Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!
—
Albus raced into his parents' bedroom and Severus followed on his heels, gliding along the floor with hasty, anxious steps.
When they arrived at the bedroom, Albus dashed inside and Severus was right behind his son, his black robes swirling around his legs.
Severus quickly brushed his black hair out of his face as he saw Harriet curled up in her nest.
She bravely kept a smile on her face as Albus knelt by her side but Severus saw the pain his wife hid behind her emerald gaze.
"My love….." Severus cooed to Harriet as he too knelt down beside his wife. His instincts screamed at him to just get to her, but he remembered that it would be rude if he pushed his little boy out of the way.
"Mummy! Are you alright? Does it still hurt?" Albus frowned at Harriet, deeply concerned about his poor mother.
"It's going to hurt for a little while, sweetheart." Harriet said, managing to give Albus another wry smile while she reached out and stroked his soft, black hair, "But mummy's fine, don't worry. Your new little brother or sister will be here soon! Isn't that exciting?"
Albus nodded eagerly as he happily declared, "I can't wait to read to them!"
Severus wasted no time, while mother and son shared their little chat, he stealthily stepped into the hallway to contact Hermione and the midwife.
Severus was able to reach Hermione easily. He felt a weight lift off of his shoulders when his wife's friend informed him that she'd apparate straight there to collect Albus and keep him occupied with Scorpius during the birth.
However, Severus was less than pleased with the service he received from the midwife's office.
"I'm very sorry, Mr. Snape, but she's out now." The midwife's secretary spoke on the other end of the magical communication system that Severus was using, which worked somewhat like a muggle telephone.
"Well…...she can't be out now!" Severus hissed at the secretary, "My wife's in labor! She needs assistance!"
"Oh, you don't have to fret about that, sir!" The secretary replied in a cheerful tone, "She should be back shortly! Mrs. Snape will have the aid she needs."
By the time the communication ended and Severus swirled back into the bedroom with a frustrated growl, a loud pop from downstairs announced Hermione's arrival.
"Is everything alright?" Harriet asked Severus while she shifted under the covers of her nest.
"Everything's fine, my love. I believe your friend is here." Severus replied.
Severus was correct.
The brown-haired Gryffindor walked upstairs and knocked on the bedroom door.
"Come in." Severus called out.
Hermione entered with a smile on her face as she saw Albus sitting beside Harriet who lay in her nest.
"Oh, dear! How are you?" Hermione asked the other omega as she bent down.
"I'm fine." Harriet replied simply, reaching up when she saw Hermione open her arms.
Hermione gave her friend an encouraging hug and then she turned to Albus with a grin, "Alright, Albus! Are you ready to come and play with Scorpius so that mummy and daddy can meet your new little brother or sister?"
"Mummy doesn't feel good again." Albus informed Hermione with a worried frown.
"Your mummy's going to feel much better in a little while, I promise. Why don't you come with me so she can rest for a bit?" Hermione asked.
Albus glanced at Harriet again and Harriet nodded to her son, "It would make mummy happy to know that you're having fun, sweetheart."
Albus glanced at Severus before he reached over and hugged Harriet almost guiltily. She kissed her little boy's cheek and let him go as he leapt up and stood, holding Hermione's hand while they apparated away.
Severus was a loving father but he was glad to see his son leave.
Harriet needed to focus on the labor, and he needed to focus on Harriet, not looking after him.
Harriet sighed and rolled over in the nest. The noise caused Severus's black eyes to narrow and he placed a soothing, warm hand on her lower back.
From the way his mate was acting, Severus could tell the process hadn't advanced much yet.
Severus's assessment was accurate. The pain was there, but it was no greater than a deep, burning cramp.
Harriet hadn't started timing the waves but they were still far enough apart she didn't think it was necessary.
Actually, Harriet yawned as she laid there, all snuggled up and waiting for their baby to arrive.
Overcome by drowsiness, Harriet realized that she really wanted to…...sleep.
"When's the midwife coming?" Harriet asked Severus drowsily.
"Soon, my love. Do you want to go to the hospital instead?" Severus offered as he soothingly stroked his wife's back.
"No." Harriet said firmly, "I'm not leaving."
Harriet moved over and when Severus realized that she was inviting him inside her nest for a cuddle, he carefully climbed in behind her.
Severus wound his arms around her swollen middle while his mate fell into a deep sleep.
Severus hadn't mentioned anything about the fact that he had no idea when the midwife would be available.
There wasn't any reason to worry Harriet.
Besides, Severus remembered Albus's birth very well.
He knew that in a few hours, Harriet wouldn't know if the midwife was there or not.
Severus hoped though that by the time that moment came, she would be.
—
Harriet probably slept for an hour or two, Severus didn't watch the passing moments closely.
He was too busy preparing.
