Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!
—
Severus remained staring down at his newborn for a long, reverse moment.
"...Severus?" Harriet whispered weakly.
The tiny baby girl began to cry softly at her mother's voice and Severus was startled out of his selfish reverie by the sound. While the midwife reached around him and severed the cord, Severus gently swaddled his small daughter and very carefully laid her on Harriet's chest.
Harriet smiled tiredly as she gazed at her new baby in wonder. The look on Severus's face was so gentle as he proudly admired his mate and their baby girl that his eyes seemed like molten pools of soft ore. His lips quickly twisted in a frown of intent concern though as he held his hands cautiously around his wife's trembling arms.
"I'm not going to drop her." Harriet chuckled in an amused tone. She smiled at the way her alpha crouched protectively beside her and the baby, ready to jump to their aid at a second's notice.
As Harriet's grip steadied, Severus took his eyes off of the baby for a moment and kissed his wife's cheek as he whispered, "You did so well, my love."
There it was, what every omega hoped to achieve…...an alpha's satisfaction~.
Harriet fleetingly smiled at her husband's kind words before she felt a familiar cramp grip her sore insides.
Severus blinked as he watched Harriet shift restlessly on her mound of pillows.
"Not quite finished yet." Harriet's midwife reminded the couple with a smile as she sanitized her hands with a wave of her wand and took out a few more supplies, "Just a bit more, Mrs. Snape. Then we'll get you, the little one, and the nest all cleaned up."
Harriet let out an exhausted sigh and let Severus swoop in to take the baby from her arms.
Severus cuddled his little daughter as a low, quiet groan issued from Harriet's lips while the midwife began to help her pass the afterbirth. Cradling their baby with one arm, Severus reached out and gave Harriet his free hand to hold, whispering encouragements to her through her last bit of pain. Once the midwife had successfully guided Harriet through the final portion of her ordeal, it only took a few more flicks and swishes of the woman's wand to clean the nest and the new baby while Severus carried his darling omega into the washroom for a bath.
"I know that you must be very tired, my love." Severus cooed to Harriet in his low purr of a voice when he saw her eyelids grow heavy. The omega couldn't help it. After her hours-long exertion, the intoxicating warmth of the warm water and Severus's gentle hands meticulously cleaning her soiled body were lulling her to sleep.
It was too late in the evening for Albus to meet his sister right then, which worked out well for the couple. After everyone had gotten a night's rest, Albus could be introduced to the baby tomorrow.
"I'd like to go to sleep, Severus." Harriet quietly requested.
"I'm nearly done." Severus replied urgently. He quickened the pace at which he worked to insure his wife made it back to her nest, clean and dry, before she gave in to her drowsiness.
From the bedroom though, it soon became known that the youngest member of the Snape family wasn't ready for Harriet to rest just yet.
Severus and Harriet both exchanged a knowing glance as a loud, wailing cry rang out, echoing off the bathroom halls with an angry urgency.
"WWWWWAAAAA!"
"I'm sorry, my love." Severus frowned at Harriet sympathetically, "I believe someone's hungry."
—
Harriet let her alpha carry her in his strong arms from the bathtub back into the bedroom. The baby's cries were so loud and Harriet's instincts were so strong that Severus didn't bother to try and clothe his mate before she cuddled back into the purple blankets of her nest and took her small daughter from the midwife.
The midwife smiled at the couple and stepped back, keeping a respectful distance while remaining nearby to monitor mother and baby.
Without hesitation, Harriet carefully guided her tiny daughter over to a fattened nipple. Skillfully, Harriet positioned the baby and without much trouble, the newborn was able to latch on properly. Severus watched closely, ready to step in if Harriet needed assistance, but as an experienced mother, the omega handled nursing quite well.
The room was silent except for the little newborn's happy, snuffling, grunts as she received her first meal.
