Secrets of a Slytherin Princess

It was surprisingly easy for Apollonia to convince Neville of what needed to be done; she expected that it would take much longer. Gryffindors and Slytherins rarely interacted companionably; her parents and maybe Slughorn and Dumbledore were the only exceptions to that. Somehow, she wasn’t sure how, Apollonia was able to connect with some of the Gryffindors; most of the Weasleys, Hermione, Neville, and—once upon a time—Harry. They were the only Gryffindors that did not seem to follow the mold, continuing the rivalry with all Slytherins. Harry changed that during their sixth year; she was the only Slytherin that seemed even remotely trustworthy. And, even after Harry lost faith in her, there were still Gryffindors that could count on her; people who trusted that she wouldn’t betray them.

After spending the remainder of her evening in McGonagall’s office discussing future plans for the Resistance with Neville, the Head Girl returned to the common room almost a half-hour after curfew and immediately collapsed on her bed. She and Neville had a lot to work through over the next three months. Meanwhile, McGonagall, Slughorn, Sprout, and Flitwick were preparing to remove her father from Hogwarts, an event that even she wasn’t sure about when it would be occurring. This was her father, so they might not even bother to tell her. She chose not to help them with that, to keep her father from learning just how involved in the war she was. And besides, did she really want to help the house heads drive her father out of the school, after she preached to her brother about her father being a part of Hogwarts? No, there was no way that she could bring herself to ever do such a thing; it couldn’t happen. There was no way that she could get involved in such a thing.

As much as she wanted her father to remain a part of the school, the Head Girl knew all too well that the majority of the student body would disagree with her. Her father was not the most pleasant person in the world; she accepted that a long time ago. It would come as no surprise when only the Slytherins would insist that he be kept around the school. Everyone else—Gryffindor especially—was probably sick and tired of her father running the castle, doing nothing to help them; they would do anything to force him out.

Morning dawned on Hogwarts castle and Apollonia trudged down to the Great Hall. She was not in any mood to deal with any of the Carrows’ crap, especially considering that she had Dark Arts today. While she was sitting in the Great Hall, something occurred to the Slytherin; Draco was nowhere to be found. For whatever reason, while Apollonia was sitting at one end of the table, Draco was sitting on the other side. I thought Dad wanted him at my side like glue, to protect me from everything the Carrows try to throw at me. Why would the hell would he be sitting over there and risk defying Dad’s order?

Ever since yesterday while they were on the train, it seemed as if he was distracted, as if what happened over break affected him in a deep, profound way. Draco was not acting like himself. No, that wasn’t true. He was acting like he did last year while he was trying to kill Dumbledore; distracted. Apollonia caught Draco’s eye and he looked at her sadly. Draco, what’s going on? Why are you acting like you did last year, as if that monster is going to destroy me? Apollonia wished that she could read minds. Maybe doing so would help explain why Draco was acting as if she were the plague. This sudden shift in Draco’s attitude seemed completely inexplicable. What could have triggered such a change?

Even during Dark Arts, Draco was nowhere near her. Zabini and Draco had switched seats for the day and, from the look on Draco’s sullen face, Apollonia assumed that it was a permanent change. Draco, what are you doing? Apollonia wondered. She stared up at the front of the classroom, not really paying attention to anything that was going on. It was only when she felt someone hit her arm that the Head Girl was pulled from her head. Sitting in front of her was a piece of paper, handwriting that she did not quite recognize on the paper. Snape, you may not realize it at the moment, but Draco does care. More than you’ll ever know. More than he’ll ever care to admit. He’d protect you with his life. –Zabini.

“How can you be so sure?” Apollonia asked.

“He told me,” Zabini answered.

“Then why ignore me?” she wondered.

“More like protecting you if you ask me,” he corrected.

Apollonia glared at Zabini. He obviously didn’t realize the true nature of what was going on. “Look, what may seem like protecting me to you, is nothing like what is supposed to happen. Dad gave him an order, which he is now defying.” Anyone who asked was not going to understand why Apollonia was so annoyed by what Draco was doing. “So, I really wouldn’t worry about it, Zabini. My business is my own, as is Draco’s.” For the remainder of the lesson, Apollonia ignored everything that was going on around her, even Amycus. It wasn’t as if she was capable of doing much else; Draco was ignoring her and the only one that seemed willing to say anything to Apollonia was Zabini, whom had nothing to say that the Head Girl wanted to hear. She just wanted all of this to be over.

For once in her life, Apollonia got through an entire day without her father or Draco hovering over her. It was unnerving to say the least; she had gotten used to having at least one of them around. They had always been around, making sure that nothing happened to her. All that Apollonia had left to remember that they were still watching over her was the snake pendant that hung around her neck. The pendant! Apollonia thought suddenly. It was really her only chance. If Draco could use his to spy on her, perhaps it could be used in reverse, used to allow Apollonia to spy on Draco. I have to try. It’s not like I have a choice; Draco is acting like he did while trying to kill Dumbledore. Who knows what he’ll do this time, or what might have triggered such a change?

Apollonia decided that she would try it while she was sitting in the library, the very back, so Pince wouldn’t figure out what she was doing. Madam Pince was rather particular about the way her books were to be handled, not letting rowdy students in to use the library. It was the best place for her to get some privacy, though she’d have to be careful; if Madam Pince learned what she was doing, Apollonia might not be able to use this as an area where she could spy on Draco. Under her father’s orders, Apollonia studied in the common room; the only time that she ever went into the library over the past year was when she met with the Resistance, and the Room of Requirement was unavailable. Her father would never think to look for Apollonia in the library, not when he was so sure that Apollonia would follow his order. Or, he was too busy with Death Eater activities.

In any case, Apollonia drifted to the corner of the library that she normally met up with Hermione in and took a seat, tossing her things aside. She removed the snake pendant from where it lay against her throat and allowed it to rest in her hand; it was all she could do try this without removing the necklace, an act that Draco refused to allow. The chain was twisted so that Apollonia was looking into the emerald gems that represented the snake’s eyes.

Nothing could be seen, like the matching pendant was hidden away; however, she could hear everything that was being said. And, it was a very informative monologue. “…he just leave things alone? I’ve suffered the Cruciatus on two different occasions for Apolla, trying to keep her out of this. This has to work; if distancing myself from her worked as it did last year, surely it will work until the war’s over. Apollonia belongs to the light; she’d never survive as a Death Eater. I don’t care what then Dark Lord wants. I’d rather die than watch her take the mark,” Draco was muttering. “She means too much to me and I won’t let her become a part of this, no matter what the Dark Lord wants; no matter how much trouble I may get into.”

Apollonia allowed the pendant to drop from her hand, allowing it to fall back to her throat. So, Draco was still being bullied into trying to recruit Apollonia into becoming a Death Eaters. But, was that really a good enough reason for Draco to distance himself from her? She doubted it. The best thing for Draco to do was to stand by her. Apollonia already knew of Draco’s unwavering loyalty to her; it was something that would get him in trouble with You-Know-Who if he ever found out. So, why not just make that fact known and turn his back on the monster trying to kill Harry? It would all be so much easier if Draco and her father just turned their backs on Voldemort; and Apollonia would never have to worry about the possibility of losing either one if them if Harry won the war.

“I have to talk to him,” Apollonia realized.