Chapter 3

See Chapter 1 for disclaimers and credit to my reading team.

**********

Hermione couldn't believe she'd heard correctly. "Dead! Why would anyone want Teddy Lupin dead?"

Narcissa looked at her with a hint of disapproval. "I notice you don't ask why anyone would want Draco dead."

Hermione gave a frustrated sigh. "Mrs Malfoy, Draco is 24 years old and has fought in a war. It's quite conceivable that there might be people who would want him dead. There are probably people who want me dead. But Teddy is only six years old. Where would he have acquired a mortal enemy along the way?"

Narcissa looked as though she might want to argue the point some more, but Severus said quietly, "Narcissa, I understand you are worried. Let's take everything one step at a time. What happened to Teddy?"

"Yes, of course. I'm sorry, Miss Granger. Andromeda and Teddy came about mid-morning while most of the young people were off on the walking tour. Mr Potter decided he would help entertain Teddy, and they began to play hide-and-seek. Teddy was hiding in the bushes in front of the house when a ceramic flower pot fell from an upstairs window and almost hit him. It could have injured or killed him if it had hit him on the head!"

"Could you tell which window it had fallen from?" Hermione asked.

"Yes. It fell from the conservatory storage room."

Hermione was puzzled, not being able to picture where this room was. Severus asked, "Have you seen the conservatory?" At Hermione's nod, he continued, "At the front end of the conservatory is the winter conservatory room. Above that is the conservatory storage room where the conservatory supplies are kept. It's certainly not unusual for a flower pot to be in that room. The question is how did it fall from the window?"

Hermione asked, "Who is in charge of the conservatory? Do you have a gardener?"

"We have garden-elves," Narcissa answered, "who are in charge of both the conservatory and outdoor gardens. I did ask the garden-elves if anyone had been up in the storage room, and they said they hadn't. It was still morning, and they were working in the outdoor gardens."

"So something out of the ordinary has happened," Severus observed.

"Do you think we should question the guests?" Narcissa asked anxiously. "I don't want to alarm anyone, but I also don't want someone to get hurt."

"You mentioned that you thought you knew why Draco and Teddy have been attacked, Mrs Malfoy," Hermione said. "What do you think is happening?"

"Come with me." Mrs Malfoy led Severus and Hermione to the back of the library. Underneath the balcony was a locked door. Mrs Malfoy tapped the handle with her wand, and the door unlocked in response to her magical signature. They stepped inside the room, and Hermione could feel the climate control spells that were protecting whatever was in this room. When their hostess lit the room, both Hermione and Severus sighed in wonder at what the room held.

Here was a room that held the treasures of the family. Artefacts from the Malfoy family's early days in England, along with Black family treasures Narcissa had inherited, were displayed on tables and in cases. Bookshelves held antique books and scrolls. A table in the centre of the room had a box of white gloves available for those who would be handling the delicate items.

Mrs Malfoy stepped to the table and donned a pair of gloves in a business-like way, indicating with a gesture that Severus and Hermione should do the same. Once they all had their gloves on, Narcissa led them to a wall covered by a drapery. Pulling the drapery aside, she revealed a tapestry that reminded Hermione of something she had seen before.

"Isn't this the Black Family Tree?" Hermione asked. "At least... I think it is." The tapestry was certainly a family tree, and many of the names were the same as the tapestry in Harry's house at Grimmauld Place. However, that's where the similarities ended. This tapestry was in pristine condition. No burn marks appeared anywhere.

"Wait a minute. What is Harry's name doing there?" Looking at the tapestry more carefully, Hermione realised that names that had been burned off Sirius Black's tapestry were still included on this one. There was Sirius's name, and directly underneath was Harry Potter's name, displayed as his heir. "How can Sirius's name be there? He was disowned by his family."

Mrs Malfoy looked at her curiously. "I haven't seen the tapestry at number twelve, Grimmauld Place for years. What does it look like?"

"Well, it's not as well taken care of as this. It's rather dingy," Hermione replied. "There are several names burned off the tapestry, and I think it has fewer names than yours."

"My father always told Aunt Walburga that she would damage her tapestry if she kept blasting names off it. You see, the tapestries aren't just a record of the family. They are a record of the Black Family heirs."

