Princess Sunburst

The pair apparated to the Burrow and were met with a rather loud scream. It did not take long for either one to figure out what was happening in there. After all, there was only one person who would react this badly to the news that was just released, at least out of those who resided at the Burrow. They hurried in to find Ronald Weasley, who was already still angry about the dual-tone hair, screaming about enchantments. “…I’m telling you people, there’s no way that slimy snake could be Harry’s sister. Harry doesn’t have any family; told me so himself. All of them are dead at the moment. No way they’re related.”

Apollonia met Hermione’s eyes as the young Snape and Harry came in. Hermione had the proof they needed; it was the only way for any of this to work. It was the only way to make Ronald Weasley see that she and Harry were related; it was a truth that the youngest Weasley son seemed too blind to see. “I see you’re rather upset about the announcement,” Apollonia stated as she crossed the room and took a seat between George and Percy. “Well Ron, I’m afraid you’ll just have to live with the announcement. Everything I said was the truth.”

“No!” Ron yelled angrily as he stormed about the room. “There’s no way it’s even possible. You had to have placed him under some enchantment. He spent the last year hating you —” he stormed towards her and pointed an accusatory finger at Apollonia “— after your father murdered Dumbledore. No! Under no circumstances could Harry ever be your brother. You’re lying! You have to be. No way would Harry ever accept that you’re his sister; I’m sure of it. Now get out of here you slimy snake! You’re not wanted here.”

A single glance in both Harry’s and Hermione’s directions was all Apollonia needed to do to get them involved. There was no way that Apollonia could ever convince Ron that everything she said was the truth. Harry’s idea to use a genealogy report on each of them was genius. Short of a Veritaserum-laced interrogation, it was the only thing that would ever prove that the young Snape spoke the truth. In fact, Apollonia would talk to Shacklebolt about that, to give her Veritaserum and prove once and for all that she was loyal to Harry.

Both her brother and Hermione nodded slightly before turning their attention to Ron. “The thing is, I do believe her, Ron. She’s never had any reason to lie, even when her father killed Dumbledore; which, by the way, Dumbledore planned it with Snape: the way he planned to die. Or, didn’t that sink in this morning when I explained it to Voldemort.”

“He was still a bastard to us,” Ron growled.

“To keep his cover,” Harry reasoned.

“He’ll always be a bastard!” Ron insisted.

Harry threw his hands up in the air. “Again, were you not paying attention this morning? He loved my mother for the longest time. They were the best of friends since he first realized that Mum was a witch one day at a Muggle park. I trust what she says because they were friends, because I know for a fact that he loved her. I didn’t tell you this before because I was sure of how you would react. I think I have to tell you now. Hermione and I were there when Snape died. And, before that happened, he handed me a string of memories…”

“I remember that,” Apollonia interrupted.

“You do?” Harry asked. “Oh…yeah!”

She nodded. “Right. I wondered what it was.”

“You’re about to find out,” Harry informed her, turning back to Ron. “Anyway, just before I went to the forest, I went to view those memories in Dumbledore’s Pensieve. It explained everything that happened over the past seven years, why Snape seemed like such a bastard to me; he loved my mother and did everything he could to protect her. What Apollonia claims only serves to further explain Snape’s motives. Viewing those memories; well, it allows me to believe her, because I finally understand why everything in my life happened the way that it did.”

“No!” Ron yelled again. “She can’t be your sister.”

Hermione huffed and stormed over. “Oh, honestly,” she grunted, pulling out the two parchments and throwing them down on the table. “Ron, if you want proof, just take a look at these. A genealogy report was done on each of them to provide concrete evidence of Apollonia’s claim. Harry wanted to have proof that the two of them were related.”

Ron examined them for a moment before finding the area he was looking for. Upon seeing that, he face turned a violent shade of red. “No! It has to have been faked!” he blustered.

Before Apollonia, Harry, or Hermione could make any response to his claim, Bill snatched up the two parchments. He examined them for a few minutes before looked over at Harry, Hermione, and Apollonia, the latter of which joined them. “Genealogy potion?” he asked. The group nodded. “Gringotts uses them to determine identity and whether or not certain people have access to different accounts. They can’t be faked. Sorry, Ron, but she’s telling the truth. Apollonia Snape is Harry’s sister.” Again, he looked at the trio. “Mind if I keep these? I want to talk to the goblins about something and I’ll need them to explain it.”

