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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October quickly melted into November.
Before Harriet or Tom noticed, the first half of their seventh year threatened to conclude.
The crisp autumn air had made the Chamber of Secrets cooler than usual, but Tom had been careful to keep his expectant lover warm with a few well-placed, enchanted heat lamps in their room and a continual, temperature control spell that he cast every night before they slept.
Harriet and the baby continued to do well, though her belly had remained flat.
Her friends helped where they could, but Tom remained her primary means of support.
Just after dawn one day, as Harriet slowly opened her eyes, she smiled as she saw Tom gazing down at her.
"Good morning….." Harriet murmured sleepily.
"Good morning, sweetling." Tom whispered as he finished rousing himself from his own rest, having woken mere moments before her, "How are you and our little one today?"
"Tired." Harriet said as she yawned and rolled onto her back to stretch.
"Sweetling……" Tom instantly cautioned, his voice tight with worry.
"Calm down, Tom…..It won't cause any harm for me to lie on my back for a moment." Harriet said as she yawned again, "I've got to stretch, haven't I?"
While Harriet enjoyed her languid movement, Tom frowned as he reached a hand out to rest his palm on Harriet's flat abdomen, which had become his favourite place to touch her.
As his arm moved under the covers, his dark eyes widened when his hand connected with something incredible.
Harriet blink as she felt her lover's fingertips touch her prematurely as Tom's hand settled against something round and firm…..something that was…..part of her.
They glanced at each other in shock for a tense second before Harriet sat up as Tom slung the covers aside.
Harriet's breath hitched.
Tom let an audible gasp escape his throat.
Together, he and Harriet stared down at the marvelous little mound her belly had become overnight, visible even through her nightdress.
Before Harriet could move, Tom reached out and pried the hem of her garment up to marvel at her rounded tummy with wonder in his dark eyes.
"Oh, Tom……" Harriet breathed as Tom protectively covered the small swell with his large, elegant hands.
There was a look in his dark eyes as he glanced up to meet her gaze that Harriet couldn't quite explain.
Was it only love she saw there?
What was that ferociousness, then?
……A desire to protect?
…..Pride?
…..Fascination?
"I love you!" Harriet laughed quietly as she raised her hands and began to gently run her fingers through the curls of Tom's dark hair.
Worldlessly, his gaze fell from her face to her belly once more as he bent down and pressed a slow, deliberate kiss to the center of her abdomen.
Harriet felt joy explode in her heart as Tom closed his eyes and gave her growing womb another delicate show of his affection.
He showed no interest in stopping as he gently nuzzled the small mound.
Tom made himself comfortable there, kissing their baby and holding Harriet's hips in his hands.
She sighed as she settled herself back onto the mountain of pillows that lined the head of their bed.
It was difficult for Harriet to marvel at the swell of her womb when her alpha kept it hidden from her sight as he used his hands and mouth to show his own excitement about the visual reminder of Harriet's pregnancy.
Overjoyed with his mate and how well their growing baby was doing, Tom intended to spend those last few minutes before they would have to rise and go to class showing Harriet just how happy she had made him.
Harriet didn't bother to protest as Tom gently eased her nightdress from her body, hopeful that he would give some attention to her sore, neglected nipples before their sweet session of sentiment came to a close.
She had no cause for concern.
As Harriet lay there, under Tom's loving care, he used every bit of his skill to worship her from head to toe.
Her cries of ecstasy rang off of the stone walls as Tom skillfully lifted her up one peak of bliss and gently rolled her over another as he concentrated on the sensations he knew she enjoyed most.
His knowledge of his lover's body, the lessons he had paid for, and his keen use of Legilimency which he implemented to read Harriet's thoughts and determine her desires were an unstoppable combination.
There was no chance that Harriet would ever leave Tom Riddle's arms feeling the least bit unsatisfied or unfulfilled.
Afterwards, once they finished their tender exchange and reluctantly pried themselves out of Harriet's cozy nest, Tom watched his darling dress for the day.
Harriet counted herself fortunate that she could still get into her skirt if she fastened it under the curve of her belly.
She frowned though as she struggled to button her white uniform shirt and cardigan over the already incredibly persistent swell.
Tom hastily walked over to ease her struggles.
Without speaking a word, he splayed his hand protectively over her womb and gazed down at her with all the loving tenderness in his dark eyes that any woman could ever hope to see in the father of her child.
Harriet stared into his face as she pressed her hand over his and stretched her neck towards him.
Tom obliged her with a soft groan as he leaned down and crushed his lips against hers in another passionate kiss.
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Despite the tender sweetness he had displayed towards his omega in private, there was an undeniably arrogant smirk on Tom's face as he walked into the Great Hall that morning with Harriet Potter on his arm and their first child clearly growing in her womb.
The sight drew more than a few gasps and whispers from the hungry eyes of nosy students who leered at the couple, eager for a topic of discussion.
It irritated Harriet that her changed figure drew such an observable reaction.
People had already known about her condition, why should they act like they had learned the news all over again because she had started to show?
Tom pecked her lips before he let go of her hand when the time came for them to separate and go to their respective tables.
It took Harriet by surprise that when she walked over, Hermione raised her hand as if she intended to guide her into her seat.
