After his encounter with Shiva, Gavin felt a little like a naughty child who had been playing with fire. In a way, he had been, for when he'd confronted the fiery creature, he had no way of knowing if he would be able to convince it not to burn him and his friends to ash. The salamander's willingness to cooperate and obey him surprised him profoundly, as had the lizard's revelation that he was a firecaller, whatever that was. He was still trying to come to grips with everything Shiva had told him as he squirmed out of the grate and up into the city proper once more.

His inattention made him catch the back of his pants on a sharp steel projection, tearing a hole in them and cutting a deep scratch in the back of his thigh. He bit his lip at the sudden sting, but otherwise ignored it as he emerged from the sewer into the sudden bright light of a new dawn.

Dazzled by the light, he stood blinking stupidly until Monkey drew him off to one side, where he wouldn't be seen by curious pedestrians. Gavin squinted, letting his eyes adjust slowly to the light. They were in a section of the city that he didn't recognize, an old section that seemed almost deserted. He stared down at the rusty grate, noting in astonishment that it seemed to melt into the street, so that only a keen pair of eyes could pick it out. It was probably enchanted so no one save a wizard could see it or open it.

"Where are we?" he asked Monkey.

She spread her hands ruefully. "Haven't got a clue, bro. I couldn't pay close attention when I was riding on top the van, had to make sure I didn't fall off. Somewhere south of Broadway, is my best guess."

"Like that helps," the other muttered crossly, scanning the alleyway for a street sign.

There were none, or if there had been, they'd been demolished long ago by the homeless and the street drifters who roamed here. Sold for scrap metal at the junkyard for a few bucks for food or a bottle of cheap vodka.

"Well, at least we're out of that awful sewer. Maybe we ought to move away from here, before one of them comes back," Ginny suggested, starting to walk out of the long narrow alley filled with old tires and piles of trash.

She had barely taken three steps before a loud baying filled the air.

"What in Merlin's sweet name . . .?" she began, glancing around wildly.

"Now what?" groaned Monkey, who'd had enough of encountering mythological beasts that were jumping off the pages of fairytales into reality. "Sounds like the hound from hell."

But Gavin was smiling. "That's no hellhound, Monkey. That's my dog, Scout, coming to find me. And hopefully he's brought Severus and Harry with him." His heart rejoiced at the thought and at the same time felt heavy as lead.

Soon enough they heard the swift tattoo of a magehound's paws on the pavement, and then Scout burst into view, head high and nose working. He made straight for Gavin, his long ears flopping like a demented bunny's. Gavin, are you okay? I tried to find you as quick as I could, but Sev and Harry can't run the way I do, Scout panted.

He then jumped up to lick and nuzzle the boy's face and Gavin threw his arms about him and hugged him close. "Where are they, Scout?" he managed to ask inbetween licks.

Right behind me, the dog answered, his tail wagging furiously. Mission accomplished.

And they were.

Harry got to the mouth of the alley first, his younger legs able to move quicker than Snape's. His eyes quickly scanned the area, taking in the ecstatic magehound licking the boy, a rather ragged girl he didn't know, and then . . .then he saw his beloved wife, leaning slightly against the wall, her auburn hair straggling all over, unmistakably pregnant, looking at the reunion between Gavin and Scout with a triumphant smile.

Then, as if by some sixth sense, her head turned and she saw him.

"Harry!"

"Ginny! Are you all right?" he took three steps forward and crushed her into his embrace. Well, he tried, except it was difficult with her bulging belly.

"Better than all right, now that you're here." She lifted her head and their mouths met in a breath-stealing, joyous kiss.

"Ugh! Gross!" Gavin muttered in disgust, catching sight of them.

Scout had now wandered over to greet Monkey, who was standing farther back near the sewer entrance, not wanting to intrude upon this private reunion between the two families.

Then Gavin looked up to behold a familiar figure in a long black greatcoat, leaning on a transfigured Blackstaff. "Uh, hi, Sev."

