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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As the weeks went by, the Snape and Malfoy families prepared for the upcoming births.
Severus raced home at the end of every day to check on his wife and ensure she remained comfortable in her nest.
At his insistence, during the last month of school, Lily accompanied him to work and spent the hours lying in his private chambers amongst a mound of soft pillows and warm blankets.
Lily would have preferred to stay at home, but she had kindly acquiesced to her alpha's wishes.
She understood that it kept Severus calmer to know his heavily pregnant wife stayed within an easily reachable distance in case she needed anything.
Lily did enjoy the calming coolness that the dungeon offered, which gave her a respite from the bright, hot sun.
During those days, Eileen came and looked after Oliver, Brendan, and Draven until their parents returned home in the evenings.
Severus's absences from the Great Hall were frequent during those weeks.
Instead of spending his meal times frowning from his seat at the High Table, he instructed Hogwarts' house elves to bring his and Lily's sustenance to the Potions Master's chambers.
Severus could hardly be bothered to release Lily from his embrace long enough to teach his students.
Professor Snape refused to eat breakfast, lunch, or dinner apart from his beloved flower.
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Harriet did not enjoy the same luxuries as her mother.
Instead of shuffling from class to class, she would have loved to have laid in her nest for a cuddle with her alpha.
Draco stayed beside Harriet throughout the day and gladly carried her books, but that didn't ease his mate's exhaustion.
After one very stressful school day, Harriet fought to keep her eyes open during their study period as Draco worriedly watched.
"...Harriet?" He whispered from where he sat across the table.
Beside him, Ron and Hermione glanced up.
"...I'm fine." Harriet insisted as she blinked her glazed eyes.
Draco watched her lay a hand on her rounded belly, which had grown to be unconcealable, even under the heavy thickness of her school robes.
Despite Harriet's protest, he noticed that her eyes fluttered as she stared back down at her Potions textbook.
"Harriet….." Draco whispered again in an attempt to rouse her.
He received no answer to his second inquiry.
Harriet lost her battle to maintain consciousness.
Her eyes closed as the overwhelming need for rest consumed her and sent her toppling off the wooden bench.
"HARRIET!" Draco shouted.
Hermione had her wand in her hand before anyone realized. She hurriedly pointed its tip at her friend and cried, "LEVICORPUS!"
The spell crashed into Harriet and spared her body from colliding with the floor as she hovered in a harmless suspension.
"Harriet!" Draco shouted as he leapt from his seat and rushed over to his wife.
The scene caught the attention of Professor McGonagall, who frowned at Draco as he gently pulled his groggy lover out of the air and into his arms.
"Mr. Malfoy," McGonagall nodded at Draco with pursed lips as she snapped, "Perhaps Miss Snape, er, Mrs. Malfoy would be better off elsewhere? The study period is for those who are willing and able to work on their assignments. It seems as though your wife could do with a nap."
"Yes, Professor! Thank you!" Draco nodded quickly as he hastily carried Harriet out of the room.
Whispers passed through the remaining students as Draco rushed down the hallway and looked for the Room of Requirement while Harriet groaned in his arms.
"Draco…….?" She asked.
"Yes, love?" He replied as the doors to their secret quarters mercifully appeared on the wall ahead.
"I'm so very tired." Harriet complained as she yawned.
"I know, my darling." Draco frowned sympathetically. He bent down and pecked Harriet's lips before he opened the door, "Don't worry, I'll help you lie down."
Harriet yawned as Draco carded her inside the Room of Requirement, removed her shoes, and laid her in the comforting bed that served as her nest at Hogwarts.
He lovingly fluffed the pillows behind her and pulled the blankets up to her chest to keep her warm but not overheated.
Harriet blinked her sleepy eyes as she waited for Draco to join her, which he did after he slipped his own shoes off and crawled under the blankets next to her.
Harriet turned onto her side and cuddled against his chest as best her heavy belly would allow.
Draco frowned as Harriet moved her head towards him and breathed in his comforting scent while his fingers traced delicate patterns over her back.
In less than five minutes, Draco watched Harriet visibly relax as her breathing deepened.
Careful not to wake his beloved, Draco placed a tender kiss on Harriet's forehead as his hands encircled her swollen womb.
His heart leapt with excitement when he felt the strong kick that landed under his soft fingertips.
One more week of class and then another of exams until graduation.
Draco could hardly wait.
Once they had left Hogwarts, Harriet could focus on mothering their little one at last.
Draco looked forward to exploring his new titles of husband and father.
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Two more weeks of class meant two more weeks of pregnancy progression for the expectant Snape women.
On a hot June morning, Hogwarts' graduation day finally arrived.
By then, Lily and Harriet were both miserable.
