They decided to make a quick facsimile of the Elder Wand to draw Malfoy out from under the rock he lived in. "Kind of like using a sausage to bait a dog into the bathtub," Ginny said, speaking from experience.

Scout wrinkled his nose at that. I'd never be stupid enough to fall for that old trick, he said to Gavin.

Gavin ruffled his ears. "You might not be, but Draco is."

Severus gave the kid a searching glance. "Are you talking with Scout?"

Gavin nodded proudly. "Yeah, I am. I'm an Animal Speaker, just like Nana. And I can talk to just about any animal. Even magical ones. Pretty awesome, huh, Dad?"

Snape grinned. "Very awesome, son. It looks like your magic's finally manifesting. But we can talk more about it later. Right now I need to concentrate on turning this stick into something resembling the Elder Wand." He resumed casting a skintight nearly foolproof Illusion Charm over the gnarled stick in his lap.

"That almost looks like an exact replica," Ginny observed.

"So real that you thought it was the actual thing, right?" Harry teased, for he had explained to his wife how they had made decoys for Malfoy. "Looks like Malfoy fell for it too."

"Shut up, Harry," Ginny ordered crossly, and slugged her smirking husband in the shoulder.

"Boy, are you cranky today."

"Try carrying around thirty extra pounds and not being able to see your feet and being held hostage by an annoying wizard with a sick sense of humor and see how you feel, Mr. Potter. I'll bet you won't be all sweetness and light either."

Harry rolled his eyes and exchanged commiserating glances with Severus. "Pregnant women! There's just no pleasing them."

"Excuse me?" Ginny demanded, glaring at her beloved. "I'd watch my mouth, Potter, if I were you. Or else you're going to end up sleeping on the couch."

"Like I don't do that anyhow, most nights," Harry shot back. "It's impossible to sleep next to you lately."

"Well, excuse me all to blazes!" his wife snapped. "Married men! All they do is bitch and moan!"

Harry opened his mouth to reply, but Severus cut in. "All right, you two, quit bickering and act your age! Before Draco hears and comes over to investigate and ruins our whole plan. You can argue like cats and dogs after we settle with him."

He fixed the two with a very uncompromising scowl, making them flush and look away, just as if they were still his students.

That's telling them, Sev, Scout whuffed, and Gavin bit back a grin at the dog's comment. It had gotten a whole lot more interesting now that he could he understand and speak to animals. He wondered if dogs reflected some of their masters' personalities, or were they individualists, like cats?

Severus tapped his Hunter map again and said, "According to this, we're pretty close to where the Shifter is now. Let's follow the trail of proverbial breadcrumbs and leave the Elder Wand for our thieving necromancer."

Scout walked over to him, sniffing the air and looking alert and eager. I know just where he is, Sev. You don't need that dumb old piece of paper when you've got the best nose in America.

The Director looked down at the magehound and said, "Shall we go hunt up a necromancer, old boy? Seems like I can't keep you from it, no matter how hard I try, so . . .Search, Scout! Find Draco!"

Right away, Sev! Follow me! The magehound bayed and took off, running over the dew-soaked grass in leaps and bounds.

The four wizards made haste to follow him, using Springbok Charms to keep up with the big dog. Severus cast one on Gavin, since the boy didn't have a wand. The apprentice found he enjoyed the super speed it gave him, it made him feel like Sonic the Hedgehog or some kind of superhero. It was getting on to midmorning, though there weren't too many people walking in the park, surprisingly enough. Which was a good thing for them, Gavin reflected, else they would never be able to travel like this.

It took all of ten minutes for the racing magehound and the trio of Hunters and Gavin to reach the mermaid fountain at the northeast end of the park. Scout slowed down when he arrived, all his fur bristling as the dark aura of a practitioner of the Midnight Path hit his nostrils. The magehound's lip crept back from his fangs in a silent snarl. But he waited for Severus and the others, not moving in on his quarry, even though he was quite capable of knocking Malfoy off his feet and keeping him on the ground.

"Stay here with Scout," the Director told his son. "No matter what happens, you stay out of this, understand? If it looks like things aren't going well for us, you call Colin on my spellophone and request backup." He handed Gavin his black spellophone.

"Yes, sir," Gavin agreed, sensing that now was not the time to debate the merits of being a witness to a fight that could end in death with his father. Severus needed to focus, and Gavin knew any kind of disagreement would distract him. He wished desperately he was wizard enough to help them fight, but since he wasn't, he knew the best thing he could do was to stay out of the way.