Severus Snape, Director of DHI, fixed his disobedient son with a scintillating glower. "Gavin Albus Snape, do you have any idea how worried I've been? You are in serious trouble, young man. But we'll discuss that later," he added, seeing the child's lip quiver.

"I'm sorry, sir," Gavin mumbled, afraid to meet the older man's gaze for fear of the disgust he'd see in it.

"Come here, son," his father ordered softly, holding out his arms.

Gavin glanced up and saw and then he threw himself into his father's embrace. Severus' familiar arms wrapped about him, giving him the comfort and protection he craved, and Gavin was content to stay there, no matter how angry the man was with him afterwards.

They were so intent upon each other, that even the veteran Snape forgot to post a lookout, and thus were all caught off guard when a sinister shape popped into view close to the sewer entrance, wand drawn and pointed directly at the back of Gavin's head.

But before Devlin could do more than spit out the first syllable of the Killing Curse, Scout was lunging at him, teeth bared in a silent snarl.

The hound had the man down on the ground in a flash, but it was Monkey, with her lightning street reflexes, that delivered the coup d'grace. She slammed him in the head with her trusty Louisville Slugger. Devlin never even knew what hit him.

Severus's eyes widened as he heard the thump of something heavy hitting the ground. Then he caught sight of a skinny street urchin standing over a fallen necromancer with a baseball bat along with Scout and both eyebrows went up.

The girl flashed him a gamin smile and said calmly, "Who needs magic when you've got a good bat, huh?"

"Nice one, Monkey," Gavin commented. "But then you always did have a wicked Grand Slam."

Monkey beamed. "You betcha. Now don't ever say I hit like a girl again, got me?"

"Shoot, girl, you hit better than Babe Ruth," Gavin laughed and gave her a high five. "Sev, meet my friend Monkey. If it weren't for her, we'd still be stuck in a cell in Undercity as guests of the Shifter."

"Pleased ta meetcha, Mr. Snape." Monkey stuck out a hand.

Severus shook it gravely. "Likewise, miss. Monkey isn't the name you were born with, is it?"

"Oh, no. My mama called me Jane Eyre Arnold. Got my name outta a famous book, I think," she told him. "Janie, she usta call me for short. Monkey's just a street handle."

"How come I never knew that?" Gavin demanded, a bit miffed that she hadn't ever told him that before.

"Well, you never asked, now didja, smart aleck?"

Gavin made a face at her.

"My son and I are very grateful for your assistance, Miss Jane," Severus said formally.

"Aw, it was no big deal," Monkey shrugged. "Wolf's like my brother, know what I mean? And b'sides, us Ravens stick together. Least most of us do," she amended, recalling Slick.

"Right on, sister. There ain't nothin' mo' betta than a Raven." Gavin agreed, and Severus winced at his son's sudden descent into street slang. He'd spent weeks teaching the boy to speak properly again after he'd adopted him.

"We can discuss this later," Severus broke in. "For now, we'd better move, in case more of the Shifter's friends come back." He knelt to inspect the unconscious Devlin, then straightened and called over to the Potters," Sorry to interrupt, Harry, but your little reunion is going to have to wait. We need to Apparate back to Central Park and regroup."

"Okay, okay." Harry sighed, removing himself reluctantly from his wife's arms. "Gin, you've got your wand, right?"

"Wouldn't have left without it," she said, and pulled it out of her sleeve. "I'll take Monkey with me and you take Scout. Severus can take Gavin."

That sorted, each of the adult wizards promptly latched onto their chosen minor or animal and Apparated away in triple flashes of blue light.

They reappeared behind the screen of dogwood trees in Central Park where Harry and Severus had first arrived to plant the decoy for the Shifter.

"Wow!" Monkey exclaimed, her eyes wide. "That was better than the transporter on Star Trek."

Ginny smiled at the girl's enthusiasm and said, "Monkey, why don't you go and keep a lookout over there, while I fill Harry and Director Snape in on some things?"

"Okay. I'm cool with that." She moved off and stationed herself behind one of the trees to the left, giving her a good vantage point of the paths that crisscrossed the area, her trusty bat in hand.

Meanwhile, the four wizards were having a hasty conference some ways to the right.

