Princess Sunburst

Kingsley stared at the Black woman in shock. He did not expect to hear a story such as this. After seeing what was done in the past year, he did not expect that there would be a no-show situation. The Minister believed that using Apollonia Snape as a courier would be a good idea. And, he was assured that there would be no problem in getting Narcissa Malfoy out to St. Mungo’s to begin her community service. “I don’t know what to say, Andromeda, other than I’m sorry. I had no idea that this would happen. It should not have happened.”

“Yet it did,” Andromeda scowled.

“And I’m sorry for that,” the Minister replied. “But, it appears as if your supervisor neglected to inform you of something very important. It’s something that may make you change your mind about the complaint.” As far as Kingsley was concerned, it seemed as if Andromeda had no idea that it was her younger sister whom was sentenced to help St. Mungo’s reduce the overcrowding. Kingsley was sure that it would make all the difference.

“What might that be?” Andromeda asked.

“The extra hands in which should have made it to your doors is your younger sister; Narcissa Malfoy,” Kingsley explained. Andromeda gasped. “Indeed! Ms. Snape was quite insistent that the arrangements be made for the two of you to work together for the duration of her sentence. Considering your estrangement from your sister, and all that you lost during the war, I think I can see why Ms. Snape wanted things to play out this way. It’s odd however; Ms. Snape is not the type to do something like this, to be late for something as important as this. In fact, she was one of the most reliable people that I’ve ever met. I was sure that this would not be a problem, not only because of her reliability, but because it was someone you knew.”

As Kingsley was trying to reassure the once-disgraced Black sister, he was trying to figure out what might have happened. Why would Apollonia have missed the scheduled drop-off with Andromeda? Whatever the reason, it had better be a good one or else she would be in for a very long talk with the Minister. She knew better than anyone what would happen if she didn’t do this; and, they were not consequences that Harry Potter’s sister should ever have to endure. I believe contacting Harry might be in order, the Minister decided. He can find out why his sister has not shown up at St. Mungo’s along with Mrs. Malfoy.

“Even if it is Apollonia who was asked to bring my sister, something could happen,” Andromeda argued. “My sister could hold her own when we were younger. I’m sure she could do so again.”

“You have not seen you sister in almost three decades,” the Minister reminded her. “For all you know, things might have changed.” It was becoming more and more apparent that Andromeda was opposed to the idea of spending time with her younger sister. She held onto the belief that her younger sister was as corrupted as the elder, believing that her sister would never change from what she was before. “Apollonia has done wonders for your sister. If she was as obsessed with blood purity as Bellatrix was, then Apollonia might never have been permitted anywhere near Malfoy Manor. She wouldn’t even have been able to have such a close relationship with the last ties to the Black house. Surely you see that, Andromeda. Surely you can see that your sister is not the person you’re making her out to be.”

“Then where are they?” Andromeda asked.

“I do not know,” Kingsley replied.

“Well, until you can prove me wrong, I refuse to believe that my younger sister would truly turn her back on everything she believed it,” Andromeda persisted. With that, she flooed away.

Whatever was going on, it seemed clear that Kingsley needed to contact Harry. If anyone could figure out what was happening, it was Harry Potter; the boy-who-lived; the Chosen One; the man-who-conquered. Besides, it was also his sister. Apollonia’s involvement almost guaranteed that he would stick close for if anything happened. Tossing a handful of Floo powder in the fireplace, Kingsley called out “The Burrow” and stuck his head in.

Arthur was the one to answer. “Kingsley! Why have you called?”

“A situation has arisen,” Kingsley informed the Weasley patriarch, “and I am in need of Mr. Potter’s assistance. Could you please send him over so that I can inform him of what has happened?”

“Sorry, but I can’t,” Arthur said.

“Why not?” the Minister asked.

“He just left fifteen minutes ago,” Arthur replied.

Kingsley stared at the Weasley patriarch in shock. It was just his luck that the one person he needed to contact wasn’t there. He wasn’t sure how willing any of the others might be to help him, especially considering the youngest Mr. Weasley’s inability to accept her. No, he would have to wait for Harry in order to do anything about this. “Thank you, Arthur. I need to speak with Harry regarding something only he can handle. So you have any idea where he might be?” Kingsley wondered, hoping he could get something out of the man.

“Possibly Diagon Alley,” Arthur suggested.