One thing he did know for sure, was that he never wanted to be on the wrong end of Draco's wand again. He wondered if the dark wizard felt that way about facing Severus, his old teacher. But no, Draco was too arrogant to allow himself to be afraid of his former professor, Gavin had heard him call Snape an old cripple, and smile at the thought of making him pay for killing his father.

Snape would soon teach Draco differently, Gavin thought with a little thrill of satisfaction.

The boy watched from beside a nearby Douglas fir as Severus went forward to place the Elder Wand replica at the foot of the burbling fountain. Then he withdrew into the shadow of some pin oaks, using a Chameleon Charm to become one with his surroundings. Harry and Ginny did the same.

Scout stood protectively in front of his young charge, his blue eyes ever alert for the dark wizard lurking nearby. The dog's nose told him that Draco was just opposite the fountain, and growing increasingly bored and edgy with waiting.

The dark wizard couldn't believe that his former professor and that heroic imbecile Harry Potter hadn't fulfilled the request he'd given them yet. Didn't they realize what power he held over them? With a word, he could take away all they held dear. With a single spell he could destroy their loved ones, and make them suffer an eternity of anguish. Surely they must realize that their only hope was to comply with his instructions? After all, what was the Deathly Hallows to Potter if his wife was gone and with her his unborn children? And Snape, that sentimental old cripple, what would he risk to have his brat of a son safe and sound, despite the glaring fact that the child was none of his blood? How could the former Headmaster love a kid that was not his own, Draco pondered with a sneer. Still, this was not the first time Snape had displayed such philanthropic tendencies, the other recalled. There had been that fat Hufflepuff cow, Tricia Greenbough, who had been adopted by the professor and gone to live with him during their fifth year. Utter madness!

It was then that Draco had begun to think that Snape was becoming senile, but it wasn't until after the professor had revealed his true colors one dark night that Malfoy had lost all respect for him and started hating him. And Severus's killing of Lucius only exacerbated that hate, until Draco would have cheerfully boiled the Potions Master alive in his own cauldron full of oil.

He tapped his hand impatiently against his knee. Soon he would have his ultimate revenge. Once he had the Elder Wand he could challenge Harry Potter to a duel, and kill him in front of his poor pregnant wife. Who would be so upset by her husband's demise that she might miscarry his brats, leaving her free to become Draco's mistress and maybe bear him a son. Fitting revenge indeed, to have his child growing in Potter's widow.

And then he would torture Severus's precious son in front of the Director, making sure the man watched the whole thing and was helpless to do anything more. Then he would kill the Potions Master and use Snape's blood and power to complete the ritual that would raise Lucius from the dead. What goes around comes around, Draco thought eagerly. Perhaps he would send Snape's Healer daughter her father's head for remembrance. She'd probably have a nervous breakdown, he sniggered.

And Draco would have his father back again and together they would make the world regret ever harming a Malfoy.

For a long moment, Draco was lost in his sadistic daydream. Blinking, he came back from his private rejoicing, and cast yet another glance at the mermaid fountain.

His eye was caught immediately by a shimmering in the air beside the fountain. Finally! The dark wizard sprang to his feet, licking his lips in anticipation. His victory was assured, he could feel it. The stars had proclaimed it last night, as had his tea leaves in this morning's divination session. Today was the day a Malfoy triumphed over Potter and Snape.

He quickly scanned the area for any wizard presence, but found none. Good. They had done what he wanted, left the wand and withdrawn. His next note would tell them where he wanted to meet next, and it was there that he would have his final duel with Potter.

Draco moved out from behind the concealment of the shrubbery, his black robes swirling about his tall frame. He was a handsome young man, perfect teeth, golden hair, and bright gray eyes. But there was something cold about him, a core of ice that warmth could not touch, and it made most women wary of getting too close to him. One hand caressed the Amulet of Shifting.

What a tremendous find that had been, he'd discovered it by chance going through some old boxes of his mother's in the attic, it had been thrown carelessly in among a bunch of jewelry and been forgotten. Draco hadn't thought much of it at first, until he'd touched it and felt the power in it. An ancient magic, one that must have been in the Black family for centuries, and now it was his. It was the Amulet that had given him the ability to get revenge on those stupid fools that had cast him out, all the Muggle-loving bleeding heart idiots. He'd used some of the proceeds from his kidnapping spree to get a new wand made by one of the dark wandmakers in Albania.