Harry cleared his throat after looking swiftly in the street girl's direction, then said quietly, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's a Muggle girl, right?"

"Yes. Why?" Gavin answered.

"Because she just saw us perform magic. Which is against the rules," Harry pointed out. He looked at Ginny and Gavin, frowning. "I know she helped you two out of a tight spot, but . . .can we trust her? Or should I perform a Memory Charm on her right now?"

"I'd really hate to do that," Ginny began unhappily. "But maybe you're right. Muggles aren't really supposed to know about our world."

"It'd be safer for all of us and her as well. You can't reveal what you don't know," Severus agreed.

"What!" Gavin gasped, looking from one to the other in disbelief. "You can't be serious. She just saved our lives, including yours, Sev, and you want to just make her forget we ever existed?" He glared angrily at the other wizards, but he reserved his most furious look for his father. "Monkey's my best friend and she deserves better than that. You do that to her, Sev and I'll-I'll never speak to you again, I swear to God."

Ginny and Harry exchanged glances of mutual surprise and amusement. None of them would have dared speak so to their Potions Master when they were that age, and Severus was the kid's father as well as teacher. Severus was not amused, however.

"You're on thin ice as it is with me, mister, now mind your attitude," Snape warned, shooting his son a quelling frown.

Gavin winced, but continued gamely, unwilling to let this go without a fight. "But Severus, she'd never betray us. She followed me to the hideout after my double-crossing friend Slick sold me out to the Shifter for the price of a bag of coke or whatever. She risked her neck to get us out of that room and now you want to just brainwash her? That's not right."

"Gavin, you know the rules. Unauthorized Muggles can't know about us or our world." Severus began exasperatedly.

"I know, but this is different. Can't we make an exception? Just this once? Please, sir?" He gave his father a pleading glance from his huge brown eyes.

"What if we made her swear a magical oath never to speak about us, Severus?" Harry suggested. He wasn't particularly fond of Memory Charms, having nearly been the victim of one himself at that age courtesy of Gilderoy Lockhart.

Snape considered, his brow furrowing, for now three pairs of eyes were giving him puppy-dog stares. Why do I always get stuck with the hard decisions? Why can't someone else be the bad guy for once? "Oh, for the love of Merlin!" he huffed. "Very well, she can keep her memories, but I'll cast the oathbinding on her myself."

"Thanks, Severus. Can I watch?" his son asked.

"Yes, but keep quiet," his father said, then walked over to where Monkey was standing guard.

"Might I speak with you a moment, Miss Jane?"

"Sure. What's up?"

Snape paused, unsure of how to begin, but then he decided to just say it straight out. "Since you have seen for yourself that magic is real and not merely in fairy tales, I must ask that you promise me something."

"I can't ever tell anyone, right?"

"Smart girl," Severus praised. "Yes, you must never reveal to anyone what you've seen today. Our very lives depend on us keeping our magic and the fact that we are wizards a secret. Therefore I must insist that you swear the most solemn promise you can make, by God and all you hold dear, to keep silent about our world."

"I can do that, Mr. Snape. No problem, dude."

"Good. Give me your hand, child," Severus instructed. She did so, placing her tiny hand in his larger one. Then he drew his ebony wand.

"What are you gonna do with that? Are you gonna magic me?" Monkey asked, a note of uncertainty creeping into her voice.

"It won't hurt or nothin'," Gavin put in. "Sev never hurts with his magic."

Monkey heaved a sigh and relaxed a fraction. "Okay. You oughta know, Wolf."

"Now then, repeat after me,"Severus began briskly. "I, Jane Eyre Arnold, solemnly swear by God Almighty never to reveal any knowledge of wizards or magic, unless I am in peril of my life, to anyone for all the days of my life."

Once Monkey had recited that, Severus then intoned, "I, Severus Tobias Snape, master wizard, hear and accept your oath and now make it binding by all the laws of earth and heaven. Contractica Impermiabla!"

There was a bright blue flash from his wand that curled around their clasped hands for an instant, sending a tingling sensation through them before it vanished.

