The afternoon of the previous day found Gavin at loose ends and going mad from eternal boredom. He had already finished all of his reading for school on Monday, reading was one homework assignment he never minded doing. He wished he'd brought along a book when he had packed to come here, but he'd been so annoyed at his guardian's treating him like a kindergarten baby that he'd forgotten to take the newest book in his Olympian Immortals and Heroes series. He loved reading about mythology and Severus never forbade him to read Muggle fiction, or anything magical save advanced magical texts and magical sex books.

Gavin bit his lip when he recalled the time last month his elder cousin Dean Luciano had slipped him a rather interesting book on concocting love potions and spells entitled 101 Ways to Make a Girl Hot For You. "I know you're probably a little young for this, kid, but it'll give you some pointers with the babes when you start looking them over," his cousin had chuckled. "Just make sure Uncle Sev never catches you reading it, or there'll be hell to pay."

Gavin had promised, curious to read the spells and maybe figure out just what all the fuss was about. He knew some general things about sex, you couldn't live for two years on the streets and not know something, but he'd never yet been attracted to a girl that way. Although, there was a really sweet looking blond girl named Laura Adams in his homeroom. He wondered if the book had some magic that could make her notice him, maybe smile and say hello once in awhile.

He had smuggled the book home inside one of his English books, and decided to read it that night after he went to bed, with a flashlight under the covers. Only he had forgotten that night was Friday, and Severus went through his weekly homework folder after dinner, signing all his tests, quizzes, and papers he'd turned in that week. Before Gavin could stop him, the Director was taking his books out of his bookbag, hunting through the mess for the homework folder.

"Are you sure it's in here? You didn't leave it at school?"

"Here, Sev. I'll find it," Gavin said hastily, reaching over the Director to grab the teetering stack of books and his binder.

Too late. The top few books on the pile tumbled onto the floor. Before Gavin could pick them up, Severus knelt and did so. To Gavin's utter horror, the magical text had slipped out of Shiloh Season by Phyllis Naylor and was now lying in plain sight on the floor beside Snape's shoe.

Severus picked it up, glanced at it, then did a doubletake. Gavin froze, and awaited the coming explosion.

His guardian raised his eyes from the book and gave the boy a semi-arctic glare. "101 Ways to Make a Girl Hot For You by Eros' Disciple. Care to explain this, young man? I wasn't aware they covered sex education in fifth grade. Much less magical sex education."

"Uh . . .it was . . .I . . .just wanted to . . ."

"No lying, Gavin," Severus snapped. "Just tell me the truth. Where did you get this book? This is not the kind of beginning magical text the library would have on its shelves, so don't even go there. And Mrs. Andrews is sixty with ten grandchildren, so she certainly would have no need for this kind of thing." The Director eyed the red and gold book with distaste.

Gavin looked down at the table. "One of my cousins gave it to me, sir," he mumbled, trying as best he could to avoid mentioning Dean's name.

"One of your cousins, eh? I can guess which one," Severus scowled. "Do you even know what's in this book, son?"

"Sure I do! I'm not dumb," Gavin retorted, stung. "There's spells and stuff in there that'll make a girl like you and uh . . .you know . . ." He blushed and squirmed. Discussing sex with Severus was not something he'd ever imagined happening right then.

"Exactly. And you're way too young to even be thinking of that, young man. Love spells and potions are restricted by the AMA. Do you know why?"

"No. What's so bad about them?"

Severus seated himself next to his apprentice, placing the book on the table. The book was covered with sparkling tongues of flame that flickered and every once in awhile a scantily girl appeared between them, smiling and waving. "Love spells are compulsion magic, Gavin, which means that they force the target of them to feel something they normally wouldn't, like affection or desire for the caster. Compulsion spells are considered borderline dark magic, and that's why apprentices aren't allowed to study them until they're sixteen or older here. Because they're too easy to misuse. There is no spell in here that will truly make a girl love you, Gavin. Not the way a girl ought to love you, with all of her heart, willingly. All these spells do is make the girl feel desire for the caster, an intense obsessive kind of desire, which is the complete opposite of love. It's a false emotion and once it wears off, and it always does, the girl usually hates you for making her into a pawn and abusing her feelings that way. Now, does that sound like the kind of thing you'd want? To be forced to love someone because of a potion, no matter what?"

"No, sir." Gavin hung his head. "I never thought . . .I just figured they could make a girl notice me."

"And they will, but it won't be real, son. Compulsion is the worst form of coercive magic, and it hurts both the caster and the victim. Was there a girl you were planning to use this on?"

