Fifteen-year-old Severus Snape stormed down the dungeon hallway, absolutely livid. His black cloak billowed behind him from the speed of his steps.
It was past hours and Snape was heading out from the Slytherin common room for the second time this night The first, he had been caught by Professor McGonagall and assigned a grueling detention cleaning out grimy old cauldrons the muggle way. How he hated being forced down to their level….
He turned the corner, still fuming, and finally reached his destination. The library. This was his second and probably last chance to get that book out of the restricted section.
Snape was determined to find out what James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew were doing for the past few months on their midnight journeys around the castle. He knew they were all animagi, and he was about to become one, too. He just had to find out what they were doing, and since he didn't have an invisibility cloak, this was the only way.
Snape finally found the book on animagi in the restricted section and hurried towards the dungeons. But, no…he couldn't practice transforming in his dormitory; all the other Slytherins were just too nosy.
He snuck into a bathroom near the great hall and studied the book until almost dawn. He was so immersed in it that he didn't hear the voices approaching in the hallway outside.
Finally, Snape was ready to attempt a transformation. "I wonder what I'll turn into," he wondered as he followed the instructions just as the book had said to. Little did he know that the voices were getting closer….
Just as Snape was beginning his transformation, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter walked into the bathroom, laughing loudly. They stopped short when they saw Snape, who stared at them in shock and fear for just a moment before his transformation began. It was too late to stop it now; he still didn't have full control over his transformations.
"Please let it be good," he said to himself. "I can't give them another reason to make fun of me, please let it be good…."
James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter roared with laughter when they saw what Snape had turned into, trying unsuccessfully to hold back tears of joy.
Snape's black robes were now in a small pile on the floor, and sitting on top of them was a small creature that, in the opinion of the marauders, truly fit Snape's personality. Of all the creatures out there, Snape had transformed into the worst thing possible for his reputation:
A slug.
Slime oozed out from beneath him, causing the marauders to laugh even harder. "Maybe Snivelly's better off this way," Sirius exclaimed, still laughing hard. "At least you can't se his abnormally large nose!" James walked over and peeled the slug off the pile of clothes and threw him lightly against the wall. As Snape the slug slowly oozed down the wall, he left a little trail behind.
James reached down and scooped up Snape's clothes, walking towards the door with the others. "Wash your hair, you slime ball," James said, shaking his head with a wide grin. He closed the door to leave Snape in a bathroom outside the Great Hall just before breakfast time, naked.