A/N: Manfred's hypnosis on Ray (OC) wears off slowly through chap 4 to 6, like implied in the books. It apparently takes less than an hour for an endowed person (Charlie in Midnight for Charlie Bone) and about a week for an unendowed person (Fidelio was hypnotized in one of the books).
New A/N: (15/5/10) You did understand why Ray is unhypnotised in the first place, right? She used her power on Tancred first in the music room, which broke Manfred's hynosis, but she fell unconscious. So she lost control of her power and used in on the most powerful magical creature in the school other than the endowed, which is Claerwen. When she woke up (which is about the time Manfred tried to hypnotise her), she had to use her powers on Claerwen so she doesn't get hypnotised again. Since she was doing this deliberately, she relinquished her hold on Tancred's soul, which is why he returned back to normal.
Chapter Seven: Crescendo
Crescendo – and the symphony blasts.
The dingy room turned several degrees colder. The doorknob twisted suddenly, and the door opened an inch. Dr. Saltweather stepped away from the door in surprise as he felt the wooden door scrape against his shirt.
"No!" shouted two people impulsively, ignoring the fact that Dr. Bloor could recognize their voices. An icy wind blasted from nowhere, slamming the door shut with a rattle. Almost immediately, Ray grabbed the shaking doorknob and held it firmly.
"What the-" began Dr. Bloor, before pounding on the door again. His suspicions were confirmed. Dr. Saltweather was doing something behind his back. He looked behind him and caught a passing staff member. "Woods!" he barked. "Get Manfred and Weedon here."
"Ah… Yes, sir," came the startled reply.
Dr. Saltweather leaned against the door. "I'm sorry Dr. Bloor; give me a minute to, ah, make this place presentable." Under his breath, he added, "No need for desperate measures."
"Bloor isn't going to buy that," Paton muttered, from across the room.
Dr. Bloor glared at the door. He was not a stupid man – he had heard a murmur of voices in the room beforehand, including an unusually bright voice. It was crucial to the plans that Ray was to be under his control again.
The headmaster was silently angry. He now knew where Dr. Saltweather's allegiance lay.
Something had to be done about that too.
Everyone knew Paton Yewbeam was a knowledgeable man, but it was only revealed that afternoon how wide his range of swear words was. He had dropped to his knees, hidden behind the desk, and was feeling the north wall like a blind man.
"Uncle Paton!" cut in Charlie, wide-eyed. "What are you doing? You need to get out of here!"
"We are getting out," Paton replied grimly, "the same way I got in."
The north wall of the room was made of bricks and mortar, like the rest of the reconstructed castle. However, the bricks at the foot of the wall were arranged rather haphazardly, with bricks jutting out dangerously. Paton simply gave the entire section a rather forceful push, and part of the wall gave way. Before it touched the ground, Lysander lunged forwards to catch it lest it made a sound.
Paton looked up and gave Lysander an approving nod. "It's nice to know some people here are actually thinking," he said under his breath, before pushing Charlie into the hole.
Tancred and Ray had to stay, for they were the two 'invalids' in the sick bay just a while ago. Dr. Saltweather had summoned them in the presence of Matron and if they disappeared, Bloor's suspicions would be heightened. Gabriel was the last one at the hole, and hesitated.
"Sir," he began, "Matron saw me too."
Dr. Saltweather shook his head. "No. Unlike them, you're not on the Bloor's hit list."
As Gabriel nodded, and disappeared into the darkness of the hole, Tancred muttered, "Hit list, huh? That's not flattering."
His partner did not look up, preoccupied with the rattling doorknob. She was leaning against the door. "No," she agreed. "It's not."
Dr. Saltweather was busy pulling out files and documents, as if they had been in the middle of some academic discussion. Under the noise of the rustling papers, Ray added, "If I get hypnotized again, don't listen to anything I say or touch anything out of the ordinary. Okay?"
It was the longest thing she had ever said personally to him, so it took a while for him to digest it. "What…?"
Ray glanced quickly at the north wall – the knocked-down portion was still being resealed. She shook her head slightly when Tancred opened his mouth to say more. Tancred frowned, and completed the thought in his head. 'If you do get hypnotized again, you'll play into Bloors' hands. Then the war will start.'
Soon, there were only three occupants in the room. Dr. Saltweather was about to open the door, when all of a sudden there was a metallic bang on the door. The entire structure shook.
The door splintered as a black axe repeatedly fell onto the weak wood. It was so sudden that Ray had no time to react. She stumbled back as splinters sliced the skin on her face and arms. In a blink of an eye, the doorknob dangled uselessly, held by an inch of wood.
The damaged door swung open easily. Dr. Bloor stepped in first, immediately giving the room a cursory sweep. He quickly assumed a position next to Ray and held her shoulder possessively. The girl flinched.
"Thank you, Weedon," he called over his shoulder. "Go back to chopping the fire wood."
"Yes, sir," the gardener grumbled, and turned around to shuffle down the corridor.
Dr. Bloor looked at Dr. Saltweather in the eye. "I presume you have an explanation for pulling six people out of class," he said coldly.
Dr. Saltweather was not provoked easily. In a respectful voice, he answered, "As Head of a department, I am within my rights."
"No, you are not," Dr. Bloor corrected sharply. "Not when they are all endowed students!"
"I don't see why that sets them apart from others during ordinary school hours, Dr. Bloor," Dr. Saltweather replied cordially. "I wished to discuss their school leaving examinations. I talked to the Head of Art and he did not mind me doing it on his behalf."
Dr. Bloor stopped short, surprise registering in his face. Whatever excuse he had expected his colleague to make, it certainly was not this. Tancred struggled to keep his face neutral, as if they indeed discussed their examinations for the past hour.
Then, Manfred chose to come into the room at that moment. He brushed his long hair from his eyes and raised an eyebrow at Dr. Saltweather. "I didn't think you had it in you to do this," he remarked, referring to the way he discreetly set up a meeting. It was pointless denying it, but the doctor preferred the old 'innocent until proven guilty' trick.
"Apparently, he has done nothing wrong," Dr. Bloor said in a disgruntled tone.
"Is that so?" For the first time, Manfred sounded surprised. "Then…" Why am I here?
"You will escort Venesco back to her dorm," Dr. Bloor continued. He rubbed his eyes, obviously tired from all the action. "Take as long as you need."
Manfred's lips curled up as he understood the meaning behind his words.
Ray widened her eyes.
07/05/2010
Muse gone. Again. Haizz. I'm a failed author.
