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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It didn't take Maggie terribly long to discover her daily life became easier by waking before the rest of her curious, standoffish roommates.
After using the private ramp that had been fashioned by Hogwarts' staff to journey to the Great Hall for breakfast each morning, Maggie was always the first one out of bed and one of the very first students to sit in the massive dining room.
First year Ravenclaws and Gryffindors had very few classes together, much to Scorpius's dismay.
Although Scorpius was a natural early riser, he was not quite early enough.
Each morning when he walked into the Great Hall, he wished Maggie would be alone so he could say hello, but by the time he arrived, several others already sat at Ravenclaw's table in addition to his darling.
One day, Scorpius purposely woke five minutes earlier than usual.
Maggie was still not alone at the table, but he noticed one less person had claimed Ravenclaw's seating.
The next day, he woke five minutes earlier than before.
One less person sat at the table.
Five minutes earlier the next morning rewarded him with one less person present.
Five, one.
Five, one.
Eventually, on the second Friday of the school year, Scorpius woke with his grey eyes bloodshot and his mouth open in exhaustion, but he hauled himself out of bed with the sweet hope of speaking to Maggie unhindered.
He forced himself fully awake as he trudged down the winding staircases and straightened his house tie.
As he walked in the Great Hall, his fatigued heart lifted as soon as he saw Maggie sitting alone in the room…….finally!
At the High Table, Madam Sprout read a book.
Under McGonagall's wise assessment, Madam Sprout had been chosen as the early morning chaperone since she rose each day to tend the plants in the greenhouses before sunrise.
She glanced over as Scorpius entered the Great Hall but while she watched him walk towards Maggie with a dazed grin on his face, she smirked as she resumed reading the care manual for snafflous plants.
Maggie slowly ate her breakfast, completely absorbed in her brooding thoughts, as her father often became.
Her preoccupation with her inward musings blinded her to Scorpius's presence until he stood beside her and spoke, "Oh! Good morning, Maggie!"
Maggie jolted slightly.
She quickly raised her napkin and wiped her mouth while she swallowed and blinked, "...G-Good morning! Sorry, I didn't see you there!"
"I didn't mean to startle you!" Scorpius chuckled as they exchanged friendly smiles.
"You didn't startle me, I just didn't realize anyone else would be up this early……except Madam Sprout!" Maggie added as she laughed warmly.
The kindness she had inherited from Harriet shone proudly through her bright, green eyes.
As she gazed at Scorpius, he found himself hypnotized by her glowing light.
"...Would you like to join me?" She asked.
"I…….Yeah, yeah, of course." Scorpius nodded, "Well, but…Is it…..Am I allowed to sit here?" He asked as he blinked at Ravenclaw's vacant table.
"It's empty…." Maggie shrugged, "I doubt Madam Sprout will mind……The others won't be up for at least another fifteen minutes."
Scorpius flashed her a soft smile as he sat down at her right side.
Fresh new helpings of the morning's offered dishes appeared in front of him before he began to place servings on his plate while the goblet next to his hand filled with pumpkin juice.
Scorpius's heart pounded in his chest as he celebrated the dizzying victory of sharing a meal with Maggie.
Although he had sought her out, she seemed more than eager to strike up a conversation as she asked, "How are you liking your house?"
"Well enough, I suppose." Scorpius fibbed.
He declined to mention the hateful shoves and blatant taunts he had been fortunate enough to receive from his housemates.
"How are you liking your house?" He nodded at Maggie.
Maggie shrugged as her lips curled into a bashful smile, "Well, it's alright…..I didn't really want to come here, at first, then I thought I might regret not coming…..Now I'm not quite sure I haven't made some dreadful mistake, to be honest."
"Mistake?" Scorpius asked once he swallowed his mouthful of food.
"Mum and Dad said they would tutor me at home if I chose to stay there and not come to school." Maggie confessed, "I was afraid other people would be…..unfriendly…..because I'm a bit different."
"Well, I'm glad you decided to come." Scorpius smiled.
"You……You are?" Maggie blinked.
"Yeah." He said as he kept his smile, "You make this grey castle seem brighter."
A wide smile danced across Maggie's fair face as she gazed at Scorpius.
She hardly knew what to say to such a compliment.
"That's……that's very kind of you." She said as she looked back down at her food.
"You know, that seems to keep surprising people." Scorpius mused as they resumed eating.
"What?" Maggie asked as she looked up.
