The Article

James awoke with a groan. His first night back at Hogwarts had been a restless one, and he'd had multiple dreams that all consisted of a certain redhead. Lily was still playing on his mind, unfortunately, and he mentally scolded himself for being so soft. So what, she hated him- he could overcome that challenge... somehow. And so what if he had competition? He was James Potter- he could easily take this Ravenclaw git. He was sure of it.

Feeling slightly better, he grabbed his glasses, pulled back the bedsheets and looked over at Remus, who was fully dressed, lying on his bed with a book in hand. James squinted at him, the morning light that filled the dormitory making his eyes ache.

"What time is it?" he asked the werewolf, yawning. Sirius was sprawled on his bed in amongst his messy sheets, wearing boxers, and Peter was snoring away, his mouth open as he slept. It was only their first morning back, but the main part of the dorm was already a tip with half unpacked trunks littering the floor and crumpled clothes scattered around. Remus's area, however, was spotless.

"Eleven." replied Remus, smirking. His eyes never left his book; James's, however, widened.

"Eleven?!" he squealed, jumping up. "But we'll be late for-"

"It's Saturday, James." Remus reminded him knowingly, without sparing him a glance. James sat down again, slowly, embarrassed at his reaction. Sirius would have ribbed him for it if he hadn't been unconscious.

"Right." He scratched his head. "Err… I didn't mean to…" Remus only smiled, and James quickly changed the subject. "I'm guessing we missed breakfast?" His stomach rumbled and Remus sighed, placing his book down. He plucked something off his bedroom cabinet and threw the croissant at James, who grinned and caught it easily. He bit into it, suddenly ravenous.

"Moony, you're the best." He nodded towards the other two boys. "Are there any left?"

"There's one for Sirius. I actually managed to wake up Peter, but he passed out again when we got back from the hall. I've never seen a boy eat so many bacon rolls- his eyes were drooping before he even reached the stairs." He grinned, but James pouted.

"And you couldn't have woken up me and Padfoot? They always do the best pancakes on Saturday." Remus rolled his eyes at his friend.

"James, I tried for fifteen minutes. You and Sirius are dead to the world when you sleep. It's like trying to wake up two trolls." He paused, thoughtfully. "Actually, it's like trying to wake up two snoring trolls."

"I do not snore."

"Yes you do, James. Every single night."

"That's a blatant lie!"

"So, you've seen yourself sleeping." Remus rolled his eyes.

"I'd know. And anyway, if anyone does it's-"

"Morning lovebirds." Sirius's sleepy voice floated over to them. He stretched, cracking one eye open. "What's the huff about?"

"Moony said I snore." whined James.

"You do, Prongsie. Very much so..." He trailed off, sniffing the air. "Ooh, I smell food." Remus stared at James with amazement.

"How is it his nose is so good, again?" he wondered.

"He's basically a dog, Moony."

Remus shook his head as he grabbed another croissant and threw it at Sirius. "Thanks Moons." The half-naked boy replied, finishing his breakfast in mere seconds. "Hmm that's good. Now, where are my clothes?"

Remus woke up a drooling Peter as Sirius and James hunted the mess for their clothes. Eventually, after a slight scuffle over whose socks belonged to whom, and Sirius eventually letting James out of the jelly-legs jinx, Remus managed to clean up the dorm using his wand, allowing all the boys to get changed.

Fifteen long minutes later, they arrived in the common room.

Lily looked up as the Marauders entered from the boys' staircase. Potter and Black were laughing, as usual, and shoving each other around whilst Remus watched them fondly. Peter wore a slightly nervous grin, as if scared they were going to start shoving him too.

Remus caught her eye and came over to where she, Darlene, Addie and Marlene sat. He threw a questioning glance at Lily when he spotted Addie slumped in her seat, curled up and fast asleep. Lily smiled and shrugged. It seemed Addie was had slept less than she had.

"Morning." he said, as Marlene cheek's turned pink. Lily noticed his eyes flick over to her as he plopped down in a chair anyway and greeted them cheerfully. Remus wore a warm smile, and his amber eyes were quiet, but kind. He was very tall, the tallest out of the marauders, (though Sirius and James were close second), with long thin legs and a narrow frame, and in some ways, it made him look frailer- with his pale skin and pink lips; long, thin fingers and golden complexion- but his intelligent eyes had always made him seem strong, Lily thought.

