Princess Sunburst

The morning of Monday, May 11th, 1998 dawned on the Wizarding World alight with excitement over what was happening at the Ministry during the early hours of the day. Most people were looking forward to this day as the beginning of the Death Eater trials, hoping that Lucius Abraxas Malfoy, Narcissa Calliope Malfoy (nee Black), and Draco Lucius Malfoy would be sent to prison for participating in Death Eater activities. Only three people even had an inkling that what most of the population was expecting would never happen; Harry James Potter; Apollonia Lily Evans Snape; and Kingsley Shacklebolt.

In a small home in Ottery St. Catchpole, a place called the Burrow, a lanky redheaded male was excited talking about the possibility of there being a Malfoy-free Ministry for the first time in centuries to anyone who would listen to him, of which was only his best friend. “Just think of it, Harry,” the redhead was saying. “Without the Malfoys around to influence the Ministry, there will be a void. Maybe it could be taken by the Weasleys.”

As his best friend, Ron, spent most of the morning complaining about how Lucius Malfoy often used his position in the Ministry to get himself out of trouble, Harry surreptitiously slipped away from him and went to get ready for the trials. This affair would most likely take the entire morning, especially when considering the fact that all three Malfoys, Apollonia, and Harry would be testifying. Very few people knew this, just Kingsley and perhaps Apollonia as well, but Harry had information that could kept Narcissa Malfoy out of Azkaban, or at least reduce her sentence. And, Apollonia had even more information than him, information that would prove crucial to the trial. She did grow up with the young Malfoy, so it could be inferred that she might know something about the Malfoys that the world did not. She was in the unique position of having inside information of possible Death Eater activities occurring at the illustrious Malfoy Manor, prior to Voldemort’s rebirth.

Many people—Ron included—didn’t believe that she would be very forthcoming with the required information. However, Harry was sure she would. Apollonia didn’t have anything to hide, as much as Ron thought she did. She wanted to protect Narcissa and Draco; they meant more to Apollonia than anyone else could ever claim. And, Harry would see if he could help her, if at all. The Malfoy family was the biggest supporter of the Pureblood supremacy that Voldemort wished to create had Harry lost his life as was initially intended. There was no doubt that the Wizengamot would wish to send the Malfoys directly to Azkaban for all of the terrible things they had done during the First and Second Wizarding Wars. And, it placed Apollonia in a somewhat precarious position; she would be hurt if Narcissa and Draco were in prison, and in danger of getting captured by Death Eater if they weren’t, for defending the people who abruptly changed loyalties during the final battle.

At around quarter to nine, the Weasleys, Hermione, and Harry apparated out to the Ministry; about fifteen minutes before the Malfoy trials were set to begin. Bill, Fleur, and Apollonia were already waiting there for her. To Harry’s surprise, Ron was actually civil towards Apollonia when he saw the group. “Oh, hello Snape. So nice to see you.” Harry looked at his sister, as confused as she was. “Have you come to see just how wrong you were for trusting those blasted Death Eaters? Maybe you should go join them; you’ve done terrible things yourself.” Harry scowled. Of course it wasn’t going to last. Ron cares nothing for my sister.

“Just watch the damn trial!” Apollonia yelled.

“It’s going to be nothing I don’t already know,” Ron huffed. “Shacklebolt knows of everything that the Malfoys have done to support Voldemort. This trial is really just a formality before they’re tossed in Azkaban like they were meant to. The Malfoys will never darken another doorway ever again.”

“Not if I can help it,” Apollonia hissed.

Harry kept Ron from doing anything more than that until the trial began and they took their seats in the courtroom, Apollonia on the one end; Ron on the far end. The rest of the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione sat in between them, preventing any altercation that might occur. When the Malfoys were brought in, Harry once again had to restrain his best friend from yelling at them. It was weird simply sitting here in the courtroom, getting ready to watch a trial. The last time Harry was here, he was on trial for what Umbridge did before fifth year, setting those Dementors after him. And, under normal circumstances, Harry and Apollonia wouldn’t even be here, as they were witnesses. Kingsley, however, gave them special dispensation to view the trial, rather than sit out in the waiting room. After all, the testimonies were to be given under Veritaserum, so that nothing could be faked.

