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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Severus barely said a word to Harriet as he opened the door to his old dungeon chambers, cast her a glance, and gestured inside.
Harriet walked through the door and turned around as she heard it close.
A frown crossed her face when she saw that Severus had chosen not to follow her.
She sighed as she heard the soft sounds of his footsteps down the hallway in the opposite direction.
Harriet was ashamed to admit that at first, she was a little uneasy after he left. His old dungeon quarters that he had gifted to her were dark and drafty and anything but welcoming.
The word foreboding was a compliment compared with how grim they actually appeared.
Harriet walked through the small living room and past the little kitchenette into the bedroom, which was large enough to have a desk over in the corner and a wardrobe by the back wall.
Harriet sat down on the bed, which she noticed that the house elves had already been kind enough to prepare for her using clean sheets.
Clean?
The dungeon rooms were clean, yes, but there was a pleasant, musky scent of old leather and warm vetiver that Scourgify hadn't been able to erase completely.
Harriet recognized that scent well.
It was the scent of an alpha.
More importantly, it was the scent of Severus~.
Although she was alone, all Harriet had to do was take a deep breath in and she felt instantly comforted, as if she had some companionship in that lonely dungeon after all.
Harriet didn't realize that Severus had already noticed, but she had learned quite a bit about herself since their parting after the long summer they had spent together.
Harriet's hunch had been correct.
During the beginning of her second year in the auror training program, she presented as an omega.
It was of little issue to her. Harriet had immediately begun her Ministry recommended regimen of heat suppressants as soon as the truth revealed itself.
Besides saving her the inconvenience of suffering through heats, she really didn't think the pills mattered that much.
Harriet had been popular in school. During her Hogwarts days, she was well-admired by the boys and she was always surrounded by friends, but she had learned that the adult world was different.
Ron and Hermione had been busy marrying and starting a family. Neville was always looking after one plant or searching for another, and Luna was constantly traveling.
Ginny and George Weasley were often too busy to spend time with her besides send a letter. Harriet was busy too, but she was no longer in a dorm surrounded by her friends who were in similar situations, and there were many nights when she returned home to her empty flat that felt…….a void.
Harriet Potter had been amazingly unsuccessful in the wizarding dating world.
She had no shortage of alphas who were eager to take her to dinner, after which they would try to divest her of her clothes, but Harriet never felt like any of them ever really looked at her.
They looked at her name.
They looked at her heroic actions and the fame her feats had garnered.
At the young age of twenty, Harriet had all but discarded dating. She had abandoned hopes of finding a mate.
It was too complicated.
She had decided that she would adopt a pet once she graduated from the auror program and live her quiet life in her quiet flat, happy for her friends and all of their accomplishments.
After Severus left her alone in her new living chambers, Harriet spent an hour or two unpacking her things and setting up her new rooms.
She went into her lavatory and showered once her trunks were empty and her wardrobe drawers were full.
As she washed herself, she kept noticing how her thoughts wandered back to Severus's brooding stare.
While she stepped out of the shower, dried her hair and body, pulled her nightdress on, and crawled into her new bed, she took a deep breath as she pulled the covers up over herself.
It was even more prominent as she laid in bed…..the lingering scent of Severus.
The house elves had cleaned the chambers from ceiling to floor, of course they had.
The house elves had washed the sheets and polished the furniture and done all of the chores necessary with the intention of scrubbing the dungeon apartment of all lingering remembrance of its previous inhabitant, but Harriet was pleased that they had failed at their task.
She smiled gladly as she focused on Severus's scent while she closed her green eyes and drifted off to sleep.
The last thing that Harriet thought of before she lost consciousness was the look that he had given her before he turned and took his exit from the doorway to her new home.
That look, that harsh, unreadable stare across his pale face……..
That look that furrowed his eyebrows and made his black eyes glint and shoulder like molten ore……
What was that look?
Was that anger or jealousy or…….
Or was it…….longing~?
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Severus did not have Harriet's scent to comfort him as he paced miserably back and forth up in his own living area that was adjacent to his office.
He frowned to himself as he pulled his cloak around his shoulders to battle the evening chill.
What was he supposed to do?
There was nothing that he could do and therefore, nothing that he would do.
Harriet Potter had to come to work and to learn and Severus would make sure that she did both in ample amounts.
That was his task, he was the headmaster, the potions Professor again, and the mentor for the auror trainee sent to Hogwarts.
Work and learn so she could do well in her own eventual position and hopefully survive…... that was all that Harriet Potter had come to Hogwarts to accomplish.
Severus scowled to himself and mentally berated his own mind for the unspeakable thoughts that drifted through his plane of contemplation.
Wild and ridiculous ramblings of a tired man, that's all they were, Severus was sure of that.
He kept his scowl on his face as he readied for bed and laid down to try and rest.
Unlike Harriet, Severus's face was twisted by a frown as he slowly and tortuously fell asleep.
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Magic worked in some ways that even the most advanced and able wizards didn't fully understand.
While Harriet slept, Severus remained in her innermost thoughts and as her subconscious mind was freed in her slumber, the memories that she held of him met the desires that she refused to acknowledge.
In her sleep, Harriet's heart whispered to her and to Severus as they both found themselves deeply embedded in a mutual, vivid dream……...
Harriet was looking down at a cauldron right in front of herself on a long, wooden table. She stirred it slowly as it bubbled and simmered.
Somehow, from behind herself, Harriet was aware that she was no longer alone.
"It's ready to be consumed." Severus assessed as he peered over her shoulder at the potion she had brewed. He purposely let his indulgent whisper of a voice slip past her ear and cascade down her neck to tickle the sensitive area where the visible proof was displayed that Harriet had allowed Severus to claim her as his mate.
