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Serena Snape: Love of Magic - chapter 9
🕑 Added 2024-09-13 16:56:55 +0000 UTCAuthor's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
I sorted through vials and bottles for a few minutes until the door swung open. I rolled my eyes.
"Okay, Snivellus, what are you planning!" Black growled as he entered, followed by the others. I turned to look at him.
"Working Black, I know you're not aware of the meaning of the word since you're living like a leech on Potter's leg, but the rest of us need to work to survive." I drawled out the mocking words, earning a growl from Black.
"Why did you-!" He took a step in my direction. This time, I turned around and cut him off.
"Are you going to buy something Black?" I looked at him with a raised eyebrow that stopped him.
"What? No!! I don't want anything from you!"
"Then get out of the store; I don't have time for your games." I rolled my eyes, something I've been doing too much lately. I should get away from the lurkers if I wanted to keep my eyes in my sockets.
"Now listen, Snivellus, you-"
"Padfoot!" Potter interrupted, and Black looked at him like a wounded puppy. I snorted mockingly, making him growl again. "What are you up to Snivellus? We know what you're really like, so don't you dare lie to us." I rolled my eyes again dramatically.
"I told you Potter, work, not all of us are born with a mountain of gold," Potter wrinkled his nose.
"I don't believe you."
"That's your problem," I huffed. "Now get out of my store."
"No," Potter stood firm, "we're not leaving until you tell us your plans." The migraine was coming back, you little group of insufferable people.
"Alright, that's It!" I growled, annoyed, before giving him my most mocking smile. "Potter, Potter, Potter, you sweet, deluded mushroom, I think you're forgetting a small, tiny but crucial detail." The group looked confused, and my smile turned completely sadistic. "I own your asses!" I yelled, startling them slightly, Black let out a laugh.
"You wish Snivellus!" he mocked, and I gave him a cocky smile.
"But my dear Black, this is all thanks to you." Black frowned at me. "After all, thanks to you, I know that Lupin is a werewolf." My smile grew wider when I saw them both pale. Black and Potter recovered, and both growled.
"You can't tell anyone; the headmaster took care of that. You'll be expelled from Hogwarts if you open your mouth."The amount of hatred that came from Potter's mouth made me smile even more.
"But Potter, don't you see that it doesn't matter anymore?" The group stopped once more, but they seemed more confused than anything else. "That threat was effective last year, but I've already taken my O.W.L. exams, and you know what that means?"
The group fell silent. Lupin was white as a sheet as he cringed; Potter and Black glared at me with an unhealthy amount of hatred while Pettigrew, who I had barely noticed, was shaking behind the group. It seemed like the group wouldn't answer my response, although it was more of a rhetorical question than anything else, so I continued.
"It means that it doesn't matter if I get expelled anymore; they won't break my wand, and I can take my NEWTs at any time in the ministry. What's more, a certain "group" will treat me like a hero. Just think about it, a werewolf in Hogwarts; I'm sure the purebloods will love that news. Especially when they know that Dumbledore was the one who allowed it and I was the woman who brought them that news at the cost of my expulsion. How tragic for me."
"You're a monster Snivellus," Black growled with hatred. His grey eyes looked at me as if they wanted to kill me, a touch of madness in his eyes. Even so, I smiled mockingly at him.
"Look in the mirror Black; out of all of us, you are the least suited to talk about monsters." I hissed. "You were the one who tried to kill me, and you even used your "friend" as a weapon. Tell me Black, is this something you do often, or are you just like the rest of your family? I'm sure even purebloods would praise your methods."
"Bastard!" Black pulled out his wand and pointed it at my face, my smile never leaving my face, even though I swallowed metals and continued burning pewter and tin while adding electrum to the burn. Seeing my own shadow from the future was slightly disconcerting, but I kept a close eye on it for any slightest change.
