Princess Sunburst

When Apollonia emerged from her room at Shell Cottage, she was slightly annoyed by the fact that she was here. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. She was supposed to be spending time with her brother. Ron was not supposed to take things this far. She knew all too well of the youngest Weasley son’s hatred of Slytherins. But, did he really have to call into question her claim that she was Harry’s sister? Was he really willing to take away the possibility of Harry having a family from him? Obviously, this was the case, as she wasn’t allowed near him. How long will it take for Ron to understand that what he believes is false? I know Ron has thought of his family as Harry’s true family for the last seven years, but it doesn’t mean that Ron can try to deny my existence because of it. It’s just not possible.

Apollonia went through her own personal hell just to gain the opportunity to tell Harry who she was. There wasn’t supposed to be anymore problems now that the war was over. If Draco could accept that Harry was her brother so easily, and the pair positively hated one another, surely Ron should have been able to accept this as the truth. Obviously, it was Draco’s love for her that kept him from lashing out. If not for that, Draco might have reacted in the exact same way that Ron did. There was that, as well as the fact that Draco knew since the beginning of their seventh year that she was Harry’s sister. He had time to come to grips with the fact that Harry and Apollonia were related. Ron didn’t; though, Apollonia doubted that he would ever take the time to accept it. Unfortunately for her, Ronald Weasley was too wrapped up in his own little world, believing that all Slytherins were dark wizards.

Bill was the first one to see Apollonia when she came in and took a seat. He smiled and dropped a copy of The Quibbler down in front of her. “You’re in the paper, you know.”

“That didn’t take long,” Apollonia noted. She looked down in surprise at the special edition of The Quibbler that was sitting in front of her. “I didn’t know that Luna penned an article for her father’s paper.” She would have to go thank Luna for that one. If it wasn’t her, then someone else—Rita Skeeter, perhaps—would have put her own spin on the story. And, as far as Apollonia knew, Luna was too busy helping in the recovery effort, as well as reconnecting with her father; she had no idea that the young Ravenclaw had the time to write an article about her being Harry’s sister. Apollonia was sure that Potterwatch would hold the only mention of her identity; that Lee had the exclusive to the story.

“I would bet ‘Arry ‘ad something to do wiz eet,” Fleur said.

“Luna does live close to the Burrow,” Bill recalled.

“He must have gone to talk to her then, after I left,” Apollonia reasoned. It was possible, but she really couldn’t say for sure. She looked at Bill. “How long until you leave to speak with the goblins?”

“About an hour,” Bill replied.

The Slytherin nodded and went to get ready for a meeting with the goblins. Yesterday morning when Voldemort was killed, Apollonia did not expect to be doing this here today. She expected that dealing with the vault her mother’s portrait told her about would wait until after Hogwarts was over. However, it seemed as if it was getting done today, not that she seemed to mind all that much. Once the hour was up, Apollonia and Bill apparated to Gringotts, where Bill went to speak with the goblins and left the young Snape standing in the lobby.

Apollonia was standing in the lobby for a good ten minutes before Bill returned with one of the goblins at his side. “Ms. Snape,” the goblin said, “would you please follow us?” She nodded and followed them into a back room. “Please take a seat,” the goblin insisted.

“May I inquire what this is about?” she asked.

The goblin nodded. “Yes, my name is Ragnok; I’m the Director of this bank. It has come to our attention, Ms. Snape, that there are several vaults in this bank which rightfully belong to you. They have gone unclaimed for years, and it would put us more at ease if there were someone to claim them. With the end of your wizard’s war and the recent break-in here, we have decided to clean house, get rid of some of the unused vaults here.”

“And, which might they be?” Apollonia asked.

Bill reminded her of the genealogy potion and the results of that test. “Apollonia, there’s your father’s vault; a vault your mother left you; the Prince vaults; and the Ravenclaw vaults.”

