Princess Sunburst

When the explosion occurred and the rock collapsed around him, Harry did the only thing he could to protect himself; he cast a shield charm around himself and the two Death Eaters that he captured. Not only that, but he pulled out his sister’s wand, using it in combination with his own. The combination of the two wands—holly and phoenix feather; holly and unicorn hair—created a dome-shaped shield. The barrier between him and the collapsing rock was constructed well, created with two wands of holly. While he sat in the dome shield, Harry took the time to examine the two wands in his possession.

At one point during the Easter holiday—the time in which Harry and the others (Hermione, Ron, Dean, Luna, Griphook, Ollivander, and even Apollonia herself) were staying at Shell Cottage—it was mentioned that Apollonia purchased her wand just before he and Hagrid entered the shop. Coincidental as it was, Apollonia was the last customer to purchase a wand before the brother wand of the infamous yew wand that gave him the lightning bolt scar was chosen. It was only after Apollonia returned to Hogwarts for the spring term that Harry truly had the chance to question Ollivander about it. Her wand was most peculiar, in the sense that it was almost exactly like his own.

The discovery that Apollonia was his sister caused Harry to really look at the facts. His sister had a wand similar to his; same size; same wood; the difference between them was the core. Harry snorted. Apollonia’s wand core was unicorn hair; only those who were pure of heart could use a wand with unicorn hair as a core. How could he have been so blind? How could he have overlooked something such as this? The core of her wand was proof enough that Apollonia would have never betrayed him; not many Death Eaters had unicorn hair in their wands, he was sure of that. A few did—Malfoy was one; it was probably why he couldn’t kill Dumbledore—but there couldn’t be that many.

Learning that Apollonia was his sister opened his eyes to a lot of things. And, the one thing that Harry realized with the discovery of the last family he ever had – his half-sister, his twin – was that things were most definitely not as they appeared. Malfoy protected someone not of pure blood; Ron proved that he was not willing to accept Apollonia as a part of Harry’s life, for the simple fact that she was a Slytherin; and then there was the fact that Dudley seemed to have a heart. Nothing was as Harry remembered it, all thanks to the owner of the wand sitting next to his; Apollonia Lily Evans Snape.

Examining the two wands even further, Harry could see only one other obvious difference; the stone at the base of the wands. While Harry’s was a ruby, his sister had a tiger’s eye. The two wands were almost identical in appearance in every way with the exception of the stone at the base of the wands. And, it was that stone that would keep Harry aware of which was his, an important factor to consider, especially when he held the power of the Elder Wand. So long as he did, being disarmed, or allowing anyone else to use his wand, would cause the power to be passed to another witch or wizard. The point of burying the wand with Dumbledore was that no one would ever be able to use it even if Harry was disarmed. Despite this, Harry had no intention of letting the wand out of his sight, even if it happened to be his sister who disarmed him. As much he trusted her, this was not something that he wanted to burden his sister with, not with this.

Already, Apollonia had taken it upon herself to become the keeper of the Resurrection Stone, removing it from the Forbidden Forest where Harry left it. That was dangerous in and of itself. He knew that Apollonia used the stone to talk with the spirits of people she cared about. Even if she always returned the spirits whence they came, bringing them out could be addicting. It was about as bad as the Mirror of Erised. The reason that Dumbledore was dead was because he was so obsessed in seeing his younger sister again; he did not want to see his sister go through something like that. She didn’t deserve it.

Harry wasn’t sure how much time had passed when he heard two voices coming toward him. There was no need to question who it was; Apollonia’s wand was pulsing, awaiting its master. “Damn it!” Harry swore when he came to that realization. After all that she had been through, tortured by who Harry could only assume was Selwyn, Apollonia chose to return, chose to come help him. What was she thinking? Why would she risk her own health in order to do something that someone else could? Didn’t she realize that she was putting her life in danger by coming here? Harry was not sure if there were still Death Eaters around, but he was not sure if he wanted to take that chance.

Apollonia could be heard arguing with someone. From the voice, it sounded like it might be George. Harry wondered what they could be arguing about since he could only faintly hear what was going on, unsure to make out what the words they were saying were. Eventually, the two stopped arguing, calling out the one spell that he hoped to here. “Wingardium Leviosa!” There were twin shouts of the spell, which was odd as Harry had his sister’s wand with him. How could she be casting spells? He doubted that Apollonia capable of wandless magic, not to the extent in which might be used to help him.

