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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Harriet knew her actions had been wrong, yet she harbored shamefully few regrets when she woke the next morning.
In the rational part of her mind, she realized she should have wrenched herself from Draco's grasp, apparated to the Auror Department immediately, handed in her work, and went home.
……..But Harriet had grown tired of selflessly denying herself and sacrificing her own happiness for the undeserving.
Her husband hadn't even bothered to ask anything about her business trip.
Harriet knew that Robert didn't really care if she came back at all, so then, why should she?
Although their mission had concluded, Harriet and Draco both extended their stay at the posh hotel for the next three days while Harriet's heat raged on.
Upon request, meals were brought by Witch's Way's staff morning, noon, and night to the couples' room.
A small, enchanted star floated around the doorknob as it displayed a glittering message warning against any blatant disturbance.
Harriet delighted in how deliciously good it felt to lay with Draco's strong arms around her.
It seemed like a blissful dream to pass hour after hour cuddling with him there on the makeshift nest she had constructed out of his worn clothes and the hotel sheets.
They shared surprisingly little conversation.
Harriet was all desire and Draco was all love, what else was there to say?
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Once the raging urgency of her cycle gradually calmed, Draco and Harriet were forced to face the reality they had created for themselves as they woke that morning and stared into each other's eyes.
"Good morning, Potter." Draco smirked at Harriet.
"Mmm……Good morning, Malfoy." She replied as she rolled onto her back and rubbed her face.
Draco propped himself up on one arm as he gazed down at her in loving admiration for a moment before he dipped his head and captured her lips in a deep kiss.
Harriet sighed as she held him close and kissed back in spite of herself.
Their affection lasted more than a lingering minute before Draco nipped her lips as he pulled away.
"Ready for today?" He asked with a mischievous smirk.
"Sorry….." Harriet frowned, "What's today?"
A low, deep chuckle of amusement erupted from Draco's chest as he sat up in bed and grinned at Harriet while he spoke, "Today's the day we're going home, Potter……and the first day of our new life together."
Harriet's frown deepened as she asked, "...What?"
Draco's grin faded as he studied the bewildered expression on her face.
Nausea gnawed at the edge of his stomach as he slowly began to realize a horrible truth that he hoped he had assumed incorrectly.
Surely…….Harriet wouldn't…….
"We'll go home." He nodded, "We'll turn in our work…..Then you can go and tell that lazy, worthless oaf who calls himself your husband it's over between the two of you……You can be in Malfoy manor by this evening……Don't worry, Potter, you'll love your new nest there. My bed is much better than this one."
Harriet sat up beside Draco with a sheet clutched over her bare breasts.
He didn't understand her sudden need for modesty, especially since the thin, white sheet only accentuated the dark outlines of her nipples, which he tried not to gawk at as she spoke, "Listen, Malfoy…….none of that's going to happen, besides us turning in our work, of course. I…..I think we can both agree that we've made a terrible mistake."
"A……..mistake?" Draco asked with a dry chuckle of disbelief.
"That's it." Harriet nodded, "A mistake, that's all."
Draco scowled as she went on, "I lost control of my hormones and you were kind enough to assist me…..People will forgive us, if they ever find out."
"IF they ever find out?!" Draco scoffed.
"Well, we certainly aren't going to tell anyone what we've done!" Harriet shouted back as she stood from the bed.
Painful disappointment bubbled from the cracks of Draco's broken heart.
A hideous sneer formed on his handsome face as he scowled at Harriet and snapped, "Have I lost my mind? Or my hearing?...Do I really see goody two-shoes Harriet Potter promoting lying and deceit? It's nearly laughable how richeous you make yourself out to be, all the while you spread your legs like a whore to let anyone touch you as soon as nature calls!"
Harriet's hand came across Draco's face in a sharp slap before she realized what she had done.
The force of her strike spun his head backwards, but the stinging of his cheek was nothing compared to the burning in his chest as his beloved was once again ripped away.
"I am no whore, Malfoy!" Harriet hissed defiantly.
Draco turned to glare at her with narrowed eyes as sadness pooled in her emerald gaze while she whispered, "...Look at you, you spoiled, pampered……prat! You have no idea what it's like to be neglected, abused, lonely…..Do you?!"
"Really, Potter?" Draco snarled, "After all these years of pompous heroism, you'll use your past as an excuse for casual sex?!"
"...We didn't have sex, Malfoy." Harriet whispered.
As Draco looked at her, he frowned when he noticed the soft tears that rolled down her cheeks while she whispered, "...We made love."
Heavy silence filled the room.
"...Harriet!" Draco called as she turned abruptly and marched into the lavatory.
In her absence, Draco slumped over on the bed and planted his face in the covers to breathe her sweet scent.
So close……he was so close.
It had been a bigger battle than stopping any dark wizard, but Draco knew he had so many of Harriet's walls knocked down, he couldn't possibly afford to stop his pursuit of her heart.
Circumstances had already aligned in his favor.
Draco let out a sigh as he contemplated his next move while he calculated his future mate's obstinance.
Harriet Potter loved him and he knew it, he had heard it in her voice, he had felt it in her touch, and he had tasted it in her kiss.
Draco just had to keep pushing.
Her stubbornness would crumble away eventually and then at last, Harriet Potter would be his.
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Draco and Harriet said little else to each other as they checked out of Witch's Way and traveled back to the Ministry of Magic.
They sat apart from each other to purposely avoid eye contact while Maxwell congratulated them excessively on the satisfactory completion of their job.
It was perhaps the saddest day of Draco's recent years as he left not only Harriet's nest, but her office too.
With their mission successful, Draco collected his few possessions and moved to his own space down the hall.
The Head Auror congratulated him on his great honour, but Draco bit his tongue to keep from screaming.
Although she made sure to stay out of sight and not allow him to notice, Harriet watched every step Draco took from her that day.
A frown marred her fair face all the while.
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The next few weeks were a struggle for both Harriet and Draco.
Draco used his yearning to have Harriet by his side as his only means of motivation to eat, stand, and go through the motions of daily life.
In the meantime, Harriet struggled to eat and stand at all.
Plagued by nausea and besieged by unpredictable bouts of light-headed dizziness, once sleep became more important to her than anything else, Harriet saw a healer at her husband's passive urging.
She could feel her pulse pounding in her ears that morning while she lay on the cold examination table.
She stared up at the ceiling and swallowed thickly as she attempted to process her diagnosis.
"Are……Are you really sure, then?" Harriet asked her healthcare provider as she sat up with happy shock in her emerald gaze, "...Entirely certain?"
"Oh yes, my dear!" The healer smiled at Harriet as she nodded, "I'm quite sure! Congratulations!"
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It started out as mere speculation, then somehow became a confirmed bit of news that spread by whispers from one mouth and mind to another.
The Auror Department secretary knew first.
An hour later, the department itself and every member of it had learned about the fact.
By that afternoon, the Ministry buzzed with the latest piece of gossip.
Happy smiles abounded, but in his office, Draco did not wear one of them.
A solemn frown had etched itself into his handsome face as he contemplated his options and deliberated about what should be his next action.
Draco knew that he had to quickly find a way to reach his darling, he could no longer afford to entertain time-consuming strategies.
The news had rattled Draco to his core…..Harriet Potter was pregnant.
While the rest of Britain's wizarding world quickly devoured the unofficial announcement, Harriet and Draco were the only ones who realized the baby in her womb was a Malfoy.