Princess Sunburst

With Apollonia staying at Bill’s for awhile, Harry took note of the fact that Ron’s temper had subsided quite considerably. And, what made Harry even happier was that his best friend decided to sleep in. It gave Harry some time to figure out what he was going to do. Kingsley promised to see what he could do about having Apollonia testify at the Malfoy trials; however, it was not certain as to when that might occur, which caused Harry distress. This was his sister; the only true family that Harry had left, the only person that might ever care about him. By all accounts, Apollonia didn’t know that Harry was related to her, not until early in their sixth year. And, by that point, telling Harry who she was would only place her in danger.

Putting Apollonia in danger was not something Harry would have wanted. Snape did the right thing in protecting her from everything that was happening; people died as a result of their connection to him, of which Apollonia might have been placed in the gravest of danger. Although, it would have been nice to know that there was someone out there who cared, someone who wanted him to succeed. The Weasleys were nice and all, but there were times in which none of them could really understand the sense of loss that Harry had over the years: his parents; Cedric; Sirius; Dumbledore; Dobby; Lupin; Tonks; Colin; they all died because of this prophecy. Yes, Fred died as well, and they were suffering from that loss, some more than others—George—but it did not reach the same degree as the loss Harry suffered. While they still had most of his family left, it was only Apollonia that Harry had left; they were the only family each other had left. Yet, here Ron was trying to take that away from him, trying to destroy the one thing that Harry wanted more than life itself: a family.

The sight of The Quibbler’s special edition warmed Harry’s heart. On the front cover was a picture of his sister—one of the last that Colin Creevey ever took—accompanying the story that Harry asked Luna to print. That had been a quick meeting, but Luna seemed willing to write the article. Apollonia had an impact on Dumbledore’s Army, or as it was called during the last year: the Resistance, during Luna’s—and later Ginny’s—absence. And Harry appreciated that. In seeing that Ron was still complaining about the fact that Apollonia was related to his best friend, Harry chose to trek over to the tall cylindrical building that was a ways down; he had been here once before to see Xenophilius Lovegood, and eventually hear the story of the Deathly Hallows, but now he had come for a different reason; it was time to speak with Luna for a while about the news that was just released.

It did not take long for Luna to open the door. “Hello, Harry. Should you not be spending time with your sister? It was announced a bit earlier, you know,” she said airily.

Harry nodded. “I know that, Luna.”

“Why are you not with her then?” Luna questioned.

“Ron’s reaction was not what we hoped,” Harry informed her. “He banned her from the Burrow. She’s currently staying with Bill and Fleur.” And, it was infuriating Harry to no end that she did, simply because it was Ron who made the decree; everyone else was willing to let her stay. After George talked to her outside, even he—who lost his twin brother in the battle—seemed happier to have her around. Was Ron really so prejudiced that he would allow his older brother to go without the comfort that Apollonia obviously offered him? It seemed apparent that he was willing to go that far. His brother’s feelings didn’t seem to matter all that much; not at all. “Luna, could I ask a favor of you?”

“What kind of favor?” the Ravenclaw asked.

“Is it at all possible for you to write an article for a special edition of the Quibbler regarding the news my sister just announced?” Harry asked. “That way, those who weren’t listening to Potterwatch will know that Apollonia is my sister; the family I always wanted.”

“I can do that,” Luna replied. “I do not know if I can get ready for tomorrow, but I can try. Your sister did what she could to help Ginny and Neville in my absence. The explanation that she is your sister makes sense. And, we wouldn’t want people like Rita Skeeter writing an article about it.”

Harry’s features twisted into a scowl. He remembered what happened the last time Rita Skeeter decided to poke her nose into places it didn’t belong. No, he couldn’t let that happen. “Write the article, Luna. You need to beat Skeeter to the punch. If she hears of this, she’ll twist the story to fit her own needs; there’s no way she’ll print the real story.”

“And, what is the real story?”

