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 had been startled by the rabbit, that was all.
He knew that he hadn't heard Harriet correctly.
"...I beg your pardon?" He asked his wife with an incredulous scowl.
"You've won the election!" Harriet gasped happily as she gaped at Severus, "Sev!...You've been chosen as the new Minister for Magic!"
Severus still didn't believe the words that came out of his bride's mouth.
As he strode over to her, she surrendered the letter for his review.
Severus took the parchment from Harriet and allowed his black eyes to scan over the page:
To my friend, Mr. Severus Snape,
I remain greatly indebted to you for your generous assistance over these past few months, Severus. This letter is to inform you that your campaign has proven to be successful! You have been chosen by the people of Britain's wizarding society as the next Minister for Magic. While you are more than eligible to accept your new position, I understand that family and privacy remain your top priorities. All you need to do is send a letter of polite refusal and the office will be given to the election's runner-up. Please send your reply to me by tomorrow morning so that I can announce the results to the people and inform the next leader of our government.
Sincerely,
Kingsley Shacklebolt, Minister for Magic
Severus glanced up at Harriet with an anguished expression on his pale face that looked as serious and as tense as the ones he had worn during the war.
"Congratulations, Sev." Harriet asked as she gave her husband a gentle smile, "...What do you think?"
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Severus thought that it was time for Maggie to go to bed.
He aided Harriet and Disencan with settling his little girl down to sleep as he frowned.
Severus thought that he needed to thank Disencan for his assistance, which he did, also with a frown.
Severus then thought that it was time for himself and Harriet to seek out their own respite.
As he stood in their bedroom, his wife watched him undress while she laid in the nest that she had declined to deconstruct after her heat.
She smiled as she watched the frown stay on her alpha's face.
"It shows that you're the best man for the job, Sev, the way you've taken the news so seriously." Harriet commented with a soft smile.
Severus looked over at his wife with his brow furrowed as if she'd just said something obscene to him.
"...I don't expect you to accept the position." Harriet sighed as she moved in her nest, "...I just couldn't help but say that out loud."
"I am not a person who takes duty lightly." Severus answered in a low drawl as he pulled his nightshirt on and fastened his sleeping trousers.
"That's one of the reasons why I fell in love with you." Harriet smiled.
As Severus looked at Harriet, the election seemed to vanish from his mind.
After he padded over to her nest, she pulled the blankets back to gladly welcome him next to her.
A soft sigh escaped Harriet's lips as Severus laid down amongst the plush blankets and soft pillows to scoop her into his arms.
Harriet held onto him while she closed her eyes and breathed in her alpha's soothing scent.
That evening, Severus's smell reminded her of aged parchment, smoked leather, and bright lavender.
Oppositely, the sweetness of Harriet's scent forced him to swallow the excess saliva that gathered in his mouth while he held his beloved mate close.
"...Are you very tired, my love?" Severus asked in a solicitous purr.
He couldn't wait to have Harriet writhing under his hands, but as deep as his longing ran, he would respect her needs if she told him she was too exhausted to tolerate his affections.
"Not nearly tired enough to turn away from you, Sev~..." Harriet teased while she nuzzled against his chest.
Severus trailed his fingers over his wife's back while she made sure to let her body roll against his in slow, gentle movements as she spoke, "Although, I can already feel my energy waning…….Carrying your children is no simple task….Do you remember how tired I was with Maggie? All I could do towards the end was lie in my nest and depend on you."
Depend on you……..
Harriet knew that musing about her own inevitable helplessness would send Severus's alpha instincts gnawing away at him.
She struggled not to smirk as she beheld the evidence that her guess had been correct.
As Severus stared at Harriet, she saw his black eyes glisten like molten ore as he oscillated between tender devotion and possessive pride.
"...Your breasts will fill with milk again." Severus whispered in his velvet purr as he kissed Harriet softly.
She noticed how delicate but purposeful his touch was, as if he were driven by primal need while he clutched onto his chivalrous civility by a thread.
Harriet draped her arms over her husband's shoulders as she whispered into their kiss, eager to stoke the flames of his wants and reap the rewards that would follow, "...I'll let you have as much as you want, Sev……..As best I can, anyway….you know how heavy and round I'll-Aaah!"
Harriet's words gave way to a little cry as Severus's fingertips brushed over her sensitive nipples.
The gentle motion made the sensation a decadent torture for Harriet.
An unreadable look clouded Severus's pale face.
Harriet allowed herself to become ensnared by the thrill of the thoughts that she assumed danced in his mind.
"Your brazenness never ceases to amaze me….." Severus drawled as he waved his hand and vanished Harriet's nightgown.
She bit her lip while he ran a single fingertip down the valley between her breasts all the way to her navel as he admired her body as it lay underneath him.
Severus bent his head and placed a gentle, loving kiss on the lower portion of Harriet's flat belly.
He laid his ear against her abdomen for a moment as she cautiously allowed her fingers to tangle in his black hair.
Severus moved his head to stare up at her.
She smiled sweetly at him before he placed another kiss against her flesh.
Harriet sighed and closed her eyes.
Another kiss, and another, and another……
She became aware that his lips moved down a bit lower each time, but her eyes didn't snap open until she felt a rush of cool air hit her center as Severus vanished her panties.
Harriet took a deep breath in as she stared up at her powerful, dominant lover and watched him grip her thighs firmly in his hands.
Severus held eye contact with his wife as he eased her legs over his shoulders and moved forward.
Harriet's hands left his hair to knot in the blankets of her nest as she felt his tongue dare to taste her.
She threw her head back as Severus wasted little time in moving straight to the delicate, rosy apex of her womanhood.
