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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Vast and imposing.
Grand and fearsome.
Tom Riddle stood in awe.
His mouth hung open while his dark eyes glinted in delight as he beheld the Chamber of Secrets.
Tom slowly began to venture down the entry path of the darkened stone cavern that his ancestor had carved into the bowels of the castle.
The snake head statues that lined both sides of the central walkway made him feel like a king of serpents as he passed by.
Once Tom stood in the center of the chamber and gazed upon the statue of Salazar Slytherin, he laughed wickedly as the voice finally revealed itself.
The Basilisk slithered out of the statue's mouth to greet the heir of Slytherin with remarkable grace for a creature of its tremendous size.
Slytherin's monster was larger than any serpent Tom had ever imagined.
As he looked upon its unsettling length of thick scales, the reptilian spikes that lined the back of its head, and the sheer, terrifying mass of its huge jaws, Tom's heart lifted in delight.
A low hiss echoed through the room as the Basilisk let its tail coil in the shallow water that filled part of the chamber while it waited, "I am at your service, heir of Slytherin."
Tom quickly asked in Parseltongue, "What are you called?"
"I have heard others refer to me as 'Basilisk'. The giant snake nodded, "Do not look into my eyes, heir of Slytherin, or they will be the last thing you see."
Tom cracked a wide smirk as his dark gaze traveled along the staggering girth of his new pet's body.
He had acquired a private retreat and a formidable soldier in the same evening.
While Harriet slept in her bed, Tom spent the rest of the night exploring the Chamber of Secrets.
The heir of Slytherin was quite pleased with his gifts.
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His joy had not lessened by morning.
Tom knew that although Harriet hadn't experienced a heat cycle yet, the moment would eventually come.
He had no interest in the bodies of others, but he used his growing talent as a Legilimens to silently peruse the thoughts of Harriet's peers, in case one of them knew something about his darling that he did not.
After his sleepless night spent exploring the Chamber of Secrets, mating with Harriet was the only thing on his delirious mind as he powered through breakfast and endured the first classes of the day.
During the study period, instead of finding Harriet, Tom pursued her best friend.
Hermione stood in the library and reached for a book on a shelf above her head when a hand appeared out of nowhere and easily slid the volume into her grasp.
Her amber eyes widened as she whirled around to find Tom Riddle glaring down at her.
"Hello, Hermione Granger." He said in a very serious tone as he narrowed his dark eyes.
"Oh! Um, H-Hello, Tom." Hermione nodded as she clutched her book, "Thanks for the help, but you startled me! Has no one ever told you it's impolite to sneak up on people?"
Tom kept his frigid glare as he fell silent.
Hermione glanced away for a moment, unnerved by his ominous gaze before she bravely met his brooding stare and remarked, "Harriet's not with me……She's in the courtyard."
"I came to see you." Tom said flatly, "You're an omega, aren't you?"
Hermione didn't realize he asked her what he already knew, "I……I am, yes."
"And you've had a heat before, haven't you?" Tom pressed.
Between his threatening stare and his intimidating height, Hermione felt like she was facing a stone wall instead of a displeased alpha.
She didn't care for the feeling as she looked at Tom and scowled, "I hardly think that's any of your business, Tom Riddle."
"Have you built a nest before, Hermione Granger?" Tom asked.
After Hermione noticed that some of the dangerous harshness left his expression, she answered truthfully as she frowned, "...Yes…..Yes, I have."
"Excellent." Tom replied with a charming smile, "I've come to ask for your opinion on something."
Hermione blinked, "My...My opinion?"
"I have a gift for Harriet." Tom explained, "I've found a pleasant place for her to nest. As her best friend, I was hoping that you'd be kind enough to have a look and tell me what she'll think of it?"
"Hermione? Is everything alright?" A nervous voice called out behind Tom.
He turned to see Ron standing a short distance away with his hands in his pockets and a worried frown on his face.
"It's fine, Ron." Hermione nodded.
Tom turned back to her as she looked at him and replied, "Of course…..I'll be glad to offer an opinion, for Harriet's sake……As long as Ron can come with us?"
Tom's smile disappeared behind an irritated scowl as he reluctantly agreed, "...Very well."