Once Bill was finished, only three words stayed with Apollonia: the Prince vaults. There was only one thing that those words could mean; she was the last Prince. Albeit, it was from a disowned branch of the family, but it appeared as if she was the only one left, at least that’s what she was assuming. “The Prince vaults as well?” she asked. “Does that mean that the family I never knew is gone?” If it was the truth, that meant that Apollonia needed to get to know her brother, for he was the only one left in her family; the only family that she would ever get to know.

Ragnok pulled out a file. “The Prince family. Christophe, his wife, Tabitha, and their three daughters: Morgan, Delaney, and Zara. Killed August of 1996. Your grandmother, Eileen Prince, is dead, as is her older brother, Edwin; died February of 1983.”

“My grandmother was disowned,” she reminded the goblin.

“Yes, some time in the late fifties,” Ragnok stated, flipping through the file. “Ah, yes; September 20th, 1957. But, on Christmas Eve of 1991, a Ms. Zara Prince came in with her father and had you welcomed back into the family. I would have thought you’d be informed of that.”

Apollonia shook her head. “I never knew Zara Prince,” she answered. “She was two years above me, and a Ravenclaw at that. There was never an instance in which Zara and I met.”

“She certainly seemed to know you; she was certain that you were family,” Ragnok said. “And, if the genealogy report you performed on yourself is any indication, she was right.”

“I wish I knew her then,” Apollonia said sadly. If Zara Prince was willing to have her father welcome her back into the family, then she certainly would have liked to meet the girl. Perhaps she could ask those of her year, or maybe Luna, if they knew her. The fact that she was willing to welcome her back into the family – during what appeared to be Apollonia’s first year – meant that she didn’t seem to care about blood purity, which Apollonia’s great-grandparents obviously did, for why else would Eileen Nicole Prince disappear from the family? And, Apollonia was grateful for that. “That also means that I get the Ravenclaw vaults as well, since it’s through my Prince blood that I’m even related to her anyway.”

“In essence, yes,” Ragnok replied.

“Can I get an estimation of what’s in those vaults?” the Slytherin asked, wanting to know exactly what she had. She was, without a doubt, extremely curious as to what might be in the underground vaults, which the goblins—and Bill—wanted her to claim so badly.

That question seemed to be expected as a parchment was thrust out to her. Apollonia took hold of it and gave it a quick once over. Between the Prince and Ravenclaw vaults, about a hundred million galleons had amassed. Add that to what was in her father’s vault; the teacher’s salary for the last seventeen years, which she knew wasn’t much; the money he got from supplying potions for the Hospital Wing; and what he got for his spying duties and she was basically set for life. The vault from her mother didn’t have much in it; she assumed that this was once her mother’s vault, which she eventually had set aside for Apollonia. “I think I need to take a look at the contents of the vaults, especially the Evans vault.” She had, on occasion, seen her father’s vault; never the other three though, and it was about time she did. “Can you have someone take me down to those vaults?”

“Griphook and I will go,” Bill suggested.

Griphook? Wasn’t Griphook the goblin I saw at Shell Cottage? When Griphook appeared and was asked to take Apollonia and Bill down to the vaults in question: her mother’s (Vault 123), the Prince Vault (Vault 731), and the Ravenclaw Vault (Vault 993), Apollonia was quite sure that it was the same goblin who came with Harry, Ron, Hermione, Luna, and Dean from Malfoy Manor that day six weeks ago. There was no doubt in Apollonia’s mind of the fact that this was the same goblin that she briefly met on her last visit to Shell Cottage. Apollonia nodded in the goblin’s direction as she, Griphook, and Bill got ready to visit the vaults. Before she could, however, Ragnok stopped her. “Ms. Snape, you are going to need something before you can get into the vaults,” he explained.

“What would that be?” the Slytherin asked.

A small box appeared in front of her and was opened by an invisible hand. Sitting inside that box were two items; a silver ring with the Prince crest engraved in it: a tiger’s head lay in front of two wands and crown hovering it just above it, and a small clear stone. Apollonia gently removed the rounded stone from the box and it immediately transformed into a brown and gold striped stone: tiger’s eye. “The stone reacts to the first person who touches it and molds to a stone that fits your personality,” Ragnok explained. “It will attach to the base of your wand and inform you of any developments with your accounts. After it attaches to your wand, you’ll be granted access to the Ravenclaw vault.”

