Serena Snape: Love of Magic

November 17, 1976 – Serena Pov

"What are you doing now?" Bellatrix asked once she entered the Room of Requirement, I sighed, not even bothering to hide my tail.

"How the hell did you find this room?" I asked as I scribbled on the papers in front of me, seeing Bellatrix shrug out of the corner of my eye.

"Cissy told me where I could find you when I asked" I rolled my eyes, of course Narcissa would tell her "although I never thought it was actually the Room of Requirement, impressive" Bellatrix walked over to where I was sitting in front of a large table full of papers and leaned against my back placing her chin on my shoulder, I shuddered, biting my lip to stop myself from reacting to the feeling on my back, I tried to glare at Bellatrix who was smirking at me.

"tch, I didn't know you were such a clingy pet, so needy" I mocked her, I could see Bellatrix's eye, but her expression didn't change, instead- "OUCH!" I squealed in pain and my hand immediately went to my chest "did you just pinch my breast?!" I asked incredulously, Bellatrix rolled her eyes.

"Don't be dramatic, you do that to me all the time" she said mockingly.

"Yeah, but you enjoy it," I snorted. "OW! OW! Okay, stop it!" I slapped her hand away while grimacing. "But I was serious, you're not usually this… affectionate on your own initiative or before a duel," I said carefully. She shrugged as best she could from her position.

"I never saw it necessary, our meetings are usually enough, but you seem busy, but still you are my girlfriend, of course I am needy, your duty is to pamper me" she said petulantly, I stopped stiffly and looked at her confused.

"We are what?" I asked stupidly and Bellatrix looked at me in disbelief before sighing.

"Okay, Cissy was right that you were stupid."

" Hey !" I blushed slightly "We just... do that after our duels! We never put any labels on it!" I replied embarrassed, Bellatrix rolled her eyes.

"And that's not enough? Serena, we basically had sex, we're dating. In what kind of world does that not mean we're dating?" Bellatrix asked.

"In all!" I replied, now blushing even more. "You don't need a label to have casual sex!" Bellatrix looked at me with a repulsive face.

"Muggles have sex with just anyone?" she asked incredulously, snorting in amusement.

"Sex is pleasurable, you don't need to be in a relationship to get it," I shrugged, Bellatrix's expression darkening as she looked at me.

"You've been sleeping with other people!?" Bellatrix almost growled, her hand went to my neck and I shuddered slightly.

"Of course not! I'm still a virgin!" I replied embarrassed. "Well... if we don't count everything we did together." I looked away, I could feel Bellatrix's hand leave my neck.

"Well, and I hope it stays that way, you're mine" Bellatrix said firmly.

"Since when?" I snorted.

"Since you are so oblivious, from now on" she said mockingly.

" And I don't have a say?" I raised an eyebrow in her direction.

"No, now what are you doing?" Bellatrix ignored my retort and looked at the papers in front of me, I rolled my eyes, great, first I didn't know I had friends and now I didn't know I had a girlfriend, I was sure I wasn't that oblivious in my past life.

Although… I wasn't against dating Bellatrix per se, there was definitely nothing to object to in the looks department.

But… I didn't really know her, we spent more time having impromptu duels that ended in very intense make-out, groping, and beating sessions, I certainly wasn't against trying.

Although, she will definitely try to kill me if I try to reject her, she will try to kill me if I break up with her, she is actually trying to kill me and apparently I am dating her… I don't win either way, if it was going to be the same in every option I might as well try to date her and enjoy it.

"You didn't know you liked it that way," I said mockingly, she snorted.

"Don't be ridiculous, I'm not in love with you"

"ouch" I said dryly, she rolled her eyes.

"I won't deny that... I like our encounters and what we do, they are... pleasurable, but just that, I won't become a scarlet woman like the muggles, I have a reputation to maintain as a Black, so now we are dating" I let out a laugh, which ended quickly when she pinched me once more, I glared at her, but she simply ignored me.

"Aren't you engaged to Lestrange?" I asked as I caressed the pinched spot.

