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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Hogwarts was not prepared for the wrath of an angry Malfoy as Lucius strode in with his cane clutched in hand and his elegant cloak flowing behind him.
He marched through the castle on his path to the Headmaster's office with a miserable scowl on his face.
Professor Dumbledore blinked when he saw the irate Hogwarts Governor charge into his room after he gave his unscheduled visitor permission to enter.
"Lucius…..what a surprise." Dumbledore greeted his guest as he blinked, "Is there some way in which I can be of assistance?"
Dumbledore knew his question was unnecessary from the anguished scowl of seriousness on Lucius's face as he approached the desk.
"I think there are a great many ways in which you may be of assistance, Headmaster!" Lucius snapped as he stepped forward and shoved Draco's letter at Dumbledore, "My son was attacked in your school last night and I want to see some punishment be doled out against the culprit! We must be very careful though……Draco's letter has alerted me to the problem that so many of us have feared occurring."
Dumbledore took the letter from Lucius and read over Draco's hastily scrawled lines.
"Well?!" Lucius hissed as Dumbledore raised his gaze and blinked at him.
"I'll send for Severus right away." Dumbledore nodded, "You're correct, Lucius……The situation does appear to need urgent consideration, indeed."
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Severus quickly responded to the headmaster's summons.
For the next hour, he stood with Lucius in Dumbledore's office while the three wizards deliberated over the best way to move forward and the wisest path to safety.
"If we choose the wrong approach to handle this matter, I'm afraid of what Tom Riddle may do in retaliation to our students and staff. Specifically your son, Lucius, if what Draco wrote is true." Dumbledore nodded.
Lucius scowled at Dumbledore while he hissed through grit teeth, "May I remind you, Headmaster, that it is your duty to keep my son safe as long as he remains on school grounds!"
"And I will fulfill that duty to my best ability, Lucius." Dumbledore retorted as he stared at the man in front of him, "But I cannot be everywhere at once. It may be best for the time being if you take the boy home for a while."
"Away from the classroom?!" Lucius exclaimed.
Dumbledore shrugged, "If you doubt my capabilities, then perhaps you and Narcissa can do better at protecting young Draco from harm. I'm certain that Malfoy manor is fortified with greater enchantments than this castle to withstand Tom's potential attacks, is it not?"
Dumbledore and Lucius eyed one another closely for a tense moment until Severus interjected in his low drawl, "Perhaps it would be wise to bring the children here and allow them to join our discussion."
Severus's dark gaze flickered between Dumbledore and Lucius as they both gaped at him with incredulous expressions on their faces.
"You may be right, Severus." Dumbledore nodded.
Before Lucius could reply, Severus gazed at his friend as he explained, "It's really my daughter of which I speak. Surely you realize from the letter you received, Lucius, that your son is already well-acquainted with the unique circumstances we face."
"I see no need to frighten the girl any further!" Lucius snapped, "What benefit will this conversation offer your daughter, Severus? How will she acquire assistance by being made privy to this……dilemma?"
Severus calmly replied, "Perhaps if she learns the truth, she'll be less inclined to lean towards the temptation of-"
The door to Dumbledore's office swung open without warning as Tom Riddle confidently walked into the room.
"Professor Dumbledore!" He called with a bright, charming grin, "I was told you wanted to see me?"
Lucius and Severus both clammed up as Tom walked boldly between them and looked right at Dumbledore while he waited for an answer.
His handsome lips spewed lies.
No one had mentioned a request from Dumbledore, however, Tom had noticed Lucius Malfoy's arrival at the castle and had stealthily followed him to the Headmaster's office.
Tom prided himself on the knowledge that the three other wizards in the room had failed to detect his presence as he had crouched just outside of the door and listened to their entire discussion.
"Hello, Professor Snape." Tom nodded politely at Severus before he looked over at Lucius, "Hello, Mr. Malfoy."
"...Mr. Riddle." Severus nodded in his low drawl.
It gave him a chill to see the brazen, unashamed way that Tom stared into Lucius's grey eyes, almost as if he were challenging him.
"I'll thank you to stay away from my son, Mr. Riddle." Lucius said with a scowl, "Draco wrote to me about a little spat you two seem to have had last night."
Severus and Dumbledore drew in silent breaths as Lucius changed their plans without their consent.
Everyone in the room waited for Tom's reaction after Lucius provoked him under a thin veil of forced cordiality.
"Mr. Malfoy…." Tom began as a sympathetic frown crossed his face, "How very tragic….While your son and I have no quarrels between us, I have heard his roommates mention that he's been having the most awful nightmares lately! Some of the others have been unkind enough to mock him for waking and screaming in the night, but I only wish there was some way I could help him. It does hurt me to see one of my housemates suffer."
Lucius's tone sounded chillingly threatening as he glowered at Tom and answered, "I'm certain it does."
The tension in the room increased as an anxious silence fell.
Silently, Severus, Lucius, and Dumbledore all planned what defensive actions they would take if Tom decided to attack.