While he held Harriet close as she napped, he used his free hand to flick his wand this way and that as he made the final preparations for the birth.
The curtains were drawn, Harriet's favorite lavender candles were burning around the room, and the supplies that Severus had gathered over the last few months were in a neat little kit close to the nest. Two pitchers of water, one warm and one cool, sat on the dresser.
Severus made sure that he wouldn't have to leave his mate's side to collect anything.
The environment was comfortable, dimly lit, and soothing.
Severus's attention was called back to his wife as she shifted restlessly against him.
Severus laid his wand aside and let his hands splay over her rounded womb. When he felt it tightening under his fingers, he steadied himself and gathered his nerve.
The real work was about to begin.
Harriet woke as the tension worsened, gasping at the pain as she whispered out, "S-Severus!"
"I'm here, my love. I'm right here." Severus answered immediately, keeping his hands on her belly while Harriet sucked in a breath and laid her trembling hands over his.
"Breathe….." Severus coached when he noticed her face turning red from holding in her air, "Breathe, my love, surely you haven't forgotten….come on, you've done this before, you can do it again."
Harriet reluctantly blew out a breath and gazed up at Severus pleadingly.
It was a look that both terrified and flattered him.
His omega was hurting and she was turning to him for comfort.
His omega was getting ready to birth their baby and it was him she was relying on to keep her calm and focused.
"The water gave you some relief with Albus…..do you want to try that for a while?" Severus asked.
"Yeah." Harriet replied with a curt nod.
Carefully, Severus lifted Harriet up into his arms and ran her a warm bath after he sterilized the tub.
Severus wasn't sure if the water proved to be more of a help or a hindrance.
Regardless, the warmth of the bath helped spur the omega's labor along.
The groans and whimpers that escaped Harriet's lips as the contractions increased in pain and frequency gnawed at Severus. His alpha instincts commanded him to protect and help his pained omega, even though he was already doing more than most alphas.
Harriet knew from previous experience that it was very helpful to have a labor partner who was skilled in legilimency.
As Harriet became nonverbal, she was aware of Severus drifting into her mind and she welcomed the invasion completely.
Her task was so much easier when he just read her thoughts.
She didn't have to waste her energy talking, trying to communicate her needs, or how she felt to her husband.
Severus couldn't feel Harriet's pain but he could locate it. He couldn't understand her frustration but he could identify it.
If one contraction put unbearable pressure on Harriet's back, then Severus's skilled hands kneaded that exact spot until the pain passed.
If Harriet needed a cool rag placed on her face, then Severus was instantly beside her with one, mopping away the perspiration that beaded on her skin.
Harriet found her mate's low, velvety voice immeasurably soothing, especially through the throes of labor.
Severus took special pride in that.
By early evening, Harriet had moved back into her nest, kneeling on all fours as she panted through a difficult contraction while Severus hovered over her, attentively playing the role of coach.
"Breathe, keep going….." Severus whispered in her ear while she squeezed her eyes shut against the pain.
Severus deftly placed a hand over her tight belly and narrowed her eyes as he warned her, "We're getting ready to peak…"
The tortured moan that left Harriet's throat as her womb almost snapped under his fingers caused him to grimace in sympathy, "...And it's over, we're coming back down now…."
Harriet panted as the pain subsided, sighing when she realized she'd only have a short break until the next one started.
"I need to lie down." She exhaled with a huff.
Severus noticed how badly she was trembling and he gently helped her onto her back.
Crouching in front of her, his dark eyes widened when he noticed the moist slickness that lined his mate's inner thighs.
The substance glistened far more than regular sweat….
"How long until the midwife comes?" Harriet panted, placing a hand on the side of her bump when she felt another pain start to build.
"Soon, my love, soon. Do you think your waters have gone?" Severus asked, sensing the increasing urgency of the situation as Harriet started to groan again.
"I-I don't know! Oh! OOOHHHH! SEVERUS! HELP ME!" Harriet cried out.
Severus watched as Harriet writhed under the pain's assault. He reached inside her mind, searching for a way to help, but all he found was a white-hot chaotic mess of scrambled thoughts, fragmented by anxious apprehension.
"I'm with you, my love. I'm right beside you." Severus spoke to Harriet, kissing the knees that she spread obscenely in front of him.
Harriet's green eyes were wide as she looked at her alpha and stammered, "I….I have to-"
It was a cautionary declaration perhaps, but not a question.
Severus wasn't panicked.
He understood the natural process.
He calmly unpacked a clean towel from the kit he had put together and placed one of his hands back on the swell of Harriet's belly.
Harriet cried out against the next contraction when it hit, but Severus's low, smooth voice cut through her agony like a knife as he urged his wife on, "Listen to your body, goddess~."
That was all the permission Harriet needed.