He patted the new wand absently, it wasn't quite as good as the one from Ollivander's, but it worked and that was all that really mattered. He threw a look over his shoulder, beckoning Goyle to follow him.

When the other wizard didn't respond, Draco spun around angrily, only to find the hulking brute eating the wild strawberries off the bush he'd been hiding next to. "Goyle, you dumb twit, quit stuffing your fat face and get over here. They've left the Elder Wand."

Goyle looked up, strawberry juice dripping down his chin. "Sorry, but I'm hungry, Draco. Haven't had anything for breakfast."

"I ought to feed you to the salamander for breakfast," Draco grumbled. "Why is it so difficult to find good help these days? Come on. I knew I should've sent you home and kept Devlin here as lookout, since the only thing you're looking out for is your bloody stomach."

"It's not my fault you forgot to get breakfast," the other grumbled irritably, following his friend out of the shrubbery and onto the concrete pathway where the fountain burbled.

Draco's eyes were alight with acquisitive glee, and he knelt swiftly and canceled the charm that kept the wand hidden from ordinary passersby. "At last! The Elder Wand is mine!" he crowed, lifting the slightly gnarled piece of wood in his hands reverently. He could feel the magic thrumming through it and his mouth twitched into a gruesome smile. This was the weapon he needed to defeat Potter once and for all. Potter was known as the Slayer of Voldemort, but soon Draco would be known as the Man Who Killed Harry Potter by all. It was a piece of notoriety he looked forward to immensely.

"Potter, you fool," he hissed. "You've given me the key to your undoing, and you don't even know it. But you will. You will." He reached into his left pocket and withdrew yet another note, this one with the instructions that Harry was to meet Draco at a specific place and there the Shifter would surrender his wife. In reality, it was a trap, and Draco only wanted to get Harry alone so he could duel him.

Draco straightened, his part in this drama was very nearly over, though he never realized it. He made as if to turn to Goyle and tell him to Apparate back to their secret base in the sewers, when two things occurred.

The first was Harry stepping out from behind the tree where he'd been concealed and calling out, "Long time no see, eh, Draco?"

Draco whirled about at the voice behind him, Elder Wand in hand, his gray eyes glowing with primordial triumph. "At last, Potter! I was wondering when you'd show yourself. Thought for a minute that the great Harry Potter had become a coward and turned tail and run away like a whipped cur, leaving his wife in my care."

"In your dreams, Malfoy," Harry spat, his green eyes blazing. He took two steps toward the necromancer, wand at the ready.

At nearly the same moment, there was a red flash and Devlin appeared next to Goyle, pale and disheveled. "Goyle, we got a big problem! The prisoners, the witch and the kid, they got away and the fire salamander's loose, gone on a rampage and is burning down the whole flipping place."

Goyle gaped at him in disbelief. "Merlin's bloody arse! You sure they're gone?"

Devlin snarled a very nasty word then nodded. "Either they're gone or else they've been burnt to a crisp by the salamander. Sayonara, baby. And if the boss don't get back and bring that freakin' lizard back under control, we're gonna be in serious trouble. There're gas lines under there that'll blow sky high if the lizard ignites them."

"Better tell him then," Goyle replied.

"Hey boss!" Devlin shouted, unconcerned for the moment that Draco appeared to be in the beginning stages of a duel. "You'd better get home and spell that fire lizard to sleep or something."

"Not now, Devlin!" Draco snapped irritably. "I'm kind of busy at the moment. What ever's wrong can wait till I'm settled with Potter, or else fix it yourself."

"But we can't . . ." Devlin began.

"Now isn't that a shame," drawled Severus, coming out from behind the fir tree he'd been leaning next to. "Pitiful, really. A grown wizard like you can't manage a simple fire salamander? My son could, and he's not even begun his formal training yet."

Devlin's jaw dropped open upon seeing the Director of the DHI confronting him. "Aw, damn! It's the bloody Director himself, Snape!"

Severus was giving him the nastiest stare in his arsenal. "I'm arresting you on charges of necromancy, abduction of a minor, aiding and abetting a known criminal and about a dozen other things.Will you come quietly, Devlin, or do I have to resort to force?"

"You ain't puttin' me in Inferno and collaring me, Snape!" Devlin snarled. "If I'm going down, then so are you, Hunter!"