"I'm not sure what you heard, or who you heard it from," Dumbledore began, "But I have no specific instruction for you, Tom."
"Oh dear." Tom answered with an arrogant smirk, "It must have been a false report, then. Forgive me, Professor, I'll be on my way."
Tom nodded at Dumbledore, Lucius, and Severus before he silently took his leave from the room.
After he had gone, Severus and Lucius rushed towards Dumbledore's desk and began to whisper in low voices about what to do, how to do it, and the most plausible ways to keep everyone at Hogwarts safe.
As he walked down the hallway, Tom Riddle smirked to himself.
Professor Dumbledore had not wanted to speak with Tom, but Tom had wanted very badly to speak to Professor Dumbledore.
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While the adults chose to carefully ponder their attack plan against Tom Riddle, Harriet found Draco sitting alone on a stone bench one afternoon.
He frowned at her as she walked over and sat down across from him.
For a moment, they stared in opposite directions before Draco dared to speak, "Enjoy yourself at Quidditch practice today, Snape?"
"I wish the field were open in the evenings." Harriet shrugged, "I have more spare time now."
Draco dared to glance in her direction.
His grey eyes widened when he noticed that she stared back at him.
"It's kind of a shame, isn't it?" Harriet asked with a bittersweet smile, "That we can't….."
"...Write to each other anymore?" Draco finished.
Harriet kept her sad smile as she nodded silently.
"You shouldn't have kissed me, Snape." Draco whispered.
Harriet frowned as she started to reply but he went on, "...Because now all I want is for you to do it again."
Harriet let out a nervous laugh before she stood and started to walk away.
She had only made it a few steps in front of the bench when she turned back to Draco with a grin and teased, "Perhaps one day I will, Malfoy!"
Draco allowed a haughty smirk to cross his handsome face before Harriet turned back around and continued on her way.
Her smile faded as she walked down the stone corridor.
Draco's smirk melted into a deep frown while he sat alone.
One day……..
Draco didn't want to imagine that Harriet may love him one day, he wanted Harriet to love him that day.
Draco Malfoy was not accustomed to the artful skill of showing patience.
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In an effort to test the seriousness of Draco's claims, Professor Dumbledore had used the Sword of Gryffindor to destroy the black diary that Severus had collected from Harriet and the page that Draco had torn from it.
Startlingly, Tom Riddle appeared the next day in class, as happy and as healthy as ever, eager to begin his lessons.
Lucius chastised Draco for making up wild stories about untrue events, but his son continued to plead his innocence.
Regardless of Lucius's doubt, Dumbledore cautiously cast several powerful, protective charms on Draco.
Draco felt grateful for his headmaster's help.
He didn't wake up being choked by Tom Riddle again after Dumbledore placed him under those special enchantments.
Weeks melted into months which gradually drifted into years.
Harriet decided to take her father's advice and focus on her friends and her classes.
It gave Severus hope when he saw his daughter actively ignore Draco and Tom.
Regardless of whether the allegations against Tom Riddle had been true or not, Professor Snape saw every young alpha as a threat to his daughter.
Albus eventually came to Hogwarts and was promptly sorted into Ravenclaw, much to his family's surprise.
It disappointed Harriet how little she saw her brother during the weeks that churned past.
Draven, Brendan, and Oliver grew from babies to a rambunctious group of troublemaking little boys.
After finally getting their sons to brush their teeth and go to bed, Severus and Lily lay in each other's arms one evening as they kissed and cuddled.
"Can you believe Harriet's seventh year started today?" Lily asked her husband while he nuzzled her gently.
"No." Severus answered in a low purr, "I still can't believe she's old enough to be at Hogwarts, Lily, let alone nearly finished."
"You may get lucky, Sev." Lily smirked, "Harriet may turn out to be an alpha after all."
"I'm more interested in my daughter's education. She's done well……With only a few months until graduation……..I hardly carry the same level of anxiety about her future that I previously shouldered." Severus admitted with a relieved sigh.
Lily giggled at her alpha for a moment before she began to place sweet, soft kisses on his lips.
She lingered just long enough to invite him for something more.
It was a lascivious, intimate invitation, open only to Severus.
As he sat up in bed, with his black eyes glinting at his mate as he pulled back to look at her, a low, possessive growl issued from his throat as he moved forward and eagerly accepted.
After all the years they had spent together, Lily's pleasured cries still raised the hairs on the back of Severus Snape's neck as they coupled.
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At the castle, no teacher, student, or parent was aware of the villainy that unfolded while Hogwarts' inhabitants lay sleeping in their beds.
A wide grin spread across his handsome face as he lifted his hands, spread out his arms, and laughed.
The Basilisk towered in front of him as it positioned itself beside Salazar Slytherin's statue.
The water that trickled into the center of the massive stone room sloshed against its heavy body.
Tom Riddle's wicked cackle echoed off of the formidable walls.
The Chamber of Secrets had been opened.