Choice's Curse {d.m.}

Breaking Glass

a/n: sorry for the late upload! been having some mental health issues which made it difficult to want to write but i hope the wait wasn't too terrible! thank you all for your support and love with this story<3

"What?" I spluttered, entirely forgetting the situation I was in. Kill me? So that Snape could prove his bloody worth? Surely, surely, I deserved a better end than giving that snivelling git a second chance with Voldemort.

"Quiet, girl," Bellatrix hissed, her sallow eyes alight with glee as she watched Snape and Voldemort.

Snape did not respond for a few moments, and I felt like I was going to vomit. Really, I was getting rather sick of these stupid, pregnant pauses where my safety or feelings were being debated. Each one felt like the sharp twist of a knife in my belly every time it happened. The drying blood on my head was beginning to itch, and my feet felt tingly and numb as I knelt on the ground, awaiting my fate from a man who had betrayed so many people already.

Who had already attempted to torture me once. Christ, I hated him.

Voldemort, his smoky robes swishing, moved closer to Snape, his bony fingers gripping his knobby wand. "Well, Severus? What shall it be? The girl's death and your redemption, or the girl's death, followed by yours?" Voldemort had to know Snape was only concerned with self-preservation, didn't he? That was why he posed the question the way that he did. It would make much more sense in Snape's mind for him to just kill me and be done with it, rather than lose his life for a student he'd never cared much for in the first place.

"My lord, I-" Snape began, but Voldemort suddenly shushed him, his eyes rolling back slightly as he hissed with displeasure. Voldemort didn't say anything, but when he righted himself, a dark fire seemed to crackled around him angrily.

"Severus, it seems that time is of the essence," Voldemort mused. "Make your choice, now, or I shall make it for you. Who will you pledge your loyalties to, hm?" Voldemort grinned darkly at his follower, whose beady eyes were stuck on his lord as Voldemort paced in front of him. "Me, the man who has given you everything you asked for? Or the man who couldn't even save the woman you loved?"

Snape stiffened. It seemed Voldemort had hit quite the mark with that one, hadn't he? Harry had told me that Sirius had told him a while ago that Snape had had some sort of terrible obsession with Harry's mother while they were at Hogwarts. Not only an obsession, but that Snape had been in love with Lily, and according to Sirius, he might very well still be. Like Harry's mother would've ever bothered with Snape in the first place. I'd seen pictures of Lily, and she'd been incredibly pretty; long red hair, kind green eyes, and a bright smile.

Snape, according to Sirius and Professor Lupin, had been as vindictive as a child as he was as a teacher. Snape had hated James even before Lily had fallen in love with him, and though it was unfair, that was the reason Snape despised Harry so much, even before Harry knew who he was. They hadn't done into much detail, but from what Harry had relayed to me one night, on the anniversary of his parents' death, Snape had loved Lily, and Lily had loved him too, as a friend. But that hadn't been enough for Snape.

"My lord, you know that my allegiance has always lied with you."

"Then killing the girl should not be so difficult, yes?" Voldemort asked. "Her life is worth nothing-- her blood is easily spilt. Do it, Severus, before I lose my patience."

I was wracking my brain, trying to find anything that might delay my rapidly-approaching doom, but there wasn't much coming to mind. Believe it or not, I wasn't entirely eager for Snape to kill me. I knew it was ridiculous, but I felt rather jilted that my demise came down to some greasy teacher who never grew out of his childhood bigotry proving his worth. If anyone had asked me, I would've told them Snape didn't have much worth to prove anyway. But unfortunately, my opinion did not seem to be of interest to anyone.