Princess Sunburst

Unbelievably pissed that his sister would be kidnapped by Death Eaters, Harry apparated back to Shell Cottage to speak with Bill and Fleur. Once it was confirmed that Bill had nothing to do with the breaking of the wards, three of them returned to the Burrow so that Harry could inform the others about what happened and see if he could gather support in searching for her. Already, Harry knew that Ron would never help, but he hoped that some of the others would be willing to help search for where Apollonia was being kept.

When Harry arrived, he found that there were still the remnants of an argument about Apollonia. “Still?” Harry bellowed when he walked in. “You are going to cease this outrageous argument. This is not the time for an argument such as this, especially given the circumstances. Now, I’m going to need your help. Something happened this morning and there’s no way I can do this alone.” Harry was careful about giving information out to the Weasleys. Ron would immediately say no once he knew that something happened to Apollonia, and that was something he would like to avoid. He had to.

Harry took all of two seconds to realize that there was a lot of tension—more than usual—in the house, most of it emanating from Ron and George. As far as the young hero could tell, it appeared as if they would have to be separated, to keep this from happening. George would have to be included in the search. So as to keep Ron and George from fighting about this, involving him might be the only way to stop the fighting. “What do you need help with?” Arthur questioned of Harry. “What’s the problem?”

“My sister was kidnapped,” Harry murmured.

“Good riddens!” Ron called out with glee.

“Shut up!” Molly, George, and Hermione yelled.

So George and Hermione are both willing to help, Harry realized. But, who else? Bill and Fleur, I think. Would anyone else help me though? It occurred to Harry that the people who were on the list of people who would help search for Apollonia were also the ones that she trusted with the secret that she was Lady Prince. But, the question was, would anyone else help in the search? Would any of them be willing to help look for Apollonia? “Apollonia never showed up at St. Mungo’s with Narcissa.” Before Ron could get a word in edgewise, Harry glared at him. “Kingsley said it himself, that’s not like Apollonia. She would have been there. I checked Malfoy Manor and there was a note waiting for me, like they knew I would be there. If my sister was responsible, she would have been here, trying to keep me from finding out. But, that’s not the case; she was kidnapped and I’m going to get her back. Who’s going to help me?” he asked.

As expected, George, Hermione, Bill, and Fleur stepped up to help. There had been no doubt in Harry’s mind that the four of them would help in the search. “You know we’re going to help,” Hermione said. “She’s your sister and there’s no way that we would ever let anything happen to her.” She glared at Ron. “At least anyone who cares anything about Harry. Which, clearly you don’t. So, should you really be friends with Harry if you won’t accept his sister as a part of his life? How can you be so bigoted towards Slytherins anyway? Many of them might have been Death Eaters, but not all of them were. So, what’s the reason? Why do you hate that Apollonia is a part of our lives now?”

Ron scowled. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Is anyone else going to help?” Harry asked.

Charlie and Ginny shook their heads. Arthur and Molly did the same. To Harry’s surprise, it was Percy who nodded. “I think there might be a way for me to help you; however, I won’t be doing the actual searching. I can run things from the Ministry to help you find her.”

If even Percy was willing to help, but Ron wasn’t, there was a serious problem at work. Percy spent the last four years pulling himself away from his family, believing that the Ministry was the way to go. And, shortly after he showed up, it was he who bore witness to Fred’s death. Help from Percy just seemed a little weird. “Are you sure, Percy?” Harry asked.

“Very,” Percy said. “I need to do this.”

Harry looked between Percy and George, understanding what it was that caused the two of them—Percy especially—to help him. It was Fred. He was the reason that Percy and George were so willing to help. Whether anyone, especially Ron, saw it or not, Apollonia was the last true connection to Fred. The story that he heard from Apollonia was that Fred bound her to the promise with his own magic as he was dying. Now, as he had never heard of something like this happening before Alicia explained it to him, Harry had no way of knowing what that meant. But, chances were that Fred had a connection to Apollonia, one that only George and Percy could see. And that had to be why this was happening; Harry would have to ask Alicia if she knew anymore about this. Perhaps she could help explain why any of this was even happening, seeing as she knew what happened with Fred.

In fact, it might be a good idea to call in a few reinforcements: Alicia, Angelina, Katie, Lee, Oliver, Luna, and Neville; some of them might be willing to help. So, Harry whipped up a patronus—well, technically seven; one for each person—and sent a message out to each: “I have a situation that need attending to. Would you be willing to help? If so, please meet up in the Minister’s office. If not, send a message with your regrets.”

