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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Every day, Tom reiterated his plea to the Minister.

Every day, the Minister put him off.

The healing salve left behind by Britain's best healers proved to be useless.

After a month passed with daily use of the salve, little Mae's bruise only worsened.

It caused her parents a great amount of worry to watch the ugly, black spot slowly spread over the entirety of her miniature bicep.

Harriet made certain not to dress her little girl in any clothing with short sleeves whenever she took Mae out in public, fearing people would think the child had been abused.

While Tom worked, Merope and Harriet often enjoyed strolls through Diagon Alley.

Harriet delighted in the pleasant, honest conversations with her mother-in-law more than most people could understand.

Regardless, she began to envy other mothers and the relationships they enjoyed with their children as Mae aged.

Mae wanted to be held less and less, which broke Harriet's heart.

Harriet frowned whenever she saw a woman cuddling a small girl her daughter's age who seemed overjoyed to be snuggled.

One day, Harriet and Merope sipped tea in The Three Broomsticks while Mae napped in her pram.

"It's not like you to look so melancholy, my dear." Merope frowned as she studied the forlorn expression on Harriet's face while she gazed at her young daughter.

Harriet's emerald stare drifted over to Merope as she drew a deep breath.

"You can talk to me about whatever's troubling you." Merope frowned, "I'm a mother too, I'll understand. Believe me, the early years were very difficult with Tom. Not only was I alone, but we had no guaranteed way to get by. The government provided for us until I could earn enough to buy food and pay our rent without having to rely on community aid…..It nearly killed me, the hours and the work."

"That must have been very difficult." Harriet frowned.

"It was, yes……motherhood is never easy though." Merope smiled.

Harriet searched for the right question to ask before she frowned and spoke, "What was Tom like as a baby?"

"...As a baby?" Merope chuckled, "He was….He was beautiful, strong………I would say stubborn, but I'll use the word 'determined' instead. How's that?"

Both women shared a laugh before Harriet pressed, "...How was he with you?"

"What do you mean, love?" Merope blinked.

"I mean…..did he push you away? Did he not like being held?" Harriet frowned.

"Oh goodness, no!" Merope scoffed, "Tom wouldn't let me put him down. There were days when I went to work with him tied to my chest in a sling made out of an old towel. Not that anyone else was ever around to hold him……."

"May I ask you another question?" Harriet frowned.

"Certainly, dear." Merope said as she took a sip of her tea.

Harriet leaned across the table and whispered, "Did Tom…...frighten you?"

"...Frighten me?" Merope asked incredulously as she narrowed her eyes.

Silently, watched Harriet give the slightest of nods towards Mae.

Merope laughed, "Oh, no! No, Tom never frightened me, really….He was quite demanding, I remember that. When he was still a nursling, he used to push his chubby face in between….well, you know…..during his naps. Adorable little thing, he was!"

Harriet smiled as she imagined her strong, handsome alpha as an innocent baby.

"At what age did he first show magical ability?" Harriet asked as she continued her mother-in-law's interview.

Merope laughed before she stared ahead for a moment while she thought back, "...I'd say probably when he was around two or three years old. I caught him whispering to a snake in the garden. At first I thought he was laughing, but then I realized he was hissing in Parseltongue."

Harriet nodded before Merope continued, "Really though, his first big display was at five…..Yes, I think he was five then. I had him by the hand as we walked home together….and some brute lunged at us from an alleyway. He grabbed my bag and I screamed….but Tom came to my rescue."

"How?" Harriet asked.

"He set the poor man on fire!" Merope laughed.

Her cackle of genuine amusement betrayed her heritage for a singular second as Harriet's jaw dropped in horror.

"My attacker survived." Merope quickly added, "No worries there, dear, but Tom's always been a bit……strong-minded. He's always had his way and he likes things done exactly how he likes them done…..That's just Tom."

"Did anything happen to you while you carried him that you couldn't understand?...Or that didn't make sense?" Harriet asked.

Merope calmly cooperated with her unexpected inquirer as she thought back again before she shook her head and said, "No dear, not that comes to mind…..There certainly wasn't a battle going on in the room where I delivered him, that's for sure!"

When Harriet glanced over at Mae again, Merope frowned and asked, "Harriet, love, you may not have come from my womb, but I consider you to be like my own daughter…..What's on your mind? Please, you can tell me."