"Excellent. Now you can keep your promise without worrying that one day you'll slip and mention something about wizards or magic to someone." Snape told her, releasing her hand and tucking away his wand.

"Like who'd believe me anyhow?" the girl snorted. "They'd think I was on crack or a nutcase." Suddenly there came a loud rumble from her stomach.

"How long has it been since you've eaten a proper meal?" the Director queried softly, recalling how malnourished and starving Gavin had been when he'd first come to live with Snape at Lily Lane.

Monkey studied her feet, embarrassed. "Ah, I had a bag of chips and a soda yesterday, b'fore I followed those magician hitmen into the sewers. It wasn't much, but I only had a few bucks on me."

"Here," Severus reached into his back pocket and took out his wallet. He counted out several twenty dollar bills. "Take that and buy yourself a decent meal."

"But . . .this is like . . ." she quickly counted the bills, her mouth falling open." Two hundred dollars! Christ Almighty! I can't take this . . .it's charity."

"Keep it," Severus told her firmly, holding up a hand when she tried to give it back. "At least you'll eat properly for a week on it. It's not charity either. Consider it my thanks for saving my son."

"Really? Thanks. You're okay for a cop, even a wizard cop," she said and grinned at him. Then she stuffed the bills in the pocket of her hoodie. "D'you mind if I ask you something, Mr. Snape?"

"Go on, though I can't promise you I will answer, if it's something about magic you're not meant to know."

"It ain't. I was just wondering, is all, why Wolf-I mean Gavin-" she corrected herself swiftly. "-doesn't call you dad?"

Severus cocked an eyebrow, he'd been expecting any other question except that one. Fortunately, it was an easy one to answer. "I told Gavin when he first came to live with me that he could call me by my first name until he felt comfortable calling me dad."

"Oh, I get it." Then she whirled on her friend, her hands on her hips. "If I were you, buddy, I'd be calling him dad, ‘specially after what he done for you. Show some respect, why dontcha?"

Gavin felt his jaw drop. "Blessed hells, Monkey, where do you get off telling me how I ought to act? You've never even gone back to see your mother in five years or whatever."

She scowled at him. "Yeah, I have, only she threw me out. Said she didn't need no kid hanging around her, it'd ruin her image. She's shacked up with a new boyfriend, so I lit outta there. Don't need her crap or her neither. But that's my biz and it don't have a thing to do with you treatin' your dad with disrespect. Much as I dislike my mama sometimes, I'd never call her Darla Jean."

"Sev doesn't mind," Gavin mumbled.

"Humph!" Monkey snorted. "Somethin' you oughta think about, is all. If it were me, I'd be callin' him dad all the time."

"Who asked you?" the boy grumbled, flushing. He would never admit it, but her words made him think that maybe it was time he started referring to Severus as his father the way his two sisters did. Trish was adopted too and she called Severus dad.

Before their little tiff could escalate into a full scale argument, Snape interrupted them. "I think it's time for me to send you home, Janie. Unless you'd rather walk yourself? Or take a cab?"

"Can't afford one," she began automatically, then stopped. With the money Severus had given her, she certainly could. She smiled. "Scratch that, I can now. But I don't want to waste cash when I can walk back on my own two feet. Cabbies don't like my neighborhood much anyways. Guess I'll be moseying along then. See ya, Wolf boy."

"Hey, if you ever need anything from us, just drop us a note in the crescent moon mailbox," Gavin reminded her. "And punch Slick a good one from me, okay?"

"Will do, bro. I'll kick him one right in the jewels for ya, the scumbag. And just wait till Smoke finds out how he sold out a fellow Raven to the Mafia. Slick's gonna wish he jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge when Smoke gets through with his ass."

"Think he'll kick him outta the Ravens?"

"Maybe, if the others want him to. I sure as hell do." She gave Gavin a high five and hugged him. "Take care, bro. Bye, Mr. Snape. Thanks for everything. And if you ever need a lead from a Raven, let me know."

Severus favored her with a rare smile. "I'll keep that in mind, Jane. Goodbye."

