Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!
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The following week, Severus held Harriet's hand while the midwife examined his darling omega to confirm what they both already knew.
"Go ahead and relax, Mrs. Snape." The kind woman smiled reassuringly at Harriet.
Harriet seemed a little embarrassed but Severus gently stroked her red hair and purred quietly to her as he spoke, "It's only for a moment, my love, just look at me."
Harriet's green eyes flickered over to her husband while the midwife went about her work.
There was a gentleness in Severus's onyx gaze that was present only when he looked at Harriet and it comforted her greatly.
Severus wished that he could have watched the midwife complete her task. She had seen Harriet before and even delivered Albus, but Severus was not a trusting person.
He liked to observe everything that was done to his mate. That way, he could be certain that she was being cared for properly.
The midwife was gentle though and she quickly finished her examination of Harriet. With a genuine smile, she beamed up at the happy couple and draped a white sheet over Harriet's knees to protect her privacy, "Yes, you two are right! You are indeed with child, Mrs. Snape."
Harriet squeezed Severus's hand but he turned his attention towards his wife's healthcare provider.
"Do you know the gender yet?" Severus asked quickly.
"Not yet, no sir, I'm afraid she's not quite far enough along." The midwife said with another smile.
"Let's let it be a surprise this time." Harriet whispered to Severus, causing him to glance down at her incredulously.
Surprise?
Severus Snape did not enjoy surprises.
Severus Snape liked to know and plan.
Severus Snape was interested in learning whether he was going to have another son or a daughter as soon as possible.
However, as he stared into Harriet's imploring, green eyes, he supposed he could quell his eagerness.
"...,.Very well." Severus replied after a long pause, nodding back to the midwife.
The midwife went on, "Then we'll leave the gender reveal for the birth! So far, everything looks healthy! Congratulations to you both!"
For any other client, the midwife would have stood, left the room to let her patient dress for a moment, and then shown them out.
But she remembered the Snapes very well and she knew they wouldn't be leaving anytime soon.
The midwife's assumption was accurate.
Harriet was glad that the sheet covering her was warm because nearly an hour passed before her very protective alpha finished asking all of his questions.
Severus had done the same at all of her appointments before Albus had been born and at every postpartum visit after his son's birth.
This time, though, Severus's onslaught of probing questions was more intense.
Having become a father before, Severus had backlogged an entirely new set of inquiries and scenarios with which to interrogate Harriet's poor midwife.
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Over the next couple of months, when he wasn't teaching classes or spending time with his wife and son, Severus was busy stirring his cauldron.
Harriet consumed anti-nausea potions in ample amounts, which her alpha was more than glad to brew for her.
Severus wanted his expectant wife to focus on tending the house and looking after little Albus. Not to mention that being able to relieve his mate's suffering and help her relax was the highest gratification that a dominant alpha like Severus could achieve.
As the weeks passed by and Harriet entered the second trimester of her pregnancy, Severus's schedule lightened as her stomach settled and her appetite grew, along with her belly.
The curve of Harriet's abdomen was very subtle at first, no different than if she had eaten too much for dinner.
Albus didn't notice right away but Severus certainly did.
Harriet kept a smug grin on her face whenever she felt her alpha staring at her, enjoying the way his coal black gaze glided over her form to fixate on the barely visible changes in her petite figure.
Harriet was well aware of how drastic those changes would become over the next few months but unlike most women in her condition, she eagerly anticipated them. That was primarily because she knew her already attentive alpha would go out of his way to treat her like royalty.
With each passing week, Harriet's body altered to a greater degree as the child inside her grew.
When her clothes no longer comfortably fit her belly and breasts, Severus walked beside his dear omega as they went out to shop in Diagon Alley one Saturday afternoon.
Severus said nothing as Harriet chose her clothes and undergarments, he wasn't as controlling as other alphas.
But he was just as protective……..
Harriet had developed a very beguiling flush to her fair cheeks and her green eyes were bright with the promise of the new life she carried.
That, coupled with her new curves and her tantalizingly sweet scent made her more than desirable, even in her current condition.
However, whenever a rival alpha dared to glance over at Harriet, eager to leer at her or catch another hint of the sweet aroma that wafted from her, they quickly looked away.
Not many could hold up under Severus Snape's threatening, black glare.
After Harriet made her selections, Severus stood by her side as they waited in line for the register, proudly holding his wife's new clothes for her, nodding every once in a while as an acquaintance noticed him standing next to his beloved.
As they waited in line, out of the corner of his eye, Severus saw Harriet suddenly turn rather pale.
"Are you alright…..my love?" Severus asked quietly, placing his large, elegant hand on the small of her back.
"I'm just…….tired, I suppose. It's a little crowded in here." Harriet said as she closed her eyes for a moment.