"What's Alice up too?" he asked, noticing she wasn't around. Lily rolled her eyes, smiling.

"I think she's off with Frank somewhere. You know what those two are like."

Remus laughed knowingly. "I know well enough from last year." He hesitated. "No Susan or Jo either?"

"No." Darlene grimaced and Remus got the hint. Susa had wandered off to find Jo after an uncomfortable morning- since both of them were giving the rest of the girls the silent treatment. It seemed Susan was sticking firmly on her best friend's side. Darlene, Lily and Marlene were more irritated by the way the two girls were acting than Addie was, but they were all fed up with them.

Marlene prodded the dark-haired girl, who started as she woke up. "Where am I?" she asked sleepily. Her hair was a tangled mess, and faint shadows framed her eyes.

"In the common room." smiled Marlene. "You fell asleep."

"Oh." Addie said, yawning. "Whoops." Her friends laughed, but she stayed quiet. She couldn't get that nightmare out of her mind. The thick branches of the trees swaying in the dark, the sound of a dangerous growl that had ripped through the forest…

"I never got around to asking you- how were your summers?" Remus asked, pulling Addie back to the present.

"Alright. We all went to Venice with Dad's work." said Darlene. "Mum and Dad were up to their usual antics again- they're constantly at each other's throats recently, since all this war crap- but it was a nice holiday." She smiled wistfully. "The canals were amazing."

"I've always wanted to go to Venice." Addie admitted, dreamily. She pushed the nightmare from her thoughts. It was just a stupid dream. Just a very scary, stupid dream. "Since I was a little girl. But, we decided to stay at home this year." This wasn't entirely true. It was her mum who had wanted to stay at home this year- God knows why. Addie had argued with her, saying the girls needed some time away, until her Dad, surprisingly stern, had asked her to drop it… but she didn't want to dredge up her strained relationship with her mother.

"Mine was okay." said Lily, thinking about her summer of dodging Severus and arguing with Petunia. "The best bit was when I stayed at Alice's for a couple of weeks, before she went to the Scilly Isles. You know what my sister's like- It's hard living with someone who hates you." Lily laughed, but it sounded hollow even to her own ears, and Marlene squeezed her hand.

"I'm sure she'll come round." Remus said, softly. Lily smiled, thankful for his effort to make her feel better.

"What about you, Marlene?" he asked, changing the subject.

"I stayed at home, since Dad didn't fancy going away anywhere. But it was good, thanks." She looked up at Remus, and they locked gazes for just a fraction too long. Addie raised her eyebrows, but before anyone could pick them up on it, someone cleared their throat.

Lily looked up to see the remaining Marauders standing above them. Sirius lounged on the arm of Remus's chair and James sat down in the same puffy armchair he had last night, Peter scarpering after him like a puppy dog. Lily groaned, muttering under her breath something about how the day had been 'going well.'

"Morning ladies." drawled Sirius, oblivious to Remus's roll of the eyes. He smirked around at the group in front of him. "And what are we discussing this fine morning?" Lily scowled.

"What's it to you, Black?" she asked snarkily, crossing her arms. Her head was sore from the lack of sleep she'd had last night, and she wasn't in the mood for the marauders antics.

"Can't a man wonder?" His smirk was cocky, playful, and Darlene made an amused noise in the back of her throat.

"What my dear friends mean to say is that we were discussing our summers." smiled Marlene. James grinned and Lily noticed that he avoided her gaze, obviously not wanting to be reminded if their sort-of-argument the night before. For some alien reason, guilt pricked at her chest.

"I bet yours didn't beat mine and Sirius's." he gloated. And the annoyance was back, along with the cockiness in that crooked grin of his.

Sirius eyes lit up with excitement as he nodded, vigorously. "We plotted the greatest pranks of all time, went to three quidditch games and played matches most days with Moony and Wormtail. It was awesome."

They had never seen Sirius happier than when he was talking about his time spent at the Potter and Lily allowed herself a smile- as much as the marauders angered her, she was as relieved as everyone that Sirius had got away from that awful family of his.

"What did you guys do?" Peter asked the girls.

Remus sighed, but his eyes twinkled. "We've already discussed this, Pete. Darlene was in Venice, Alice was in the Scilly Isles, Marlene and Addie were at home, and Lily was hiding from Snape. That about sums it up."

