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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As Monday morning arrived, Tom and Harriet prepared to embark upon the journey back to the castle, though neither really wanted to leave Riddle Manor.
While the trip itself was no issue, due to Tom's ingenious engineering of a magical link he had established between Riddle Manor and the Chamber of Secrets, he was loathe to give up hours he may have spent with his pregnant mate so they could both attend their classes and carry on their usual activities as seventh year students.
The pregnancy changed Harriet's entire lifestyle at school, but Tom stood loyally beside her the entire time.
They had planned to reveal their news only to those who needed to know.
Professor Dumbledore and the rest of the staff were informed about Harriet's condition, yet somehow, the entirety of the student body quickly learned as well.
She and Tom both would have been expelled on the spot, according to Hogwarts' ancient laws enumerated within the hidden texts locked away in Dumbledore's office.
Mercifully, Tom's bargain with the headmaster remained since he had upheld his end of the deal.
Every Hogwarts staff member had been to visit the Chamber of Secrets, though Tom had kept his hidden room concealed with a cloaking spell.
Dumbledore knew the whereabouts of the Basilisk and had made Tom swear a magical oath that he would not use the massive reptile for any sort of harm while he remained a student at the castle.
Tom had smirked at Dumbledore's own slip of words, knowing full well that his status as the heir of Slytherin would not be erased with his graduation, nor would his access to the Chamber of Secrets.
As Hogwarts' first pregnant student, Harriet endured mocking snickers and judgemental looks from her peers whenever Tom was not around.
If Tom sat by her side, the others conveniently kept to their own business, not willing to incur the wrath of such a dangerous young man.
At every available second throughout the day and night though, Tom stayed next to Harriet.
Together, they crept from their beds each evening and snuck down the hallways of the dark castle to meet in the abandoned girls' lavatory and journey to the Chamber of Secrets together.
There, in their secret bedroom, with the Basilisk patrolling outside, they slept in one another's arms until the time came for them to wake.
Tom walked Harriet to each of her classes.
Tom carried her books and supplies.
Tom clasped her hand in his while she made the announcement to the Gryffindor Quidditch team that she could no longer serve as Captain, but a smile had brightened both of their faces when Harriet's teammates decided to come to her rescue.
"Will you still be at our practices and games?" A third year Beater asked with a frown.
Harriet blinked, "I…..I suppose I can, if you want me to…..."
"Of course we want you to, Harriet!" A fifth year Chaser chimed in, "We know you can't play anymore, but it just won't be the same if you're not there with us!"
As cheers of agreement broke out across Gryffindor's Quidditch team, a quiet smile of contentment danced on Harriet's lips.
Tom squeezed her hand in his while he proudly straightened his spine at the adoration his mate had won.
It was no mystery to him why everyone else loved Harriet Potter too, although he dangerously nurtured the gnawing jealousy that gripped his heart as he looked at the smiles aimed at his beloved.
His.
They could ask for her company, value her friendship, learn from her wisdom, that was all fine with Tom, as long as no one tried to touch her.
Harriet Potter belonged to him.
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Ron and Hermione had been shocked by the announcement of Harriet's pregnancy.
Meal times and brief pauses in the evening were usually the only moments of privacy she received with her friends once she and Tom returned to school that week.
Faced by a limitation on their uninterrupted chats, Harriet, Hermione, and Ron took advantage of those moments with candid conversations that Tom's ears may not have appreciated.
"Honestly, Harriet, do you think this is all a good idea?" Hermione frowned after the trio's laughter died down one evening while they sat in the Gryffindor Common Room.
Harriet had another hour before she needed to leave and meet Tom in the lavatory.
She fully intended to enjoy that time in the company of her two best friends.
"What do you mean, Hermione?" Harriet asked with a frown.
"It's a bit late for that, isn't it?" Ron laughed at Hermione, "She's already gotten-"
"-Ron!" Hermione cried in irritation as she held a hand up, "We don't need another one of your crude interpretations of-"
"-Crude?" Ron cut in with a scowl, "There's nothing crude about it! My Dad used to tell my Mum-"
Harriet interrupted them both as she spoke, "-I should have been more careful, I suppose, but Ron's right, it's done now. The only thing I can do is move forward and Tom has been very sweet……Really, I think he'll be a brilliant dad."
"A dad? Listen to yourself Harriet! We're barely of age and now you're going to be a married parent!" Hermione frowned.
"What's the matter with that?...My parents married young." Ron frowned.
"Well, mine didn't." Hermione sniffed, "They had gone all the way through dental school and completed their residencies first."
"Is that the place where muggles learn how to be….what is it again? 'Dentists', isn't it?" Ron asked with a scowl of concentration.