“Go ahead,” Harry replied.

“Hold on a moment,” Apollonia insisted. “I think there’s something else that Ronald needs to see. He’s oblivious to the truth and needs to understand what he’s doing.”

Bill agreed and promptly handed the parchments back over to the siblings. Harry nudged her as she took hold of the parchments. “What are you doing, Apollonia?” he hissed in her ear.

“Showing Ron how naïve he really is,” Apollonia retorted, shoving Harry’s genealogy report in Ron’s face. If Harry was Slytherin’s descendant, there was no way that she was going to keep this to herself. Ronald Weasley had to know what he was doing. He needed to be made aware of the full story. “The story of the Deathly Hallows. Anyone know it?”

It was almost a guarantee that Hermione would pipe up first. She was sure she would after the Elder wand was featured prominently in the final battle. “The Tale of Three Brothers,” Hermione recalled. “Three brothers escaped death, only to be rewarded by Death itself. The eldest brother, Antioch, asked for an unbeatable wand: the Elder Wand; the middle brother, Cadmus, asked for a stone to recall the undead: the Resurrection Stone; and the youngest brother, Ignotus, asked for an item that would enable him to not be followed by anyone: the Cloak of Invisibility, Death’s cloak. Antioch and Cadmus died shortly after that occurred, but the third went to join death in old age.”

The Slytherin nodded. “Right. Now, we all know where the Elder Wand is; it resides in Dumbledore’s tomb —” she helped Harry finish digging just before the Potterwatch broadcast, so that the wand would rest with the man “— while its master is Harry. But, what of the Resurrection Stone and Invisibility Cloak? What happened to them?”

Again, she was sure that Hermione would know, which she did based on how itching she was to tell the story. It seemed apparent that Harry did as well, for he was the one to explain the story. “The Resurrection Stone was passed down the generations, eventually falling into the hands of the Gaunt family. It was turned into a ring and soon turned into a horcrux when Voldemort found his family heirloom; he killed his Muggle father to make it sometime in the mid-forties. Dumbledore went to destroy it and that’s what killed him. He willed it to me, which it’s currently somewhere in the forest; not exactly sure where at the moment.”

“And the Invisibility Cloak?” she asked.

“That’s mine,” her brother replied.

“See the connection, Ronald? Apollonia sneered.

“What connection?” Ron asked confusedly.

“The Heir of Slytherin was Voldemort!” Apollonia yelled at him. “And, if the Resurrection Stone eventually fell into his hands through Cadmus and the Invisibility Cloak got to Harry through Ignotus, that can only mean one thing; the two of them are distantly related!” Apollonia could not believe how dense the youngest Weasley son was being about this. Didn’t he see that his best friend was an heir of Slytherin? “Damn it, Ronald! Look at the parchment! Salazar Slytherin is on that list. Your best friend is the last living descendant of Salazar Slytherin, and you chose to claim that all Slytherins are Dark Wizards. That’s basically calling Harry a dark wizard, which we all know perfectly well that he’s not.”

“No!” Ron yelled, tossing the parchments back to Bill. “Harry couldn’t be related to Voldemort or Salazar Slytherin. That just isn’t possible. Now, get out! You’re not welcome here!”

“But, she iz wiz us,” Fleur countered.

“Really?” Apollonia asked, turning to the Veela.

The blonde woman nodded. “After all zat you and ‘Arry ‘ave done for me and Bill over ze years, I zink zat eet would be best if you stayed wiz us. During ze second task of ze Tri-Wizard Tournament, ‘Arry saved my leetle sister, Gabrielle, when I could not. Zen you saved Bill from ze werewolf in ze months before our wedding. Bill and I owe you our lives. Zis iz ze leest we can do to repay ze boz of you for what you have done.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that,” Apollonia said.

“You are welcome,” Fleur replied.

Apollonia turned to her brother, needing to speak to him. She hugged him tightly and whispered something in his ear. “Do you still have the message box with you?” The message box was the only way that she and Harry would ever be able to communicate with one another; she doubted that Ron knew anything about them. And, that would keep Apollonia in contact with her brother during the time that Ron wanted her out of Harry’s life.