James scowled. "I would have thought Snivellus would have backed off after last year."

"Or at least been busy with death eater meetings." muttered Sirius.

"Sirius." scolded Remus, throwing a worried glance at Lily, who only sighed.

"It's fine, Remus. They can say whatever they like about Severus. I'm not going to stop them."

Sirius' grin widened at the challenge. "Anything?" he asked, rubbing his hands together.

"'Anything' is a dangerous word for Sirius Black." laughed James. "Anyway, I don't want to spend my morning wasting my breath on that slimy git. There are more pressing matters at hand. Have any of you seen Frank today? Sirius and I need to talk quidditch tactics with him- and you two." He nodded at Darlene and Addie, who had been dozing off again. "If we're going to win the quidditch cup this year, we need to start practise almost immediately- I'm setting up trials soon."

Sirius nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah. I think I'll actually die of embarrassment if Ravenclaw win again. I heard that their new seeker-"

But before he could finish, Frank and Alice entered the common room, their cheeks flushed and hair windswept. Both smiled widely at their friends.

"Sorry." said Alice, breathlessly. "We took a walk."

"Ah, a walk." Sirius wriggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Yes Black, a walk." replied Alice, with a roll of her eyes. "Though the word might seem foreign to you." Frank smiled at his girlfriend with admiration, but before he could speak, James butted in.

"Frank- just the person we were looking for. Me and Sirius need to talk to you urgently-" he tugged the mildly confused boy along with his grinning best friend over to the corner table by their shirt sleeves, and signalled for Addie and Darlene to join them, who did so with a sigh. Immediately, they began a serious conversation in hushed whispers. The three victims were soon drawn in.

Alice laughed chirpily and collapsed in one of the puffy arm chairs with a huff. "I have never walked so far in my life. We must have strolled the entire grounds twice over- there was so much to talk about since we couldn't meet up in the summer. Frank was babbling away." She glanced over at him, and the animated way he chatted with James and Sirius and grinned. "Oh, look at them. I don't understand how they can be so fascinated with quidditch."

"It might seem hard to understand." Said Marlene huffily, opening a copy of The Daily Prophet. She was a big fan of the sport herself. "But, it's a very important game."

"Whatever you say." said Alice, glancing over at Lily, who suppressed a giggle. Marlene looked up at them over the paper, and Lily was reminded of a stern McGonagall.

"There's nothing wrong with having a passion for quidditch."

"We never said there was, Mar." smiled Lily.

"You're just so very serious about it." commented Alice. "It seems to be more of an obsession than a passion." Lily rolled her eyes, knowing Alice liked to rile people up.

"Is not." huffed Marlene, scowling. The other girls took one look at each other and burst out laughing at their friends' expression- even Remus chuckled fondly. Marlene was usually the most even-tempered out of them all.

Remus looked about to say something to soothe Marlene's annoyance, until he spotted something on the back page of the girls paper and his eyes hardened. Alice's did the same.

"What?" asked Lily, frowning at her friends expressions. She watched as Alice turned to them, eyes stormy and her lips tight.

"Look." She smacked down the paper, where Marlene's father smiled up at them, his cheeks rosy like his daughters, and his blonde hair flopping over his glasses, as he tried to tuck his fringe behind his ear. The title screamed: 'McKinnon's Morbid Mistake Leads to Three More Wizards Emitted to St Mungo's.' Lily skim read the piece, which was about a malfunctioning portkey, and how the object was Mr McKinnon's responsibility within the Portkey office in The Department of Magical Transportation, before glancing up at Marlene, whose face was now an angry shade of red after finishing reading the article herself.

"Dad told me about that before I left. He said that his partner, Murphy, had sent out the malfunctioning Portkey instead of the one he had set up. He said it was all sorted- I can't believe he's getting the blame for this."

Alice scowled, pointing to a picture of a young woman with a very straight nose and tightly permed hair. She was waving a quill around and giggling to herself. "It's that evil snake, Rita Skeeta. My mum used to know her mother- she's just started working at The Daily Prophet, and she's always been a little worm. Every story I've read is just garbage, full of lies. Don't believe a word she says, Mar." Marlene nodded, biting her lip.

"I just hope Dad doesn't get in trouble for it, now this article's been written."

