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 breathed a sigh of relief once winter break arrived.
As her condition advanced, she battled exhaustion and grappled with the urgent need for a better-fitting uniform.
Having a few weeks without school to worry about seemed like a pleasant dream.
Although she maintained her stance on the importance of finding success in her eventual career, Harriet couldn't deny that lounging about in her nest at Riddle Manor through cold winter nights with Tom holding her close sounded wonderful.
While the majority of Hogwarts' students took the train home, Tom and Harriet traveled straight to his birthright as soon as classes concluded for the semester via the magical link between Riddle Manor and the Chamber of Secrets.
Merope and Tom senior welcomed them back with eager, open arms, but the obvious evidence of Harriet's condition brought with it new excitement.
Tom senior threw his son a knowing smirk the second he saw Harriet's rounded abdomen.
Tom junior returned his father's arrogant gaze while Merope's eyes watered with happy tears as she pressed her hand over her soon-to-be daughter-in-law's adorable little belly.
Trapped, her son had trapped them all.
Merope could no longer pursue her concerns
She realized that without the Riddle fortune, she, Tom, Harriet, and her unborn grandchild would be tossed penniless into the street.
She couldn't possibly earn enough money to keep them all afloat, Harriet wouldn't be able to find a job in her condition, and Tom's internship at the Ministry paid nowhere near enough to support a family.
As Merope asked Harriet the usual polite inquiries that family members voiced to expectant mothers, she pondered how on earth she would ever manage to undo what her son had done.
For the moment, Merope resigned herself to the fact that at least until she or Tom junior managed to find financial security outside of the Riddles' wealth, it would be best if she kept her mouth shut and exercised the skill she had acquired in her early childhood……silent endurance.
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After greeting Merope and Tom senior, Tom junior and Harriet made their way to his bedroom for an hour or two of settling in while a soft snow fell gently outside.
Harriet watched the white flurries that drifted down across the grounds of Riddle Manor from the vast window in Tom's room while he situated their trunks and unpacked their contents with a few brief spells.
Tom glanced over at her as their clothes rose from their trunks and placed themselves neatly in the open, waiting dresser drawers.
"Just think, sweetling." He called in a smooth purr as Harriet turned around, "A few days is all that stands between us and marriage."
"It's a bit odd, isn't it?" Harriet chuckled as she sat down on his large bed.
"No." Tom said flatly, "It's a dream that will become reality at last."
Harriet smiled softly as he walked over and sat next to her.
"Harriet Potter…." Tom began as he took her hands and gazed into her emerald eyes, "I may not be flawless, I may never be truly good, but I will always be good to you…..I will love you and protect you and seek to keep you in the highest state of comfort until my heart beats its last."
"Tom….." Harriet began, but he cut her off, "-I don't expect to hear you echo a similar statement, sweetling. I know how much you love me, I can see it in your thoughts, I can hear it in your pulse…….I can taste it in that deliciously sweet scent of yours~."
"You'll want to eat me by the time the baby comes, according to the midwife." Harriet laughed.
"It would be my pleasure." Tom grinned.
They exchanged smiles for a moment before Harriet dropped her eyes to their clasped hands as a silence that spoke less of humor and more of seriousness settled between them.
"...Tom?" She asked.
"Yes, my love?" He whispered.
"Are you certain that you want us to…get married….on your birthday?" Harriet frowned.
"Well, I can't think of a better gift than taking you as my bride." He replied with a mischievous smirk.
Harriet failed to mirror his expression as she nodded.
"...Is something wrong, sweetling?" He frowned, "Do you not want to ma-?"
"-No, of course I want to marry you, Tom! And I'll gladly do it any day, I just…I don't want to seem disrespectful to your mother…..and….our anniversary will be on your birthday, so it may get a bit-"
"-Sweetling…." Tom interrupted as he let go of her hand to cup her face.
"Yes?" Harriet asked as she gazed into his dark eyes.
"You and I are partnered together through this life." He cooed to Harriet, "We'll share everything now, you and I. You belong to me and I belong to you. My joys are your joys and your joys are mine……A birthday and an anniversary occurring simultaneously only gives us an excuse to hold a bigger party every year, don't you agree?"
A small smile curled Harriet's lips as she gave Tom the slightest of nods.
Her subtle acknowledgment was all he needed before he closed his eyes and pressed a sweet, loving kiss against her soft lips.
Harriet sighed as his hands came to hold her belly while she placed her palms on his chest and tugged the collar of his sweater.
Tom ignored the ache that his restricted arousal created in his trousers as he kissed his mate and lapped at her sweet lips.
"You're mine, Harriet Potter." Tom growled as he carefully pulled his darling into his lap, with one hand on her belly and the other cupping the underside of her full breasts.
A gentle cry escaped Harriet as Tom kissed down her jaw and over her throat while he held her in his possessive grasp, "...All mine."
Tom didn't bother to cover the window as he spent the next hour making Harriet squirm on his lap.