With all the corruption that existed in the Ministry in past years, allowing Death Eaters to walk free as the result of bribes that Cornelius Fudge took, Kingsley was not about to let the same thing happen. He was a good, honorable man; someone who would do things for the good of the Wizarding World and not for himself. Therefore, all trials were to be handled with Veritaserum, a fact that only Harry and Kingsley were aware of at the moment. It seemed a little late to be implementing such a measure; however, it was better late than never.

Kingsley stood to address the Wizengamot, turning to question the Malfoy patriarch first. It was agreed that Lucius would be the first person to be questioned under this new system, given what happened to him the first time around. This way, Lucius would have no way of escaping the fate that awaited him, the fate that should have been handed to him seventeen years ago. “Lucius Abraxas Malfoy, you stand accused of consorting with Death Eaters, and of being a Death Eater yourself. Mr. Malfoy, how do you plead?”

“Not guilty; I was under the Imperius,” Lucius announced.

From Harry’s left side, Ron grunted. “Again!”

“He won’t get away with that this time,” Harry replied.

“I hope not,” Ron scowled.

Kingsley shot Harry a look and shook his head. Both knew what the other was thinking. It was time. It was time to expose Lucius Malfoy for the conniving bastard that he was. “I thought you might say that. Can we have the Veritaserum brought in please?” Harry watched Lucius pale slightly at that, though he was only one to notice. “In the past,” Kingsley was saying, “Veritaserum has been an option in instances such as this. Well, no longer. As part of an initiative to protect the Wizarding World from those who wish to destroy it, such as the Death Eaters, all trials will be conducted with Veritaserum. Only those not yet of age will be exempt from this initiative. And, you Mr. Malfoy will be the first to try it out.” The Veritaserum was administered and the questing began, starting with the control questions; the ones that always got a bit tedious. “What is your name?”

“Lucius Abraxas Malfoy.”

“When were you born?”

“May 11th, 1954.”

“Are you a Death Eater?”

Lucius scowled. “Yes.”

Those in the gallery who were unaware of Lucius Malfoy’s association with the Death Eaters gasped. As Harry soon came to notice, it was about half of the people in attendance. Clearly, this was a good idea, as if made people aware of what Lucius Malfoy truly was, not the façade people saw here at the Ministry. Yes, this was definitely the right course of action. Otherwise, he might try something like this again. The next question was then asked. “Did Tom Marvolo Riddle—Lord Voldemort—or any of his followers ever place you under Imperius Curse?” This was the true test, to uncover just how far his lies stretched.

“No. Never.”

Another gasp could be heard, thus proving that Lucius Malfoy seemed to have most of the Wizarding World fooled by his lies. Emerald green eyes met the soft brown ones that belonged to Minister Kingsley Shacklebolt. Harry nodded faintly. It was time to move past the generalized questions and move on to the more specific issues; Voldemort’s birth; the Department of Mysteries; and the role he played in everything that happened during what should have been Harry’s seventh and final year at Hogwarts. In order to determine just how much of a punishment the Malfoy patriarch was to receive, the Ministry had to find out how much of an active role Lucius had in the events that took place. “Since first becoming a Death Eater, what activities have you participated in?” Kingsley asked.

Harry chose not to pay attention to this; he already had some semblance of an idea of what Lucius Malfoy did. According to him, he was marked on his seventeenth birthday; this day twenty-seven years ago. Following that, he spent the next ten years going on Muggle raids, killing as many as he could so that he was within the Inner Circle and able to start recruiting new followers to the cause by the time he was in his early twenties. He was the one who initially recruited Snape – at which, Harry heard his sister gasp; she obviously didn’t know that she spent her summers around the man who recruited her father into the like that ultimately got him killed – to the cause, before the man’s loyalties switched to Dumbledore, in order to protect her and Harry from such a life.