"Yes, Ron, 'dentists'." Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Look, you two are dating." Harriet shrugged, "What's the difference?"
"What's the difference?!" Hermione laughed, "Harriet, we're not officially mated yet! And we're certainly not expecting….or engaged!"
"We could be." Ron shrugged.
"No, we couldn't!" Hermione shot back.
The three friends shared a laugh before their discussion turned to other topics.
As Harriet thought about what the future would be like with a baby joining her and Tom so soon, she couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed.
While she walked down the hallway towards the Chamber of Secrets later that night, she held a hand protectively over her flat belly.
Harriet had not known the luxury of a mother's constant care.
Mrs. Weasley and Merope had been the closest maternal influences she had ever encountered in her life.
Doubt surged in her heart as she pressed her fingers down on her flat abdomen.
Silently, she hoped that although she hadn't watched the job be done on a daily basis, she would, somehow, become a decent mother to her child.
Or, rather, her children…….
The notion that Tom would be satisfied with one baby seemed absurd.
Despite her protest during earlier years, her alpha's eagerness thrilled Harriet to think of and heated her cheeks with a blush.
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Tom did his best to care for his darling and their pup in every way possible.
He saw to it that Harriet had proper meals, enough rest, and found plenty of relaxation time, even while keeping up with her studies.
At her mate's urging, she listened to her body.
If exhaustion plagued her, she sat down.
If her stomach growled, instead of worrying about her weight like some omegas did, she ate what she wanted.
Most of Harriet's teachers kept an extra close eye on her during classes, but no staff member became quite as paranoid as Professor Snape.
Harriet found herself unable to participate in Potions classes after her pregnancy became known.
Instead, every day, while the other students worked on their brewing techniques, Hogwarts' stoic, stern Potions Master escorted her into his office, sat her down with a written assignment, and slammed the door to seal her off from any potentially harmful smells.
Harriet found it boring, but Tom was grateful for his Head of House's thoughtfulness.
After class concluded one afternoon, as Harriet emerged from Professor Snape's office, Tom nodded at his scowling teacher and flashed him a pleasant smile, "Thank you, Professor Snape, for your consideration of my mate's health and safety."
Once Harriet walked over and joined Tom, the two walked out of the room together.
Severus scowled while he watched them both leave.
Although his reputation was based on intimidation, fear, and he hardly condoned teenage pregnancy, Professor Snape had no intention of letting an innocent life be harmed by the fumes encountered in his classroom.
He scowled to himself as he walked over and sat down at his desk.
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During late evenings, after Tom and Harriet returned to the Chamber of Secrets, they lay awake in each other's arms for a few moments while they cuddled and chatted.
On most nights, Harriet would drift off to sleep first, but one particular evening, she resisted drowsiness as a pressing question lingered in her mind.
"Tom…..?" Harriet asked.
"Yes, sweetling?" He asked as he blinked down at Harriet, "What are you doing with your eyes still open? You need your sleep, my love."
"Do you think we'll be good parents?" Harriet frowned.
Tom mirrored her expression as he scoffed, "Of course we'll be good parents! We'll be the best parents any child could wish for, why would you think otherwise?"
"Well, I've never had a mother, a real mother…..or a father, much, for that matter." She frowned as she sat up, looked at Tom, and sighed, "And until recently, you haven't had a father yourself."
"Sweetling, in all the years you've known me, have I not proven myself to be a fast learner?" Tom asked with an arrogant grin, "I'd never been a lover before, either, but now I can make you scream in a moment with a few simple touches."
Harriet blushed as she smiled wryly at Tom.
"Now then, let's get some sleep, shall we?" He asked as he opened his arms for Harriet to crawl onto his chest.
As much as he would have loved to prove his point, the lateness of the hour reminded him to restrain his own wants for Harriet's ultimate benefit.
"We can't very well be decent parents with no sleep….and exhaustion is detrimental to pregnant mothers." Tom whispered to Harriet as she laid down and cuddled against him.
"I love you, Tom." She whispered.
The words sounded more like a promise than a statement.
"I'm yours, sweetling." He vowed as he bent his head and kissed her cheek.
Harriet sighed as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep while Tom watched.
Another smirk crossed his lips as he gazed at Harriet and whispered, "...And you're mine, Harriet Potter~."
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In the middle of the night, Harriet's green eyes snapped wide open as her breathing remained deep and rhythmic.
While Tom slept beside her, her hand moved, joint by joint until she grasped the blankets of her nest and pulled them down.
Each vertebrae in her back worked in tandem to pull her into a sitting position before she swung her legs over the side of the mattress and slowly rose to her feet.
Step by step, she moved towards the desk in the chamber's small bedroom like a wooden puppet……