“Founder thing?” Apollonia asked.

“As far as I know,” the goblin replied.

“Right. And, may I assume that with this signet ring comes a title and Wizengamot seat?” Apollonia asked as she removed the ring and pocketed for the moment; she would deal with it later. The fact that her father’s cousin’s family was gone, without Apollonia ever meeting any of them, meant that she was the only person who could claim the seat; she was the last Prince, a rather sad fact indeed. That was the reason she was here in the first place.

“Lady Prince,” Ragnok said.

“Oh, yes; well, that should be fun,” Apollonia grunted. After that, she, Bill, and Griphook swept out of the room, taking one of the carts down to Vault 123, the Evans vault.

“Key please,” Griphook called.

Before Apollonia could make any comment, Bill produced a key from his pocket. Apollonia glared at him. “Why do you have that key?” she asked. “My father was the only one who had access to that vault after Mum and James died, though he never went in there.”

The eldest Weasley shrugged. “I had one the house elves at Hogwarts collect the key from your father’s body. You were going to need it, after all,” Bill reminded her as Griphook used the key and handed it to the young Slytherin. “The Evans vault can only be accessed by you or Harry in the event that James and Lily Potter and Severus Snape are gone. That’s the terms of the vault.”

Apollonia slid the key into her pocket and went inside the vault, the vault she only knew about from her mother’s portrait when she visited the Room of Requirement on that Halloween. It was the only reason she was aware of this place; her father never told Apollonia of this vault, of what Lily Potter left her daughter. The almost-eighteen year-old entered the vault and looked around, hoping to understand why her mother wanted her here. At the center of the room, there was a good pile of gold, what Apollonia could only assume she ascertained during the three years between her graduation from Hogwarts and her death. Speaking of graduations from Hogwarts, what would happen with that? The seventh years did not have the opportunity to take their N.E.W.T.s. How was that going to work? Apollonia stared at the vault. “Mum, why did you want you want me here?”

“Because half of what is in here is yours,” someone answered.

The voice – a male’s – was not one she recognized; she was sure that she had never heard this one. And that could only mean one thing. “James,” the young Slytherin replied knowingly, spotting three portraits currently sitting at the far end of the vault; one of each of her parents and her step-father.

“Mini-Snape has finally made her appearance then,” James replied.

“I didn’t even know about this vault until six months ago,” Apollonia explained to her step-father. “Otherwise, I might have been here sooner than now. I could have dealt with this.”

“Snivellus never told you?” her step-father exclaimed.

“Nope,” Apollonia said simply. “And don’t call him that.”

That was when the portrait of her father sprang to life. “Why Potter? Why must you torment me in such a way? Wasn’t it enough that you would take away the woman I loved? Why must you use that name?”

“It’s still funny,” James answered.

“Don’t call him that!” Mum yelled.

While her mother’s words kept James from further insulting his rival, Apollonia turned to her father’s portrait. It was the first time that she had seen her father since the Shrieking Shack, where she, Harry, and Hermione watched him die. “Why would you do that, Dad? Why would you go meet with Voldemort, even though it was certain that you were about to die?” Apollonia wanted to understand this since the second she and Draco found him in the Shrieking Shack. If he knew exactly what was going to happen, why the hell would he go there?

“To protect you,” he answered.

“Protect me?” she asked. “How?”

“Voldemort would have realized who you are,” her father said. “Mr. Malfoy was protecting you from the possibility of you becoming a Death Eater. If I did not go to meet him, the Dark Lord would have used you to get to me. It was done to keep you out of harm’s way. Now, Potter; did he…?”

Apollonia cut him off. “He knows, Dad.”

“Where is Harry?” Mum and James asked.

