Thank you for reading! Please let me know if you enjoy! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Updates every Saturday!
—
That first night that Father Hen and Mother Raven spent together was rather awkward.
For some reason, Harriet felt out of place in her own bed.
Across the hallway, Severus thrashed around on the soft mattress in the room he had been given, too anxious to sleep.
Harriet eventually drifted off, helped in part by Severus's comforting scent that drifted into her nest.
Severus found no such peace.
The smell of the expectant omega did nothing to soothe his nerves since she wasn't at his side.
To his surprise, throughout the night, he found himself filled with the urge to leave his bed and peek into Harriet's room to check on her and ensure that she and the precious cargo she carried were alright.
It was even more frustrating to Severus that that wasn't an option.
Father Raven couldn't just spy on Mother Hen during the night, that would be a blatant invasion of her privacy, regardless of his intentions.
Severus eventually settled for lying flat on his back and frowning up at the ceiling while his body urged him to sleep and his mind raced in relentless rebellion.
When Harriet woke later that morning, she blinked her green eyes open slowly and breathed in the delicious scent of warm breakfast that wafted from outside of her room.
Harriet rubbed her face for a moment and stood from the bed with a yawn as she shuffled over to pull on her morning robe.
She washed up and combed her hair before she opened the door to her bedroom and padded downstairs.
Harriet blinked when she saw Severus moving around her kitchen, with two pans on the stove, and plates out on the counter.
"I thought you'd already be at Hogwarts….?" Harriet asked with confusion in her narrowed eyes.
"The headmaster can adjust his arrival time." Severus stiffly explained, "I have to see that you're fed, first, Potter."
"I can manage on my own." Harriet replied as she walked over.
"The specialist declared otherwise." Severus quipped.
Harriet came to stand beside him in the small kitchen and he scowled down at her as he drawled, "...May I ask...what are you doing?"
"I'm going to help you. What else needs to be done?" Harriet inquired as she looked at the bacon and eggs on the stove.
"The only one that you're going to help, Potter, is my child growing in your womb. Sit…...down." Severus rumbled in his low, warning growl of a voice.
Harriet scowled in response as she laid a hand on her little belly and obediently walked over to take her seat at the table.
Harriet did not enjoy being ordered around in her own home, but in spite of herself, she had to admit, it sent delightful shivers down her spine when she heard that definite, ultimately well-intended command from the tall alpha.
Harriet thought it was odd, but as Severus walked over to the table and served Harriet and himself their plates of hot breakfast, Harriet found that she felt almost uncontrollably eager to please him.
It was probably just an effect of the pregnancy hormones though, that was all.
Mother Hen and Father Raven certainly weren't mates, or anything remotely similar….
—
Harriet and Severus ate their meal across from each other in a tense silence.
Afterwards, Severus escorted Harriet back to her nest and brought her a pitcher of water, a sliced apple to tide her over until the afternoon, and watched as she made herself comfortable.
Severus wouldn't dare to touch her nest unless she invited the contact, but he could see to all other assets of her comfort.
"I'm alright." Harriet said with a nod to Severus, "Really, there's no need to fuss. I'll be fine."
"I'll return in a few hours." Severus replied. He chose to ignore Harriet's statement that asserted her independence as he asked, "May I get you anything else until then?"
"No, really…. thank you, but I'm fine." Harriet repeated with a nod.
"Send for me if you need anything, Potter." Severus answered stoically.
Before Harriet could make anymore flimsy claims about how she could take care of herself, Severus raised his wand and apparated away.
Once she was alone, Harriet sighed to herself.
She thought about the previous day and that morning.
It was baffling to her how quickly her situation had changed.
Honestly, she marveled at the fact that she and Severus Snape were sharing such close quarters.
Mother Hen admired Father Raven's devotion.
For his unborn son or daughter, he was willing to live with and look after his least favorite student.
Harriet frowned when she thought about the bitter reality of that concept.
Severus's kindness hadn't really been meant for her at all, his actions were for the good of their baby.
Still, it was lovely to see that the father of her child was so interested in his or her welfare.
That was lovely.
It really was, it was lovely!
Harriet kept telling herself how lovely it was even as mournful tears that she couldn't explain started to flow down her cheeks.
—
A few minutes after noon that day, Severus arrived back in Harriet's living room with a resounding pop.
More exhausted than she wanted to admit, Harriet had spent the morning in her nest and she had actually fallen back asleep.
She was still napping when Severus returned.
Greeted only by the overwhelming silence in the small cottage, Severus quietly glided up the stairs, and gently knocked on Harriet's bedroom door.