"I'm alright, Hermione." Harriet chuckled with a hint of annoyance in her voice, "I'm not quite that gone yet."
"Blimey, Harriet…." Ron exclaimed as he gazed at the small mound of her abdomen with wide eyes, "You really are going to be a mum!"
Harriet pulled her robes around herself more after she sat down, hoping to hide the new developments in her figure from all those around her.
People mistook her pink cheeks for a sign of embarrassment, but Harriet wasn't all that embarrassed, in fact she was happy.
Her complexion held the glow of hopeful eagerness that only an expectant mother knew.
Hermione and Ron noticed the happy look in their friend's green eyes, though they were not the only ones.
Across the Great Hall, as Tom's Slytherin cronies snickered and congratulated him on siring an heir to be carried by his Gryffindor queen, he barely heard their remarks of groveling praise.
He couldn't take his eyes off of Harriet, completely captivated by how beautiful his mate looked with their baby resting in her belly.
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At the Ministry for Magic, Tom adhered to his duties as Lucius's aide with more gusto than ever.
With his father's fortune backing him, his need for money had been eliminated, yet his lust for power and prestige remained ravenous, as it always would no matter what he achieved in his life.
Lucius saw the burning ambition in his young assistant's eyes during one particular meeting about the welfare of Hogwarts that focused on what the school's future curriculum should and should not include, during which information collected from surveys completed by parents and students was heatedly debated.
Tom defended his viewpoints with such eloquence and ease that it amazed Lucius almost as much as his ability to settle the warring witches and wizards in the room with a few simple statements made in his eerily smooth voice.
As Tom and Lucius rode in a lift together after the meeting, Lucius glanced over at Tom and let his cold, grey gaze bore into him.
If Tom noticed, he said nothing about it.
"Good show today, Riddle." Lucius remarked, "I was quite impressed. I hope you won't take offense to this, but I would never have imagined a boy with muggle heritage could know our laws so well at such a young age."
"Ah, of course not, Mr. Malfoy. I am honoured that you've allowed me to stay by your side…..It has been truly fascinating what this great privilege has allowed me to observe and learn." Tom nodded.
"Has it?" Lucius asked with a snide smile.
"Oh, absolutely, sir." Tom answered without hesitation.
The elevator's doors opened once it reached its destination and came to a stop.
"You see, I've heard the others say that the Minister for Magic will likely retire next term." Tom explained as they stepped out of the lift.
"I've noticed similar gossip myself." Lucius sniffed as they walked down the lacquered hallway, "Though I fail to see what that has to do with you, Riddle. Are you planning on applying for a job as the Minister's aide?"
Lucius's serpent-headed, black cane clicked across the floor while Tom went on, "Oh, no, sir, I'm afraid my sights are much higher than that……It is my utmost hope that I'll be able to run in the election itself."
Lucius's grey eyes widened as he glanced over at Tom, but by then, it was too late to continue their conversation.
Just as Tom finished speaking, another group of Ministry officials came around the nearest corner.
Their eyebrows instantly raised in fond recognition as soon as they saw him.
They rushed over to greet their favourite intern with smiles and pleasant, polite words of recognition while they hardly nodded at Lucius.
Lucius stood back and watched as the older wizards fawned over Tom.
He swallowed thickly, transfixed by the frightening amount of charisma his young assistant had already acquired.
The possibility of Tom Riddle becoming the next Minister for Magic was a frightening one…...though Lucius could not deny as he watched Tom mingle with the Ministry officials that that particular outcome was hardly impossible.
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While Tom tended to matters at the Ministry, Harriet took advantage of the languid morning to take a relaxing bath.
She soaked in the clawfoot tub for over an hour before she finally pulled herself from the water.
Harriet yawned as she dried off with a fluffy towel while she walked back into the bedchamber she shared with Tom.
As she battled the drowsiness brought on by her relaxation, she rolled her head to toss her damp hair over her shoulder.
Behind her, a slight flutter of motion caught her attention.
Harriet whirled around with her eyes wide, but found herself staring at her reflection in the room's floor length mirror.
She squinted in uncertainty for a second.
An icy chill crept up her spine as she picked her glasses up from the bed and pushed them onto her face.
Harriet approached the mirror with an incredulous scowl.
She had no reflection.
Her mouth fell open as she realized that someone else stared back from the other side of the glass.
A young woman about her age, with thick, dark, lovely curls that framed her shapely shoulders.
Harriet met her sparkling emerald gaze for a second before she scanned over her flawless face, devoid of pores or blemishes with enviable cheekbones and full, red lips.
The woman in the reflection smirked as Harriet glanced down and marveled at her unbelievable breasts, full, round, and high, complimented by rosy, supple nipples.
As Harriet's eyes moved over the woman's toned abdomen, she watched a mist begin to cloud the mirror.
Harriet glanced back up in time to watch the wicked smile that exposed the woman's gleaming, straight white teeth before she disappeared.
Left with only her own visage in the mirror again, Harriet scowled as she pressed a hand against the glass.
She had recognized her hair and eyes in the strange apparition, but what bothered her was how much of Tom she had seen in her unexpected visitor's face.