"Tom will read your thoughts." Harriet frowned as her green eyes snapped back over to Merope.

"Will he? And how exactly does he plan to do that? I am of Slytherin's bloodline too!" Merope laughed.

Confident she could trust her mother-in-law, Harriet leaned across the table and began to explain everything to Merope in great detail, from her own feelings to what the mysterious visitor had said, and even the healers' recent visit.

Merope had known her granddaughter had an unexplained bruise on her arm, nothing more.

While Mae slept in her pram, Harriet and Merope discussed the girl's inexplicable condition.

Little did they know that even in her sleep, tiny Mae listened to every word spoken.

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Merope didn't have much advice to give Harriet, but she did offer some bolstering words of reassurance.

Harriet lay down that night in her nest as she waited on Tom to finish writing the last letter he had brought home from work.

Not wanting to launch into a deep discussion with her alpha and hoping he would avoid skimming her thoughts, Harriet closed her eyes and steadied her breathing to feign sleep before he rose from his desk.

Tom gazed at his mate for a moment until he crawled into bed.

As she lay on her side, Harriet noticed something gently pulling the blankets aside and her nightgown down to expose her full breasts.

She sighed as Tom dipped his head and latched onto one of her waiting rosebuds before he pulled back at the sound and licked his lips, "Hello, sweetling…..I didn't realize you were awake."

"Is this what you do when I'm sleeping?" Harriet asked.

As she silently wondered if her alpha would dare touch her anywhere else while she rested, a surprising sadness settled over her at the opportunities that had been lost.

Harriet couldn't think of a more pleasant way to wake up than to open her eyes and find Tom over top of her with his-

"Not all of the time." He grinned, "I am a bit hungry though after another long day of nagging the Minister for help."

"He's still refusing to contact the board?" Harriet frowned as Tom took another lazy pull from her.

After he released her again with a wet pop, he scowled, "Every day, he gives me a different excuse…..This will all be so much easier once I'm the Minister. Just a little while longer, my love, and that will be so."

Harriet flashed him a wry smile before he added, "...However, we should have an extra opportunity to beseech him soon."

"Oh?" Harriet blinked, "How's that?"

"I was told today that the Ministry intends to hold a gala for high-ranking officials and dignitaries. As the Minister's assistant, I'll be invited, of course, along with my lovely wife." Tom proudly smirked.

Harriet smiled before he went on, "Perhaps his heart may soften and his action may hasten if he hears a request from my mate herself……and if not, it is my absolute hope that a member of the board….or several…..may be in attendance at the event, to whom we can present Mae's case directly."

Harriet lifted her hand from under the blankets and clasped Tom's as she frowned, "Yeah, let's hope…..I don't know what to do for her. She's not acting poorly, but that….that black spot, or bruise, or whatever it is….just keeps spreading. It won't stop, Tom! Every time I ask the healers, they tell me to use the salve, but we've used the salve and it hasn't done anything!...What if it's making her worse?!" She asked as she sat up suddenly with her eyes wide.

Eager to calm his mate, Tom frowned and nodded as he spoke confidently, "The Minister will hold the gala sooner rather than later, sweetling. If you'd prefer to stop using the salve, then let us stop. We should have some better advice about how to help our little princess in a very short while."

Harriet nodded as she thought for a moment.

While Tom stared at her, a sly grin curled his lips.

"Don't look at me like that." Harriet frowned, "I've got a lot on my mind."

"So do I, sweetling." He chuckled darkly, "How to help Mae, how to deal with the Minister, when I'll finally get to see you with a rounded belly again……Our second baby needs to hurry up and grow faster."

"Tom!" Harriet snapped as her cheeks flushed a shade of pink Tom found hypnotically alluring.

"Sweetling..." He cooed mockingly as he leaned in and captured Harriet's lips with a kiss.

As his warm hands moved to cup her heavy breasts, she sighed into their kiss as their passions ignited.

Careful not to overexert his mate and harm the life she carried, Tom still managed to hold Harriet in his arms and love her until she cried out his name that night.

She shuddered through the aftershocks of her pleasure as Tom nipped at her throat.

Harriet closed her eyes and sucked in a breath.

Her body pulsed with the overwhelming delight Tom's possessiveness elicited as he smirked into the darkness of their room and growled , "Mine..."