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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Britain's wizarding world was launched into chaos the moment that Kingsley Shacklebolt made the announcement declaring Severus Snape's victory.
Severus stood beside the Minister that morning, with Harriet next to him, and Maggie clutched in her arms while cameras flashed, journalists shouted their questions, and shocked chatter rippled throughout the crowd.
Harriet decided not to reach out and hold her alpha's hand, but when she noticed that Severus bristled at all of the attention, she took a step forward to silently signal her support.
The news had made the reporters seemingly feral as they clawed past each other to sling their inquiries at the new Minister elect.
"Severus Snape! What do you intend to change during your time in office?!"
"Are you worried about this affecting your family life?!"
"We heard your wife is expecting again! What do you think will be most challenging about welcoming a baby in the public eye?!"
Severus scowled at that last question, but before he could attempt to defend himself from the journalists' onslaught, Kingsley clamped a hand down on his shoulder and loudly announced, "Severus and I will be in my office for the rest of the day! We will take interviews there, one at a time."
"One at a time!" Kingsley repeated as the band of hungry reporters chased them while they walked off of the platform.
As Kingsley ushered him along, Severus looked over, and swept Harriet under his arm.
His long, black cloak draped protectively around her and Maggie as they walked down the narrow, back hallway of the Ministry, stepped inside a private lift, and began their journey to the Minister's office.
As Harriet and Severus glanced at each other, they both contemplated how odd it seemed that the Ministry itself would soon become their secondary home.
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Kinglsey brought the Snapes to his private chambers as he opened the door and welcomed them inside.
Harriet and Severus had both visited the Minister's office previously, but that day it felt…...different…..to walk into the room.
During his time at his post, Kinglsey had decorated the space with bright rugs and bold, embroidered tapestries.
He chuckled as he watched a disapproving scowl form on Severus's face while he looked around.
"Don't worry, Severus. When I leave the office, my things will be coming with me." Kingsley reassured him as he sat down on one of the tufted, blue sofas across from his desk. He politely motioned for his guests to do the same, "You'll be free to outfit this room in whatever style you choose."
Harriet flashed Kingsley a knowing smile while she sat down and placed Maggie on her lap.
Severus frowned as he followed his wife and took a seat beside her.
Maggie blinked while Kinglsey looked at the little family with a smile.
His eyes focused on Severus as he remarked, "You never cease to surprise me, Severus! I was certain that you had only wanted to help me….I never imagined you would consider taking on the role yourself…..However, the election results were not at all what I expected."
"Yes, well, I may very well not have accepted this station, Minister Shacklebolt." Severus drawled, "Had it not been for my wife……."
Harriet shifted on the sofa while a proud grin danced across her lips.
"So it was Mrs. Snape that convinced you?" Kinglsey asked Severus.
"It was Mrs. Snape that reminded me of what a grave misstep it would be for me to refuse office." Severus nodded, "I don't feel the other candidates would have fared well in the position."
"Well, I agree with Harriet that you're the best man out of the three for the job." Kingsley nodded, "Hunklebart is exactly as they say……." He smirked, "...A well-bred simpleton…...You know that I fought for the Order during the war and I would have laid down my life if that's what it would have come to…..I have nothing against muggles, but Shangleharn's idea of uniting our world with theirs is pure madness…...Besides that catastrophe, who can say what other imbecilic ideas he would have tried to implement during his time in office?"
Harriet smiled in amusement, but Severus nodded very seriously.
"Regardless," Kingsley went on, "I can tell you it genuinely pleases me that you won, Severus. During the next three months, while you prepare to take office, we'll work on the transition together. I'll show you what I've learned, if you'll allow me?"
"Of course." Severus nodded.
"Excellent." Kingsley smiled, "Then when the day comes for you to be sworn in, I'll politely retire and you can shoulder the burden!" Kingsley finished with a laugh.
Harriet and Severus glanced at each other for a second.
When Mrs. Snape saw the worry on her husband's face, she gave him a confident grin.
Kinglsey spoke again and called their attention back as he asked, "Tell me, Severus, was that reporter right?"
"Which one?" Severus asked in a low drawl.
Kingsley slyly hinted, "The one that mentioned Harriet is….."
"Oh, yes!" Harriet nodded with a bright, happy smile as she interjected, "Yes, he was right, we're expecting again!"
"...What an interesting journey that will be." Kingsley mused as he grinned widely at the couple.
"I beg your pardon, Minister Shacklebolt?" Severus frowned.
"Well, perhaps it happened long ago and the records have been lost….." Kingsley shrugged, "...But no Minister in recent history has had a child born to him in office, Severus. You and Harriet will constantly be front page news."