"I'll take that as yes," Severus replied, then spun his wand counterclockwise and shouted, "Arciae Auriae!

A blue jet of liquid ice shot out from his wand, which would have turned Devlin into an ice sculpture if it had hit him. But the big wizard was quicker than he looked, and managed to deflect the curse before it could do much more than form icicles on his hair and clothes. "Nice try, old man!" the other chuckled. "But no cigar. Serpentia Acquatica!"

A huge jet of water shot out of Devlin's finger, forming into a huge water serpent about twelve feet long, coiled to strike. Made entirely of water, the snake was not venomous, but it could constrict and drown its victim.

It lunged towards Severus, mouth agape.

Snape took one quick step backwards, cursing his maimed leg, which didn't allow him to move as quickly as he wanted. Then he chanted a counterspell. "Phoenix Inferio!"

A phoenix made entirely of fire burst from Snape's wand, wings outstretched, shrieking a war cry.

It flew straight towards Devlin's aquatic serpent and tried to smother the snake in its wings.

The two wizards watched their creations battle for a moment, each of them concnentrating on giving their construct more power.

The snake wrapped about the phoenix, trying to douse its otherwordly fire with its magical body. But the phoenix was not so easily defeated and it simply flamed stronger, making the serpent start to melt.

Devlin poured more of his power into the struggling serpent, but Snape's will was the stronger, and at last the phoenix reduced the water snake to a mere puddle and a vapor.

"That the best you've got, Hunter?" taunted a panting Devlin. He clapped his hands and tremor shook the ground beneath Severus's feet.

But the Director had been expecting that trick, it was a known favorite of the other man, and he simply levitated up and hovered. From this new vantage point, it was even easier to fling spells. Snape swiftly summoned a man-eating kudzu vine to wrap about Devlin and squeeze him half to death.

Devlin choked, his face turning blue as he gasped for air. But he managed to sputter out a shriveling curse and the kudzu withered and turned to dust.

On the other side of the fountain, Harry was dueling furiously with Draco, who could not understand why the Elder Wand was not granting him mastery over Harry's wand and allowing him to win the duel.

"What have you done, Potter?" he cried. "The Elder Wand is the ultimate dueling weapon, it should defeat you easily. Yet you've countered every hex I've thrown at you. How? Have you corrupted it with your Gryffindor nobility?"

"Think about it, Malfoy, you stupid prat!" Harry sneered, looking very much like one of his former professors. "Are you dumb as well as arrogant? Did you really think I'd let the Elder Wand fall into your grasp?"

"You would if you wanted to save your precious Ginny."

"Maybe, but I never needed to resort into surrendering it, because Ginny escaped you on her own." Harry reported. "And the so-called Elder Wand you hold is nothing but a fake. Severus is mighty good at Illusion Charms, wouldn't you say?"

Draco looked like he was about to have an attack of apoplexy. "You-you bloody damned cheating bastard!" he screamed. Then he threw down the false wand and whipped out his own. "I'm through playing, Potter! Now it's time to die!"

"Famous last words, Malfoy!" Ginny yelled, allowing her chameleon charm to slip away.

Draco swivelled his head to pin the auburn-haired witch with a frigid stare. "Ah, Potter's brought along an audience. How nice of you to join us, my dear. Come to watch me mop up the floor with your precious little Harry? And when I'm done with him, I'll give you a lesson in manners you won't soon forget."

Then, without warning, he shot a Paralysis Curse at her.

Ginny was unprepared for him to start hexing her and she couldn't block fast enough.

The curse hit her dead on and froze her in place.

"Bastard!" Harry cried. "You're supposed to fight me, Malfoy!"

"All's fair in love and war, Potter. This way she can watch it all and not give me any lip, as my father would say. I love a captive audience."

"You're a sick twisted git," Harry growled. "Just like your father." He pointed his wand and shouted a Stunning Hex.

Draco blocked it lazily. "Thank you for the compliment, Potter. I do try. Aria pilia decia!"

Suddenly the air was filled with ten steel-tipped spears, all of them soaring straight for Harry.

Harry Apparated, avoiding the deadly barrage by millimeters.

He appeared off to the right of Draco, wand pointed at the other's heart. Sectumsempra! He cast silently, using the same curse he'd defeated Voldemort with at the very end, one Snape had taught him.

But Draco somehow anticipated him and deflected the curse with Whirlwind Deflection, sending it bouncing it back towards Harry, who promptly used the Mirror Defense to render it harmless.