"Umm . . .kind of . . ."

Severus hit his forehead with the palm of his hand. "Merlin and God help me!" he muttered under his breath. "I'm too old for this kind of thing." He fixed his son with a stern look, one that had made Death Eaters bolt and run for cover. "Do you know what would happen to you if the AMA ever discovered you'd been studying compulsive sex spells, Gavin Snape? They'd pull you out of here so fast it'd make your head spin and put you in a cell in Inferno. Then, after one of their personal Hunters questioned you with Veritaserum, you'd be placed under continuous surveillance, and your magic restricted with a Null Magic collar until they were certain you'd learned your lesson."

"All that, just for reading some stupid love book?"

"Not just some stupid love book, Gavin, but a forbidden text on compulsive magic," Snape stressed. "Spells that if miscast, could cause permanent damage to a woman's mind. Turn them into mindless shells, unable to speak or remember anything ever again, except a helpless longing that can never be fulfilled. Is that what you want, boy? Because that's the end result of these spells. Insanity. I've seen the victims of these so-called gentle love potions and it isn't pretty." Severus lectured, not bothering to explain that it had once been a joke among the Death Eaters to make a Muggle girl or woman fall hopelessly in love with one of them with a love spell and then crush her fragile heart utterly by rejecting her in public in the nastiest possible way. Evan Rosier had made a girl commit suicide that way once, and Voldemort had rewarded the bugger for it. Just recalling that incident made Severus sick. He'd been helpless to stop it, but oh, how he'd wanted to. He'd visited the girl's grave afterwards, and planted some everblooming roses on it, as a sort of apology to her for not rescuing her from Rosier. Granted, he'd learned of the incident too late to have done anything, but still it haunted him.

"Compulsion spells are just plain wrong, Gavin, and there's nothing even remotely funny about using them. Magic can't make a girl love you, it has to come naturally, or else it won't last. This is nothing but a pack of lies and I don't ever want you reading such trash again, am I clear?"

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry, I didn't know . . ."

"Didn't you? You knew you shouldn't have been looking at this kind of thing, or else you wouldn't have hid it from me."

"Yeah, but I didn't know that it was forbidden magic or anything, Severus." Gavin defended.

"True, which is why I'm only grounding you for a week and not more."

"A week? But Severus . . .!"

"You want to add another day?" his guardian countered. "Keep talking about how unfair it is."

"No!"

"Didn't think so. And next time another wizard offers you a spellbook, you refuse and come straight to me, I don't care who it is. I'm your teacher and I decide what's appropriate for you to study, no one else. Are you clear on that, Gavin Snape?"

"Yes, sir. What are you going to do with the book?"

"By all rights I should toss it in the fireplace. It's only good for kindling. But since that would be destroying another wizard's property, I won't do that. I'll bring it back to Dean in the morning and then he and I will have a very long talk about this."

Gavin gaped at him. "B-but how did you know?"

Severus favored the boy with a sly smirk. "I'm the Director, I have eyes and ears everywhere." He tucked the offending book in a pocket of his robes. "Now finish up your homework and then go to bed."

Gavin groaned but he'd obeyed. To this day he often wondered what Severus had said to his cousin, for Dean refused to discuss it, except to say that he was never ever going to tick off his uncle that way again. "I'd rather face a hungry manticore and all his relatives!" was all he would say.

So would Gavin. Severus in a temper scared him worse than Ferrous, even though the elder wizard never beat him. Perhaps it was because he knew Snape was far more dangerous than the orphan manager and if he ever lost control . . .Gavin would be lucky to be a mouse and not smeared all over the pavement. Or he could do something even worse than that . . .send Gavin away. He'd rather suffer a thousand whippings than that. Because with Severus he had the one thing he'd always been denied, a home and a real family. The one thing every orphan wished for.

When he'd run away from the Morningstar Orphanage (Ha! What a sweet name for such a tortuous place) he'd thought he'd found a kind of family with the Mystic Ravens. The gang looked out for its members usually, and Smoke and Slick were kind of like big brothers and looked up to by the younger members. They'd taught Gavin how to survive in the shady back alleys and the maze of underground tunnels beneath the streets that the gangs claimed as their own. Undercity, it was called, and only the strongest held it.

The Ravens weren't the biggest gang, they had only twenty members tops, but they were undoubtedly the luckiest and the cleverest. They knew how to fight, but they also knew how to hide, and it was that cunning that kept them from being overrun by larger gangs like the Bloody Skulls or the East Side Wreckers. They'd taught Gavin, who'd been called Wolf back then, how to scale a wall silently, how to steal a watch or a wallet so quickly the mark never even felt it, even how to throw a knife or a sharp piece of glass and hit what he aimed at. The Shadows in the Night had been what they were known as by the other gangs, and once Gavin had considered them his best friends.