"I'm sure he won't." said Remus, gravelly. "No one will believe a word of this, your dad's a great man. And, anyway, I'm sure his assistant will speak up."

Marlene sighed. "I'm hope you're right. Thanks guys, but I better go write to him anyway, to see if he's alright. He's an old softie, dad." She smiled weakly, and rose to go to the owlery.

"I'll come with you." said Remus. Marlene nodded thankfully, and they left together.

"I can't believe that." said Alice angrily, once Marlene was out of ear shot. "Some people really are the worst." They all liked Mr McKinnon a lot, with his kind, bubbly attitude towards life, and to think he'd been made out to be a fool was aggravating, to say the least.

"I just hope it doesn't put his job at risk." sighed Lily. "They already struggle enough." Peter had been quiet during this entire exchange, but stood up now.

"I hope Marlene's alright. I might go check on her before I do some work." he muttered.

"Work?" frowned Alice. "We haven't had any lessons yet."

Peter blushed. "McGonagall set me some. She said if I don't do extra, I won't pass my NEWT's. Then I can't get into the Ministry." Lily felt a pang of pity for him, knowing how he struggled with some subjects.

"I can help you if you like, Peter?"

"No, you're alright. I'll be done in an hour… but, thanks Lily." He chucked her a smile, before scarpering off out of the portrait hole.

Lily bit her lip. "Do you think I should be starting work early? I so want to do well in my NEWT's, and it's going to be a big step up."

Alice grinned. "There's the Lily we all know and miss. I was waiting for her to stick her nerdy head out of whatever hole she's been hiding in." Lily shoved her, blushing crimson.

"Shut up."

"That's rude, Evans." said a voice. Black, Potter, Addie, Darlene and Frank were back again, all looking happy with themselves. Lily sighed internally- couldn't he ever leave her alone?

"What was with the long faces earlier?" asked Frank.

"Yeah and where is everyone?" frowned Sirius.

"Marlene and Remus are at the owlery." Alice explained, gesturing to the paper in front of them. By the time the three boys had finished reading, they wore expressions that varied from disgruntled to disgusted, and Sirius told Rita Skeeta in a very impolite manner what she could do with the quill that she was pictured with at the bottom of the page.

"My Dad knows Mervin McKinnon." said James, angrily. "He's a good man."

"We know." sighed Addie. "I just hope his jobs still alright after this bitch spat out her story. I feel awful for Marlene- she must be so worried about him."

"It'll be alright." Sirius said, his eyes earnest. "We'll make sure that he keeps his job."

He said it with such conviction that Addie couldn't help but feel comforted, and she nodded firmly. "We will."

Addie, Lily and Marlene went for a walk over the bridge after lunch, since Darlene was helping James set up his trials; if there was one thing Darlene cared about most in the world, it was Quidditch. It was chilly, so they wrapped their cloaks around themselves as they walked. Addie hadn't realised how much she'd missed her friends and Hogwarts- the castle loomed behind her, set against the blue sky, and she smiled softly to herself. She never wanted to leave.

"It's funny, isn't it, the way Jo's acting?" Marlene commented, as they leant against the side of the old bridge. "She seemed almost jealous… but you and Sirius aren't even together."

"Maybe she is jealous." Lily offered. "Maybe she thinks he fancies you or something."

"Can we please not talk about it?" Addie groaned. "Whatever problem Jo has, it's exactly that- her problem… it's just a shame that Susan has got dragged into it with her. She's too loyal, that girl- and Jo treats her like dirt."

"I know." sighed Lily. "I wouldn't mind never speaking to Jo again, but Susan's usually so kind. It's frustrating to say the least."

"I'm sure she'll come to her sense with time." Marlene assured.

"I hope so… have you seen Will yet, Mar?"

She blushed. "Yeah, I spoke to him this morning actually. He was in the owlery, when Remus and I went up…"

Addie grimaced. "Oh god, how did he react?"

"Oh, fine, actually. He was happy to see me." She fiddled with her cloak, nervously.

"And Remus?"

"Well, he just said he'd see me later, and then he disappeared." She avoided their gaze.

"Mar…" Lily started.

She sighed. "I know, I know. I just… I can't work out whether he likes me or not. And I feel so guilty stringing both of them along like this if he does. I like Will so much- really I do. He's so funny and kind, and so is Remus… I just… I don't want to hurt either of them." She laughed, softly. "It's so flattering to be caught up in the middle, but horrible too."