From where he sat, Harry could feel the pressure on his shield lessen ever so slightly. It wasn’t much, but it was a start. He waited a few minutes as more rocks lifted from the shield before Harry started helping them, blasting his way out of the rock prison he was in.

***

George was busy lifting the rocks. Apollonia would have been doing the same, if not for the fact that Fred’s wand refused to respond to her. She could not understand what it was that caused this, not until a blast could be heard from inside the dome-like structure. They had to duck out of the way as the rocks started blasting their way across the corridor. “What the…?” She did not finish her sentence as she could see a hand sticking out from the rocks; her own wand in hand. Apollonia quickly snatched it up, wondering how her wand made its way down here. Tucking Fred’s wand up her sleeve, Apollonia recovered her wand.

Her wand back in hand, Apollonia started to rapidly casting – she hadn’t done much in help Harry, and she intended on rectifying that egregious error – trying to make sure that Harry was safe. He had her wand in his possession, of which she was not quite sure how that happened. She was not about to question it, however. How, Harry? How did you have it? The second Harry was pulled out from the rubble, Apollonia pulled him up. “My wand,” she whispered. “How? How did you have it with you?”

“Recovered it from Malfoy Manor,” he answered. “I know what it’s like not having my wand. I doubted you wanted to go through that as well. So, I held on to it. Why are you here anyway?”

“I wasn’t about to let you stay here,” Apollonia warned him.

“But, you were Crucioed only a few hours ago!” Harry argued.

“Like that would stop me,” she muttered.

“You still shouldn’t have come,” Harry said.

Apollonia raised an eyebrow. “And who would have come help George with this?” she wondered. “It’s not like Ron would have come, you know. Not when you got stuck down there while trying to rescue me.” There was no way that Ron would have ever agreed to help with this, not knowing why it happened. Charlie was still wary around her; and Ginny…well, she wasn’t quite sure what that was about. There was no way that any of them would help George. Actually, she was surprised to realize that Percy was nowhere to found; that – she assumed – he would help. “I was the only one who could do it.”

“You were still injured,” Harry tried again.

“Not enough to leave me fully incapacitated,” Apollonia said. “Maybe weak, but not completely unable to help.” Just because she was still recovering from Selwyn’s Crucios didn’t mean that she couldn’t come over here. If anything, it meant that she should. Actually, that reminded her of something. “Selwyn and Rookwood? Did you get them?”

Harry pointed over at the rubble. “Selwyn is still somewhere under the rock. But, Rookwood; he caused damn explosion! Used it as a bloody smokescreen so he could escape.”

“Damn it!” Apollonia grumbled. She was hoping that Rookwood got caught in the blast; that he would receive the same treatment that Fred did a month ago. But, no; he was still on the loose. “This is not good; you know that, don’t you, Harry?” She motioned to George who was still busy removing the rocks to get the captured Death Eater out. Lowering her voice to a whisper, she continued speaking with her brother. “George is pissed about Fred’s death and it’s not like I can keep watch over him.” She scowled. “Ron has made it perfectly clear that I’m not welcome at the Burrow, even if Molly and Arthur override him.”

Harry nodded. “That’s why I needed your help. I can’t ask Ron to help me with the Rookwood issue. He could go too far and things will spiral out of control. I mentioned something to Kingsley about it a little while ago and was getting ready to do the same with Robards.” He huffed. “That’s pointless now, I suppose; what with the pendant destroyed.”

“And it turns out that I helped you catch a few Death Eaters anyway,” Apollonia mused. “I only wish that Rookwood was one of them. Maybe the Weasleys would finally have some peace of mind. But, at least Selwyn was captured. At least I know that my own pain – and want for justice – will be sated.” Selwyn killed his own family. He killed the family that Apollonia never knew, but always wanted to. In particular, Apollonia wanted to know Zara, the cousin she never met, but discovered that she was returned to the family because of. Apollonia was pissed. She lost the chance to know her cousin simply because a relative of theirs was in Voldemort’s pocket. It disgusted Apollonia to know that such a thing would happen, and she wanted justice for their deaths.

“I’m sorry you never got to know them,” Harry said. “I suppose I’m partially to blame for that. I was too blinded by my hatred – too hurt by the loss – of the man to care that you were hurt as well. I didn’t realize just how much this war affected you as well.”

