He had taken a few days to think about what Tapendra had said to him. Baxter knew that there was no way around the cracks in his voice and all the other changes. He had begun to notice that he was gaining weight, and starting to look less lanky and more filled out. It was all part of growing up, he had been assured, and he hoped that after the summer that the worst of it might be over. Even so, Baxter did want to talk to the healer and see if she had any further advice or perhaps some potions to make things a little less awkward to deal with until school was out for the summer.

Baxter got up early that morning and found himself sidling up to the door of the hospital hut shortly after breakfast. He opened the door and peeked in, biting his lip awkwardly. "Madam Nagde?" he called out, shuffling into the hut and shutting the door behind him. He hoped that she wasn't busy. Baxter wasn't sure whether or not she would be busy- and figured he likely should have owled to make an appointment or something- but it was just a simple request. Besides, if she had some emergencies to deal with at the moment he could always come back later.

He looked around, surveying the room. Baxter had actually never been in the hospital hut before- and it did not look how he had expected. Baxter had assumed it would look similar to a medic tent that muggles had- he'd seen those on television before. But this looked nothing like that. Which, he supposed, likely made both the healer and the students who stayed there much more comfortable. The Ravenclaw remained just inside the doorway as he waited for some sort of response- if he didn't get one soon, he could just slip out and come back later.

The swelling would go down in a couple hours.  By dinnertime, the second year Hufflepuff's nose will have regained its usual size, shape and color.  And, would no longer adorn everything the girl said with a loud, untimely honk.  Until then, though, she'd been assured she could hide out in one of the hospital hut's bedroom.  Tulojow left the girl curled up in an easy chair with a mug of cocoa, a fleece blanket and a copy of the most recent book in the Witch and the Spotted Pegasus series. 

The bedroom door clicked shut behind her just as the front door swung open and Baxter stepped inside.  Tulojow immediately gave the young man a quick though thorough once over.  There was no obvious blood, no sign of limping or cringes of pain, his color seemed normal and there was no trace of panic in the boy's expression. 

"Come on in and make yourself comfortable," Tulojow beckoned the young man calmly, once assured this wasn't a critical or emergency visit.  "I've got some fresh cocoa and tea, if you'd like some," she offered.  Regular visitors to the Hospital Hut knew that warm drinks and baked goods were easy to come by at the Hospital Hut. 

Baxter shook his head. "No thank you," was his answer. He didn't want tea or cocoa. He just wanted to come in, ask his questions, and get it over with. To be perfectly honest it was an embarassing subject. It was bad enough to talk it over with Trishna- a man he knew and trusted. It was another thing all together to discuss this with a woman, especially since it was a woman he didn't know well and who wasn't his mother. Then again... discussing this with his mother would be equally awkward.

He did, however, take a few steps forward and find a chair to sit in. Though Baxter was anything but comfortable. "I just wanted to come and ask you a question," he said. "I was talking with Professor Trishna a few days ago and he suggested that I could come and ask you about it... I just wasn't sure about whether or not I wanted to." Well- that certainly wasn't a great way to kick things off, was it?

"Well- to be blunt about it, Madam Nagde, my voice has been cracking a lot because the pitch is changing and I was wondering if you had any potions to make the process less awkward and embarrassing for me. I know the other guys will start having the same problems soon- but it makes me self conscious and I'm worried that it will affect my performance in classes if I'm afraid to speak up." The last half, sadly, was very true. He really was worried about not earning enough points for Ravenclaw and what would happen. "And if there are potions for the rest of the.... biological changes I can expect to happen."

With a nod, Tulojow carefully settled herself in one of the other chairs.  She watched the fire quietly, hoping to alleviate some of the young man's anxiety by diverting her attention to a natural distraction.  He made his way through an explanation for what had brought him there, first, (was it an apology?) and finally provided the real reason for his visit. 