“It’s buried at the bottom of my trunk,” Harry told her.

“Good. We’re going to use them,” Apollonia replied.

“Right. I’ll talk to you later then,” he said.

The siblings pulled apart and Apollonia decided to take care of something that had been nagging at her for the entire day, no thanks to the pull the magic had on her. Yeah, thanks for that one, Fred. “Hey, George, can you come outside with me for a moment? I need to speak with you privately about something,” the Slytherin explained to the young man.

George nodded and solemnly followed Apollonia out to where the shed was on the edge of the Weasleys’ property. “What’s this about?” George asked in a voice that was just above a whisper.

“Fred knew,” Apollonia said bluntly.

“Huh?” George asked.

“Fred knew my secret,” she repeated.

“He figured it out?” he asked.

Apollonia nodded. “He pulled me aside while I was on my way to the Room of Requirement, just before everyone met up with Harry,” she elaborated. “He simply conjured up a lily and I knew. Fred figured out that I was Harry’s sister about twelve hours before I told Harry, twenty-four hours before I told everyone else. And the favor he asked of me; well, that’s the reason that I needed to talk to you. Fred’s death, and the favor that he asked of me, has forced me to talk to you about everything that happened last night.”

“What was the favor?” the sullen young man asked.

“To watch over you,” she replied.

“Watch over me?” he asked.

Apollonia nodded. “I think he suspected that something would happen to him during the battle. He wanted someone to watch over you if anything were to happen to him. That was me. Discovering my secret allowed for me to become that person. And, because of the favor he asked, I feel as if I have to grant a favor of yours as well, even if you didn’t figure it out on your own.” As a way of honoring Fred, she felt that granting a request of George’s as well would help. Plus, if she remembered correctly, it was George who figured out how to delay the effects of the Mottled Dye so that it wouldn’t blow up until someone drank it. So, she had to do something to say thank you for that. And this was it.

“Why would you do that?” George asked her.

“Because,” Apollonia said quietly, “Fred’s favor bound me to my promise to watch over you. It’s part of the reason I announced my identity over Potterwatch tonight, so I could figure out how Ron would react and plan accordingly. Anyway, since Fred’s death forces me to watch out for you, I’m doing this. It’s also why I’m staying with Bill and Fleur rather than the Malfoys.” Five summers at the Malfoys and, after Draco became a Death Eater, she hadn’t been back since. Probably not a good idea to do so anyway, since Lucius, Narcissa, and Draco had to be questioned by the Ministry. They may have changed sided at the last minute—a lot of Draco’s reasoning having to do with his knowledge of her true identity—but they were still involved in much of the war. There was no doubt that the three of them would be questioned over the next few weeks, though Apollonia hoped that Harry would help her keep at least Draco and Narcissa out of Azkaban; she owed them a lot over the years, for watching over her since she was twelve.

“I appreciate that,” George said sullenly.

“Remember George, I lost someone I cared about as well,” she reminded him. “For the longest time, my father was the most important person in my life. I did what I could to keep him alive. And, I want you to know that I’m not about to let you give up on life because Fred is gone.”

“Uh, right,” George said.

“Now, I need to go collect my things, get ready to stay with Bill and Fleur.” Since the school closed down for repairs, Apollonia had her things removed from the castle, done in preparation for a possible stay at the Burrow. Now it seemed as if her stay would be at Shell Cottage; she stayed there once before, during her Easter vacation when the Weasleys went into hiding. And now it seemed as if it would be done again. “Are you staying here or in Diagon Alley?”

“Here,” George told her. “I can’t go there just yet.”

“Well, I’ll see that you do,” Apollonia assured him. She gave him a quick hug goodbye, promising to find a way back here to help him through what happened to Fred. Even with Ron banning her from the Burrow, he didn’t exactly have the authority to do so; Arthur and Molly would overrule him, so she had no worries, at least not yet. She, Bill, and Fleur apparated to Shell Cottage and headed inside almost immediately. Upon stowing her things in the guest room she used during her last stay, Apollonia went to thank Bill and Fleur again. “I really do appreciate this. I have to stick close to him and Ron’s being unreasonable.”

“With Slytherins, he often is,” Bill cautioned.