"That the best you've got, Potter? I could duel better when I was five." Draco sniggered. "Venomous tentaglia!"

A creeper with barbs the size of a man's arm dripping with poison exploded from Draco's wand and twirled about Harry, imprisoning the Gryffindor in its tendrils.

But before the vines could inject their lethal venom into him, Harry chanted a fire shield spell and his entire body was covered in a coating of flame.

The fire quickly burned the hungry vine to ash and Harry stepped free of the circle of burnt tentacle vine. Then he thrust out his hands and summoned up a hurricane force wind that picked Draco up and threw him over the fountain.

The necromancer landed hard, all the breath knocked out of him. His face twisted in pain, he tried to scramble to his feet.

Harry advanced, his eyes hard as agates. "That's for hurting my wife, Malfoy!"

Malfoy balanced on one knee, the words to a Shield Charm on his lips.

Meanwhile, Devlin was exhausting himself casting hex after hex at Severus, who blocked them all with contemptuous ease. "Who taught you, Devlin? Must have been an apprentice, because you can even manage to cast a simple fire spark spell without letting the whole world know about it."

"Shut up, old man!" blustered the necromancer. "I know of one curse you can't counter. Avada Ked-"

"Silencio!"

Devlin went mute, his voice stolen away in the instant before he could pronounce the Killing Curse. Then Severus chanted, "Magnus illuminus!" and a dazzling burst of light shot out of his wand, blinding Devlin utterly.

The necromancer cried out in terror, staggering about.

Severus's eyes narrowed. "Time to end this," he murmured, and knocked the whimpering man out with a Stunning Hex. Then he knelt and bound his quarry with his Null Magic Cuffs. "The next time you wake up, you'll be a guest of Inferno, Devlin." He dusted off his palms. "A Hunter always gets his quarry."

He pointed his wand and levitated the captive wizard over to where Gavin and Scout were situated. "Watch him for me, Gavin," he ordered. "I have one more bug to squash." He whirled about, cloak billowing, ready to help Harry defeat the insufferable Malfoy, when Goyle stepped into his path.

"Hullo, Professor Snape."

"Get out of my way, Goyle, you hulking brute." Snape ordered irritably. "Go and scare some little children."

"You want to kill Draco, don't you?" Goyle said slowly, the idea just coming to light in his small brain. "But I can't let you do that. Crucio!"

Snape spun his wand in a counterclockwise circle, deflecting the poorly aimed Torture Curse away, sending it bouncing off through the trees. "Goyle, you imbecile! Get the bloody hell out of my way. He's not worth your life, he's never been, he's used you to the end."

"Don't matter." Goyle said stubbornly. "I choose the dark path, the path of power. Only the strongest shall rule. Magic is might and the mighty shall crush all the Muggleborns."

"Is that all you can do, parrot back Riddle's old doctrine to me?" Snape sneered. "Don't you have any original thoughts of your own?"

"Yes. I'm gonna kill you," Goyle said, then tossed a strange looking metal ball at Severus.

Snape jumped backwards, but this time his lame leg gave way beneath him and he crumpled to the ground. He had just enough time to erect an Excelsior Shield before the concussion bomb exploded.

Harry was knocked down by the aftershock, skinning his knees on the pavement.

Draco laughed wildly. "Looks like old Snape bought it. Good work, Goyle. Sometimes you do manage to do something right."

Harry looked over at the place where Severus had been, but could see nothing through the smoky haze that swirled in the air, obscuring his line of vision. He prayed Severus was well, that Draco was mistaken.

Malfoy was climbing to his feet, a smug grin on his face. Harry was suddenly furious. Because of Malfoy, his only vacation had been ruined, his wife had been held captive and terrified, and he'd been made nearly hysterical with fear. Not to mention all the other victims and their families Draco had tormented. And it was all to feed Draco's twisted notion of revenge. Well, Harry was sick and tired of a Malfoy coming along and causing destruction wherever he went.

Like Voldemort, Malfoy had crossed the line, and now he must be made to face the consequences of his actions.

Before Draco could react, Harry had cast a special spell of his own invention, one that turned a necromancer's own dark magic against him. A tiny jet of purple force flew out of Harry's wand and struck Draco in the chest.

