Willow pottered about the classroom. The last week had passed in a haze as she settled into her knew job. She found that she got on well with most of the staff excepting Filch, who reminded her a lot of Snyder and Sevarus. He was avoiding her, or sniping at her when she was in the common room. It appeared he couldn't stand cheerfulness. She shrugged to herself. It was only a matter of time before he gave in and smiled, well a proper smile not the evil ones she had seen him give the students.

She was preparing to teach the fourth years. Harry, Ron and Hermione were among them. She had been warned about Neville Longbottom but was sure she could cope with one student who appeared inept. She remembered back to her screw ups and smiled slightly. Everyone made mistakes.

The class filtered in slowly. She was teaching the Gryffindors and the Slytherins this lesson. She didn't much like the idea of teaching Malfoy. She figured that he already knew plenty about dark arts, though probably not fighting it. Rumours were everywhere at the moment.

Willow beamed at the students as they sat down. "We are here to study defence against the dark arts. Now some of you may already have experience with this." She looked at Harry, "And others may have experience in the dark arts. I myself have both." There was a shocked gasp from around the classroom. No one had expected her to say she had used the dark arts. "Sometimes" she began again. "It is necessary for the greater good to travel the darker path. In some people's cases it is fore destined to happen. So that when they return to the lighter one, they have a greater knowledge and experience which they can use. I myself was once called upon to be a vengeance demon, but needless to say" she smiled at them, "I declined."

"Now my type of magic is slightly different to the one you are used to. I do not need a wand" She held up her wand, "To practise magic. It flows through me, I am the wand, the focal point, I control the power." Willow broke off because there was sniggering coming from the back of the classroom. "Yes Mr. Malfoy, Is there something you have to add to this discussion?"

Draco looked up and spoke in his signature drawl, "I don't believe you, everyone knows the force of magic is too strong to be focused through a person." He smiled as if he had said something she should have known and he a mere student did.

Willow smiled back at him, placed her wand on the table far away from her. She reached out and Draco's wand came flying to her hand.

Hermione gasped again and whispered furiously to Harry and Ron, "Did you see that, she didn't even say anything. Wow, never seen that before."

Willow glanced down at her, "Yes, I don't need anything but my will and my mind to focus it." She looked at the young Malfoy; "I hope that clears up your apparent lack of knowledge. Now," she turned to the rest of the class, "Take a pencil out and concentrate on lifting it. If you don't have a pencil use your wand instead, Yes Draco you can have yours back." She smiled at the rest of the class, "Begin."

The students were busy concentrating on lifting their pencils or wands with the power of their mind alone. Willow's pencil was floating above the desk twirling slowly through the air. Willow, herself, was walking through the desks giving pointers every now and then to those that needed it, Neville Longbottom being the most frequent advice taker.

She smiled softly at him. "Neville don't force it. Look at the pencil and ask it whether or not it would be happier up in the air. The freedom it would have. Seduce the pencil into doing what you want." Neville looked at her, comprehension dawing in his once confused eyes. The pencil lifted slowly off the table. "Good Work Neville."

There was a knock at the door. "Ah" Willow said, "That will be part too of your lesson, what to do with the pencil once it's floating." She went to the door and opened it. "Sevarus, thank you, I don't think I could have kept this quiet until now, are you going to stay for the demonstration... No oh well, I'll see you in the teacher's lounge, Goodbye" She waved cheerily with one hand as she forced a large man into the room with the other.

"Now children, this is a Vampire. I want you to note the details about it. It's ridged forehead and extended teeth. Don't worry it's perfectly harmless at the moment. Professor Snape has forced a potion down it's throat.. It won't bite" She grinned at herself. "Now this is what you do to a vamp when you have a handy pencil." The pencil that Willow had been floating suddenly flew through the air and speared the vampire through the heart. As the dust settled the class burst into spontaneous applause. Dusting off her hands she turned to them, "Class dismissed."