"Dearest, please come to bed."

The weary voice of Narcissa Malfoy filtered through the closed door of Lucius' private study. Every night since he purchased the Lament Configuration puzzle box, he had ensconced himself in his study, studying and admiring the box for hours, but was no closer to solving it. The gold inlay was highly complex and patterned differently on each of the box's six sides. There were circles, both open and solid, arcs and angles that suggested hundreds, if not thousands, of possible sequences of moves that would open it completely.

"I will be along shortly."

If Lucius had been listening, he would have heard Narcissa sigh as she turned away from the door.

Lucius considered himself a patient man, or at least a disciplined one, but he was growing frustrated. He might have given up entirely had a strange event not occurred the previous night. As he ran his fingers over the pattern on one side of the box, he became aware that the light in the study had dimmed. It was also at the same time that he heard a tinkling melody coming from inside the box. It wasn't a complete melody though, only a fragment suggesting that more of it would play as he made progress towards its solution. Only when the snippet had finished and he removed his fingers from the box did the lights resume their normal luminescence. He did not want to admit to himself that he was as unsettled as he was intrigued. Something had just happened that he had no explanation for other than the box was in fact enchanted, but that was impossible. A Muggle craftsman made it for another Muggle who fancied himself a practitioner of the Dark Arts; a laughable concept to be sure.

"Perhaps. Then again, who knows what the heart's deepest desire can conjure, eh?"

The shopkeeper's words returned to Lucius. As loathe as he was to admit it, force of will alone can cause extraordinary events to occur, even for Muggles. Was it possible that the wills of two Muggles focused entirely on this box, caused it to become imbibed with magic? If so, what kind of magic would it be? The shopkeeper recounted that de L'Isle commissioned the box to create a gateway between Earth and hell, but there was no such place. Hell was a purely Muggle concept where the wicked are sent for eternal torture, at least as far as the Muggles who worshipped the cannibal god who instructed his followers to eat of his flesh and drink of his blood were concerned.

Again Lucius ran his fingers over the same side of the box in the same manner he had previously to elicit the tinkling melody, and as he did, the lights dimmed once more. Lucius removed his fingers and watched as the lights grew bright again. Now he was determined. He must solve this puzzle box, must tease out more of the tinkling melody and unlock its mysteries. Taking the box in hand, he moved the fingers of his right hand over the first side he got a reaction from and with his left, splayed two fingers over two solid circles and ran this thumb over an arc on another side. Nothing. Perhaps the thumb should stroke the arc in the opposite direction. Yes! As Lucius ran his thumb along the arc and pressed in with his other two fingers, he heard a clicking sound and then another segment of the melody played. As before, the lights in the room dimmed but then a most extraordinary thing happened; the first side of the box began moving on its own. Angles surrounding the center circle rotated and a section of the box popped up. Lucius held his breath as he watched the mechanized movement. The innards of the interior of the piece were pearlescent and slightly reflective.

"Astonishing!" He muttered.

No sooner had the box tantalized him with another of its mysteries, than the piece returned to its place and the angles replaced themselves to their original position as the lights once again grew brighter. As he exhaled and set the box down on his desk, a movement caught his peripheral eye. Lucius looked in the direction of the movement coming from one wall of his study. For a moment, he thought he saw a glow coming from cracks in the plaster but when he focused his attention on the wall, all he saw was a smooth surface dotted with family portraits.

"I must be fatigued."

Still, something had happened, he was sure of it. A change in the air, a dynamic energy moved in the room and then grew still. Lucius looked at the box again - six sides but only two hands. How did Lemarchand design the box to be solved with only eight fingers and two thumbs? Unless the player was meant to solve each side sequentially; as one side was solved, the player rotated the box and continued with each side until all six were solved. Yes, that must be it! But how to know which side to solve next except through trial and error? He sighed, rubbed at his eyes, and then rose to pour himself a well earned brandy. As he swirled the liquid in the glass, he studied the box from across the room and struck upon a thought. He drank deeply from his glass and then rushed back to his desk where he took a leaf of parchment and quill in hand.

My dear Severus,

It has been far too long since my wife and I have had the pleasure of your company. If you can spare the time, we would very much like you to come to the Manor for dinner this weekend.

Yours in brotherhood,

Lucius

P.S., I've already anticipated your excuses, Severus, and they won't be accepted. A man must rest and enjoy himself now and then.

Lucius smiled as he folded the parchment, imagining the look of indignation on his friend's face who never understood that he was more transparent than he presumed to be. He dripped black sealing wax onto the parchment letter and mashed the Malfoy crest seal into it. As it cooled and hardened, he opened a window in his study and whistled for his favorite owl.

"Deliver this to Severus Snape at that horrid little hovel of his. You know where it is."

The owl hooted eagerly and flew off as soon as the letter was tied to one of its legs. Lucius picked up his snifter of brandy and settled back down at his desk.

"Let's just see what my friend has to say about you."

Lucius finished his brandy and made his way to the master bedroom. As he slipped into bed, he attempted to press a kiss to one of his wife's bare shoulders.

"Apologies, my sweet. I have been working on…"

Half-asleep, Narcissa rolled away from Lucius and pulled the covers tightly around her, preemptively cutting off any promise of intimacy. Lucius rolled onto his back and stared into the darkness of the bedroom as an image of the box rotated in his mind's eye.