“As long as you toss Selwyn in Azkaban, I’m okay,” Apollonia told him. “I want the man to pay for all that he did to his family, to my family. He’s the reason they’re dead.”

“He was chasing me during the seven Potters thing,” Harry agreed.

“Of course!” she sneered.

“Actually, that reminds me of something,” Harry said as he was helping George remove the rocks from Selwyn’s body. “Did you know that it was your father who cursed George’s ear off?”

“You’re kidding!” she exclaimed.

“Guess that’s a no,” Harry said.

“No, definitely not,” Apollonia muttered. Her father. Of all people – everyone serving Voldemort over the years – it just had to be her father that cursed George’s ear off. And, Apollonia had a sneaking suspicion that she knew how it happened; now that she knew it was her father, it seemed rather obvious as to what happened during the battle. “Sectumsempra?”

“Figured that out, huh?” Harry grinned.

“It seemed obvious,” she explained.

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, he wasn’t trying to hit George,” Harry said. “He was aiming for the Death Eater that was behind him. Apparently, it was an accident.”

“That’s a small comfort, you know,” Apollonia said. That ear was what separated him from Fred. Makes perfect sense really. Fred binds me to my promise to watch over George and then I discover that my father is responsible for cursing his ear off. How else will my life change because of everything that happened it the war? First Draco. Now George. And of course I’m the one who is to watch over them. Seriously; what the hell?

“Just thought you might want to know,” Harry said.

Like I said, makes perfect sense, she decided.

It took another ten minutes for the Death Eaters that Harry had with him to be pulled from the rubble. Once everyone was together, Bill was sent back to the Burrow so Molly could treat his injuries while everyone else—including Apollonia—headed over to the Ministry. At first, it was mentioned that Apollonia should go back to the Burrow as well; however, she refused that offer, wanting to see Selwyn tossed in a jail cell.

Upon arriving at the Ministry, Apollonia soon discovered that Percy, Hermione, and Fleur were waiting for their arrival; that they were in on the rescue mission. And, the Slytherin was thankful for that. Hermione let out a sigh of relief when she spotted Apollonia. “They got you?” she asked. Apollonia nodded. “What happened while you were there?”

Harry was the one to answer. “She was Crucioed.”

“Who? Why?”

Apollonia pointed over to where Selwyn was stunned. “The same monster that killed my cousins, simply because the oldest of the three girls planned on marrying a muggleborn. As for why, they knew Harry would come after me; they wanted to kill him. I don’t think they expected such a large group to come after me; that George was the one to get me out of there.” She glared at Selwyn. “That monster is the reason I’m Lady Prince.” The only one that did not yet know of that was Hermione, for she never got the chance to say anything to her. Actually, the same went for George, but she suspected he knew already.

“Lady Prince?” Hermione asked.

Apollonia nodded. “Zara. She went to Gringotts during Christmas of our first year and had Dad and I welcomed back into the family. She’s the only reason that I became Lady Prince.”

“Who knows?” the witch asked.

“Bill, Fleur, Harry, George, and you,” Apollonia said. “The five of you were the only ones that I trusted with such a secret, the only ones that truly trusted me. You trusted me when no one else would; Harry is my brother and I would have to tell him eventually; Bill and Fleur are letting me stay with them since Ron is being such an ass, plus they already work at Gringotts; and George…well, I have my own reasons for telling George.” Apollonia wasn’t sure when she wanted to put that plan into action. It couldn’t be done just yet, for the Wizarding World was trying to recover from the war yet and it would take awhile to do that. She didn’t know how she was going to pull that off.

“Not even the Malfoys?” Hermione asked.

Apollonia shrugged. “I barely saw them in the last month. I never had the time to tell them, though I still might.” She wasn’t quite sure if telling the Malfoys was a good idea. They would eventually find out the truth, but she didn’t know when that would be. And, there was one other person that Apollonia considered telling. Actually, that reminded her of something Selwyn mentioned, something she needed to confirm. “I need to go take care of something. Can you make sure that Selwyn is jailed for as long as possible?”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Hermione said.

With that, Apollonia flooed over to St. Mungo’s to speak with two people; Andromeda and the Director with whom she initially set the Malfoy thing up. Since the plan for Narcissa to start her community service did not exactly pan out, Apollonia would have to reschedule that. And, there was also the item that Selwyn let slip, which she needed to know about, especially seeing as it was also the last connection to her family.