Narcissa pointed to a name on the tapestry. "Cepheus Black was my great-great-great-grandfather. Up to his time, the Black fortune was passed from oldest son to oldest son. Cepheus accumulated a vast fortune of his own. He decided to divide his fortune more fairly amongst his descendants. His oldest child, Sirius, died as a boy. His youngest child, Isla, married a Muggle and was disowned. That left Phineas Nigellus and Elladora. While Cepheus was willing to flout tradition enough to try to divide his fortune amongst his descendants, he wasn't willing to let a daughter directly inherit. Wizards just did not do that at the time.

"So he set up a trust for the female heirs of his line. As long as the daughter didn't marry a Muggle or wasn't otherwise disowned, the Black Family Trust would grant a Black heiress an allowance during her lifetime and at her death would pass on her share of the fortune to her male heirs and an interest in the Trust to her female heirs."

"It looks as though Elladora didn't have any heirs. What happened in her case?" Hermione asked.

"She received her allowance until she died. As she didn't have any children, the Trust was not passed through her to her sons. Everything reverted to Phineas Nigellus Black. Apparently, there was some frustration shared by Cepheus and Phineas Nigellus that Elladora never married. Phineas Nigellus wanted to encourage his own children to marry and produce children to keep the Black family line strong. He added some details to the Black Family Trust. As children often couldn't inherit from their parents until they were quite a bit older, the Trust would pay an allowance to every child once they came of age. If they married before the age of 25, the Trust would give a large increase in order for the Black inheritors to be able to support a family."

"And that's the reason why it is important for Draco to marry soon?" Severus asked.

"Yes. Lucius and I would provide Draco an extra allowance if he didn't marry until after he was 25, but Draco has become rather independent and prefers not to rely on his parents for funds."

"And what about Harry?" Hermione asked. "How is it that he was able to inherit from Sirius since Sirius was disowned?"

Narcissa replied, "The fact is that Sirius wasn't disowned. I'm sure that his mother told him that he was disowned, and she must have blasted his name from the tapestry in the Black Family home. However, the entail of the estate was set up with the goblins, and there are very definite rules to being disowned. Uncle Orion was already not well by that time, and I suppose he never got around to actually disowning Sirius. That's why his name still appears on this tapestry. As to why Mr Potter is his heir, I would guess that James and Lily Potter named Sirius as Harry's guardian in their wills. That would give Sirius the ability to name Harry as an heir of the Black Family fortune."

"That makes sense," Hermione responded. "Now, let's say that Draco and Teddy were attacked because of the Black Family fortune. That would eliminate the heirs of your father Cygnus Black. What would happen to his share of the fortune?"

"It would then move up to the next oldest sibling. As you can see, the next oldest sibling was Alphard, who was disowned when he gave Sirius money to run away from home. Aunt Walburga is the oldest in this family, which would mean that Harry Potter would inherit my father's share of the fortune."

Hermione dismissed that notion. "Harry doesn't care about money, and he'd never hurt Teddy. He takes his role as Teddy's godfather very seriously." She studied the tapestry. "If I understand this tapestry correctly, if Draco, Teddy and Harry were not around to inherit, then the whole of your great-grandfather's line would be ended. The next oldest sibling of your great-grandfather Cygnus Black would be his sister Belvina Black Burke. The eventual heir in her line is Rolf Scamander. Next up the line from Belvina is Arcturus Black. Not counting disowned family members, he too only has one eventual heir: Neville Longbottom. Finally, we reach the eldest sibling, Sirius. My, that's a popular name in your family, isn't it, Mrs Malfoy? That Sirius has several heirs. One is Harry through Walburga's husband, Orion Black. The others would be Rita Skeeter or Molly Weasley's children. How can Molly Weasley be an heir of the Black Family?"

"My father's cousin, Lucretia, was Ignatius Prewett's second wife," Narcissa answered. "When they married, she adopted his three children as her own. Molly doesn't seem to have made use of her allowance, though. Perhaps she refused it in a show of loyalty to Arthur since his mother was disowned from the family and Arthur is, therefore, not allowed to inherit."

"Would that keep her children from inheriting?" Severus asked.

"I wouldn't think so," said Narcissa. "They should have access to the allowance of the Black Family, but I am not well enough acquainted with the Weasley family to know or guess what they have done in regards to their inheritances."

