Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!
—
Harriet spent the night asleep in Severus's arms, as they lay in the nest that she had made on his bed.
Headmaster Snape didn't have to worry the next morning about his assistant showing up for class on time since they rose and readied for the day together.
Harriet wondered to herself what Severus would end up announcing to the students and staff of Hogwarts.
To Harriet's surprise, he wasted little time in making a formal statement about the events of the weekend.
After they walked into the Great Hall that morning for breakfast, Severus stepped up to the podium and took it upon himself as headmaster to address the many and ever changing rumors that had furiously circulated through the school over the weekend.
When Severus stood and peered over the crowded tables, with his black robes hanging elegantly down by his sides, a respectful hush fell over the crowd as everyone quieted in eager anticipation of what their strict leader had to say.
"I would like to firstly remind….everyone…about the importance of maintaining proper conduct and adhering to school rules." Severus spoke in his low rumble of a voice, "Should those rules be ignored...or violated…. and the culprits identified, those responsible are subject to punishment at the staffs' discretion, with the heavy seriousness and grim reality of potential expulsion."
Harriet noticed that while Severus spoke, an alarming amount of students kept glancing over at her as if they were silently seeking to confirm their own suspicions.
When Severus paused, a hand shot into the air from the Slytherin table.
Severus nodded over towards the boy to which the hand belonged, silently granting the student permission to speak.
"Is that what happened to our prefect, Headmaster?" The boy asked with a frown, "Was he expelled?"
"Any transgressions committed and punishments distributed will be kept confidential to protect the potential victims of such offenses and to not glorify those responsible." Severus replied in his steady purr, "I have no comment on the whereabouts of your former prefect, Mr. Glassing, I can only tell you that he, and his friends whom some of you may have noticed are also missing, remain unharmed. However, a new prefect for Slytherin will be chosen within the next week."
When Severus concluded that interesting statement, instead of more anxious silence, hundreds of speculative whispers erupted across each of the house tables, but Severus spoke over all of them, "If…..you will all mind the rules that have been put into place for safety and the furtherment of your own education….then you have nothing to fear. Enjoy your meal this morning and see that you arrive at your first class of the day on time."
The whispers that had momentarily quieted came roaring back in full force when Severus walked away from his podium and returned to his seat at the High Table beside Harriet.
The majority of students were disappointed by their headmaster's statement.
He hadn't given out any details about what had happened to cause a prefect and his friends to no longer be seen at the castle.
He hadn't said a word about his recovery from alleged ill health or what assistance Harriet had offered him in his enfeebled state….
Severus didn't feel that the details of the past few days concerned the general population of Hogwarts and so, he chose to omit them.
It made Harriet feel a bit uncomfortable, the way one particular group of second year girls from Gryfinndor glanced between her and Severus while they giggled and discussed their own theories about what had transpired between the headmaster and his assistant over the weekend.
Regardless, it did make her embarrassingly proud that others knew, even if only by supposition, that Severus may very well be her alpha.
—
Every potions class at Hogwarts was very compelling that day.
Harriet performed her usual duties and assisted Severus in any way possible, but she found that she had a hard time doing so unhampered.
If she and Severus were close to each other, the entire class struggled to stifle their giggles.
When Harriet walked around the room and asked if anyone needed help, she constantly heard either her name or Severus's being whispered back and forth in excited, frantic tones.
Severus was not blind to the unwarranted focus on himself and Harriet either, but he was much less tolerant of it than his omega.
When Headmaster Snape came gliding past the tables of students in his classroom, the conversations suddenly became diligently focused on the subject matter of the current lesson.
By the end of the day, Harriet was fairly certain that each house had indeed pieced together most of what had happened, starting with Elion's deceit and ending with her lying in Severus's embrace.
Once the final class was over and the last student had left the room, Harriet glanced over at Severus while he sat at his desk at the front of the room and gave him an odd look.
"Is there some way in which I can help you, Potter?" Severus asked, not looking up from the parchment he was reading.
His words weren't particularly kind, but his low voice was softer than Harriet had expected.
"They talked about us all day." Harriet sighed in exasperation.
"Gossip is an unfortunately popular pastime among students." Severus replied with a shrug, "I can't limit their ability to discuss…...matters….with each other. That is not against Hogwarts' rules…... as you well know."
"...Why didn't you say anything about us?" Harriet asked Severus bluntly.
It wasn't that Harriet had expected or even wanted Severus to make any kind of public acknowledgement about what had happened between them.
Actually, the notion of voicing such a private matter seemed ridiculous when she thought about it.
No, what Harriet really wanted was for Severus himself, her alpha, to say it to her.
That was what she needed to hear.
Severus stared at her with an unreadable look for a tense moment before he shrugged and replied, "I didn't think that there was a particular need…...I'm sure I don't have to remind you that the headmaster's personal life, along with any other staff member's private affairs, are none of the students' concern, as long as those matters don't interfere with their learning environment or daily life."
Silence fell between them in the empty dungeon.
Severus glanced down at the document in front of himself when Harriet cleared her throat to speak.
"...Are you ashamed of me?" Harriet asked quickly.
Severus looked up at Harriet as if she had struck him a violent blow.
He enunciated his words very carefully as he replied, "No…...I'm a private individual who doesn't want others meddling where they don't belong, particularly an overzealous group of rambunctious, giggling youths."
Harriet adjusted her glasses while Severus went on, "Tell me, Potter, did you expect me to boast and brag of our escapades to the entire school this morning?"