Once Harry inadvertently killed Voldemort, the Malfoy patriarch lied his way through a questioning—the reason the Veritaserum-laced questioning was even occurring here today—and settled down with his family, spending the following eleven years doing very little that resembled Death Eater activities. It was only the meeting with Harry and the Weasleys that triggered a regression, slipping Riddle’s diary horcrux into Ginny’s cauldron. Being foiled by a twelve year-old, thus losing the Malfoy his trusty house-elf Dobby—Harry really missed Dobby, the overeager house-elf that would do anything to help him—enraged Lucius even further and he began actively searching for a way to get back at Harry. It wasn’t until Wormtail was discovered that Lucius found a way to seek revenge, when he was called to Voldemort’s rebirthing ceremony and eventually bore witness to the duel between Harry and Voldemort, one that Lucius hoped Harry would be killed during.

Just before the start of fifth year, Lucius was given the task of going to retrieve the prophecy from the Ministry, of which proved to be quite impossible. That was where all those visions came in; only Harry or Voldemort could go to retrieve it. And, since no one believed that Voldemort returned, Harry was the one who had to go get it; the item that going for cost Sirius his life. Lucius spent a year in Azkaban, at least until the end of sixth year when Dumbledore was killed. At that point, Lucius had not done much; just some odds and ends. Well, at least until mid-March when Harry, Ron, and Hermione were brought to their home. He would have been rewarded if not for the fact that they escaped. And, after being punished in such a way, the final battle allowed him the opportunity to save his own skin and switch sides, hoping to get a pardon for his past crimes.

Most people in the gallery snickered at his. After what Lucius Malfoy just confessed to doing, the chances of him receiving a pardon were slim to none. Ron elbowed Harry in the gut. “What do you reckon, Azkaban for life?” the redheaded young man asked.

“Most likely.”

Sentencing, however, was not carried out as Ron expected. Two others remained; Narcissa and Draco Malfoy had yet to be questioned for their part in the war. It was these two that Harry had been waiting for, as they were the ones that gave Harry the opportunity to win the war, whether it was done consciously or not. As payment for what they did, it was only right that Harry stand up for them. He knew what they had done for him and they would be rewarded for such. Narcissa was called forward and had the Veritaserum administered to her, just as with her husband before her. “What is your name?”

“Narcissa Calliope Malfoy (nee Black).”

“When were you born?”

“February 13th, 1955.”

“Are you a Death Eater?”

“No.”

Many gasped at this. They expected that Narcissa would have the mark as well; that she would be right at her husband’s side in serving Voldemort, the self-proclaimed Lord. Only Apollonia did not gasp, possibly thanks to where she stayed during the summer.

“Have you ever associated with Death Eaters?”

“Yes. Most of my family is Death Eaters”

“What does this association entail?” The question was worded just so, in a way that it would not seem as if Narcissa was giving a list of her crimes. It was obvious that this was the intent; however, her list of crimes was not as lengthy as perhaps her husband’s was. Narcissa was not a Death Eater, and that seemed to make all the difference in the world.

“I supported my husband in all of his endeavors, and played hostess to the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters for the last eighteen months,” Narcissa answered. As the woman was speaking, Harry caught sight of his sister and the Malfoy woman exchanging glances. If Harry didn’t know that his twin sister was close to the Malfoy family—or at least the Black side of the family—he definitely known about it now. It seemed fairly obvious.

“Did you support everything your husband did?”

“No, I did not.”

It was conceivable that Narcissa might get off. Harry, unfortunately, could not say for sure if this was the case. When the time came, he would find out. For the moment, however, it was Draco’s turn. Just as with his parents, Draco was asked if he was guilty of those charges brought up against him. To the gallery’s astonishment, he answered the affirmative. As a formality—and to prove a point—the Veritaserum was administered. “What is your name?”

“Draco Lucius Malfoy.”

“When were you born?”

“June 5th, 1980.”

“Are you a Death Eater?”