Which was why he had left them a way to get in touch with him if they ever needed it.

He'd left instructions with Smoke, so called because he could vanish seemingly into thin air, and also because he liked to play around with stage flash powder, on where to leave a letter in the odd-looking mail box with the crescent moon and the owl on it near the derelict tenement. It always appeared empty, but that was because the mail inside it was not delivered by normal means. Gavin didn't bother telling him that the mailbox was magic, and any letters placed in it were delivered by owl post. The important thing was that if Smoke or any of the other Ravens wanted to speak with him they could.

He knew Severus would never approve of it, but Gavin didn't care. He owed the Ravens for taking care of him when he was eight and he refused to cut all ties to them, even if they were a bunch of no-good thieves and con artists destined to end up dead or in the slammer. He recalled Slick's last words to him, just before he left the hideout. "Here's your ticket outta here, Wolf. Take it and don't look back. Your chance is come, so go and make like the wind." Then he'd cuffed the younger boy about the head playfully. "But if somethin' should happen, that guy don't treat you right or whatever, you skive off quick and get your skinny ass back here. Ravens stick together."

That had been one of the gang mottos. Ravens stick together. It had been true, for the most part. Gavin hadn't received a single letter from them in the eight months he'd left and moved to New Jersey. But that was okay. It meant the Ravens were well and Gavin was happy for them.

He flicked idly through the channels on the TV in the twins room, which was the only TV in the house because the twins had a Playstation and were video game addicts, despite being wizards, like most of the Amarottis. Gavin could understand that, he was a video game junkie himself, but he'd played all of his games dozens of times, and he was bored.

He flopped lazily over the bed, trying to find a show, but there was nothing good on except cooking shows and stupid Disney movies. Disgusted, he flicked off the TV. Thinking about the Ravens made him suddenly nostalgic for their company.

He wondered if he could ever bring himself to go back there, just to see if things were the same as he remembered it. Then he laughed, for he could just picture the utter horror and shock on Severus's face if Gavin ever asked to go back to West and 10th for a visit. That would really drive his law-abiding father over the edge.

Smirking slightly, he rolled off his bed and tugged on his sneakers. Maybe he could go flying for an hour or so, now that he'd done as his grandmother wanted and rested. He picked up his Windstorm 2000. Severus had bought him the broom as a reward for doing well in his therapy sessions, it was one of the top racing brooms in the US. Severus had an older model, as a matter of fact, but the newer one was more streamlined and aerodynamic. It also had mega protection charms on it, which Snape had insisted on before he agreed to buy it, so that if Gavin ever fell off or crashed he would be encased in a shimmering bubble of impermeable force and not get hurt.

Gavin had protested a bit, not wanting to seem like a wimp afraid of a few bruises or broken bones, but his father had ignored him. "I've seen what kids look like after Quidditch matches, and I won't have you risking your neck like that before you're twelve. Then, if you want to try out for a team, I'll allow it, but not now when you're just learning to fly. Safety first, Gavin."

"You worry too much," Gavin rolled his eyes at his father.

"One of us has to," Severus replied, then paid the rather exorbitant price for the Windstorm without blinking an eye.

Gavin loved his Windstorm, he had insisted Severus teach him how to fly the minute they got it home. He proved to be a natural ace, something which made Snape both proud and fearful, for now he knew the boy would be encouraged to try more dangerous stunts and there would be no keeping him off the broom. Indeed, Gavin flew at least once a day, more if he was not in trouble or sick like yesterday. One of the worst punishments Severus could mete out to the fly-crazy child was to take his broom away. (Something that had only happened twice.)

Gavin tucked the broom under his arm and slid down the bannister to the small foyer, something he'd have been scolded about if Severus had ever caught him. But it was ever so much fun and quicker than racing down the stairs, the boy thought unrepentantly. Once Nick and Drew, his older twin cousins, had challenged him to a bannister race, and he'd won, much to their dismay. Gavin was so light he practically soared at top speed, and he'd gone down headfirst as well, which was doubly dangerous. He'd also managed to do a flip in midair, just like his aerial acrobatic Raven buddy Monkey.

That had impressed the socks off his cousins, needless to say.