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Ron and Hermione were too stunned to speak as Tom introduced them to his newly discovered inheritance.
After they stepped through the round doorway and into the stone room, Tom walked in front of Harriet's friends.
He lifted his arms with a laugh as he cried, "I am the heir of Slytherin! This is the Chamber of Secrets! Is the hidden room of my ancestor not incredible?!"
The Basilisk remained hidden as it obeyed his previously given command.
Tom had no intention of revealing all of his assets to his lover's friends.
His expression of victorious mirth faded into one of vexation as he noticed the frowns on Ron and Hermione's faces.
"Do you dare mock the great house of Slytherin?" Tom asked in a hateful hiss.
Ron's eyes widened but Hermione shook her head and crossed her arms as if to ward off a chill. She furrowed her brow and looked around as she spoke, "it's not that….it's just…..this isn't a place where any omega would want to nest. Surely you realize that, Tom?"
His frown of confusion conveyed his ignorance.
Hermione sighed as she tried to think of how best to explain, "It's…….it's cold and damp in here. There's nowhere for a bed or a cozy, comfortable place…..it's only hard, unforgiving stone! This isn't at all what Harriet will want!"
Tom furrowed his brow as he asked, "...Then what will she want?"
Ron stayed silent as he lingered nearby for moral support.
"Well….." Hermione shrugged, "I imagine she'll want a soft bed, plenty of blankets and pillows, somewhere warm and welcoming……comfort, Tom." She nodded at him, "Omegas want comfort. There's nothing comfortable about this place at all!"
Hermione's declaration ruined Tom Riddle's triumph.
He stood in the Chamber of Secrets later that day with his brow furrowed and a hand on his face as he pondered her words.
Comfortable……..
Comfortable…….
Tom stayed in the Chamber of Secrets for hours and stared at the walls as he thought of how he may make the place more…..comfortable….for Harriet.
Drowsiness eventually forced him to return to his dormitory.
Although, once the heir of Slytherin had left the Chamber of Secrets, the bricks in the far corner began to rearrange themselves.
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Tom noticed the change as soon as he returned the following afternoon.
As each day passed, the Chamber of Secrets used more and more of its stone to build what Tom assumed would be a seperate room within its gaping center.
While he waited for the construction to be completed, he spent his time studying, working, and doting on Harriet.
One sunny afternoon, they sat together under the shade of a large tree in the courtyard.
Tom laid against the bark while Harriet used his chest as a pillow as she leafed through her notebook.
He watched her yawn and raise a hand to rub her eyes.
"Rest if you feel the need, sweetling." Tom purred as he gently stroked Harriet's messy, dark hair, "I'll watch over you while you sleep."
"No, I should stay awake." Harriet disagreed as she pushed herself off of Tom and sat up.
When she placed a hand over her face, he frowned and asked, "You seem exhausted….Are you not sleeping well?"
"I keep waking every hour, on the hour." Harriet admitted with a deep breath, "I'm not sure why…..I spoke to Madam Pomfrey about it. She mentioned it may be from hormonal changes. You know, since I haven't presented yet? Hopefully when that happens, I'll sleep better."
"...Is this going on every night?" Tom asked as he kept touching Harriet's hair.
Her dark, silky tresses felt lovely against his fingers and he could sense that the gentle motion calmed his darling.
"Most nights." Harriet confessed in a weary voice.
Tom frowned in sympathy for his beloved as he settled back against the tree and asked, "And are you positive that you won't allow yourself a brief nap? I can't stand to see you miserable, sweetling. Why not let me help you?"
Harriet thought for a moment as she glanced up to meet Tom's gaze.
He opened his arms for her as a sublime smile curled his lips.
The look on his face, his kind gesture, and his deliciously comforting scent of elegant musk seemed too tempting for Harriet to refuse.
As other students studied and chatted nearby, Harriet yawned again as she laid against Tom's chest.
He wrapped his arms around her to hold her tight while she drifted off.
Tom's Slytherin robes draped over her protectively while she enjoyed a deep, restorative nap.
Silently, he cast the Legilimency Spell in his mind as he clutched onto her and scanned the surface of her thoughts to ward away any ideas that may disrupt her rest.