“You deserve to spend time wiz your brozzer,” Fleur reasoned. “Ron always did seem as if ‘e ‘ated ozzers for no reason. And when ‘e tried asking me to ze Yule Ball zree years ago, ‘e did not seem all zat enzused about eet as ‘e ran away. Ze way ‘e treated ‘is date during zat was ‘orrid.”

Apollonia eyed Bill as he was setting the parchments down. “Bill, why do you need to talk to the goblins?” It didn’t seem to make any sense, why he needed to speak with them. Yes, Bill worked for Gringotts, but there was no reason for him to do so immediately. Besides, in the time that she was last here, Apollonia heard muttering from everyone—Bill included—about breaking into Gringotts. If Bill had a part in it, he shouldn’t go back so soon, especially since his youngest brother had something to do with the break-in.

“There are vaults that you may need to access,” Bill replied.

“Vaults?” Apollonia could think of only one vault that she ever needed to access, the one her mother told her about last Halloween. That was the only vault that she could even begin to think of as getting looked into at the moment. But, could there be more that she didn’t know about? There was really only one way to find out. “Any way I can go with? My mother’s portrait told me there a vault in there that only Harry or I could open.” It had been made perfectly clear that Gringotts held at least one vault that Apollonia was never given access to by her father. The explanation she got from her mother’s portrait was that he didn’t want to be reminded of all that he lost, even if Apollonia was already a reminder of that.

“That might be a good idea,” Bill noted.

“Really?” the Slytherin asked.

“With your brother off dealing with helping the Ministry get back on track – my guess being that Kingsley will ask him to help capture those Death Eaters that escaped the battle – you’re the only one that can meet with the goblins. It’s only if he isn’t busy over the next few weeks that Harry will have the same chat with the goblins. No, I think it’s best if you deal with yours first.”

“And when is this getting done?” she asked.

“Sometime tomorrow, I think,” Bill replied.

“Right. Again, thanks for letting me stay here.”

“No problem, Apollonia,” Bill said.

***

After his sister left with Bill and Fleur, Harry felt the need to turn to his so-called best friend. He could not believe the degree in which Ron would lash out at Apollonia, simply because she was a Slytherin. The fact it began even before the two of them arrived didn’t help Ron’s case. As Hermione informed him, it began just as Apollonia made that announcement about the pair of them being siblings. Ron was still ranting about that, even after Apollonia left the Burrow. “…surely that snake found a way to fake the genealogy potion. It’s not possible.”

Everyone in the room had grown sick of Ron’s rant. And, as Harry soon came to notice, even Percy proved to be sick of his brother’s rant. “Would you shut up, Ron?” Percy screamed. “Can’t you see that this tirade of yours isn’t going to change anything? At the end of the day, she’s still going to be Harry’s sister. And if you continue to do this, you may very well lose your best friend. If the girl’s father turned out to be loyal to Dumbledore, then surely that means that she was as well. Slytherin doesn’t automatically mean dark.”

“Of course it does!” Ron yelled.

“She helped me, Neville, and Luna,” Ginny volunteered. “Even with her father practically banning her from involving herself in the war, she found a way to help us. It was because of Apollonia that many of us were able to heal so quickly, because she was helping Madam Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing. If not for her, some of us might not have made it through the year.”

Harry’s eyes widened at that. Not once had he ever realized that his sister involved herself in the war, even after Snape didn’t want her to, just to help him win the war. In that moment, Harry began to regret his decision to back up Ron in his assumption that Apollonia was up to no good, even more than he already did. She did everything to support him—to support her brother—over the last year and he shunned her because she was related to Snape. What the hell was he thinking in trusting Ron’s judgment? “Everyone’s right,” he realized quietly, so that only Hermione could hear what he was saying.

“Finally realized that you should have trusted her?” she asked.

“What was I thinking, Hermione?” he asked. “I spent years wanting a family, wanting someone to care about me as much as Ron has a family to care about him, and I almost threw away my chance after Snape killed Dumbledore. It’s a wonder that she’s even stuck by me after what I did to her, after the horrible way that I treated her over the past year.”

“You’re family. Of course she still cares,” she answered.

“How long did you know about this anyway?” Harry wondered.

“Almost as long as she did, I would guess,” Hermione said thoughtfully. “Snape didn’t want you to have knowledge of this and risk losing your sister, so Apollonia asked me to watch over you.”

