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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Severus was not one to forget.
His predisposition to brooding had not lessened over the years.
After he and Harriet finally arrived home later that night, he put both sets of twins to bed while she saw Ixora, Lila, and Alexander off to sleep.
Severus then waited impatiently for his wife to get little Astrantia settled but as one hour turned into two and the baby refused to leave Harriet's arms, she shrugged as she sat in the rocking chair and blinked at her husband in the dim light of their candlelit bedroom.
"...May I help?" He asked, not willing to let his frustration stand in the way of his ability to care for his children and still act as a decent mate, even if Harriet hadn't shown him the decency of-
"No, it's alright." She whispered into the dark, "I have her, Sev. Go to sleep, I'll join you soon."
As if on command, Astrantia started to stir again with an irritable whimper.
Harriet watched her daughter open her mouth and eyes.
Before a hungry wail could issue from her lips, she offered her full breast to her baby.
Severus growled as he sunk down into the covers with his dark eyes glowering at Harriet.
He would gladly go to any lengths for his children, but Astrantia did try his patience that night.
Severus wanted to speak with his mate.
Why couldn't their infant have chosen another evening to cluster feed?
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Severus lay awake until he finally felt Harriet's soft, warm body slide in next to him under the blankets.
Knowing his wife was far too exhausted to launch into a serious discussion, as she settled herself back on the pillows, Severus handed her a drink of cool water, which she gratefully accepted.
He held her in his dark gaze while he watched her empty the glass before he took the vessel from her and placed it on the nightstand.
With Astrantia asleep at last, Harriet sighed as she cuddled against Severus, closed her eyes, and succumbed to drowsiness.
Desperate to speak to her, Severus gave Harriet a gentle nuzzle before his muted frustrations sent him tumbling through a series of unsettling dreams.
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When he woke early the next morning, Harriet stirred against him although the winter sun had failed to rise in the dark sky outside.
"Good morning….." Severus's low voice came in a distinct rumble.
Harriet heard its gravelly echo as she laid on his chest.
The sound prompted her to raise her head and give her alpha a sweet smile, "Good morning, Sev……..Sleep well?"
"Not as well as I should have." He frowned.
"I'm sorry, love." Harriet replied as she mirrored his expression. She turned her head to yawn for a moment before she lifted a hand and pressed it against his cheek, "...What happened? You should have woken me! You know I can always soothe you."
Severus immediately voiced his concern about Harriet's remark the previous evening, "I thought that you and I were a mated couple."
Harriet blinked for a moment, "...We are."
"I thought our love was true and deep." Severus frowned.
"It……..It is." She said before she narrowed her eyes as she asked, "Sev, what's going on? You're acting very strange."
"How dare you show the audacity you displayed last night! Was humiliating me a game?!" Severus growled as he sat up so suddenly he practically threw Harriet off his chest.
She fumbled to sit up for a moment before she scowled at him in disbelief, "I……..I beg your pardon?!"
Severus's pale features twisted in aggravated tension as he snapped, "You and I should make such decisions together!...Discussions about intimate matters should be held between ourselves………..privately!...To think of what you said to the Weasleys after-"
"-Is this about what I said in regards to our children?" Harriet interrupted.
Severus fell silent.
Eventually, he scowled and hissed, "...Of course it is!"
Harriet lifted a hand to her face to hide her smirk and keep herself from laughing out loud.
"Sev…….." She chuckled, "You are quite greedy after all, aren't you? Is eight not enough?"
"That is not the issue at hand." Severus spat, "You have no business relaying our breeding patterns, past……present……..or intentional……with anyone……..Do you I walk about……...eager to announce when we expect to conceive next?"
As Severus glared at her, Harriet closed her mouth as she paused.
From the anguish in his dark eyes, she finally understood.
Harriet wasn't certain if it was the years which had passed or merely being reunited with her old friends that had made her momentarily forget the deep-seated root of an alpha's pride.
"Sev, love, I'm sorry." She began with a remorseful sigh as she raised a hand to stroke his pale cheek. She gazed into his dark eyes with a loving smile as she sought to calm him, "I had no intention of offending you. You're right, we haven't discussed the matter and we should have……just us……before I made a comment like that. I apologize……..Do you think you can forgive me?"
When Severus's scowl softened ever so slightly, Harriet took full advantage of the moment as she leaned forward and pressed a particularly delicious kiss against her husband's mouth.
Severus licked his lips once Harriet pulled away.
It thrilled her to notice the mischievous glint of primal hunger in his black eyes as he moved towards her like a panther stalking its prey.
"It does wound me……." He drawled in his decadent baritone, "To think that my own wife, my mate, my beloved…….no longer wishes to bear my children."
Harriet let out a silent breath as her alpha caught her in his arms and pulled her close.
"N-Now, that's not true." Harriet stammered as Severus let his large, elegant hands splay over her soft curves while his fingers began to roam her body.
A spell murmured under his breath vanished her clothes and simultaneously elicited a small shriek of surprise from her lips.
"I…..I've already given you five sons and three daughters!" Harriet gasped as one of his hands slipped over her bottom while the other massaged the curve of her spine, "I….Isn't that enough?"
Severus's black eyes glimmered ominously as he let his gaze flicker from Harriet's face to her breasts, full with the substance he dearly enjoyed, lined with the scars his previous children had left.
Those silvery scars on Harriet's breasts and belly made her all the more desirable to Severus, who saw each one as a proud badge of honor.
Harriet belonged to him.
Harriet had borne his children.
Harriet had shared his bed……continued to share his bed.
"You are very beautiful, Mrs. Snape." He complimented Harriet as he gazed into her emerald eyes, "It is….a terrible pity, however……..That you've forgotten to whom you belong."
Harriet let out a little cry as Severus's wandering hands dared to find her breasts and give them a gentle squeeze.
"I am your mate." Severus reminded her as his fingers ghosted over her most sensitive bits while he held her gaze in his, "And you are putty in my hands……..Aren't you, my love?"
Harriet groaned as Severus leaned forward and pressed a kiss against her lips.
It seemed gentle enough at first, but Harriet could taste Severus's desire as he turned and pushed her back against the pillows.
He purposely spread her apart so she lay there, in the softness of her nest, bare and open for him.
"I could fill your belly again this very morning." Severus whispered as he pulled back.
Harriet's eyes widened, equally terrified and intrigued at the idea.
"Perhaps that would humble you the next time you see Granger and Weasley….If you arrive with your womb inhabited by my next offspring." Severus teased as he kissed down Harriet's throat.
A strangled groan escaped her as he kissed down to her breasts, threatening to take their tips into his mouth as her heart raced.
"Remember, Harriet Snape……." Severus whispered.
She shuddered at the sensation of his hot breath warming her bare flesh against the winter morning's chill.
He finished in a husky growl, "...You belong to me."
As Severus dove forward, Harriet wrapped her arms around his neck.
If he hadn't had the sense to grab his wand and cast the Silencing Charm around the room, Harriet would have woken the entire house as Severus made love to her.
Her body was tired, but the bond she shared with her husband could not be ignored.
It was a primal urge, an instinctive notion, a command of sorts, really.
Her exhaustion could not withhold the unending desire to let her alpha claim her uninhibited.
Despite her stubborn fierceness, Harriet couldn't hide from her status as an omega.
While Severus, her strong, dominant alpha, reminded her that she was his, Harriet smirked to herself.
If Severus did want another baby, then how could she possibly refuse?