Harry turned to the group of willing participants. “Minister’s office, right now. We’ll discuss the plan from there.” With that, Harry apparated back to Kingsley’s office.

“Back again, I see,” Kingsley chuckled.

“With good reason,” Harry reminded him. “There should more coming; Hermione, Bill, Fleur, Percy, and George for sure. I’m not sure about the other seven I sent messages out to.”

Almost as soon as Harry finished saying this to the Minister, Bill and Fleur appeared in the room, with Percy following close behind. Hermione and George popped in only moments later. “Why are you here?” Kingsley asked. “Surely you could do this somewhere else.”

“We’d do it at the Burrow if Ron were not so opposed to helping Apollonia,” Harry growled. “And, I really don’t want to use Hogwarts for anything while it is in the state that it’s in.” While Hogwarts was slowly getting back to its former glory, there were still a lot of repairs yet to be made. And no one wished to be reminded of the bodies that littered the Great Hall after the final battle took place. No, Kingsley’s office would work out best.

Before Kingsley could say anything in response to Harry’s explanation, a silver hare shot into the office, thus confirming that Luna would be unable to help. “Sorry, Harry. Daddy still hasn’t completely recovered and I’m busy with the Quibbler until he is.”

“Sounds just like her,” Hermione said.

Another patronus, this one a bear, came soaring in. It did not take long to realize whose patronus this was based solely on the message: “I’m getting back into Quidditch now that the war is over. Sorry, Harry. I wish you luck in your venture though and I’ll see you some time soon.”

“That’s no Luna or Oliver then,” Harry realized.

Alicia and Lee popped in just as a small, bug-like creature – a bush-cricket, Harry realized as it came closer – came zooming towards him. “Not feeling too well. Sorry.”

“That was Katie,” Alicia announced.

Neville’s patronus, a badger, came shooting towards Harry. “I’m spending time with Gran for the day. I haven’t been able to for awhile. Wish I could though,” Neville replied.

Harry was rather shocked that Neville was opting out of helping in the search in favor of spending time with his gran. He was counting on the support from Neville in locating Apollonia. But, seeing as the message came, he was down a man. Angelina popped in while Harry was thinking. “What’s going on?” the former Gryffindor asked. “Why do you need our help?”

“My sister went missing some time this morning,” Harry explained. “She was kidnapped by Death Eaters when she went to meet Narcissa Malfoy and take her over to St. Mungo’s to begin her community service work. I need your help in finding out where she might have been taken, as well as a rescue mission. Between the nine of us, I’m sure we can figure it out.”

“How do we know the Malfoys didn’t do it?” Angelina wondered.

“Supposedly, Draco is in love with her,” Harry scowled. “And he already knows that if he does anything to harm Apollonia, he’ll lose his magic. I made an Unbreakable Vow with him, so that he would lose his magic—rather than his life—for hurting my sister in any way. I doubt he would take that chance. As for Narcissa, my sister is like a daughter to her. Apollonia has been a part of their lives since just before she was twelve, and protected her during the war, so I doubt they had anything to do with her disappearance. They’d be risking her leaving their lives if they did anything. It just isn’t likely.”

As much as Harry wanted to believe that the Malfoys were bad people, the only one who truly qualified was Lucius Malfoy. It was difficult for Harry to accept, but Lucius Malfoy was the only member of the Malfoy family that was truly to blame for anything that happened, in particular Harry losing his parents. Were it not for Lucius recruiting Snape to the cause, Harry and Apollonia might have gotten to know one another during their childhoods. None of this ever had to happen. Things would have been so much different if only Lucius Malfoy never became a Death Eater. But, seeing as the Malfoy patriarch did exactly that – eventually landing him in Azkaban for the rest of his natural life – Harry had no choice but to suffer through this. He needed to find his sister.

“You’re sure it’s not them?” Angelina asked.

“Very,” Harry replied.

“And how many Death Eaters are still on the loose?” Lee asked.

“Maybe fifty or so?” Harry answered, unsure if that was the case or not. The truth was he didn’t know. He never knew just how many Death Eaters Voldemort had and he never really bothered to count. Besides, many were dead; Bellatrix; Mulciber; Jugson; and few nameless others. And, the Ministry dealt with them, placing them in graves surrounding Azkaban; a place where their spirits would forever be haunted by the Dementors’ presence. It was the best place for them, seeing as no one really seemed to care that any of the fifteen Death Eaters that were gone had died; it just never seemed to matter.

