Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!
—————————————————————
Severus and Harriet took a couple days to contemplate their decision about attending the Malfoys' party.
Was it right?
Was it wrong?
As soon as Severus opened his eyes on the third morning after the letter had arrived, he found Harriet gazing at him drowsily.
Their bond allowed them to communicate silently as the answer remained clear in his mind…..they should indeed accept the invite.
He sat up in bed and pointed towards the desk in their bedroom, stocked with writing supplies, as he frowned down at Harriet in a silent ask of her permission.
When her nod came with a determined frown, Severus pulled himself out of bed and glided over to the desk.
Before the children woke, he penned his reply to the Malfoys' invitation:
To Mr. Scorpius Malfoy, Mr. Draco Malfoy, and Mr. Lucius Malfoy,
I will attend the celebration at your estate with my wife, daughter, and son.
Sincerely,
Severus Snape, Former Headmaster of Hogwarts, Minister for Magic
A scowl formed on Severus's pale features while he sealed the letter in an envelope.
That same scowl remained as he rose from the desk, left the bedroom, and walked through the house.
Once he reached the kitchen, he opened a window and waited for a bird to come.
Obediently, a fluffy owl flapped over to the windowsill and took the parcel from Severus's hand.
He watched the owl carry his response into the morning sky before a quiet voice whispered behind him, "It's done now, isn't it?"
Startled, Severus whirled around with his brow furrowed.
His expression relaxed as he saw Harriet standing in the kitchen, with the early morning light shining over her as she clutched her robe around herself.
"Our daughter should be grateful to you, my love." He drawled as Harriet stepped towards him.
"I'll let her save those feelings for you instead. Can you imagine her face when we tell her the news at breakfast?" Harriet chuckled.
"A family gathering is hardly permission to pursue any sort of romantic attachment." Severus frowned as he narrowed his eyes at his mate.
"...And we will reiterate that to her, Sev, many times, I'm sure. She's only eleven…..I still have hope." Harriet sighed.
"...Hope?" Severus whispered as he barely moved his lips.
"That she'll find another boy to admire instead of a Malfoy!" Harriet laughed quietly.
Severus's frown twisted into a disgusted scowl.
It was a known fact in the wizarding world that boys had a much higher chance of becoming alphas than girls.
Severus could sense in his daughter's gentle nature she would most likely develop into an omega.
The mere thought of hungry, lusting alphas chasing after his little girl made Severus want to vomit.
"Maggie was born a Prince woman." Severus insisted. A proud smirk curled his lips as he gazed at Harriet, "Strong, but stronger-minded……..She'll be far too concerned with her studies to worry about follies…..with Scorpius Malfoy or anyone else."
Harriet shrugged, "I dunno, Sev, I studied, played Quidditch, and defeated the Dark Lord, but I had plenty of time to think about boys too."
"And if you had spent more time with your books instead of those ingrates, your marks would have been considerably higher." Severus quipped.
Harriet let out a dry chuckle of amusement as her husband suddenly vanished and scowling Professor Snape reappeared in front of her, from his expression to his tone.
"Perhaps if you had come for me sooner, I wouldn't have had to waste all that time." Harriet grinned.
"Love affairs with students are not only grotesquely immoral, they are also illegal and therefore punishable by law." Severus frowned.
Harriet sighed as her lover missed her attempt at playful flirting.
While Disencan and Little Sev slept on in their rooms, Harriet moved her arms and let her robe open to reveal her bare body.
She smirked as Severus's black eyes softened while he gazed at her.
His admiration for his wife had only increased over the years.
As a Potions Master and a magical genius, Severus often held an appreciation for the subtleties that many overlooked.
That trait was evident in his regard for Harriet.
Her breasts had lost just a bit of their height but had gained extra fullness.
Instead of the smooth skin women who had never carried children boasted, her lower abdomen had become lined by soft, silvery scars.
Those sights only excited Severus more.
To him, those were the physical reminders of his bond with Harriet.
Her breasts had grown heavy from nursing his children.
She had risked her life and given up her flawless flesh to carry his son and daughter.
As Harriet watched Severus stare at her, she wondered if he would lead her back to the bedroom or hoist her onto the table there.
She blinked in surprise as she watched her alpha lower himself onto his knees in front of her.
Harriet glanced down and met his stare as her fingers combed through his silky, raven-black hair for a moment until he leaned forward
She sighed happily as Severus closed his eyes and began to cover each of her soft scars in gentle kisses.
Harriet expected him to move up to her breasts, but instead, to her joyful dismay, he chose the opposite direction.
Severus was well aware of how to bring his beloved wife pleasure.