"No, of course not." Harriet replied.
"Is that what you were expecting?" Severus asked.
"No, that's not what I meant." Harriet sighed as she walked over and began the daily task of tidying the classroom.
Severus smirked at the slight irritation that he saw on Harriet's face.
As he watched her bend over to collect the parchment rolls that had been left on one of the tables, he silently rose from his desk.
It was startling to Harriet how swiftly Severus was able to move.
She gasped when she heard his velvety voice whisper into her ear as he suddenly stood behind her while she was still bent over the table, "I think it's more than apparent now what exists between us, Potter~."
The closeness of her alpha made the hair on the back of Harriet's neck raise as a delicious tingle ran down her spine.
She straightened up and bumped gently against Severus.
"What does exist between us, headmaster?" Harriet asked hopefully.
She heard the heavy thud of the dungeon classroom door shutting and assumed correctly that Severus had closed it with a single flick of his wand.
Harriet listened to the faint sound of fabric rustling as Severus slipped his wand back into the pockets of his robes and the next thing she knew, the lightest of touches landed on her hips as he dared to place his hands on her sides.
"Are you attempting to play cat and mouse with me, Potter~?" Severus purred as his calloused palms began to idly drift over Harriet.
She noticed that he purposely stayed away from her breasts and her center, seemingly content with teasing her as he pulled her against him in a possessive grasp.
Harriet gasped as Severus spun her without warning so that they faced each other.
A few strands of Severus's black hair fell into his face as he looked down at Harriet, deep into her green eyes, and watched her gently rest her hands on his chest.
"Have you not yet considered what the consequences of our actions may be? What could very well exist between us as a result of these past few days?" Severus asked Harriet very seriously.
Harriet laughed at him after she studied the gravely solemn look on his face.
Her reaction seemed to irritate Severus and he scowled at his omega.
Harriet was still smiling as she dismissed his concerns, "I've taken pills to stop my heats for over a year now. They weren't washed out of my system with one dose from a potion. There's nothing to worry about. I even swallowed a pill on the morning of the ball, that will stop any….consequences….from existing."
"...And if it doesn't?" Severus questioned as his obsidian stare bored into Harriet.
"It will, though." Harriet replied with a confident smirk.
In that smug look that crossed her face, Severus got a glimpse of the familiar arrogance that used to repulse him. He smirked haughtily back at her as he replied, "I'm not sure if you're aware of this or not, Potter, but heat suppressants have….no effect…. on fertility."
Severus tried not to grin openly as he watched Harriet's eyes widen while she stared up at him in shock.
"Don't look at me that way." Severus replied calmly as he noticed the color drain from Harriet's face, "Would bearing my pup be such a terrible fate?"
"...You don't seem like the kind of alpha who would take very kindly to fatherhood." Harriet replied dejectedly.
"I'm your alpha~." Severus answered in a low purr.
"Can you tell me something?" Harriet asked.
Severus raised an eyebrow at her and waited for her to ask.
"What did happen to Elion? And his friends?" Harriet curiously inquired.
Severus looked at her for some time before he spoke.
"They will never set foot in Hogwarts….again…..nor will their children, nor their grandchildren, nor their great-grandchildren." Severus replied triumphantly.
He had originally planned on taking Harriet back to their chambers first, but the pout on her pink lips and the look in her green eyes proved to be too irresistible.
Severus inclined his head and stole a kiss from his darling.
He anticipated that it would be brief, so he was pleasantly surprised when she raised a hand and laid it lovingly against his pale cheek.
After a couple moments of slow, loving kisses, Severus managed to wrench himself away from his omega long enough to escort her to their rooms.
Their conversation hung heavy between them, but it was a pleasant sort of weight, free of dread and full of excitement.
Severus made some tea for them both and they sat together on the sofa in his living room, wrapped up in a warm, soft blanket to ward off the evening chill.
It was quiet then, except for the sound of their lips meeting and the crackling of embers while they exchanged lazy kisses in front of the slow-burning fireplace.
—
Far away from Hogwarts, another fireplace crackled in front of a dark, leather chair while two brooding men stared into the flames.
"You will rectify your mistakes." The older man ordered as he paced across the wooden floor.
"I will rectify my errors, Father, yes. I refuse to disappoint you again. You can count on me." The younger man who sat in the leather chair answered confidently.
"See that you do! Someone has to stand up for what's right…...stomp out the traitors! It's the only decent action, Elion." The older man insisted.
"Of course, Father." Elion Dacre nodded.
The older man walked out of the room and left Elion sitting alone as he stared into the flames and mused over several promising ideas.
Elion Dacre felt that fire was an amusing thing.
It didn't matter if a badger or a snake or a lion or a raven was thrown into the licking flames…...
Everyone burned.
—
While Elion sat brooding, his replacement was chosen, a bright boy with bright yellow hair, as Slytherin house's new prefect.
Harriet was careful not to let her upper arms touch against her sides while she clapped that morning at breakfast when the announcement was made.
She couldn't stand the painful contact of something touching her chest, just the feeling of her robes resting against her skin was nearly too much.
It had been a little over a week since she and Severus had returned to their posts and Harriet kept waiting for her menstrual cycle to follow her heat, but it hadn't arrived.
She had really started to feel the torture of waiting during the previous couple of days.
Harriet had to be mindful of how she laid down at night, how she showered, and what clothing she wore.
She had purposely avoided Severus, not wanting to draw attention to the subject, but really, her breasts had become so sore it was almost intolerable….