"That makes two of us, then~." Harriet chuckled as she let go of the ladle in the cauldron.
She sighed quietly as she felt Severus's elegant hands slide up her hips, then her sides, until they came to rest very gently on the swell that held the life they had created together, more unignorable evidence to the world of their love.
The tall alpha bent his head and wisps of his feathery, raven black hair ghosted across Harriet's flesh while he began to nip along her neck.
"S-Severus…….." Harriet breathed as his incisors needled against the softness of her skin while he kept one of his large, strong hands possessively splayed over her rounded womb. He slyly allowed the other to wander up and delicately cup her tender breasts.
Harriet heard Severus murmur something under his breath and she gasped as her clothes vanished, leaving her body naked and exposed to the cold, dungeon air.
Alone with her alpha in the empty room, Harriet heard Severus growl at how quickly her nipples pebbled under his fingertips in the chill. She whimpered as he let his hands slide to her sides and spin her to face him.
The pleased look in Harriet's emerald stare forced a scowl onto Severus's face as he wrapped her in his dark cloak and lifted her gently to sit her bare bottom down on the edge of the wooden table.
Severus's dark eyes glowered with lust as he scanned over his mate and begrudged himself for not being able to nibble her everywhere at once.
"Severus…..please….." Harriet whimpered as her mate deftly spread her knees and enveloped her in his cloak.
A loud gasp left Harriet's throat as Severus moved forward. In one fluid motion, he sheathed himself in her moistened center as his lips wrapped around one of her tender nipples.
The contents of the cauldron spilled onto the table as Severus began to pound into Harriet while he greedily suckled from her as if he were wanting to sample the milk that was already forming for their child.
"S-Severus!" Harriet cried out as she felt heat explode in her belly, edging outward to the entirety of her body while she grabbed fistfuls of his silky, black hair.
Severus growled and released his hold on Harriet's breasts in time to capture her lips in a rough, harsh kiss just before he felt her flutter around him while her pleasure crashed over her.
The sensation, along with her cries, took him over the edge……..
Harriet felt her lover's body go rigid, Severus felt her fingernails scratch his skin through his robes as she clung to him for support.
"You're mine, Potter~." Severus snarled in a husky, commanding whisper as he glanced down to admire his-
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As she woke alone in her bed, Harriet sat up and blinked at the time.
Dream, that lovely night had been a dream.
The last thing she remembered was the possessive look in Severus's eyes and the intoxicating depth of his commanding voice as he reminded her of their bond.
As she sat up in bed, Harriet was mortified when she noticed how wet the area between her legs had become.
While she rushed around and readied for the day, no matter how badly she tried to ignore the escape that her mind had offered her during the night, she couldn't help but relive the scene.
As she walked to breakfast and sat down at the professor's table beside the headmaster's chair in the Great Hall that morning, Harriet tried to hide the pink blush that still covered her cheeks.
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That alluring blush on Harriet's cheeks was the first thing that Severus remembered as he woke that morning.
He clenched his jaw at how badly his loins and his heart ached when he realized that his bed was empty.
Dream, that exquisite night had been a dream.
Dream or not, it was impossible for Severus to forget, the images had been seared into his brain.
The blush across Potter's face, her beautiful breasts, her creamy skin as she looked up at him with those pleading, trusting eyes the color of crushed emeralds…….
Severus scowled as he sat up in bed and looked around.
With a snarl of pure irritation, the headmaster also rose, readied, and quickly made his way to breakfast.
It was a very good thing that Severus and Harriet weren't sharing a table alone that morning.
Although they were seated side by side, from the moment that Severus appeared in the Great Hall, he and Harriet made every effort to speak with anyone but each other while they enjoyed their morning meal.
Neither Severus nor Harriet realized they had shared their imaginary, nighttime tryst, but both were horrified that the other may discover what each of them had involuntarily envisioned.
Severus was guilt-ridden.
How was he supposed to look Potter in the eyes after what he had spent the night fantasizing about doing to her?
Harriet was flustered beyond words.
How was she supposed to look Severus Snape in the eyes when she could still feel his lips on her skin and the pads of his fingertips tracing along her curves?
When breakfast was over, the others at the professors table took their leave, and Severus gathered the courage to finally scowl over at Harriet and snap, "Well? Let's be off then, shall we? There's work to be done, Potter."
Harriet nodded and replied, "Of course, sir, let's get off-"
Let's get off.
Severus threw Harriet a look as if she had just sworn obscenely at him.
Harriet's cheeks instantly burned bright red.
Severus narrowed his dark eyes to slits as he glared at the omega beside him.
Harriet sucked in a gasp of pure, unbridled embarrassment at the honest slip of her tongue.
"Er…..I meant to say, let's be off, sir. Sorry, my mind's not right, I didn't sleep well." Harriet stammered.
Severus stared at Harriet calculatingly as he rose from his seat. He straightened his back to let his tall, slender figure loom over as he retorted, "Perhaps you should brew some Sleeping Draught then…..Miss Potter. As my assistant, I need you to be….satisfied…….with the amount of sleep that you…..receive…...so that you will not fail me in your duties."
"Of course, sir." Harriet replied with a nod as her eyes held Severus's intense, calculating gaze.
Severus turned on his heel and strode away so hastily that Harriet wasn't sure if he had made his own honest error, or if he had meant that as an innuendo, but she was so humiliated that she almost considered dropping out of the auror program.
Both Severus and Harriet were mortified, yet that morning, both of them clung to the sweet memories of that pleasant dream that neither knew the other had seen.