She skipped down the path, her Louisville Slugger tucked beneath her left arm, whistling the tune from The Wizard of Oz. Snape watched her until she was out of sight, then he turned to his wayward son and said, "Now let me have a look at you. Did they hurt you, son?"

"Kind of," the boy admitted, lifting his chin to look his father in the eye. "That damn Shifter, whose real name's Draco or whatever, he smacked me across the face a couple of times."

Severus's mouth tightened as he gently caught his son's chin in his hand and tilted his face up to the light to examine it. "So I see. You've got a bruise across both cheekbones. Bloody bastard!" Then he blinked and asked, "Did I hear you say his real name was Draco? Draco Malfoy?"

"Yeah. Least that's what Ginny says. She recognized him from how he acted and what he said to us. Said he used to be your student too, same as she and Harry were."

"He was. One of the worst mistakes I ever made, not keeping a better watch on him," Severus sighed. "But now I can give him the justice he deserves, for now he's an adult and he's crossed the line. I've got some bruise salve for your face in my potions kit that'll help with the pain and swelling. Are you hurt any place else?"

Gavin hesitated, not wanting to reveal that he'd also been the victim of Draco's Cruciatus curse just yet. He went to rub his sweaty palm on the back of his jeans, forgetting about the deep scratch he'd gotten, and winced sharply.

"What's the matter?" Severus demanded, his sharp eyes not missing a thing.

"Nothin'. Just a scratch, is all. Caught my jeans on the grate when I was coming out of the sewer and got scraped. I'll live."

"Let me see. Turn around."

"Sev, I'm fine."

"Just do what I say," Snape ordered, then seeing the boy's stubborn look, took matters into his own hands. He spun the boy about, examining the ragged tear in the back of Gavin's jeans and the bloody cut down the back of his thigh. "I need to clean that right away. There's no telling what kind of germs or infection you could pick up, cutting yourself on a sewer grate like that. Come over here."

He kept a hand firmly on Gavin's shoulder, leading the protesting child over to a nearby wooden bench. Then the Director sat down, pulled out his emergency potions kit and spoke a word that enlarged it back to its former size. "Let's see now. Ah, here we go. Yarrow antiseptic wash, dittany salve, arnica bruise balm." He quickly pulled out two round jars and a small vial and a soft cloth. Then he told his son to remove his jeans so he could tend to the scratch properly.

"No way! I told you, I'm fine, Sev!" Gavin insisted, trying to back away.

"That wasn't a request," Severus said. "Do it."

"But-"

Snape wasn't minded to argue all day and so he snapped his fingers, causing the boy's pants to fall down. "Now come here and let me see to that cut before you get lockjaw or something."

Before his son could say anything else, Severus had picked him up and laid him down over his lap. "Stay still and I'll be done in a minute."

He uncapped the vial of antiseptic wash.

Meanwhile, Harry and Ginny were kissing and hugging and Ginny was telling Harry all about how the Shifter was Draco Malfoy.

"I knew it!" Harry cried. "No good shiftless bastard. Just wait till I get my hands on him."

"He wants revenge on you and Severus really bad, love," Ginny said. "Enough so he's willing to risk his soul by using the Resurrection Stone. Why did you give him it, Harry?"

Harry opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by a sharp cry from poor Gavin, who was wriggling all over Severus's knees, trying to avoid the cloth soaked in the stinging antiseptic.

"Oww! Stop, Sev! That really hurts! Oww!"

Ginny spun around to see why Gavin was yelling, saw the boy over his father's knee and misinterpreted what she was seeing. "I don't believe that man!" she growled, and stomped over to them, shouting, "Severus Snape, don't you dare spank that kid. He's gone through enough today without that."

Severus looked up in astonishment at the angry woman, one hand still holding the dripping cloth, the other pinning his son in place. "Calm yourself, Ginny. You're overreacting. Contrary to popular belief, I don't beat my children."

"Then why is he howling like that?"

"Because I'm cleaning out a very nasty scrape with yarrow astringent and it stings like hell." He turned back to his son, who was sniffling. "Sorry, but this has to be done. Hold still."