Upon informing Luna of what he knew, Harry apparated back to the Burrow and crashed in Ron’s room, where he would wake in the early hours of the morning. Now, as he was staring at the article, he wondered what his sister’s reaction might be to the fact that he would do this in an attempt to convince Ron of the truth; that Apollonia was a part of his family, the only family he had left, in fact. And, what would she say to learning that he asked Kingsley to help prove that she was who she claimed? That had not yet been discussed, for Harry wished to wait until he was sure it would happen before informing Apollonia of the plan. It would catch her off-guard, so that she would not have time to prepare, as Harry was sure Ron would claim, and ultimately prove that Lily Potter and Severus Snape had a daughter.

“You got Luna involved as well?” a familiar voice asked.

Harry turned around to see his bushy-haired best friend come over and take a seat beside him. “Oh, yeah. I didn’t exactly have a choice now, did I? Even if I am the savior of the Wizarding World, there’s no way to say for sure if anyone would believe what was said last night. I’m taking certain measures to ensure that they do; that they are aware of my sister.”

“How do you plan on doing that?” Hermione asked.

“The Malfoy trial,” Harry responded. “She knew them, and will be questioned anyway, for having a connection to them. All I need to do is make sure it’s a Veritaserum-laced questioning and the truth will be known to the world. Ron will finally come to understand just how much I need her in my life, having spent my whole life thinking I have no family.”

“You really are determined to do this,” Hermione noted.

“After what I pulled, yeah,” Harry admitted. “I was just so angry at Snape that I took it out on the closest person; the man’s daughter. The fact that it turned out to be my sister just had to complicate things quite a bit. I’m just lucky you were around to help keep things calm. How were you able to do that though? We were together during the whole journey and I never saw you doing anything that might indicate talking with my sister.”

“The boxes,” Hermione reminded. “We talked through them. I gave her updates of her trip, while she told me of what was going on at the castle. It wasn’t just Phineas’s portrait I used to gather information; it was also through stories that your sister told me about.”

“Yeah, about that…” Something had been nagging at Harry over the last twenty-four hours; something that did not exactly make sense. “Mione, do you know how my sister was aware of the horcruxes?” He had been wondering that for awhile now, how it was possible for his sister to uncover the secret that Dumbledore entrusted only him, Ron, and Hermione with. Unfortunately, he came up with nothing. So, he turned to Hermione for an explanation.

“Eavesdropping from what I am to understand,” Hermione answered. “She heard us talking about it during Dumbledore’s funeral. Heard the rest from Slughorn, I assume.”

“I indirectly told her?” Harry asked.

“That’s what I heard,” Hermione replied.

How did he not pick up on that fact; that his twin sister was standing close enough to hear their conversation? Although, he was ignoring her at the time, so he supposed that might have been what allowed her the opportunity to uncover the mission that Dumbledore sent them out on. When he next got the opportunity to see his sister, that topic might come up in conversation. He was curious as to how she might have eavesdropped on the conversation without ever making him or Ron aware of such a fact. Perhaps, he mused, she truly is the Invisible Slytherin, as the story goes. No one ever noticed her, and the few who did didn’t exactly pay enough attention to her. If not for him, things might have gone unnoticed and there might never have been the opportunity for the two siblings to become close.

It was at least an hour before Ron came down before breakfast. As The Quibbler was currently sitting on his plate, purposely placed there by Harry, he started in on one of his now-famous rants. “What the hell? Who would read this trash? It’s all a bunch of lies. Hey, Mum! I think you better cancel my subscription to The Quibbler. It’s getting as unreliable as the Prophet.”

Harry was getting ready to yell at Ron, so was Hermione; but it was George who snapped at his younger brother. “Why would The Quibbler ever lie? All they’ve ever done is tell our side of the story. And, Harry? Do you not realize what this is doing to him? It is his sister, yet you refuse to accept that. You and every other Slytherin won’t believe it.”

“Malfoy does,” Harry interjected.

