Breakfast was Kelsey's favourite meal of the day. Not because it was the most important one. Oh no. But because it was the only time of the day she got to stuff herself with chocolate-flavoured buttery croissants.

Kelsey picked up her pumpkin juice to add further zing to her meal and was about to take a sip when she thought she felt something hit the back of her head. Reaching a hand behind her head, she felt for a disgusting ball of clumped up cereal and removed it.

"Black!" she yelled and turned around to glare at them at the Gryffindor table.

"Oops," Sirius Black said with a shrug. But he clearly didn't mean it. There was something off about his tone, but she did not want to spend too much time thinking about it. She couldn't believe that this was his pathetic attempt to get back at her.

Lumpy cereal in the hair? Really? Maybe he was losing his touch.

She drank the juice.

Opposite her, Kelsey saw Astrid glance shyly at Remus over at the Gryffindor table. The three boys minus Peter were currently bunched together and talking in low whispers, looking rather solemn.

A few moments later, Lily approached them and said something to Potter. The Head Boy got up and followed her out of the hall. Looking back at Black, Kelsey couldn't believe her eyes as Peter Pettigrew was suddenly right beside the other two.

Where did he come from?

"What do you think they do huddled like that all the time?" Astrid wondered.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Kelsey teased. But something didn't sound right. Her voice came out a little lower than normal.

"Uh Kelsey," Astrid looked at her a little worried.

"Yeah?" her voice came out a little rougher than usual once again. Was she coming down with something?

Kelsey crossed her eyebrows and cleared her throat a little more aggressively.

"Check- check. Mic check. 1-2-3," she tested it the Muggle way, earning some bewildered looks.

"What happened to your voice?" Astrid whispered leaning over.

"Thanks for noticing, that's exactly what I'm trying to figure out!" Kelsey snapped a lot more hoarse now.

"I just asked!"

"Concern noted," Kelsey panicked.

"What the fudge!" she got up hastily and felt her throat. A strange blob by her voice box.

What in the name of Helga was that?

"You sound like a boy!"

"Yes! I can hear myself!"

"Oh my Gosh stop speaking you're creeping me out!" Astrid backed away opposite her, looking a little horrified.

"Astrid!" Kelsey groaned.

"Don't say my name like that, you perv!" Astrid covered her chest in modesty.

"Mornin' ladies!" The cheerful sound of the boy also known as He Who Is Walking Satan made itself known next to them this Monday morning, week two of their seventh year.

"What?!" Kelsey barked.

"Blimey Kelps. That's a nasty cold!" Sirius said with a twinkle in his eyes. "Couldn't help but notice you looked a little distressed from our table."

Peter stood next to him snickering away while Lupin rolled his eyes.

Kelsey glowered at him, the pieces coming together. The distraction hitting her on the back of her head; Peter disappearing and reappearing at their table; her juice that she only now realised had tasted very slightly off.

She gasped.

"I heard salt water's good for the sore throat," Remus offered with a straight face. Astrid brought her hand up to her mouth to stifle her laugh.

"What did you do?!" Kelsey asked in her now, fully-developed boy's voice.

"Oh my fudge! I sound like a boy!" She put her hands between her head and sat back down on the table.

"Just a little something called payback Jones," Sirius sat down next to her. He patted her on the shoulder. She turned to glare at him.

"Don't worry, it'll wear off," he said. "Eventually."

Before Kelsey could grab him, he was up and off, dragging Remus by the collar with Peter on their heels.

"Chop chop Jones. You know how Slughorn hates latecomers!" His cry echoed through the hall earning a few looks at an enraged Kelsey.

"Watch your back, Pettigrew! You're on my shit list!" Kelsey called back as their robes disappeared outside the door. She could hear laughter around her and students pointing at her new voice.

"You don't think she meant that, do you?" Pettigrew asked, sounding a little scared. He stopped outside the Great Hall to give his two friends a worried look.

"Don't worry Wormtail." Sirius brought the smaller boy in a headlock and ruffled his hair. "Padfoot and Moony got your back."

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"This is quite the pickle," Poppy Pomfrey examined Kelsey's newly formed Adam's Apple and asked her to speak a few lines, testing the new voice. "Why don't you head on to class dear, while I pull up a few potions and we can get this sorted by the end of the day?" The nurse offered her a smile.

"But I can't go like this!" Kelsey insisted.

"Oh my! That is certainly loud," Poppy winced at the roughness of her voice.

"Fix it!" she demanded.

"Young lady, that is no way to talk to your elders!" the nurse wagged her finger at her.

