Christmas was a quiet affair in Nev's household - with only herself to attend to, she normally forwent a grand dinner and just had some sandwiches on a tray before the fire, allowing her staff to decamp to their respective families and she got a few quiet days to herself. She managed her dressing alone for the few days and the even fewer events she attended over the 4 days of Christmas. She opened her gifts alone on Christmas morning, still in her nightdress. When she had opened the box and her hands had immediately paid the price.

Cursed objects were not something that regularly landed on her doorstep - She suspected at least that there were 2 possible sources for the object. One was her uncle - a man who still held rather a deal of bitterness that her father had not willed his only child into his care, along with his estate. He didn't want her dead, but perhaps leaving her feeling vulnerable and without protection would be enough to force her hand to turn to him. The other was from that other family. The bad feeling between them had long lost most of it's teeth, but every now and then one of the younger cousins on either side would undertake some prank or other, sometimes they would be a little too 'rambunctious' in their execution and someone got hurt. Nev had never been on the receiving end, being one of the more obscure Montague's but apparently today was her day!

She was also sure that the effect was more than what was intended - she hoped at least. But there was no point in enflaming matters by sending aurors to their door, or indeed informing her cousin Robert, who would either go for his father or make matters worse with them. 'A prank gone wrong I think' she managed with a slightly pained chortle. The vase had been shattered when she dropped it but it had stopped her fingers and hands from swelling painfully -until they looked like clubs and were a blotchy patchwork of red and white.

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