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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While Tom received his incredible news at the Ministry, Harriet spent her morning at the Trendells' house.
She sat beside her friend, Amelia, while Mae played with Polly in the corner of the quaint living room.
From her fingertips to her elbow, a thick, black sleeve protected her affected arm.
Tom had contacted the Board of International Medicine using a letter signed by the Minister's enchanted corpse.
Tom had contacted every healer in the magical world, but not a single one had managed to cure his daughter's mysterious ailment.
Mae's bruise had slowly spread from her shoulder with long, black streaks that reached under her nails.
Tom and Harriet alternated cleaning the festering wound every morning and night.
On the rug in front of the sofa, baby James and baby Lily cooed while they traded plush toys.
"Aren't they just darling?" Amelia asked with a smile as she glanced at the children.
She and Harriet sipped their tea for a moment while they admired their little ones.
"They certainly are." Harriet replied with a bittersweet smile.
Thoughts of her parents vanished once Amelia reminded her, "To think that James and Lily will be one soon! Where has the time gone already?! We'll blink and they'll be grown!"
Without warning, Harriet turned to her friend and asked, "Will you have a party, then?
"We'd planned on it, yes." Amelia shrugged, "We're considering closing the bakery for the night and hosting it there. Our house isn't quite designed for gatherings."
The Trendells were not destitute yet they clearly lacked the Riddle family's lavish wealth.
Amelia had wisely made her conclusion.
Their humble home did not have the space needed for a large party of any kind.
Harriet frowned as she watched James play with his best friend for a moment.
The happy smiles on both babies' adorable, chubby faces melted her heart and gave her an idea.
"Well……would you consider doing a double party?" Harriet asked her friend.
"What do you mean?" Amelia frowned.
"James will have a celebration, just as his sister did." Harriet nodded, "Lily and him…..They were born on the same day…..They share the same birthday, so why not let them share a party?"
"Do you mean…..?" Amelia asked.
"Yes, of course! At our house. Look how happy they are together! I'm certain they wouldn't mind." Harriet chuckled as she glanced at the children again.
"You really are too kind, Harriet." Amelia said with a sweet smile as she touched her friend's hand.
While the two mothers began to excitedly chat about the party's details, Mae glanced at them from her corner.
Her expression softened as she gazed in silent fascination at her baby brother, but a scornful scowl washed over her face as Lily screeched.
Mae narrowed her eyes at the baby girl.
She had remained the princess, exactly as Tom had promised.
Her mother had treated her no differently since James' birth, nor had Tom.
James, however, never laughed as loudly as he did when he played with baby Lily.
That notion irritated Mae.
She smirked to herself as she glanced down at Polly and stared into the doll's unmoving, glass eyes.
Tom's precious princess would tolerate no usurpers.
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"The pain will be over soon, sweetheart." Tom whispered soothingly to Mae as he gently blotted her oozing arm that night.
"It doesn't hurt, Daddy." Mae frowned.
Harriet frowned at her daughter in sympathy while she lingered in the doorway, waiting for her husband.
Mae accepted Tom's kiss goodnight with a smile but she only offered Harriet a hateful glare.
Harriet's frown deepened as Tom pulled the covers up to Mae's chest before he left the room and guided his wife down the hallway.
After Tom closed her door, Mae closed her eyes to sleep with Polly next to her.
Somewhere on the edge of drowsiness, an unexpected, creeping shiver crossed the wrist of her wounded arm.
Mae cracked her eyes open curiously.
As she glanced down, she saw a black shape crawling over her hand in the moonlight that steamed through her window.
She sat up with a gasp.
Her affected hand involuntarily closed around the unwelcome invader and as she slowly opened it, she realized she had crushed a spider.
Mae wrinkled her nose at the mess, but before she could cry for Tom, a small, green flame erupted around the dead spider.
Mae blinked as what was left of the spider burned away in the palm of her hand as a small black spot formed beside it.
Bigger and bigger Mae watched the black spot grow until it sprouted eight legs.
Once the dead spider had vanished, she found herself staring at an inky, black, faceless silhouette of her miniature attacker.
Mae smiled as the creature looked up at her.
"Go away!" She laughed as she opened her hand and swung her arm.
Mae paid little mind to the fact that the creature vanished on her command as she laid back down and drifted into a deep sleep.
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Mae and James were tucked into bed before their parents retired to the privacy of their bedroom to discuss their day.
Harriet's eyes nearly bulged out of her head when her husband told her the happy news.
"TOM!" She gasped as she covered her mouth with her hands for a second. She dropped them in shock before she exclaimed, "Are you telling the truth?!?! They've nominated you as the Ministry's election candidate?!"
"Yes, sweetling, I am." He chuckled with an arrogant smirk. His chest swelled with pride as he bragged to his mate, "After I win the election, I'll become the youngest Minister for Magic in wizarding Britain's history. Won't that be exciting?"
Harriet rushed forward and threw her arms around her husband in a congratulatory embrace.
"That's brilliant! I'm so proud of you!" Harriet whispered as she buried her face in the crook of his neck.
While Tom accepted her hug and wrapped her in his grasp, a sinister grin spread across his face as he considered the dishonest tactics he had employed to catapult himself years ahead of his time.
Blissfully unaware, Harriet pulled back and rewarded her hardworking husband with a decadent kiss.
One kiss led to one touch and one hour later, the youngest Mr. and Mrs. Riddle held each other on the bed, bare and slick with sweat, as they basked in the afterglow of their satisfaction.
