Author: Lucinda

rating: pg 13

the sequel to Dark Summer

main characters: Willow Rosenberg, Severus Snape, Draco Malfoy

no pairings at this time, possible Draco crush on Willow.

disclaimer: I do not own any legal rights to the characters or worlds of Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Harry Potter. Joss Whedon and JK Rowlings do.

distribution: If I said you could have Dark Summer, you have permission to have this one. Otherwise please ask.

note: Dark Summer was set in the summer after season 3. This would be the time of season 4, but no longer in Sunnydale.

many thanks to my beta reader Ina, who does her best to make sure everything in this story is spelled correctly and makes sense.

.DF.

Severus Snape had made a few arrangements for the end of summer. He planned for the group to return to Hogwarts early, and then they could test Willow to see exactly where she would need to focus her studies. He intended for his niece to get a complete, proper magical education despite what his sister wanted. Which of course, in his opinion, meant taking her to Hogwarts.

But not until they'd made a trip through Diagon Alley to pick up all the supplies that she might possibly need. There were a few things that he wouldn't mind picking up for himself as well, since he'd be in the area. He had the feeling that she would be amazed at the Wizard's shopping area, especially since there was nothing like it in Sunnydale.

His father had been delighted at the news, having given up all hope for anything civil from Sheila. Learning that he had a magically gifted granddaughter had been a pleasant surprise. Willow would gradually meet her other relatives, the ones that weren't the Rosenberg side. The interesting ones, if he did say so himself.

She'd delighted in Diagon Alley, and Draco had snickered and had great fun teasing her about the way she'd stared and babbled questions and observations at them, asking about everything from wizarding wardrobes to why anyone would want pickled newt's liver, to the use of owls to goblins. Her enthusiasm couldn't be curbed. The oddest thing was that she seemed a bit reluctant about the brooms, whispering a soft, slightly worried "But what if I fall off and break something?" while she watched Draco practically drooling over the new broom by Nimbus.

The part that had made her giggle like a small girl had been Olivander's. He'd insisted that she would need a wand, and that she should really try to learn the proper way to use one. So, there had been the interesting occasion of watching her test wand after wand after wand, wrecking havoc on the careful organization of Olivander's, and causing the small man to scurry all over, searching for just the right one. She finally ended up with an eleven inch willow wand with a core of powdered basilisk scales. The question of just where Ollivander had found basilisk scales would be something to come back to on another occasion.

Olivander had seemed delighted, and Severus had known that his father would be impressed that Willow had such an unusual wand. With such a core, would she be sorted into Slytherin? He sighed, remembering yet again how difficult it could sometimes be to guess where a student would go. Though it might be easier with someone who was already fairly grown instead of an eleven year old child.

They'd then taken floo powder to Hogsmeade, another experience that had left Willow amazed and impressed. It was such a pleasure to introduce her to his world, something he felt was obviously long overdue. He could hardly wait for her reaction to the actual school. Hogwarts Academy was located in an old castle, one with an assortment of towers, and high, vaulted ceilings, with enchantments worked into the very stones.

Her reaction proved to be everything that he could hope for, a look of wide-eyed astonishment as she looked over it, seeking to memorize the impressive silhouette.

"You want me to take classes in magic inside an enchanted castle? It's amazing... no wonder Draco wasn't impressed by my parent's house." Her voice was filled with wonder.

Hagrid was waiting when they reached the lake's edge, watching Draco with a slight scowl, and giving a nod when he saw Severus. "I see yer back then, Professor Snape. Who's the lass?"

Willow froze for a moment as she caught her first look at Hagrid. Her gaze traveled up, as her eyes grew larger. "Wow... he's really big."

Draco leaned over, a sly smile on his face as he murmured "Hagrid's half giant. Giants have a bad reputation in wizard circles. Granted they are even bigger, close to thirty feet tall…"

Willow glanced at Draco, and then back at Hagrid, her eyes wide and unsure. With a slightly shaky smile, she held out one hand to Hagrid, and offered a quiet "I'm Willow... umm... pleased to meet you, mister Hagrid?"

Hagrid's huge hand engulfed Willow's and he grinned at her with his dark eyes gleaming. "Pleased ter meet ya."

Severus sighed to himself, before clearing up the remaining confusion for Hagrid. "This is Willow Rosenberg, my niece, the daughter of my younger sister Sheila, whom you haven't met. Willow is coming here to fill in the gaps in her magical education."