“Helping the Ministry fix the mess Voldemort made, I would think,” Apollonia replied. “He’s the only one that can. Given his penchant for getting into trouble —” she pointedly glared at James “— Harry’s the only person assured to catch the Death Eaters who escaped. I’m pretty sure the Ron and Neville are out helping him. No commentary, Dad.”

“How…?”

“You hate Neville,” Apollonia reminded him. “Of course you’re going to put him down. However, I doubt that you seem to remember that I’ve been working with him for the past year to save the school, something you neglected to do while you were helping Harry. Maybe if you actually cared about the school, the war could have ended earlier than it did.” Even if her father helped Harry win the war, he made the mistake of neglecting the school, allowing Hogwarts to become a hunting ground for the Carrows. And, it cost them months and months of rebuilding the school into a place where everyone could work in harmony.

“I did what I could,” he responded.

“Well, it obviously wasn’t enough,” Apollonia huffed. “Now, what’s with these portraits anyway? Why are they here in this vault?” It didn’t seem to make much sense for the portraits to be here.

Mum was the one to answer. “We’re yours and Harry’s guides. It was to be the three of us, Sirius, and Remus; though Severus did try to keep Sirius and Remus away, as he didn’t want either of you influenced by the Marauder’s Ways. ‘One was enough,’ he said.”

“What happened to Moony and Padfoot?” James asked.

“Both dead,” Apollonia said sadly. “Sirius through the Veil by his cousin; I’ll give you one guess which, but you probably won’t need it. Remus was killed in the final battle by Dolohov. Pettigrew’s gone as well; surely, Dad told you that Pettigrew was the one to turn you in.”

“Yeah; we know,” James grumbled.

“Grousing about trusting Pettigrew there, Potter?” Dad called.

“Dad!” Apollonia shouted.

“Severus!” Mum shouted.

Apollonia shook her head at the ensuing argument for a few moments before calling the three portraits to attention. “Would someone please try to explain to me why I’m here, why this was never done before Hogwarts, when there was at least a chance of fixing things? Neither Remus, Sirius, nor you, Dad, would have needed to die. Just Mum and James would have perished if Harry and I were in here prior to our eleventh birthdays.” She was immensely displeased by the fact that her father would take his hatred to such degrees that all the Marauders would die because of it, followed by himself as well. It was infuriating.

“Severus!” Mum yelled. “Why didn’t you tell her?”

“She was better protected in not knowing!” Dad fired back.

“By denying her the opportunity to know her mother’s identity? Her brother’s as well? I thought you had better sense than that, Sev. Why would you do something so stupid?” Mum asked.

“If she knew of her brother’s existence,” her father exclaimed, “she would have placed herself in immediate danger year after year. She might have joined us here. For her to stay alive, I made an executive decision and chose not to tell her. The only reason she knows is because her brother figured out that I’m her father, which I never wanted students to know in the first place. And then, that blasted Occulemency lesson that she barreled her way through my defenses during. She wasn’t supposed to figure any of this out.” He huffed. “I suppose you should be proud, Lily. Your daughter succeeded in doing what I didn’t want her to.”

Apollonia did not allow her mother’s portrait the opportunity to speak. There were other issues that had to be discussed, namely the Prince and Ravenclaw vaults; so, Apollonia needed to wrap this already lengthy stay in the Evans vault up and deal with the other vaults she possessed. “Can we please find a way to wrap this up? I need to go to a few other vaults here. So, could we hurry this up and have someone explain to me the purpose of this vault? No more procrastinating, just the unmitigated truth in why this vault was left to me and Harry.”

Just as before, it was Mum who attempted to explain what was going on. “The vault must be split between the two of you. As for the portraits, you will understand at a latter point in your life. If Sirius and Remus are both gone, then our portraits must sit here awhile longer. In the corners of the vault; Harry on the left, you on right; there are three boxes, holding anything that I might wanted each of you to have. Any money is split equally between you. Understand, dear?”

Apollonia nodded. “Yes, Mum.”

