Secrets of a Slytherin Princess

Draco was trying to spend his Easter in peace when he was called by his mother to come over. He stood up from his chair and spotted Fenrir Greyback standing before him and his parents, a tight grip on one of four people he did not want to see in this house, the two others standing just behind him; Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley standing in front of him. They did not look like themselves; it was seven, almost eight, months since the trio had been seen, but Draco still knew it was them. There was definitely no mistaking that scar.

“Well, boy?” Fenrir rasped.

Draco stared back at the werewolf, unsure of what he should do. He spent years hating Potter and his friends. They represented everything he didn’t have. Well, all except for Apollonia. She was the only real friend he ever had, the only person that did not simply follow him blindly. With Greg, Vincent, Theo, Blaise, and Pansy, they all seemed intent on doing whatever he asked. Apollonia never did that; in fact, the only one she ever seemed to tolerate to any extent was Blaise, whom also happened to be the only person other than Severus that knew of Draco’s feelings for Apollonia. It was Apollonia that made Draco hesitate to identify Potter and his friends. Could he give up his best friend’s brother, simply because it was his worst enemy? She’d never forgive me. The fact that I’m in love with her wouldn’t matter if I gave Potter up to my parents. His unwavering loyalty to Apollonia finally decided things for him; he would not give up their identities, to help them.

“Well, Draco?” his father asked. “Is it? Is it Harry Potter?”

Draco kept his eyes to the floor, not wanting to look into Potter’s emerald eyes, the emerald eyes that matched Apollonia’s so perfectly. “I can’t — I can’t be sure,” he replied.

“But look at him carefully, look! Come closer!”

His parents were getting desperate to escape their master’s wrath, as evidenced by the next statement. “Draco, if we are the ones who hand Potter over to the Dark Lord, everything will be forgiv —”

Greyback interrupted, allowing Draco to breathe easier; he did not want credit for anything of the like. “Now, we won’t be forgetting who actually caught him, I hope, Mr. Malfoy?”

“Of course not, of course not,” his father assured the vicious werewolf, a werewolf Draco could not stand to be around; not like Lupin. His father carefully studied Potter and the young Malfoy heir heard his father address Greyback. “What did you do to him?”

“That wasn’t us.”

“Looks more like a Stinging Jinx to me,” his father said. To a certain extent, Draco could see what his father was talking about; Potter did not look like himself. If not for the emerald eyes and the faint scar on the forehead, Draco might not have been able to identify him at all. Almost immediately after Draco thought of the scar, his father mentioned it. “There’s something here, it could be the scar, stretched tight….Draco, come here, look properly! What do you see?”

Draco was forced to look at Potter directly; a fearful looking expression on the young blond’s face. “I don’t know,” he said, retreating back to his mother’s side. He didn’t want to be here in the drawing room, not now. His friendship with Apollonia was being placed in jeopardy, simply because the Snatchers were able to find Potter and his friends.

“We had better be certain,” his mother called from where they stood at the fireplace. “Completely sure that it is Potter, before we summon the Dark Lord….They say that this is his—” Draco saw his mother looking at a wand that looked nothing like Potter’s; the wand belonging to the Chosen One looked extraordinarily like Apollonia’s, almost as if they were exact duplicates. “But, this does not resemble Ollivander’s description….if we are mistaken, if we call the Dark Lord here for nothing…Remember what he did to Rowle and Dolohov?”

Rather than think about that, Draco focused his mind on Apollonia, on what she would do if she learned that her brother was here in Wiltshire. She’d freak. Draco remembered what he wanted to do the second he saw Potter. And, he would have if not for the fact that his parents and the Snatchers were here. Allowing his parents to become aware of Apollonia’s connection to Potter would prove to be disastrous, especially after she spent five summers here in this house without anyone making the connection. Draco would be forced to bring Apollonia here, which would only cause problems around the Dark Lord. He wanted Draco to bring her here, so she could be made into a Death Eater. No, Potter’s last living family member would have to stay a secret, even if it meant that Draco had to hold off on yelling at Potter about how he was treating Apollonia when she was around.

“What about the mudblood then?” Greyback snarled.

A light fell on the bushy-haired muggleborn, whom Draco remembered to be hanging around Apollonia a lot while they were both in the library. “Wait,” his mother said sharply. Mother, no, Draco thought. “Yes — yes, she was in Madam Malkin’s with Potter!” Draco remembered that, though he wished he didn’t. Apollonia was home that day, the one day in which they went to Diagon Alley without her; mostly because he had Death Eater business to attend to. “I saw her picture in the Prophet! Look, Draco, isn’t it the Granger girl.”

