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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Dear Severus,
I deeply apologize for the harm that my son has caused. This letter comes to you out of regretful embarrassment on my and Narcissa's behalf. I plead with you to forgive the boy and hope that you and your lovely wife will consider joining us for dinner one evening in the near future? Perhaps we may have some business to discuss.
Sincerely,
Lucius Malfoy, Hogwarts Governor, Head of the Malfoy Family
Severus scowled down at the letter from his old friend as he paced across the vacant potions classroom.
Discuss?
What business could he, Lily, and the Malfoys possibly have to discuss?
Severus folded the letter and placed it into the pocket of his robes with a scowl.
Lily had promised that she would come to Hogwarts and share a private lunch with him that day.
He supposed that he would talk to his lover about the curious letter he had received when she visited him later that afternoon.
Although Severus wasn't sure what Lily would make of the communication, he knew that Lucius's words had failed to please him.
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That same day, Lily arrived at Hogwarts' castle five minutes after the lunch period began.
She made her way down the corridor with a bright smile on her face as she clutched the basket that held her and Severus's meal.
As Lily walked down the spiraling steps that led to the dungeons, she would have made it to her alpha's office without any difficulty at all if it hadn't been for a wandering toad.
Escaped from its owner, the wayward amphibian blended right in with the grey, stone steps.
Lily failed to see the little animal until it leapt out at her unexpectedly, as if it meant to snatch the basket from her arms.
She cried out in surprise as she stumbled.
Her emerald eyes widened when she realized that she would surely fall all the way down the stairs…….
Her basket was thrown into the air, which sent its contents spilling out of the cloth that safely covered them…..
Lily heard a shout.
A glowing light gently encircled her.
As suddenly as her journey began, it ended with her safely back on her feet and the basket full of food landing undisturbed in her arms.
Lily drew in a deep breath before she turned around with a relieved huff to see a dark-haired boy standing on the steps behind her.
"Are you alright, ma'am?" The boy asked with a kind smile.
Lily laid a hand over her chest as she gasped and nodded, "I….I am, indeed, thanks to you! Forgive me, what's your name?"
"My name is Tom Riddle." Tom informed her as a handsome grin spread across his lips.
He didn't bother to ask who Lily was, he already knew.
Lily became suspicious when she realized that Severus's worry was standing right in front of her.
Regardless, she remained grateful for the boy's help as she politely replied, "Well, it's very nice to meet you, Tom. I'm Lily, Professor Snape's wife. I was just on my way to see him now……..rest assured that I'll put in a good word for you. My husband admires acts of chivalry."
"You're Harriet's mother." Tom declared with a smile that looked too gleeful to be innocent.
"I am, yes." Lily nodded.
Tom's statement made her guard herself more closely as he stepped towards her and asked, "Your basket looks rather heavy. Would you permit me, Mrs. Snape, to carry it and escort you down to Professor Snape's office? He mentioned in class moments ago that he'll be brewing a vat of Calming Concoction for a bit. I'd be glad to fetch him for you after you're safely waiting for him."
Lily was flattered that a boy Tom's age could be so thoughtful.
She felt that it would be inexcusably rude to refuse his kindness.
Hesitantly, Lily nodded as she replied, "Well, alright then…..thank you very much."
Tom grinned as he walked forward, took the basket from Lily, and offered her his arm once he stood beside her on the steps.
Lily accepted and allowed young Tom Riddle to lead her down to Severus's office.
As they went, she kept stealing glances over at the boy beside her.
That couldn't be him…….the Dark Lord returned, could it?
No.
Tom distracted her from her thoughts with pleasant idle chatter while they walked.
By the time they reached Severus's office, Lily was convinced that the handsome young boy was a potential suitor for her daughter and nothing more.
As Tom left Lily with a smile, she could hardly blame Harriet.
Lily decided that if she had been her daughter's age, then handsome, charming Tom Riddle may very well have caught her attention too.
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Severus kept his dark eyes narrowed to slits while he stirred the contents of his bubbling cauldron until a knock sounded from the door of his classroom.
"...Come in." He called in a low drawl.
The door opened and Tom's smooth voice answered politely, "...Professor Snape? Your wife's waiting for you in your office."
Severus whirled around to throw his student an incredulous glare.
"...And how would you know that, Mr. Riddle?" Severus snapped.
"I accidentally met her on the steps, sir." Tom nodded, "Sazlack's toad escaped again and startled her. She slipped very dangerously…..If I hadn't been there, I fear that she may have come to great harm."
Severus kept his dark eyes narrowed distrustfully as he glowered at Tom and asked, "...Is that so?...I'll thank you to send for me directly whenever you see my wife in the future. However, ten points to Slytherin for your….noble deed."
"Thank you, sir." Tom nodded.
"You may go now…..." Severus growled.
Tom respectfully nodded at his teacher before he turned on his heel and took his leave of the potions classroom.