“Good. I hope to see you come in here again, my daughter,” Mum said before looking between the portraits on either side of her. “James? Severus? Anything to say to Apollonia?”

“Make sure Harry doesn’t let anything happen to himself,” James suggested. “He deserves to know what his sister is like. Even if you are a Slytherin like Snivellus over here was.”

“James!” Mum yelled.

“Well, it’s true!” the Marauder retorted.

Dad was the last one to offer any advice. And, his turned out to be a very lengthy lecture about everything that Harry did over the last seven years. “Don’t you dare pull any stunts as your brother did!” he barked. “Simply because now you have the opportunity to get to know your brother does not mean that you can ever start acting like him….” Apollonia rolled her eyes. She did not bother listening to the rest of his speech, especially considering that she already knew that this was coming. “….Apollonia, are you even listening?”

“Yes, Dad. I get it!” Apollonia replied.

“Good,” the portrait huffed.

Apollonia then left the vault; she would have to deal with the contents of this vault on some other occasion, when both she and Harry could come and figure out what each of them needed. “Okay, I’m done here,” the Slytherin replied. “We can head down to the next vault.”

“What took so long?” Bill asked.

“I was in a conversation with three portraits,” Apollonia explained, hoping that would be enough. She did not want to discuss this until she had a chat with Harry about this.

“Right,” Bill nodded.

The group traveled down a bit further underground, coming to a screeching halt at Vault 731; the Prince Vault. For this vault to open, the ring that Ragnok handed her was needed; so as to identify her as the Head of the Prince family—or rather, the only one left as Apollonia referred it—the ring would need to get placed on the vault. She did this as Griphook was unlocking the vault, which happened to be the only reason it opened. This time, Bill came with her, in case any objects were cursed by any unsavory family members.

As expected, this vault contained a hefty-sized fortune; if she recalled correctly, somewhere around ninety-seven million was contained in this vault alone. Most of the Ravenclaw fortune must be in here. Hmm? I wonder what’s in the Ravenclaw vault. “I think you may have to help me go through a lot of this,” Apollonia suggested to Bill, looking around at what was in the room. “Between us and Harry, I think we can go through all of this and figure out what might be cursed and what’s safe for me to take out of here.”

“Wise decision,” Bill observed.

“When my brother was marked for death, and my father and best friend happened to be Death Eaters, I know when to keep an ear out for what could have been cursed,” Apollonia explained as they emerged from the vault. “I’m not about to take any chances in such a matter.” She looked at Griphook. “Down to the Ravenclaw vault then, Griphook.”

A short trip later and Apollonia was standing before the founder’s vault; the vault that once belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw. Griphook eyed her and gave Apollonia instructions. “Tap the stone towards the vault. It should recognize you as the owner upon doing that.”

The Slytherin did as instructed and the vault opened for her. Since most of the money was in the Prince vault, Apollonia was not sure what to expect when she stepped foot in here. As she soon came to notice—though she should have expected it—the vault was filled with ancient tomes, most of which had probably never seen the light of day for the last thousand years. Hmm? I wonder if I should bring Hermione down here. She’d have a field day if she knew about this. Aside from the books, there were a few artifacts scattered about the room. But, what captured Apollonia’s eye at the moment was a portrait that no one bothered to even notice. A sheet had been draped over it, so Apollonia carefully removed the cloth, thus giving Apollonia an accurate rendering of what her ancestor looked like; raven hair, much like her own and mousse-colored eyes. “Lady Ravenclaw?” the Slytherin asked.

“Actually, it’s Princess Rowena,” the portrait corrected.

“Princess?” she asked. “Is that why your descendants eventually came to use the name Prince, because you were a princess?” Apollonia never heard anything of her family history from her father; Dad didn’t like talking about what happened to his mother. Even during History of Magic, there were never accurate portrayals of the founders, what they were like. It was really no wonder that this came as such a surprise to the Slytherin.

“One can only guess,” Rowena remarked. “Though it does appear to be a logical assumption. I cannot say for sure; it was after my time. Tell me, young lady; are you one of my descendants?”

