Severus Snape finished buttoning his frock coat in front of the mirror, preparing for dinner at the Malfoy manor. Lucius' owl arrived earlier in the week with an invitation that demanded his presence. It was just like Lucius to think he could snap his fingers and make the world jump. He really did have work to do, thank you very much! Even though it was summer break from Hogwarts, it didn't mean that he spent his time idly. He was a Potions Master and that meant in order to remain in good standing in the field he had to contribute research to Potion's Quarterly on a semi-regular basis. Currently he was working on a group project with other Potioners to stabilize and extend the effects of Polyjuice Potion. Severus was confident that his hypothesis was at the heart of the problem. He proposed that the lacewing fly ingredient had been corrupted within the last five years due to an infestation of Indonesian lacewings that some dunderhead imported and accidently let loose into the environment. These immigrants had then interbred with native lacewings, thus creating an unreliable crossbreed. Independent experiments conducted by the team's researchers provided significant support for his hypothesis. Polyjuice potion brewed using lacewing flies older than five years resulted in more stable effects than with recent commercial grade lacewings. They would present their findings to the Ministry of Magic upon publication and turn the problem over to them to correct.
It had been an arduous task but one he was happy to participate in as it occupied the time he'd otherwise spend kicking about his home at Spinner's End.
Severus gathered up his gifts (a blank journal for Narcissa and a rare book for Lucius) and Apparated to the gates of Malfoy Manor. Narcissa came out to greet him in the foyer after one of their house elves alerted her to his arrival.
"Oh Severus, I'm so happy to see you." Narcissa said after kissing the air next to each of his cheeks. He noticed immediately that she was without her usual effervescence. Normally Narcissa Malfoy was a consummate hostess, showering her guests with niceties and a bubbly demeanor, even if it was completely faked on occasion.
"Are you well? You appear tired, Narcissa. I could brew you some specialized potions if you can describe your symptoms."
"No, don't trouble yourself, Severus. I've just been a little…preoccupied lately. It'll pass." She patted his arm and led him towards the dining room. "Go tell the Master to join us in the dining room." She snapped at the closest elf, which scurried off to obey her order.
Snape and Narcissa were forced to fill the awkward time waiting for Lucius with idle chatter. After putting on a show of gushing over her new journal ("How ever did you know that I needed one!"), discussing Draco's holiday to the wizarding ski resort in the Alps with the Goyle family, and assorted gossip, Lucius finally appeared, sporting at least a three day's beard growth and bags under his eyes. Severus couldn't stop the reflexive raising of his eyebrows. Narcissa pointedly ignored his appearance with haughty disdain.
"Hullo, old boy! So good of you to join us! I'm famished! Shall we eat? You there, elf! Go down into the cellar and fetch two bottles of the hundred year old vintage." Lucius plopped down at the formal dining table and rubbed his hands together in a most un-Lucius like fashion. "Tonight is the night for indulgence!" He declared.
Severus cut his eyes from Narcissa to Lucius, Lucius to Narcissa, and concluded that Lucius had either begun a new affair, or returned to his abuse of stimulants. He silently cursed his friend's imprudence of actions. He lost count of the amount of times that he had advised Lucius to stop seeing a mistress (or to at least be more discrete), or brewed weaning potions for yet another relapse. Lucius, frankly, was an addict. Whether it was sex, substances, or hobbies, Lucius could never understand the concept of moderation.
Dinner was another exercise in ill comfort. Narcissa spoke very little as Lucius boomed with enthusiasm. In fact, Lucius dominated the conversation with glib trivialities while at the same time rushing them through their meal. As he spooned the last bit of gelato into his mouth (even though Severus had barely begun on his), he informed Severus that he wanted to show him something in his study. That was fine, Severus thought. It would give him a chance to scold his friend over whatever self-inflicted hedonism Lucius had undertaken. Lucius threw down his spoon with delight upon Severus' agreement and begging off at Narcissa's indignation.
