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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Tom tenderly cradled his newborns while Rewin assisted Harriet with the afterbirth.
A wide smirk curled his lips as he gazed down at the children he had spent years longing to hold in his arms.
Both babies scowled as they blinked up at him, confused about their new surroundings.
Tom took it upon himself to enlighten them as he marveled at the little lives born from his and Harriet's love.
"Hello….." He chuckled as he glanced between his son and daughter, "I'm your father, it's lovely to meet you both."
Tom watched his little boy put a finger into his mouth curiously as his little girl wriggled in the blankets that swaddled her.
As the twins whimpered, his alpha instincts screamed at him to see to his children's needs.
With his hands full and his mind racing, he clutched his babies tightly to his chest in an effort to keep them adequately warm.
"There's no need to be afraid, my little ones." Tom cooed to his infants as he kissed their tiny foreheads while their whimpers crescendoed.
"WWWAAAA!"
"WWWAAAA!"
"Minister Riddle!" Rewin called from behind Tom's shoulder as the twins' whines escalated into demanding wails, "I'm all finished, though I'll linger for a while longer in case I'm needed."
"WWWWWAAA!"
"WWWWWAAA!"
Tom turned around with a horrible scowl on his face while his twins shrieked their displeasure.
Harriet blinked at her husband as he opened his mouth and accused the midwife, "Keep your voice down! Look what you've done! You've startled them! Can you not see they're fragile?! Can you not see they're delicate?!"
"Tom!" Harriet snapped as she glared at her husband while their babies screamed.
Sore and tired, Harriet longed for her alpha to return her babies as she listened to them cry.
The instinctive urge to cuddle and care for her newborns seemed nearly suffocating.
"Minister Riddle, have I not provided your wife and infants with adequate care?" Rewin asked as her eyes moved from Tom to the babies.
"WWWWWAAA!"
"WWWWWAAA!"
He grit his teeth as she crossed her arms and sighed, "It isn't my voice that's prompted the babes to wail, sir, it's their desire for their mother."
"WWWWAAAA!"
"WWWWWAAA!"
Tom's scowl melted into a frown as he looked over at Harriet and noticed that she reached towards him with her trembling arms outstretched.
It struck him that his mate longed to hold their children even in her exhausted state.
Desperate to maintain his remaining dignity, Tom pushed aside his embarrassment and swiftly glided over to Harriet.
He deftly sat on the side of her nest and handed her their wailing infants while both babies continued to screech their annoyance.
"WWWWWAAA!"
"WWWWWAAA!"
Rewin couldn't help but smirk as she watched Tom, the stoic, powerful, Minister for Magic, protectively hover over his wife and infants while Harriet tried to discover how to comfortably hold both of their babies at once.
Tom reached forward to help as he watched his darling struggle, but Rewin slapped him firmly on the wrist.
The glare he instantly threw at her seemed menacing enough to melt her to the bone, but Rewin shrugged as she informed him, "Not now, Minister Riddle…..you must allow your wife to learn for herself. There will be a time when she's alone with the little ones while you're away at the office."
"I hardly think so." Tom scoffed, "My wife and pups will be with me constantly. Do you honestly believe that I would allow-"
When Rewin noticed Harriet trying to push her breasts at her babies as they rooted for her nipples, she turned away from Tom and eagerly began to assist, "Ah, there you are, Mrs. Riddle….Down a bit more, don't make it difficult for them……No, not like that, it will abrade your skin…"
"Like this?" Harriet asked as she clumsily adjusted herself.
"WWWWWAAA!"
"WWWWWAAA!"
Tom resisted the urge to scream as his infants wailed impatiently, furious that they could smell their food source but not find it.
Torn between the conflicting, primal urges to help his precious newborns and simultaneously knock the midwife out of the way to latch onto Harriet's plump nipples himself, he was nearly at his wits' end.
"Down a bit, Mrs. Riddle……May I touch you to help a bit more?" Rewin asked Harriet.
Frustrated and ready for guidance, Harriet nodded as she frowned down at her angry twins.
Rewin gently reached out and carefully helped Harriet into a comfortable position.
Tom grit his teeth while he watched.
"Oh………" Harriet breathed once her babies finally found their targets.
"...Sweetling?" Tom asked as he narrowed his eyes while the quiet sounds of the twins' greedy suckling filled the room, "What's the matter? Are they hurting you?"
"No, they……." Harriet laughed as she glanced down and watched her babies take their first meal, "They're just very hungry."
Tom felt his chest swell with pride as he watched his darling feed their newborns she had just birthed.
"Minister Riddle?" Rewin called.
Tom became so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear her.
"...Minister Riddle?" Rewin asked again.
As Harriet gently rubbed their babies' tiny heads, Tom's dark eyes were glued to her actions until Rewin all but shouted, "Minister Riddle!"
"What?!" He hissed as he looked over, vexed that anyone would dare interrupt his sublime observations.
"Perhaps while your children nurse, we can go over a few points pertaining to your wife and little ones' care?" Rewin asked as she handed several new pamphlets to Tom.
He frowned as he took the pamphlets from the midwife and listened as she spoke.
Tom didn't want a lesson right then, he wanted to crawl into Harriet's nest to pull his mate and newborns into his embrace.
Minister Riddle's unsatisfied, primal urge to protect his little family made him want to pull the dark curls from his head.
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In the days that followed the birth of his twins, the Minister for Magic assigned a large portion of his daily duties to his aides in hopes of assisting Harriet as much as possible.