Severus looked over at Harriet in silent horror as she reached out and clasped his hand while they sat there on the sofa.
Pregnant, proud, and happy, Harriet grinned at her alpha, eager to face the challenges that the coming months would bring.
A scowl of worry marred Severus's pale face as he stared at his beloved mate.
He had no intention of keeping his family exposed to the snapping jaws of magical Britain's journalism industry.
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The day had been long and full of excitement.
Once the Snapes returned home that evening, Disencan waved through the window as soon as he saw them approach the house.
Harriet and Maggie waved back in response.
The door opened a moment later and after they all stepped inside, the little family shared a brief moment of reunion until Harriet walked with Disencan to put Maggie to bed.
Before Harriet carried her down the hallway to her nursery, Severus sweetly kissed his little girl on the cheek.
Exhausted and ready to have Harriet in his arms, he went to the bedroom that he shared with his wife, changed out of his robes, cleaned himself, and laid down in bed.
When Harriet came into the room a few minutes later, his dark gaze focused on her the moment she walked through the doorway.
"Hey, Sev." Harriet greeted her lover with a yawn.
"Please do your best to hurry, Mrs. Snape." Severus purred in his velvet voice, "I've waited long enough for you to warm my bed."
Harriet felt a throb of arousal rush to her groin as she glanced over at her alpha with a coy smirk, raised an eyebrow, and quipped, "You've waited for me?...To warm your bed?...It's my nest!"
"...And you're my omega." Severus reasoned in a possessive growl.
Harriet didn't even bother with her nightgown.
She undressed and walked over to the bed with her naked form on full display.
Harriet knew that Severus would appreciate her better like that, nude and ready for him.
As she slid under the covers, it made her heart ache to feel how tenderly he held her in his arms as he swept her against him and lovingly kissed her lips.
Despite her own exhaustion, Harriet had been ready to satisfy her alpha's needs, whatever they may have been.
As Severus cradled her in his arms and let their lips crash together, sweetly, deeply, fiercely, it made Harriet smile to think that after his long, grueling day of intrigue and excitement, all he really wanted was to cuddle and kiss her.
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The Minister-elect slept incredibly well that night, at peace with his life and soothed by the sweet scent of his pregnant omega.
Severus didn't move until he heard Harriet's voice whispering his name with hushed urgency the next morning.
"Sev!...Sev!...SEV!"
A snoring grunt came from his throat as Severus cracked his dark eyes open and blinked at his mate, who stared down at him with her eyes wide in anxious shock.
"Sev, get up! Come quickly! I'm not sure what to do!" Harriet hissed in a desperate whisper.
The look of bewildered surprise on her face made him sit bolt upright in bed.
He frowned for a moment while he pulled on his heavy robe and murmured, "What...What's the matter?...What's wrong, my love?...Is it the child?"
"No!" Harriet answered as she pulled her own robe more tightly around her shoulders in the morning chill while she went on, "It's Maggie! She-"
Severus left the room so quickly that Harriet didn't have any time at all to finish her explanation.
He charged past his wife with a scowl, glided through the open doorway of their bedroom, and traipsed down the hallway towards Maggie's nursery.
Severus narrowed his dark eyes to slits when he noticed the tracks of dirt on the floor.
From what he could see, those tracks came from the direction of the kitchen and led straight into…..Maggie's room.
As Severus burst into his daughter's nursery, ready to battle whatever foe he encountered, Harriet caught up to him, placed her hands on his arm imploringly, and whispered, "Sev!...Be quiet!...She's still sleeping!"
Severus glanced over his shoulder to scowl down incredulously at his bride.
The tracks of dirt ended just in front of Maggie's cot.
Most children her age already slept in small beds, but Harriet and Severus had followed the healer's advice about their daughter's sleeping location.
Although Harriet and Severus had never abandoned their hopes that little Maggie would learn to walk one day, the possibility of her falling out of bed in the middle of the night terrified them both.
Severus held his menacing scowl as he cautiously crept forward, with Harriet at his side, and peered down into Maggie's cot.
He felt Harriet's grip on his arm tighten,
His dark eyes widened at what he saw.
Maggie laid there, on her back, peacefully asleep with a sweet smile on her adorable face, but she wasn't alone that morning.
Beside her, that huge, scraggly rabbit from the garden, with one eye missing and bits of fur lost, calmly slumbered on as if its natural place was next to her.
Maggie had one hand on the rabbit and the monstrous animal had one of its mangled ears draped protectively across her.
"How did it get in?!" Harriet hissed to Severus in a breathless whisper.
Severus furrowed his brow as he wondered about the answer to his wife's question before she asked the next, "...What are we supposed to do?!"