UPDATE! And welcome, new reader!

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Hogwarts: August 30, 1996

The rest of the summer went on rather blandly. Each night was spent attempting to pry open the box as usual, followed by hours of restless sleep. Several times, Ava went to talk to Professor Slughorn. Some of them merely in order to restore her sleep. However, she soon developed a great fondness for the man and it wasn't long until she'd shown him her box.

"It's truly a maddening piece of work," she said, holding it out. "I haven't gotten it to do much."

Slughorn took the box and shook it gently, peering at it from all sides. Indeed, he also found it puzzling. "How immensely peculiar!" he'd remarked. He eyed the box. "Well show me where you've gotten so far."

Ava drew her wand and pointed at the letters of the box. "Lumos!" she cast. And as usual, the letters were set ablaze with a hot silver light and then quickly diminished.

Slughorn blinked at the box, clearly mystified. "Let me have a go," he said. The man handed her the box and drew his own wand. "Lumos!" Just the same, the lettering illuminated and quickly faded. The Professor narrowed his eyes. "Hmm." He cast the spell again, watching the letters carefully as their brightness began to fade. "Now why is it," he proposed, "that some letters fade faster than others?" Ava stared at him blankly before shrugging.

Professor Slughorn traced a finger over the letters. He smirked. "How peculiar, how peculiar indeed!" But the man did not look trumped, no, he had a grin of satisfaction upon his face.

"WHAT?!" Ava burst at last. The Professor only grinned and gave a hearty laugh so full that the girl could not help but laugh herself.

Professor Slughorn patted her on the back. "My dear girl, I am not surprised you haven't found the lock yet. However, I think it is up to you to open the box," he said with a wink.

Ava stared at him, her jaw slack. "I've been working on this all month!" she cried out. "And as you said yourself, it's not surprising that I haven't found it. Clearly meaning that this is magic far beyond my comprehension!" But the girl didn't stop there, oh no, she had far much more to say. "And now you have the key to what might be information I've been yearning for my whole life, and you're telling me that I have to figure it out myself?!" She gaped at him, heat racing and eyes full with disbelief. Ava bit her lower lip.

"Think of it as a puzzle," Slughorn prompted after a long pause. "It's rather simple actually, just tell the box what you want it to do."

Ava blinked at him, unsure, before sighing and picking up the box. "Open," she told it. Nothing. She gave a disproving glance at the Professor, who shrugged in return.

"Perhaps other methods are necessary," he said with a wink.