Choice's Curse {d.m.}

Cabinets and Corners

I didn't want Draco to go. I hated that he felt the need to keep reminding me whatever was between us had to be kept a secret. As if I wanted people to know either. Harry had already given me enough shit for everything that I had done. It just served as another reminder on Draco's opinion of my intelligence.

My stomach growled angrily, reminding me that on top of the pounding headache and the throbbing in my arm, I hadn't eaten and it was already noon. I shoved away all my unpleasant thoughts, certain that they would return in no time, and hoped the Great Hall was empty so I could eat and brood in peace.

It was nice, having the castle so desolate. It should've been eerie not to hear the constant clatter of footsteps or the echoes of students shouting and laughing, but I craved isolation more than anything in that moment. It was self-destructive, yes, but I wanted to be alone so I could mull over how much my own actions were beginning to confuse even me. I decided to take a rather winding and extensive route to the Great Hall from the secluded bathroom. I wanted to savor the quiet solitude that was so fleetingly rare while in Hogwarts.

I wrapped my arms around myself as I walked, a biting wind causing shivers down my spine as it pierced through my sweatshirt. This morning had not turned out the way that I had hoped. Even with...but that needed to be forgotten, I told myself. It wasn't going to happen again, so it was foolish and naive to dwell on it.

It seemed my bad luck had only just begun.

Walking through the winding hallways, the only sounds I could hear were my quiet breaths and the tapping sounds of my shoes. Those were the only sounds, until I neared a broom closet tucked in a shadowy corner of a seldom-used corridor and heard Snape's hissing voice floating through the cracked wooden door backed by a chorus of crackling flames from a fire.

"My Lord, the boy is dedicated; he has proven that. He accepted immediately when you offered him this task. He has been working for you since he was fifteen. But he is still young, and--"

My Lord? That couldn't be...

A moment of silence, and then--

"Yes, my Lord, I understand. I am not protecting the boy, but it would be in our best interest if perhaps you gave someone else the task of fixing the Vanishing Cabinet. He seems distracted and he is in school. His grades should not be--"

A pause.

"No, my Lord, I would never suggest that. I understand why you chose Draco specifically for this task."

Horror that hit me like a train, nearly knocked the breath out of me. So...fuck, so Harry had been right. Draco was actually working with-with-

I couldn't even bring myself to think of the name; not when Snape was speaking to the man, the creature, behind the very door I now stood in front of. I didn't want to hear a single word more, and yet I felt glued to the spot as Snape continued.

"Draco is young, my Lord. You must give him time. He will prove his devotion, I swear it. Or I shall take the consequences of his mistakes," Snape said, his deadly voice soft with reverence.

"Yes, my Lord. I understand. The cabinet will be in working order within the month. I swear it."

The conversation seemed to be over, and suddenly I could move again, the freezing fear warming into a horrified panic. I didn't care how loud my pounding footsteps were as I took off in a run. I had to get away before Snape could catch me outside of that closet, because the consequences of that were all too terrifying.

My imagination ran through possibilities that nearly made me stop and empty the meager contents of my stomach. I heard the closet fling open just as I rounded the corner, but I didn't stop running, not until I was out in the open air, completely forgoing my previous plans to eat. The air was far too cold for me to only be out in a sweatshirt, but I couldn't stand to be inside anymore, not when I knew that Snape was--