“How is this going to work then?” Bill asked.

“Well, Percy offered to stay and run things from here,” Harry started. “I’ll need someone to help him with that, in case there’s too much for him to handle.” Harry did not want to see Percy turn into Hermione (circa third year); therefore, he wanted someone around to help in whatever venture Percy he chose to undertake. “Any offers?”

As expected, George remained silent; Harry was sure that George wanted to help with the rescue effort. Angelina chose not to as well. The others looked at each other and silently came to a decision. “I’ll stay,” Hermione volunteered. “As much as I’d like to go find Apollonia, I think I might be better suited to helping Percy with the search and whatnot.”

“So, with Percy and Hermione staying behind, that leaves seven of us to chase down where the Death Eaters might be,” Harry realized. “We’ll split up into groups. Any ideas as to how?”

“Two groups of two and a group of three,” Lee suggested.

“How would we split up?” Harry wondered.

“Angelina and I have worked together since our first year,” Alicia reminded the youngest of the group, who was also their hero. “Six of which while on the Quidditch team. How about the group of three be comprised of all three girls; two of us and Fleur?”

“I believe zat will work,” Fleur said.

“If we do that, how do the guys split up?”

“Well, there three choices that you can choose from,” Hermione informed the group from where she and Percy were seated. “There’s a Bill/Harry team and a Lee/George team; a Bill/Lee team and a Harry/George team; a Bill/George team and a Harry/Lee team. Take your pick, boys.”

Seeing as he was the leader of this operation, Harry decided to pick who he worked with. Seeing as this was a rescue mission that involved his sister, Harry decided to weigh the pros with the cons to determine who he would be best suited to team up with. First, there was Bill; pro: he’s a Curse Breaker; con: I’ve rarely seen his skills as a duelist; pro: he came close to beating a werewolf before being mauled by one; con: I’ve never worked with him before. Next, there was Lee; pro: fair duelist; con: as much of a jokester as Fred and George were; pro: did wonders when dealing with Umbridge; con: can be slightly unpredictable; pro: loyal and supportive; con: might not take things seriously. Finally, there was George; pro: willing to defend Apollonia no matter what; con: still grief-stricken over Fred’s death; pro: can come up with creative ways to deal with Death Eaters; con: slightly unpredictable; pro: skilled duelist and works well in a team; con: revenge might play a factor here. Upon going through the list, it became clear who the obvious choice was. “I’ll take Bill. Lee, George; why don’t the two of you work together?” he suggested.

A nod was all that sufficed from George, and was all the answer Harry would ever get from him. Harry learned faster than anyone that George was none too willing to speak with anyone in his family. No one was truly over Fred’s death. George knew it himself; his presence in their lives would always serve as a reminder of what was lost. Out of everyone, Apollonia was the only one to see George without Fred and treat him accordingly. While she still saw and understood that he lost his twin, Apollonia tried to keep George out of the suicidal territory that he was headed for; everyone else—even Harry to a certain extent—treated George as if he was glass, too fragile to do something like this.

“I haven’t worked with George in awhile,” Lee said. “Should be fun.”

Now that the teams were set, it was time to start looking into where Apollonia might be. The young hero turned to the research group. “Percy, Hermione, anything you can dig up on all known Death Eaters would be most appreciative,” Harry informed them. “I don’t know how long my sister has been gone, but I’m not about to let her stay any longer than she has. She’s in the company of Death Eaters; and, for the sister of the man-who-conquered, that’s not a very pleasant place for her to be.” Harry didn’t even know what the deal was with Draco and Narcissa; neither of them could be found at the manor, but were they involved as well?

As Percy and Hermione hurried off to do whatever research was required for this search, Harry sat down with the six members of the rescue team to go over the plan. He was not about to let anything go to chance, not like any other time. So long as Apollonia was missing, Harry would do whatever he could to save her; anything that would keep her out of danger.

***

Apollonia stared at the figure standing at the door, the figure that just kidnapped her from Malfoy Manor. “What the hell do you mean, you’re expecting that Harry will come to rescue me?” she growled. The young Snape was pissed, beyond pissed, that she would be captured by the Death Eater. While Apollonia expected that they would use it as a plan, the one thing she never expected was that someone would actually try it; that she would be used to lure Harry out so that the remaining Death Eaters could try to kill him.

“Exactly that; I want Potter to come,” he cackled.