"Don't say his name while we're alone, it ruins the whole mood," she rolled her eyes and snorted playfully, "and don't worry, I'll tell my grandfather to call off the engagement, Narcissa told me that you and Lucius won't be joining that pureblood movement, so I can get rid of that useless Lestrange." True, I had told Narcissa to talk to her sister about it, Merlin forbid she keep trying to kill Lucius.

"I'm sure she'll take it sooo well" I said mockingly, she shrugged.

"It's not my problem, I'm sure Grandpa would be pleased to have the youngest future Potions Master in history in the family, by the way, you're coming home for Yule, no argument." My neck whipped around to look at Bellatrix over my shoulder.

"What, why!? I have plans for the holidays" I tried to reply, I was planning on accepting a mission for The Company , I had to get credits to be able to buy more skills, talents and defenses.

"Cancel them, you're coming to meet the family," I glared at her, but she didn't even flinch, just raised an eyebrow. "I think the words you're looking for are 'yes dear,'" she said mockingly, I gritted my teeth before sighing.

"I have to leave the country, I have pending matters outside Great Britain" I said vaguely.

"Oh? Like what?" Bellatrix asked curiously, I made a face.

"Uh... I have to take the Potions Master exam?" I grimaced at the question-like way my statement came out.

"Wait, you can take the exam now?" Bellatrix asked surprised. "Wolfbane, they're giving you the chance because of your wolfbane potion," she said quickly, I nodded.

"They sent me letters when Wolfbane was made public, in addition to the Ministry there were people from the ICW reviewing it, I was exchanging letters with them, I have to demonstrate other potions , corrections and take an exam in front of them"

"What? And why didn't I know ?!" she asked incredulously, I shrugged.

"Certainly the last thing we do in our meetings is talk," I replied and she made a face. "Besides, Narcissa and Lucius don't know either, as if... I forgot about that?" I smiled crookedly.

"How the hell do you forget the opportunity to become the youngest potions master in history at the age of 18?" Bellatrix almost looked scandalized, I rolled my eyes.

"17 and I was busy," I shrugged, and I wasn't lying, the letters had arrived and I had sent the requirements a long time ago, it was stupidly easy, I even had Severus' memories of the corrections and potions he had sent for his master's degree, so I sent it and then… I forgot, it's not like the degree was really of much use to me, I didn't plan on holding any job that required it, the degree would be worth absolutely nothing in other worlds. I could hear Bellatrix snort.

"What on? You disappear so often, is this what you're working on?" Bellatrix asked craning her neck to look at my pages "What the hell is it, Termina? Or thermate-TH3? What kind of name is triflo - chlorine trifluoride ? It sounds like a spell" Bellatrix asked as she read the pages, I snorted in amusement.

"They are highly flammable, Muggle chemical compounds. Thermite is a compound of aluminum and iron oxide, it is the reaction that gives off the most heat, reaching 2500°C, it is capable of melting most metals, while Thermate-TH3 is a mixture of thermite and other pyrotechnic additives to improve its incendiary purposes," I explained while looking at the paper in Bellatrix's hand.

"This is napalm, it's a gel that only burns at 800 to 1200°C but it burns for longer, disperses more easily and adheres to its targets, quite effective" I said pointing to another of the papers.

Dioxygen difluoride is the most reactive chemical compound known; any material that comes into contact with this substance explodes or bursts into flames in a matter of seconds."

"And the latter, chlorine trifluoride , is a powerful oxidizer and can corrode almost any material on the planet, it can even ignite already consumed ashes, it is even difficult to store because it tends to ignite everything that contains it, even glass and other materials that are considered non-combustible and fireproof ."

"Incredible," Bellatrix murmured, almost enraptured, her eyes shining, "do you have any of these... substances?" she asked almost anxiously, yes, no, she wouldn't be giving any of them to Bellatrix.

"No, I'm looking into improving my fire alchemy with them."

"Wait, alchemy, you know about alchemy?" Bellatrix asked incredulously "and what does it have to do with your flames?"

"Of course I do, I use my alchemy in our fights all the time" I shrugged.

"what? When?!"

"Fire alchemy, my specialty" I said simply "my tattoos on the back of my hand are for that" I raised my left hand showing her the tattoo.