Ginny winced in sympathy and patted Gavin's shoulder. Then she withdrew, embarrassed at her outburst. Sometimes her maternal instincts were hard to suppress.

The Director resumed dabbing at the back of the boy's thigh with the antiseptic. Gavin yelped pitifully.

"Oww! I really hate you, Dad!"

"Stop being such a baby. Almost done. There," Severus finished disinfecting the wound, then applied the soothing pain-relieving dittany salve. His son gasped in relief. "Better now?"

"Yeah." Gavin sat up, wiping his face with a cloth his father handed him.

"Look at me, please," Severus ordered, then began to gently rub on the arnica salve over the huge bruise across Gavin's face, which was just beginning to darken. Once he was satisfied he'd covered the whole bruise, he recapped the jar and tucked everything back into the kit.

Severus gestured and Gavin's jeans settled about him once more, neatly mended. "Still hate me?"

Gavin blushed. "No. But next time I want to see Arista and let her fix me up. Your way hurts too much."

"But it's just as effective," Severus argued. Then he eyed his child suspiciously. "There's something you're not telling me. Did Malfoy use magic on either of you while you were there? Did he threaten to curse you? Because if he did, I'm going to kick his thieving ass all over Manhattan."

Gavin smiled a little at that. "Well, he did, uh, sort of curse me."

"How?"

"He used the Cruciatus Curse, Severus," Ginny reported, coming back to stand beside them. "He would have used it on me as well, only Gavin bit him and made him mad, so he used it on the poor kid first. Until I knocked his wand out of his hand and kicked him in the nuts."

Severus went pale at the witch's words. Then he began to swear a blue streak. "He's a dead man. Dead!" There was a terrible light in his dark eyes, one that caused his companions to shiver and step back from him. All except Gavin, who suddenly found himself clasped in his father's arms. "Why didn't you tell me before? Did you think I wouldn't understand? No wonder you were bawling over that antiseptic wash, your nerves are still sensitive to pain. Here, drink this," he withdrew a green potion from his kit and handed it to his son. "It's a strong pain relieving draft."

Gavin obediently drank it, it tasted like sour apples, but he managed to get it down. Almost instantly all the aches and pains he'd been feeling were gone. A sleepy lassitude spread through him and suddenly all he wanted right then was to fall asleep snuggled in Severus's embrace. But he resisted the impulse, for he wanted to help his father and Harry give the Shifter his well deserved comeuppance.

Severus was horrified that his child had been a victim of that awful curse, and he wanted nothing more than to send the boy back to Point Pleasant to be checked out by Arista and make sure the dreadful spell hadn't damaged any vital nerve bundles. Prolonged use of such a curse could result in permanent nerve damage, as Severus knew very well from being hit with it multiple times by Voldemort and Lucius Malfoy.

He looked down at his son, so vulnerable, so precious, and felt his heart contract. "Maybe I ought to send you home, Gavin" he murmured, half to himself.

"No! I want to see you nail the bastard. Please, Dad? Please?"

The older man sighed reluctantly. "Very well, but you're not to do anything to draw attention to yourself, understand? This is my fight."

"And mine too," Harry said angrily. "He kidnapped and hurt my wife too, so you're going to have to get in line behind me, Severus. I want the first crack at him."

"Fine, so long as you leave enough left over for me," Severus said grimly. "Now all we have to do is find him."

"You've got Scout," Gavin reminded them.

"Yeah, but we've also got a third ransom note," Harry announced, and withdrew a folded piece of parchment from his pocket. "I picked this up right beneath the bronze horseman statue. It says that if I ever want to see Ginny alive to bring the Elder Wand and put it beneath the fountain with the mermaid in the northeast section of the park." Harry displayed the parchment. There was even a small map drawn at the bottom.

Severus bared his teeth, looking very much like the Big Bad Wolf. "How thoughtful of Draco to give us directions. Shall we go and thank him, Harry?"

"Certainly, Severus. I'll be sure to express my eternal gratitude when I see him next. Let's go." Harry said. "This little meeting's been a long time coming."