Secrets of a Slytherin Princess

It took a few days before Apollonia was able to talk to Hermione. Neither Harry nor Ron seemed willing to tell her what happened while they were at Malfoy Manor. So, as soon as she was aware of Hermione’s consciousness, Apollonia slipped into the room. “What happened?” Apollonia asked as she leaned up against the threshold of the door. “I know you guys were at Malfoy Manor, but what could have possibly happened while you were there?”

“Apollonia?” she asked.

“Hey, Mione,” the Slytherin grinned.

“Where am I?” Hermione wondered, looking around.

“Bill and Fleur’s place,” Apollonia answered. “I’m here for the break. Apparently, what happened at Malfoy Manor—whatever it was—caused people to start asking questions; they found out that Ron wasn’t at home sick and everyone had to go into hiding. I might have gone with if not for the fact that Bill appeared and mentioned that the three of you were recovering at his place. Tonks helped me with that. In any case, you’ve been here for a few days. So, what happened while you were in Wiltshire? Was You-Know-Who there?”

“No, but the Malfoys and Bellatrix were there,” she said.

“And what happened?” Apollonia wondered.

“Bellatrix tortured me about Gryffindor’s sword.”

“Why would she do that?” the Slytherin asked.

“She thought we took it from her vault.”

That most certainly was not true. Apollonia’s mind immediately drifted to her winter break, the day that her father sent the portkey and insisted that she watch what happened. She watched as the trio found the sword. “But, you didn’t,” Apollonia whispered.

“Of course not,” she huffed. “Wait, how do you know that?”

Damn it! How the hell was she supposed to explain that? She didn’t want anyone to know that she watched that occur; that she watched as a silver doe—her mother—led her and Harry to a small pool of water and fished Gryffindor’s sword out of the water, only for Harry to get caught the water and almost drown before Ron fished him out and destroyed Slytherin’s locket. And how am I going to get out of this one? Apollonia wondered.

“Apollonia! How do you know that?” Hermione asked.

“I’d rather not say,” the young Snape told her.

“No; tell me!” the bushy-haired witch insisted.

“Do I have to?” she asked. Hermione nodded. “Fine, but don’t freak out. I was there that day. I never mentioned it, but I was there when you found Gryffindor’s sword and destroyed the locket. I knew for close to two weeks before I got the message from you.” Apollonia had no wish to tell Hermione about what she saw, but it almost seemed as if she didn’t have much of a choice. And besides, Hermione was the one she talked to about everything that happened. So, why not tell her this; that she had proof that Bellatrix was mistaken?

“You knew and never said anything?” Hermione asked.

The Slytherin shrugged. “I came there in a weird way and didn’t exactly want to think about it.” She left out the fact that it was her father who sent her there, not wanting anyone to know about that yet. “Seems I had to though. What happened that day, so many months ago put the three of you in trouble. If I was allowed to go back to Malfoy Manor prior to when that maniac is destroyed, I could have helped you. I know what happened.”

“Perhaps, it’s best that you weren’t,” Hermione said.

“What makes you say that?” she asked.

“Well, it was Malfoy Manor,” Hermione reminded the Slytherin. “We ran into the family that helped care for you when your father could not and found them doing some less than reputable things.”

“Yeah, they are Death Eaters though,” Apollonia said. “Of course they would be doing things that are considered to be less than reputable, at least in the normal world. But, this is a world run by a maniac, a maniac bent on killing my brother.” The last part was said in a quiet voice, so only Hermione could hear; there were people walking back and forth, meaning anyone could hear what was going on. “But, Draco has always protected me, kept me from becoming a Death Eater. Luna said she overheard You-Know-Who’s order to force me become a Death Eater. He never did; he’s been protecting me from the beginning. And Narcissa; well, she’s the one who insisted that I stay away from Malfoy Manor. The both of them have been helping me since I was young. Though, the only except to that is Lucius; he never really seemed to care; I suspect that he thought I would make a good Death Eater.”

“Too bad he doesn’t know who your mother is,” Hermione chuckled weakly. “He might have tried to pull you in far earlier than he did. Hiding your mother’s identity under the Fidelius was a stroke of genius; otherwise, everyone might have found out by now.”

“Dumbledore gave me the idea,” Apollonia replied.

“Best idea he ever had,” Hermione decided. “Harry would have lost his sister if not for the protection placed around you; you the last family member he has that he might actually care about.”

“Too bad he hates me at the moment,” she growled.