"No place like Hogwarts to learn about magic. It's a fine school, no doubt about that." Hagrid's pleased voice was like a small roll of thunder. "What sort of gaps do you have, Willow?"

"I'm not entirely certain... that's part of why we're going here before the term starts. Uncle Sev said he'd arranged for me to be evaluated and placed for all the classes, and that I'd either have private lessons or sit in with the regular students in the places where I have less knowledge than a properly taught witch should have," Willow blushed and kept glancing up at Hagrid and over at the castle before glancing back at her toes.

"Don't worry, you'll be caught up in no time. You'll have ta sit in the boat with yer uncle and young Malfoy." Hagrid's good cheer seemed to reassure Willow.

Willow watched the castle as they glided across the lake in the pair of small boats, the water twinkling in the sunshine.

end part 1.

The castle was absolutely wonderful. Willow was certain that her eyes must be incredibly wide, and she wasn't sure that her jaw would ever return to normal. Everywhere that she looked, there were things that were just… amazing and magical and unexpected. The stone walls made the place feel old and dignified, and she could feel the magic in them prickling at her skin. There were paintings all over the walls, portraits and landscapes and groups, but the most amazing thing about them was that the people moved. One person, a Knight in scuffed armor mounted on a gray pony was following them, and had been since they had crossed into the school. She had no idea how he'd crossed the gaps between paintings… well, other than magic, of course.

High vaulted ceilings and what looked like stone bowls filled with fire both gave the place a sort of unreal feeling, as if she'd just stepped into the pages of a fairy tale. A school for magic... maybe she had stepped into a fairy tale. As long as it wasn't Hansel and Gretel... Willow'd had nightmares about that mess after they'd turned up in Sunnydale. She still wasn't certain if Buffy had killed that demon for good or just for a little while. She was impressed by the castle, and wondered how she would ever learn where everything was at and the best ways to get there.

"It's huge... and wonderful," The words emerged in a whisper, falling into air that felt thick with magic and potential.

"Maybe you'll even like the dungeons then." Draco sounded a bit amused. Maybe he was, after all, he'd had five years of attending this school, maybe he'd gotten used to the fabulous architecture, the crowding of moving paintings, the fires lighting the rooms instead of electric lights.

Willow shivered just a little at his words. "Dungeons? There are dungeons? What's... what's in the dungeons?"

Draco grinned, his eyes sparkling as he replied, "Your uncle. Remember how we said he teaches potions? That's down in the dungeons with cobwebs in the corners, and slime on the walls."

"Uncle Sev teaches his class in the dungeon... But why... ?" Willow's mind was going through all the reasons why chemistry labs would be separate, and thinking that they might apply to magical potions as well. "Oh! Uncle Sev, are some of the fumes from the potions... um, volatile? Or maybe they smell bad? Or are there explosions if things go wrong?"

He smiled at her, his expression pleased. "Yes, some of the higher level potions have potential hazards. There are also certain ingredients that need to be kept away from sunlight."

"I haven't done a lot with potions, but some of the ones in Draco's books looked pretty interesting. Sort of sounds a lot like chemistry... only with bits and pieces of things... and you can turn yourself into a pink elephant. Umm... has anyone ever really... you know, did something sort of bad and um... not lethal?" Her mind was racing in different directions, producing images blended from her knowledge of chemistry and a Xander influenced history of watching horror and mad scientist movies, the sort with mutant things from beyond or escaping from the lab out to create mayhem and terror.

Her uncle chuckled, a dark sound that went perfectly with the dark robes and teaching in a dungeon. Had she ever mentioned how much he looked like a villain? "I teach students, half of which would rather be anywhere but class, some of which don't bother to pay attention at all. There are always accidents. But I haven't actually had a student die in one of my classes."

"They probably look at the swoopy robes and dark hair and think you look like an evil villain. You have the loomy ominous look... Mom can do it some, but normally it's a more professional suited psychiatrist menace. How come I didn't get any menace at all? Did it just decide to skip me entirely? … and I'm babbling again..." Willow's voice chattered on, asking questions about all sorts of things as she was given a partial tour of the school.

Her uncle was laughing, and Draco alternated between giggling in a most undignified manner and trying to answer a few questions, from the perspective of a student, of course. Among other things, he gleefully told her that the other students DID think her uncle looked villainous, and had running speculation as to what went into some of the potions, and whispered horrible stories about bits of student ending up pickled in dark bottles.