She offered a sympathetic smile before giving the answer she was sure he was hoping not to hear.  "Unfortunately, speeding up time is beyond the abilities of both healing and magic.  What's causing your voice to crack isn't anything medical or magical - it's a matter of relearning how to control your voice now that the shape of your vocal cords have changed.  We haven't found anyway to teach someone to control their magical abilities other than practice and I'm afraid the same is true for your voice." 

Tulojow understood the desire to blend in - she really did.  Unfortunately, there were some things in life that didn't have a simple, quick fix.  Well, perhaps that wasn't entirely true.  "The only way I can think of that would spare you from having your voice crack is to transfigure your vocal cords back to a size and shape you're used to.  Your voice wouldn't crack but it also wouldn't develop." 

"While I can't speed up the process or eliminate the cracking, there are things that will help at least minimize them.  Tea with honey will help - the wetter your vocal cords are, the less likely they are to falter on you.  Also, do you sing?"

Baxter was visibly disappointed. No potions? Nothing that she could offer to help him? What was the point of magical medicine if it had not progressed beyond muggle medicine? Baxter had just always assumed there was a magical solution to everything. That made the most sense, at least it did to Baxter- who always had one foot firmly planted in both worlds.

If practice was what it took, then he would have to find some time to sit and talk to himself, or perhaps read some books aloud. When the healer asked if he sang, Baxter gave her an odd expression. "Do I sing?" he repeated. Logically he understood the reasoning behind the question, but it was just something that nobody had ever asked him before.

"I only sing if I hear a song I know the words to on the wireless- but I'm not particularly good at it." In truth, Baxter was fairly tone deaf. Something he was fully aware of- so he just opted not to sing. The tea with honey was something that was easy to take care of.

"What about throat lozenges?" Baxter asked. "I can't carry tea and honey around with me all day." That would be even more obnoxious than the constant cracking in his voice. And it just wasn't practical. Besides- he'd rather talk about an actual step he could take rather than having someone encourage him to sing. That was just preposterous.

Tulojow smiled warmly at the boy's look of disappointment.  Even in the wizarding world, though, there was no cure all.  Especially when there wasn't anything actually wrong with the person.  As was the case here. 

"Exactly," Tulojow confirmed.  "It doesn't matter how good you are at it.  You don't necessarily need to sing songs.  Singers use a variety of voice exercises to help strengthen their vocal cords and to learn to have more control over their voice.  Your vocal cords are muscles and just like any other, they can be conditioned."  Tulojow lifted her chin slightly and rubbed the front of her throat.  "Those singing exercises can help you learn how to control your voice as it changes.  The more control you have, the less it'll crack on you.  And, the faster your voice will adjust to its new shape." 

Tulojow nodded with a slight grin.  "Yes, taking tea in class would probably be a bit awkward.  And, obvious.  Anything that'll keep your throat moist will help.  A lozenge or just a piece of hard candy."

When she said that if he tried singing that his voice would adjust faster, Baxter smiled lightly. He liked the idea of being able to control it quicker. Maybe he would have to look into voice lessons over the summer. Even if he couldn't sing well, the positive side of the lessons- being that he wouldn't crack as much next year- sounded worth it.

Lozenges would have to work, he supposed. Baxter could owl home for them later. "Thank you, Madam Nagde," he said. "I'll get some lozenges. And maybe find a place nobody can hear me and try to sing or something." It wouldn't be too hard. The place was huge. Maybe somewhere on the grounds or an empty classroom. There were charms to soundproof things- so he could practice his charms, too.

"I'll owl my parents about some lozenges. I appreciate the advice. I was just hoping that there would be some sort of easier solution. Maybe a spell for my throat or something. I figured at the very least there would be a potion." He shrugged gently. "I guess maybe when I get older I'll try to create one. I figure there are a lot of guys who would appreciate me for it."

"Well- I guess I will let you get back to whatever you were doing then," he said. "If I have anymore questions I'll come find you." Baxter gave her an awkward wave before leaving the Hospital Hut to trudge back up to the castle- incredibly disappointed about it all.