The floo connection stayed open for a few more minutes before the Minister broke the connection and pulled his head from the fire. Somewhere in Diagon Alley. That was a long stretch of an area in which to search. He could be anywhere. Finally, Kingsley decided the best way to attack the problem and went to enact it. This was the easiest way to find Harry.

***

After spending the majority of his time either chasing after the Death Eaters or listening to his best friend put down Apollonia, it was immensely relaxing for Harry to simply walk around Diagon Alley without having to worry about anything. It was not since…well, he supposed ever, in which there was ever an instance that Harry did not have to worry about one thing or another. In fact, this was the most relaxing amount of time he had in his life.

However, looking at some of the places in Diagon Alley was rather disheartening for Harry. Several stores were closed even after the war’s conclusion, the most notable of the two being Ollivander’s and Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes. Ollivander was still recovering from his ordeal at Malfoy Manor and George was in a bad place after Fred’s death, especially since Apollonia wasn’t around to keep him out of his depression; for that, he blamed Ron. It appeared as if neither store would be opening very soon. On the other hand however, some of the other stores were starting to open up again, even if it would a long time before it would get back to its pre-war state; prior to the Department of Mysteries incident.

Harry shook his head sadly. “It will take a long time to fix this.”

Before Harry could continue inspecting the area, an elderly elf popped into the area. “Harry Potter, sir, the Minister is wanting to see you. Blinky is beings ordered to take you to him.”

“What is this for?” Harry asked.

“Master Shacklebolt is not saying,” the elf replied.

Harry shrugged and took the elf’s hand, permitting the elf – Blinky – to apparate him over to the Minister’s house. Well, so much for a relaxing day, Harry thought darkly. What could Kingsley want from me that he couldn’t ask anyone else? Why ruin my day off?

“Ah! There you are, Harry,” Kingsley said as Harry appeared in the Minister’s office. “A situation has arisen, Mr. Potter, one that I’m afraid only you will be able to help us with.”

“What would that be?”

“Your sister is missing,” he replied.

Harry paled. Guess that explains it. I’m the only one that would even be remotely willing to deal with something like this. Ron would never help Kingsley with something like this. The young hero stared at the Minister in confusion. “How sir? How could my sister have possibly gone missing? It’s not like her to do something like this,” Harry complained.

“My thoughts exactly,” Kingsley explained. “However, Andromeda came rushing in this morning to tell me that Apollonia did not show up with Narcissa, though she had no idea that it was them in the first place. In any case, you are the only person that I would ever consider trusting in a situation like this, especially seeing as it involves your sister. If it’s not too much trouble, I’d like you to pop over to Malfoy Manor and find out what’s going on. Perhaps the young Mr. Malfoy will know why his mother didn’t show up.”

As much as he didn’t want to do this, Harry agreed. He was wondering what might have happened. It most certainly was not like his sister to abandon her duties so that Narcissa Malfoy did not make a scheduled appointment. Considering how close his sister was to the Malfoys – or at least the Malfoys with Black blood in their veins – she would have made sure that Narcissa was there on time. Whatever it was that Andromeda thought was going on, it wasn’t what she thought. Apollonia wouldn’t neglect to send Narcissa out to St. Mungo’s.

“I’ll figure out what’s going on,” Harry assured him.

“I knew you would,” Kingsley replied.

Even if his day off was interrupted, it proved to be for a good cause; his sister disappeared. There was nothing in the world that would keep Harry from discovering what was going on with his sister. So, after a quick check over at Shell Cottage to confirm that Apollonia was not there, Harry apparated over to Malfoy Manor to look for his sister, maybe ask Malfoy if he knew what was going on. As he walked into the luxurious manor, it became apparent that no one was around. Neither Narcissa, Draco, nor Apollonia was anywhere to be seen, at least at first glance. “What the hell?” Harry wondered.

After the cursory glance, Harry performed a more thorough search of the manor, only to realize that no one was there. No one. Not even Malfoy was there. And that was strange in and of itself. The one person that Harry expected to see during his search was Draco Malfoy. However, even he wasn’t here. There was something very strange going on if even Malfoy was nowhere to be found. Harry headed down to the cellar where he and Ron were being held to see if there was anything that might be anything that could point them in the right direction.

