He paused for a moment, a sympathetic smile upon his lips. There were some who simply believed nerves stemmed from the female reproductive system—a peril of femininity—but Wystan Pomfrey was an educated man and a wizard, who put a bit more faith in the female of the species than that. Psychology was a relatively new fad, one in which the doctor was not even remotely trained. Still, he would do his best.

"Well, I must wonder what a young lady such as yourself has to be nervous about," Stan offered kindly. "You seem to have had very good fortune in life—but it is clear that something is prompting such a reaction within you."