"Isn't it ironic that there are a number of Black Family heirs here at Malfoy Manor this week?" Hermione mused. "Let's assume for a moment that your theory is correct, Mrs Malfoy, and Black Family heirs are being targeted. Perhaps the best form of protection is for all of us to be involved in some activity together. All the potential victims would be in public view. Hopefully, the attacker would be less likely to strike. Would you agree, Severus?"

"Yes. This might be a good time to put your earlier suggestion to Lucius into effect," he replied.

"What suggestion?" Hermione couldn't remember a suggestion to Mr Malfoy.

"Your suggestion of a maze race. We can hold it for the charity with everyone encouraged to at least come and watch. What do you think, Narcissa?" he asked, turning to their hostess.

"I'll have the house-elves ask everyone to come to the music room in about half an hour. Will that be enough time for you to organise a race?"

"Yes, I'm sure it will," Hermione answered. She and Severus quickly came up with a format for a race with a currently undetermined amount of people. Hermione had a few minutes to freshen up and went up to her room. She had come to admire Narcissa Malfoy's taste in decorating. Her room was in soft peach tones with a lovely sitting area. Even though her bedroom was an interior room, it was charmed with a window that showed one of the many views from the house's actual windows. Currently, the view was of the rose garden spread out behind the manor. Hermione hoped to have the chance to study the intricate magic involved in this charm work.

For right now, though, she just wanted to put her feet up after her long walk. She snuggled back into the chair and put her feet on the ottoman with a sigh of relief. Closing her eyes, she thought about what Mrs Malfoy had told her. Could it be true Draco and Teddy were attacked? Hermione didn't trust any of the Malfoys farther than she could throw them. Could Mrs Malfoy be lying for some reason? It didn't escape Hermione's notice that the Malfoys were in charge of the guest list for the week. Nearly everyone here was a part of the Black family tree. She shook her head. There was not enough information yet; this was something to be investigated.

She had two veteran investigators staying right here at Malfoy Manor. Should she alert Ron and Harry? No, having Ron and Harry investigate would be a conflict of interest, considering their place on the Black family tree as victims or...as unlikely as it seemed to her...possible perpetrators. Severus was someone she had often trusted to help her with investigations, but would his friendship with the Malfoys be a concern?

She sighed again, this time in frustration. With any luck, Mrs Malfoy was mistaken, and Draco's and Teddy's "accidents" were, in fact, only accidents. Time would tell; all she could do was keep her eyes and ears open.

Just then, Nolly appeared with a pop in Hermione's room. "The mistress is asking all guests to come to the music room, Miss Hermione Granger."

"Thank you, Nolly," Hermione answered. She went down the long staircase and down the hallway past the drawing room until she reached the door of the music room. Entering quietly, she noticed that all the seating in the room, elegantly decorated in gold and beige, generally angled toward one end of the room where a harp and a grand piano sat. Plenty of light from the windows which overlooked the front lawn of the manor spilled on the two instruments.

Hermione noticed that most of the house guests had already assembled in the room. They were currently watching Daphne's attempt to entertain them at the piano with a rather mediocre...even to Hermione's untrained ear...rendition of Beethoven's "Für Elise". When Daphne finished, her performance was greeted by mild applause. She smiled and curtsied prettily.

Daphne was about to sit down at the piano again when Mrs Malfoy crossed the room to her. "Thank you, Daphne. It was kind of you to entertain us for a few minutes." Mrs Malfoy gave her future daughter-in-law a polite smile and waited for her to be seated before saying, "Thank you for coming. As you know, our purpose this week is to benefit the Widows and Orphans of War Fund. Miss Granger is the treasurer for the charity and has suggested an activity that should be entertaining and allow us to raise a little money for the fund. Miss Granger, would you like to present your idea?"

Hermione walked to a spot where she could easily be seen by the seated guests and nodded to her hostess. "Thank you, Mrs Malfoy. This morning on our walk, I noticed there is a hedge maze on the property and thought it might be fun to have a race. Everyone who wants to enter the race will pay two galleons, which will go to the charity. Side bets by the spectators will be accepted..."

As Hermione continued describing how the race would operate, she saw a spark of interest from her listeners. If everyone was interested, there would be strength in numbers, which was the best protection against any potential threats to the guests at Malfoy Manor. The party adjourned to the maze where garden-elves had set up seating for the participants and observers under the direction of Mr Malfoy.