Apollonia nodded. “I am. The last one, in fact.”

“The last one!” cried the founder. “How can that be?”

And so, Apollonia regaled the legendary woman with the tale; of Salazar Slytherin’s last two descendants, and their battle to the death. She then proceeded to inform Rowena Ravenclaw of how such events impacted on her family as well, eventually causing many of their deaths. “So, you see, with my father’s death, I’m the last descendant…well, at least until I happen to have children of my own,” Apollonia explained.

“I see,” the portrait said. “No siblings then.”

“None borne of my father, no,” Apollonia chuckled softly. “But, I am sister to Salazar’s descendant; the good one, I assure you. We may be half-siblings, but Harry is the only family I have left. And, I nearly lost him as well. I’m not about to do that again.” In hearing that she was related to Rowena Ravenclaw, a woman who lost her daughter as a result of something stupid, Apollonia had no intention of repeating such mistakes; she wanted to get to know her brother.

“Family is the most important thing in the world,” Rowena said.

“Even more important than knowledge?” she asked.

Rowena nodded slightly. “The knowledge was not enough to make my life mean anything. It was my daughter that did that. And, I never got the chance to say goodbye to her before I died.”

“She’s at Hogwarts, so maybe there’s a way,” Apollonia said thoughtfully. Upon seeing the questioning look Rowena gave her, the Slytherin elaborated. “Your daughter is Ravenclaw’s ghost. Although, most people know her as the Grey Lady. Only a handful of people are even aware of her name; that she was your daughter. It’s only because of my brother that I know.”

“I would like the chance to talk to her,” Rowena nodded.

“Then, I’ll figure out a way,” Apollonia said.

Apollonia was about to leave the Ravenclaw vault when Rowena’s voice stopped her. “Before you go, I’m curious; what house were you in during your time at Hogwarts?”

It should have been obvious that the founder would ask this question. So, Apollonia told her. “Like my grandmother and father before me, I’m a Slytherin. While one branch of the family continued to go to Ravenclaw—my cousins included—the other branch’s cunning outweighed their intellect. My mother was brightest witch of her age you see, so I have no doubt that I must have inherited her smarts.” I’m not the brightest witch of my age, but I still am pretty smart. How else would I have been able to figure out a lot of what’s been going on around me?

“I see,” Rowena mused.

Apollonia nodded. “Right. Well, I will be back to collect your portrait as soon as I can. I need to have a talk with a few friends of mine before I can do something about what’s in this vault.” The Slytherin emerged from the Ravenclaw vault where Bill was awaiting her arrival. “Mostly books,” she informed the eldest Weasley. “Although, there are a few items and a portrait in there. I don’t see why it was never taken out of the vault.”

“Anything that the goblins or I need to look at?” he asked.

“I can’t say for sure,” Apollonia admitted as they and Griphook returned to the surface. “It was Ravenclaw’s personal vault, so I doubt that she would have done anything to the content. Either way, it’s better to be safe than sorry. I’ll need you and Hermione to help me go through it.”

Upon returning to the room she was meeting with Ragnok in, the director of the bank greeted the Slytherin. “Have you uncovered what you are looking for, Lady Prince?”

“I need to empty the Ravenclaw vault,” Apollonia decided. “The Evans vault will remain until I can come back along with my brother. Harry and I must go through that vault together; figure out what each of us is taking from what Mum left us.” It was at that moment in which Apollonia wanted more than anything to have Ron believe that she and Harry were siblings. She was sure of only one thing; that it would make things a lot easier. But, no; Ron chose to deny all connection Apollonia had to Harry, thus making her life extremely difficult. After Voldemort was destroyed, things were supposed to settle down, not cause her more problems. “Now, are there any more matters that must be discussed here today?”

“Only a few matters,” Ragnok informed her.

“Like what?” Apollonia questioned.

“The Prince holdings,” Ragnok explained.