While he held her in his hands, Harriet tried to hold onto the logical parts of her thoughts as her alpha brought her pleasure after pleasure.
Her cheeks blushed from mortification as she hoped that no one would wander out onto the lawn that morning.
The possibility that someone might see him claiming Harriet made Tom smirk.
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Early one morning, Harriet found herself awakened by a full bladder before dawn broke.
On her return from the lavatory, while Tom junior, his parents, and the servants slept, she heard a distinct knocking sound from the front door.
Curious as to who could be visiting before first light, she pulled on her robe, walked downstairs, and opened the door to find an old, haggard woman standing on the porch.
"Good morning, Harriet Potter!" The witch smiled, revealing her missing teeth.
"...Good morning." Harriet hesitantly replied, "May I ask who you are?...And how exactly is it that you know my name?"
"My name is unimportant, dear." The old witch said with a kind smile, "But how could yours remain a mystery?...Please, the morning is cold and I've brought a gift for the babe. May I come inside?"
Harriet was caught off guard as she opened her mouth to speak.
Her kind heart placed her in a dangerous situation as she answered, "Er……sure."
The old witch stared at her as she stepped inside the house.
After Harriet shut the door, she glanced over to see the woman had sat on the foyer's velvet sofa, in front of a small table.
Not wanting to sound rude, Harriet cleared her throat as she began, "I'm sorry…….you said you brought a…..a gift for-?"
"A gift for the babe, yes, which will come to the mother first, my dear." The woman said as she reached her grubby fingers inside her tattered coat pocket and pulled out a stack of strange cards.
Harriet blinked as the woman placed the deck on the table and nodded, "Sir beside me…..Your gift is in my pocket, but I must explain it first."
The old witch watched Harriet walk over and lower herself down next to her as the woman placed a hand over the cards.
"You have mated with Tom Riddle, the young wizard." The witch nodded.
Harriet placed a hand on her belly as she replied, "Yes…….I have and I'm to marry him soon."
"I would caution you against that, my dear." The witch said with an equally kind smile.
"I beg your pardon?" Harriet frowned.
"Slytherin's lineage is steeped in incest, strengthened by abuse, and reddened with blood." The witch nodded, "You seem like such a lovely young girl, my dear, truly……but evil only begets evil."
"How dare you!" Harriet scoffed in a shocked whisper, but the witch went on.
"Should you choose to continue this path….." The witch said as she took five cards from the deck and turned each one over, "This will be the results, including the one that already is and the one that soon will be."
Harriet scowled at the cards as she looked at the small pictures and read the brief descriptions on each one:
The Hero
Brave and bold
The Conqueror
Without ability to yield
The Sacrifice
Given willingly to better others
The Heart
Beating life-blood, to flow and spill
The Monster
Abomination, shunned and feared.
"I……I don't understand any of this!" Harriet snapped as she glanced up at the witch once she finished reading the cards.
"Do you know which one of these slept beside you last night?" The witch asked.
Harriet frowned as she chuckled mirthlessly and gestured to the cards, "Of these…..? Of course, the hero! My alpha is the hero!"
"And of that, you're certain?" The old witch smiled.
"Yes, I'm certain!" Harriet hissed.
The witch placed her withered hand over the hero's card and returned it to the deck.
She glanced at the cards, then at Harriet as she smiled.
Harriet looked at the cards once more as well and read their titles again: conqueror, heart, sacrifice, monster.
"Then would you tell me, my dear, which one of those four now sleeps in you?" The witch smiled.
Harriet's mouth fell open as her emerald eyes widened.
"Do not dismay, my gift can ease your pain." The old witch smiled as she pulled a vial from her tattered pocket and placed it on the small table next to the cards.
"...What is that?" Harriet asked stiffly.
"A single drop, my dear." The old witch said as she pocketed the cards, stood from the table, and walked towards the door, "...Once it has been swallowed, you will not need to worry ever again."
Harriet watched the old witch leave Riddle Manor as she blew out a breath.
A frown marred her face while she gazed at the vial full of black liquid.
Outside, as the old witch hobbled through the snow, she was quickly greeted by a handsome, young man with dark eyes and short, dark curls that framed his angular face.
"...Well?!" He asked urgently, "Did it work?!?!"
"Of course not." The old witch frowned as she hobbled along, "Your mother is a stubborn woman. I told you, you would do better speaking to her yourself."
"I've already explained how this has to be done!" The young man snapped, "I can't speak to her directly, I-"
"-Ten Galleons is the fee we agreed upon for my services." The woman frowned as she stopped in the snow and opened her hand.
The young man scowled as he reached into his pocket and gave the old witch her payment.
Without another word, he apparated away as the old witch walked into the thick forest that lined the mansion's grounds.
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Harriet ignored her eerie visitor.
She discarded the ominous vial and said nothing to Tom about the entire incident once he woke later that morning.
Harriet didn't need anyone frightening her with perceived notions about her mate or her children.
What did a stranger know about Slytherin's lineage anyway?
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Over the next few days, a happy anxiousness permeated Riddle Manor as the family prepared for the wedding.