Severus bent down and urged her as he whispered in her ear, "Go home and lie down, my pet. I'll join you in just a moment."
Severus pressed a soothing kiss to Harriet's forehead. Harriet decided to obey her alpha and she apparated home, grateful for his thoughtfulness as she sat down on the sofa.
Severus stayed behind in the shop to pay for her clothes. It was all he could do not to growl at the clerk who assisted with his transaction.
Had the man behind the register not seen that Severus had a pregnant wife that wasn't feeling well?
……...Couldn't he move any faster?
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As soon as Severus returned home, he rushed to find Harriet.
When he saw his wife dozing peacefully in her fluffy nest, he sighed to himself.
Going out shopping for better fitting clothing had been inevitable. Severus couldn't choose Harriet's garments for her. Her skin was too sensitive and her body was far too tender.
He had tried during her first pregnancy, but she had dismissed all the items he had purchased for her as uncomfortable.
Severus narrowed his eyes as he thought.
Within a month or two, she would ask that they make another trip to buy items for the child and then she'd be even farther along……..
That sent tension tingling down Severus's spine.
Severus drew his black robes around himself like an irritated bat.
Why didn't the shops in Diagon Alley have catalogs customers could order from?
His omega was very choosy, she would never allow him to decorate the nursery without her input. Besides, he couldn't possibly take that joy away from his bride.
Still, that didn't make him feel any more comfortable about taking his darling Harriet so far away from her nest at such an anxious time.
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The evening that Severus and Harriet finally told Albus that he would soon be getting a little sibling, they braced themselves for the variety of reactions their young son may have.
The couple were pleasantly surprised when the little boy was neither angry nor saddened, but only curious.
"The baby's in your belly, mummy?" Albus asked, blinking up at Harriet with his wide, green eyes.
"That's right, my darling." Harriet replied, stroking Albus's hair gently as he sat beside her in her nest.
Severus remained a respectful distance away, watching his mate talk to their son.
Albus had listened politely to his mother and father, but he always went to mummy with his concerns, not daddy.
"...But you're not going to die?" Albus asked Harriet with a worried frown.
Severus glared at his son.
"No, sweetheart. Mummy's not going to die." Harriet reassured Albus with a soft smile.
"...Alright." Albus said quietly, deciding that was acceptable.
Albus didn't mind having a brother or sister as long as his mother would remain unharmed.
"Can I hug you, mummy?" Albus asked Harriet.
"Of course, sweetheart." Harriet smiled, "Come here."
Harriet opened her arms to Albus.
Severus was vigilantly watching.
Using incredible speed, the protective alpha was suddenly across the room, hovering over them both.
Albus was a kind child but he could be rambunctious, and Severus was worried that he may accidentally hurt Harriet without realizing.
Severus's concern proved to be unnecessary.
For a five-year-old, Albus was remarkably careful as he hugged his mother. Harriet kept smiling as he settled in beside her and laid his head on her cushy breast.
Lovingly, she pulled the soft, purple blankets over them both.
"Can I touch the baby, mummy?" Albus asked Harriet hopefully.
"Of course, my darling." Harriet replied.
Albus let his mother guide his small hand to rest on her middle.
Harriet's face lit up in a grin at the wonder in Albus's eyes as the child in her womb moved slightly.
Harriet looked over at Severus and her heart melted when she saw how left out her alpha looked.
Pleading silently to his mate, relief washed over Severus as Harriet welcomed him into her nest also as she asked, "Would Daddy like to touch, too?"
Oh, yes~. Severus thought to himself as his gaze lingered on her swollen breasts for a fleeting second, Daddy would like to touch very, very much~.
Severus crawled in on the other side of Harriet and propped himself up behind her so that he could cuddle her close as he spread his own hand over her belly, beside his son's.
The evening was chilly but the Snapes' nest was warm and comfortable.
Soothed by the feel and scent of his mother, Albus was the first in the family to drift off to sleep.
As the baby's motion slowly died down, with her womb satisfyingly full and her mate and son lying against her, Harriet followed him shortly, enjoying the feeling of being so wanted and loved.
It took Severus a little longer to fall asleep.
He was preoccupied with delighting in the scene that he gazed upon.
Harriet pregnant, Albus still a child, and all three of them together…….
Eventually, with a purr, Severus's black eyes closed.
His head was cradled against Harriet's so he could breathe in the sweet scent of his expectant wife while he slept.
Albus was in arm's reach and Severus's hand was still splayed protectively over Harriet's belly.
In the middle of the night, Harriet woke to find Severus and Albus still in their same positions.
She smiled sleepily at her son but moved her head to gently place a kiss against Severus's pale cheek.
It warmed Harriet's heart to see the way her alpha instinctively cuddled closer to her.