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 Harriet's fourth year of Hogwarts began, she headed back to school with a bright smile on her face, prepared for another year of adventures with her friends.
Regardless of her enthusiasm, things seemed much different than before.
Harriet had promised her parents she would make daily trips to her father's private chambers in the castle and check on Anuman.
They had agreed to move the snake to Severus's office for Harriet's convenience, since she wouldn't be able to come home every weekend.
Severus and Lily had made it quite clear her new pet was her responsibility and they intended for her to take his care seriously.
Harriet and Anuman had become wonderful friends.
She had no intention of disappointing anyone with how well she looked after him.
Besides the matter of her new pet, Harriet noticed that Ellery declined to sit with her on the Hogwarts Express and instead chose to be with his Slytherin friends for the journey back to school.
She shrugged her brother's decision aside as the train moved along its track, yet that didn't seem to ease the painful sting in her heart.
That night, after she had settled into her dormitory, she wore a deep frown as her quill scratched across the blank diary page.
Tom,
Ellery decided to sit with his housemates instead of me on the train. We've always been close…..Do you think it's something I've done?
Harriet drew a breath as her words disappeared only to be replaced by new ones.
Good evening my dear Harriet,
Of course not. Everyone must find their path. Is it not good to be back in the castle, regardless of what your brother chose to do or not do?
Harriet's frown lessened as she wrote back.
Of course. My brother and I are still friends….I have Ron and Hermione as well…..and my snake.
She watched her ink sink into the page before a reply appeared, letter by letter.
You have me too.
Harriet's frown morphed into a bright smile.
No matter how depressed or disheartened she ever became, during the two years they had written to each other, Harriet had learned that Tom Riddle, the boy in the diary, never failed to lift her spirits.
As she held the book in her hand, warmth bubbled in her heart.
Unbeknownst to Harriet, as she wrote to Tom that evening, a shiver ran down Voldemort's spine while he walked down the blackened corridor of one of his many hideouts.
His serpentine eyes glistened in the darkness for a moment as an ugly sneer crossed his hideous face.
After the brief, uncomfortable sensation passed, he shrugged it off and continued his walk.
Voldemort was not very fond of feeling anything, let alone an inexplicable chill.
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Hogwarts nearly lost its Potions Master to tardiness one morning as Severus lay in bed for an extended moment, with his lips on Lily's and his arms woven around her lithe waist.
"Mmm, Sev? Don't you have to be on your way soon, darling?" She whispered into their kiss.
A giggle escaped her throat as Severus unexpectedly flipped them over in bed and crawled on top of her.
"Regrettably……." He drawled in his decadent voice as he pulled away and gazed down at his wife.
There were few things in the world he enjoyed seeing more than Lily naked underneath him, entirely at his command.
She smiled as her gaze met her husband's.
Her crimson hair spread behind her on the pillow like a ruby curtain of shimmering softness, with her pale hands at either side of her head, arms bent at the elbow.
Between the plumpness of her breasts and the vibrant richness of her emerald eyes, Severus found himself transfixed.
"You are very beautiful….my love." He whispered in a devoted confession as he furrowed his brow and stared at his darling.
"And you….are very handsome, Sev." Lily smiled as she raised a hand to cup his cheek while she returned his compliment.
Severus turned his head to press a gentle kiss against her palm.
Lily's smile widened as his black gaze remained on her while he kissed over the edge of her hand and slowly made his way up her arm.
Cries of pleasure left her as his lips ghosted over her breasts.
As Severus moved and Lily instinctively widened her knees for him, both Mr. and Mrs. Snape delighted in the joy their love afforded.
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Harriet's fourth year proved to be fairly uneventful during the first week.
All of the usual occurrences happened; class, homework, chats with her friends, visits with Anuman, writing to Tom, Quidditch…..
It struck her as odd though that Hogwarts had not yet chosen to fill the open position for Defence Against the Dark Arts professor.
Day in and day out, her period of defensive learning was conducted by one of her existing teachers after another as they all took turns temporarily filling the role.
Everyone else gossiped, but Harriet noticed the changes in her father's expressions as unknown events took place.
One day Severus had looked worried, the next angry, and then the next, relieved.
It came as a surprise to nearly everyone except Draco when Lucius Malfoy sat beside Severus at the Great Hall's High Table on the second Monday morning of the school year.
While curious whispers raced throughout the room about the Hogwarts Governor's sudden appearance, Harriet noticed the arrogant smirk on Draco's face.
Professor Dumbledore stoically approached the podium.
The whispers silenced as the headmaster held up his hands and spoke, "Everyone, I would like very much to thank you all for lending me your attention……..It pleases me to announce the arrival of our guest Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, Lucius Malfoy."
Draco and his friends at Slytherin's table clapped vigorously while the rest of the Great Hall joined in with polite, albeit less exuberant, applause.
Harriet happened to glance over at Draco and scowled at the arrogant smirk he threw in her direction.
Lucius and Severus sat with quiet looks of satisfaction on their faces while they both partook in their latest assignment from Voldemort.