"That I can be kind." Scorpius explained, "Everytime I open my mouth, I see these awful looks on everyone's faces as if they expect I'll say something vile. It's hard to imagine my mother ever doing anything like that…..I wonder if it has something to do with my father?"
"You could write and ask him." Maggie suggested.
"That wouldn't do any good." Scorpius shrugged, "He refuses to talk about his time at Hogwarts……All he'll tell me is he was in Slytherin and so were my grandparents."
"When I have children someday, I'll tell them everything I can about my life." Maggie determined, "Maybe it will help them somehow?"
"You want to have a family one day?" Scorpius blinked.
Maggie gave him a wry smile in reply before their conversation took other turns.
Scorpius could hardly focus on what they said as pleasant daydreams played through his mind.
While he and Maggie spent the next few minutes chatting, visions of a blissful future assaulted his brain.
Maggie wiped her mouth with a napkin again and again while they spoke, hoping desperately Scorpius wouldn't notice the blush on her cheeks.
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"Are those good for Soothing Salve too, Dad?" Little Sev asked Severus as he watched his father pluck yelanan leaves from a bushy plant that stood on the edge of the Snapes' garden.
"No, these will be used exclusively for Pain Potion, remember?" Severus answered. He held a leaf out and let his inquisitive son examine its construction as he explained, "The texture provides the clue…….Deep cracks like this allow the leaf to break down in liquid faster, therefore dispersing its properties evenly throughout the mixture. Whenever one brews any potion, accuracy is key for effectiveness, especially if the substance is intended to help the suffering."
Little Sev blinked as he listened to his father with wide eyes and an open mind.
Severus hid a subtle smirk of pride at the way his little boy lingered on every word he said as if it were law.
"Come." Severus commanded his son as he placed the leaf into his gathering pouch, "Your mother and Disencan will be waiting…..Let us go back inside the house, shall we?"
Little Sev nodded as Severus took him by the hand and led him towards the Snape family's home.
From the window, Harriet had been watching her husband and son for the entirety of their lengthy walk around the garden.
Her lips widened in a smile as she marveled at the wonder on Little Sev's face.
It melted her heart to see how attentive and gentle her husband had been while he had given their little boy a lesson.
Harriet sighed as she smiled and realized that whether he liked it or not, Severus would always be a teacher.
She walked into the kitchen and helped Disencan serve lunch as Little Sev and Severus entered the house.
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Later that evening, Harriet and Severus lovingly tucked their son into his bed.
Instead of retiring to their own room, Harriet led her husband to the living area where they lit the fireplace and cuddled together on the sofa.
"Are you still angry with me, my love?" Severus asked as he lay back and let Harriet settle herself against his chest.
His fingers slowly combed through her long, dark hair as he frowned.
"No, Sev, I'm not angry with you……..just a bit disheartened that's all." Harriet sighed.
"Are you truly upset that I'll be ending my term in office?" Severus asked as his frown deepened.
"That wasn't what I meant." She answered as a sad smile spread across her fair face.
Severus's frown twisted into an anguished expression of melancholy as Harriet went on, "I…..I'm just……It bothers me that things seemed to go so well and then after Little Sev, it's like my body shut down. The healers shrug, the midwives have no answer……" Harriet sighed again before she sat up and asked Severus, "Do you think it's my fault? Do you think surviving the Killing Curse did this to me?"
"If the Killing Curse had caused infertility, you never would have been able to conceive at all." Severus frowned, "Besides, had you suffered any ill effects, it would be no 'fault' of your own. You must stop blaming yourself, my love…….The more thought you put into it, the farther away our dream becomes."
Harriet frowned as she asked slowly, "Sev, you are…or were…..are though, really, you're a genius at it…..Potions……Is there not something that would help? A potion? Elixir?...Tonic?"
Her frown turned into a pout as she watched her alpha's expression change from one of sadness to one of irritated anger.
"You expect me to gamble with your life in hopes of achieving fertility?" Severus growled.
"I don't know much about that sort of thing." Harriet shrugged, "It was never really part of Hogwarts' Potions curriculum, was it?"
"There isn't a single fertility potion……tonic…..or elixir….." Severus drawled as he stared at his mate with his dark gaze, "...In existence….That doesn't pose greater dangers than the benefits it may supposedly provide. I have no desire to recklessly risk my wife's health."
A soft smile graced Harriet's lips as she leaned forward and kissed Severus.
Their kiss deepened as the fire crackled in the hearth while Disencan and Little Sev slept in their beds.
Harriet's rebellious nature burned with the desire to obtain aid in some way, any way, but the protective watch her alpha kept over her made her heart flutter.