“Malfoy! If Malfoy accepts it as the truth and you don’t, there is a definitely a problem at hand. Maybe you should look into it there, Ronnie-boy.” George turned to his mother. “I’m going up to my room.” Before leaving, however, George glared at Ron. “She’s telling the truth, you know.”

“Like hell she is!” Ron shouted.

As George chose to disappear, Harry was sure that Apollonia needed to reveal the truth under a Veritaserum-laced questioning. It really was the only possible way for Ron and the many Death Eater—those who did not believe the story—to understand what was going on, of the bond that he and Apollonia had. It was the only way that anyone was ever going to get the truth. “You’re never going to get it, are you, Ron?” Harry asked. “She’s the only family I have left.”

“She’s not a part of your family!” Ron bellowed.

“You’ll soon find that you’re wrong,” Harry warned. He then followed George upstairs, and headed to Ron’s room to get ready before his so-called best friend came to do the same. Upon doing so, Harry ran into George. “What was the hell was that outburst about?”

“You know exactly what, Harry,” George replied.

“Yeah, but you’re the last person I ever expected to hear shouting at Ron,” Harry informed him. “Losing Fred; well, everyone thought that you’d be sulking over what happened.”

“I would have if not for your sister,” George answered.

Harry immediately understood. “Oh. Any reason for it?”

“Fred knew,” George replied.

It did not take long for Harry to piece together what he knew. Based on George’s attitude, the fact that his twin knew what was going on seemed to fuel George’s resolve to trust everything. “How? How was Fred able to figure out that she was my sister?” Harry wondered.

“She made a deal with me and Fred, right around Christmas,” George answered. “If either one of us was able to figure out that she was your sister before the war ended, before you learned the truth about her, she agreed to grant us a reasonable request. Fred was able to do it. And, his request was to watch out for me in case anything happened to him during the war. Your sister is the reason that I’m not a complete mess without my twin.”

Harry nodded in understanding. “I have a plan in place.”

“Will it work?” George questioned.

“As far as I know, yes,” he answered. This is just another reason for me to do this, to help George. Jeez; it’s no wonder George wasn’t reacting as everyone expected him to. If the only reason that George was able to get through Fred’s death was because Apollonia was watching out for him, then the only thing that Harry could do was make sure that she was around. Ron was not allowed to dictate what happened at the Burrow. Harry would really have to thank Bill for letting Apollonia stay there for awhile. It was thanks to him in which Harry didn’t have to worry about what happened to his sister, at least until the Malfoy trials.

A short time later, Harry and Ron headed out to the Ministry to meet up with Kingsley about rounding up the Death Eaters who escaped. Only the Malfoys went not to be sent to Azkaban for the moment, and that was only because Draco did not want to forfeit his freedom and lose his best friend by missing their trial date. For everyone else, however, they were to be tossed into Azkaban, as there was no guarantee that they would show up at their trial. So, it was up to Harry and the others to help the Aurors catch them. It was him, Ron, and Neville who would be helping Kingsley over the next few weeks.

Upon arriving at the Ministry atrium, Kingsley stood there waiting for the two boys. Neville was already there. “Harry!” he called. “I didn’t know that Apollonia was your sister.” Neville laughed. “Guess that explains why she was so willing to help us during the year.”

“She wanted to help me,” Harry explained.

“Definitely explains a lot,” Neville mused.

“They’re not related!” Ron roared.

“Of course they are,” Neville fired back. “Ron, you weren’t around to see how devoted she was to helping me, Ginny, and Luna. To anyone who knew who she was, it was obvious that the two were related. For myself, Ginny, and Luna, the signs were there; we just didn’t see them.”

Harry nodded in agreement. He was rather pleased to note that most of his friends sided with Apollonia throughout the war effort. Only Ron seemed to have an issue with it, which he doubted might have happened if she wasn’t a Slytherin and friends with Malfoy. Though, that really shouldn’t happen anyway. “Thank you, Neville. I appreciate your support in the matter. Ron here —” he jerked his thumb in Ron’s direction “— does not quite understand that she’s the only family I have left and I need her in my life. She’s family.”