Unfortunately, Severus and Grandpa Leo had just walked into the foyer to call the boys in for supper just as Gavin performed his wickedly dangerous stunt. Gavin had completed his flip two feet in front of his father, in fact. Severus had remained speechless for all of two minutes before grabbing his son and shaking him soundly. "Are you completely insane, boy? D'you want to break your head open and lose what little sense you've got?" he'd roared, and the lecture had gone downhill from there. All of them had been grounded for the weekend and made to stand with their noses to a wall for twenty minutes while being scolded soundly by both Leo and Severus.

Not one of their brighter ideas, Gavin thought with a snicker. But the look on Snape's face was unforgettable, and one of the few times he'd managed to utterly take the older man by surprise. It had been worth getting in trouble for that alone, though he'd often wondered if Severus would have been a bit more lenient if Gavin had been able to access his magic like the twins and perform flying and cushioning charms.

"I'm going flying, Nana," Gavin called over his shoulder to Ari, who was in the kitchen cooking.

"Fine, dear. Just be back in an hour and a half for supper."

"I will."

Then he raced out the door, and was up in the sky as soon as his feet touched the porch, soaring like an eagle into the endless blue vault with a cry of pure delight.

There was nothing like flying. Nothing. Gavin was addicted to the adrenaline rush and the speed and wished he could fly forever and never have to touch the ground again. It was one of the greatest things about being a wizard, and it made him grateful for once he'd been born with magic in his blood. The only thing that would be better was if he were able to become a bird himself, which someday might be possible, if he ever learned to control his talent.

Severus had forbidden him to fly at night, but occasionally Gavin sneaked rides anyway, and flew with Nightfall, Sev's tawny owl, gliding silently in the moonlight. From observing the owl, Gavin learned to crouch over the broomstick, making himself more streamlined, flying with the wind instead of against it.

He flew in spirals and loops, upside down and backwards, at a speed that would have given poor Severus a coronary if he'd witnessed it. But Gavin's instinctive grace and flying ability allowed him to perform the more dangerous maneuvers without harm. He outraced a flock of seagulls, following them to the beach, then skimmed over the sand dunes for a bit, before finally listening to his grumbling stomach and heading home.

Ari and Leo were already at the table, and Leo told Gavin to wash up before sitting down and eating heartily of his grandmother's ravioli with homemade sauce and crispy Italian bread. Scout settled beside Gavin's chair, begging bits of sweet sausage from the boy's plate.

He talked to his grandparents over dinner, assuring Ari that his stomach felt fine now and yes, he was doing well in school. After dinner he helped Leo wash the dishes then went outside in the backyard to play with Scout and Ace and Rowdy, the Amarotti beagles. He played fetch with the three hounds until they were tired, throwing red balls and sticks across the yard.

Then Rowdy scented a rabbit and all three of them tore across the yard into the woods, baying delightedly. Gavin let them go, knowing Scout would make sure they returned home. The magehound, being the most intelligent dog of the three, never got lost and knew to stay away from the road and strangers.

The boy settled on a lawn chair and dozed, happy that Severus had insisted he'd come here after all. He'd forgotten how large the yard was here and how the Amarottis lived in a wizard neighborhood, so he didn't have to worry about Muggles seeing him riding a broomstick. It was too bad that Drew and Nick weren't here, or even Marietta, so he could have some non-adults to talk to.

Suddenly he heard a soft hoot and he opened his eyes to see Nightfall gliding in for a landing, a small white envelope clutched in his beak. The owl landed gently on Gavin's outstretched arm, so softly that his talons never scratched the boy's skin.

"Hey, fella," Gavin smiled, reaching up to take the letter from the tawny bird. "Got some mail for me, huh?"

Nightfall made a soft chuffing sound and nuzzled his head on Gavin's cheek, something he only did to family members.

Gavin stroked the owl behind the head, ruffling the downy feathers affectionately. "Thanks for bringing this, Nightfall. I'm sorry, I don't have anything to feed you, but hang on and I'll get you a treat, okay?"

Nightfall fluffed his feathers and climbed up to Gavin's shoulder, content to wait.

Gavin quickly examined the letter he'd gotten. There was no return address, but there was a crudely drawn raven where that was supposed to be. Gavin felt his heartbeat quicken. This was from one of the Ravens. After all this time, they'd finally contacted him.

He quickly tore open the letter.

Wolf,

I know that's not your name anymore, kid, but you'll always be Wolf to us Ravens. Hope that cop who adopted you is treating you good. Guess he is, ‘cause you ain't come back here. That's cool tho. Anyway, I'm writing to you ‘cause something bad happened to Smoke. Some shark sold him some weird s***, some ‘shroom we never heard of and the dumbass tried it and had some odd fit and now we think he's dying or something. Viper wanted to take him to a hospital, but we ain't got money for that and no cabbie will take gang kids anywhere, even if we had cash.

