musical mood: champagne problems- taylor swift

Parvati refused to speak to Cass, Cass refused to speak to Henry, and Henry refused to speak to anyone else, likely too embarrassed to show his face around his friends. Well, former friends. Cass couldn't imagine anyone would forgive him anytime soon after the stunt he had pulled.

Several days later, the Ravenclaws were all sat around their table on a Hogsmeade Saturday, chatting away before they left for the village.

"Parvati will come around eventually, Cass." Padma was saying between bites of her waffle. "She's just hurt right now."

"I can't believe Henry would do that." Naia shook her head, corkscrew curls bouncing about as she did. "It's so fucked up."

"I'm sorry again." Cass pursed her lips. "I ruined the sleepover."

"It isn't your fault. It's Henry's." Terry patted her on the shoulder, but it did little to settle her guilt. She'd been the factor that caused the two's split, even if she hadn't meant to.

Had she somehow led Henry on? She'd never viewed him as more than a friend, but maybe she'd somehow sent him mixed signals? She could see how she might've done so with Connor. Was another friendship of hers ruined because of stupid romance? If that was how it was going to be, she might as well stay away from boys all together.

"Fuck you!" A voice screamed, jolting Cass out of her thoughts. Her head shot up, searching for the source of the swearing, when her eyes fell on none other than the Nott brothers, standing in front of the door to the Great Hall. Henry's cheek was still marked from where Cass had hit him, and he was seething with anger. "If you think I'm coming back to that bloody house, you're deluded!"

"If anyone is deluded, it's you! You have to!"

"I don't have to do anything!"

"Well, where do you expect to go, then? The Crouch's kicked you out, and the Patil's surely aren't letting you come back to their place! You aren't wanted anywhere!"

"Fuck you!" Henry repeated with more venom in his tone.

"No, fuck you!" Theodore leaned forward, lunging at his brother to shove him, his hands hitting him square in the chest.

Henry retaliated, shoving him back, harder, causing Theodore to stumble backwards and nearly lose his footing.

Both Cass and Ana stood up at the same time, rushing to the doors to step in between them, to stop this fight before it got any more physical. But by the time they had reached them, Henry's fist had collided with Theodore's cheek.

"Stop, you two, stop!" Ana stepped in between them, shoving them apart with all the strength her little arms could muster. Out of all of Cass's friends, Ana was definitely the smallest, and by her actions now, perhaps the bravest.

Cass grabbed Henry's arms from behind him, pulling him away from his brother, and somehow, the adrenaline she felt improved her strength enough to hold him back from maiming Theodore any further.

"Let go of me, Crouch!" Henry struggled against her grasp.

Theodore, who had stopped trying to fight the moment Cass and Ana got involved, turned to the Great Hall's tables, where nearly every student's eyes were on them. "Well, what are you looking at? Show's over!"

*

The walk to Hogsmeade Village was rather dismal, after the fight in the Great Hall, no one really knew what to say to one another. So everyone kept quiet, except for Naia and Terry, who were, per usual, bickering about Quidditch, using fancy terms Cass didn't understand. Of course, both of them were beyond upset that the Triwizard tournament would be coming in between their matches, since the sport was cancelled this year, but Cass found it to be a blessing.

Instead, she walked in silence with Ana, who was oddly in a bad mood, likely from the events of the morning.

Which was why Cass couldn't have been more relieved at the sound of someone calling her name, and footsteps approaching her.

"Hey, Cedric." She greeted him as he jogged up to her. "Cedric, have you met Ana?"

"I don't believe I have. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too. Er, I'm going to go find Beth." Ana gave Cass a knowing look, and walked away, leaving Cass and Cedric alone.

"She has an interesting accent. Is she from around here?"

"Belarus."

"Bless you."

"How are you?"

"I'm brilliant." Cedric's weight shifted from foot to foot as he stared down at the ground, avoiding her gaze for a moment, as if pondering what to say. "I was just wondering if you wanted to go to the Three Broomsticks with me?"

Cass's breath caught in her throat.

Was he asking her on a date? No, surely not, surely he was just asking her as a friend. They were friends, right? But didn't he have cooler, older, more popular friends to spend his day at Hogsmeade with?

She must've spent too much time pondering this, because Cedric spoke again.