Upon exiting the fireplace and dusting off all the soot, Apollonia was met with a rather annoyed Andromeda. Well, that was fast. I didn’t expect her to confront me about that so soon. Apollonia did not tell Andromeda that it was her sister who would be doing community service at St. Mungo’s; she was afraid that the older woman would refuse if she knew that it was her sister. Andromeda glared at the younger girl. “I do believe you owe me an explanation. I sat around waiting for hours for someone who turned out to be my younger sister. She never showed up. Apollonia, you wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?” she asked. “You know why my sister never showed up.”

“I do actually,” Apollonia mused. “Could that wait a minute though? There’s one other thing that I need to know, and that’s related to the reason Narcissa and I never showed up.” With Andromeda following close behind, Apollonia headed to the Director’s office. Kill two birds with one stone, I suppose. “Sir, may I speak with you please?”

“What is it, Ms. Snape?” the director wondered.

“An issue arose this morning in which the Malfoys and I were kidnapped,” the young witch explained, staring pointedly at Andromeda, the one who posed this question in the first place. “The start of Narcissa Malfoy’s community service will have to be pushed back two days to allow her the chance to recover. I can have her here at nine in two days.”

“I see, Ms, Snape. I will see that it is rescheduled.” The Director turned to Andromeda. “Will that work for you, Healer Tonks? You are down as Mrs. Malfoy’s contact.”

“I suppose,” Andromeda said.

Apollonia sadly looked over at the older woman. “I am sorry for wasting your time today. That was not my intent. I had every intention of coming here with Narcissa. However, one of the Death Eaters beat me to the punch and kidnapped them the night before, and later myself. If I had my wand at the time, I would have contacted you to explain.”

“You will have to watch over Teddy that day,” Andromeda said.

“Of course,” Apollonia replied.

Once Andromeda was gone, the director turned to Apollonia. “You seem to know Healer Tonks pretty well, Ms. Snape. What was that about Teddy?” the wizard wondered.

Apollonia shrugged. She did not feel the need to explain any of this before, which was part of the reason that Andromeda knew nothing about Narcissa coming here. “Andromeda was the one who practically raised me when I was young. She’s also my godson’s grandmother and Narcissa’s older sister. I thought she would be the best person to do this. However, that doesn’t matter at the moment. I’m actually here to ask if someone is a patient here.”

“Which patient might that be?” he wondered.

“Thaddeus Carmichael,” she replied.

“He is here,” the Director said. “For awhile now, in fact. You would have to speak with Healer Rook about that particular patient. She is the Healer attached to the case.”

“Which ward?” she wondered.

As soon as the director told Apollonia which ward the patient she was looking for would be found in, the young Slytherin headed over there. She had noticed something about the way that director addressed her request about Thaddeus Carmichael. While he was polite, the man rebuked her, not wanting to deal with it. But, what the director did not seem to realize was that this was one of the most important thing in which she had to do. She was in the same boat as Carmichael, having lost people she cared about. But, no one seemed to realize that. When Apollonia arrived at the ward she was looking for, she went to speak with the nearest person. “Hello, how may I help you?” the woman asked.

“Yes, I believe you can help me,” Apollonia said in a quiet voice. “I need to speak with Healer Rook about a patient of hers. There’s something that she and I must converse about.”

“I’m Healer Rook,” the woman replied.

Apollonia stared at the strawberry blonde woman standing in front of her. She was not much older that Apollonia herself. It was definitely not what she expected. “I see. Well, I was wondering about the condition of one of your patients; Thaddeus Carmichael.”

Healer Rook gasped. “But, no one has come in for him.”

No surprise. “I wonder why,” Apollonia scoffed.

“He’s the sole survivor of the Prince wedding massacre,” Healer Rook explained. “Everyone there, including my best friend was killed. Only Thaddeus survived, though I never figured out why. I practically had to force my way onto this case in the first place because of my connection to him. He’s been in a coma since that day.”

Apollonia caught on to the best friend comment. There was no way that she could ignore a comment such as that. She knew very little about her cousin, only that she was two years older and in Ravenclaw; there was nothing more in which Apollonia ever learned about the girl that was her cousin. “Which of the Prince sisters was your friend?” she wondered.

“Zara. She was my best friend,” Healer Rook replied.