"Shoot Black, show me that you are just like your family. I'm sure your mother will be proud," I said mockingly. I knew where to hit where it hurts. Thanks to my meta-knowledge, Black had a curse on the tip of his tongue.
"SIRIUS!" Potter interrupted, grabbing Sirius's arm.
"Don't stop me James! I'll kill her!" Black growled, trying to get out of Potter's grip, but Potter didn't let go.
"It's not worth it Sirius! You're not like your family, don't listen to her!"
"b-but-!"
"Sirius!" Lupin interrupted pleadingly this time. I rolled my eyes.
"If you're going to kiss, get out of the store. I don't want to see that disgusting scene. I'll have nightmares for the rest of my life." The group glared at me. Black seemed to be struggling with whether or not to continue trying to curse me.
"tch" Black put his wand away, a pity. Potter looked at me, hatred still in his eyes.
"This won't be left like this Snivellus." With that dramatic phrase, Potter turned around. "Let's go Padfoot, Moony, Wormtail." Lupin followed him quickly, as did Pettigrew, who squealed and practically ran away. Black wrinkled his nose in my direction but clicked his tongue before glaring at me one last time. He grumbled and kicked one of the shelves annoyedly. The blow caused one of the jars to wobble and fall to the floor. The marauders and I stood staring at the potion on the floor, we saw how the floor began to dissolve from the potion.
"ah"
"ah"
"ah"
"ah"
"Okay, enough, I'm calling the Aurors," I growled, annoyed.
"What?!"
"That wasn't part of the deal!"
"I don't care about that. Not only do you sexually harass me in the Alley, but you follow me to my work like a group of stalkers. You interrupt my work schedule for selfish and stupid reasons, then you threaten me in the store where I work at wand point. Now you destroy the inventory of said store? I'm calling the Aurors. I'm tired of all of you. "The group looked at me incredulously.
"No one sexually harassed you Snivellus, just the thought is disgusting!" Black growled slightly green, raising an eyebrow in his direction.
"So you don't deny the rest?" I said mockingly. "I knew you were stupid, but thank you for stating it yourself. It will make the Aurors' job easier."
"You know that's not true! Besides, it's not like the Aurors would come to this store! It's obvious that you sell poisons; surely everything is illegal!" I snorted mockingly.
"Everything in this store is legal Black." My smile made the group look at me in disbelief.
"You're lying!" I rolled my eyes.
"Your stupidity continues to surprise me Black, I must stop expecting even the slightest bit of intelligence from you. You are exceeding my expectations regarding your own stupidity. Congratulations on reaching a new milestone." I scoffed, Black growled. "But just in case you must know, it's not a lie; everything is legal in this store, a little legal loophole, so to speak." I hummed amused, I was also surprised when the Hag told me, but they didn't need to know.
"There are thousands of potions, many of the ones sold to the public are classified as "poisons" despite their positive benefits, so the ministry, in their infinite wisdom, didn't actually ban the sale of poisons. That would cut out over 60% of the potions currently on sale, so it only bans specific potions. Which we don't sell any of, so according to the law at the moment, all potions in this store are legal." The incredulous look on their faces was worth gold, and my smile grew wider.
"Not counting that there are some... friends, supporters of Malfoy, let's say, one call, and they'll come. I'm more than sure they'll grab onto any reason to annoy Dumbledore and his people, and if, let's say, they find out that Lupin is a werewolf, I certainly wouldn't complain."
"Y-you-!" Black's growl grew louder.
"Let's go!" Potter said with a clenched fist as he was about to turn around.
"No," I interrupted, and the group stopped. "Pay first, that poison was worth 300 galleons."
"No!!"
"Break it and pay Black, 300 galleons, or I call the Aurors."
"Why so expensive?!" I rolled my eyes.
"We sell poisons that use rare and expensive ingredients, nothing you can find in Diagon Alley; we don't sell cures for boils." I slurred my words as I explained, like they were stupid. Black continued to growl at me. He really was bad at hiding that he was a dog animagus. It was getting annoying. Maybe I shouldn't tease him so much, soon he might only be able to growl instead of talk, nah, he asked for it.
