"Well," Q says, with an apologetic glance at Sirius, "I was wondering really if I could have a go without it. As practice?" He clears his throat. "It would be safer, I think, if I tried it that way first," there is an ever-so-slight emphasis on the word, "just in case you're wrong." The apologetic glance now slides to Severus. "That way," he takes a deep breath, "it'll be easier to determine if I'm alone," Q taps his head, "and not having some electric kool-aid acid dream."
"Er, not really," Q tells Sirius. "They don't really go into it in the transfiguration books I've found. And the medical texts I read just tell you what an effective dose is. And they refer to the peyote buttons, not the juice," he adds. "I thought," he swallows, "that would be easier to do once I actually knew what I might change into.