“I…maybe…yeah.” It wasn’t as if Draco could lie if his mother recognized her as well. But, Draco doubted that his mother realized that she was placing Apollonia in danger. Apollonia was close to Potter and Granger; one being her brother, the other her friend. Had his mother known this, maybe she wouldn’t have said anything; Apollonia was the daughter she never had and protected her. It was his mother that warned Apollonia to stay away from Malfoy Manor during their sixth year; she protected her as much as Draco did.

“But then, that’s the Weasley boy!” his father shouted almost gleefully. “It’s them, Potter’s friends – Draco, look at him, isn’t is Arthur Weasley’s son, what’s his name—?”

Draco did not bother looking at the trio; he already knew who it was. There was no way that the Weasel would go anywhere without his friends. Not only that, but both he and Apollonia were not fond of Ronald Weasley. “Yeah,” Draco said in a quiet voice. “It could be.”

The second he uttered that, the door was flung open and Draco saw the wild-haired witch that was his aunt standing at the threshold of the door. “What is this? What’s happened, Cissy?” She walked into the room, catching sight of Granger. “But, surely, this is the Mudblood girl? This is Granger?”

Draco remained silent as his father answered; he wanted to be anywhere else but here. He had a bad feeling of what was going to happen now that his aunt was here. The Malfoy heir caught sight of Granger, her eyes trained directly on him, like she was trying to communicate something with him. Draco ignored it for the moment though. “Yes, yes, it’s Granger!” his father cried. “And beside her, we think, Potter! Potter and his friends, caught at last!”

“Potter!” his crazy aunt shrieked, in a tone similar to that of his father’s. They were elated at the thought of this. “Are you sure? Well then, the Dark Lord should be informed at once.”

Aunt Bella was about to run her finger along her mark, only moments ago having yanked her sleeve up, when his father stopped her. “I was about to call him! I shall summon him, Bella, Potter has been brought to my house, and it is therefore upon my authority —”

“Your authority!” Aunt Bella sneered. “You lost your authority when you lost you wand, Lucius! How dare you! Take your hands off me!” Draco scoffed at the argument. If Aunt Bella was right about that, the authority to give orders should really pass over to him. Though, he doubted that any of the Death Eaters—or the Dark Lord—would ever permit that. Because, if it were up to him, the younger Malfoy would let Potter and his friends go. Out of love for Apollonia, Draco would give Potter, Granger, and Weasley all the help they needed to destroy the Dark Lord. In order to save Apollonia from her intended fate, helping Potter was the only way. And, it would also help him if Potter defeated the Dark Lord.

“This is nothing to do with you; you did not capture the boy—”

Why must they argue about this? Draco thought as the werewolf interrupted. “Begging your pardon, Mr. Malfoy, but it’s us that caught Potter and it’s us that’ll be claiming the gold—”

“Gold!” Aunt Bella laughed, her free hand reaching into a pocket and pulling out a bag. “Take your gold, filthy scavenger, what do I want with gold? I seek only the honor of his — of —” In that moment, something strange happened; Draco could see it. From the second Father grabbed hold of Aunt Bella, she was struggling against his grip. Before finishing what she was saying, her wild eyes began glittering, like she was happy about something. She pulled out of Father’s grip and strolled towards one of the Snatchers. Though, as Father yanked his own sleeve up and was about to run his finger over it, Aunt Bella spun around. “STOP! Do not touch it; we shall all perish if the Dark Lord comes now.” Draco could see that his father’s finger was mere centimeters away from touching the mark as he aunt went to speak with the Snatcher. “What is that?” she asked, pointing at something.

“Sword,” he replied.

Draco’s face contorted to once of confusion. What was so interesting to Aunt Bella about a sword? He couldn’t see the sword in question, but saw nothing wrong with it. That sword could have been how Potter and his friends were able to stay out of sight. Of course, since Draco was siding with Apollonia, he supposed that his opinion of this was different from Aunt Bella’s.

“Give it to me,” she ordered.

“It’s not yorn, missus, it’s mine. I reckon I found it.”

A flash of red lit up the dim room and it seemed obvious to all that the man was stunned. His companion drew his wand pointed it at Aunt Bella. “What d’you think you’re playing at, woman?”

“Stupefy!" Aunt Bella screamed at him angrily. “Stupefy!” After Aunt Bella’s sudden fit of rage, she snatched the sword and pointed it at Greyback. “Where did you get this sword?”

“How dare you?” the werewolf snarled. “Release me, woman!”

“Where did you find this sword?” Aunt Bella asked again. She was staring wildly between the trio and Greyback, like she was trying to understand something. “Snape sent it to my vault in Gringotts.”

Draco soon caught sight of the sword and realized what Aunt Bella meant. It was Gryffindor’s sword, which was supposed to be in the Lestrange vault. The Head Boy was there as the sword was handed over. But, if that was the case, how was it here? How did Potter and his friends have it?

