Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy!
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It was the pleasant scent of her hair, that was what Severus Snape missed as he woke.
Messy, dark, and thick, he enjoyed sleeping with his lover's tresses surrounding his face as he laid behind his mate, but that morning, he opened his black eyes to find himself alone in bed.
Severus sat up with a scowl and pulled his morning robe around himself, which covered his white nightshirt as he stood from the bed with his eyes narrowed.
Once he saw that the lavatory next to the bedroom was empty, he walked down the short hallway of his flat in Hogsmeade.
A worried frown crossed his pale face as he stepped into the central living area and found his lover, Harriet Potter, sitting at the table with a distant look on her face.
Harriet glanced over at Severus and when she saw his frown of concern, she smiled tensely and spoke, "Sorry, I'm not well this morning. I didn't want to wake you."
Severus eyed her cautiously as he asked, "...What's the matter?"
"I have an odd headache." Harriet replied as she absently passed a hand over her forehead, "Don't worry, really, I'm fine."
Severus remained unconvinced.
He stalked over to Harriet like a panther and knelt down beside her as he reached his own hand out to touch her forehead and check for a fever.
"Would you like some pain relief potion?" Severus asked in his low purr of a voice.
Harriet had never been one to use medications unless she was in great need of them.
It bothered Severus when Harriet looked at him without hesitation and nodded, "Alright."
With his lips still twisted in a frown, he quickly brought a dose to her and tenderly tipped her head back to pour a few drops of the mixture into her mouth.
Severus sat down in a chair beside Harriet as she swallowed.
He took Harriet's hand in his and soothingly stroked the back of her knuckles as he asked, "...Any better?"
"A bit, thanks." Harriet replied with a nod, "I just don't feel very well this morning."
"Shall I take you to the hospital?" Severus asked quickly, prepared to apparate them both to St. Mungo's.
"No! It'll pass." Harriet replied with a laugh.
Severus watched her while she finished her tea, stood from her seat, and walked down the hallway back towards their bedroom.
As Harriet dressed, Severus was behind her before she noticed him.
She gasped quietly as he splayed his hands across her slender hips while she leaned over the open dresser drawer and pulled out a clean Gryffindor uniform.
"Perhaps you should stay home today.,.." Severus mused as he looked at his lover's reflection, "You do look a bit piqued."
"I'm fine, Sev." Harriet insisted as she glanced up in the mirror at him with a smile, "Really, I'm fine."
Severus leaned down and let his fingers trail under Harriet's chin to turn her face towards his and catch her lips in a deep kiss.
When Harriet failed to raise her hand and lay it lovingly on the side of his face, his heart sank.
That was one of Severus's favorite parts about Harriet's kisses, the extra care that she took to touch him.
As Harriet broke their kiss and slowly readied for the day, Severus's frown returned.
He hated it when he missed out on his mate's affectionate gestures.
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Later that morning, from his seat at Hogwarts' High Table next to the headmaster, Severus watched Harriet as closely as a hawk while she ate her breakfast.
Albus Dumbledore had lived through the war after successfully convincing everyone that he had met his untimely end due to the believability of the decoy killing curse that Severus had thrown at him on top of the Astronomy Tower.
To Severus's joy and dismay, upon Dumbledore's return, he had regained his closest ally but was unfortunately forced to resume his old position as potions professor.
Severus and Harriet had certainly never intended to be together.
They had never dreamed of being together, but their forbidden love affair had blossomed in the sweltering heat of the hot summer nights during Severus's recovery the previous summer, when Harriet had been there with him, caring for him, looking after him……..
Harriet Potter was a grown woman, a war veteran, and Severus saw her then as beautiful and strong, courageous and kind, instead of an annoying reminder of what he had lost and how he had erred.
By the time the students returning from the war had begun their eighth year, Severus and Harriet had already secretly rented their flat in Hogsmeade, determined not to let the world know of their love until after Harriet's graduation, which on the morning of her mysterious illness, was only a few short weeks away.
That morning, as Severus stared at Harriet during breakfast, his brow furrowed in concern as he watched her pick idly at the food on her plate while her friends, Weasley and Granger, prattled on across from her.
A headache and low appetite, those were clear indicators of declining health.
Severus hoped that Harriet wasn't coming down with some sort of dreaded virus or infectious malady.
He was filled with anguish as he brooded over the fact that he wouldn't be able to monitor her condition until later that afternoon.