“So, you can kill him, I suppose?” she yelled. Allowing such a thing to happen, permitting her brother to be killed by the Death Eaters for killing their master and ridding the world of evil, was unacceptable. He already died once and she was not about to let it happen again. “Why do you think he’ll ever let that happen? Kidnapping me is the worst thing you could ever do. He won’t come alone, not to a Death Eater hideaway.” Harry, the trace. Did Kingsley place the trace on the necklace? It was her only chance. It was the only way to be sure that Harry would find her and end this. Not even twenty-four hours had passed since Kingsley spoke with her about the trace. The question on her mind was a simple one; had the trace been set up? Could Harry find her so easily?

“I beg to differ,” the man said.

The Slytherin glared at the man. Even in the darkness, with only a very faint light off in the distance, Apollonia could tell that there was something familiar about the Death Eater who stood in front of. She didn’t know what it was, but he held a passing similarity to someone she met a long time ago. “I know you,” she whispered. “I don’t know how, but I do.” Apollonia turned her attention the Death Eater and addressed him in a much louder voice than she was using before. “Which of the Death Eaters are you? I want to know if you were one of the Death Eaters that has done something to my family.”

“That depends,” the man said.

“Answer my question!” she yelled.

“You are in no position to be making demands, young lady,” the Death Eater reminded her. “A dozen Death Eaters are sitting upstairs, wondering if you are to be tortured. Should I tell them yes?”

Too bad you won’t be able to torture me, Apollonia thought. I’ve been protected for a long time. It’s not as if you can do anything to change that. The witch glared at this oh-so-familiar Death Eater. “Just answer the question. That’s all I want to know.” All she wanted to know was how much this particular Death Eater might have hurt her family during war. Family members she never met were killed about two years ago and Apollonia wanted to know if this was one of the Death Eaters that committed that particular deed.

“Gabriel Selwyn,” he replied.

Selwyn. Selwyn? Apollonia was sure of only one thing; Selwyn was not the name of a Death Eater she recognized. It was not one of the inner circle; that was for sure. Those were names that Apollonia recognized after hearing from her father. But, this one – Selwyn – she was clueless. “I need more of an explanation than that,” she warned. “What did you do?”

“You want a full scope of what I did?” Selwyn asked. “I’m not so sure you want to hear this; but, if you insist.” Apollonia was pulled from the cell she was being held in and taken to an empty room. “You want to know of all the crimes I’ve committed over the years. Fine, Ms. Snape. But, you will regret it. I have stories to be told that would make your blood boil.”

“Stop stalling!” she screamed. “I want to know.”

“Well, let’s see, since I was recruited in the late sixties, I’ve done a lot of the usual.” Apollonia glared at him. “But, I don’t think that’s what you’re talking about. Yes, I think I know what you want to know. While I was the only marked Death Eater in my family, my two sisters; one older, one younger: Dee and Tabitha were in full support of all that I was doing. Dee eventually got a job with the Ministry and helped me keep them weak for when the Dark Lord returned; however, Tabitha settled down with a family. To Dee’s and my surprise, it became apparent that Tabitha was never as obsessed with blood as Dee and I were; so much so that my sister was ready and willing to allow her daughter – my niece: Morgan – to marry some muggleborn: Thaddeus Carmichael at the time they were killed.”

It was the names Morgan and Tabitha that caught Apollonia’s attention. There was only one family she knew of that had family members with those names. “No!” she yelled. “Why would you let them be killed? They were your family! They were my family!”

“Your family?” Selwyn asked.

“Yes! My family!” she screamed. “My father was Christophe Prince’s cousin; the man who I’m sure was also your brother-in-law. Your nieces—Morgan, Delaney, and Zara—they were my second cousins. Why would you let that happen, why would you allow you family to be killed?” It was the man before that caused Apollonia to lose the chance to know her cousins, especially Zara. It was because of what Selwyn had done that Harry was the only family she had left. She glared at the Death Eater who just admitted that he allowed his family to be destroyed. “Anything else you want to own up to?”

“Nope, can’t think of a thing,” he replied.

“How come I don’t believe you?” she scowled.

“I don’t see why not,” Selwyn said.

Apollonia was not about to accept that Selwyn was not involved in any other events during the war; she was sure that he was. The best thing for Apollonia to do was to keep him talking until Harry made his way out here. It would be easier than trying to get into the cell where Draco and Narcissa were being held. This better work. Otherwise, I’m in trouble. Harry, you better hurry up. I don’t know how long I can keep this going.