Gavin was sprawled on his bed when Severus went in to check on him, sound asleep. The TV was blaring loudly, some inane comedy that Severus hated, so he switched it off and bent to pull the covers up over his sleeping child. Gavin stirred when Snape shifted his foot, moving him over so he wasn't in danger of falling off the bed. The Director felt the boy's forehead, but it was cool, and he heaved a sigh of relief. At least his potions were working and hopefully Gavin would be mostly recovered by tomorrow morning. He hated it when one of his children was sick, it made him feel powerless.

He summoned the boy's bookbag with a snap of his fingers, only then remembering he'd not checked up on the kid's schoolwork. He removed the boy's schoolbooks from it and set them neatly on his desk, ready for him to work on tomorrow. He quickly examined the various papers in Gavin's homework folder, which included two tests, a quiz, and an essay on Washington crossing the Delaware. The essay was marked with an A and a comment of Excellent descriptions here!. The two tests, one in history and the other in English, had both received grades of a 95. But the math quiz was a problem. What's this? A D?!! In fractions, I see. I'm going to have to speak with him about that tomorrow. He should have come to me if he was having this kind of trouble, Severus frowned. As a Potions Master, he was an expert on measurements and fractions were a piece of cake to him. He could tutor the kid easily, but what bothered him wasn't the quiz grade but Gavin's reluctance to ask for help.

Then again, Gavin wasn't used to relying on anyone but himself, and maybe he figured Severus was too busy to help him or something. Snape usually was busy, most nights, reviewing files and briefs, but he would have assisted the boy if he had known Gavin was having trouble in math. Another thing they'd have to have a talk about, the Director reminded himself. He'd never had this kind of problem with his daughters, the girls had always come to him when they needed help with some magic formula or whatever. He quickly signed all the tests and the quiz, which was school policy, parents had to see and sign all the examinations given, that way they could see for themselves what kind of progress their child was making.

He left the quiz out on the desk with a note attached to it that said, We need to have a talk about this, Gavin!-Severus.

Then he left the room and headed down the hall to his study, where another message crystal rested on his desk, linked back to the one in his office in Manhattan. On the way there, he nearly collided with Harry. "Did you find out anything?"

"Not yet. I was checking Gavin's schoolwork," Severus said shortly. "Come in, you can see for yourself what Mr. Barrow has to say." He pushed open the door of his study and the mageglobes lit automatically at his entrance.

He made his way to his desk, which was almost as crammed with texts and parchments as his office's, though he'd done his best to arrange the various parchments into piles. His diamond shaped message crystal was blinking with an electric blue signature.

Harry eyed the crystal curiously. "What's that?"

"Message crystal. The latest in magical communication," Severus replied. "Don't you have them at the Ministry yet?"

"No, not that I know of."

"What are they waiting for, we sent them the prototype six months ago," Snape wondered, frowning. "They're much more efficient than firecalling." He tapped the side of the crystal and said, "Snape here. What have you got for me, Stanley?"

"Good news, sir," came Stanley's excited voice, and the crystal changed from blue to clear in a second. Stanley's face appeared, his eyes shining like an eager puppy's. "I spoke with the head of the Auror Department, an Alastor Moody, and he gave me the entire file on this Shifter character. I'm sending it over with Comet. Said he's been creating quite a stir over there, but they haven't been able to nab him. Said to tell you good luck, the Quaffle's in your court now. Oh, and he also said to tell Mr. Potter hello and to watch his six."

"I'll be sure to tell Mr. Potter of Mr. Moody's sentiments. Quick work, Mr. Barrow. I thought we'd be waiting until tomorrow before we heard anything."

"Uh, well I told them it was a Priority One request," Stanley admitted, smirking like the Cheshire cat. "And that if I didn't have the information yesterday, you were going to come over there and start breaking heads. The little secretary I spoke to nearly fainted when I told him that. Hell hath no fury like a Snape, huh, sir?"

"I'd say not, Mr. Barrow," Severus replied, laughing softly. "My reputation precedes me."

"That it does, Director," Stanley said proudly. "Comet should be arriving shortly with the information. If you need anything else, sir, let me know, I'll be here until seven."