"I suppose you've just got to decide who you like best." Addie said, rubbing her arm sympathetically.

"That's harder than it sounds." Marlene replied, sadly.

"Not if you have wonderful friends to tell you when you're making a huge mistake." She grinned, and Marlene giggled.

"I've missed you two idiots."

The rest of the weekend passed quickly and without much excitement. Susan and Jo continued to ignore their friends, and the awkwardness still remained in their dorm- though it was getting easier to ignore.

Addie's nightmares didn't stop. They were pretty much the same each night, but sometimes she'd notice little changes, like the colour of the shirt she was wearing, or the way her hair fell around her face. Though she was still running through a forest, and a gnawing feeling would scratch at the insides of her stomach, like a prisoner wanting to escape. Her breaths came in short bursts, and she was desperate. Desperate for her legs to speed up, for her feet to reach the destination- wherever it was- quicker. The trees seemed to close in as she pushed on, branches snagging on her clothes, at her skin. And then that piercing howl would rip through everything- the forest, her head, and the dream.

She could still hear it now, however much she tried to ignore it.

Lessons soon started on Monday morning. The sixth years had all got their timetables the day before, and had spent most of the evening comparing and complaining about their classes. The Marauders, unsurprisingly, had managed to get most of theirs together, excluding some of the extra ones Remus took, and some of the harder ones, which Peter wasn't in.

Addie was pretty happy with her timetable, as she looked over it again at the breakfast table, but Lily was not. The red head took more classes than her friends, who were all gifted but didn't have Lily's work ethic- and it seemed as though they couldn't fit them all in. She quickly called over McGonagall about the problem, who assessed her timetable.

"Ah, yes. That's no mistake, I'm afraid, Miss Evans." Her eyes pierced down at the girl over her glasses. "To take muggle studies, you would need to use the… device we spoke of." She looked meaningfully down at Lily, wary of the eyes around her. Lily glanced at Addie, who was the only one who knew about the TimeTurner option McGonagall had written about in her letter over the summer. Addie shrugged, knowing it would be a lot of work for her best friend.

"It's okay." Lily said with a sigh. "I'll have to do without, Professor. Thank you." McGonagall left with a curt nod, looking slightly disappointed.

"What the hell do you want to take muggle studies for, Lils?" Asked Alice, who sat next to her friend. "You're a muggleborn."

Lily crossed her arms defensively. "Different perspectives... it would be interesting."

Darlene laughed. "My god, you're a nerd, Lils."

"Well, she'd definitely get an Outstanding." grinned Addie. "Though, I'm sure she will in everything."

Lily huffed, but didn't reply.

"Morning all." grinned Sirius, sitting down next to Addie. James sat next to him, and Remus and Peter sat on the opposite side, by Lily and Marlene.

"Hello and goodbye." laughed Alice, standing up. "I've got to go find Frank- I'll see you later." She left the hall, a bounce in her step.

"She's always off finding Frank." Peter complained.

Marlene laughed. "Oh, leave them be. Can't you see they're in love?"

"Yeah, 'love'." said James, sceptically, staring down at his untouched food with a sulky expression. Sirius raised his eyebrows at Addie, who stifled a giggle. She felt bad for James, knowing Lily was still on his mind, but the boy was very over-dramatic.

"So... who's excited for third period DADA with the Slytherins?" asked Sirius, cheerfully.

Addie sighed. It was her favourite subject, but she wasn't looking forward to the company. "Ugh. I don't think I'm ready to face Snape after a summer away from him." she said. Addie had never liked seeing Sirius and James single out Snape in previous years, but after he'd been such a git to Lily, and started hanging around all the vile Slytherins, she'd grown to dislike the boy. Plus, the marauders pranks on him were always hilarious- if slightly immoral. Lily was always more sympathetic since she'd only seen his good side, never the sneery comments he made to the marauders that set them off, or the curses he threw first. Addie had seen it all.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Me either, Reid, me either." He shook his head in mock remorse. "It's going to take every bit of me not to enchant some soap and scrub his hair."

Addie thumped him. "Be nice." she warned, though her lips twitched. "You can't start anything, remember?"

He pouted. "Don't be a spoilsport, Ads."