A staff meeting between the heads of houses would take him away from the Great Hall at lunch and regrettably, eighth year Gryffindor and Slytherin students didn't have potions class until the very last period of the day.
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Harriet was having a terrible time.
Her headache that had started early that morning quickly developed into distressing nausea by the time she ate her breakfast.
When the meal was finally over, Harriet stood from the Gryffindor table, rushed out of the Great Hall, and straight to the girls' lavatory where she vomited twice.
As she flushed the toilet, she sighed to herself.
There had been rumors of a contagious ailment sweeping through the houses.
Harriet's stomach started to cramp, which made her reluctant to leave the bathroom for fear of needing to come back quickly for another visit.
She let her head rest against the cold lavatory stall while she waited until the nausea ebbed away before she struggled to her feet and staggered to class.
The day would be over quickly, she could make it through.
Harriet only hoped that Severus wouldn't catch whatever it was she had.
Little did Harriet know that it was highly unlikely that her lover would ever suffer from the condition she was experiencing…….
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Severus found himself giving his lessons automatically that day.
He was silently worrying over Harriet and wondering how she was doing and if she had improved or not.
When the last period arrived and the eighth year Slytherin and Gryffindor students slowly started to trickle into Severus's dungeon classroom, he was so agitated that he could barely stand still.
A horror scowl marred Severus's face as he watched Harriet's best friends carry her into his classroom.
Severus's anxiety tripled when he saw that Harriet was leaning on Ron and Hermione's shoulders for support and panting for breath.
"Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger……..What on earth is wrong with Potter?!" Professor Snape demanded as the other students gaped at Harriet with hushed gasps and quiet, speculative whispers.
Harriet's frame was thin and stiff as she hung between Ron and Hermione.
Her lips were parched and her face was alarmingly pale.
Her dark, wet hair clung to her forehead, soaked with sweat.
"Professor, you have to help us!" Hermione shouted, "Harriet's dangerously ill!"
Severus didn't pause to reply as he swept through the room.
In a smooth motion, he glided from his blackboard towards his ailing lover and her friends with impressive speed.
"Are you two daft?!" Professor Snape snarled at Ron and Hermione, "Do you not see that Potter's in pain?! Don't pull on her like that, you may cause her more harm!"
Ron and Hermione exchanged a glance as Severus took out his wand and murmured under his breath until Harriet levitated in the air, whimpering in pain but freed from hands grabbing her.
Severus had no idea what was wrong with Harrier or what part of her hurt, so he felt the best course of action was for her to remain untouched until those important bits of information became known.
"Everyone, turn to page three hundred ninety-five while I escort Potter to the hospital wing. I expect a roll of parchment ready for me to examine by the time I return. You are all legal adults, and as such, you are completely aware of the rules. I will see to it that anyone who leaves their seat in my absence will be quickly expelled and their graduation nullified." Professor Snape declared in his low, rumbling voice.
The rest of the class watched solemnly as Severus hastily floated Harriet out of the room with Ron and Hermione following closely behind him.
"Professor Snape?!" One student called out curiously.
Severus whirled around with his dark eyes narrowed and hissed, "PAGE THREE HUNDRED NINETY-FIVE!"
After Professor Snape escorted his ill student and her friends out of the room, both house tables began to chat about what they thought could be happening to Harriet or what may be the cause of her illness, but no one dared to leave their seat.
There were many speculations as to how Professor Snape may find out, but none of Hogwarts' returning students wanted to risk losing their chance at graduation, especially not after the war.
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As the trio hurried towards the Hogwarts infirmary, Hermione pleaded with her stern potions teacher, "Professor! We know Levicorpus! Ron and I are perfectly-"
"Quiet, Miss Granger!" Severus snapped as he floated Harriet through the infirmary doors with Ron and Hermione trailing behind him.
"Madam Pomfrey!" Severus shouted as he entered the hospital wing with Harriet gasping in the air in front of him. He instantly gained the attention of the school's healer who looked up from stocking a few supplies.
Severus was relieved to notice that the infirmary was empty.
Good, that meant the healer's attention could be entirely reserved for his suffering lover.
"Professor Snape!" Madam Pomfrey shouted as her eyes widened when she saw Harriet dangling in the air, stricken with pain.
"I have a very ill student that needs treatment immediately!" Severus commanded as he gently lowered Harriet onto the bed to which Madam Pomfrey hurried over.
As soon as Harriet was down, Ron and Hermione rushed to either side of her, but Severus was closer than they were, his nearness allowing the sides of her bed to brush against his robes.