Once Hermione arrived, Mr Malfoy directed the garden-elves to take their instructions from her to finish the final details of setting up. Hermione walked around the outside of the maze, checking to make sure that everything was ready. She was walking along the side farthest away from the house when she heard Mr Malfoy's voice from the other side of the hedge.

"I'm not the man for you, Phaedra," Hermione heard Lucius Malfoy say. "Why don't you try Severus?"

"How would you suggest I approach him?" Mrs Zabini asked.

"Just tell him what you want. You don't need to seduce him; he doesn't like to feel manipulated."

Hermione froze in her tracks. She couldn't believe that Mrs Zabini had come on to Mr Malfoy, and he had turned her down with a suggestion that she try Severus! Hermione felt a sudden surge of anger. She hurried away, finishing her inspection of the maze and returning back to her starting point.

A table had been set up for the gathering of money from the racers and those who were betting on the races. Draco Malfoy, who wasn't planning to race due to his knowledge of the maze, was in charge of collecting the money and keeping track of the bets and entrance fees. Podgis Pimpleton, in his capacity as Minister of Financial Oversight, sat next to Draco to make sure that everything was accounted for.

Most of the younger guests decided to participate in the race. The maze had four entrances, so Hermione divided the racers into groups of four. The racing groups were: Pansy, Daphne, Ashton and Pierce; Harry, Ron, Neville and Rolf; and Ginny, Hannah, Luna and Astoria.

Teddy Lupin was anxious to get in on the fun as well. "Granny, I want to race, too!" he said to Andromeda. He next ran up to Harry. "Harry, I want to race with you!"

Hermione, Severus and Draco conferred for a moment. Hermione announced, "We'll have a fourth group made up of Teddy, Harry, Draco and me. Harry's second race will be for participation only."

"Yes!" Teddy shouted. He ran back to his grandmother. "Granny, I get to race Harry and Cousin Draco!"

Pleased that no one's feelings had been hurt so far, especially not Teddy's, Hermione suggested that any who wished to could place bets. Pansy and Daphne, along with their brothers Pierce and Ashton, were to be the first group. As Draco sat down at his spot at the betting table, he said to Podgis Pimpleton, "I'll start off the betting by placing ten galleons on my lovely bride-to-be!"

Daphne giggled and said, "I'm not sure that's a good bet, Draco. I'll probably just get hopelessly lost. I know you, however; so, I'm going to bet five galleons o-o-o-on... Teddy Lupin!"

This drew a general laugh. Teddy ran up to Daphne, gave her a big hug and said, "I won't let you down, Cousin-to-be Daphne!"

Daphne blinked in surprise but then smiled at the little boy. "I know you won't, Teddy."

Ron swaggered up to the table and said, "I'm going to bet five galleons on myself."

Neville laughed and said, "My money's on Harry. After all, he has experience in maze racing."

Amid the laughter that followed, Hermione glanced at Harry. He was smiling, but to her eyes, it looked a bit forced. Apparently, Ron had predicted correctly that this event would bring back bad memories of Harry's quest to win the Triwizard Tournament. Harry was making concessions for the Widows and Orphans of War Fund, just as she was.

Luna said in her dreamy voice, "Rolf is much more in tune with nature than either Ron or Harry, and he knows how to avoid the disorienting influence of Nargles. I'm going to bet ten galleons on Rolf."

"I don't know if you should give me that much credit with Nargles, sweetheart, but I'll do my best," Rolf responded. He turned toward Draco. "I'll bet ten galleons on Luna." Not to be outdone, Harry and Neville placed bets on their wives.

The older guests got into the spirit of the event, as well. To Hermione's surprise, Mrs Zabini offered a cash prize to the winner of each race, a larger prize to the overall winner, and a generous donation to the charity.

Madam Marchbanks and Mrs Longbottom were having a spirited discussion. Madam Marchbanks said, "Poppycock, Augusta! The girl is a professional athlete...well, a retired professional athlete. With reflexes like hers, she's bound to win!"

"Poppycock, Griselda!" Augusta mimicked back to her. "What do Quidditch reflexes have to do with finding one's way through a maze? You should see the store room at the Leaky Cauldron. Hannah has to navigate a maze of boxes, shelves and who-knows-what-all to find anything there. I'll wager 25...no 50!...50 galleons on Hannah!"