"A tattoo? You need a tattoo to do alchemy?" Bellatrix asked confused, I shook my head.

"There are several ways to do alchemy, and several branches of alchemy, using transmutation circles or alchemical circles is one of them, I specialize in non-magical alchemy"

"You can do alchemy without magic?" Bellatrix asked incredulously, she snorted.

"I didn't mean that, I meant that I prefer non-magical objects, like… practically everything non-magical" I wrinkled my nose "metals, stones, liquids, gases, anything that doesn't contain magic is within my field"

"And what does that have to do with flames? I thought you had some sort of affinity for fire, you're more than capable of filling the room with fire in an instant." Bellatrix sounded curious, I hummed lightly.

"Alchemy is the art of manipulating and altering matter through magic, this act is known as transmutation, it is very different from transfiguration, my flame alchemy is based on the manipulation of gases around the target, I just need to put volatile gases on my target and a path to attach it to my hand and-"  snap  I snapped my fingers and created a flare far away from us "-a simple spark ignites all the gases, the reaction happens in an instant, lethal and difficult to protect"

"That's... amazing and all you need is that tattoo on your hand?" Bellatrix asked and I could practically hear the greed in her voice, I rolled my eyes.

"No, you'd explode if someone used the circle without understanding the mechanics behind it," I snorted playfully. "There are three essential steps to alchemy, compression, destruction, and reconstruction. Most never get past the first step," I said in disgust.

"what, why not?"

"Because purebloods are idiots, closed-minded, selfish and too lazy to do anything useful, while Muggle-borns are just plain idiots," I snorted, as did Bellatrix.

"So we're all idiots?" she asked playfully, I smiled without looking at her.

"If the shoe fits," I said playfully, she snorted again.

"Okay, I'll bite, why are we idiots?" she asked with a smile.

"The most important part of alchemy, is understanding, understanding the inherent structure and properties of the atomic or molecular composition of a particular material, including the flow and balance of potential and kinetic energies within it, are you following me there?" I asked playfully, she fell silent and I snorted playfully "Take water for example, what do you think water is made of?"

"...of... isn't it made of water?" Bellatrix asked with a frown, I snorted in amusement which made her groan, if Bellatrix hated anything it was feeling stupid or not knowing something.

"This is Muggle chemistry, something that is almost universally taught to children. There are 118 elements in the world called atoms. Without going into technical details, there are only 94 that exist in nature. They are substances that cannot be broken down by chemical reactions into simpler substances. In other words, atoms are the most basic parts of everything, and basically everything in this world is made up of atoms. Water is made up of hydrogen and oxygen."

"...and you expect me to believe that? Do you know how crazy that sounds?" Bellatrix asked incredulously, I shrugged.

"And that's why I said they're closed-minded," I replied without looking at her. "The wizarding world tends to explain everything through magic, they never question anything, and if they do, then the answer is magic," I snorted playfully. "But Muggles, on the contrary, question almost everything, and that's why they came to that understanding. Atoms are the most basic forms of everything that exists. Put them together in any combination you can think of and you'll have molecules. Put molecules together and you'll have substances. They can be as simple as you can think of, or as complex as you can't imagine."

"That... I still don't understand" Bellatrix said honestly, but I could see her grit her teeth, I grimaced, of course it would be difficult for an average witch to understand.

"and that would be the problem with learning alchemy, if you can't understand it you can't manipulate it, understanding how everything is formed is essential when it comes to transmuting something, water is one of the easiest transformations that exist, it's a basic substance" I grabbed a loose piece of paper and quickly drew a circle on it, the same one used by Isaac McDougal, the freezing alchemist, I put the paper on the table, grabbed one of the jars of water that I had prepared previously and placed it on the paper, and touched the paper activating the alchemy.

The paper released small electric shocks, and in an instant, the water was transformed into a bouquet of flowers made entirely of ice, daffodils.

"It's... wow?" Bellatrix said dryly.

"What's 'wow'? You could sound more impressed," I said annoyed, Bellatrix rolled her eyes.

"I could do the same with transfiguration," Bellatrix replied, I stopped stiffly and sighed.