The trio didn't seem to notice the old man in blue robes with swooping golden comets and glimmering silver stars who stood on one balcony, stroking his long beard as he watched them. Albus Dumbledore smiled, certain that Severus' niece would be a most interesting influence on the students in this coming year. She already seemed to be a good influence on her uncle, if the sound of what had to be Severus Snape laughing could be used as an indication. He was looking forward to things unfolding.

end part 2.

Willow had been rather worried about the testing, to be honest. She'd never even had a chance to learn most of this, and now that lack of learning would be ripped out into the open for everyone to see. Fortunately, everyone was only most of the teaching staff and Draco instead of the whole student body. But knowledge was the one area that she was used to excelling in. There had apparently been heavy debating before a decision was made to just test her in her knowledge of everything except Muggle Studies and figure out where she fell with her knowledge. Then, somebody would figure up a schedule of classes, some with other students, and some as private instruction from the Professors. It had sounded reasonable enough in theory. Willow had even wondered if this might help her figure out some of the areas of magic that she'd particularly want to study, and maybe some of those electives that were offered.

That was before she'd taken the tests.

Willow had found herself looking through scrolls of questions, as opposed to the typed, copied, and stapled tests that she was used to, seeing detailed questions about things that in some cases, she'd only recently even learned existed, such as this 'Arithmancy' stuff. Charms and Transfiguration were both rather disastrous, and as for the bit on Care of Magical Creatures? She'd grown up on a Hellmouth! She hadn't learned anything about keeping odd things alive, just about how to kill them, as quickly and safely as possible. The teacher for the Divination class was one of the freakiest people that she'd ever met, and she was including cheerleaders and homicidal vampires in that list. Potions with her uncle wasn't too bad, although she did feel like her experiences with potions was woefully inadequate. On the bright side, Defense against Dark Arts was amazingly simple. The mentioned creatures had all been in Giles' books, and she'd even fought a number of them. She was a bit less experienced with the hexes, but... it felt good to finish with that one.

She'd made her way out of the room, feeling drained and ignorant, and given a shaky smile to her uncle. "Well... finished now. And might I add that I've never felt this reluctant to find out my test grades? Most of those... well, Arithmancy isn't taught at Sunnydale, Transfigurations... I caused an indoor rainstorm, four small explosions, and turned a pin into a wooden stake. The only one in there that I actually felt comfortable with was the Defense. Are you sure I'll be welcome here?"

He'd pulled her into a firm hug, stroking her hair soothingly. "Willow... you'll do fine here. This is where you come to learn, and I promise that the other teachers will be delighted to have someone who wants to know what's going on for a change. Most of it is simply the result of no previous experience on your part, and I have faith that you'll rapidly fill in the gaps of your knowledge. The single requirement to learn here is the ability to do magic, and you have a generous amount of that."

"Promise?" She knew that she sounded like a small child seeking reassurance that the bad dreams wouldn't come true, but... This was an entirely different sort of school. The rules were different, the classes were different, and she would have the added hindrance of not quite fitting into any of the established groups. If it weren't for the fact that she'd have her uncle, and Draco, who was at least trying to improve, and that most of the teachers that she'd met seemed awfully nice... well, she'd probably survive school here. Especially since they hadn't had any students die during the school session in, well, not for fifty years. She was having trouble wrapping her mind around that idea... a school where nobody died. It seemed almost like something from a fairy tale, or unrealistic television.

"What could possibly you so worried, Willow? I rest assured that you did not fail your potions exam, you seemed far too cheerful. Though in the future, you need to stir more slowly when adding venom to a potion, you should be able to count at least twenty between each drop. Perhaps thirty for your counting…" Her uncle was trying to make her feel better.

"Well, you weren't the only one to give a practical exam rather than just a test on theory and history., and I still think that there was a potion for detecting demonic possession that I saw in one of those old books that Giles had by a Greek… Theseus or Rhese…. No, not Reese's Pieces, but maybe we were eating those when I saw the potion… and that's not the point. The whole scrolls and parchment thing makes everything feel a bit different, you know? But... I sort of caught the Charms teacher's robes on fire, and there was the nightmare of Transfiguration... but the worst was Divination," Willow shivered as she remembered the woman staring at her from behind those thick glasses, her necklaces rattling as the Divinations instructor swayed. The woman had been incredibly creepy, worse than being chased by zombies or finding an insane vampire in the library. "That woman was scary! Please tell me I don't have a lot of time anywhere near that woman? And are you sure she's not some sort of giant mantis thing in disguise? We had one of those in Sunnydale... and Trelawney's eyes look way freaky."