It made her heart flutter whenever she observed how attentive and gentle her formidable husband acted towards their little ones.
Tom gladly changed diapers and bathed his son and daughter.
The household chores were easily completed with magic, but whenever the twins cried at night, Tom was the first one to rise and answer their calls for help.
Harriet didn't blame herself for not having the same amount of tireless stamina..
Giving birth hadn't been easy, of course her husband had more energy than she did.
Five days after the twins' birth, Harriet's magic returned as her milk came in.
That morning, she woke first and placed a hand over her heavy breasts, which threatened to leak in response to the twins' hungry cries that echoed down the hallway.
"WWWWWAAA!"
"WWWWWAAA!"
Harriet staggered out of her nest and stood to her feet.
She grabbed her wand from the nightstand before she murmured, "Accio Robe".
Without any effort at all, Harriet's morning robe came flying towards her.
She grabbed the garment with one hand as she returned her wand to the nightstand.
Harriet padded down the hallway, entered the nursery, and retrieved her crying babies.
"WWWWWAAA!"
"WWWWWAAA!"
Although some new mothers enjoyed using a rocking chair, Harriet had discovered that she felt most comfortable sitting with the twins on the parlor's sofa.
As she walked downstairs, she couldn't help but notice the savory scent of sizzling bacon mingling with the delicate fragrance of thistle tea.
Choosing not to deny her children any longer, Harriet decided she would investigate the scents after the twins had finished their meal.
She stopped abruptly when she stepped into the parlor and noticed that Tom waited on the sofa.
"Good morning, sweetling~." He purred as he spread his arms and offered her a place under the velvet throw he had spread across the cushions.
"...Good morning, Tom." Harriet smiled softly.
"WWWWAAAA!"
"WWWWWAAAA!"
As she walked over and sat down next to him on the sofa, she noticed that the coffee table held a plate piled with bacon and waffles, next to the plate sat a full cup of thistle tea.
"What's all this?" Harriet asked with a laugh.
Tom became distracted as he watched her hurriedly peel down her nightgown and guide their little ones to her fattened nipples.
After a brief silence, he cleared his throat, found his words, and explained, "A bit of breakfast, my darling……..It's important that you maintain your strength."
"You don't have to get up with me every time they nurse." Harriet yawned as she leaned her head back against her alpha's chest.
"I have to be certain you're taking good care of my little ones." Tom whispered as he reached over to the coffee table and offered her the cup of tea.
Harriet gladly took a sip before she allowed him to pick up the plate and lovingly feed her.
"It's delicious,Tom." She nodded after she swallowed her first bite.
"It surprises me that this is what you've wanted every day since you gave birth." Tom smirked, "I didn't realize you'd still have cravings."
"I haven't realized much of anything, to be honest." Harriet shrugged as their babies greedily consumed their breakfast.
Tom bent his neck and kissed her lips sweetly.
As he pulled away, Harriet frowned and revealed, "My magic is back."
"I could tell when I woke up this morning." Tom grinned.
"Did you read my thoughts again?" Harriet scowled.
"No, I could sense it as you lay next to me. I don't have to read your thoughts to know you, Harriet Riddle….We are mated, you and I, in case you've forgotten." Tom chuckled.
"Could you sense my milk too?" Harriet smirked.
"Oh no, sweetling~, I could smell it in your breasts." Tom grinned.
"I'm surprised you didn't attempt to take some for yourself then." Harriet whispered as Tom leaned down again for a long, slow kiss.
Although their babies fed at her breasts, their kiss continued languidly before they finally parted from each other as Tom nodded, "I have no interest in stealing from my heirs…….After they've had their fill, however, I cannot offer any guarantees of controlling my selfish impulses."
Harriet and Tom closed their eyes again as they leaned in to exchange another tender kiss before the doorbell rang.
Ding, Dong.
They both pulled back quickly as Harriet blinked and asked, "...Is that her already? I need to run a brush through my hair, she'll think I'm some sort of slob!"
"No, she won't, don't be silly." Tom said as he deftly moved out from behind Harriet, stood to his feet, and walked across the parlor. He called over his shoulder with a mischievous smirk on his handsome face as he told his mate, "Besides, your hair looks best a bit disheveled, my love."
Harriet grinned as she listened to Tom answer the front door as a female voice happily greeted him.
A moment of polite conversation followed and then before Harriet knew it, Tom stood in the doorway to the parlor with a dark-haired, dark-eyed woman next to him.
"Harriet, dear!" Merope Gaunt exclaimed as she rushed forward, "It's so very good to see you again!"
"It's good to see you too." Harriet nodded with a pleasant, genuine smile.
Merope bent down to embrace her gently before she pulled back, placed a hand over her chest, and gasped as she gazed down at her new grandchildren.
"Oh…………" Merope breathed as Harriet carefully placed the twins into her arms. Merope glanced at Harriet, then at her son, before she looked down at the babies and whispered in hushed awe, "Oh, Tom!...Harriet!...Aren't they beautiful?!"
As Merope met the twins, Tom and Harriet exchanged pleased glances with each other.
Merope and Harriet had formed a wonderful friendship over the years.
Besides Molly Weasley, Tom's mother had been the major maternal figure in Harriet's life.
Harriet smiled to herself as she watched Merope cuddle her babies as tenderly as if they were her own.
Truthfully, she had greatly missed her mother-in-law.
That morning in the parlor, as Tom sat back down on the sofa next to Harriet while Merope paced the floor with her little grandchildren, the Riddle family finally felt like just that…….a family.