“I get it, Harry,” Neville replied. “She’s more like her mother than Snape. That seemed obvious after spending just a few hours around her. There’s no way she couldn’t be Lily Potter’s daughter.”

“No!” Ron raged.

As Ron complained about Apollonia, yet again—it was getting pretty old—Kingsley leaned over. “I see what you mean, Mr. Potter, by your friend’s ignorance of what is clearly seen to be the truth. I will see to it that Ms. Snape is called for questioning during the Malfoy trials and given a dose of Veritaserum. It would do well not to tell her that it is a Veritaserum-laced questioning though; it is better if she remains unaware for the time being.”

“I didn’t plan on it,” Harry informed the man.

“Good. Their trial should be sometime later next week,” Kingsley said. “After the funerals occur, it will be one of the first trials to occur, thanks to the arrangement they made because of Ms. Snape.”

Harry nodded, remembering the arrangement. Before Kingsley left to deal with returning the Ministry to its pre-war status, Draco Malfoy approached the man about his family staying out of Azkaban for the time in-between their trial. Harry only knew about because he was called over to vouch for the Malfoys, to ensure their cooperation. It was after learning that Apollonia was his sister, so Harry was able to do so. And, the fact that Apollonia told him that Draco was in love with her seemed to help; the young Malfoy would lose her if he didn’t come to the trial. “Is there a specific date?” Harry asked the Minister.

“May 11th at nine AM,” Kingsley replied.

“I will inform my sister of such,” Harry said.

“You still have contact with her?” Kingsley asked.

“Since Christmas of my sixth year,” Harry answered. “Hermione devised a way for the three of us to contact one another in time that I would actually listen to what she had to say. During our year on the run, it was Apollonia and Hermione. Helped us quite a bit, actually, in figuring out what was going on at the school while we were away. I still have mine, and I can send a message directly to her; it’s actually much more reliable than owls, which I can’t even use at the moment since I lost Hedwig.” Actually, Harry was going to need a new owl at some point; he didn’t know when that was going to happen. “She does have an owl, I think, a bluish-gray one. However, the message boxes seemed easier at the time, and someone could eventually figure out that the owl belongs to my sister.”

“Yes, inform your sister of the trial, but not the conditions under which she will be questioned,” Kingsley warned him. “That would be for the best at the moment, Mr. Potter.”

Harry nodded. “Thank you, sir, for doing this.”

“Not a problem, Harry,” Kingsley said. “Your sister helped the Order quite a bit last year. No one knew that she was your sister at the time, though I suspect that Tonks did, but Ms. Snape was the one charged to protect your aunt, uncle, and cousin. Visited every so often, though only your cousin seemed to appreciate that. She did what no one else would.”

She protected the Dursleys? Damn it! With every passing day, Harry was growing more despondent over the fact that he would turn his nose up at Apollonia. She did everything she could to help him, yet he refused to acknowledge that help. How the hell was I supposed to know that Apollonia was willing to do this? And, how was he supposed to get over the fact that he treated her like she was nothing over the last year? He was trying, but there would always be that nagging feeling to remind him of what he did. He continued to learn of what Apollonia did over the past year, and it made him feel guilty for trusting Ron’s suspicions so implicitly. It was usually Hermione’s instincts that turned out to be right, more often than not. Why didn’t he listen? “I didn’t know she did that,” Harry said quietly. “I was blinded by my hatred of her father that I didn’t even notice what she was doing. Though, I guess it does explain why Dudley was at her side for most of the summer.”

With amazing accuracy, Harry was recalling the events of the summer; from the time that Dudley came to get him until the Dursley went into hiding. During that time, Apollonia was usually at Dudley’s side, for reasons that Harry could not ascertain. He was beginning to understand what was going on; Dudley and Apollonia were helping each other. And, worst of all, Harry refused to trust either of them. Harry, it seemed, had a lot more to worry about than simply recovering from the war; he needed to mend the relationship he had with his sister.