"Will do, Stanley. Snape out." Severus tapped the crystal again and it went dark. He turned to Harry, who wore a look of relief on his face. "Well, looks like we're finally getting somewhere."

Harry nodded. "For once, Severus, I'm glad of your nasty reputation."

"Is that a compliment, Harry?" the Director raised an eyebrow.

"Take it anyway you like," the Auror said, and his green eyes sparkled.

"I will." Severus said, thinking how much those green eyes reminded him of Lily, Harry's mother, who had once been his best friend. Then he led the way out of the study.

They returned to the kitchen, and Snape opened the back door to let in Scout, who had been chasing rabbits in the backyard. The magehound swiped Snape's hand in greeting, then went over to greet Harry, who scratched the dog's ears obligingly.

"This is the famous dog who tracked Beau Charles and a hundred other criminals, right?"

"Yes, this is Lockheed's Scout. But he's been officially retired for years now."

"One of these days I'll have to look into getting one."

"Dr. Lockwood breeds them. You ought to write to him, he probably has a litter of puppies available. As a matter of fact, his prize female, Liberty, should be expecting her first litter any day now, or so Arista told me last week. That bunch was sired by Scout here."

"Really? Those should be worth a few Galleons, huh? Is this the only litter he's sired?"

"No, he's sired at least three other litters, but that was before I had him. He used to be a champion show dog before he went to work for the Hunters," Severus explained. "Now the only thing he hunts is rabbits and squirrels, right, you lazy hound?"

Scout whuffed, then went and buried his nose in Severus's lap. The Director promptly petted the sleek golden head affectionately. "But that's all right, he's earned his retirement. If you want to get one of his puppies though, you'd better contact Dr. Lockwood right away, I have a feeling there's a list."

"I think I just might do that." Harry eyed Scout thoughtfully. "I'd like my kids to grow up with a dog, since I never did."

"Neither did I," Severus remarked. "My mother was allergic." He rose and refilled the dog's water dish and gave him some food, which Harry thought looked suspiciously like ground hamburger.

"Isn't that supposed to be bad for dogs?" Harry asked, indicating the ground meat.

"Not that I can see," Severus replied. "I mix it with some dry kibble, I disagree with most vets who think all table food is bad for dogs. In the wild, he'd be eating raw meat, not this stuff and he'd live a perfectly healthy life. I fed my other dog, Maverick, mostly steak and ground beef for his whole life, and he lived to the ripe old age of fourteen and died peacefully on my hearth rug. Now Scout here will live to be forty, since he's a magehound, and I don't anticipate he'll have many health problems, despite his unusual diet."

Harry smiled at the dog, who was eating the food Severus had set down with relish. In about three minutes the plate was sparkling clean and Scout gave the bowl a few last swipes with his tongue before moving over to drink some water. "Looks like he agrees with you."

"Of course. He's a smart dog, one of the smartest there is."Severus declared, and gave the golden hound a pat on the shoulder.

Harry cocked an eyebrow at his former teacher. "Funny, but I never pictured you as a dog lover, Severus."

"Just goes to show you, you don't know everything, now do you? Sometimes I prefer the company of dogs and cats to people. They make more sense than teenagers, most times." He whistled softly, and Harry heard an answering who-o-o.

Then a tawny owl glided into the kitchen and perched on the Director's shoulder. "Good afternoon, Nightfall," Snape said, scratching the bird on the chest lightly.

Nightfall made a soft chuffing noise and nibbled Severus' hand gently. Snape promptly fed the bird an owl treat. Nightfall accepted the treat graciously, then moved to the back of Severus' chair, fluffing his feathers. He regarded Harry with one long blink, his golden orbs bright with intelligence.

"What a beautiful owl," Harry said admiringly.

"Yes, he's a handsome fellow," Snape said with an amused expression. "We've been together for over twenty years, right, old boy?"

