Baxter had one hell of a month so far. Some crazy criminal had attacked his mother and step-father. His dad had quit the auror corp and was staying with his mom and Josh until the guy was caught. It was difficult for the Ravenclaw to be faced with the fact that his dad was putting the family first- but he liked it. It had repaired a lot in his relationship with his father.

He had just spent a week at home for Spring Break, spending time with his dad. It had been a weird experience. And even though there were a lot of important things he had wanted to talk to his dad about, he had decided that given the circumstances and the fact that his dad was actually wanting to do dad like things with him- and that his dad was also including his step-dad- Baxter hadn't wanted to ruin any of the moments by bringing up any puberty laden woes.

So he had decided to wait until he got back to Hogwarts and talk it over with either Madam Nadge or with Tapendra. After thinking on it, Tapendra won. He was like a father figure to Baxter, it would be easier to talk to him than to a woman, he figured.

He'd decided to drop by Wednesday evening after dinner, hoping most kids would be in their common rooms or the library- therefore less questions would be asked of him. Not that he would answer them anyway. Baxter had been refraining from speech the last few days- even when it came to speaking up in classes.

Baxter slipped into Tappy's office after a short knock- pushing the door shut behind him. "Have you got a few-" he paused, clearing his throat as his voice cracked. "Few minutes?"

It hadn't been a good month so far...well. The bad month had started on March 10th. Tapendra was still waiting for it to end - for things to get back to normal. Or what passed for normal, around Hogwarts. February hadn't been a bad month, on reflection. Another February would be nice.

Minus the student death opening it, of course.

He sat in his office, writing feverishly. He'd taken to it, on evenings; finishing off the latest book of the Star Catalogs. He'd been skimping on writing to Ryan about everything that had happened, and kept swearing he was going to do that any day now...just as soon as he figured out how to even start that letter. For now, Ryan got bundles of paperwork back from Tapendra for him to transcribe.

Tapendra jolted as Baxter entered - looking up suddenly, glasses sliding askew. "Wha-" He started, then calmed. "Baxter. Yes, of course. Is something wrong?"

Baxter slipped into the seat, hunching over awkwardly. He'd noticed that he'd grown another inch since the summer. He felt like a giant- and he knew that more growth spurts were to come, and Baxter was worried he'd end up towering over everyone- even Tappy.

"I don't know if anything is wrong or not," he confessed honestly. Baxter had a feeling he knew what was going on, but wasn't ready for all the changes that would be coming. At least it was almost Summer, he supposed. Maybe by the time he got back to Hogwarts most of the awkward would be over.

He sat quietly for a few moments, rubbing the back of his neck. Last time they had chatted had been right after his dad had quit the aurors. It had been hard to process- so he'd confided in Tappy about it all. It was a complete contrast to the letter that his father had sent a month ago. Shocking, really.

"Are there any spells or potions for voice changing?" he asked- suddenly breaking the silence. "Where I won't crack? Something that makes it go... faster?" and his voice squeaked up again on the last syllable.

He blinked, adjusting his glasses - having expected another talk about Ackerly or his parents. Admittedly, their latest talk about Ackerly had been much more pleasant - enjoyable, even, in an odd kind of way.

This he hadn't really expected, so he sat in silence as the boy struggled with his question. The pause seemed to drag out - Tapendra momentarily panicking, really hoping he didn't have to talk to Baxter about...about that. He'd watch Ackerly's kid, he'd care for the boy, but he wasn't about to have to give him the...the talk. Not that he really knew how; he'd had Georgiana get talked to by Ryan's wife Sonya, and fully intended for Cy to receive the same. His own experience with those talks had been...well, there hadn't been any, really. He'd just read up on it, since his mother's talk had been...weeeell.

Thankfully Baxter'd be spared that kind of talk. 'It just means you're becoming a man, Ta. Just remember to pull out and you'll be fine, but if you knock a girl up you'll have to marry her and take care of it so you don't ruin someone else's life', indeed.  Sometimes he wondered why he missed his mother. Dr Phil she wasn't.

He blinked again, aware he'd lapsed into thought - his mind all too easily going to his mother, these days. "Well. No, not really, Baxter," he said, remembering the amount of cracking his voice had done - dropping in pitch severely to reach his current deep voice. "It's different for everyone, but it's likely to continue for...well, for a few years, unfortunately. It should be more or less gone by 7th year...but you can learn to control it, a bit."