"Please?" Kelsey said trying to appear timid.

Madame Pomfrey sighed.

"It was something they added to your pumpkin juice, you said?" she questioned. Kelsey nodded. She wanted to speak as little as possible.

"You can stay here until lunch. I'll do some quick browsing through the catalogs to see if we have an antidote or remedy to it. But after that I'm afraid you'll need to return to classes," she said gently patting her hand.

"Those boys are more trouble than they're worth. Should be increasing my pay from all the injuries and mishaps I've dealt with from their antics alone," the nurse grumbled and got up, heading to her office at the back.

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"Hey, Lily!" Kelsey called out when she saw Lily Evans walking down the corridor ahead of her. It was just after dinner.

Kelsey had managed to avoid her morning classes by hiding out in the Hospital Wing. As the day progressed it only got worse. She had missed Potions and Muggle Studies. Defence Against the Dark Arts had been nothing short of torture. Thankfully since they were still reviewing previous materials for the NEWTs, she got away without having to speak.

But she hadn't spoken up no matter how much Black and Potter taunted her. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction. At least the coast was clear for now.

"Oh no. That's really bad. Are you alright?" Lily looked at her concerned. Kelsey had refused to speak even to Mary and Marlene during lunch, hiding away in the common room instead.

"I have to visit Madame Pomfrey after breakfast again tomorrow," Kelsey mumbled. Lily was sweet. She would never make fun of her. "He didn't even say how long it would last," she whined.

"You'd think with the NEWTs, they would be more focused on studying but nooo. Stupid Potter with his stupid pranks!" Lily chattered.

"I didn't say anything about Potter," Kelsey pointed out.

"Oh. Right. Force of habit," Lily had the decency to blush.

"You know, the girls keep telling us, we're obsessed with those two dorks. They're wrong! We're the victims here!" Kelsey announced.

"They are wrong!" Lily agreed enthusiastically.

"You get me Lils," Kelsey said with a playful wink.

"Hey-you want to check out that new muggle store opening in Hogsmeade next month?" Kelsey asked, remembering her original purpose for stopping her. The other three wouldn't be interested and would only grumble the whole time.

"Ooh yes! Please!" Lily was thrilled.

"It's a date!"

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Sirius Black was lying on his back in their dorm room, trying to read his Transfiguration notes to practice some translation charm but he was failing. Miserably. Remus was out on patrol and once again Wormtail was off doing who knows what. He had just called it a night when James came running in, red in the face, cloak under his hands, and he stood right in front of his bed heaving.

"I found him!" Prongs rasped.

"Found who?"

"The bloke who dared snog my Lilypad!"

"How?"

"I heard him ask Lily out to Hogsmeade this week!" James sounded too excited for someone who had found out that the love of his life had agreed to go on a date with another boy.

"Wicked. What house is he in? Reckon we could slip in some pustule potions before breakfast that morning."

"Didn't-get-a-look," James put his hands on his knees still catching his breath. He grabbed some water from his side table. "I hid 'round a corner. But I heard them alright. They're checking out some muggle shop on the first trip of the year," he said.

"You had one job Prongs!"

"I have a better idea. All we have to do is follow them. Maybe carry that pustule potion anyway and slip it if they go into the pub," James said. Sirius was satisfied with the plan.

"Wait. How do you know it's the same bloke?" Sirius asked.

"You dare accuse my Lilypad of being an easy woman! Do you really think she would just go off to Hogsmeade with another bloke, after having kissed someone else? She's not you!"

"Hey!" Sirius pretended to be offended. "I'm just saying. That kiss was last year. The other chap could have graduated for all we know."

James stilled. He hadn't thought about it. This meant that Lily would potentially kiss two boys, none of which were him.

Why yes. After much convincing from Sirius last year, James Potter had given in and snogged a few birds here and there- mostly at after-Quidditch parties which Evans never attended. He knew that he was more than a decent snogger. He figured he could use the practice to charm Evans' pants off when the time came. He needed something to work with.

He failed to understand why she didn't give him the time of the day.

Would she ever look at him?

Sirius noticed his best mate's crestfallen look. "Don't worry mate. When he blows that date, you'll come sweeping in to save the day," he said comfortingly.

"By the way, did you hear Jones today?" Sirius asked.

"No! I left right before during breakfast, remember? And then she didn't even speak during the one class we had," James was disappointed. "How did she sound?"

"Bloody brilliant!" Sirius had that post-prank glimmer in his eye.

"Reckon we should tell her, it only lasts for two days?"

"Nah. I like to make her sweat," Sirius chuckled.

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