Harriet groaned as her legs squeezed her alpha tightly while he sent her on her blissful journey.
Her cries became more desperate as her peak approached and Severus tightened his grip as the moment rushed to meet them.
Harriet let out one strangled gasp that they both knew would be followed by a moan so arousing that Severus would be unable to deny himself any further.
In the instant before he lost control, as Harriet soared through galaxies of happiness, he whispered into her mind…..
You're mine, Harriet Snape, for now and forever.
You're mine and I am yours, body, heart, and soul.
Harriet crashed back to earth from her exhilaration and let her legs slip off of Severus's shoulders to display herself in a welcoming gesture.
He gave her one last delicious tug as he pulled back and moved to settle his hips over hers while he freed his arousal from the confines of his trousers.
Harriet watched Severus lick herself off of his lips as he lifted one of her legs and kissed his way down the inside of her thigh.
Tears welled in Severus's dark eyes at the cry he elicited from Harriet's lips as he entered the wet, warm bliss that his wife had become.
Harriet clung to him there, in the safety of their bedroom, while he continued to place delicate kisses on her skin as he filled her emptiness.
She clutched onto her alpha and breathed in his scent.
Her eyes closed while she willed herself to memorize how wonderful her existence felt at that exact moment.
Young and in love, mating with her alpha while their daughter slept down the hall and their next child thrived inside her womb…...
The next cry that came from Harriet's throat wasn't solely derived from the physical pleasure that her second climax brought.
As Severus buried his face in the crook of her neck and groaned through his own release, Harriet clutched him close.
"I love you, Severus….." Harriet whispered to her alpha, "I love you…….."
When Severus stilled and reluctantly withdrew from her intimate embrace, the kiss they shared was as meaningful as their lovemaking.
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Morning arrived and Harriet woke to find herself on Severus's shoulder as he lay propped up against a mountain of pillows.
She moved her head slightly and noticed that he was already awake.
Severus looked at his mate lovingly and asked in his gentle baritone, "Good morning, my love...how are you feeling?"
"Good morning….." Harriet yawned. She reached up and gave him a gentle kiss before she settled back down on his chest with a contented sigh as she replied, "I'm perfectly fine…..better than fine, actually, after how you treated me last night."
A proud smirk curled Severus's lips as he stroked his wife's arm for a moment.
His smirk disappeared as he asked Harriet, "Are you nauseous at all?...Light-headed?...Don't hide your suffering from me. I aided you with Maggie, I can do the same this time as well."
"I'm fine, Sev, I promise." Harriet nodded as she looked up at Severus with a soft smile, "It's still early on, but so far, I've been a bit more fortunate with this one."
Severus kissed Harriet's forehead before she reminded him, "...You need to send your reply to Kingsley."
"My answer will only take a moment to write." He quipped.
Severus stared at Harriet as she sat up.
"Are you going to…...throw it away that easily, then?" She asked.
"...Throw what away?" Severus asked as he narrowed his eyes.
"Sev, you won the election!" Harriet laughed.
"The sham election." He corrected her, "As shocked as I was by the results, Kingsley knows well enough that I have no intention of taking office."
"You've been voted in, though!" Harriet pressed, "You have a responsibility to the people!"
"I have a responsibility to my pregnant wife!" Severus snapped as he sat up to be level with Harriet, "And to my daughter…...and to my household…...and to my own happiness, which I haven't spent a very large portion of my life seeking, thank you very much, Mrs. Snape."
Harriet scowled for a moment before Severus added, "You and I fought for a long time to have this life, this house…...this love. I won't abandon those things in search of power or fame."
"It won't be much of a search. You're already rather famous, Sev." Harriet chuckled, "I am too…...Look, I know what it feels like to be chosen, believe it or not. We wouldn't have to give up our home, or our children, or our way of life…...and certainly not our love, if you decide to accept."
Severus glared at Harriet as he clambered out of her nest and started to dress for the day.
While he moved around the room, he felt his wife's emerald eyes follow him.
He turned towards her when he could bear it no more and asked in a vexed sigh, "...You really expect me to pursue this, don't you?"
"There's loads of people we could help, Sev." Harriet replied with a shrug, "I hardly think the runner-up can be trusted, whichever one that is….They're both terrible and you know it."
Severus sighed again as he stared at Harriet while she promised him, "I'll be with you every step of the way."
He looked anguished until Harriet stood from her nest and walked over to him, nude.
"Every step of the way……" She repeated as she took his pale face into her hands.
Harriet stood on her toes and pressed a loving kiss to his lips as his hands found her waist.
Severus took great comfort in holding his darling bride.
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He intended to resist Harriet's plea.
He had won the election, not her.
So what if he could help others?
So what if he knew in his heart that Harriet was right and he would truly make the best leader when compared with his opponents?
So what if the idea of being the most respected man in magical Britain did appeal to him after a lifetime of jaded rejection?
None of that influenced Severus at all, no.
It was Harriet's kiss and her encouraging vow that convinced him to write the words an hour later:
Dear Minister Shacklebolt,
My wife and I were pleasantly surprised by the results from the election. I remember well the nature of our agreement, yet I send to you this morning a formal statement of my acceptance.
I, Severus Snape, will serve as the new Minister for Magic.
Sincerely,
Severus Snape, Former Headmaster of Hogwarts and Potions Master, Minister for Magic-elect
Maggie cooed softly from Disencan's arms while her father placed the parchment in an envelope and sealed it with hot wax.
Harriet took Severus's hand as the family watched an owl fly off into the morning sky on its way to deliver the letter to Kingsley that would forever change their lives.