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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Harriet hadn't anticipated that her morning excursion would cause any sort of lingering problem.
It had only been a few hours since she had fed her son, what difference would it make?
She quickly understood exactly how serious her offense against her body and her baby had been as she carried a sharp, stinging ache in her breasts for the rest of the day.
Little Sev continued on his usual feeding schedule, but that failed to alleviate Harriet's discomfort, much to her horror.
Her breasts grew alarmingly bigger, her flesh reddened, and by that evening, she felt the clammy beginnings of a fever flush her cheeks.
Harriet had managed to conceal her discomfort from Severus until he walked into their son's room that night and found her rocking Little Sev.
Tears of pain streamed down her cheeks as their baby nursed.
His plans to confront Ingrid were quickly cast aside.
"My love!" Severus cried as he glided towards her, "My love!...What's the matter?!...Why do you weep?!...Are you not feeling like yourself again?"
Severus's pale face clouded with anxious worry as dread bloomed in his heart.
Had Ingrid's spell not been successful?
Was Harriet still suffering under the burden of curses?
"No…..it's not that." Harriet sighed as she laid her head back against the rocking chair and closed her eyes.
"Then tell me what troubles you this instant!" Severus commanded.
His words seemed authoritative, but the undertone in his deep voice sounded indescribably soft.
As he gazed at Harriet, his black eyes glimmered with sympathetic anguish and a deep longing to help ease whatever discomfort his mate felt.
"Sev, it's so painful….It hurts!" Harriet sighed as she opened her eyes and glanced down at their baby, "It's like he's pulling glass through my breasts and I…..I think I'm falling ill."
Severus's frown melted into a scowl of grave concern as he lifted a hand and pressed it against Harriet's forehead.
He had assumed her tears had initiated the flush of her cheeks, but as soon as he felt the warmth that radiated from her, his dark eyes widened.
Severus wondered whether or not he should halt his son's meal and seek out some sort of substitute, frightened his little one may catch his mate's sickness.
Before he took drastic action either way, he quickly sent out a request to have a healer visit their cottage as soon as possible.
Less than fifteen minutes later, a knock fell on the Snape family's front door.
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The emergency healer who had come to examine Harriet was a kind, older witch with a soothing voice and gentle hands.
By the time she escorted Harriet to her nest, Little Sev had finished his meal and lay protectively swaddled in his father's arms.
"Alright, then, love, let me have a look at you." The healer whispered as her patient lay back against the pillows, shaking and trembling.
Harriet let out a sigh and closed her eyes as the healer slowly moved her wand over her body in a head to toe diagnostic magical scan.
Severus watched anxiously from his seat at Harriet's bedside as the healer quickly completed her enchantment and asked, "Your husband mentioned you were having pain, my dear?"
"Yes….." Harriet said tensely with her eyes still shut tightly.
"And where is your pain, love?" The healer patiently smiled.
"My breasts……" Harriet whispered.
"Have you had any trouble with the little one lately?" The healer asked.
"No….." Harriet sighed as she opened her eyes, "I……I ran an errand today….it took longer than I expected and by the time I came back, it hurt….Merlin's Beard, it hurt!"
"Do you mind if I have a look?" The healer asked Harriet in a calm whisper.
Severus's frown deepened as he watched his mate's face contort in misery as she sat up in bed and grit her teeth while she slowly unbuttoned her robes.
The healer began her visual examination as Severus's eyes widened in shock.
He had never seen his wife's breasts so…..full.
Harriet's chest had nearly doubled in size, the skin shiny and coloured a disturbing shade of angry red.
Tears welled in her emerald eyes while the healer completed her next exam.
Severus noticed that although the healer only touched his wife where she deemed absolutely necessary, even those gentle motions caused Harriet to bite her lip.
"Easy, love, easy…..there you are…..give me a moment more." The healer whispered to Harriet as her soft hands gently palpated her patient's aching glands.
A small gasp escaped Harriet as the healer mercifully pulled away at last and nodded at the couple.
"Alright then, shall we start with the good news first?" She asked with a smile as she glanced from Harriet to Severus.
When her inquiry was met with silent, worried stares, the healer nodded and said, "There's no infectious disease to worry about and no serious cause behind these symptoms…You can both rest easy about that. Nothing ominous, no threat to the children….or to Mummy."
Severus let out a silent breath of relief until the healer added, "But….."
"But?" Harriet asked with her brow furrowed.
"Sometimes, going too long between feedings can….create issues for omegas, Mrs. Snape. Did you wean your first child on a set schedule?" The healer asked as she narrowed her eyes at Harriet.
"No…." Harriet answered honestly as she tried to sit back against the pillows without grimacing, "My daughter was born with…..several health problems. The midwife recommended I let her wean herself, for her extended benefit."
