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Sweat moistened his palms.

His heart pounded so furiously that his limbs trembled.

Severus peered around the corner in shock while he watched his future self sit at the table and eat dinner.

……...Next to his future wife, Harriet Potter.

………..And their two future sons.

He looked on in complete disbelief as he saw his future self chat with his family, before he stood and heard that version of himself say, "It may take some time to correct the situation at the castle tonight. I don't want any of you to wait up on me, is that understood?"

"Yes, Dad." Verinth nodded.

"...Albus?" Severus's future self asked the younger boy.

As he peered around the corner, Severus narrowed his dark eyes.

"Alright, Daddy. Don't worry, we'll go to bed on time." Albus promised.

"...That especially applies to you, my love." Severus heard himself command.

The uncharacteristic gentleness that he detected in his own low voice and the softness in his future self's eyes as he gazed at Harriet made Severus scowl while he secretly observed the scene.

"Of course." Mrs. Snape replied with a nod.

Severus grimaced as he watched his future self peck Harriet's lip before he rose from his seat at the table and apparated away with a single wave of his wand.

"May we go upstairs to our room now, Mum?" Verinth asked after Severus watched his two sons stand from the table and hurriedly clean the dishes.

"Do you need anything, Mummy?" Albus asked Harriet with a worried frown.

From his viewpoint around the corner, Severus's black eyes were narrowed to slits as he listened very closely and kept his gaze on Harriet.

"No, thank you both. You two have helped enough, but try to be quiet, alright?" Harriet asked.

Both of the boys nodded before they quickly scampered out of the dining room.

Verinth and Albus rushed out into the hallway, but Severus's stare remained focused on Harriet.

She was more mature then, with a womanly figure and a kind wisdom in her green eyes.

The child that Severus had known disappeared, the wife and the mother were in plain view instead.

He caught himself admiring how well Harriet had blossomed into womanhood when she sighed and slowly rose to her feet.

Severus's mouth fell open as Harriet's posture finally revealed her rounded belly.

She laid one hand on the dining table for support while she clutched the underside of her heavy womb to steady herself and find her balance.

As Severus watched the pregnant omega struggle to move, filled with his unborn child, he was certain that he had reached his limit for surprising reveals.

Although, as Verinth and Albus came bounding towards him, Severus was frightened that he may have to find the strength within himself to endure even more unexpected surprises.

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Severus did not move with his usual elegance as his sons dragged him out of the hallway, up the stairs, and back into their room.

He was too dazed by what he had witnessed and too preoccupied with worriedly contemplating what could happen if Harriet or his future self spotted him.

"Dad, you're quicker than this!" Verinth chided Severus in a hushed whisper once he closed the door to the bedroom after the three of them had made it safely inside.

Albus laughed.

Severus scowled disapprovingly at both of his sons.

"Sorry." Verinth apologized sheepishly after he took into consideration what Severus had been through, "I know this is a lot to take in, but we really didn't mean for you to come back with us!"

"Do you have…. any idea…. what you've done?!" Severus hissed at Verinth, "What you may have done?...I find it difficult to believe that you're any son of mine…...My son would know that time is not a force to be tampered with!"

"Yes, you taught me that Dad." Verinth blinked, incredibly unbothered by the verbal reprimand he had just received from Severus, "That's why I tweaked the Time-Turner. I'm attempting to perfect the process."

"...Perfect…..the process?" Severus repeated as he slowly enunciated the words before he glanced over at Albus.

Albus flashed Severus a wide grin as Verinth walked over to the desk across from one of the beds, turned on a lamp, and opened up a drawer in a small chest that stood nearby.

"See? Come look." Verinth called over to Severus.

Severus scowled as he hesitantly walked over, with Albus trailing behind him, and peered down into the open drawer at the many, moving gears, parts, and cogs that were strewn inside.

"You encourage me all the time to use my talents. You invented spells when you were my age…..Well, I invent machines that can help people!" Verinth boasted.

Severus glanced around as he studied Verinth's little workshop of magical objects in the corner of the room.

"The Time-Turner's already been invented." Albus smirked at his older brother.

"...Not the way that I've adjusted it." Verinth quipped back at Albus with a scowl, "Have you ever heard of anyone else traveling back in time and becoming an animal to disguise themselves? I used the Time-Turner, but that bit was all me."

Despite the seriousness of his situation, as Severus looked at his eldest, dark-haired son and the proof of his brilliant work, he couldn't help but feel a strange sort of interested pride.

"You've built and enchanted these yourself? All these….tinkerings?" Severus asked.

"Well some of them are parts of a whole, Dad. I haven't quite pieced them all together yet." Verinth admitted with a shrug, "You help me sometimes."

"You help me too, I'm really good at potions." Albus chimed in, envious of the attention that the younger version of his father was giving to his older brother.

"...Is that so?" Severus asked in a low drawl as he looked over at his youngest son.

"You hate brewing." Verinth teased his little brother with a sneer.

"That doesn't mean that I'm not good at it." Albus replied with a haughty sniff.

"Listen to me, both of you." Severus interrupted their argument in an effort to squelch their battle for his admiration, although a part of him truthfully enjoyed it.