Harriet assumed the meager guest list would continue to have only Tom senior and Merope included, unless the officiant himself was counted.
Regardless, Tom sought her opinion on flowers, foods, and the decorations, all of which Harriet saw as largely unnecessary.
While the couple tasted several dozen samples of cake from a plethora of bakers in Hogsmeade and Little Hangleton one cold December afternoon, Harriet kept a hand on her small belly and a frown on her face as she chewed.
"Is something wrong, sweetling?" Tom frowned while he watched her, "Do you not care for that one?"
"No, the cake is fine." Harriet said after she swallowed, "It's just……I don't see why we have to do all this, Tom."
"Do we not need a cake for our wedding?" Tom asked as he glowered at Harriet.
"If it's just us, why does it matter?" Harriet sighed as she took another bite.
Tom watched her close her eyes as she chewed and swallowed.
It made his lips curl into a grin to know that he had provided for his expectant mate, pleased her with the taste of the cake he had secured, given her something to enjoy……
"These are all brilliant." Harriet declared as she opened her eyes and frowned down at the many cake samples that littered the long table in the Riddle dining room, "You're going to make me fat, Tom."
"Good." Tom smirked, "Plump mothers give birth to healthier babies."
Harriet narrowed her eyes at him before he laughed and went on, "Sweetling, I've….I've been meaning to ask…..Would you mind terribly if we invited a few extra guests to our nuptials?"
"What…..?" Harriet frowned, "I thought it was just going to be us and your parents."
"Yes, that's true….it was." Tom nodded, "However, I can hardly contain my joy or my pride knowing that I'm about to take you officially as my wife, my partner, my world……I'd be glad to extend an invite to everyone you hold dear, if you'll allow me to have a few of my acquaintances present for the ceremony?"
Harriet blinked at Tom for a moment before she scoffed, "You can see the curve of my belly under my wedding gown if you look hard enough, Tom."
"I'd settle for no less, sweetling." He answered with a haughty smirk, "I can hardly wait to watch you come down the aisle in-"
"-You really have no shame, do you?" Harriet snapped.
Tom fell silent as she scowled at him.
"I….It's going to be blatantly obvious….you know, what's happened between us already…and you want to invite people to stare? Wasn't this entire…thing…supposed to be a secret?" Harriet frowned.
"I never mentioned anything about a secret." Tom shrugged, "That was more your idea, sweetling, and no, I have no shame when it comes to my love for you. I've loved you since the day I laid eyes on you and I will love you until the day that I breathe my last. Empty social expectations mean very little to me."
As Tom finished speaking, Harriet watched him slide from his chair as he knelt down in front of her on the dining room floor.
Harriet's frown deepened as Tom placed his hands on the swell of her belly before he pressed a gentle kiss to her abdomen.
"My mate……" He whispered as he pulled away. His actions were tortuously gentle as he placed another kiss on Harriet's womb and whispered, "My first child….."
Tom's dark eyes flickered up to meet her emerald stare as he spoke, "We hardly have cause for shame, sweetling. Won't you let us celebrate instead?...Please?...Will you allow a celebration of our love?"
Harriet sighed as she gazed down at Tom.
He kept his dark eyes focused on hers even as he lifted a hand and pulled down the scooped neckline of her robe until her sensitive breasts tumbled plainly into his view.
A cry left Harriet's throat as he helped himself to a rosy, fattened nipple, determined to persuade her one way or another.
Tom would have chuckled if he hadn't been so focused on his mate's pleasure.
He took full advantage of Harriet's hormonal state to ease her aches and pains while pushing his own agenda.
"Please, sweetling?" Tom implored Harriet as he pulled back slightly.
She shivered as he ran his tongue over the center of her nipple in one slow flick.
"Won't you let me show everyone that you're mine?" Tom whispered as he nudged the underside of her plump breast with his nose.
"M-My….my friends too?" Harriet asked as Tom cruelly nibbled her skin.
"Of course…….Your friends will be invited as well, sweetling." He promised in his eerily smooth voice as he kissed the underside of her tender flesh.
Harriet parted her knees as Tom settled himself between them and prepared to devour her, selfishly hoping to exert his dominance over her body as much as he had her mind.
As he lifted the skirts of her robes to expose her more freely to his access, Harriet sighed and asked, "...Even the Weasleys?"
Tom's dark eyes flickered up to Harriet as a glare marred his handsome face, "Yes, sweetling, even the Weasleys."
While Tom dove forward to taste her, Harriet let her head roll back against the chair as her fingers knotted in his dark hair.
She felt angry at herself, somewhere deep in her heart, for not standing her ground better against her willful lover, but really, she liked the idea of having Ron and Hermione beside her on her wedding day.
And Mrs. Weasley…….
And maybe even Professor McGonagall…….
Besides, as much as it irritated Harriet, she had discovered that with her body sore and her belly full of Tom's pup, her resistance against him had become greatly reduced.
Tom Riddle had slithered into Harriet Potter's heart.