Draco nodded. “Yes.”

Since these were the standard Death Eater questions, nothing informative would come of it. More in-depth questions had to be asked. And, it was these questions in which Harry was most interested in hearing the answers to. Draco Malfoy had been a Death Eater for about as long as Apollonia had known that she and Harry were siblings. Surely that meant something. He suspected that everything was connected; that Apollonia’s connection to the Malfoy family meant something in everything that happened over the last two years. “Why would Voldemort —” despite the fact that he was destroyed, people still flinched at the name “— mark someone of school age?” Kingsley queried of the young Malfoy.

“He wanted someone to kill Dumbledore, so I offered.”

“You offered? Why would you do that?”

“The Dark Lord wished for my best friend to be marked as a Death Eater, so that she could do this task,” Draco answered. “I did not want that for her, so I offered to take her place. I agreed to kill Dumbledore in exchange for my family’s and my best friend’s protection.”

Harry was pretty sure that Draco was talking about Apollonia. There were times in which his sister mentioned that she almost became a Death Eater. If the Malfoy’s version of the tale was to be believed—and since it was a Veritaserum-laced questioning, it was—Voldemort wanted Apollonia to follow in Snape’s footsteps. And, to Harry’s own surprise, he was thankful to his childhood nemesis for protecting Apollonia in the way that he did.

“Who were you protecting?”

“Apollonia Snape.”

The gallery gasped at Draco’s announcement, at least those who knew and accepted that Apollonia was Harry’s twin sister. It was actually very telling; Apollonia would now know who in the Wizarding World supported her, and who believed her to be attention-seeking. Ron grunted, once again proving the reason that Apollonia needed to testify during this trial; it was the only possible way for her to prove that she was not the attention-seeking young woman that many people thought her to be. Just five more minutes, Harry thought. It won’t be long before Apollonia has the chance to prove herself to all the non-believers. “Were you aware of the possible connection between Ms. Snape and Mr. Potter?”

“Not until the beginning of my seventh year,” Draco replied.

“And, did you stop protecting her upon hearing of this?”

“No, I protected her even further,” the Malfoy answered.

This was where Kingsley ended the questioning, and everyone expected the newly-appointed Minister to make a ruling regarding what would happen to the Malfoys with the end of the war. However, as Harry knew, that’s not what happened. “Is there anyone here willing to defend the Malfoys for their actions?” Kingsley asked, just as was planned.

Both Harry and Apollonia stood. “I will.”

Before Harry could come forward, Ron pulled him down. “What are you thinking, mate? It’s the Malfoys! They’ve spent years making our lives miserable. Why would you do anything for them?”

“You wouldn’t get it,” Harry hissed.

Kingsley turned to the siblings. “Who first?”

“I will,” Harry said. It would work out for the best if Apollonia gave her testimony last, just before the Wizengamot made its decision regarding what would happen to each of the Malfoys. That way, Ron wouldn’t interrupt the trial simply so that he could complain about the validity of Apollonia’s earlier statement; it was really the only possible way that Ron would listen to anything that was going on during a trial he thought was the waste of time. So, in order to help his sister’s current predicament, Harry stepped forward to the center of the courtroom and allowed himself to be dosed with the Veritaserum.

“What is your name?”

“Harry James Potter.”

“When were you born?”

“July 31st 1980.”

That was the end of the standard Ministry questions—to see if the Veritaserum was working—before Kingsley moved on to the real meat of the interrogation; Harry could feel the potion taking effect, forcing Harry to speak only the truth. And, it was just in time too, for Kingsley asked the next question. “What is your relationship with the Malfoys?”

Harry sighed and gave his answer. “For much of my life, Draco Malfoy was a school bully, a nemesis of mine. Lucius Malfoy was one of Voldemort’s —” everyone flinched “— most favored Death Eaters; he was usually the one trying to make sure that Voldemort’s plans work. I never knew Narcissa all that well, but it seemed fairly obvious that she cared as much about the success of Voldemort’s plans as much as her husband and son.”