"Is the Three Broomsticks too cool for you? We could do the Hogs Head, if you're too hipster for the popular places."

"What? Sorry! Er, either is fine!"

"The Three Broomsticks it is." He smiled at her, and her heart skipped a beat.

They took their seats near a window, ordering a butterbeer each, and sitting across from each other. Eyes from all over the restaurant were on them - well, more like on Cedric. He was the champion, after all, Cass was just the random girl on a maybe-date with him.

"So, are you prepared for the first task?" Cass asked once the waitress set down their drinks.

Cedric shrugged, taking a sip from his butterbeer. "As prepared as I can get, I imagine."

"Nervous?"

"Yeah, but it's all fun and games. If I worry too much, it takes the fun out of it."

"So you're in it for fun, and not the thousand galleon prize?"

"You're cheeky, you know that?" Cedric smirked, before leaning in, eyebrows raised. "So I heard you and George broke up."

"Yeah, we did." Cass shrugged, trying to look convincing. What did Cedric care if they broke up? Did it disqualify George's win from the Girlfriend Race? Unless...

"Well, are you okay?"

"What, about the breakup?" She blinked, amused by the idea of being heartbroken over George Weasley, of all people. Even if she might have fancied him a little, she'd never allow him to break her heart. "Oh yeah, I'm brilliant."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded.

"Of course. We just decided we're better as friends."

"We? As in, you both decided that?"

"I believe that is the definition of the word we, yes."

Cedric laughed, shaking his head and his brown hair flopping in front of his eyes. "That's good, then. Because I wanted to ask you something."

"Ask away." Cass said, but before Cedric could say anything, she spotted something in the corner of her eye. A figure, walking into the restaurant, head down like he didn't want to be seen, brown eyes flickering around, eventually landing on the two of them. It was her father, someone she'd been meaning to speak to since the school year started, but it wasn't a good idea to talk about certain things within the Hogwarts walls. You never knew who might be listening. But now was her chance. "Actually, hold that thought."

She stood up from their table, pushing her way over to him.

"Father."

"Hello, Cassiopeia." He greeted, and though his eyes were on her, he seemed out of it, like he was looking directly through her. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm with a friend..." She blinked. Was he not aware it was a Hogsmeade weekend? Did the hundreds of students in the village not tip him off? She should be the one asking him why he was here, but she didn't. "May I speak with you?"

"Of course." He said, but didn't move.

"In private."

"Right."

The two exited the Three Broomsticks, Cass nodding at Cedric to indicate that she wouldn't be long, and not to leave. Well, she hoped he got the message, to which he smiled back at her with his stupid handsome grin.

Cass stepped into an alleyway, Bartemius shortly behind her, and when she was sure they were alone, she spoke.

"Barty's still on the loose, isn't he?"

Bartemius nodded slowly, as if fighting an oppressive force telling him not to. Like he was underwater, slow and full of effort.

"Do you know where he is?"

"No."

"He told me he would see me at Hogwarts, in response to a letter I sent you, back in the summer. Is he here, that you know of? Could he have managed to get into the school?"

Bartemius frowned, shaking his head. "No." He repeated. "Hogwarts is practically impossible to break into. He sent you that to scare you. Chances are, he's living in the woods somewhere near Stromness, eating raw squirrels and stalking the Moore's again. What other plans could he have?"

"That's what I thought. He wouldn't risk his capture."

"And you won't risk it either. You don't plan on telling anyone, do you?" Bartemius's voice didn't sound like his own, as he spoke. It was hard to describe, like his lips were being moved by someone else, like someone was in his mind, poking around and telling him what to say.

Cass shook her head. She was just being paranoid.

"If I did, I would've already. I have no intention of sending you to Azkaban. Or myself, for that matter."

"What about Azkaban?" A gruff voice interrupted their conversation, causing Cass to jump. But it was just Moody, leaning up against his walking stick, his mad eye darting between her and Bartemius.

"Nothing." She said swiftly. "Just talking about Sirius Black."

"Is that so?"

"It is."

Moody didn't seem convinced, but chose not to press the matter any further, instead turning to face Bartemius. "Crouch, I've been meaning to have a word with you about the tournament."

Bartemius's eyes shifted between Moody and his daughter. "Alright. See you later, Cassiopeia."

*

"What was that about?" Cedric asked when Cass returned, taking a sip out of his butterbeer.