"Damn him" Narcissa muttered as both men exited the dining room.
Snape was furious.
"You mean to tell me that you brought me here tonight for…for…a toy?"
Between Lucius' shocking appearance and uncharacteristic behavior, to Narcissa's anger and obvious resentment, Severus had been sure that Lucius was once again imperiling his position in society with his actions. Compared to the truth however, Severus would have preferred something as mundane as another one of Lucius' relapses. No, it seemed this time Lucius was obsessed over a strange little puzzle box and apparently had been spending nearly every waking moment trying to solve it. It was madness! It made no sense. It was just a toy, an objet d'art. No wonder Narcissa looked like she wanted to hex her husband into the next world!
"Take it easy, old boy. This isn't an ordinary puzzle box. It's called the Lament Configuration and…"
"I don't bloody well care what it's called! Look at yourself, Lucius. You've lost weight, you looked like you haven't slept in a fortnight, and your wife seems most distressed. I thought for sure you had started using substances again or found another tart, but to discover all this is over a puzzle box? Have you completely lost your mind?"
Lucius sighed, having grown accustomed to Snape's scoldings. The only reason Lucius tolerated it was because Severus was a good and loyal advisor and that they had been friends ever since they were boys at school. Lucius suspected that Severus had even been infatuated with him at one point.
"Severus, I'm really not in the mood to hear another one of your starched and dour schoolmarm lectures. What I've been trying to tell you is that this is not just some ordinary puzzle box. It was made by an eighteenth century toy maker as a commissioned piece for an aristocratic occultist who used it in some dark arts ritual. And are you ready to hear the best part? They were Muggles. Both of them! Isn't that wonderfully absurd?"
Lucius was all smiles while Snape scowled.
"So it's an eighteenth century, Muggle crafted puzzle box. It still doesn't explain why you've dragged me into your study to show it off like some priceless diadem."
"Very well. What would you say if I told you that this box has some kind of enchantment on it?"
"I would say that you're being ridiculous."
"But is it possible? For Muggles to imbue an object with magic?"
"It really is astounding that you somehow managed to pass both Theory of Magic courses when we were in school despite the obvious fact that you slept through them. If you had remembered the readings, you would know that in certain rare circumstances, Muggles can indeed perform feats that otherwise would be beyond them. After all, it's one of the theories of where we originated. I believe it was the wizard philosopher, Valerian Woodhouse, who in 1582 proposed that…"
Lucius' eyes glinted as he looked at the box. So the shopkeeper wasn't pulling his leg to make a quick sale. The Muggle-made box was probably enchanted but how and in what manner? The shopkeeper said de L'Isle used it as a gateway to hell but that was impossible since "hell" didn't exist. Oh there were other plains of existence, to be sure, but these were Muggles from a time and place where Christianity held sway over the culture. Because of this, their concept of hell was likely taken from the so-called holy writ of scripture; a place of everlasting torment where the damned are sent upon death. From what little he knew about Muggle religions, it seemed that hell was a central doctrine but with differing interpretations. He had read Dante Alighieri's 'The Divine Comedy' as a young man. The Middle Ages Italian poet had envisioned a hell of many layers, some cold and dark and some burning hot, but always as a place of punishment. It was a remarkable work as the Muggle poet seemed to have knowledge of the arcane art of Arithmancy with a favoring of 3's and 9's. Three canticas each with 33 cantos and of course 3 realms with 3 sets of 9 layers, rings, or bodies in each of the realms…
"Lucius!"
"Hmm?"
Snape was glaring at him. Lucius realized that he had reduced his friend to mere background noise as he lost himself in his own thoughts.
"You weren't listening to me at all, were you?"
"Of course I was." Lucius protested, "In rare cases, Muggles can tap into the universal energy we call magic, yes?"
Snape huffed in indignation. That's not all that he had said but Lucius hadn't heard a word of it. He was too busy obsessing over his ridiculous new plaything.
"Goodnight, Lucius. This has all been highly entertaining but now I must return home and do something more productive, like bang my head against a brick wall."