Draco had apparently decided that she was fretting too much, it seemed. He'd just been there, right behind her and slightly out of range, and spoke up, amusement in his voice. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were pacing and fretting, like someone who has something to worry about."

She'd spun around, body tensing at the words, even as she placed the voice and tried to calm down. "Dread might be more like it... I'd never even heard of Arithmancy before you arrived, and there was a test on it. And practices for things that I know I didn't do very well in, and this scary, weird bug eyed person, and..."

"And you need to not worry about it. I'm sure you did fine, and what you didn't know today, you'll learn fairly soon. And that's why I'm here. Today, you are going to learn how to fly on a broom." He'd gotten his smug look again.

Willow felt herself being pulled along by his hand at her elbow, and she was still worried. Then, she remembered the pictures he'd shown her of a Quidditch tournament. "Draco! I can't... I can't fly like that! Those evil bludgen things will smash me to a little red smear, and what if I fall off the broom and..." Yes, she was now panicking over something entirely different.

He grinned at her, a most infuriatingly superior sort of grin. "Everyone can fly on a broom, even Longbottom. Today is just a little basic flying, not a Quidditch tournament, so there won't be any Bludgers. You can do this, and if we start now, by the time everyone arrives for the start of the regular term, they won't know that you'd never flown a few months ago."

"How can you be so sure?" She could feel herself calming down.

Again he flashed that annoyingly superior smile, the one she'd labeled his 'rich snob smile' at her. "I'm Draco Malfoy, child of the Malfoy line. We are never wrong in matters of ability."

For a moment, all Willow could do was blink at him, standing there in his school robes, looking all superior and smug and... arrogant, and then she saw the little twinkle in his eyes. Maybe in the spring, he would have been serious, but now? He wasn't trying to be the arrogant rich wizard, he was trying to distract her from her worries. She found herself trying not to giggle. "Never wrong about abilities, hmm? So, you really think I can do this? Where do I even start?"

She felt better as he explained the very most basic things about broom flying to her, slowly and with the careful expression of someone trying to take apart and explain something that they've long since stopped thinking about. Sometimes looking at what he was doing was as helpful as listening, because then she could see what he meant.

To her great relief, it wasn't nearly as difficult as she'd worried that it might be. Parts of it were rather intuitive, and she could keep the broom from going any higher than she wanted. She was making careful arcs and sweeps when her uncle came out, trying to learn exactly how to move her body when she wanted the broom to do something. Draco had been right, a few weeks of practice, and she'd do just fine. Granted, she certainly wouldn't be ready for the house Quidditch teams, but she wouldn't look like someone who'd never been on a broom before. That would be good enough for her, especially since she'd never been good at sports in her life and she doubted that a magical sport would change that trend.

Flying was fun. The feeling of the air whooshing past her was wonderful, and it gave her this sense of freedom that was almost indescribable. As she made a swooping arc along the wall of the castle, she saw a figure in billowing dark robes emerge from the door. Her uncle was here, maybe that meant they were done with her tests. She smiled a bit nervously, and came slowly down, landing beside him, thanking chance that she could use so much of her geometry towards broom flying.

"Are they... umm, are the tests done?" She felt a bit tense all over again.

He smiled at her, and gave a small nod. "They are indeed. You're doing quite well with the flying. Your test results were... somewhat scattered, as I'm sure you expected. There is some discussion going now about scheduling your lessons... you'll be spared the ordeal of dealing with Trelawney. Seems that she thinks you have a disturbingly noisy aura or some such nonsense and insisted that you shouldn't take her class. A great deal of work for Charms, Transfiguration, and Herbology. There is the suggestion that you might want to consider taking a class in Arithmancy when you've got yourself caught up, and Hagrid thinks that you most assuredly should take his class, to what was his phrasing? 'Learn to appreciate interesting creatures.' It might be good, that will give you a little time outside every day. But the most unexpected to the grading panel were your potion and Defense results."

Willow felt herself tense. She'd thought she did fairly well in those two. "Were they that bad?"