"I'll match that with 50 galleons on Ginevra Potter! Did you get both of those, Podgis?"

"Yes, Griselda," Podgis replied with a little bow towards Madam Marchbanks.

"Now, on to the first race, Griselda," Augusta continued. "Have you seen the musculature on the Greengrass boy? He's a mighty fine specimen."

"He is indeed, Augusta, although the young Parkinson lad has nothing to be ashamed of in the muscle department, if I do say so myself." The two elderly ladies put their heads together and spoke in lower tones as they debated what wager to place on the first race.

Mr Scamander put a large wager on his grandson. Clapping Rolf on the shoulder, Mr Scamander said, "If you can find your way through the rain forest, my boy, you should be able to locate the centre of a maze."

Hermione was pleased to see all the guests having fun while raising money for the charity. Severus, on the other hand, was less than pleased when Mrs Zabini announced that, as she was sponsoring the race, she wished to help judge the results.

Severus, who was supposed to be judging, was about to cede his role as judge to her when he happened to glance at Hermione. Why was she looking at him with that worried expression? Severus supposed that Hermione was worried that he would insult Phaedra, so he smiled as graciously as he could, offered her his arm, and said, "Of course. Allow me to escort you, and we'll judge together."

Phaedra took his arm, saying, "Why, thank you Severus." As they were turning to leave, Severus glanced at Hermione again to offer her a smile of support. Now, why was she looking... disappointed?

He escorted Phaedra into the maze. Once inside, he walked to the spot Lucius had described. With a flick of his wand, he uttered, "Revelio!" This opened a shortcut through the hedges to the centre of the maze. He motioned for Phaedra to precede him to the tree that marked the finish point.

When he arrived, he said, "Finite incantatem!" and the hedges closed back upon themselves. Looking around the circle where he and Phaedra were standing, he realised that there was little there but the tree. With another spell, he transfigured two comfortable chairs in the shade of the tree and gestured for Mrs Zabini to take her pick. Once they were both seated, he pulled an old-fashioned stopwatch from his pocket and then sent a shower of red sparks in the air as a signal that they were ready for the races to begin.

"There now, we're ready to begin. Each witch or wizard will send up a shower of sparks when they reach their assigned entrance," Severus explained. "Then I'll send up a signal when they are to begin the race, and we keep track of how much time it takes for the winner to get here."

"I see," replied Phaedra. "Is it a difficult maze? Have you ever tried it?"

"I have," Severus answered. "Every few years Lucius changes the path slightly. The maze is never very hard when you look at it from a broomstick. When you're inside the maze with the hedges taller than you are, it's fairly easy to get disoriented."

A shower of sparks appeared from the entrance of the maze closest to the house, followed soon after by the signals from the other racers. Severus moved so he was away from the tree before shooting off the sparks that would begin the race. Sitting down again, he said, "Now, we wait."

A giggle sounded from one corner of the maze while pounding footsteps sounded from another direction followed by a sigh of annoyance. Phaedra said, "Severus, I..."

Severus held up his hand to silence her and said very quietly, "We don't want to give them any hints as to where they are in the maze, so we must be quiet." Phaedra gave an exasperated sigh and leaned back in her chair...rather like a petulant child, Severus thought.

"You two should get a room," came a whispered comment from somewhere in the maze.

"Shut up, what if someone hears you? Old Snape has sharp ears," a low male voice said. Severus and Phaedra looked at each other smiling, amused at the libidos of the young. Severus found himself wondering whether Pansy and Ashton Greengrass had been seeing each other long or if Ashton and Pierce Parkinson were more than just old school chums.

"Please, Pansy, you'll ruin everything," a decidedly female voice responded. Daphne? Daphne and Pierce? Severus found himself troubled by this development. He didn't usually care to get tangled in other people's romantic liaisons, but this involved the Malfoys. He glanced at Phaedra to see if she had drawn the same conclusions. Seeing the speculative gleam in her eye, Severus gave a small sigh. In true Slytherin fashion, Phaedra was thinking about what use she could make of this information.

Before Severus could come to any conclusions about how to handle the situation, Ashton jogged into their small circle. "Did I win?" he asked, a little breathless.

