Snakes and Ladders (Fem!HPxLM) (DISCONTINUED)

Torpe

It took a while, but they eventually found all of her father's Horcruxes. Some were harder to find than others; the diadem, cup and locket, for starters and getting the ring from Dumbledore was a tricky game that Lucius took great pleasure in playing. It included a bait and switch, and Lucius had always loved a good bait and switch. 

In total, they had six Horcruxes. The seventh Hyacinth destroyed in her second year after the whole chamber of secrets fiasco. They realised belatedly that he had made Hyacinth's baby blanket one of his Horcruxes, and Hyacinth felt her eyes well up at the sentiment as she held the soft yellow fabric in her hands.

Lucius had found a small unused room to place the Horcruxes in until the time came to use them and put them on a large round table made of deep green geode.

The weeks leading up to Yule were tense, and Hyacinth found a welcome reprieve in the company of Draco when he returned home from school. This also meant they had the correct number of people for the ritual. The two spent many hours in the gardens, wrapped warmly in thick jumpers, coats, scarves, hats, and gloves. They also spent time with the peacocks, much to Hyacinth's delight. Draco usually kept them at arm's length as they were "snappy buggers", as he claimed. 

Christmas day remained a quiet affair. Usually, the Malfoy's would hold a party akin to a gala; however, they had little reason for such large celebrations since Narcissa's passing. They kept it simple; the decorations were kept to one room as opposed to every corner of the manor, and celebrations were kept to just Hyacinth, Lucius, Severus, Draco and Bellatrix. 

Hyacinth was shocked to find out that Bellatrix and Rodolphus had parted ways, amicably so. Hyacinth assumed Bella had married him because it was what was expected of her—something about a marriage of convenience rather than love. 

In the evening, at around 5 pm, they all gathered in the tea room to begin exchanging gifts. For her mother, Hyacinth had ordered a speciality potions ingredients kit with rare and slightly illegal ingredients, including Acromantula venom, which came at a hefty price for its rarity. 

For Bellatrix, she had brought custom-made jewellery and robes imported from France. There were few robes, four in total, but they were versatile in that they could be worn for multiple different occasions, and the jewellery was the star of the show. A set composed of a necklace, a pair of earrings and a bracelet, all matching and beautiful in their own right. The jeweller had used Kashmir Sapphire, a rare and expensive precious gem and had set them into pure silver. The cornflower blue glinted enticingly in the low light of the fire.

For Draco, she gifted him new ink and quills. Five new inks and five new quills, the stem of which were made of solid gold with charms cast upon them so that they would never leak. The inks were all different colours ranging from deep sapphire blue to emerald green, ruby red, gold and black.

Lucius had been the hardest to find a gift for. She had debated gifting him the same as Draco but found that the idea didn't sit right with her. She spent weeks thinking on the matter before finally caving and asking Narcissa what he liked. The woman had smiled softly, a knowing glint in her eye, and said, "Music".

That had left her with an even bigger problem. How could you gift someone music? And then it hit her. She had asked Narcissa for his favourite piece of music, and upon learning that it was "you are my sunshine", something he had sung for Draco when he was a baby, she requested the song be put into a music box by a bespoke woodworker in muggle London. 

The finished box was something of delicate beauty, with hours of craftsmanship going into the piece. The box arrived just a day before, complete with a spinning brass angel and a key and after checking that it worked, Hyacinth wrapped it as neatly as she possibly could.

Hyacinth didn't expect to be gifted much for Christmas. She found more joy in the giving than the receiving. But what she did receive left her speechless. 

She received a journal from her mother that would only open to her magical signature, the cover a soft leather dyed an aqua blue. Each page had flowers along the outer edge that would bloom and shift under her touch.

From Bellatrix, she received something simple; since being a fugitive, she couldn't leave the manor. Three small jars are hand-painted with flowers, one pink, one blue and the last yellow. She had spelled little lights to flicker in the jars in an imitation of fireflies.

Draco had gifted her speciality candles; he told her that their scents would change depending on her mood.

Finally, Lucius handed her a carefully wrapped gift. Through the wrapping, she could feel from the softness that it was an item of clothing, but nothing could prepare her for what lay beneath the layers of stiff wrapping paper.

As she pulled away the paper slowly, the garment was revealed. She heard a gasp as the paper fell away but did not register it as her own until much later. She fingered the soft silken layers of the emerald green ball gown that lay pooled in her lap from her position on the floor. Her wide eyes shot up to look at Lucius; her lips slightly parted in an awestruck expression. She searched his eyes for something what she didn't know.

"I thought you could wear it at your coming-of-age ball after we find your father", he offered, almost shyly. Hyacinth found herself mutely nodding in agreement.