“You might want to look into some of what your sister did,” Kingsley cautioned Harry. “She spent her N.E.W.T. years doing what she could, what her father would allow, to help you.” They walked into his office and Kingsley turned his attention to the trio of Gryffindor boys. “I have no intention of asking you three to spend the rest of your life chasing dark wizards. I simply ask that you assist in the search, as the three of you have had more success in capturing Death Eaters than any of our currently-staffed Aurors. Within the next two weeks, I ask that you keep an eye out for any runaway Death Eaters.”

“What about the Malfoys?” Ron asked.

Harry grunted. He saw this coming. The Malfoys and the Weasleys were intense rivals. So, of course Ron was going to ask what was going on with them, why they were currently sitting in their lavish manor rather than the cramped cells in Azkaban. Harry met the Minister’s eyes, almost cautioning the older man about what should be said. The Minister nodded and carefully explained the situation to Ron. “Mr. Weasley, I suggest you leave the Malfoys’ situation at the back of your mind. It is not something you should concern yourself with. Draco Malfoy approached me yesterday about allowing the family to stay at their manor. Certain areas of the manor were closed off for the moment; however, for the most part, they are allowed to stay there until their trial next week. Mr. Potter here has access to the one thing that will ensure the Malfoy family shows up to their trial.”

“Doubt it’ll work,” Ron scoffed.

Ron just doesn’t trust that the Malfoys would do anything right, Harry thought. I saw what happened. Narcissa Malfoy was more concerned with protecting her son than the thought of winning the war. And Draco’s loyalty belongs to Apollonia. That much is certain by what I saw over the past two days. Eventually, Ron would understand why Harry believed what he did. All answers would be given on Monday, May 11th 1998 at nine AM.

***

Harry returned to the Burrow around early afternoon to find that the house was mostly empty. Mr. Weasley and Percy were off at the Ministry, trying to get the departments in order for Kingsley while Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, Hermione, and Charlie went to help at Hogwarts. Ron and Neville had gone to do the same, offering the same chance to Harry as well; however, Harry opted to return to the Burrow and use that time to contact his sister.

While he was there, Harry soon came to discover that George chose to stay behind as well. His reasons were much more personal. “I can’t go there and look at the corridor where Fred died,” George explained when Harry found him sitting in his bedroom.

“I get it, George,” Harry nodded.

“No one else seemed to,” George grumbled.

“Well, you have every right to be upset,” Harry reasoned. “It was your twin brother who was killed, the one person you shared everything with. I understand better than anyone of your loss; Apollonia is my half-sister, my twin. And, I came very close to losing her.”

“Be glad you didn’t,” George said sullenly.

It seemed apparent that Harry needed to get his sister out here to help George. What had become of him now that he lost his other half? For as long as Harry could remember it was Fred and George; George and Fred. Now that Fred was gone, George seemed to have slipped into a depression of some sort; not the usual depression, but a form of it. It was as if he would never be happy again. Harry decided that he would have to contact his sister about it, and was getting ready to do so, when he saw a soft golden glow coming from his trunk. That glow could only mean one thing; Apollonia had contacted him.

Once the box was removed from his trunk, the glow grew brighter and it became apparent that this message was important. Harry removed the note from the box and tried to figure out what was going on at Shell Cottage. Harry, there are some issues that you need to deal with at Gringotts. Now that Voldemort is gone, there are a few issues that you and I have to discuss. There is a vault that Mum left us (Vault 123) in which we must go through together. And, there’s something more that I wish to talk to you about, something that came about after you destroyed Voldemort. –Apollonia. Harry stared at the note from his sister, wondering what this was about. Why would she contact him about something like this?

Harry wrote a quick note back to his sister. Huh?

A few minutes went by before Harry received a returning message. You need to talk with the goblins about what Mum, James, and Sirius left you. And don’t forget the Slytherin vault; you might want to go take a look at four of the vaults—well, maybe three of the four vaults; you have a roundabout estimate as to what’s in the Potter vault. But, the Black, Evans, and Slytherins vaults must be looked into. The next time that Ron isn’t around, let me know and I’ll tell Bill. He needs to make arrangements with the goblins so that attend to your accounts.