“And, why do you wish to stand up for them?”

“Narcissa and Draco Malfoy provided me with key information that eventually led to the destruction of Tom Marvolo Riddle,” Harry answered. “I would not leave either of them to sit and rot in prison after all the help they gave me.” He looked over at his sister. As much as he wanted to say the other reason, there was no way that he could. That had to be left up to his sister, as it would be far more poignant if Apollonia was the one to tell Ron—and all the other non-believers—that she was indeed Harry Potter’s half-sister. Whether they liked it or not, Apollonia was related to Harry through their mother; their fathers were childhood rivals during Hogwarts, and fought for the affection of Lily Evans.

“What did Narcissa Malfoy do to help you?”

Harry told the Wizengamot about everything that happened in the forest after viewing Snape’s memories. “Shortly after Snape died, I went out into the forest for the final confrontation with Voldemort. He shouted the Killing Curse and I fell to the ground, completely motionless. It was Narcissa Malfoy who was asked to check on me, shortly after I made a miraculous recovery and faked my death. Narcissa lied for me, to protect her son from everything that was happening; that one act allowing me the opportunity to kill Voldemort.”

“And, Draco? What did Draco do?”

This was the one that shocked Harry; he couldn’t believe that the events of sixth year led to Harry being able to kill Voldemort. If not for that, Voldemort might be in control of the Elder Wand. “When Draco was marked, his task was to kill Dumbledore, a task he was expected to fail at.” Harry looked around the room, realizing that both his sister and the young Malfoy heir had gone pale; neither one seemed to know about that. “In the meantime, Dumbledore made the mistake of trying to destroy one of Voldemort’s horcruxes on his own, thus placing a curse on him. His life would end within a year because of what he did.

“News reached him about Draco’s plan to him, so a way was devised for Draco to not commit murder, and to end the magic of the Elder Wand. That was exactly what happened, however, it was done in such a way that Draco became the Master of the Elder Wand. I was able to relieve him of that wand two months ago, thus giving me the chance to kill Voldemort. If not for Draco wanting to protect his family —” and my sister “— from Voldemort’s wrath, I might have lost.” Harry never thought that he’d ever be in a position to owe Draco Malfoy for anything, but it turned out that he was. If not for Draco wanting to protect the people he cared about, Harry might have lost his sister to the darkness.

“I see,” Kingsley murmured. “You may sit down, Mr. Potter.”

As Harry returned to his seat, it occurred to him that it was his sister’s turn. It was time for the reason these were Veritaserum trials; it was done to help Apollonia, to give her the platform she needed to make people understand that she was who she claimed. This is it. This is the moment of truth.

***

“Ms. Snape. Please step forward.” Even though she knew perfectly well that Kingsley was going to call her up to testify, it still caught Apollonia off-guard. She was worried about what might happen when certain people – Ron – discovered that she and Harry were siblings. There were people who accepted what Apollonia said a week ago as the truth, but there were still others that didn’t. And, Apollonia didn’t know how she was ever going to convince them of it.

Apollonia removed herself from the gallery and headed to the center of the room for the questioning. While the Veritaserum was administered to her, the Slytherin could have sworn she saw Kingsley wink at her. Ignoring it for the moment, Apollonia focused all of her attention on the effects of the Veritaserum that had only recently been given to her, followed by Kingsley’s first question; the standard Ministry approved one: “What is your name?”

“Apollonia Lily Evans Snape.”

“When is your birthday?”

“July 31st, 1980.”

“Who is your father?”

Before answering this question, Apollonia glared at Kingsley, whose eyes were twinkling merrily. It was as if this question was added just for her, which she supposed it was. “Severus Tobias Snape.”

“Who is your mother?”

If Apollonia didn’t know any better, it appeared as if this was staged, to give her a way to explain her parentage to the world; to all those non-believers. “Lily Ellen Potter (nee) Evans.”

“What is your relationship to Harry Potter?”

“He’s my half-brother.”