In those stolen moments before the rest of the household woke, Harriet panted for breath as her husband devoured her at her center.
While Severus steadied her on her feet as he squeezed the supple flesh of her trembling thighs in his hands, he hoped his wife knew the true depth of his affection for her.
—————————————————————
Mr. and Mrs. Snape moved swiftly to clean themselves and dress after their impromptu exchange.
Disencan woke half an hour later and staggered into the kitchen.
He blinked in surprise to find Harriet and Severus already out of bed, but shrugged the anomaly aside as he readily helped with the breakfast preparations they had already begun.
Disencan failed to notice the rosy flush of Harriet's cheeks as she glowed from the bliss her husband had so graciously given her moments before.
Little Sev emerged from his room first, followed by Maggie a short while later.
She greeted her family before she and Little Sev began to chat at the breakfast table.
Harriet glanced over at Severus while the two waited for a pause in their children's conversation.
Little Sev enjoyed talking, especially with his sister.
The couple had to wait for several moments until Maggie eventually noticed their hopeful expressions and asked, "Mum?...Dad? What is it?"
Little Sev blinked at his parents while Severus silently waited for Harriet to inform their children of their decision.
"Your father and I received a letter….." Harriet began as she glanced back and forth between her son and her daughter, "...From the Malfoy family."
Maggie's green eyes lit up as they widened while she gasped, "From the Malfoy family?!"
"Yes……." Severus replied in his low drawl, "It seems we've been invited to a holiday celebration at Malfoy Manor…..On New Year's Eve……..Your mother and I have agreed to attend……with you and your brother."
Harriet glanced at Severus as whispers of delight issued from their children's lips.
"Will it be a nice party?" Little Sev asked as Maggie struggled for words.
"Malfoy affairs never lack elegance." Severus assured his son.
"It would be significantly nicer if it were hosted by another family." Harriet remarked. Severus shot her a glare before she nodded at Maggie and smiled, "But I'm sure you'll enjoy seeing Scorpius, sweetheart."
Maggie nodded, "Yeah, Mum, it'll be loads of fun! Scorpius and I are the best of friends!"
Severus and Harriet exchanged knowing glances as soon as they saw their daughter's joyful expression.
Friends could cause wide, bright smiles, though blushing cheeks usually signified something more.
—————————————————————
On New Year's Eve, the Snapes' cottage fell into chaos as the family hurried to prepare themselves for the party at Malfoy manor.
Rabbie twitched her nose while Maggie sat in front of her vanity, already dressed in the emerald green robes she had received as a gift from her parents.
The ancient Animagus narrowed her eyes at the satisfied grin on Maggie's fair face while she combed her hair.
Down the hallway, Little Sev chatted with Disencan while he squirmed in his small, tailored suit, uncomfortable but glad to be accompanying his family that evening.
Severus wore his usual black robes that draped at his sides and billowed behind him as he stalked through the bedroom and spied Harriet slipping her shoes on.
"We can only spare a moment or two longer, my love……" Severus remarked as his black eyes flickered over his wife's pert bottom as she bent forward, "...It shows poor manners to arrive late."
"Go ahead and gather the children." Harriet nodded at Severus, "I'll be right there."
Severus watched the top of his wife's cleavage jiggle as she straightened her back once her shoes were on her feet.
Harriet sucked in a breath as her husband shamelessly held her in his smouldering stare for a tense second.
His eyes moved to meet hers briefly before he walked out of their bedroom.
Once he had gone, Harriet smirked as she reached into the closet and searched for her old school robes.
She fumbled in the darkness for a moment until her hand collided with the familiar, thick fabric.
As she listened to her alpha's low voice echo from the hallway as he spoke to Little Sev and Disencan, Harriet quickly pulled the vial containing the fertility potion from her old robe's inner pockets.
She had prided herself on finding a decent hiding place from her shrewd husband.
Assuming the potion took a full six hours to work as the formula card had warned, Harriet screwed the glass topper off and promptly downed the vial's contents before she placed the small container back into the pocket of her robes.
"My love….." Severus called from the hallway, "We will be late if you aren't prepared to leave…..very…..soon."
"I'm coming!" Harriet shouted as she hurriedly pushed the rest of her hanging clothes in front of her robes, hoping to conceal them, "I'm coming!"
As she shut the closet door and dashed out of the bedroom, she bit her lip to hide her smile.
The fertility potion's instructions had not, unfortunately, offered any estimations on dosing or effect times if a mistake had been made during brewing.
While the Snape family journeyed to Malfoy Manor for an evening of pleasant social interaction, Harriet remained ignorant that she had added three times the necessary amount of larindonan legumes to her concoction.