When no answer came from within, Severus cautiously cracked the door open and peered inside.
Severus wasn't trying to overstep his boundaries, but he did need to verify that she was alright.
Once he saw that the omega was sleeping peacefully, he quietly closed her door and walked back downstairs.
Harriet finally woke later that afternoon.
She blinked when she looked over and saw that a large tray had been placed on her nightstand.
On the tray was a sandwich, a bowl of chilled yogurt, a banana, and a very small bit of parchment.
Harriet narrowed her eyes as she reached over to examine the scrap of paper that lay on the edge of the tray.
Mother Hen,
Eat when you wake. Fledgling will be grateful.
Father Raven
Harriet couldn't hold back the smile that formed across her lips as she sat up in bed and pulled the tray onto her lap.
In quiet contentment, Harriet ate the lunch that Severus had so thoughtfully left for her.
—
Although his tenderness may be reserved for their child only, Harriet sought to repay Severus for the support he had given her.
As evening approached, she found the strength to rise from her nest and walk down to the kitchen.
When Severus came home from Hogwarts a couple of hours later and found Harriet already serving dinner, she looked up at him in eager anticipation, but instead of seeing a look of gratitude on his face, all Harriet found in Severus's expression was seething rage.
"What are you doing?!" Severus hissed with long cloak flowing over his shoulders.
"I….I've made dinner." Harriet shrugged casually, "You handled breakfast and lunch, so I thought I'd return the favor."
"'Favor'?!" Severus asked incredulously as he narrowed his eyes and slowly enunciated the word.
Tall, lean, and dressed all in black, Severus was a formidable sight as he stalked over to Harriet.
Harriet knew she had nothing to fear from him, but she still found herself trembling as she stood before such a powerful alpha.
"I haven't done you any favor, Potter." Severus snarled, "I'm here to see that my pup is carried adequately and that he or she arrives safely into this world…..Listen to me and heed my words….. We may not be mates, but that life inside of you is just as much my responsibility as it is yours…... I won't have you risk it unnecessarily with silly whims or ridiculous notions about social customs regarding politeness. Do you think that it's polite to endanger an alpha's child, omega?" Severus whispered as he leaned down close to Harriet.
Their noses were nearly touching as Harriet drew in a breath and swallowed, "N-No, no, I don't think it's polite."
"Then may I request that you refrain from doing so?" Severus asked.
"Yes, of course." Harriet said as she swallowed dryly, "Sorry…"
She spoke the last word softly and as she gazed into Severus's black eyes, with him so very, very close, she found herself glancing down to his lips.
Severus mirrored the pattern of her gaze and for a very tense few seconds, both of their hearts accelerated as they silently wondered if the other would lean in and turn their heated conversation in an entirely different direction…..
"Excellent." Severus murmured swiftly.
His breath brushed over Harriet's lips and she blinked when he suddenly pulled away.
Harriet felt a sinking pang of humbling disappointment as Severus walked over to the table, pulled out her chair for her, and gestured with his hand, "Sit, if you will, Potter. I have no idea how long you've been on your feet, but I'm sure you've managed to violate the specialist's recommendations."
Harriet quietly did as Severus ordered, not only out of compliance, but because he was right.
She had been standing for some time and her body had started to warningly ache.
Severus served dinner, sat down across her, and together in silence, they began to eat their meal.
Later, once they were both ready to go to bed, Severus used his wand to effortlessly float Harriet up the stairs.
He was no longer in the mood to listen to any more of her brave protests about how she could manage, how she was strong enough…
Severus had never encountered such a stubborn omega and he was determined to help his child that rested in her belly with or without its mother's cooperation.
Once they made it to the top of the stairs, they mumbled hurried words of "goodnight" to each other and walked into their seperate rooms, closing their doors behind themselves.
In Severus's room, he laid in bed and sighed as he prepared for another long night of staring up at the ceiling in a futile attempt to find sleep.
In Harriet's room, she rustled around restlessly in her nest.
Severus's scent had been an attribute to Harriet's quest for rest the night before, but after their brief spat, although they were not an actual couple, Harriet couldn't close her eyes with the angry, uncomfortable tension that existed between them.
After over an hour of trying and failing to go to sleep, Harriet stood from her nest, marched out of her room, and knocked confidently on Severus's door.
"...Come in." His velvet voice called out in response.
Harriet opened the door and boldly stepped inside the alpha's bedroom.
Severus blinked as he watched her, unsure of what she had come to say.
Harriet looked at Severus defiantly and crossed her arms as she announced with great vexation, "I can't sleep."
