. “But, you and Harry need to be a part of this child’s life. Harry because he’s the last connection Remus has to his past and you because of the relationship you have with Aunt Cissy and Draco; I don’t want my son or daughter to go through life without knowing them, something you can easily help with.”

For Apollonia, it was an easy decision; she did not want this child to know nothing of Narcissa and Draco. But, it was the possibility of Remus—or Tonks, if the war ended after the child was born—dying that Apollonia didn’t want to see and caused her hesitancy. “Of course I’ll become godmother. I’d hate for someone to lose the opportunity to know family simply because of the blood purity issue. And, I don’t want to see either of you disappear from your child’s life; did you see what happened to Harry without the influence of his parents, or someone who loved him? I don’t want to see that happen to another child.”

“We’ll be careful,” Tonks agreed.

“You better!” Apollonia huffed.

The news that the Lupins wished for Apollonia to become godmother was still reeling in the back of the girl’s head as afternoon slowly drifted into evening; the consequences of what the Lupin family had done were staggering. If Harry was to be asked to be godfather, it meant that Apollonia needed to make absolutely sure that she and Harry reconciled as soon as humanly possible. It could turn out to be a very tense situation if Harry were to continue following Ron’s example. For a time, Harry completely trusted Apollonia; it was only after her father killed Dumbledore that Harry began to listen to his best friend’s advice. She lost her brother thanks to the prejudiced views that his best friend had about Slytherins; if it wasn’t for those prejudiced views, Harry might have been a Slytherin. It was a fact Apollonia often contemplated; what might have happened during the sorting if Ron was not the first friend he made? Or what might have occurred if Harry was raised alongside Apollonia as should have been the case?

Because her father was so insistent that Apollonia should not have knowledge of her brother’s existence, it cost Apollonia sixteen years of memories, of getting to know the young boy behind the moniker, the shy boy that longed for a loving family. Why did her father deny Harry of that opportunity? Was the man so spiteful that he would leave Harry to rot with the Dursleys? For Harry, ten years were spent in that house on Privet Drive, as the unloved relative; Severus Snape had the opportunity to give that to the boy-who-lived. And yet, he refused. He refused to do so out of spite and it eventually cost the Wizarding World far too dearly. Some of the events of the past few years might not have happened if Harry and Apollonia just grew up together. Yet, Apollonia would never know if that was the case; there was nothing she could do to test that theory. All she could really do was watch and wait for that day that Harry James Potter would triumph over Voldemort.

Everything that happened to Harry—growing up without a family—was not a life that Apollonia would wish upon the Lupin child. Though the child might be surrounded by people who cared, there should never be another orphan. Already were there two orphans too many: Riddle and Harry; there could not be a third child to suffer such a horrendous loss. Anyway to prevent it, Apollonia thought. If there’s anyway that I can prevent the both of them from dying, I will. She didn’t want to deal with the possibility that she or Harry might have to raise the child. A child deserved parents…like Apollonia deserved her mother. This brought to mind the villainous being that was Voldemort, the reason that Apollonia no longer had a mother. The loss of her mother was a huge blow to the young Slytherin, one she took offense to even more than Harry did. After all, it was her father who inadvertently brought about the Potters’ deaths. It was a mistake her father made—one that he desperately tried to fix—that led to her mother’s death; all because of a maniac with a one-track mind.

Whereas Christmas brought excitement, the following day was nothing of the sort. It was peaceful, quiet. Apollonia pulled out her coat and went to sit outside, not wanting to disturb anyone that might be still sleeping. She was seated out there for awhile, in the cold blustery wind, at least until she saw something drop from the sky. It came out of nowhere and Apollonia wondered what it might be. As the item came into view, Apollonia had no doubt of what it was; floating down towards her was a single white lily. “What the hell?” she muttered. “Why is there a lily floating down towards me?” When the lily hit the tips of her fingers, Apollonia felt a tug on her navel. “Damn it! A Portkey.”

For what reason was there a portkey sent to the Burrow? And where was she going? The answer to her second question came in a matter of moment. She soon found herself in a forest. It was not a place she recognized though. This was unknown territory for her and she knew it. But, why was she sent here? Why would anyone even think of doing this? As she stood there trying to figure out why she was here, Apollonia spotted a silver doe walk past her. A doe, she thought. Why would there be a silver doe here in the forest? There was no such thing as a silver doe; well, unless…a patronus. But, whose was it? Of in the distance, she spotted a black figure, a figure she recognized almost all too well. “Dad?”