After spending a lifetime receiving little more than bitter rejection, it was a refreshing feeling for Severus to have his approval fought over by his two supposed offspring.

Severus leaned down towards his sons and spoke very seriously while they listened to him intently, "Whatever your individual abilities may be, it is of the utmost importance that you take me back to the exact moment in history which I left. As appreciative as I am of you both saving my life, I fear that if you do not return me soon, I may not have a life for you to save."

When Verinth and Albus blinked at Severus in horror, he added, "...Which means that neither of you will come to exist."

"Fix it!" Albus snapped at Verinth.

Verinth turned and hastily pulled out the damaged Time-Turner.

He frowned down at his desk while he pondered possible ways to repair the warped object.

Severus, Verinth, and Albus had been so focused on their conversation that they hadn't noticed the footsteps that came up the stairs and down the hallway.

It startled all three of them when the door to the boys' room swung open suddenly to reveal Harriet staring at them from the hall.

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Severus's blood ran cold in his veins.

"I didn't hear you come back, Sev." Harriet smiled at him as she placed a hand on the massive swell of her belly again, "You must have finished up quickly at Hogwarts."

Severus, Albus, and Verinth all stared at Harriet with wide eyes as if they had just been caught at a crime scene.

"It's sweet of you to spend some time with the boys." Harriet beamed at the man whom she recognized as her husband.

She spoke in a sterner voice as she turned to look at her oldest son, then her youngest, "...But Verinth, Albus, you two still have the same bedtime even though your father made it home earlier than expected. Both of you need to wash up and get to sleep."

"Yes, Mum." Verinth nodded obediently.

"Alright, Mummy." Albus said as he raised his hands up to his face.

"What's the matter with you three?" Harriet asked as she scowled at her husband and sons, "Come on then…….Sev?"

It occurred to Severus that whatever year he had traveled to must not have been terribly far from the one that he had left.

He hadn't aged enough that his two selves presented a noticeable contrast to Harriet.

Harriet had no idea that the Severus she was speaking to was the younger version of her mate as she shifted on her feet and waited impatiently for him to join her in the doorway.

"Yes….." Severus called out in a dry gasp. He swallowed to wet his tongue before he added in his velvety voice and assumed an acting role for the second time that evening, "...Of course…...my love."

Severus glared at Verinth and Albus as he walked towards the door to their room.

Once he stood by Harriet, he nodded at the boys and ordered, "You two heard your mother…..clean this mess up and get into bed, both of you."

"Sure, Dad." Verinth scowled.

Albus blinked before Harriet smiled softly at her sons and reminded them, "We're down the hall if you need us, alright, little ones?"

After Verinth and Albus nodded, Harriet closed the door to their room and turned to Severus with a happy smile that invoked the subtle suggestion of fatigue.

As he stood in the hallway, alone with a very pregnant Harriet Potter, er, Harriet Snape…...Severus had no idea what to say or do.

His current feelings towards Harriet had no bearing on the high regard that he held for an innocent, unborn child, not to mention the mortal dread that he felt as he fretted over when the omega in front of him was due to give birth?

What if Harriet collapsed in pain and he was forced to assist her?

What if Harriet-

"Come on, Sev." She said with a smile as she took his hand in hers, "You know it doesn't do to keep me waiting when I have a craving." Harriet said with a laugh while she walked Severus down the hallway and into the large bedroom at its end.

Ah, that would give him something to do.

He could go down to the kitchen and bring her something to eat.

Severus didn't know much about pregnancy, but he did understand that it was important for expectant mothers to get their nutrition.

That would also allow him an excuse to step away and catch his breath for a moment.

"What are you craving….my love?... Tell me and I'll gladly bring it to you at once." Severus said as he feigned a hint of sentiment in his low purr of a voice.

Once they made it to their bedroom, Harriet closed their door and walked over to him.

Severus managed to give Harriet the same half-smile that he had shown Voldemort hours earlier, but she didn't return his expression.

Her emerald eyes glowed with determined hunger as she stared up into his pale face.

Before Severus could stop her, Harriet stood up on her toes and crushed her lips against his.

Severus's instinctive urge was to push her away, but the softness of her lips and the scent of the one that was to one day be his quickly eradicated his initial qualm.

He was so unaccustomed to touch that Harriet activated every nerve ending in his face as she continued her affectionate onslaught and very tenderly cupped his cheek with one of her warm hands.

Severus had never been kissed.

Severus had never been loved, but Harriet's gesture was the epitome of the word as she groaned softly against his lips.

The intimate noise elicited a startling response from him as he felt an unwelcome jolt of arousal shoot through his groin.

"You, Sev~." Harriet whispered as she pulled back to look into his eyes again while the firm swell of her belly bumped between them, "I'm craving you~."

Severus frowned at Harriet incredulously while he furrowed his brow.

Her green gaze shimmered with hopeful anticipation as she renewed their kiss and caught his lips with hers once more.

Severus Snape had never harbored romantic inclinations towards Harriet Potter.

Perhaps it was her wickedly sweet scent that attracted him for some primal reason, or the innocent curve of her belly that he felt a vexing need to protect, or maybe it was how badly she seemed to want him, but Severus had a feeling that he may not be able to catch his breath that night, after all……..