Later in the evening after the first clue the girls gathered in the Room of Requirement.
"I haven't worked out yet how I'm going to pay Harry back for the ribbing he gave me last week. Any ideas?" Hermione asked.
"We could work our next clue into it. Something feminine. Considering what we are punishing him for, I say we give him a period."
"Pansy we can't do that. Not physically. But we could do it in effect. Give him the sensation of it." You could almost see the light bulb going on above Ginny's head. "We make him feel he's got a period. The PMS, cramps, bleeding, bloating, huge appetite, the works."
"No we need something else. Something else that's feminine and payback."
Someone knocked on the door as she spoke. Ginny went to answer it. It was McGonagall.
"I thought you might want a few tips. May I come in?"
Ginny stood back and let her in.
"How did you know we'd be here, professor?" Hermione asked.
"My dear, because I myself used this room as a hide out when I was planning pranks to play against the marauders when we were at school together. I had help from some surprising friends. Lily Evans, who later became Lily Potter; and Severus Snape. When we were in seventh year the usual prank war ensued. Everyone was in danger from the marauders because they were such infamous pranksters. A small group of us decided to turn the tables on them. We blended the houses together and came up with some brilliant pranks for the insufferable Sirius Black and James Potter. Even Remus Lupin joined in after I hid a dead fish under his bed so it stank to high heaven and him with it. What makes it funnier was that at the time he was trying to win the affections of a certain young lady and after I pulled my little prank she would have nothing more to do with him because he smelled too bad. I think I may be able to help your cause. I also need some help. Severus is becoming very cheeky about my time of the month and I want to teach him a lesson. There's a book in the library which surprisingly can only be read by women. It seems like some students at Hogwarts in the past also had trouble from childish boys and so they devised some rather brilliant pranks that we will, of course, have to bring up to date. Later I'll go and find it again." McGonagall smiled in triumph.
The next morning the boys got the second clue.
So, you got our first message
Good. They will keep coming until you work it out.
You scorned us for our trouble
And now we want revenge
So now you'll get double
A pin prick was what you called it
A bitch was what you called us
The tables are now turned
And it is you who is the bitch
And in our experience tiny pin pricks too!
The boys stared at each other. Who had they offended recently…apart from each other? Well there was the monthly ribbing of the girls for their feminine problems…but they had already agreed that the girls wouldn't do that to them.
They sat out by the lake when the message came, written out of them on the lawn in pale pink blossoms of flowering spring trees. Suddenly Draco doubled up in pain.
"Ow! My stomach is cramping like mad." He moaned, rubbing his belly.
The twins then had to rush into the quidditch changing rooms because blood was on the crotch area of their trousers.
Harry got a blistering headache that was so surprisingly sudden that he was amazed as to how he got it.
"Ron, do you feel alright?" he asked cautiously.
"I feel bloated and sick. Why? Wait, do you realise you have a lot more spots than usual?"
Harry paled and moved towards the lake to see his reflection. A moment later Draco joined him and so did the twins. All of them had been struck by the dreaded acne. Ron had too, but he had so many spots anyway that no one noticed a few extra ones.
They saw the girls approaching from various angles and tried to hide their faces as they got nearer.
"Hi guys!" all the girls said together.
"Bugger off!" the boys shouted and then clamped their hands over their mouths as though they had not meant to say that.
The girls sniggered. The boys cringed as the pain intensified for each one. They all had stomach cramps now.
"If you weren't guys I'd say you have a touch of PMS." Alicia said smirking.
"Anyway, we're off to see Hagrid. Want to come?" Hermione asked courteously.
The boys cringed and went to lie down. The girls waited till they were out of earshot before cheering and high fiving each other. Operation Period was complete. Yes it was cruel but the boys deserved it. All of the girls had suffered month after month from the boys and when you feel as rough as you generally do when you are menstruating you really don't need bother from gloating boys. It felt good to turn the tables on them for once.