It was this answer that turned the courtroom into a frenzy of activity, people screaming at the outrage. The most notable of which happened to be Ronald Bilius Weasley, of whom Apollonia expected to have an issue with what was said here today. “There’s no way!” he yelled. “She has to be lying! Someone go check her. She’s taken an antidote to Veritaserum.”

“How could she?” Harry fired back. “No one—myself included—never thought to tell her that all trials after this point are to be held using Veritaserum. This was a dry run, to see how everything worked out. Only Kingsley and I even knew how this trial was supposed to play out; and Kingsley was the one to warn me not to tell Apollonia about any of this, which I didn’t. So, who would have told Apollonia about this; that would give her enough time to whip up the antidote to a truth serum?” He turned to his sister. “Apollonia, did you know beforehand?”

She shook her head. “No.”

“When did you find out that you were my half-sister?”

“A few months into our sixth year,” she answered, still rather annoyed that her father would allow his daughter to go almost two decades without the knowledge that she had a sibling. “Dad didn’t want me to know about any of this, for he thought I might try to do something about Harry’s situation, and get myself killed. It wasn’t until Harry learned who my father was—of which no one was allowed to do—that I was able to get some semblance of what was going on. By accident, I poked through my father’s head during an Occulemency lesson and caught sight of me and Harry together in a hospital room.”

“Lies! Lies! All of them!” Ron yelled.

It seemed as if Ron was never going to accept this as the truth. Even if a blood test was done giving the youngest Weasley son concrete evidence as to Harry’s and Apollonia’s relationship, there was an extremely slim chance of Harry’s best friend merely accepting the fact that he had a sister. In fact, when they showed him the genealogy reports, Ron refused to believe any of it. “If you don’t believe me, why don’t you come over here and check for yourself that I’m under the influence of the Veritaserum?” She was sure that Ron would want to check for himself if Apollonia was under the influence of the truth serum; he needed to see for himself that none of this was as fictitious as he believed. There were Death Eaters that believed as Ron did; that the young woman that Voldemort wanted as a Death Eater could never be Harry Potter’s sister.

“Oh, don’t worry; I will.” Kingsley permitted Ron to check Apollonia for traces of the Veritaserum, as it was the only way to sate his curiosity, before continuing with the questioning. Apollonia sat there quietly as Ron checked what was needed, only to step back in disappointment. “She’s telling the truth,” he huffed angrily. “She is Harry’s sister.”

“Well, finally!” Apollonia grumbled. “Took you long enough.”

“Might we continue then?” Kingsley asked.

“Go ahead,” Ron murmured, returning to his seat.

Apollonia let out a sigh of relief, unable to believe her luck; she was able to convince Ron that she and Harry were siblings. Now all I have to do is help Draco and Narcissa. After that, there shouldn’t be much of an issue with any of this. “How well do you do know the Malfoys?”

“Fairly well. Lucius and Narcissa watched over me during the summer holidays during my Hogwarts years,” Apollonia explained. “Draco was one of my best friends for the longest time.”

“When was it that they began actively helping Voldemort?”

“After Lucius went to Azkaban for breaking into the Ministry for the prophecy held in the Department of Mysteries. I didn’t know it at the time, but Draco was recruited into the Death Eaters during the summer. Then, once I was at Hogwarts, Voldemort started using Malfoy Manor as his base of operations. And, though the self-proclaimed Dark Lord wished for me to become a Death Eater, Narcissa kept me away; she didn’t want me to get wrapped up in the world that their family was in. And then there was Draco, who was under orders to recruit me; he chose to ignore that order and protected me, even after learning that I was Harry’s sister. The both of them cared about me enough to protect me.”

“Was Lucius ever party to this?”

“No,” Apollonia scowled. “He wanted me to be a Death Eater.” Apollonia was immensely peeved with Lucius. Not only did the man want her to become a Death Eater, but Lucius was the one who recruited her father into the Death Eaters. It was because of him that Apollonia lost her father in the first place. It was because of him that Apollonia lost her mother, and Harry lost his parents; her father was the one to overhear the prophecy that led to their demise. For all she knew, James and Lily Potter and Severus Snape would still be alive if not for what Lucius Malfoy did to her life over the past twenty years.