"Sorry." She said as she sat down. "I just needed to have a word with my father."

"Ah, I see. Is everything alright?" His eyes shone with concern.

"Couldn't be better." She lied through her teeth, forcing a grin, though she was genuinely in a rather good mood. Sure, she had a raging maniac brother on the loose, and her father seemed completely out of it (probably from the stress), but she was alone with Cedric, and it was hard to be in a bad mood with that.

"So, as I was saying-"

"Cassie!"

Whatever Cedric wanted to say, Cass would never know, because in rushed George Weasley, brown eyes wide and red hair sticking all over the place. He approached their table with urgency, his pace brisk and nearly knocking over one of the waitresses in the process. "I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"What do you want?"

"Er, do you know how to deal with a drunk person?"

"I'm sorry, what?" She blinked, as Cedric let out a laugh.

"Who got drunk this time, Pucey?"

"If Pucey was drunk we'd probably just shove him off a cliff. I doubt Cassie would approve of that, though" George shrugged, as if he was discussing the weather, and Cass hit her forehead with her hand in a facepalm. "No, Nott is drunk off his arse and keeps saying her name, among other gibberish. Fred is with him right now."

"I can assume you don't mean Theodore." Cass sighed, standing up. The last thing she wanted to do with her time at Hogsmeade was deal with a drunk Henry, but what else could she do? She was furious with him, but he was still her friend, at the end of the day.

Cedric stood up too, to Cass's surprise, and followed her and George out of the restaurant and into the village streets.

"What are you doing?" George eyed Cedric up and down.

"Er...helping?" He frowned.

It didn't take long to find Henry and Fred, sat at a park bench near the Hog's Head, turning passerby's heads at the sight of them. Henry was practically on top of poor Fred, who was trying to keep the boy upright by wrapping an arm around his shoulders, Henry's head flopping back and forth from Fred's shoulder to the back of the bench, and from a distance, they looked like a gay couple.

The moment Cass approached them, Henry perked up, his eyes jumping to meet hers, though they reminded her of her fathers - staring through her, rather than at her.

"Heyyy, Crouch."

Then, he leaned over and threw up on her feet.

"What the fuck?!" She stumbled back, gagging.

Cedric turned to Fred, as Cass waved her wand and the vomit disappeared as quick as it had shown up. "How did this happen?!"

"I don't know! We were drinking firewhiskey - we all drank about the same amount, him maybe a little more, but not much, then he went to the bathroom, and when he came back, all of a sudden he's stumbling over his own feet, so pissed he can hardly talk. So we brought him outside, nearly killing me in the process by crushing me, may I add, then George figured if anyone could help, it's you."

"Why, because I'm the expert in drunkenness?" She rolled her eyes, observing Henry. He was drunk, that was for sure, but something seemed a bit off. How had he got this way when he'd been drinking the same amount as George and Fred, who were only a bit tipsy? She highly doubted Henry was a lightweight, but then again, what did she know about drinking?

Cedric seemed to also be curious to the nature of Henry's drunkenness, as he leaned in, kneeling down and grabbing Henry's chin from off of Fred's shoulder, pushing his face from side to side like a doctor might.

"Be careful, Pretty Boy, he might throw up on you." George observed.

"He's been hexed." Cedric confirmed, standing up.

"Hexed?" Cass, George and Fred all said at once.

"I'd say the confundus charm. It goes pretty awful with alcohol." Cedric stepped away from Henry before he could vomit again, but kept a hand on his head. "We should take him back to the castle, bring him to Madam Pomfrey. People under the confundus charm shouldn't be left alone."

Henry was hoisted onto his feet by Fred and Cedric, mumbling something along the lines of "Crouch...sounds like crotch...", while Cass and George observed, neither one wanting to risk being thrown up on. Both his arms were outstretched for the two to hold him up, and the five began to make their way back to the castle. The sight must have truly been an odd one, as many heads turned to stare as they stumbled through fall weather, leaves crunching under their feet.

"Who do you reckon hexed him?" Cedric asked, his voice strained from the effort of keeping Henry's body upright. He wasn't fat by any means, but quite tall, and Cass could only imagine how heavy he weighed - considering Fred was doing little to help, and George and Cass nothing at all. She'd offered to try a weightlessness charm, but she hadn't mastered it yet, and it could go terribly wrong if done incorrectly. They didn't want Henry floating away, after all.