As he walked through the drafty dungeon hallway, a triumphant smirk danced across his lips while he thought to himself.
Tom Riddle never performed noble deeds without ulterior motives.
He silently and proudly celebrated the intricacies of his brilliant plan.
What better way to ensnare Harriet than by impressing her parents first?
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Lucius's letter lay on the dark wood of Severus's desk.
Lily's lunch basket set empty next to it.
In the final moments of Hogwarts' afternoon break, Severus and Lily's lips met as Mrs. Snape straddled the potions professor bare while he sat in his chair.
Lunch had been delicious, but the Snapes had been more interested in their dessert……..which had been each other.
Lily sighed while Severus planted his face in her breasts and kissed hungrily along her creamy curves.
The gentle brush of his lips made her eyes close as she whispered in a throaty sigh, "You do know that we have to accept, don't you, Sev?"
Severus instantly pulled back to frown up at her.
"Accept what?" He asked with his brow furrowed.
"...Mr. Malfoy's invitation." Lily sighed again.
Severus tried to ignore the way that Lily's scarlet hair ghosted over her exposed, porcelain shoulders long enough to process the words that she spoke.
"...We most certainly do not have to accept." He countered with a scowl.
"I don't see why a simple dinner date would hurt." Lily blinked as she looked into his dark eyes, "Perhaps the Malfoys are trying to make amends. They're probably mortified."
"I hardly think so." Severus scowled, "I know Lucius…..I understand how his mind functions. He has something planned that his letter failed to mention."
"...Something like what?" Lily blinked.
"Something like a mating contract." Severus grouched.
Lily laughed loudly at her alpha before she combed her fingers through his black hair and chided, "A mating contract?! Sev, you're being ridiculous! That's a bit archaic, is it not?"
"Archaic?" Severus scoffed, "Lucius and Narcissa were an arranged match. Why would they see their son's union any differently?"
"The Malfoys would never want Harriet to marry their precious heir!" Lily laughed, "We haven't any money, Sev! We have no nobility, no prestige……..what would possibly be in it for them?"
"Be careful with Tom Riddle." Severus warned Lily as he changed the subject without warning, "The next time you visit the castle, I'll meet you at the gate."
"You still don't trust him, do you?" Lily asked with a frown.
"I don't trust anyone around my wife...or my children." Severus growled again.
Lily threw her head back with a gentle cry as Severus moved her into a position that allowed her entrance to rub teasingly against his arousal while he dove into her breasts.
The Potions Master was quite skilled at silencing charms.
If he hadn't been, then everyone at Hogwarts would have heard Lily's cries while the Snapes milked every last scrap of enjoyment out of their last moments together until the evening.
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"'Cissa, I am the head of the household, I am the alpha, I am your husband and your mate, you will listen to me! The Snapes are going to join us for dinner, and during that occasion, we shall make our offer." Lucius firmly declared.
Narcissa scowled at her lover from where she sat at her large, ebony dressing table.
Lucius scowled back at his wife while he lay in bed and stared at her reflection in the mirror.
"I'm certain that Severus has a meager dowry for the girl, if any at all." Narcissa haughtily quipped.
"Dowries aren't important, my dear. Power is the most valuable attainment." Lucius retorted.
"And what power can Severus's daughter bring us?" Narcissa snapped, "The child of a poor professor, Lucius…...And one of mixed blood? Our noble family will be insulted!"
"Our noble family is slowly being strangled by its own ideals!" Lucius retorted, "Tell me, 'Cissa, what have the centuries of inbreeding done for our health? How many children have we conceived besides Draco?...How many?...Look at Severus and his brood…….Aren't you the least bit envious of all the sons that he has to carry on his legacy? The Snapes will survive but the Malfoys will die out if we aren't careful! Give the girl to Draco and she'll pass Severus's talents on to our grandchildren, of which, there will be many, I'm sure…...We can grow and expand…..The tainting of our blood is bound to happen sooner or later, whether in our lifetime or not."
Narcissa and Lucius glared at each other for a long moment before Lucius turned back to the book he held in his hands as Narcissa picked up her hairbrush.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy wore displeased frowns on their pale faces.
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Each night, Harriet continued to write to Draco in the diary.
Are you enjoying school again?
Draco drew in an anxious breath as he sat in front of the torn out diary page and waited impatiently for Harriet's reply.
His heart clenched in happy anxiety as her words of black ink began to spill across the page a moment later:
I think so. I've had fun with Ron and Hermione working on our new Charms assignment. You and Dad were right, the best thing I can do is to stay away from boys. Life is much simpler without them.
Draco frowned as he contemplated what he could say in response.
As he picked up his pen to write back to Harriet, he sighed as he remembered how lovely she had looked at dinner an hour earlier.
Draco would have crawled into a hole and buried himself if he had known what his father had schemed.