Much Ado About the Penta-Juice Potion

Prologue

It was a bright, sunny Friday at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Fifth year students were outside enjoying the warm weather after finishing their last O.W.L.S. These students included the four marauders: Remus "Moony" Lupin, Peter "Wormtail" Pettigrew, Sirius "Padfoot" Black, and James "Prongs" Potter. James, the well-known chaser from the Gryffindor House Quidditch Team with hair always looking like he just got off his broom, was busy catching and releasing the Golden Snitch. Pettigrew, a short, rather obese boy with light brown hair, was eagerly watching and clapping at the appropriate times.

"Put that away, will you?" exclaimed Sirius, as Wormtail let out a cheer. "Before Wormtail wets himself from excitement." Black was of medium height, very good looking with shoulder length straight, black hair. For some reason, the young wizard always seemed to have a mischievous glint in his eye.

Remus, meanwhile, was caught up the pages of a good book, trying to avoid all the commotion. He had short, light brown hair and hazel eyes. Lupin had a pale, peaky complexion, partly to do with the fact that he was a werewolf and the full moon was in a week or so.

Just as James was putting the snitch inside his pocket, a pale, black haired, greasy boy trudged out from a nearby clump of bushes.

"Excellent," he said softly. "Snivellus."

Sirius and James stood up while Remus and Peter stayed down. A faint frown line had appeared between Lupin's eyebrows, and Pettigrew was looking from Sirius and James to Snape with an expression of avid anticipation on his face.

"All right, Snivellus?" said James loudly.

Snape reacted quickly, pulling out his wand. Unfortunately for him, James was faster, "Expelliarmus!" He shouted. Snape's wand promptly flew from his hand. "Impedimenta!" he said. Snape was knocked off his feet; halfway in a dive to retrieve his fallen wand.

James and Sirius advanced on him, wands drawn.

"How'd the exam go, Snivelly?" said James.

"I was watching him, his nose was touching the parchment," said Sirius viciously. "There'll be great grease marks all over it, they won't even be able to read it." Several people laughed at this.

"You--wait," he panted, staring up at James with an expression of purest loathing. "You -wait..."

"Wait for what?" said Sirius coolly. "What're you going to do, Snivelly, wipe your nose on us?"

Snape let out a stream of mixed swearwords and hexes, but his wand being ten feet away nothing happened.

"Wash out your mouth," said James coldly. "Scourgify!"

Pink soap bubbles streamed from Snape's mouth at once, froth was covering his lips, making him gag, choking him---

"Leave him ALONE!"

James and Sirius turned around. A girl from the lake edge was advancing on them. She had red hair and bright green eyes.

"All right, Evans?" said James.

"Leave him alone," Lily repeated. She was looking at James with every sign of great dislike. " What's he done to you?"

"Well," said James, appearing to deliberate the point, "it's more the fact that he exists, if you know what I mean...."

Many surrounding watchers laughed, Sirius and Wormtail included, but Lupin, still apparently intent on his book, didn't, and neither did Lily.

"You think you're funny," she said coldly. "But you're just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter. Leave him alone."

Aside from the fact that Snape had called her a "filthy mudblood" before running away, that was all Lily Evans could remember about the previous afternoon. She was so furious at James Potter and she would get him back. She knew just how, too: recently in potions, she had learned how to make a potion that changed the drinker's personality to it's exact opposite. She would put the potion in Potter's orange juice tomorrow morning at breakfast and with luck the symptoms would pass onto Snape eventually.

'A James Potter that isn't full of himself,' thought Lily to herself, 'I can't wait to see that.'