Harry stared at his sister’s most recent note. The goblins wished to meet with him? Why? Could it be because of the robbery that he, Ron, Hermione, and Griphook planned? While Apollonia’s note may not have mentioned the break-in at Gringotts, it was eventually going to come up. And, could he risk that coming out? The goblins were not kind to those who stole from Gringotts. Despite the fact that it was the break-in which brought an end to Voldemort, the goblins might take offense to what happened. The savior of the Wizarding World penned a note to his sister. George and I are the only ones here. Anyway to do it now?

Sending this particular note brought an unusual result. Not two minutes after muttering the spell, Harry heard the POP of apparition and soon found himself facing a pair of emerald eyes. “I didn’t think I’d be lucky enough to catch you at a point where I could actually speak with you face-to-face,” his sister said sadly. “Perhaps I can help you understand what’s going through my head here. Dad’s death made me look into what was going on at Gringotts. I spent my Halloween in the Room of Requirement and a portrait of Mum informed me of a vault that she left for the two of us. We need to do that together.”

“Mum had a vault?” Harry asked in confused.

“You didn’t know either?” Apollonia asked. Harry shook his head. “That’s what I thought. Dad never told me anything about Mum; it was those Occulemency lessons that led to such a discovery. So, it was apparent that Dad was never going to tell me about the vault. It was my need to grieve on the anniversary of Mum’s death that eventually granted me the opportunity to become aware of her vault. It was the only thing that helped.”

“So, I need to see this vault then?” Harry asked.

Apollonia nodded. “It’s for the best.”

It occurred to Harry that this was the first chance for him to look into his Black holdings. Sirius’s death two years ago did two things; allowed the Ministry to become aware of Voldemort’s return, and transferred the entire Black fortune over to Harry. Unfortunately, Harry never got the chance to look into what was there; his focus was on getting rid of Voldemort. Now that the recovery had begun, it was about time that he looked into what was at Gringotts. “The Evans, Black, and Slytherin vaults would have to be looked into then,” Harry decided.

“Sometime within the next month, yes,” Apollonia said.

Harry nodded, understand what his sister meant. “The funerals; Snape, Fred, Remus, and Tonks. They have to be held in the coming weeks. Not to mention what’s going to happen to Teddy.” Given the fact that he and Apollonia were godparents to the young metamorphagus, Remus’s and Tonks’ deaths should have been at the forefront of their minds.

“We need to speak with Andromeda then,” she realized.

For the past forty-eight hours, Teddy was staying with his grandmother, so that both Remus and Tonks could fight in the war. Dolohov and Bellatrix killing them, especially considering that the latter killed her own niece, was utterly devastating to Andromeda. And, when Teddy was old enough to understand, he was going to miss them as well. “It might be best if we do that now, you know,” Harry informed his sister. “Though the funeral will probably be in a few days, talking to Andromeda would definitely be for the best.”

“Who knows how Teddy would react?” Apollonia mused.

“The same way Andromeda must have,” Harry suggested. Neither Harry nor Apollonia had visited Andromeda since Remus and Tonks were killed, so they had no way of knowing what her reaction was to their deaths. And, since then, Andromeda had been watching over Teddy. Perhaps it was time to pay her a visit. “Do you have time to do this now?”

“You mean aside from planning my father’s funeral?” Apollonia asked slightly mockingly. “Well, I’m sure that I can spare a few minutes to go over and see my godson.”

The pair of siblings apparated out to the Tonks home and prepared to speak with Andromeda Tonks regarding what happened at Hogwarts during the early morning hours of May 2nd when Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks were killed. Harry realized, however, that this should have been done first thing yesterday. Andromeda was busy watching over their godson as they tried to help the Wizarding World recover, so it seemed the logical thing to come see how he was doing. Why didn’t we come do this sooner? Harry wondered.