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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Dining together each evening became a nightly tradition for Harriet and Severus during their stay at Palingan's Tempest.
One particular evening, Severus gathered the needed supplies as he prepared for his journey to Harriet's cabin.
Before he left his rooms, he paused in the mirror to pass a hand through his dark locks and ensure they were in place.
Although the gesture itself sickened him, he couldn't bear the thought of presenting himself to Harriet looking disheveled and unkempt.
Harriet………..
The previous months had been some of the strangest yet most pleasant of Severus Snape's recent years.
He frowned as he contemplated the many long talks and pleasant meals he had shared with his former student over the summer.
While Severus had been grateful for the delicious food, he had been more pleased with the surprisingly pleasant company offered by the beautiful omega.
After decades of isolation and rejection, it warmed his heart to have someone smile and laugh while they sat beside him.
Severus drew a deep breath as he gazed at his reflection before he swiftly stalked out of his rooms.
As he walked up the steps that led to Harriet's cabin, the stars twinkled brightly in the night sky.
Severus held no dreams of romance in his heart.
At Hogwarts or not, he was still a teacher.
The sole purpose of his visit to Harriet that night was merely to do just that, teach.
Harriet Potter was not a gorgeous, kind, unmated omega begging to find a mate and produce a family, no, she was just a former student in need of assistance.
Severus scowled.
Harriet Potter was a former student, that was all.
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In her rooms, Harriet fanned herself as she flustered around and tried to ensure everything was ready for Severus's arrival.
As she dressed in a simple set of blue robes, she ignored the throbbing in her head and the low cramps surging through her abdomen.
The past months had been lovely, but Harriet begrudged the ill-timing of her evening lesson with Severus.
She would have been elated for him to teach her how to properly brew Fertility Elixir if she hadn't been busy going into heat.
The cruel reality of her situation forced her to ignore her painful desires.
Harriet didn't want a lesson, she just wanted Severus.
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Knock!
Knock!
Two sharp raps at Harriet's door signaled her guest's arrival.
Her emerald eyes widened behind her glasses as she walked over and opened the door.
"Good evening, Professor," Harriet nodded to Severus while he stood on her deck.
Severus's dark eyes widened as he gazed down at her.
He fought against the dizzying ecstacy his instincts forced upon him as he realized Harriet's condition.
His stillness prompted her to remember herself and clamp a hand over the base of her neck as she exclaimed, "Oh….sorry! I forgot to wear a scent-blocker! If you don't mind waiting, I can go and-"
"-I'm not some sort of beast, Potter." Severus grouched as his pale face twisted into a scowl, "I am perfectly capable of restraining whatever primitive urges you imagine yourself capable of eliciting…..Shall we proceed with our lesson? The hours of the night will quickly pass…..and I do have several documents I need to review before I can rest."
"...Um, sure." Harriet nodded as she gazed up at Severus.
For a moment, she found herself entranced by his dark eyes.
Harriet longed for Severus to abandon his cold demeanor and lose his inhibitions.
She would have given anything for him to lean down, capture her lips, push her against the closest wall and proceed to-
"Well, Potter?" Severus snapped as he interrupted her fantasy, "I'm waiting."
"Right…..sorry. My mind's a bit foggy tonight. Follow me, I have everything ready." Harriet said after she shook herself from her trance and led Severus inside her private quarters.
Towards the back of the room, beside a large window, Severus noticed a small cauldron over an enchanted hot plate.
The cauldron already bubbled as smoke billowed from its mouth.
He begrudged the fact that smoke was odorless.
As Severus walked through Harriet's living area, he would have gladly preferred the sour fumes of a brewing potion over his temporary student's hypnotic scent.
Sweet and innocent, Harriet's smell coupled with the scandalous scene of their union he had glimpsed in her mind through a silent, stealthy Legilimency spell threatened to drive him mad.