Baxter's mouth fell open. "Years?" he practically screeched. That was going to last for years? That didn't make any sense! "I thought... thought that kind of stuff just happened! Like you got a huge dose of hormones and you grew up and out and then it was over!" he groaned, slid down in his seat, and sighed.

"Seventh year is so far away," he lamented. Three years away. Baxter couldn't believe that. He just couldn't. He wouldn't. He could will power his way out of this, couldn't he? Psychology helped. Magic would help more. Baxter would just research it on his own and find a way to fix it.

But if Tapendra could give him some advice in the mean time in relation to controlling it a little- then the Ravenclaw would certainly accept it. "So what can I do, then?" Baxter asked. "How do you stop hormones? Or fast forward through it? Maybe I could get a time turner."

"It depends on your body, Baxter," Tapendra said, keeping his tone calm, warm. "I meant your voice cracking for 7th year. The ah...other changes should more or less be under control in about 2 or 3 years. You're likely to get a lot of growth spurts, though, even after school." His own hadn't stopped til he was around 19; but then, he'd also gained a rather large amount of height. He'd been shorter than many of his friends in First, Second and Third year, and then...

"Honestly, you really can't stop them, Baxter - and it may not be that bad," he said. "It's not really anything to be overly embarrassed about; all of your classmates will be going through the same thing," he added, though he was aware that didn't really help.

"Time turner wouldn't work - you'd have to age up to 18 naturally and then go back," he said absently, unable to stop himself from pointing out the logic behind that. "So it wouldn't really fix much unless you hid in a hole for years..." Anyway.

He cleared his throat, trying to figure out how to ask the next question, and finally giving up and just asking it. "Have you been having any other changes? Other than height."

"Well- they should make a time turner that sends you forward in time, then," Baxter said with a nod. Maybe that was something he'd write to the ministry about. He wasn't sure how time turners worked, but going forward in time couldn't be hard if you could go back in time, could it? Baxter would research it on his own time. That wasn't what this conversation was about.

And if he had thought things were awkward already- they got worse when Tapendra asked whether or not other things were changing. A lot of things were changing, but it wasn't the sort of thing that he wanted to talk to Tappy about. "Not really- nothing I can't figure out on my own, anyway," he added. Summer couldn't come soon enough. He'd rather his dad and his step dad deal with these things. But at least someone was here to talk to. And at least he wasn't just talking to some random adult like he was sure a lot of students had to do. He knew Tappy, had for a while, which made things easier.

"I'll just be glad when it's over," he said. "I hate going through this. It's like nobody else in my year squawks like I do. Just randomly in the middle of a sentence I start sounding like a parrot." Baxter frowned. "I've just been not talking in class. The kids snicker at me. I hate being laughed at."

Tapendra realized he didn't know if Time Turners could go forward in time, and privately felt incredibly stupid. He made a mental note to write to Francis and ask; best not to be caught on that one. He wasn't expected to know everything, but that was in his field, more or less.

Oh thank god, he thought as Baxter told him no. Neither of them wanted to have that conversation, and he didn't have anyone to shove the boy off towards  - though the thought of sending Baxter to Tulojow was a little amusing, but he wasn't about to do that.

Speaking of Tulojow...

"Madam Nadge may be able to help you with the parrot speak," he said, stroking his beard and grinning at the description. "We didn't have any sort of potion when I was your age, but if they've since invented one, she would know. But - I don't think you'll be alone in the voice cracking for long, Baxter. Your year and the next is when it'll hit you and your classmates full-force, so..." He sighed, and smiled, giving Baxter a kind of hopelessly reassuring look.  "You'll be able to laugh back at them soon enough."

Baxter smiled faintly. He was glad that he wouldn't be alone in this for too long. He just hoped that if he went to talk to Madam Nadge that she might have something. Even if it only helped to make it happen less often, Baxter would be thankful for that much. "I'll visit her and ask. The worst she can do is tell me no, right?" he chuckled.

"Can I ask you something else, though?" he started tentatively. "It's not like, awkward or anything I don't think. It's just about... girls. I don't know how to ask my dad about it. Between me and you, I don't think my dad really knows anything girls. Because... well... my mom and stuff." Baxter figured his dad must be the worst boyfriend ever. He didn't want to be like his dad if he ever had a romantic life, but he also didn't want to take his mom's advice and end up being a pansy.