"Maybe his brother?" George offered. "They didn't seem to be in a great state during breakfast."

"I doubt Theodore even knows the confundus charm." Cass shook her head. The fight that morning had seemingly been Henry's fault in the first place, though of course, she didn't know all the details of the Nott family dynamics. "Maybe Parvati. She's still awfully pissed about the breakup. Goodness knows why, she can certainly do better than Henry."

Henry let out a moan, seemingly objecting to that.

"Oh, shut it, everyone knows it's true." Cass was tempted to smack the back of his head, but figured that was a bad idea to do to someone both hexed and drunk.

"Why'd they break up in the first place?" George asked.

"He's a douchebag, that's why." Cass glared at Henry as she spoke. "A really big douchebag."

*

It was dark outside by the time they got Henry to the Hospital Wing, and Fred and Cedric were both exhausted from the effort of dragging the boy miles through the chilly weather.

Pomfrey had all sorts of questions, of course, and they were honest with her about not knowing what had happened.

"Students being hexed out of nowhere...I truly don't get paid enough for this." She was muttering under her breath as the four functioning students stood and watched. Henry was sprawled on one of the beds, having fallen asleep the moment his head hit the pillow, gentle snores escaping his slightly parted lips. He looked so peaceful, like that, it was hard to imagine being furious with him as Cass had been.

"You children may go now, it's nearly curfew. Thank you for bringing Mr. Nott here. He should be back in shape in no time."

"Thanks, Madam Pomfrey." Cedric gave the healer a bright smile, as the three boys turned to exit.

Not Cass though, she was glued in place, staring at her unconscious friend. Sure, she had good enough reason to be mad at him, he'd been the second kiss of hers to be completely ruined, and he'd hurt her friend terribly, but he didn't deserve to be hexed. She shouldn't have hit him, either, she could only imagine how that would have triggered past memories with his father.

"You coming, Cassie?" George called out when she didn't budge.

She shook her head. "Madam Pomfrey, would it be okay if I stayed here with him? Just for a bit."

The healer looked wary of this, biting down on her lip and eyeing Cass sternly. "Fine. But don't expect much from him, he's out cold."

*

When Cass' last name had been called out, softly, like a gentle breeze, she thought she had been dreaming. It was early in the morning, perhaps three or four, and she'd been dozing in and out of sleep on the chair she'd been sat on all night. Pomfrey didn't seem to care that she hadn't left - she'd likely given up long ago on separating students from their friends.

"Crouch." The wispy voice said once again, and this time she was sure she hadn't been dreaming.

"Henry?" She sat up, looking down at him.

He was barely awake, eyes fluttering between opened and closed. He seemed to be using all the effort he had to speak.

"I'm sorry." Henry muttered.

"You should apologise to Parvati, not to me." She shook her head, reaching out a hand to stroke his hair, like a mother might to a sick child. His forehead was warm, and she wondered if he had a fever. Could that be a side effect of the confundus charm, or was it unrelated? "But it's okay. I forgive you."

Henry's lips curled up into a soft grin.

"I'm sorry too." She continued. "I shouldn't have hit you."

"It's okay."

"No it isn't."

"I shouldn't have kissed you. We're even."

"If you're sure." Cass continued to stroke his forehead. "Do you know what happened? We think someone jinxed you."

He shook his head. "I was at that pub with the Weasley's, drinking firewhiskey. Last thing I remember, I was getting up to go piss."

"And you don't remember anyone lurking about, anyone that shouldn't have been there?"

Another shake of the head, this time more gentle, as his eyes fluttered closed again. "Nope. I can't remember a thing."

"Are you sure?" She asked, but to no avail. He was already fast asleep.

*

Three schools were crowded into the arena's stands, face to face with a dragon. Not that the dragon would hurt them - Dumbledore assured them that the dragon's only goal was to protect the golden eggs laid out in the arena, but it was unnerving nonetheless.

"You reckon the dragon will eat Pretty Boy?" George elbowed her. She instantly regretted her choice to sit with the Weasley twins and Henry - even if Parvati was still furious with her, it couldn't be as bad as the near constant jokes about Cedric's demise.

"That's not funny."