"Mmm, you could send me into a rut all over again, sweetling." Tom whispered into Harriet's ear while he held her close, "You're absolutely addictive."
Harriet responded with a noise between a chuckle and a gasp as she spoke, "I didn't tell you about my day yet, did I?"
Tom's heart skipped a beat.
He instantly pulled back to scan Harriet's face with his dark eyes.
"Sweetling…….?" He whispered in joyful anticipation.
Harriet's face twisted into an irritated frown as she realized what her husband thought she would say, "Oh, Tom, you can't be serious! It's been one day! How could I possibly know yet?"
He mirrored Harriet's frown as he shrugged, "Forgive me, sweetling……" Determined to worm out of any blame, he complimented Harriet, "You've been such an excellent mother to our children, I wasn't certain if your instincts would have given any clue after the passionate hours we spent together."
Harriet laughed quietly at her husband's suave attempt.
"Are you angry with me for enjoying being a father and a husband?" Tom asked.
"No, Tom, of course I'm not angry." She chided as she stretched herself in his arms, "Besides all that though, Amelia and I have decided that James and Lily will share their first birthday party together! Isn't that exciting?! He'll have so much fun!"
Tom bristled as soon as he listened to the words that fell from Harriet's lips.
In one swift motion, he released her and sat up in bed.
"What's the matter?" She frowned.
"Are you talking about that muggle woman?" Tom demanded.
"Yes, I am talking about that muggle woman, actually." Harriet shot back as she narrowed her eyes.
Anger overpowered Tom as he hissed,"My son should not have to share his celebration with anyone, let alone a little-"
"-Muggle girl?" Harriet finished for him.
Ominous tension filled the air as Tom's expression softened once he realized the disdain on Harriet's face.
During their time together, he had so far managed to keep his prejudices fairly well-hidden, yet he dreaded the friendships his wife and son continued to cultivate with the Trendells.
"No." Tom answered as he slapped a smile on his face, "I was going to say, sweetling, that our son shouldn't have to share his party with a little girl from a….disadvantaged household. These people aren't your friends, Harriet. They only want to take advantage of our charity."
"Tom, that's not true and you know it!" Harriet scoffed, "This entire thing was my idea in the first place!"
"After what?" Tom asked, "After your 'friend' played on your sympathy that her home wasn't big enough for her daughter's party?" He shrewdly asked.
"No." Harriet frowned, "That wasn't what Amelia did……James and Lily have been fond of each other since the day they were born. You know-"
"-I know it's not the first time someone from a lesser background tried to attach their daughter to a young man of fine social and financial standing." Tom sniffed.
"They're only children, Tom!" Harriet laughed mirthlessly, "They're still babies!"
"And there is no better time for them to grow so attached that they cannot part from one another." Tom surmised, "Before you know it, they'll be married and my father's fortune will be used to care for her ailing parents when the muggle government's money runs out."
"The Trendells aren't rich by any means, but they can provide for themselves." Harriet scowled.
"That's what they want you to believe, sweetling, so that we'll agree to a betrothal." Tom scoffed.
"I don't think muggles do betrothals anymore, Tom." Harriet laughed, "You're being ridiculous!"
"No, you are being blind and I am being sensible." Tom insisted.
Harriet crossed her arms over her breasts as she stared up at her husband, "I am going to host this party and that's that. You can't stop me….If I have to have it somewhere else, I will."
"Please be aware that I will under no circumstances agree to any sort of premeditated arrangement for our son." Tom staunchly declared.
"No one's asking you to, sweetheart!" Harriet sighed in exasperation.
"...Not yet." Tom frowned.
Harriet tired of their arguing and pulled her husband back into her arms to settle their tiff with loving silence.
While Tom claimed Harriet as his own, he bemoaned the fact that he had to keep his real misgivings shrouded behind a flimsy wall of fibs.
He could care less who his children married, as long as they were pureblooded, noble witches or wizards.
A poor, muggle girl would never do as a bride for any of his future sons, especially not his first.
……..Especially not his namesake.
Tom Riddle III married to a muggle?
Even while Tom junior kissed Harriet, the mere idea of that vile match made the bile rise in his throat.
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The next few weeks proved to be a time of bustling excitement for the Riddle Family.
Tom began his hasty campaign with Harriet and their children at his side.
It pulled on the heartstrings of wizarding Britain's citizens to see that the youngest Minister for Magic candidate in history was a well-rounded, kind-hearted family man.
Little Mae had the world at her feet with her fluffy hair, frilly dresses, and beaming smile.
Baby James charmed every onlooker with his adorable smile and jovial, friendly disposition.
Harriet loyally stood beside her alpha during the day.
Once they returned home each evening, she put the children to sleep with Tom's help and then worked on her share of the preparations for the children's upcoming birthday party.
Tom tried his best to impede Harriet's progress at every available turn.
Instead of offering to help her with the decorations, he often convinced her to give in to her drowsiness and brought her to bed, happy to curtail what she had been able to accomplish for the evening.
If Harriet asked him about a menu choice for the party's food, he waffled between one dish and the next, hoping she would abandon her pursuit of their son sharing his limelight with…….
With……
Tom frowned as he watched Harriet sleep on his shoulder one night; his darling wife, his beloved mate, the exhausted mother of their two young children who had acted as a selfless, generous resource for their family.
Harriet and their children were Tom's world.
Regardless, he silently hoped he would succeed in tailoring the world to his tastes before any more………unpleasantries…….arose.