"I can ask someone else, if you want," he quickly offered. "One of the older boys or something."

He tilted his head to the side, a slight smile on his face. "Ackerly might not be the best to ask about girls, no. He's a bit...well. Relationships aren't Ackerly's thing - not that you didn't know that..." To put it lightly. He swallowed - if it wasn't awkward, it probably wasn't about se-that, so it would be okay. Possibly.

He nodded anyway, unease decently well hidden. "I can't guarantee I know the answer, but go ahead," he said with a soft smile. "The older boys likely have a bit of a different angle on it, though," he added, a hint of caution in his voice. "But nevertheless....what's your question?"

"I don't know how to put it," Baxter said. "I'm fourteen in the summer- you know that. And... well..." he trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck again- a habit he had picked up from his father. Ackerly always did that when he didn't know what to say or really didn't want to talk about something.

"I've never really been interested in girls before," he said. "I never had time. I take all the electives and I like to do wizard's chess and sometimes I come to Astronomy club. But... there is this fourth year girl that I think is pretty. And it's weird," Baxter confessed. "I never really thought of a girl as pretty before. But when I told one of my friends that I thought she was pretty- they told me it was stupid to think that, because she's fat."

"I don't think she's fat," Baxter said. "I think she just looks normal. But I don't know what to do about it. She's older than me- and I don't know much about her, other than how she looks. So I'm not sure if I should just... ignore it, or not... That's all." He fidgeted in his seat. Maybe this was a little awkward.

Tapendra smiled warmly, assured. He visibly relaxed.

"Hah, good to see you're still you," he said with a laugh. "Don't listen to anyone who tells you a normal looking girl is fat," he added, as someone who definitely preferred...well. Skinny girls didn't get his attention, much.

He stroked his beard, thinking. "I suppose my question would be: What do you want to do about it? Is it a passing crush, based only on looks, or do you actually want to get to know her better?" Tapendra glanced out the large window for a moment. "At your age a lot of girls are going to start being pretty - don't be surprised if the girls in your own year start to look pretty here soon, too."

Baxter relaxed when he saw Tapendra smile. He smiled back. "Guys can be pretty stupid," he said. "At least, that's what I've always heard girls say. I don't think there is anything wrong with girls who aren't skinny," Baxter said to Tappy. "My mom and dad both always told me that looks shouldn't matter as much as personality. I think that's actually true."

Then Tapendra asked him what he thought about the girl. Baxter shrugged. "I don't know. I've never... really thought about it before. Girls, I mean. Well, I guess, I've kind of thought about it but didn't really care. I mean- the girls in my year are pretty insane. There's not much to choose from."

"But I don't know how to get to know anyone. I'm smart, but only if I can learn it from a book. I'm not great with people or socializing. In case you haven't noticed, Tapendra, I don't exactly have friends."

"Good," he said, feeling oddly proud of the young boy. "Keep that in mind and you'll have a better shot at happiness than half of your classmates."

His smile twisted - and then he laughed. "Sadly...that's true. The third year girls are a little... eclectic, aren't they?" He shook his head; the same ones among them were few and far between. Admittedly, the boys weren't much better, in many ways...

"What about Knight?" he asked, surprised; he'd known Baxter was a little standoffish, but...Tapendra felt bad, now - he should have noticed, should have worried. "You really don't...?" He trailed off, a bit lost on what to do.

Baxter shrugged. "Blake and I get on okay. I mean- we share a room, we can't really hate each other and be functional. He's nice enough, not a complete buffoon like a lot of other third years. But I mean... I don't really hang out with any of the guys my year. I'm always busy with homework or classes or studying."

"It's alright though," the Ravenclaw reassured Tapendra. "I mean, I don't have time for friends. All five of the electives and standard classes makes for a lot homework and a lot of studying. And in my spare time I'd rather be productive than goof off. I'll never get anywhere in life if I don't work hard now. Hogwarts decides my entire future in the wizarding world. I can't afford to mess around and screw up my grades. I still haven't figured out what I want to do when I get out of here- so I can't drop any classes, because I might need them."

"I don't really notice. I mean, if I need someone to study with or work on classes then there is always someone around to work with. That's all I need, really. I can work on professional relationships when I graduate so that I can be successful." He was truly Ackerly's son.