"But I want it done now, why can't it just work", Fred was whining. For a couple of hours the twins had been scheming under their mother's nose. She was not to know that they were planning new pranks for their shop, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. No one would know of WWW until they dropped out of school. If their mother did find out,... Fred was sure that he would not need to have taken divination to imagine the outcome. He felt a foreboding that as soon as George and he dropped out of school, they would be in for a myriad of Howlers.

"Stop whining!", George admonished ever so quietly. It was their Christmas holiday after all, and at least they were out of Umb*tch's ... pardon, Umbridge's reach for a while. "We won't get it to work any quicker if you're constantly grating on my nerves."

As everyone else at Hogwarts, well, everyone except for the likes of Malfoy and his goons, they wanted Umbridge gone. Not because she wasn't teaching anything, this didn't matter to them. There was more than one way to skin a Kneazle, and they were not looking for a job at the ministry after all. But as they found out that she was torturing students when Lee came back from a detention one night, they decided that there would be hell to pay. It was not that they actually feared the pain - developing pranks on their own always led to many injuries, and the quill's pain could never compare to what they went through before they learned about the effects of Murtlap - but it was the fact that she was torturing students, maybe even firsties. This could not be allowed. When they first found out, it was Fred who swore revenge. Put in the clear right of right and wrong, it was knavery for sure. They were at a school, they were supposed to question things to actually learn something!

With a saturnine look, Fred decided that they were going to prank her until she left the school once and for all. Knowing the terrible two, it was clear that this was not but a velleity of them, but a declaration of war. And if both of them set their mind to accomplish a certain prank, they would most certainly succeed at one time or another. Umbridge would rue the day when she decided to torture Hogwarts students. Fred and George Weasley would make sure of that.

Though their grades at school were not an indicator of their abilities, anyone who heard them plotting Umbridge's doom would have certainly agreed that they were an amazing team. While Fred was a hot-head, spouting of intrepid ideas at a fast pace, George was the pragmatic twin, considering how the pranks could be implemented and whether they would be safe. It wouldn't do for them to cause lasting damage, at least not for too long. George had soon learned to ignore his brother when he became too querulous because their pranks didn't work directly. They were developing the potions, charms, ideas from scratch and did not have any outside help. As a matter of fact, it was amazing what two students who had not even finished school could come up with. They only needed sufficient time. And they had to wait until it did work. No matter how long Fred was whining because of yet another failure.

"The transformation did work, at least in parts," George elaborated. As soon as you took the potion, you were turned. You just didn't transform, but the colour was right at least, and the size."

"But this is hardly anything, we could do a simple colour-changing prank years ago. Why don't we just add this..."

"NO!," George yelled, as much as this was possible when talking in a hushed voice. "If you added that, you would make the person's change permanent!"

"That wouldn't be too bad," sulkily Fred pulled back his hands from their stock of ingredients. "It's only Umb*tch, not that anyone would care."

"Are you out of you effing mind? The Ministry is behind her, you idiot. We'd be thrown into Azkaban for sure! No wonder that I'm considered to be the clever twin, you're as bright as a turnip!"

Grumbling, the two of them set down to work, cross-checking ingredients and possible side reactions. After a couple of days, Fred discovered a clue as to how to modify their recipe: A melange of different herbs had to prepared separately, before it would be added to the potion. Carefully stirring their brew for the very last time, the pranksters couldn't wait to actually try the potion's effects. Funnily enough, it was a bright green, with spots of a chartreuse yellow as Fred specified the colour. Just like what they planned to achieve.

To their great relief, their test run went all right. The transformation took place, but wore off after just a couple of minutes. And there were no noticeable side effects. For the first time ever, Fred and George couldn't wait to return to Hogwarts after their Christmas break. They had had enough free time, now it was the time for some serious pranking!

And as they returned, the perfect opportunity arose only weeks into the term. They had bribed Dobby to lace Umbridge's tea with their mystery potion, hoping that it would mask the colour. And it did. The next morning, they couldn't wait for the effects to take place. As usual, Umbridge sat down at breakfast, wearing a sickening pink jumper, before pouring herself a bit of her special tea. She sipped once, before...

...ribbit...

a pink toad was sitting at the head table. Umbridge was as ugly as a toad. They had always known that. And she was just as ugly being a toad.

And charming Mrs. Norris to follow her around the whole day, ribbiting instead of mewing, seemed to be a better idea now than it had ever been before.