"Sirius..." She glared.

"Fine, I promise." He looked sincere as he crossed his heart, but his eyes glimmered mischievously- and Addie didn't trust that smirk. She rolled her eyes.

"Have you spoken to Snape?" Marlene asked Lily, smiling slightly at their debate about the boy. Lily, who had been frowning at a distant James, glanced at her.

"What? Oh... Severus. No, I haven't. I mean, I saw him on the train..." She stopped abruptly.

"What happened?" Darlene's eyes drew together in a frown.

"I don't want to talk about it. Not now." said Lily, playing with her now soggy cornflakes. This drew James and Addie's attention, who both looked up, but didn't say anything. Addie vowed to ask her best friend once she had the chance, which happened to be after breakfast.

Once out of the hall, Addie pulled Lily aside, as students spilled out, chatting and joking. "What was that about?" she whispered.

"Later." Lily sighed. Then, she smiled. "You know, I'm starting to see what Jo was on about- the part about Black crushing on you, I mean. I never noticed before, but he's different around you."

Addie's scowled. "Different how?"

"I don't know… just different."

"We're just friends." she said, defensively. "We've always been like that."

"I suppose so- you two were always incredibly annoying together." Lily laughed, and they joined the swell of people on their way to lessons.

Their first period of the day was charms, and despite Professor Flitwick's squeaks at the beginning of the class, warning them all that the year ahead would be full of difficult and complex spells, they started on a simple Anti-theft spell. Addie, looking flustered, arrived late as usual, (much to the amusement of her fellow Gryffindor's). She grimaced and apologised, but Flitwick simply rolled his eyes, waving to an empty seat. Lily was the first to master the spell, closely followed by Remus, and Marlene, who was fairly good at charms. James and Sirius soon gave up and began levitating each other's objects off their desks, whilst hitting unsuspecting students in the head with books, pens and erasers. This seemed to put James in a much better mood. Addie was poked by a pencil repetitively, but she managed to fire it back the fourth time, so it shot right into Sirius's desk, sticking out of the wood. She burst out laughing at his expression, but he soon got his own back, sprinkling her with chalk from Flitwick's desk until she resembled a snowman.

When Lily got thumped on the shoulder by Sirius's old notebook for the second time, however, she flung around angrily in her seat, having had enough.

"Will you two stop?!" she exclaimed. "The concept might seem foreign to you, but we're actually trying to work here."

"Awfully sorry. I didn't mean to hit you Lily-kins. I was aiming for Moony." Sirius grinned. "Won't happen again."

"You bet it won't. Or I'll complain to Professor Flitwick- you've already messed up Addie's uniform." She paused. "And don't call me Lily-kins." With that, she went back to her work.

Sirius sniggered. "Feisty one you've got there, Prongs."

"I heard that!" said Lily.

"Sorry your highness."

"Shut up Sirius." James shoved him lightly. "Lily's just revelling in the fact she's better at charms than us."

"Ignore them." muttered Marlene, sensing danger, but Lily payed no attention, turning around once again. Sirius leant back in his chair, revelling in the argument that was sure to unfold.

"And just how do you know that Potter?" she asked, with narrowed eyes.

"It's written all over your face, Evans." he grinned.

"And you can tell, because you know my facial expressions so well, don't you?"

"He does stalk you, Evans." sniggered Sirius. She ignored him.

"I don't stalk-"

"Be quiet Potter. I'm fed up of you interrupting my work. If you haven't noticed, we're starting our NEWTs now..." She trailed off, realising her lecture would get her nowhere with him. "Anyway, all you do is sit there messing around, acting like you can read my every thought. I've had enough if it." She crossed her arms as he leaned forward, so close they were almost touching, a smile playing on his lips, throwing her rant off course. His eyes burned into hers and her heart rate accelerated.

"Who said I can't read your mind, Evans?" he breathed. Lily swallowed.

"Well... what am I thinking then?" Her voice was a squeak. Darlene and Addie shared smug a look.

"Now, now, that would be telling..." He leant back I'm his seat with ease, as she breathed a sigh of relief. "Anyway, it's far too dirty to say aloud."

Sirius smirked, and she swore at them both, before flinging back around, her face flushed with embarrassment and fury.

But, her anger didn't stop her beating heart from pounding in her chest. What the hell was wrong with her?