Potter clicked his tongue and pulled a bag from his hip, and threw it in my direction with force. The hatred was obvious in his eyes. I reacted easily and took it in my hands, I opened the bag and took a look at it. Bottomless bag, I couldn't count the galleons, but I'll let it go. Robbing Potter and his group was more satisfying than the money itself.
"I suppose that will do, now, get out of the shop." The group quickly left the room, avoiding the shelves as much as possible. I rolled my eyes and stopped burning the metals. As I pulled a cigarette out of my inventory, a snap of my fingers and the cigar lit up.
"HA! I didn't know we were stealing from teenagers now."
"MORGANA!" I jumped in place and instinctively burned the metals and dropped my rings as I turned around. The Hag had, at some point, gotten behind me. It wasn't the first time. "Someday, I'll put a bell on your neck, Hag." I growled before taking a drag on the cigarette and closing my metals. "And I didn’t steal from anyone, this-" I waved the bag in my hands. "-is a... small compensation," the Hag snorted.
"Small? It's 10 times the value of the potion! Small your tits!" I smiled widely, ignoring the insult. The potion Black had thrown out was a simple potion that tended to liquefy most things it came into contact with, but it was fast-acting and long-lasting. It was really easy and simple to prepare, and cheap. It wasn't something that would kill anyone immediately, but it would melt someone's stomach if they swallowed it, and it would stop there. Painful, but not immediately fatal, all for the price of a little more than 23 galleons.
"Compensation for psychological damage and harm," I shrugged, my smile wide. "Besides, it's not my fault they're a bunch of easy Gryffindors to rob."
"HA! You're right girl!" the Hag laughed. "It's their fault for letting themselves be robbed. Now, get to work and fix that hole in the floor!" I rolled my eyes as I heard the Hag return to the lab. I would have to use magic to fix the hole left by the potion, but it's not like they could trace it in the Alley, so there was no problem. I hummed lightly.
"Hey Hag! Do we have wolfbane?!" I yelled into the back room.
"Wolfbane?! You wanna kill the little werewolf?! Just don't let anyone know you got him from me, kid!" I rolled my eyes, amused, ignoring how casual I was about the possible murder.
"Tempting, tempting, but not really! I was thinking more along the lines of a cure for lycanthropy, I have some ideas!" Now, that had too much potential for revenge not to be used against him. Recreating the wolfbane potion and having Lupin forced to drink something with my name on it was fun.
"WHAT?! CURE!? WAIT-!" I heard loud noises in the lab as the Hag practically ran out. She was remarkably agile for someone her age and height. "EXPLAIN!!" She howled as she stood in front of me. I took a drag on my cigarette.
"It's not a cure per se. I wouldn't know where to start if I wanted to cure lycanthropy," I said honestly. "It's more... a psychological relief, poisoning the wolf so much that it suppresses its mind and allows the human consciousness to retain mental faculties during the transformation." The Hag stopped stiffly.
"Yes.. yes, yes, wolfbane will do, it's the main ingredient, maybe moonstone, in pieces, no, in powder form it will do better, what more, what more, ingredients that don't harm the human, but yes the wolf, fascinating." the Hag's mind was running at full speed before stopping and looking at me strangely. "You are a monster girl; your mind is a monstrosity when it comes to working with potions."My smile turned arrogant.
"I'm Serena Snape," I simply said as if that explained everything. The Hag snorted and waved her cane; the door was locked, and the windows closed.
"We're closing up. Come on, let's get to work on that potion; we've got work to do." I took the last drag of my cigarette before disappearing it and followed the Hag into the laboratory, the hole in the floor now ignored. I had potions to make, and I had to plan how to get to the solution without seeming too obvious that I already knew the recipe, difficult but not impossible.