He chuckled, seemingly amused by her question. "Willow, you did that well on them. You'll be taking potions with Draco and his yearmates, and they've asked if you might be willing to assist teaching some of the Defense Against Dark Arts classes. It appears that the new teacher has very little field experience. I could have filled the position, but..."

"Uncle Sev, if you taught Defense, you wouldn't have time to teach Potions, and that's something that you're good at. There has to be a capable Defense teacher somewhere, and this way, you can make sure that the students can make a proper potion, without causing explosions," Willow looked at him, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Besides, nothing says that you can't cover the defensive potions in your class or on the homework. Nobody ever told any of the teachers at Sunnydale that they couldn't double cover a topic. And if this guy hasn't had a lot of practical experience... well..."

Her uncle chuckled again, and smiled at her. "I don't think the other students will have any idea how to react to you. I'm looking forward to it a bit, if you must know. Ah, come with me, we'll go see if they've finished plotting out your class schedule."

Willow felt better, knowing that her uncle was pleased, and hoped that she could learn what she needed to. Maybe things wouldn't be too bad here. Maybe here would be better than Sunnydale, a fresh start…

end part 3.

Draco had agreed to help her with a few basics for her classes, teasing about helping her figure out how to do the things that he'd been taught years ago. It was one thing to grasp the academic principles of it, quite another to actually try to do things. After a few explosions, Willow started to get the idea of the proper way to channel her magic through the wand, which certainly made things... well, not quite easier, but certainly less explosive and safer for bystanders. Naturally, Draco teased her about it, but his words were lacking in venom. She was fairly sure that it also helped to know the difference between a swish and a flick, or what made a jab different than a flick.

She was just hoping that by the time the regular school actually started she would have gained enough control to not accidentally cause explosions. The magic doing precisely what she wanted was the second goal. Professors Flitwick and McGonagall were both in fervent agreement that a lack of explosions would be a good place to start. She'd apologized to them both repeatedly, but those robes they'd worn for her exams would never recover. Naturally, Draco thought that was pretty funny as well.

Teasing aside, he was being a big help, as was her uncle Sev. Her uncle was telling her all sorts of things about how things were done in the wizarding world, about there being spells for everything. For your hair, for de-wrinkling clothing, for light, for bringing things closer... and there were enchantments for things that there weren't spells to cover. It was amazing. Fortunately, those tended to be easier than most of the things for the Transfiguration classes, or the Charms, which she was having slightly better success at.

There were so many foods that she'd never had before, although she didn't know if it was because they were wizard foods or because they were British food. She'd discovered one afternoon as she was fretting over yet another explosion that the school had small creatures called House-Elves that cooked and cleaned and tended things. They kept everything clean and neat and moving right along, enabling the students to learn and the Professors to teach. In return... well, she wasn't quite certain what they got out of the arrangement, but they must have had some benefit since they seemed pretty content with things. Between the house-elves and all the enchantments on everything from the torches to the books to the bathtubs, Hogwarts was definitely different than Sunnydale.

Gradually, they worked out a tentative schedule. She would sit in with some of the classes, not necessarily those of her own age, and work along with the other students. Other classes she would have one on one instruction from the Professors, among them a few more broom lessons from Madam Hooch, including the chance to ask dozens of questions about the enchantments and the proper care of brooms. But the one that she was going to feel the most awkward about was Defense Against Dark Arts. She would in essence be a Teacher's Assistant, helping to teach the more practical side along with the theoretical. She was just hoping that she could get along with the Instructor, who hadn't arrived yet. Actually, they hadn't even told her what his name was.

Willow did feel a bit nervous about the whole sorting thing that would happen at the start of the school year. Not only would she be standing in front of everyone, some... ancient hat would be deciding her future, at least for the next year. The idea made her stomach positively queasy. Draco was hoping that she got into his house, Slytherin, which was also the house that her Uncle was in charge of. Maybe it would make things easier...

Of course, there were three other houses that she might be sorted into. One house, called Hufflepuff, had a badger for a mascot, and its colors were gold and black. Ravenclaw had a raven, and its colors were blue and gold, Draco and her uncle both said they tended to be clever, sometimes devious. Then there was Gryffindor, whose colors were red and gold, their insignia a lion. Most of the people that irritated Draco and Uncle Sev were in that house.