The healer smiled knowingly at Harriet as she nodded, "I understand, Mrs. Snape, but that may be why you're encountering such difficulty today. It seems as though your body follows your little one's demands, not your own. Some mothers are a bit more in control of the process, but that's no matter!"
Severus kept his eyes narrowed as he listened closely to the healer.
He forced himself to focus very intently on every word she said in an effort to stave off his own, shameful thoughts.
As he gazed at his wife's unfortunate condition, his trousers became painfully tight.
The fullness of Harriet's engorged breasts cruelly aggravated his alpha instincts.
If Severus had his way, he would have gone to his mate, held her down, and-
"So what should I do?" Harriet sighed.
"I believe you're on the verge of developing a blockage or two, my dear, if you haven't already." The healer frowned as she clasped her hands together, "You need to get that cleared up straight away. We don't want you developing an infection, do we? That's what the fever indicates will happen soon if we don't act with haste."
"Is there a potion or something for this?" Harriet huffed.
Severus selfishly hoped that there wasn't.
"If you're comfortable with its consequences." The healer nodded, "I'm afraid the closest thing we have to a cure would be a Drying Potion…..That will end your pain, Mrs. Snape, and solve your problem, but you won't be the one feeding your baby anymore after you swallow the mixture."
"AT ALL?!" Harriet exclaimed.
"No, dear, I'm sorry." The healer frowned as she shook her head, "These instances are quite rare in our world. Usually a mother seeks to end her milk supply completely, for one reason or another, not sort out a temporary problem like this."
Harriet let out an angsty sigh as Severus asked the healer, "...Are there no other options that my wife may pursue?"
"A couple, Mr. Snape, a couple." The healer nodded. She glanced between them both with a serious frown on her face as she spoke, "While our world is rather lacking in available treatments, I've heard the muggles have become quite accustomed to this sort of thing….I'm told it's from the busy schedule most muggle women keep. A muggle hospital or healthcare practitioner may be a fair amount of help in this instance."
Harriet scowled as she considered how badly she didn't want to visit a muggle hospital.
That would only mean more strangers poking and prodding her sore breasts……
A similar expression to Harriet's manifested on Severus's pale face.
He absolutely disdained the thought of entrusting unreliable, muggle science with his mate's care.
When the healer found herself met with frowns, she smiled politely as she added, "...The natural way can be tried first, of course, if you two are hesitant about my previous suggestion."
"...The natural way?" Severus echoed in his low drawl.
The healer turned to him with a knowing smirk as she prepared to explain.
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Harriet whimpered while she laid down and waited for Severus to finish putting their children to bed.
Her body still ached but she felt deliciously at peace in her nest, stretched among the soft blankets and fluffy pillows, with two warm compresses, enchanted with continual, soothing heat, placed against her swollen breasts.
Candles burned throughout the room to create a bright yet calming glow.
The sound of the bedroom door opening sent Harriet moving with her teeth gnashed in an effort to turn her head without disturbing the rest of her body.
Surely that had been Se-
"...Lie…….still."
Harriet sighed in relief as her alpha's low, velvet voice cut through the air like a promise of swift release.
She closed her eyes and focused on his scent as he glided over to the bed.
Determined to make the experience as pleasant as possible for Harriet, after Severus removed his robes and shoes, he clasped his hands together and warmed them with a spell murmured under his breath.
Warmth.
The healer had said that warmth would help.
Although Severus had nearly become consumed with the selfish desire to drain Harriet for his own pleasure, as he crawled into her nest, he focused on her needs instead of his own.
Harriet flinched at first when he deftly slipped his skillful hands onto the massive globes her breasts had become.
She grimaced at first, until he cooed to her in husky, soothing purrs.
Harriet closed her eyes while his hands drifted over her flesh to thoughtfully knead away the ache for several, considerate minutes.
"Sev……" Harriet whispered as her alpha glared at her swollen glands while he licked his lips.
She gasped as she felt his warm breath suddenly against her nipples.
"...SEV!" Harriet cried.
Severus carefully took one of his wife's fattened, rosy peaks into his mouth before he skillfully began to suckle.
Harriet couldn't suppress the groan of pain, pleasure, and relief that left her throat while she used her hands to lock Severus's head into a position they both found comfortable.
Beyond the basic task of exciting his mate, Severus took his time to clear the blockages from Harriet's breasts.
Time passed in a blur.
Severus regretted eating dinner earlier that evening.
Once he finally ended the source of his mate's pain, his stomach had visibly extended with the rich thickness of her milk.
As he released Harriet and glanced up at her face, he found himself transfixed between the happy sparkle of gratitude in her emerald eyes and the wetness that still temptingly coated her reddened nipples.
Severus's dark gaze smouldered as their lips met.
Although Mrs. Snape's discomfort had been alleviated, Severus sought to do more than just help his mate.
While they made love for the next hour, he growled in delight at Harriet's cries.
To Severus, the sound of Harriet's pleasure was almost as sweet as the taste of her milk.