"Sure it is. Think about it - he won't be very much of a Pretty Boy without his face. I should go find your prophetess friend Patil, see who she thinks is going to win."

Henry shifted awkwardly at the mention of the Patil twins, avoiding Cass's eye.

Cass wanted to say that she wasn't sure if Padma would talk to her, considering even their relationship was rocky, but she didn't. "I will leave. I'll sit with Malfoy, if I have to."

"Yeah, come on, lay off Diggory for a moment, Weasley. Don't you see how it's upsetting Crouch? How will she manage if her lover boy died?" Henry patted her on the shoulder, and she shrugged his hand off.

"I should never have become your friend."

"You know you love me."

She rolled her eyes, but before she could say anything, the first task began, Cedric going first. Cass watched in horror as the dragon flew around, spouting bits of flames directly at him, missing him by inches every time.

"You can't curse a dragon!" Cass screamed out when Cedric pulled out his wand, aiming it near the massive creature, but her advice was drowned out by the shouts of the crowd.

"Merlin, Crouch, we get that you fancy him but could you be quiet? You're going to blow my eardrum out!"

Luckily, Cedric had no intentions of cursing the beast, instead transforming a nearby rock into a dog, distracting the dragon for a moment, while he rushed in to grab the golden egg. Unfortunately, it didn't work for as long as he needed, as the dragon sent a jet of flames directly at him, hitting him square in the face.

"Oh my God!" Cass shot up onto her feet as the crowd shrieked, though she covered her eyes with her hands, terrified to look. "Is he okay?!"

"Don't worry, your Pretty Boy is fine. He just got the egg, now he's with Pomfrey." George said.

"Oh thank goodness." Cass let out a sigh of relief, uncovering her eyes and setting her hands back down at her side. "Poor Cedric, I should go see if he's alright..."

"Too late." Henry pursed his lips.

"What?"

"Look." He pointed to the tent where Cedric's face was badly burned. But that wasn't what she was pointing out - Cho Chang was daintily holding his hand as Madam Pomfrey attempted to cure him, patting the back of his head, and oh, wasn't that just a knife to the heart.

Cass practically fell back down in her seat, just as Fleur Delacour stepped out and began her task. But Cass could hardly pay attention as the beautiful French girl cast a sleeping charm on the dragon, and somehow managed to catch her skirt on fire. This seemed to get all the boys' attention, and some of the girls as well, but Cass's eyes remained glued on Cedric and Cho.

"Aw, don't sulk, Cassie." George patted her on the shoulder. "You can do better than Pretty Boy anyways."

"Would you stop calling him that?"

"No, I don't think I will."

She rolled her dark brown eyes, hoping her heartbreak wasn't showing as bad as she felt it. Did he like Cho? Were they dating?

"She's a bitch, anyways." Henry said, noticing her gaze on the two, and trying to cheer her up. Not that he could do much, and randomly calling Cho a bitch wasn't helpful.

"No she isn't." Cass shook her head. "She's a really good person."

"Maybe they're just friends." Fred offered.

"They're holding hands." George said, crossing his arms as he observed the two.

"Friends can hold hands." Henry's voice wavered uncertainly.

"Don't worry about it, guys." Cass forced a smile, as Fleur exited the arena, having got the egg, and Krum stepping forward for his turn.

*

"We need a new prank idea, and fast." George was saying as they gathered around their typical table in the kitchens. There was a new house elf called Dobby, who wore socks on his ears and served them butterbeer, and this time, Cass drank hers without a single worry in her mind. Being poisoned was perhaps the last thing on her mind, between her brother, and now Cedric's maybe-girlfriend Cho. One was certainly more important than the other, but Cass found the second hurting much more. Perhaps it was the freshness of it all, but no matter.

"Another prank? Already?" Cass ran a hand through her hair, exasperated.

"What do you mean already? You haven't participated in a single one of ours so far this year. We've had to resort to asking Dahlia to help us."

"Oh, and what a tragedy that is." She wanted to point out that she'd been fake dating him, which was technically a prank, but Fred was likely unaware of that, and didn't want to upset George by informing his twin. "I really don't have time for a prank, and nor do you, actually. We still need to finish out assignment for Snape, and I have a massive History of Magic essay due-"

"Bloody hell Cassie, could you please stop being such a Ravenclaw for five minutes?" George cut her off, rolling his eyes.