Madam Pomfrey cast a quick diagnostic charm and then threw a white sheet over Harriet's torso.
The healer began to examine Harriet while Severus, Ron, and Hermione anxiously looked on.
"Potter, where does it hurt?" Madam Pomfrey asked with an urgent sternness to her voice.
"E-Everywhere….." Harriet gasped as she stared up at the ceiling with tears streaming down her face.
Severus's heart clenched when he heard the agony in his darling's voice.
Madam Pomfrey began to gently press all over her patient but she stopped after he reached Harriet's lower abdomen and a sharp wail tore from her patient's throat.
Severus grimaced.
What did that mean?
Was it appendicitis?
A bowel issue?
A disorder of the ovaries?
Ron and Hermione frowned at Madam Pomfrey while she bent Harriet's knees and dove under the sheet that was tented across her legs.
Madam Pomfrey squinted at something and she asked incredulously, "...Potter? When was your last….."
Madam Pomfrey's voice trailed off as Harriet closed her eyes and grunted.
Ron and Hermione were in shock as Severus reached out and clutched Harriet's hand in sympathy.
"AAAAGGGHH!"
"She's in pain!" Severus shouted over the strangled shriek that left Harriet's lips, "Do something, Madam Pomfrey! Help her!"
Madam Pomfrey was already doing all that she could.
Harriet fell back against the pillow behind her head and Hermione tried to comb some of her hair out of her face while Severus's heart pounded in terror.
Ron looked as if he may faint.
"One more, Potter and it'll all be over!" Madam Pomfrey shouted.
Ron stared at Hermione and they both tensed, laying their hands reassuringly on Harriet's shoulder while she growled and gnashed her teeth.
She curled forward again with Professor Snape letting her clutch his hand.
"NNNNNNGGGHHHH!"
The sound that came all the way from Harriet's chest was deep and guttural.
The noise itself was so primitive and intimate that hearing it felt like an invasion of her privacy.
Severus felt useless.
How was he supposed to protect Harriet from this?
Hermione was filled with empathy, but Ron wondered if he should turn away when suddenly, another, sharper cry rang out in the room………
"WWWAAAA!"
"WWWWWAAAA!"
"Harriet!" Hermione gasped in complete bewilderment.
"Bloody Hell!" Ron croaked with his eyes and his mouth wide open in shock.
As Madam Pomfrey handed the wriggling bundle to Severus while she hurriedly cleaned Harriet, he became deaf to the world.
Professor Snape didn't notice Ron or Hermione questioning Harriet, he didn't even hear his darling call out to him.
All Severus heard was the cry of his newborn daughter.
She was pitiful, dirty, and naked as she squirmed against his chest and blinked up at him with her large, unmistakably green eyes.
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Once Harriet got over her shock enough to have a long chat with Ron and Hermione, her two best friends, along with Madam Pomfrey, agreed to keep the secret of what actually happened in Hogwarts' hospital wing that day.
The rest of the school thought that Harriet had experienced a medical emergency, which resulted in her needing to be taken by Professor Snape to St. Mungo's directly.
Although she survived, her recovery from that emergency rendered her unable to attend the last few weeks of class.
Harriet sat one morning in the apartment that she shared with Severus and finished her final exams as he watched her closely.
His black eyes moved down and softened when he saw their little, dark-haired emergency happily nursing from one of her mother's heavy breasts.
It was a subject that Severus and Harriet had pondered often since the baby's unexpected arrival.
"Your womb didn't even swell." Severus quipped after Harriet answered the last exam question and sat her quill on the table.
"I didn't have any signs whatsoever!" Harriet laughed as she looked down at her daughter, "Lily's quiet like her father I suppose, stealthy."
"No, she's mischievous like her mother." Severus scowled, "It's very impolite to interrupt a class. She could have had the decency to wait until the day was over."
Harriet laughed at her lover's sarcasm and as she lifted her emerald gaze to meet his stare, Severus found himself rising to his feet.
"I love you." Harriet whispered as Severus leaned down towards her for a kiss.
He reached out and tenderly held Lily's tiny head protectively in his elegant, pale hand as he purred back to Harriet before he pressed his lips to hers, "You and Lily are my world, Potter.You're my reason for existence, I hope you remember that."
"Forever or just for now?" Harriet asked with a playful smirk against Severus's lips in between their kisses.
"Always~." Severus purred.