After dinner that evening, while Tom sat in his dorm room, he pondered Harriet's struggle as he penned a letter:
Dear Morfin Gaunt,
Research has led me to believe that you are my uncle. My mother, Merope Gaunt, has never mentioned you, but I've been able to identify our connection through historical text and public records. I intend to speak with her soon, however, I am writing to ask if you could be bothered to meet with me? If so, please name a place and time.
Your nephew,
Tom Riddle
After Tom signed his name, he placed the letter in an envelope and stamped it shut with a wax seal.
He carefully addressed the parcel as he squinted down at the appropriate page in the book he had managed to obtain.
Once the letter had been prepared for mailing, he closed the volume and placed it on his nightstand.
The book's spine proudly read:
Salazar Slytherin, The Meager Record Of A Disappearing Lineage
Tom washed up, changed into his pajamas, and climbed into bed before he reached over to the nightstand again and picked up the second book that lay on its top.
The second book was titled:
Legilimency II: Art and Practicalities
Tom opened the book to the chapter of his current interest and smiled as he read over its heading:
Dream Insertion: Pleasant Relief for Suffering
Tom eventually snapped the book shut and closed his eyes.
His lips moved as he lifted his hands to his temples and concentrated very hard.
As Tom projected his mind to leave his bed and glide across the castle towards the Gryffindor dormitories, he tried his best to apply what he had learned during his private study of Legilimency.
He smiled to himself when he visualized Harriet clearly as she slept in her bed.
A wide grin spread across his face as he felt himself enter her thoughts from across the castle to direct her dreams……..
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"Mummy! Daddy!" The dark-haired little boy exclaimed as he ran through the marble hallway, "Mummy! Daddy!"
"What is it, love?" Harriet asked as she opened her arms while her excited, young son raced towards her.
"Careful….." Tom warned his little one while he watched as he sat across the intricate dining table from Harriet, "Be careful with your mother, you don't want to hurt your sisters."
He kept his eyes narrowed as his son ran into Harriet's arms for a tight hug.
The child wriggled in her embrace to blink his large, green eyes at his father as he insisted, "I'm careful, Daddy!"
Harriet pushed her chair out and let her eldest child crawl into what was left of her lap.
She kept one hand protectively over her swollen belly as Tom's son made himself comfortable on her thighs while her alpha watched his mate and heir cuddle.
"I found a new flower outside, Daddy!" The little boy chirped.
"Did you?" Tom asked, "What does it look like?"
"It's blue and purple and red! Will you come see it?" The little boy asked hopefully as he widened his adorable, large eyes, "Grandmother told me you would, she's waiting for us!"
"Well, if your grandmother's waiting, then I suppose I must." Tom sighed as he rose from his seat.
The little boy squealed in excitement before he hopped off of Harriet's lap and went flying back down the hallway towards the glass doors that led to the Riddle family's exquisitely landscaped backyard.
Tom did not follow his son immediately.
Instead, as Harriet placed a hand on her back and prepared to stand from her chair, he rushed over to her and pulled her into his arms as he helped her rise to her feet.
"Thanks, love." She huffed as she placed a hand on the underside of her heavy belly.
"Are you having any pain, sweetling?" Tom asked as he frowned down at her and slipped his skillful palms over the roundness of her womb.
"I always have pain at this stage." Harriet chuckled with a brave sigh, "...Nothing to be worried about yet, though."
Tom lifted one of his hands to cup Harriet's cheek as he looked into her eyes and vowed to her in a soothing purr, "I love you, Harriet Riddle."
They shared a deep, meaningful kiss for a blissful moment before Tom finally pulled away.
Harriet's reply came in a happy, breathless gasp as she whispered against his lips, "I love you too, Tom."
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The next morning, Tom woke with a satisfied sense of arrogance at his accomplishment.
Harriet woke with a gasp as a happy smile spread across her face.
For the first night in weeks, she had rested without any interruptions.
As Harriet fully returned to consciousness and realized that her lovely world had merely been a dream, she felt her heart sink in disappointment.
She hoped that one day, the scene she had envisioned would become a reality.
Harriet Potter badly wanted to have a loving family and a happy home with Tom Riddle.