“It was in their tent,” Greyback insisted. “Release me, I say.”

Of course it was in the tent, Draco thought. How else would it be here? Draco couldn’t help but wonder what was going on, why Severus Snape would give to the sword to Aunt Bella from where it was in his office and allow it to be stolen. I need to ask Severus when we go back in April. Maybe I can find out what’s going on, what could make Aunt Bella act like this. Draco was pulled out of his head when his aunt turned to him, pointing at the group on the floor. “Draco, move this scum outside,” she ordered furiously. “If you haven’t got the guts to finish them, then leave them in the courtyard for me.”

His mother stepped in. “Don’t you dare speak to Draco like—”

“Be quiet!” she yelled. “The situation is graver than you can possibly imagine, Cissy! We have a serious problem here!” Aunt Bella’s eyes seemed to glaze over as she started muttering something. “If it is indeed Potter, then he must not be harmed. The Dark Lord wishes to dispose of Potter himself….But, if he finds out…I must…I must know…” Her attention drifted back to Mother. “The prisoners must be taken to the cellar, while I think what to do!”

“This is my house, Bella, you don’t give orders in my—”

“Do it! You have no idea of the danger we are in!”

Draco looked on sadly as his mother turned her attention to the trio…well, more like the werewolf holding them prisoner. “”Take these prisoners down to the cellar, Greyback.”

“Wait,” his aunt called. “All except…except the Mudblood.”

“No!” Weasley yelled. “You can have me, keep me.”

Mistake, Weasley. Aunt Bella is not about to back down on using Granger, Draco thought. Aunt Bella completely despised Granger, and if she had the chance to get rid of her, she would; nothing Weasley said or did would stop her. All attempts to save her would be made in vain. He saw Aunt Bella strike the Weasley son. “If she dies under questioning,” she said with a smirk. “Blood traitor is next to Mudblood in my book. Take them downstairs, Greyback, and make sure they are secure, but do nothing more to them – yet.”

Granger was cut away from Potter and Weasley, and dragged into the middle of the room, just as her friends were dragged down into the cellar. Draco wished he could do something about this, but knew he couldn’t. It was a lot like when the Dark Lord forced him to watch as Charity Burbage was tortured and left to die. The difference here was that someone he knew was being tortured. Draco never took Burbage’s class, with good reason, and therefore never really knew her. With Granger, she was a constant thorn in his side, becoming friends with Potter and the blood traitor. Watching her get tortured was like watching Apollonia get tortured.

The next few minutes were punctured with two sets of screams, coming from right in front of him and below, as Aunt Bella questioned Granger about the sword. Finally, Weasley’s screams from the cellar settled down and Draco was able to hear what his aunt was saying. “I’m going to ask you again! Where did you get this sword? Where?”

“We found it—we found it—PLEASE!”

The story, no matter how many times Aunt Bella tried to get what she wanted out of Granger’s mouth, never seemed to change. While Aunt Bella was certain that Potter’s merry band of misfits stole the sword from her vault, Draco tended to believe Granger’s side of the story; she seemed so sure of that what she stated was the truth. And, her story was constant, even under the effects of torture. So, if Aunt Bella thought that Granger would say anything about breaking into a vault, she was so very wrong. “You are lying, filthy Mudblood, and I know it! You have been inside my vault at Gringotts! Tell the truth, tell the truth!”

Not for the first time did Draco wish that he wasn’t here; he didn’t want to see this. Granger was not only friends with Potter, but, in the times that Draco was unable to help Apollonia because he was busy trying to kill Dumbledore, she was close to Apollonia. That fact allowed Draco to see the muggleborn in a whole new light and caused to be slightly disturbed at the sight of Aunt Bellatrix torturing the girl. Not as if there was anything he could do about it.

“What else did you take, what else? ANSWER ME! CRUCIO!” More screams filled the room, at least for a few seconds, before Aunt Bella once again posed a question for Granger to answer. “How did you get into my vault? Did that dirty goblin in the cellar help you?”

“We only met him tonight!” Granger insisted, like she was completely sure of herself. “We’ve never been inside your vault…It isn’t the real sword! It’s a copy, just a copy.”

“A copy!” Aunt Bella screeched. “Oh, a likely story!”

“But, we can find out easily,” Father announced excitedly, quickly turning towards Draco. He knew, or at least at some idea, what was about to be asked and didn’t really mind; anything to get out of the room. Watching Granger get tortured was definitely not on his list of things to do during the break. “Draco, fetch the goblin, he can tell us if the sword is real or not.”

The Malfoy heir quickly hurried down to the cellar, glad to be gone from the drawing room. As he got to the room where prisoners were held, he called out. “Stand back. Line up against the back wall. Don’t try anything or I’ll kill you.” The last part was said for effect. He had no intention of killing anyone; he wasn’t a killer and he knew it. There was a reason he wasn’t the one to kill Dumbledore and allowed Snape to do it; he simply didn’t have it in him. Besides, the only reason he even agreed to do it was to save his parents and Apollonia.