The other wizard flinched, then started to laugh. "What was that called, Potter? It felt like a tickle. Was that supposed to hurt? Because I've hurt myself worse stubbing my toe. You're a joke, Potter. You call yourself an Auror? You're overrated. I could take you with one hand . . .ahhh!"

Draco screeched, for suddenly his veins felt as if they were filled with liquid fire. "What's happening to me?" He began clawing frantically at himself. "I can't breathe!"

"That's your own magic turning against you, Malfoy." Harry told him coldly. "All the evil you did to others is now returning to you threefold. What goes around comes around."

Malfoy was writhing, his body blazing with a cold purple light, as his own magic destroyed him.

In moments his body was consumed and all that remained was a heap of gray ash, which the wind blew away.

Something gold glinted on the ground. Harry knelt and picked up the Amulet of Shifting, and slipped it in his pocket. He would turn it into Moody when he returned home. Or perhaps he would give it to Severus, assuming the man was still alive.

The Auror started to walk towards the opposite side of the fountain, the words to another combat spell on his lips, when he heard a boy's voice cry out, "Dad! No! Leave him be, you son of a bitch!"

Goyle had his wand pointed at a vulnerable Severus, who'd been partially stunned by the concussion bomb, despite his Excelsior Shield. The big wizard was laughing. "Not so tough now, are we, Defense Master?"

Gavin had never felt so helpless in his entire life. He knew his father could not defend himself in time from Goyle's curse. He was going to watch his father die right in front of him. Unless . . .suddenly he recalled the way he'd summoned fire back in the sewers. There was a burning sensation in his chest and an aching behind his eyes that built and built, until suddenly he released it, throwing the searing bright fire out from him with a sharp gesture.

"Leave him ALONE!"

Fire exploded from the boy's outstretched fingers, slamming into Goyle with the force of an express train.

Goyle had time only to blink and gape stupidly before the fire consumed him utterly. He vanished in a sheet of yellow and blue flame.

The terrible backlash of heat shook Severus out of the stupor he'd been in. Blinking, the Director climbed shakily to his feet, wincing as his leg screeched a protest. Gritting his teeth, he assessed the situation.

The fire Gavin had conjured was now out of control, burning in a frenzy, leaping from the pavement to dance and swirl among the trees and grass.

"Severus!" he heard Harry scream from somewhere beyond the wall of flame. "Where are you?"

"Here, Harry!" Severus called back, but couldn't tell if Harry heard him or not over the roar of the flames.

He vaguely recalled Gavin shouting something that sounded like no and then this fire had come out of nowhere and roasted Goyle like a Sunday chicken on a spit. Dearest God. Gavin caused this conflagration, Severus realized. He's not just a strong wizard, he's a firecaller too. That was one of the most unpredictable and deadly talents a wizard could possess, especially a young one like Gavin.

Severus backed away, for the fire was now surging forward, hungrily seeking fuel. He knew he couldn't banish the flames when they were this strong, but they had to be stopped, before they became a wildfire that burned Central Park to ash.

He took a glance at his son, who was pale and shaking, his dark eyes burning with eldritch fire. The mark of a firecaller, eyes that glowed bright as flame, Severus recalled. He moved over to stand near his son, but was careful not to touch the boy, who radiated such heat that he could have melted a field full of snow. Gavin didn't even feel it, for a firecaller was immune to the effects of fire, for the most part.

"Gavin! Listen to me, son," Severus yelled, and the boy's eyes turned to look at him. "You've got to call the fire back now."

"How?" Gavin asked, shaking with the force of the magic he'd unleashed. "I don't know how, Dad!"

"Yes, you do," Severus informed him, keeping his voice calm and level, despite the advancing flames. "You're a firecaller, Gavin. And you have complete mastery over fire in all its forms." Or at least he would someday, whispered a part of Snape's mind. "Now call the fire back. Quickly, Gavin. You don't want to burn down Central Park, now do you? Or the rest of us."

In the distance sirens could be heard as someone reported the fire and the New York Fire Department rushed to investigate.

"No! But I don't know what I did in the first place!" Gavin shouted, panic making his voice quiver.

"Concentrate, son." Severus ordered. "Feel the fire with your mind. Can you feel it?"

"Yeah. It feels all jumpy and playful, like an excited dog."

That wasn't quite how Severus would have described it, but then he wasn't a firecaller, and maybe fire felt playful to one of them. "Okay. Now start telling it to pull back and go out, Gavin."