Eileen kept a close watch on the boys, all of whom were oblivious to their mother and sister's struggles.
Severus was a nervous wreck.
As a faculty member, for a good portion of the ceremony, he had to stand on the castle's lawn with all of his colleagues.
Under the blazing sun, he could see the sweat on Lily's fair face as she mumbled a cooling spell with her wand pointed at herself.
Beyond his worry for his expectant mate, he could see his pregnant daughter shift on her feet with a grimace while her peers stood and listened to the seemingly endless series of motivational speeches.
Lucius and Narcissa sat next to Lily while they tried to focus on their son's happy occasion.
They found that to be a very difficult task as their eyes flickered between the two expectant mothers.
Draco sweat more than Harriet as he stood next to her, but not because of the sun or his anxiety about his commencement.
While he tried to fan Harriet as best he could, nightmare scenarios kept playing through his mind as he comforted his mate.
It made Draco tremble with terror to imagine what would happen if Harriet announced their baby had decided to come into the world right then.
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Fortunately, Draco and Harriet managed to avoid that situation.
After the ceremony concluded, the Malfoy family joined the Snapes at their cottage for a celebration brunch.
Eileen helped Severus serve the food while Harriet and Lily went to lie down.
"Would you like to join me, sweetheart?" Lily asked her daughter once they reached the top of the stairs.
Both mother and daughter panted from their steep climb as they laid hands over their bellies, but Harriet brightened at her mother's invitation and nodded as she smiled, "Sure, Mum."
Lily mirrored her daughter's soft expression and took her by the hand to lovingly lead her down the hall towards the bedroom she shared with Severus.
Harriet had been in her mother's nest many times before, during her childhood and Lily's previous pregnancies, but not since she had carried a baby of her own.
There was an entirely new level of comfort Harriet felt as she climbed into Lily's expertly arranged mound of buttery blankets and silky pillows.
Harriet didn't smell her mate there, but she gained a startling amount of primal reassurance from her parents' scents.
Mum and Dad…….everything was safe, everything was in order, Harriet had her Mum and Dad.
Lily felt a refreshing sense of ease as she cuddled next to Harriet and breathed in the smell of her eldest child, who had been her very first baby.
Mother and daughter turned towards each other and held hands as their bellies touched.
"I love you, sweetheart." Lily whispered with a smile.
"I love you too, Mum." Harriet whispered back before she closed her eyes.
Tightly snuggled together, in a silent expression of blissful peace, Harriet and Lily both escaped from the pressures of the day and the unforgiving heat.
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"Should we send for a healer?" Lucius asked with a scowl of concern, "...Or a midwife?"
"She wasn't in any pain, Father. The day tired her, that's all." Draco frowned.
"...Her mother fell victim to the same plight." Severus said as he walked around the dining room to set the table.
"Lucius, dear, calm down." Narcissa chided her husband with a gentle chuckle.
"I was only asking what needs to be done, 'Cissa." Lucius sniffed.
It amused Draco to see the look of urgent apprehension in his father's grey eyes.
"Father…..?" He asked, "Are you…….Are you anxious?"
"Of course not!" Lucius snapped.
Severus kept a firm frown of silent tension on his face as he and Eileen served the food, sat down, and began to eat with their afternoon guests.
"On the contrary, love." Narcissa laughed as she glanced between Draco and Lucius, "You weren't this nervous when Draco was born! You must calm down, it will only excite the girl if she notices."
Lucius nearly blushed with embarrassment as he retorted in a quiet hiss, "I was not nervous then, 'Cissa, and I am not nervous now! Thank you very much."
Narcissa and Draco exchanged knowing smirks before Draco glanced over at Severus and asked, "Shouldn't we take Mrs. Snape and Harriet something to eat?"
"We'll keep the food warm….They can eat after they wake." Severus nodded, "Let them sleep for now. Their bodies need rest and nourishment. They'll ask for both when the time is right….After an hour or two, they'll come downstairs ready for their meal."
Draco contemplated Severus's statement while Narcissa nodded at him and spoke, "I must say, Severus, you're doing quite well at staying calm. I think Lucius would have buckled under the pressure already, with a pregnant wife and daughter."
Severus shrugged at Narcissa as he answered with his usual stoic demeanor, "Creating chaos by displaying hysterics would do little to help the situation."
As Draco admired his father-in-law's steady nerve, Severus prided himself on his ability to hide his true feelings.
How anyone believed he could actually feel calm at such a time was beyond him.
Harriet and Lily could give birth at any moment.
Severus didn't want to keep his voice low and his facial expression tranquil, he wanted to scream wildly as he ran down the hill outside.
Of course he was nervous!
He could quite possibly become a father again and a grandfather on the same day.