"School is important, whether you like it or not!"

"Whatever you say." He patted her on the head, and she swatted at his hand. "So anyways, Freddie and I were thinking, we ought to get back at the Hufflepuffs for how they treated Harry."

"They weren't that bad." Cass said, though her voice wavered. "They only made a few badges..."

"And exiled him from all his friends. Seriously, Cedric is perhaps the only one that was actually nice to him, which is ironic."

"Fair enough. So, what, are you going to have me brew a couple hundred love potions to drug all the Hufflepuffs? Because that's not happening."

"Actually, this has less to do with your potioneering skills and more with your reputation." Fred spoke, his lips curled into a smirk.

"My reputation? I wasn't aware I had one."

George flashed her a grin. "People know you're pals with Pretty Boy. So it wouldn't be out of place to see you lurking in the Hufflepuff common rooms. Of course, we'd still want to do it at a time where there will be minimal people around."

"Me what?!" She gaped. "Please don't tell me that you want me to break into the Hufflepuff common rooms!"

"Well, we'll help you, of course. Fred and I made these candies over the summer, see, they make your tongues grow to massive sizes." George held out a pink coloured toffee in between his fingers, twirling it around. "And you know that muggle story, right, where the kid lies and his tongue grows? Well, it'll be symbolic of their lies about Harry."

"It's his nose, actually, that grows."

"Same thing."

"It really isn't."

"Whatever." George waved a hand dismissively. "We're going to break into the common rooms, and leave these candies around. These are the slow acting kind, so it'll take an hour or so for them to kick in, so hopefully, these Hufflepuffs will be in the middle of class when bam, their tongues grow to an impossible size! If they're with Snape, maybe he'll give them detentions."

"That's cruel." Cass shook her head, though a smile was slipping onto her lips. "How do you expect to get into the common rooms, anyways? I doubt you know the password, and I don't know any Hufflepuffs that would be willing to aid in a prank on their entire house. Isn't their whole thing being loyal, after all?"

"That and finding stuff." Fred commented.

"Well, we know where it is, and there's a cupboard right outside. We wait in the cupboard for a Hufflepuff student to say the password, then sneak in and plant the candies. No one will suspect a thing if you go in there, Cassie, because you're not a known troublemaker. It'll go brilliantly."

"Sure it will." She rolled her eyes. "You do realise, for most of the Hufflepuffs to be out of the common room, we'd have to do it during a class, right?"

"Yes, and?"

"And, I don't fancy skiving, George!"

"Goody-goody."

"I'm not a goody-goody, I'm just not completely reckless like you two! Do it without me."

"But if we sneak in, they'll know something's off. You'd draw absolutely no negative attention."

"Get Dahlia to do it."

"She'd be just as suspicious, a Slytherin roaming around the Hufflepuffs."

"We could do it at night." Fred offered, and Cass opened her mouth to respond, before realising that it wasn't a completely terrible idea. "If we do it late at night, most of the Hufflepuffs would be asleep. You know how they are about staying up past their bedtime."

George snorted. "That's actually a pretty good idea, Freddie. We could get into the cupboard around nine, wait until a lone Hufflepuff says the password, then have Cassie hop inside shortly after to disperse the candies!"

"How is it you even know where their common room is?"

"That's a secret for us to know, and you to find out. Someday. Maybe."

Cass raised her eyebrows. "Okay...and do we all have to be in the cupboard together? That sounds cramped."

"Of course we do! Teamwork! Besides, if anyone somehow catches us we can say we've been snogging."

"We? As in, the three of us? I know you two like to share, but I think that's a bit far."

"She has a point." Fred frowned, as Cass nearly gagged at the idea of doing anything related to snogging with Fred. "Angelina would kill me too, of course. How about just you two do it? I've been meaning to sneak off to Hogsmeade with her anyways, for a date."

"Sneak off to Hogsmeade? How?"

"Yet another one of the many secrets of ours." George winked.

"You're ridiculous." Cass rolled her eyes.

"And you're pretending to not be blushing at the idea of us being alone in a closet together."

"Why would I blush over that? It wouldn't be the first time." She responded, referring to her second year, with the failed Ass Tonic prank. Of course, things had changed since then. She hadn't been blushing, but now that he brought it up, she had to close her eyes for a moment and take a deep breath to keep her cool.