"We go back to everyone being idiots-" "tch" "-alchemy is difficult, I won't deny it, the amount of things you have to learn for the most basic transmutation is something that discourages many, but that's also because of how it is transmitted in the magical world" I grimaced "most of the information on chemical compositions doesn't exist in the magical world, if it did it's in the hands of an alchemist and most are so proud and selfish that they rarely share their knowledge" I sighed tiredly.

"This leaves every person who wants to become an alchemist to do their own research from scratch, and it is terribly inefficient, there is hardly any progress in alchemy because every new alchemist starts from scratch, and it takes years to catch up with their peers, but what they have no idea is that everything is freely accessible in the muggle world."

"wait what?"

"Muggles share their information globally without shame, so information is accessible everywhere, Muggle public libraries practically contain everything an alchemist needs to become an alchemist, only if they know how to take advantage of it, obviously" I rolled my eyes "the only reason there are no alchemists is because they are idiots and are never able to think that Muggles would have the answer to their problems"

"So... that's how you learned to be an alchemist? Because you read muggle books?" Bellatrix asked incredulously, I shrugged.

"Part of it was that I needed expensive metals and other substances for my potions, so what better way to do it than with alchemy," I said playfully.

"What? You can't do that, you can't use transfigured materials to make potions, everyone knows that!" Bellatrix replied and I burst out laughing.

" And you answered yourself, transfigured objects are useless, but transmutation is different" I said amusingly "In fact, Gamp's law of transfiguration does not apply to alchemy, if you are able to create food with alchemy, then you could eat it as calmly as possible"

"What? Impossible!" I rolled my eyes.

"You keep saying that a lot, but it's not, it's different," I replied. "Transfiguration is temporary, it has traces of magic, this makes that, when placed in a potion or ingested, the inherent magic of the latter interferes with the transfigured object and returns it to its original state, but-" hit an alchemical circle "-alchemy, destroys the physical structure of the old material forming a new one, a totally new one, as if it didn't exist before, without traces of magic, without time on transmutation, alchemy is permanent."

"Amazing," Bellatrix said honestly, "and no one knows about it?" she asked in surprise, wrinkling her nose.

"No idea, I don't think there's anyone who actually specializes in non-magical material alchemy, like you said, you can do most things with transfiguration so most people take it as a waste of effort"

"Idiots, and I didn't know it could be used in combat, and you want to use those substances to improve your... flame alchemy you called it?" she asked looking at the leaves once more, I made a face.

"That was the idea, but… my flame alchemy is the most cost effective, it's extremely easy once you understand the mechanics, it's even quite precise if I need to, I can aim at a person's eyes dozens of meters away with accuracy, all the others… well, too much mess" I sighed tiredly "so I was thinking about another tattoo, the water one is a good choice" I said touching the burnt paper where I had just drawn the transmutation circle "it's just as easy, strong and fast to use, like my flame alchemy"

"I... could learn?" Bellatrix asked hugging me tighter placing butterfly kisses under my ear, I shuddered slightly before grimacing.

"You know you don't have to sleep with me every time you want to ask me something right?" I asked playfully, Bellatrix stopped and looked at me blankly, I rolled my eyes, slytherins , give and take "come on, I'll teach you something, not alchemy yet, but something else" I didn't know if I could learn my style of alchemy to begin with, I didn't know if the people of this world had The Door of Truth inside them, or if they didn't need it to do alchemy, maybe later I'll try.

I stood up and she moved away from me, I gently pushed Cia who was drawing with transmuted crayons in one of the corners of the table, she turned to me and smiled showing me the drawing.

I was really starting to get worried about her, the drawing showed a laughing stick company on top of what looked like a mountain of burning sticks, I sighed.

"It's a good drawing, I'll keep it" I smiled crookedly, Cia gave me a huge smile before flying in my direction.

"You're weird, you and your fairy," Bellatrix told me from the side as she looked at us. I sighed tiredly, I couldn't even deny it.

"I know," I said simply as I took my fake wand, "now, I will show you some of my inventions, starting with sectumsempra," I smiled at Bellatrix.