CHAPTER FIVE: Entrancement

As soon as the doors of the Great Hall were shut, a small bout of chaos erupted from the staff table. Ron was the first one to snap out of the trance from the illusion, and into something else.

"Where's he going!" Standing up, Ron shouted, "Come back! Take me with you! Forgive me, please!"

Harry started and whirled around to face his friend. "Ron! What the hell's gotten into…" But Harry got no further as Professor Flitwick got to his tiny feet and proclaimed, "Indeed, we have witnessed a miracle, nothing less! We should embrace this Great Healer, I believe!"

McGonagall looked stunned. Quickly making sense of the matter, she took one of the green vials from in her robes and downed the antidote quickly. Rushing over to Flitwick, she reached into his robes and pulled out one of his vials. "Here, Filius! Drink this! It … It's a gift from the Great Healer! It'll make you feel at peace. Drink! Quickly now!" And Flitwick did indeed drink it up. Taking their cues, Harry, Ginny, and Hermione did the same, after which Hermione similarly coerced Ron into drinking his antidote.

Looking around at the rest of them, coming out of their trances, the attractive female professor, Rowanda Lanskey, looked close to panic. "You! You all betray the Great Healer with your foul poisons!" she spat at them. Jumping over the staff table, she bolted for the doors of the Great Hall. "Come back! Take me with you!" she cried desperately.

By now, Flitwick and Ron seemed to be coming to. Their faces looked slightly blank, but they were starting to realize what had happened. Harry turned to see Professor Lanskey trying desperately to push the great doors open, but they would not budge against the strength of one woman. She seemed to out of sorts to use her wand. Harry himself now jumped over the staff table and tried to grab the woman and pull her away from the doors.

"Get away from me, you demon! I need the Healer! Come back, Draco Malfoy! Come back, please!" she cried. Desperation seemed to be making her stronger, for Harry couldn't budge her. "Help me out here!" he called.

Quicker than expected, Ron aimed his wand and shouted, "Petrificus Totalus!" Lanskey went stiff as a board and fell against the door, her head propping her up against it. Rushing over, Ron all but shoved Harry out of the way in order to pull a green vial out of the tall blonde woman's robes and pour the potion into her mouth.

Harry was a bit surprised at Ron's intensity, and looked back at the others as if seeking an explanation. McGonagall was still tending to Flitwick, Ginny looked distantly pensive, and Hermione wore a scowl of fury on her face. "Ronald!" she cried out reprovingly as she stormed over to where he looked over the stiff body of a hopefully-sober professor. "Ronald," her voice was quiet with menace, "How is she to recover if she's still as stiff as you seem to be right now?" Ron's eyes widened as he realized how the situation must look to his wife. As Ron backed off, Hermione muttered, "Finite Incantatem," and Lanskey relaxed.

"Thank you. Both of you. God, I feel like such a fool!" Ron looked sympathetic. "You don't need to be ashamed, Ro. It was a very powerful spell, wasn't it, Hermione?"

Hermione seethed with anger. "That's right, Ro," she sneered as she looked at Ron reprovingly. "Seriously, though, it was quite powerful. I've never seen anything quite like it before. Some sort of hypnotism or legilimency weaved into it, I'd say. I've never seen anything affect Professor Flitwick like that before!"

Harry looked at them, wondering what had transpired between them. Had Ron met this woman before? Enough to feel comfortable calling her 'Ro,' which he assumed was short for 'Rowanda?' She was tall and beautiful to be sure, with long slender legs and an ample bosom. Harry could see what Ron saw in her. Suddenly, Harry realized he was staring, and he shook his head to clear his mind just in time to hear…

"All right, everyone! I believe we should make our way back up to my office," came McGonagall's crisp voice, cutting through the tension like a hot knife. Harry nodded and walked back towards her office, as Ginny joined him at the staff table. "You okay, Harry?" she asked, though her voice was cooler than usual.

Harry nodded, but then put up his hands defensively. "Don't look at me like that Ginny, please. That woman, Lanskey, probably has some veela blood or something. I know I was staring. I … I have no excuse. I'm sorry," he muttered softly as he bowed his head.

Ginny nodded as they walked, then slapped Harry hard across the face. "That's for drooling over another woman!" She then pulled him down and kissed him long and hard. "That," she said far more softly, "is for being man enough to admit it." With an impish grin, she gestured for them to head back up into McGonagall's office.