You usta be real good with remembering stuff and maybe you can tell us what the hell kind of mushroom this is. It was a funny electric blue color with dark midnight spots and it smelled funny, kind of like lightning and frost, if that makes a damn bit of sense.

When Smoke tried it, he went all still and then he started mumbling, it's so cold, I'm like ice and then he started spazzing, banging his head and his arms and spitting. His spit was blue. He doesn't know any of us and all he does is stare through us-it's scary as hell, Wolf. And he's barely breathing.

If you know anything bout this f-ing mushroom tell us quick. I hope this reaches you Wolf, I don't trust this weird mailbox.

Ravens stick together, bro.

Slick

Gavin re-read the letter again, feeling as if someone had just smashed him in the jaw with a lead club. Christ on a cross, tell me this isn't happening. Smoke was never a user, not when I ran with him anyhow. When did he start? And why did he try something like that? Gavin wondered frantically. Then he shook his head. Why wasn't important. Not now.

He read the description of the mushroom again. Something about it was nagging in the back of his head. He'd read about that sort of mushroom before, he knew he had, but what book had he used? Electric blue with midnight spots. Suddenly he recalled Severus's voice, lecturing softly, "This fungi is electric blue in color with midnight spots and grows to about five feet with a drooping cap. It's called a midnight mushroom and it's among the worst hallucinogins known to man. A wizard who takes midnight mushroom repeatedly will destroy his magic powers, it acts as a natural inhibitor, and it's terribly addicting."

God, this is bad. What does it do to a Muggle? Will it kill you? Gavin stood up, nearly dislodging Nightfall from his perch. The owl squawked and nipped him in reproof. "Ow! Sorry, Nightfall, didn't mean to scare you, buddy. But I just got some really bad news and I need to check out something."

He walked quickly into the house, pausing to grab a piece of sausage out of the fridge and feed it to the owl. Nightfall promptly forgave the apprentice for his hasty departure and took the sausage and flew to eat it on the back of a kitchen chair.

Gavin left the bird to his snack and quickly raced up to his bedroom. For once he was glad Snape insisted he take his schoolbooks with him. He opened his bookbag and dumped all his books out. It had to be here somewhere. Ah, there! His hand closed on a rather worn copy of 1001 Magical Herbs and Fungi which had been given to him by Severus to study so he could learn how to make basic potions under the Potion Master's supervision.

He quickly flipped through the index until he located the entry for midnight mushroom and found the page. Sure enough, there was an illustration on the page that matched exactly Slick's description. He read through the description until he came to the part about known effects.

. . .midnight mushroom is deadly to wizard and Muggle alike, if taken in a great enough dosage. Too much will inhibit a wizard's magic permanently and if a Muggle ingests too much it can result in seizures, asphyxiation, paralysis, and death.

Gavin promptly used a word that would have earned him a long session with a bar of soap.

"Antidote. Where's the damn antidote?" he growled frantically, skimming the text rapidly.

Then he found it. The only known antidote to the midnight mushroom is Essence of Sunstar combined with Phoenix tears, which results in a Dawnstar Elixir. The elixir was costly to make and only a Potion Master would know how to combine the ingredients correctly.

Gavin groaned. Then he bounded to his feet. Perhaps Severus had some of this Dawnstar Elixir in his potions stores. It couldn't hurt to check. Please, please let there be some, he prayed, crossing his fingers. Then he ran downstairs to get some Floo powder.

Luckily, his grandparents were busy elsewhere and he scribbled them a hasty note telling them where he'd gone, saying he'd forgotten a book he needed for school and needed to get it right now. Then he tossed down the Floo powder and said, "Snape residence, Lily Lane."

There was a green flash and when Gavin opened his eyes he was back in his own house.

He sprang out of the fireplace, not even bothering to brush off his sneakers and bolted for the basement, thundering down the stairs to Severus's potions lab like a herd of rampaging water buffalo.

He threw open the door to the closet where Severus stored all of his potions, blessing the other man's neat streak now, for all of the potions were neatly labeled and in alphabetical order. Calming Draft . . .no, wait, here it is . . .Dawnstar Elixir! There was only one bottle on the shelf, in a crystal vial stoppered with a wax covered cork.

Gavin lifted it carefully from the shelf and tucked it in his backpack. Then he sprinted upstairs and back into the fireplace.

Now that he had the antidote, the only other problem was getting it to the Ravens.