“Is that why you stayed?” Harry asked.

“Part of the reason,” Hermione told him. “I had to keep my promise to watch over you. Add to that the fact that I’ve never given up on you and you can see why I didn’t leave with Ron.”

“I appreciate that,” Harry said. At least some actually cared about my sister when Ron and I didn’t. Hermione was a better friend to Apollonia than I’ve been a better brother. Harry wasn’t counting Malfoy at the moment, though he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he cared. No, Harry was currently counting those whole were loyal to him and Dumbledore from the beginning. Neville; Luna; Ginny; Hermione; they all seemed willing to trust Apollonia at a time that he couldn’t. And, Harry regretted doing that to her. The fact that he spent almost a full year not trusting his sister; well, it unnerved him quite a bit. Almost the same way that everyone believed Sirius betrayed him and his parents, even though Sirius turned out to be his godfather, while Pettigrew—the rat—was the traitor.

After everything he put her through the past year, there was no way that Harry was about to turn his back on his sister; no matter what Ron wanted, he was not about to do that to her. He was just lucky that the message box was shoved down to the bottom of his trunk rather than burning it to cinders as Ron suggested last year. Thank Merlin I listened to Hermione instead, at least in that instance. Otherwise, communicating with Apollonia would have been a challenge. Harry glared angrily at Ron and decided to make a point. “Ron, all I’ve wanted more than anything is a family. There are times when you’ve been jealous of me because I’ve always been in the spotlight. But, I was always jealous of you, because at least you had the love of a family. I never did. Every time anything that resembled family to me was brought to light, it was ripped away just as fast: my parents, Sirius, Remus; Apollonia—and maybe Teddy—are all I have left. And, I’m about to lose her as well.”

“She’s enchanted you!” Ron bellowed

“There is no enchantment!” Harry barked. He was getting sick and tired of this and disapparated from the Burrow, not caring that Ron was still yelling at him. He was going to wait to do this, but now seemed like the perfect opportunity. He apparated in to Kingsley Shacklebolt’s office and took a seat. “Shacklebolt, I’m going to need a favor from you.”

“What type of favor?” Kingsley asked.

“The Death Eaters are starting to get rounded up, right?” Harry asked. Kingsley nodded. “Good. So, you’re going to need a good stock of Veritaserum then, correct?” Again, Kingsley nodded. “That’s where my favor comes into play. Apparently, a close friend of mine does not believe that Apollonia Snape is my sister. Is there anyway to interrogate her, perhaps during the Malfoys’ trial, with Veritaserum and prove once and for all that she’s my sister. We tried the genealogy potion, but there’s a theory that it was confunded and that I’ve been place under come enchantment to believe what’s she’s telling me.”

“But, there’s no…”

“I know that, Kingsley,” Harry said. “But, Ron doesn’t.”

“Ron! Ron Weasley is contesting this claim?” Kingsley asked.

Harry nodded grimly. “He’s the only one that would. He still believes that all Slytherins are dark wizards and witches; that my sister is not who she claims and is trying to mussel her way into my life and ruin it, not that it wasn’t ruined already. Anyway, my sister isn’t even allowed at the Burrow because of what Ron suspects. I want to be able to get to know my sister and Ron is being unreasonable, so this is the only way that I can convince him.”

“She would have to agree,” Kingsley reminded.

“She’ll agree; don’t worry,” Harry assured. Given the opportunity to prove Ron wrong once and for all; Harry was sure that his sister would jump at the chance. It was apparent since sixth year that Apollonia did not like Ron very much. And, with all that was said about her, Harry could see why. She’d love to knock him down a peg or two, he thought wryly.

“Right then. Is that all?” Kingsley asked.

“I believe so,” Harry said.

“Then, I will see you in the morning,” Kingsley said.

With that, Harry left the Ministry and returned to the Burrow, only to find that Ron was still complaining about Apollonia. Yes, he had done the right thing. In just a few days time, Ronald Bilius Weasley would discover just how wrong he was. And, to Harry’s own surprise, he had his sister’s friendship with the Malfoys to thank for that. Otherwise, Harry would have no way to prove any of this to Ron, whom he was sure would want to see the Malfoys go to Azkaban. This was going to work; within the next week, all would finally be right with the world.