Snape turned on his heel and began to stomp towards the door of Lucius' study. It was farcical that all this fuss had been made over a puzzle box. Let Narcissa threaten him with divorce and subsequent scandal. It would knock more sense into Lucius' tow head than any bluster Snape could throw at him.
"Wait!" Lucius called out. Snape paused at the door with his hand upon the doorknob. "At least let me show you something I've discovered about the box."
"Let me guess - it opens. Just as puzzle boxes are wont to do." Severus said with thinly disguised disdain. He turned around and was taken aback by the expression of avarice on Lucius' face. He looked like a man possessed; his eyes alight with a singular purpose as his hands clasped the box in a greedy embrace. Without taking his eyes of Severus, Lucius moved from behind his desk to stand in the center of the room.
"Watch!"
Lucius positioned his fingers on two sides of the box. With the fingers of one hand, he pressed inwards while two fingers of the second hand pushed in on two solid circles as the thumb stroked a slotted arc. As he did so, Severus noticed the lights of Lucius' study dim as a snippet of an odd melody in a Minor key began to play. He stepped backwards until he was stopped by the closed door of the study. As the melody played, one side of the box's design began moving on its own. Angles surrounding spheres began rotating until a section of the side popped up, waited for a few notes of the melody, and then replaced itself. Once it did and the melody stopped, the lights regained their original brightness. Lucius looked up and beamed at Severus.
"See? Intriguing, isn't it?"
A cold sensation spread throughout Snape's guts as he sensed the force that emanated from the box and permeated the room. If the box was enchanted, it was enchanted with a very different kind of magic and based on his physical reaction, it wasn't benign in nature.
"Where did you say you got that?" Severus asked in a voice barely above a whisper.
"I didn't, but to answer your question, I got it from a dirty little second hand shop in Knockturn Alley. 'Dark' something. 'Dark Delights' I believe it was. It was full of junk except for this keen little find. Now would you please examine this for me, Severus? I want your expert opinion. This is obviously something very unique and I want to know just how unique. And if possession of it will land me in Azkaban."
Lucius looked at his friend in earnest. Lucius knew he wasn't a great scholar and his general knowledge was not as robust as Severus'. What's more was that beside Snape, there was no one else he trusted enough to give him honest answers and to keep his secrets.
Snape looked at the gold and black box with distaste and was about to tell Lucius to do his own sodding research but changed his mind when he once again considered Lucius' odd behavior and shocking appearance. There was indeed something amiss and Severus suspected the puzzle box was at the root of it.
"Fine," he said as he strode to Lucius' ornate desk and seated himself there, "let's just get this over with. Hand it over."
Lucius placed the box on the desk in front of Snape as gently as if it were a Fabergé egg, then retreated to hover next to his liquor cabinet as he awaited Snape's verdict.
At first Snape merely looked at the object. Its ornamentation was reminiscent of Asian design more than 18th century French Baroque and its patterns were a study in pure geometry. He noted that even after over two centuries, the gold remained unblemished from the mars and nicks one would expect the soft metal to accumulate, nor had it been darkened by the oils from human hands. In fact, it looked like it had been finished only yesterday. It was flawless.
Snape plucked the box up to better examine each of the six sides. As he rotated the box in his hands, he felt a strange itching urge to move his fingers. The box commanded his whole attention as his fingers involuntarily moved into position. Unnerved, he watched as the thumb of his right hand placed itself over a solid circle and the middle finger inside an open one. Severus concentrated on halting the motion of his hands. When he did, he was gripped with a sudden paralysis. Although it would not have been observable to an onlooker, Snape found himself locked in an invisible struggle. Every bit of strength he possessed was devoted to halting the movement of his fingers as the box fought against him. A rising panic began to fill him as he found himself unable to break free.
And then the visions came.