With a good deal of consideration and some research about the school in some books in the library, mostly from this huge book titled 'Hogwarts: A History' and several conversations with Professor Binns, she had started to get a better idea how the school went. She'd been a bit shaken by the idea that History was taught by a ghost, and slightly nervous about possessions and lingering bad vibes from traumatic deaths. He'd shaken his head about that, and recommended a book that went into details about the differences between ghosts who had unfinished business and those who were simply too afraid to move on. That had drifted into a discussion about the gradual shifts in historical beliefs about what the afterlife might be, and she'd learned that he could only guess as well – after all, if he had moved on to whatever waited, he wouldn't be here to talk about it, now would he? Willow had no idea why Draco had been filling her head with those horrible stories about Professor Binns being stuffy and boring, they'd had some fascinating rambling talks about all sorts of things, from enchanting battle weapons for noble champions and knights which had lead to legislation about battle weapons and three goblin rebellions to a discussion about fertility and counter fertility magics and how such accusations had led to feuds between families, including the Weasley-Malfoy feud that had been seething for the last five centuries.

She'd also met the grey and frowning man named Argus Filch who had been claimed by a rather lean light grey cat that she'd found in her room one afternoon. A couple innocent questions about the different houses and he'd gone into this rant about how most of the unpleasant, evil, malicious cranky sorts went into Slytherin, with the ones too smart for their own good went into Ravenclaw, the ones to reckless to leave well enough alone went into Gryffindor, and the ones who couldn't go off alone if it killed them went into Hufflepuff.

She'd found the whole experience rather off-putting and retreated to have quieter words with her uncle. He'd gotten this horribly brooding look at the idea that his house was full of malicious and cranky people, though he'd admitted that there might have been a few, and that many people tended to be cautious about the Slytherins, expecting deviousness, trickery, and occasional evil. They expected the Gryffindors to be brave and often noble, though her uncle insisted that they sometimes possessed, 'more courage than wit or sense'. As for Hufflepuff, nobody seemed to expect more from them than a basic competence and a tendency to be unobtrusive, to not draw too much attention unless it was by wandering around in packs.

It sounded like a recipe for cliques, exclusion, and disaster if ever one had been created. She could just see it now - 'I don't talk to your house, go away' and 'all Slytherins are slime' and 'no more sense than a Gryffindor'... No wonder her uncle got cranky!

Draco kept trying to encourage her as it drew closer to the time the students would arrive, talking about how between her uncle and his charming self, nobody would dare torment her. Even if someone was foolish enough to do so and lucky enough not to end up floating in a collection of jars in her uncle's office, she could just set their robes on fire with some of her wandless magic.

Willow was still nervous. A whole school of new people, most of which were not only younger than her but knew more magic, and most likely a good many of them hating the only people that she felt any degree of closeness to at all, Draco and her Uncle Sev. They'd already know so much about magical history and traditions. She'd look like an uneducated uncultured American, the sort that gave tourists a bad name. Her writing with quills and ink looked like a horrible scrawl, almost doctoral, which gave all sorts of pointless questions about medical handwriting and if her mother could use a quill. She fidgeted, and paced, and worried, to the point that her uncle had her occupied looking up long forgotten scrolls and books in the library or copying out lists of potion ingredient reactions to keep her busy enough to only worry a little.

Finally, September first, the day of doom and the start of the school term for Hogwarts, the oldest institute for Magical instruction in Britain, arrived. She heard the whistle and saw clouds of steam before the train itself was visible, the impressive scarlet steam engine approaching the castle with a long line of cars carrying hundreds of students and their luggage. Willow stared at it from one of the balconies, her stomach fluttering, not with butterflies but with the huge bats that nested in the caverns under the school. Everything would change now... She almost chewed on one of her nails, except that she'd been helping Uncle Sev chop some pickled eels, and the stench of that still clung to her hands.

Willow could only hope that she was ready for what would happen. Ready for Hogwarts and learning magic. But ready or not, it was time. She turned away from the station and started back towards the castle, her feet clicking slightly on the stone floors as she made her way towards the Great Hall. Time to rejoin her uncle, time to be Sorted. Time to start Hogwarts.

end part 4.

Part of Willow was just wishing that she could hide in the dungeon. Skip the whole big feast, the sorting, maybe even the school year. But that was the nervous, shy, confrontation fearing Willow that had been terrorized by Cordelia and her sheep. And however tempting the idea might be, it simply wasn't practical. With a deep breath, she made her way towards the Great Hall, figuring that maybe she could meet this mysterious Defense instructor before she was supposed to assist them in class.