Draco threw the door open and marched in to grab the goblin prisoner. As he brought the goblin up to the drawing room, locking the door behind him, Draco wished that this day was over; that he could return to his normal routine. The goblin was let go the second they were in the drawing room and forced to go over to where Aunt Bella was standing. A noise was heard from below and Draco was turned to again. This time Draco did not pay attention to what was being said and he didn’t need to, since it was decided that Wormtail would work. As Wormtail went to check the cellar, Aunt Bella turned to the goblin. “Well? Is it the true sword?”

“No,” the goblin replied. “It is a fake.”

“Are you sure?” Aunt Bella asked. “Quite sure?”

“Yes,” the goblin announced.

“Good,” she said, flickering her wand at the goblin and dropping him on the ground, only to kick him and turn where Draco and his parents were standing. “And now, we call the Dark Lord!” She ran a finger along her forearm, so as bring the Dark Lord back to his base. “And, I think we can dispose of the Mudblood. Greyback, you can take her if you want her.”

In that moment, the same moment that Weasley came barging through the door—obviously the noise from before was indicative of one thing; Potter and Weasley were mounting an escape—Draco was glad that Apollonia was nowhere to be found, at least in Malfoy Manor. If Apollonia was here, her life—her innocence—would be in danger. Potter followed in, calling out spells until Aunt Bella called out to stop them. “STOP OR SHE DIES!” Draco’s head swiveled in his aunt’s direction and saw that she was holding a knife to Granger’s throat. “Drop your wands. Drop them or we’ll see just how filthy her blood is.” When they still didn’t drop the wands, she continued yelling. “I said drop them!”

“All right!”

The wands were dropped and Aunt Bella grinned at the sight in front of her. “Good. Draco, pick them up! The Dark Lord is coming! Harry Potter! Your death approaches!”

Draco did as he was asked, collecting the wands that Potter and Weasley were using. He handed the wands over to his aunt who, once again, took charge of the situation; she seemed to be doing a lot of that, despite the fact that this was not her house. “Now, Cissy, I think we ought to tie these little heroes up again, while Greyback takes care of Miss Mudblood. I am sure the Dark Lord will not begrudge you the girl, Greyback, after what you have done tonight.”

With all the screaming that his aunt did tonight, it came as no surprise that chandelier began shaking. A moment later, the chandelier began falling, poised on hitting Aunt Bella directly. She jumped out of the way, leaving Granger and the goblin to be crushed by the crystal chandelier. It hit the floor and shattered, allowing shards of crystal to scatter. A few pieces hit Draco and he fell, clutching his face. Everything that happened after that was a blur. He saw Potter come towards him and take the wands he was holding, casting a stunner at Greyback.

Draco felt his mother come collect him, pulling him out of harm’s way. He spotted her wand point in the direction of a figure, only to see an unexpected person there. “Dobby!” Mother screamed, her wand pointed at the former Malfoy elf. “You! You dropped the chandelier—”

The freed elf entered the drawing room, a shaky finger pointed at Mother. “You must not hurt Harry Potter!” the elf insisted. Draco shook his head; the elf was more loyal to Potter than he ever was to the Malfoys.

Aunt Bellatrix would not stand for this, however. She turned to her sister and began screaming, as per usual. “Kill him, Cissy!” Such an order was not followed, as her wand was wrenched out of Mother’s grip by whom else but Dobby. Again, Aunt Bella was not pleased. “You dirty little monkey! How dare you take a witch’s wand, how dare you defy your masters?”

Draco considered reminding his deranged aunt of the fact that Dobby was no longer considered to be Malfoy property; however, the elf beat him to the punch. “Dobby has no master! Dobby is a free elf, and Dobby has come to save Harry Potter and his friends.”

In the next few moments, Draco, his parents, and aunt were forced to watch as Potter, Weasley, Granger, the goblin, and Dobby disappeared from sight, though not before Aunt Bellatrix hit Dobby. It was rather lucky timing too, because the Dark Lord arrived at that very moment. Lucky bastard, the Pureblood thought darkly. He disappears just as the Dark Lord appears and we’re forced to deal with the consequences. Since the beginning of September when he discovered that Apollonia was Potter sister, Draco had a hard time facing the Dark Lord, since it was possible for him to learn such a secret. So, this was not something that Draco looked forward to, even though the Dark Lord ranting about how Potter escaped would preoccupy him from learning that Draco did not do as he asked. Draco was stuck in a place where he did not want to be while Potter and his friends were gone. Hope you’re happy, Potter. You and your friends just put me in a whole lot of trouble.