Going down to the cellar proved to be the smartest thing he ever did. Harry found a lead there waiting for him, though it was nothing he ever expected. To his disgust, the only thing he found was Apollonia’s wand and a note. Pocketing his sister’s wand, Harry grabbed the note and apparated back to the Ministry; the contents of this note were not to his liking and Kingsley would have to be informed. This was not the type of thing that Harry could not do alone.

Kingsley was still in his office when Harry returned. “She isn’t there. None of them are. Narcissa, Draco, Apollonia; I didn’t see any of them there. But, I did find this,” Harry said, handing him the note.

“How is this possible?” Kingsley asked.

“I don’t know, sir,” Harry admitted. “We were careful about who was permitted to enter. The wards that were placed over Malfoy Manor—ones Bill set up—would only allow myself, Apollonia, or Auror Robards anywhere near the place. Bill should have been the only one who could even break the wards, seeing as he was the one to place them.” Actually, Harry never told anyone—not even Apollonia—that these wards were placed; it was to make sure that things were safe at Malfoy Manor, so that they could be sure of what was happening. “I know that Bill wouldn’t have taken the wards down. He knows that it’s the best way for us to find the Death Eaters and send them off to Azkaban.”

“Then what happened?” the Minister asked.

“I couldn’t say,” Harry replied. “But, I am going to find out.”

The note was tossed on the table where all could read it.

Potter,
You won’t be getting your sister back anytime soon. Not unless you give up searching for us. And, even then, the chances of your sister being returned to you unharmed are slim to none.

--The Death Eaters

***

The first thing Apollonia saw when she regained consciousness was darkness. A very faint light was all that was around; however, it was too far away for her to see anything, especially anything that was sitting right in front of her. Despite the disadvantage, the young Snape could make out two silhouettes within five feet of her. “Ugh!” she grunted. “What happened?”

“Apolla?” she heard a strangled voice cry.

Recognizing the voice, emerald eyes widened, unbelieving of what she was hearing. “Draco? What are you doing here? For that matter, what am I doing here?” she questioned.

“Don’t know,” Draco admitted. “But, Mother and I have been here since last night. Then you showed up about an hour ago. I didn’t know it was you, though. If I did, I would have done something.” He grunted. “Now I know what it felt like for Ollivander, the goblin, Thomas, and the Lovegood girl. No wonder they made the escape attempt when Potter, Weasley, and Granger showed up. I’ve been down here for twelve hours and already I want out.”

“Not too pleasant, is it?” Apollonia asked knowingly.

“Not a bit,” Draco scowled.

“Who took you?” Apollonia wondered.

“There were four of them: Avery, Selwyn, Travers, and Yaxley,” Draco answered. “Captured us last night and brought us here. Pansy’s and Theo’s fathers are here as well, I think.”

“Six then,” Apollonia realized.

“There might be more,” Draco said.

“Of course there are,” Apollonia muttered. “The only good thing I that you still haven’t removed the necklace. Otherwise, I’d be in a lot more danger than I already am.” It almost seemed as if Draco and Harry planned for this, like they knew that something like this would happen. “Has anything happened to me since I was brought in?”

“You were just tossed in here,” Draco said.

Apollonia nodded. That was a good thing. Harry would murder the Death Eaters on the spot if anything happened to her. Suddenly, something occurred to the young Snape, something that Kingsley mentioned yesterday. “Damn it! There’s no way that it could have happened by now. They wouldn’t have had enough time to set it up by now,” she knew.

“Set up what?” Draco asked.

“Nothing. It doesn’t matter,” Apollonia assured. There was no way that she could say anything to Draco, not when they were in what Apollonia could only assume was the Death Eaters’ underground hideout. If any of the Death Eaters realized that Apollonia was untouchable, they would ask—no, order—Draco to remove the necklace from her person. As it was the only thing protecting her, Apollonia was not about to let that go.

“You’re hiding something,” Draco argued.

“And what if I am?” she asked.

“You know it will only get you in trouble,” he said.

“That might be true,” Apollonia said, “but they picked the wrong person to kidnap. I’m Harry’s sister, the one person he would chase after. I don’t know what the Death Eaters are thinking, especially seeing as you and Narcissa are here as well, but they made the biggest mistake of their lives in kidnapping me right along with you. They’ll never make it out alive. Harry will come wands a blazing to come looking for me.”

“And that’s exactly what we’re counting on,” a voice chuckled from the door. “The second Potter come in here looking for you, he’s going to die. He’s going to die for killing our master.”