"You look very beautiful, my love." Severus murmured quietly. Harriet heard her husband's compliment and she glanced over to briefly flash him an exhausted smile before her attention turned back towards the baby at her breast.
Severus's brow was furrowed and a frown of rapt, concentrated admiration was ingrained on his pale face. The words he had spoken to Harriet weren't empty, sweet nothings designed to energize his tired wife, Severus had expressed his genuine feelings.
There was nothing else more pleasant in the entire world for Severus Snape to look upon than his omega nourishing their new baby.
"Everything's well?" Severus asked suddenly as he looked over at the midwife.
"Mother and baby are doing very well indeed, sir." The midwife nodded reassuringly to Severus, "I'll keep a close eye on them both tonight."
Normally, once a woman and child were resting comfortably after a birth, the midwife would take her leave.
But Severus had paid the midwife extra in advance to have her stay an extended amount of time with Harriet and the baby.
He had done the exact same thing when Albus had been born.
Severus was not a healthcare provider, but he had read extensively on the subject of prenatal care and he was very aware about the risk of an unanticipated, postpartum complication.
The midwife had been unbothered by Mr. Snape's request after the births of his two children.
She received double her pay to quietly watch over a resting mother and baby, what was the harm?
Besides, it was refreshing to see the true extent of how far one overprotective alpha was willing to go to keep his little family safe.
—
When the baby finally finished her first dinner, Harriet's eyelids had begun to flutter. Severus observed that and vigilantly wrapped his arms around his mate's. As Harriet allowed her grip on the baby to loosen and submit to Severus, he kissed her lips softly and whispered, "Are you not hungry, my love? I can-"
"-No." Harriet replied with a sound that was almost a whimper, "I only want to sleep now…..Thank you anyway."
Severus moved and planted a kiss gently on her forehead as he whispered, "Rest well, my love."
Mother and daughter seemed to have similar ideas. When Severus glanced down at his daughter, he noticed the little bundle in his arms was fast asleep as well.
Rising silently from Harriet's nest, careful not to disturb her, Severus glided over and sat in the rocking chair in their bedroom to snuggle his little daughter.
Standing vigilantly at her post by Harriet's side, the midwife whispered over to Severus, "Mr. Snape? I can hold the babe for you. Go ahead and try to sleep, you must be worn out too."
"That's alright." Severus replied in his low purr of a voice, "I'm perfectly comfortable like this."
The midwife looked skeptical of Severus's claim but she nodded in silent acceptance.
The door to the Snapes' bedroom was open, which allowed the woman to easily slip in and out during the night to check on Harriet and the baby without waking either of them.
Really, though, her presence was unnecessary.
Harriet's alpha remained vigilant and alert.
Severus hardly got any rest at all, too fascinated by the little one in his arms.
While Harriet slumbered in her nest, Severus took advantage of every quiet moment he had with his new little girl and stared down at her to watch over her as she slept.
He blinked in surprise when her large eyes cracked open in the middle of the night and she whimpered to her father.
The baby started to squirm in his arms and Severus gently slipped a finger into her minuscule hand that peeked out of the blankets as he vowed, "I'll always love you, my little one."
The baby cooed softly.
"I'll always protect you. And your mother….and your brother." Severus whispered solemnly to his miniature daughter.
He knew that it wasn't possible for her to understand him yet, but he could have promised that as the baby wriggled in his grasp, a tiny smile of gratitude played across her little lips.
For a couple to have been so prepared, it was almost unbelievable that he and Harriet hadn't chosen any names. They had decided to wait until the gender was revealed at the delivery.
Their plan was to choose their second child's name together.
It was an accident, really, but as Severus stared down into his daughter's eyes, he already knew her name.
The baby was so small and adorable, so sweet and full of love, a physical representation of his bond with Harriet.
A lovely little lady.
He wasn't certain if his wife would agree or not and if she didn't, he would accept that.
But…..
Severus really wanted to name their newborn daughter "Lily".