Nightfall hooted, then began to preen Snape's hair. The Director rolled his eyes and Harry stifled a chuckle. The preening was a sign of extreme affection, Harry knew, and Hedwig sometimes did that to him as well. The fact that the owl liked the Director should have tipped Harry off long ago that the man was not the dark wizard he'd originally thought, for animals were very good judges of character and no animal would ever tolerate a necromancer for long. Nightfall had spent as brief a time as possible in Lucius' company whenever he'd been sent to Malfoy manor to deliver messages, and Snape had always apologized to the bird afterwards for making him endure the Death Eater for even a minute.

Just then, a soft hoot broke the silence, and Snape rose and opened the kitchen window. "And here's Comet, right on schedule."

A large gray barred Great Horned owl flew into the kitchen and handed the Director a thick manila envelope. Then he quickly ate the tiny shrew Severus conjured and flew off, making no more noise than a shadow.

Harry leaned forward eagerly as Snape opened the envelope and withdrew a thick file. "Now, let's see what Moody sent us," Severus said, and began to peruse the document rapidly.

After fifteen minutes he set the sheaf of papers down on the table and said, "According to his record, the Shifter didn't become a first class kidnapper until a year ago, when he took away Neville Longbottom's little baby Aislinn. After that, he was in the limelight, so to speak, and he moved on to bigger and better things."

Harry nodded quickly. "I know about that case, I was the one sent to bring the ransom money and pick up the poor baby. Neville and Luna were hysterical, they kept telling me to do whatever the scum wanted so long as they got Aislinn back safe. So I did, and their baby came home again. She was lucky, he didn't do anything really hurtful to her except skip a few feedings."

"Charitable, isn't he?" Severus sneered. "But the others he targeted weren't so lucky, were they? Terrance Underwood, a young Muggleborn wizard of twelve, was grabbed outside his home in Lancaster. He says, the person who took him had a face that kept melting, one minute he was old, the next young, and his hair and eye color changed quicker than a chameleon. He also says the Shifter kept him bound to a chair with a Body Bind for two days, not allowing him to move, not even to use the bathroom," Severus quoted, scowling. "Told him that Muggleborns were filthy beasts that deserved nothing less than to be slaughtered like cattle. Muggleborns were dirt, not fit to breathe the same air as a pureblooded wizard . . .There's more, apparently he not only demanded money from Underwood's parents, he also wanted some kind of magical object. He got what he wanted eventually. And even though the child wasn't hurt all that much physically, he'll probably have nightmares for the rest of his life."

"Miserable hard-hearted SOB!" Harry swore, his green eyes flashing. "I remember the ransom note from that one, now that I think about it. And there've been five or six others, at least. Only most of those were adults. It makes my skin crawl, reading this," Harry had appropriated the report and was now scanning it as well. "It seems like he fits the profile of an Death Eater, yes?"

Severus pursed his lips, thoughtful. "Maybe. He certainly bears all of their prejudices. Still, I can't help but wonder if he's a copycat? Most Death Eaters wouldn't have been content with mere kidnapping, they'd have to kill someone too."

"Maybe he just wants to play with his victims."

"Well, given his previous patterns, I'd say you were due for another note by tomorrow."

"Does he honestly think I'd just sit there and wait for a note, like he said?" Harry scowled. "I mean, I am an Auror!"

"I'd say he's counting on you being so distraught that you'd promise nearly anything to get Ginny back."

"Well, he thought wrong."

"True, but we shouldn't let him know that, now should we?"

"What do you suggest, Severus?"

"Return to your hotel room tomorrow and see if there's another note. If there is, we try and analyze it. If not, wait for one. Then we can go from there. I've a pretty good idea where he might be holed up, but we'll need the map in my office at the Intelligence Agency to check. For now, I'd suggest we have dinner and you get a good night's sleep."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Here?"

"If you'd like. My couch is always available." Severus offered.

"Thank you. I really appreciate this. I just hope we can figure out where he took her soon. Just thinking about what he could be doing to her . . ." the young Auror shuddered.

"Don't. You'll only drive yourself crazy. The important thing now is to focus on finding the Shifter."

Harry exhaled sharply. "Right. And when I do find him, he's going to wish he'd never been born. That much I can promise."

Severus merely nodded. Then he went to look in the fridge to see what he had on hand for dinner.