It made Severus want to laugh and cry knowing Dumbledore was perfectly aware of their secret plot and intended to let the Dark Lord see it through in an effort to ensnare him.
"Furthermore….." Dumbledore continued once the noise died away, "I have another announcement as well."
Severus scowled.
Lucius shifted in his seat.
More whispers hurriedly tumbled from the hundreds of mouths in front of the headmaster before Dumbledore lifted his hands a bit higher and declared, "We have a second new staff member that will be joining us as well."
Severus narrowed his dark eyes incredulously.
The headmaster hadn't mentioned a second-
Without warning, the door to the teachers' corridor behind the High Table swung open as a tall, brown-haired man stepped into the room.
Lucius sneered but Severus's mouth fell open.
"Please, everyone, join me in welcoming Remus Lupin! Our first Professor of the new subject we'll be adding starting next week as an optional elective……The Study of Magical Culture!"
Chatter erupted between the students while they obediently applauded Remus, who shyly bowed and nodded before he walked over and took his seat.
Severus struggled not to let his hands tremble with frustrated anxiousness as he and his old enemy made eye contact.
He wondered if it was his imagination or not, but as he stared at Remus, he could have promised he saw the werewolf flinch guiltily before he looked away.
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Immediately after dinner, Severus's black robes billowed behind him as he stalked down the hallway and headed straight for the rooms he had discovered had been assigned as Remus Lupin's new private quarters.
His paranoia was not unfounded.
The slightest mistake, misslip, or misstep could send him and his family to their grisly doom.
Remus cried out in surprise as the door to his classroom flung open and revealed Severus glaring at him from the hallway.
In one swift motion, Severus swooped forward like a bat as he slammed the door shut behind himself.
He rushed forward, wrapped a hand around Remus's throat, and pushed him against a wall with his wand at his neck as he hissed, "What do you know, Lupin?...Tell me!"
"S-Severus, please….." Remus begged as he held up his hands in defence, "I-I heard you have a son and daughter here as students now. I-I promise to treat them fairly! You have my solemn vow! I'll take good care of them both!...Of all my students!...I…..I wish I could change the past, but I can't! Please! I understand if you can't forgive me, but know that I have lived with an enormous amount of regret all these years!"
Severus narrowed his eyes as he scowled at Remus and performed a silent bit of Legilimency without his foe's knowledge.
He found comfort as he scanned his enemy's thoughts and realized that Remus remained innocently ignorant about his daughter's true connection to James Potter.
With a hateful sneer, Severus released his prisoner, whirled around, and stormed towards the door.
Before he left, he turned and regarded Remus with a stare so icy it could have frozen a unicorn's heart as he spoke, "Know this….Lupin…..As long as you remain at this castle, with my children in your midst, I will see to it that you drink Wolfsbane Potion every month……if I have to pour the concoction down your throat myself."
"Severus!..." Remus frowned as he reached towards him.
He was too late.
Before Remus could speak reassurances or further seek any sort of reconciliation, Severus crashed out of the door and glided into the hallway.
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While her father ran his covert errand, Harriet thoughtfully tended Anuman in the Potions Master's office.
"There you are." She hissed in Parseltongue as she adjusted the enchanted heat lamp to shine on her friend's new, spacious enclosure Dumbledore had helped secure for his comfort, "Let me know if this doesn't work, I don't want you to get cold down here."
Anuman's reptilian eyes gazed at Harriet as his tongue flickered.
Harriet saw only the gratitude of her pet.
She didn't realize the blood python she loved desperately wanted her to see him for his true self.
"Thank you…….for your kindness." He hissed in reply.
Harriet smiled as she slipped a hand through the bars and gave his scaly face a gentle rub.
In that silent moment, Anuman gazed into Harriet's eyes before she released him and stood to her feet.
After she had left, he wrapped himself in loose coils, laid his head down, and closed his eyes.
As Anuman slept, pleasant dreams played through his mind.
He saw himself and Harriet as adults, happily sitting outside their home along the river.
They had a simple house, but it was cozy enough for their family.
A little dark-haired boy walked alongside him as he approached a mango tree.
A small girl sat on Harriet's lap and chatted with her mother while his darling wife held their youngest baby at her breast.
In his sleep, Anuman's tail quivered while he watched himself walk over and pick fruit from the overhanging tree to feed their young son as Harriet watched with a smile.
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Across the castle, hidden away in a distant corner of the abandoned Slytherin boys' lavatory, Draco bit his lip as he crouched in a stall and gripped himself while he fantasized about Harriet.
He imagined her whispering in his ear while she sat on his lap and moved her hips over his.
He squinted his eyes shut as he fantasized about touching her as she told him how she belonged to him and only him……..
While Anuman dreamed and Draco pined, Harriet sat in her dormitory with a smile as she happily penned her next response with her quill.
The Girl Who Lived had already managed to win the hearts of two would-be suitors, yet Tom Riddle was the only boy on her mind.