DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter belongs to JKR.

~ The Glass Dagger of Regret ~

Her mindscape is ringed by a row of forbidding black iron doors. All are sealed except for a single open door in which hovers a hazy image of the last sight she saw before falling asleep. This is the gateway to reality. The other doors contain her memories.

An avatar that mimics her current physical form lies prone in the center of the ring. This is her consciousness. Strange shadowy creatures dance around her prone form. They are dreams. Silver butterflies flit sporadically throughout the place, the only flash of color in this dull gray world. They are random fragments of thought.

Beside her are two boxes. One is black iron, like the doors. Unlike the doors, it is beautifully crafted and has a faint luminescence about it. This is a carefully guarded secret, the one thing that she treasures. The second box is made of sagging gray cardboard. The box itself is not important. It is simply a container to hold the contents. It is a box of daggers. These are thoughts with which she torments herself.

The largest and most ornate of the daggers is the one with the glass blade that represents regret and is deeply tied to memories of her lost sister, the one whose name she does not permit herself to speak anymore, the one who was once her everything back when they were children and their parents rejected and neglected them because they were not sons.

The youngest sister was followed by a string of miscarriages, and was not old enough to know that she had been unwanted by the time their parents decided to give up on having a son and concentrate on raising their daughters to become perfect pureblood brides. And, therefore, the youngest sister was not aware of anything abnormal about her childhood at all. The two older sisters were uncooperative and rebellious, no longer desiring any of the previously withheld attention that their parents now offered.

The oldest sister suffered the harshest punishments, because by virtue of being the oldest she was considered the example for the younger ones (although the youngest seemed to instinctively know not to get involved in her sisters' mischief). Eventually she began to resent the middle sister for never getting in as much trouble for the exact same wrongdoings, and the older they grew the more the two grew apart.

Still, the two were both united in their desire to not bend to their parents' will and, while not close throughout their school years, remained on speaking terms with each other for the most part.

However, even that came to end when the middle sister ran off with filth, effectively severing her connection to her family forever. The older sister was disappointed at the loss and disgusted at the utter disgrace of it. Her act of rebellion was much more subtle. She simply married the most attractive but least financially endowed pureblood male she could find, and got away with it by proclaiming it love.

~ end ~

A/N: Okay, so, I know this turned out really odd. The original version of this is long and rambling and focuses a lot more on the state of Bella's mind than anything. It also takes a long time to get to the point, and is narrated in first person… by Voldemort. I might post that one, if anyone wants to see it.

Reviews are love.