“If that’s all,” Kingsley was saying as Apollonia returned to her seat, “I believe it’s about time to determine what should happen to Lucius, Narcissa, and Draco Malfoy. We’ll do this one by one. All those in favor of sending Lucius Malfoy to Azkaban, please raise your hand.” Every hand in the courtroom rose. “In the matter of the Wizarding World vs. Lucius Malfoy, the accused will be sent to Azkaban for the remainder of his days.”

As Lucius Malfoy was dragged away from the courtroom, cheers could be heard from the gallery. Lucius Malfoy was a plague upon the Wizarding World, with some of things that he did in support of Voldemort. Now that he was being removed from polite society—for all of the vile acts he committed over the years, including lying about being a Death Eater during the First Wizarding War—the public was overjoyed, ready to cheer now that their suffering was over. What about Draco and Narcissa though? How will they fare?

It was hard to say what would happen to the Narcissa and Draco; both Apollonia and Harry stood up for them, so there was a chance that their sentence might be lessened because of what they did. Apollonia had faith in them; that they would change their ways and prove that the Malfoy family was not simply known for their association with the Dark Arts. Draco, she knew, would be willing to do that for her; he loved her more than anything, save his mother, and wanted to help her. That was part of the reason that he was so accepting of Apollonia being Harry’s sister, the only reason; it was done out of love for her.

It was not immediate as with Lucius, in determining what would happen to Narcissa and Draco. There were other factors that needed to be taken into account before punishments could be doled out to them. Apollonia would have liked to speak with her brother, however, such a thing was impossible; Ron wanted to speak with his best friend about what was going on. Even if Ron believed that Apollonia was Harry’s sister, it was doubtful that she might ever be allowed near her brother; she was still a Slytherin, and Ron believed that Slytherins were always going to go bad. He would never change that opinion.

Meanwhile, Apollonia was seated next to Bill for the duration of the trial, as far away from Ron as she could possibly get. There were issues that had yet to be dealt with before Ron was able to stand within ten feet of Apollonia. And, Apollonia was pretty sure that it would take awhile before the youngest Weasley son was able to tolerate the Slytherin’s presence. There was really no telling as to when that might be happening; whether it was a few months from now or a few years. “Can we just get on with this?” Apollonia muttered.

“This is taking longer than expected,” Bill noted.

“I wonder if it has to do with the fact that they must take into account Harry’s and my testimonies,” Apollonia wondered. “We offered to help the Malfoys, mostly because of what they did to keep me safe from Voldemort over the last eighteen months. Lucius never bothered to care about me, like I was but a means to an end; he did the same with my father.”

“Family does mean more to Harry than anything,” Bill explained to the young Slytherin while they were waiting for Kingsley’s decision. “His lack of a family, right when he needed it the most, caused him to not understand the meaning of family as well as others. You are the first blood relative to ever care anything about him, and he doesn’t want to lose that. That must be the reason that Harry would be willing to stand up for the Malfoys, who have made it their mission in life to ruin Harry’s – and ours. If not for you, Harry wouldn’t be so quick to do this.”

“I guess that’s true,” Apollonia mused. Over the years, there were only two constants about Draco; one, he hated Harry James Potter; and, two, he supported Lord Voldemort. As for her brother, it was the complete opposite; he hated Draco and was in support of the light. She doubted that they would ever get along. Just when one problem resolves itself, another one surfaces. And this one was not as easily fixable as the issue with Ron. It would take decades to counteract seven years of hatred, seven years of constant bickering. Harry’s and Draco’s issues with one another were so ingrained that it would take a miracle to change things. The odds of Harry and Draco learning to get along the way Apollonia wanted them to were slim to none; they were much too different. In fact, the only common denominator they had was Apollonia herself; however, she was unsure if it was enough to mend the disconnect between them. How the hell am I going to deal with that?