Sliced and tortured flesh. Blood. Near darkness. The sound of a thousand birds' wings beating unseen in the depths. Cruel laughter. The screams…dear gods, the screams! A thousand souls crying out for mercy or death. The airy clink of metal upon metal. Chains. And through it all, impossible creatures whose features Severus could not make out clearly, held court over the nightmare. He wanted to scream as he sensed the creatures' awareness of him.
Open the box, Severus. Taste our pleasures.
"NO!"
Lucius dropped a tumbler of Scotch in surprise as Severus threw himself backwards away from the desk, knocking over the chair as he did.
"Good lord, man! Are you alright? What's wrong?"
Severus steadied himself against a wall as he caught his breath. The shirt beneath his frock coat was soaked with sweat and his heart was racing. Only once before had he experienced such a malevolent force: Voldemort. But this…this was something even more vile and abhorrent and it was contained inside that wretched box. A hand appeared in front of him, offering a glass of water. Severus took it with a shaking hand and gulped it down. When he was done, he righted himself and flew at Lucius.
"You must destroy that box! Immediately!" He said, gripping each of Lucius' shoulders.
"What? Why? What's wrong with it?" Lucius asked as he attempted to prise himself from Severus' grip.
"That thing contains abominations I can't begin to describe. It can never be opened, should never be opened! It's beyond cursed." Severus' body shivered in horror inside his damp shirt.
Lucius gently removed himself from Severus grip and took a step back. His friend, who was extremely pale by nature, now looked absolutely cadaverous as he gasped for air. But nothing had happened. One moment Snape was simply looking at it, and the next he was behaving as if a dozen Dementors and Boggarts were chasing him. Why? Lucius had not experienced anything to produce such a reaction in himself.
"Severus, what happened just now? Tell me."
Snape stood fully upright and darted wild eyes about the room. He either did not hear Lucius' question or he ignored it as pulled out his wand and began waving it through the air and muttering counter-curses of all sorts. When he finished, he approached Lucius once again.
"What's in that box must never be let out. Do you understand? Now, destroy it."
"Severus, be reasonable. Just tell me what you…"
"DESTROY IT!"
"Oh honestly! A Muggle made it. How dreadful could it be? Besides, I paid more than a few galleons for it and…"
Snape growled and positioned himself in front of the desk where the box still sat. Before Lucius could finish his sentence, he pulled his wand out and leveled it at the object.
"Reducto!"
In a flash of light and deafening crack of sound, the box propelled through the air as the desk it sat on crumpled into a heap on the floor. Lucius gasped and sputtered in outrage while Snape picked his way over to where the box landed. He stood over it for several moments before stooping down to pick it up off the floor. He turned around slowly and held it up for Lucius to see. His expression was grim. The box was completely undamaged.
"Look. Even after a Reductor Curse, it remains in one piece. What further proof do you need that this is a cursed object?"
Lucius had to admit that Snape had succeeded in frightening him. He took the box out of Snape's hand and looked it over as his belly tightened. Snape was right; there wasn't a scratch on it. The enchantment was very powerful indeed.
"Just tell me what to do."
Snape ran a hand over the top of his head and filled another glass with water.
"At the moment, I'm not sure. I'll have to do some research first but I will find a way. I'll take it home and study it. I'll throw it into a volcano if I have to." He held his hand out to Lucius to receive the box, grimacing with the prospect of having to touch it again.
Lucius sighed and began to hand the box to Snape. As he did, a strange voice that was not his own hissed in his ears.
No! He wants the box for himself!
Lucius halted and eyed his friend. Snape didn't need to take the box. He already examined it not more than a few minutes ago. Maybe Severus was lying. Maybe he was playacting in order to take it for himself. The box was his and his alone!
"Lucius, give me the box!" Snape demanded.
"Thank you, old boy, but you needn't trouble yourself. I will dispose of the object myself." He said as he drew the box towards his chest and wrapped his second hand around it. Snape narrowed his eyes.
"Fool!" He spat and promptly apparated away from Malfoy Manor, leaving Lucius alone holding his prize.
