"Indeed." Tate removed a locked box from inside a locked drawer - a precaution he'd had to take after the baby house elf had stolen the orb from his office. He set the box on top of his desk and opened the lock with a few murmured words. Inside sat the orb, completely unadorned and un-embellished.

"We found this... item on the grounds last year, and several people foolishly handled it. I have a concern that it might be one of the receptacles used to store memories, like you keep at the Ministry."