“And what might they be?” the Slytherin asked. She was not in the mood to deal with any of this; she had to deal with her brother’s best friend, the fact that he refused to believe her. When she first walked into the Burrow, Apollonia could tell how everyone reacted; Ginny was relieved—like she thought Harry wanted to date Apollonia—by the news; Charlie was busy grumbling about his inadvertent decision to insult the boy-who-lived’s sister, which Apollonia didn’t blame him for; Percy was shocked, as Harry and Apollonia seemed like two completely different people, neither of which seemed like they were related to one another; Ron, of course, was complaining about an enchantment while his parents were trying to calm him down; Bill and George were the only ones that seemed willing to believe her, George only believing after Apollonia informed him of Fred’s knowledge of the secret. Apollonia needed to make it so that everyone believed her story.

Ragnok handed the young Snape a list of houses she owned, as well as companies that the Prince family owned. There was a house in France; a house in Scotland, just a few miles from Hogsmeade, in fact; and a house in London. In regards to the companies that the Prince family had holding in, she was pleasantly surprised to see a few of the names. It would come in handy to have them, particularly the last one. As Apollonia handed the parchment back to Ragnok, she asked him the question that was on her mind. “Ragnok, is there any way for me to hide my place as Lady Prince from the Wizarding World at the moment; there are only a few people I trust at the moment to have knowledge of that fact.”

“Why would you want to hide this from them?” Ragnok asked.

“I released the news that I’m Harry’s sister in the wake of the announcement that Voldemort is no more,” Apollonia explained to the goblin. “If they knew that I’m also the holder of the Prince seat in Wizengamot, I’m pretty sure that the rogue Death Eaters might choose to come after me. I want only those I trust to have knowledge, to have access to the Prince holdings.”

“Who might they be?” Ragnok asked.

“Bill and Fleur Weasley, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and George Weasley,” Apollonia replied. She had her reasons for picking these people to have knowledge of her title, particularly George. “They’re the only ones I’d trust with this information, at least just yet.” Eventually, Apollonia would tell Narcissa and Draco, but she preferred that such news wait until after the trial.

“I get everyone but George,” Bill said.

“Oh, I have my reasons,” Apollonia replied. Such as a promise I made to Fred. That’s part of the reason that I’m trusting George with this knowledge, because of the deal I made with Fred. Although, there is one other little thing that I plan on doing, something that I can’t do if he doesn’t know that I’m Lady Prince. She looked at the eldest Weasley, who seemed confused by what Apollonia meant. “Just trust me on this one, Bill. I know exactly what I’m doing here. Now, Director Ragnok, are we through here?”

“Yes, Lady Prince; I believe we are. I just need to make a few arrangements, so that only myself, Griphook, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley are approved to view the Prince file,” Ragnok explained.

“Thank you,” Apollonia nodded.

“What was that about, Snape?” Bill asked once they apparated back to Shell Cottage. “Why would you put me and Fleur on the short list of people who have knowledge of this title?”

“Because I can trust you,” Apollonia answered. “Harry’s my brother; Hermione trusted me when no one else would; and George? I made a deal with Fred to watch over him. That’s part of the reason I chose to trust him with this; the other half of it is something I must keep to myself for the moment.” Until everything settled down, Apollonia planned on keeping things quiet. Any shake-up in the Wizarding World could wait until she was sure that nothing bad would come of it; that there were no adverse reactions.

“What ‘appened at Gringotts?” Fleur asked.

“The Prince fortune that sat around for the last two years has finally entered new hands,” Bill informed his wife. “Apollonia Snape just got very wealthy thanks to the war.”

“Oh!” Fleur said in surprise.

Apollonia huffed, still annoyed by the fact that all of this was happening to her. “I wish I could give it all up though. I lost most of my family as a result of this war; both my parents; cousins I never even knew about; and I very nearly lost my brother. Harry—and maybe Dudley—is the only family I have left. Everything that was a part of my life for so long, whether I knew it or not, is gone. I have very little family left, and your brother is trying to take that away from me.” She despised what was being done to her, and would give anything in order to fix it.