Recalled to their duties as judges, Phaedra and Severus both stood. Phaedra smiled and handed Ashton the prize money. "Indeed you did," she answered. "Congratulations."

Severus sent up the sparks which signalled that someone had won the race. Looking at his stop watch, he cast a Sonorous at his throat and said, "Ashton Greengrass. Five minutes, 26 seconds. If racers cannot find their way out of the maze, please shoot a volley of sparks so we can assist you." Removing the spell from his voice, he also congratulated Ashton, who left to make way for the new racers.

Severus paced around the circle, trying to appear nonchalant as he waited for the next group to make their way to the entrances. Phaedra sat watching him, looking as though she were trying to figure him out. Once Severus had given the signal for the next race to begin, he sat down. First casting a Muffliato so they would not be overheard, he said in stiff tones, "I do hope, Phaedra, you won't use what you've heard to embarrass Lucius and Narcissa."

"After all, they've invited me for the week, even though I'm almost as much a pariah in society as they are?" Phaedra queried in an ironic tone. She appeared to be thinking over what he had to say, although Severus rather thought she was just trying to make him nervous with suspense. He was trying not to let that tactic work.

"Frankly, Severus," she continued after a few moments, "I learned a long time ago not to meddle in Slytherin marriages. I certainly didn't want anyone meddling in mine. As for Daphne, she's only emulating her mother. Philomena has had more partners than I. I, at least, married mine... eventually. I suspect that Daphne is quite looking forward to marriage. It actually makes it easier for a pureblood witch in some respects. However, she is being rather indiscreet by not waiting until after she's safely married. Personally, I would..."

"Stop, please," Severus said. He was aware, of course, that fidelity was not one of the expectations of many Slytherin marriages, but he always felt rather disconcerted when confronted with the fact. He knew himself well enough to know that his jealous nature would not be able to tolerate such behaviour in a wife, which was one of many reasons why he had never married. He felt that Draco would probably have difficulty with such an attitude from his wife, not because Draco was a jealous sort, but because his parents so clearly loved each other. No matter what could be said about the general life choices Lucius and Narcissa had made, Severus very much doubted if they had ever strayed from their marriage vows.

"We can talk about other subjects, if you prefer," Phaedra said. "In fact, I was hoping to talk to you about something that's been on my mind quite a bit lately."

Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley suddenly ran through the opening in the hedge, wands drawn. Harry looked worried. "Are you all right, Severus? Mrs Zabini? We sensed magic being used and came as quickly as we could..." Harry's babbling came to a gradual end. Severus supposed it had finally occurred to Harry that his two supposed victims were quite all right.

With an obvious wand movement, Severus cancelled the Muffliato spell. "As you can see, Mr Potter, we are just fine." Severus didn't sound as indignant as he'd intended. He didn't know whether to be annoyed or relieved that Phaedra had been interrupted when she had apparently been about to reveal what she wanted from him.

"See there, mate?" Weasley said to Potter. "Nothing to worry about, and it looks like we won the race." Annoyance drained away because Severus understood that Harry had been reminded of his experiences the last time he had been in a hedge maze.

Rising from his chair, Severus shot a shower of red sparks in the air and once more announced the winner of the race so that the bets could be paid accordingly. "Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, tied at four minutes, 45 seconds." Removing the spell he said, "Congratulations, Mr Potter. Mr Weasley." Phaedra also congratulated them and handed them their winnings.

Once Potter and Weasley left, Severus was afraid that Phaedra would once more try to tell him what she wanted from him. Instead, Phaedra seemed busy doing something else. She pulled an envelope from the pocket of her robes which looked to be a duplicate of the envelopes she had given to the winners of the races thus far. Emptying the galleons from the envelope, she pointed her wand at the empty envelope and said, "Geminio!" Another envelope appeared. She refilled the first envelope and pulled out a bag of coins to get the galleons needed to fill the other. "I wasn't expecting there to be a tie," she said. "Now we should be ready for the final two races."

Severus gave the signal to start and sat down in his chair. Phaedra cast the Muffliato spell herself. "I didn't know that one. It's always good to learn a new spell, especially one so useful. Now, if you don't mind, I'd really like to talk to you about...Aaaah!" she finished with a little shriek, staring in fear at something behind him.