Gavin did so, gently tugging on the wayward flames and pulling them away from the trees. They were reluctant at first, but his will was law, and they slipped back from the trees and shrubs that remained. Go out. Now. Gavin thought, accompanying the command with a mental picture of a fire died down to ash.

The flames flickered then suddenly they went out, as if a giant hand had snuffed them.

Severus breathed a sigh of relief. "Now gather the sparks and bid them to go out as well." He gestured to several sparks that were swirling in the hot air.

"Okay." Gavin held out his hand. "Come," he said, and all the sparks leaped into his hand, where he gathered them into a twinkling ball and then closed his hand over them. When he opened it, the sparks were gone. "I did it!"

"Yes, that was very good," Severus praised, smiling at the boy. "Next you have to push your magic back inside of you."

"What for? I like it like this," Gavin argued. The wild magic sparkled through his blood, making him feel giddy and warm, able to do anything at all.

"I know, but letting your magic run wild isn't good," Severus lectured. "Close your eyes and breathe in and out four times."

The boy sighed, then did as instructed.

"Good. Now find that quiet space in your mind and go there. Take your magic with you." Severus watched his son with his magical Sight, relieved to see the wild aura die down and become subdued. "Now let it rest there, and come back to me, Gavin. Come back."

Gavin heard his father's voice from a great distance. He was so tired, and all he wanted was to bask in the heat of his magic. But his father's voice was so insistent.

"Gavin Albus Snape! Come back this instant!" Severus ordered sternly, suddenly terrified that the boy had gone too deeply within himself and couldn't find the way back. Sometimes that happened with the powerfully gifted, they listened to their magic's seductive song and were lost.

"Gavin!"

"Okay, okay! I heard you the first time, Dad. Jeez!"

Gavin opened his eyes and they were no longer a reflection of the fire's glow. They were only a normal brown. He could feel his magic coil within him, a small smoldering ember, waiting for the next time he summoned it. It was fully awake now, and Gavin knew that with practice he could call it forth whenever he wanted.

He gazed at Severus. "I'm a true wizard now, aren't I?"

"Yes, son. And a firecaller too."

"Yeah," Gavin said, and shivered suddenly. He had called fire and it had answered all right. He darted a look at where the flames had scorched the pavement an oily black. Right where Goyle had been standing. He trembled, suddenly freezing and sick to his stomach. His head hurt and he felt weary all over. He cupped a hand over his eyes, for the light made them ache. "Dad, I don't feel so good," he said, then all at once his knees gave way and he toppled to the ground.

Severus caught him before he hit the earth, scooping him up in his arms and cradling him like a baby. "There now, son. It's just reaction sickness from overusing your magic. It'll pass in a few hours. Close your eyes and sleep." The child felt light as thistledown in his arms, burning with fever and wracked with chills, frail as a bird's bones. Yet within him was one of the greatest talents of the age.

A firecaller, Severus marveled. There hadn't been a wizard born with that talent in over a hundred years. The stories about firecallers were legion, how they were among the most powerful combat mages ever, impervious to flame and heat, able to summon infernos with a snap of their fingers, and speak with all fire-using creatures. But there were also stories of how a firecaller could be driven mad by their own power, if not schooled properly when young, for the temptation to use their power was very great, and emotions fueled a firecaller's magic.

Dangerous magic indeed. But there would be time to worry about Gavin's nascent power later. For now, they had to get out of here before the Muggle police and fire department spotted them. Lights and sirens were converging from all over the city.

"Harry, we've got to leave," Snape called, coughing slightly at the smoke that still hung in the air.

"Are you two okay?" Harry cried.

"Fine. Where's Ginny and Scout?"

"Here," said Ginny, coming up beside them. Harry had freed her from Draco's spell just after the fire had appeared. Scout paced beside her, whining softly, for he was not fond of fire.

"We need to leave, before the police see us," Severus said. "Harry, take Devlin with you. We'll Apparate back to my office first, drop him off, then go home. I need to get Gavin in bed and mix him up a Headache Remedy before he develops a reaction migraine."

"Did he summon that fire?" Ginny asked, her voice tinged with awe.

Severus nodded. "He's a firecaller. A major one. Ready? Latch onto my aura." he waited a moment, then Apparated away in a brilliant flash of blue light.

Ginny grabbed Scout's collar and followed.

Harry snatched the back of an unconscious Devlin's shirt and disappeared just as the first of the Muggle fire trucks arrived on the scene.