Slipping into the hall, she felt awkwardly self-conscious about the long dark robes, despite that her uncle and Draco both assuring her that everybody wore them. Her uncle was talking to somebody, not one of the people that had tested her. But there was something almost familiar about him...

Edging closer, she moved so that she could see him, and felt this wildly confused blend of shock, and relief and this sense of irony. "Wesley Wyndham-Pryce? You're the new Defense Against Dark Arts professor?"

Wesley turned, looking at her, making it clear that yes indeed, it was Wesley. "Willow? But... how did... Aren't you a bit old for this school?"

Her uncle gave a small, almost amused smile accompanied by the lifting of a single eyebrow. "You know each other? Then I won't need to introduce you to your assistant for your class, Professor Wyndham-Pryce."

Snickering, Willow felt herself relaxing. She was supposed to work with Wesley, not some unknown person with bizarre quirks and expectations of advanced magic. She could handle this. "Remember I told you about the second Watcher that the council sent? That was Wesley. And Uncle Sev brought me here to get a real magical education."

She was feeling almost calm by the time Draco came in, his robes flaring behind him with confidence. Willow just sighed, shaking her head. "He can pull of the 'look at me, aren't I menacing' thing. Looks almost like a younger Spike with a robe instead of a duster. But can I look the least bit scary? Nooo..."

"What's so funny here?" Draco stopped beside them, eyes flickering over them as if trying to figure out why Professor Snape and the new Defense instructor were laughing. "Must be something you said, Willow. But everyone's here now. Good luck with the sorting."

Willow found herself waiting up near the teacher's table, her uncle standing near her offering a few comments. He explained how each house would sit at one of the long tables, one of the things that were supposed to help the houses become like a family. When the returning students had started coming into the hall, taking places at the long tables, he mentioned a few of them, pointing out the trio of Potter, Granger, and Ronald Weasley, not to be confused with the older Weasley twins who were incorrigible pranksters. He pointed out a few of the students that she might want to avoid and a few that she might want to study with to catch up in charms and transfigurations.

Neither of them seemed to notice the amount of speculation and whispers that she was causing. Or the whispers that were resulting from Professor Snape actually appearing to be enjoying a conversation with a pretty female, even if she did seem much too young for him. Draco was busy talking to several people at the Slytherin table, though Willow couldn't be certain if he was catching up on the summer's gossip, or professional Quidditch scores, or just mocking some of the other students.

Finally, it was Willow's turn to be sorted. She felt horribly awkward in front of everybody, but it had settled her mind a bit to watch all the young students go before her. She walked slowly to the stool, hoping that her knees wouldn't wobble too much and that nobody could see them shaking under the robes. One hand brushed over the stool before she sat and lowered the Sorting Hat to her head. It settled nicely, just resting on her eyebrows instead of covering her head like it had done for several of the first years.

'What have we here? Hmm... quite a bit older than most I get to meet. And you have so many interesting experiences already... my my, hunting vampires? Falling into magic by accident? So much potential, and courage, and some ambition... Quite the dilemma you present, Willow.' The hat's voice flowed into her mind like water, entirely bypassing her ears.

She frowned, wondering exactly what the hat used to place people. 'The American schools didn't teach me. I had to learn some things on my own.'

'I could put you in almost any of the Houses. You have the right sort of abilities...' She almost felt like the hat was trying to get a reaction so that it could use that as some sort of indicator.

Willow sighed. 'I don't like the whole idea of houses. Doesn't it just encourage division and arguments? Petty bickering and blind dislikes?'

The hat was laughing now. 'Quite the thinker, aren't you? I know just where to sort you now.' There was a pause, and Willow knew that it was about to shout a name like it had for everyone else.

"RAVENCLAW!!"

Willow removed the hat, her mind feeling off balance from everything. It was as if the hat had stirred everything up to look underneath. Ravenclaw, hmm? It sounded like she would be seeing a good deal more of Professor Flitwick. Hopefully he wasn't still angry about that robe she'd burned. He kept saying that it was alright, but still…

With a small shrug, Willow took the hat from her head and walked back towards Professor McGonagall to give her the Sorting hat. Off to join her house. A group of people all younger than her, all with a more normal magical education, all knowing what they were doing here. A group of people that were supposed to become like a family to her. In a place where everyone knew about vampires and magic and things going bump in the night. Oh, things would definitely be different now.

end part 5.