Severus turned to see what had caused her reaction. The shortcut through the maze that Severus and Phaedra had taken to get to the centre had opened. Luna Lovegood was walking towards them wearing some strange glasses with spirals on the lenses. When she got to the tree, she stopped and removed them. "That was much easier than I expected," she said cheerfully.

"How did you find that pathway?" Severus asked, incredulous.

"Are you saying something, Professor Snape? I can't hear you," Luna answered.

"Phaedra, cancel the spell," Severus reminded her.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was just so surprised." Phaedra cancelled the Muffliato spell and stood up to walk around the circle as she listened to Luna's explanation.

"I said, how did you find that pathway?" Severus repeated.

"Oh, that was easy! Wrackspurts were hiding the entrance, but the Spectrespecs take care of them," Luna explained as though she actually thought she was making sense.

"Oh," was all Severus said. Remembering his duties, he raised his wand and gave off the signal that the race had been completed. As he had before, he announced, "Luna Lovegood: 24 seconds."

A triumphant whoop sounded from among the spectators. "That's my girl!" Rolf Scamander shouted.

Luna smiled widely. "I love him," she told Severus and Phaedra.

Phaedra offered her congratulations with an answering smile. "You're a lucky girl, Luna. Here is your prize."

"Yes, congratulations," Severus echoed.

"Thank you," Luna said and started to walk back the way she had come. "Oh, do you want me to close this or leave it open?"

"Close it, please, if you would," Phaedra responded.

"All right." She left, and it wasn't long before the hedges returned to their usual appearance.

"How did she do that?" Phaedra asked. "What are Wrackspurts?"

"I'm afraid you'd have to ask Miss Lovegood... but not while I'm around, please," Severus answered.

Sparks had been appearing at the various entrances as the racers took their places for the last race. Teddy Lupin, who didn't yet have a wand, was going to shout when he got to his spot. They waited... and waited. Finally, Harry called out, "Everything okay, Teddy?"

Teddy's voice quavered a little. "These hedges are awfully tall. Harry, I'm scared."

"Anyone mind if I race with Teddy?" Harry asked. "I'm not racing for a prize this time." Hearing no objections, Harry said, "Okay, Teddy, I'm coming."

"Hooray!" Teddy shouted. "Listen, Harry, I've got a plan!"

"Okay, sport, we'll race however you want. Just don't shout out your plan for everyone to hear," Harry responded with a laugh.

After much low-voiced conversing, Harry shot sparks from his wand to indicate Team Teddy was ready. Severus gave the signal to start, and the race commenced.

Phaedra said in an exasperated tone, "Finally! Severus, there is really something I need to ask you."

"Yes, of course, Phaedra. I know we've been interrupted several times. I'm listening."

Footsteps pounded and giggles came from Teddy who shouted, "Keep your hand on the hedge, Harry! Keep your hand on the hedge!"

"I'm right behind you, sport!" Harry answered back.

Phaedra and Severus smiled in amusement. Apparently, Teddy was following the tried and often-true maze running rule: If a person keeps his left hand on the left hedge, he may have a long way to run but will eventually find the finish. Judging by the running footsteps, Teddy was hoping that if he ran fast enough, he would be there first.

Bringing himself back to the question that Phaedra had for him, Severus said, "Please continue."

"Oh, yes." Phaedra appeared to be gathering her thoughts. "Severus, you seem like a man who appreciates a direct approach, so let me get right to the point. For some time now, I've been considering a change in my life, and I've become convinced that you may be the only one who can help me."

Harry's breathless voice came from somewhere close by. "Teddy, you keep on going. I can't keep up with you, buddy. I'll catch my breath and follow along in a bit."

Severus realised that Harry was good with children. Harry was an Auror and was surely fit enough to keep up with a child. He must be giving Teddy the chance to overcome his fear and to win all by himself.

Phaedra interrupted his thoughts. "Severus, are you listening?"

"Ow! Ow!" shouted Teddy.

"Teddy, what's wrong?" Harry asked, starting to run after his godson.

From another part of the maze, Draco shouted, "Granger, did you cast this? Shite, that hurts!"

"What are you talking about, Malfoy?" Hermione shouted, sounding more puzzled than angry. "Aaaaaah!" she screamed.

"Hermione?" Severus called. There was no answer. "Hermione!"