Laying back against the soft pillows in her nest for support, Harriet gripped her thighs and curled forward, bearing down as she grit her teeth.
Severus's eyes flickered from her center to her face as he watched in awe.
Severus was not a man who used meaningless flattery, he meant what he had said.
Although many men were repulsed by such a sight, he couldn't help but think that Harriet looked divine as she lay there, laboring in her nest with her vivid, red hair fanned out behind her head. Her breasts were nearly as full and round as her belly, heaving while she gasped for breath as she brought their next child into the world, covered only by the purple blankets that Severus had lovingly bought for her nine months prior.
He became so absorbed in his observation that he nearly forgot to encourage Harriet, only remembering himself when she fell back against the pillows with an exhausted cry.
"You're doing so well, my love…...We're nearly there." Severus reassured his mate, placing a hand comfortingly on the inside of her bent leg.
Harriet heaved for breath and looked at Severus as another pain built in the core of her body, crescendoing in her spine until it burst forth across her swollen belly.
Harriet's green eyes were fixed on Severus's as she cried out in protest.
"AAAAAAGGGGHHHH!"
"Push, my love. Keep going." Severus called over Harriet's cry. He was careful to speak firmly without yelling, and though he increased his volume, there was a tranquility in his tone that other alphas would have envied if they had been in his exact situation.
Severus forced his own worries to abate so that he could devote himself to protecting his mate and child.
The calmer he stayed, the calmer Harriet would be, and the easier the birth would go.
Harriet paused to catch her breath for a moment and Severus laid a hand sympathetically on her gravid womb.
"Nearly done." Severus confidently told her in his low purr of a voice.
A crack like static electricity came from downstairs but Harriet barely noticed as she curled forward and pushed again, the reassurance from her alpha giving her renewed strength.
"NNNNGGGHHH!" Harriet roared as Severus crouched between her legs.
He watched something dark move towards him slowly as a familiar voice called out, "...Mrs. Snape?"
"We're up here!" Severus shouted over his shoulder.
"SEVERUS!" Harriet screeched when his attention turned away from her.
"I'm not going anywhere, my love." Severus promised his wife as his head snapped back around.
His eyes widened when he realized he'd looked away too soon.
Tiny tufts of wet hair peeked out of Harriet's center and the sight caused him to hurriedly cup his hands, covered by the clean towel, around her stretching entrance.
Severus and Harriet barely heard the midwife's steps as she came up the stairs and walked towards the room, guided by Harriet's guttural groan when she bore down again.
"NNGGGHHHH!"
"Oh my!" The midwife exclaimed cheerily as she opened the door and looked at the scene in front of her.
"Come quickly!" Severus ordered the woman.
As more of the baby began to emerge the midwife hurried over and placed her hands on Severus's arms to direct him, "Mummy and Daddy seem to be doing a fine job! Just keep your hands here, sir, and I'll guide you…"
"You'll…...you'll let me….?" Severus asked in shock.
His mind was so torn it was difficult to process everything.
Between the midwife calmly giving him directions, Harriet's pained shouts, and his newborn slipping right into his hands, Severus wasn't entirely sure what to think or feel.
He knew what he had to do, though.
He had to be there to support Harriet.
After the midwife checked for the cord and Harriet gave one, last primitive cry, her eyes were wide open as they locked onto Severus's.
Severus held her stare in his, whispering his thoughts into her mind, deep in a place where he knew she could still hear him.
This it, my love.
You can do this.
I'm right beside you, I'll see you through to the end.
You can trust that.
Now, and forever.
It was over almost too quickly.
One last, final push sent the baby from Harriet completely into Severus's waiting, toweled hands.
Harriet gasped at the startling sensation of sudden emptiness.
Her work wasn't totally finished, but Harriet smiled, exhaling sharply as she closed her eyes to celebrate her accomplishment.
Severus should have been preparing to hand their little one to his exhausted bride, but he took a selfish moment to fall in love.
There, lying perfectly in his long, elegant hands was their little baby.
The life that Severus had waited so very long to meet.
She.
She was tiny and she was perfect.
Her little arms and legs were still folded. She looked up at Severus with an adorable frown that squished her chubby cheeks together as she asked him with a coo about the sudden change in her surroundings.
"Severus…..?" Harriet whispered weakly.
"...We have a daughter, my dearest." Severus replied distantly, still staring down at the baby in his hands, "A daughter…"
Severus was profoundly surprised as his newborn gazed up at him with large, green eyes, her small head covered in tufts of red hair that she had inherited from her mother and grandmother.
Severus had taken a wife, he had become a husband, and a father once before.
Severus didn't think it was possible for him to give any more of his heart away, but as his tiny little girl stared up at him with unquestioning trust and adoration, he found that idea was proven wrong.