“After the war is over, we’ll figure something out,” Hermione assured her. “Before Snape killed Dumbledore, Harry actually seemed to care about you, trusted you even. I heard that there was a point in which he actually offered to bring you into what happened; to let you know what was going on. Turns out you did that on your own. And, even more important than that, you’ve kept the secret; told no one, not even Malfoy, about it. That’s got to count for something. There might be a way to allow you to reconcile.”

It was impossible to say if Hermione’s idea could work, if learning that she was Harry’s sister would change anything. Harry had spent close to a year believing that she was evil. It wouldn’t change instantaneously simply because the knowledge that Apollonia was his sister was known. “How can we be so sure though?” Apollonia asked her.

“Did I ever tell you how I first met him, how I became friends with him?” Hermione asked. Apollonia shook her head. “I didn’t? Oh, I could have sworn that I did.”

“What happened?” the Slytherin wondered.

“Well, I first met Harry during that first train ride to Hogwarts, while I was helping Neville look for his toad,” Hermione said. “I met up with Harry in the compartment he was sharing with Ron. After that, I was isolated, despite being in Gryffindor along with Harry. No one really seemed to care about me. When Quirrell let the troll in on Halloween, I was in the girl’s bathroom, crying my eyes out because Ron insulted me. When the troll came in to attack me, kill me, Harry and Ron were the ones to come help me. After what they did for me, I got them out of trouble. The three of us have been friends ever since.”

“Because they saved you from a troll?” Apollonia asked.

“Pretty much. Harry became like a brother to me. It’s why I’ve been so insistent on trying to get you to tell him,” Hermione explained. “Yes, I’m like a sister to him, but you really are his sister. Harry needs to know who you really are to him; what I’ve known for over a year.”

“I’ll tell him eventually,” Apollonia replied. “It’s just that right now is not the time for it. As much as I’ve wanted to tell Harry everything, there’s no place for it in the war. A monster is trying to kill him and I can’t bring myself to put myself in danger by allowing that same man to come after me as well. Everyone close to Harry has suffered immensely because of what happened. Ever since fourth year, there have been losses; in fourth year, Cedric was killed because he was in the way of returning that asshole’s body; in fifth year, Harry’s godfather; last year, it was Dumbledore; there’s no telling as to what might happen. Keeping this secret is for the best; otherwise, Harry could lose me before he even gets the chance to know me.”

“And, if something happens to you?” she asked.

“Nothing will happen,” Apollonia insisted. “I’m not fighting in the war. Since the beginning of the school year, I’ve been helping Madam Pomfrey tend to the injured students. Dad always insisted that I stay out of war, like he was afraid of losing me the way he lost Mum. So, I don’t plan on fighting in the war, but rather moving around to help the injured; I doubt I’d be injured or killed. The second the war is over, I promise I’ll tell him.”

“You better!” Hermione cautioned.

Shortly after that, Luna came in. Apollonia needed to speak with her about the Resistance. Without Ginny, Apollonia was the only one who could help Neville; she doubted that Luna was going to come back to school. It forced Apollonia to do this, to help Neville in a job that technically belonged to her brother. “Luna, I’m going to need your help,” she informed the younger girl.

“What can I help you with?” she asked.

“The Resistance,” Apollonia reminded her. “Neville and Ginny have been running it since you were captured, but now that Ginny has gone into hiding; she wants me to take over. Luna, can you think of anything that might need to be covered?” Any help that Luna could provide would be appreciated; she and Neville needed to make sure that the members of the Resistance were well-prepared for whatever was to come. The Carrows were positively insane and would do whatever they could to keep students from doing anything that would go against Voldemort.

“They’ll need better shields,” Luna noted.

“Better shields?” she asked.

“Their spells are stronger,” Luna explained. “While I was in Malfoy Manor, I was able to see the strength of some of their spells. A stronger shield should help protect everyone.”

The Slytherin nodded. She was able to gather even more than just what was said. When Luna mentioned that shields needed to be increased, what Apollonia got out of it was that the power of their offensive spells needed to be increased as well. It was the only possible way for them to do any damage and capture any of the Death Eaters. “Thanks for the advice, Luna.”

“Glad I could help,” she said, skipping off.

With that knowledge in mind, it became apparent that she and Neville would have to work with the younger students to increase the power of their spells. Otherwise, they would be greatly outmatched in any battle with the Death Eaters. Maybe I should see what information I can get out of Draco, Apollonia thought. That might help the Resistance as well.