As Harriet frowned at the small cauldron, she glanced up at Severus for a moment and explained, "I've already added mint, thicklebing leaves, and a single handful of chamomile powder." He watched as she held up a very old book and pointed to an ancient page on which the ink had faded half way down, "The spa's employees lent me this earlier today, but I can't make out the wording at the bottom….Should I use one scoop or two of pure lavendan jelly?"
"...May I?" Severus drawled as he reached an open hand towards Harriet.
Harriet nodded slightly as she placed the old book in his grasp.
She silently watched as Severus narrowed his eyes while he closely inspected the page.
"You are correct, Potter." He drawled in his low voice, "The years have allowed the writing at the page's bottom to become illegible. However," Harriet listened closely while he continued, "I have familiarity with a similar, modern combination. May I suggest substituting lavendan jelly for tinglean root bits? That particular ingredient is commonly used in fertility compounds…….To such an extent that I could spend the entire night endorsing its safety and effectiveness."
As Severus sat the supplies he had brought with him next to the cauldron, Harriet gladly accepted the jar of tinglean root bits he handed to her.
"How many should a few be?" She asked as she stared down at the bubbling pewter pot while she unscrewed the jar's lid.
"Half a handful." Severus commanded.
Harriet reached into the jar, but her fingers scooped more of the substance than her teacher deemed necessary.
Severus made a noise in his throat of slight irritation before he tsked and interrupted her, "No, Potter…."
Before Harriet could respond, he reached inside the jar, placed his hand over hers, and guided her to grasp the correct amount of tinglean root bits.
Their simple skin to skin connection took them both by surprise.
Severus froze as their hands touched.
Harriet drew a silent breath.
The tension in the room heightened as Severus guided Harriet to withdraw her hand from the jar, move it over the cauldron, and open it to drop the last ingredient inside.
As he released her hand, Harriet turned to meet his dark gaze, overpowered by her body's primal needs, but to her dismay, Severus had resumed his study of the book.
"A hearty stir should come next." Severus nodded without glancing up at Harriet, "...Then the mixture should be allowed to simmer."
Harriet sighed under her breath as she grabbed the ladle in the cauldron and began to stir.
Severus immediately became displeased with her motions.
"Who taught you how to stir a cauldron, Potter?...You aren't turning a wheel." He hissed as he glanced up from the book.
Harriet frowned as he snapped the volume shut and swept up behind her.
"With all due respect, sir……you…..taught me how to stir a cauldron." She scoffed.
Determined to ignore his urges but resigned to get another whiff of her addictive scent, Severus stood behind Harriet and gripped the ladle by placing his hands over hers.
"Oh……" She breathed as the alpha she wanted more than anything else in the world stood tragically near.
Ever so slightly, she leaned backwards to feel the outline of his tall, lean body pressed against her.
Severus remained all too aware of the contact, though he dared not mention it as he began to guide Harriet through the proper pattern of stirring.
"You should count yourself fortunate your Hogwarts days are over…..Potter." Severus purred in her ear. Harriet nearly melted into a puddle at the rhythmic hum of his decadent voice as he whispered, "Else I'd see you sentenced to detention…..for your cheek."
Harriet had enough of his subtle teasing.
She braced for his rejection, yet she took her opportunity.
Before Severus could stop her, she turned her head, raised herself up on her toes, and caught his lips in a deep kiss.
After years of silent, mournful longing, in her living area with her body going through its cycle and Severus pressed to her, she had to at least try.
Her heart leapt as she encountered Severus's zeal instead of his scorn.
He dropped the ladle as he groaned against her.
Although his body bristled at first, it only took a moment bathed in Harriet's sweet affection before he slipped his hands over her waist and silently returned her kiss.
Harriet whimpered as she cupped his face in her hands.
"Potter………." Severus whispered as Harriet staggered back against the small table.
"I love you." She confessed in a breathless whisper.
"Don't be cruel." His cold response came cuttingly as his fingers wandered off her waist and down her hips.
"I've loved you since I was a girl." Harriet went on between their kiss, "I have loved you and I will love you……and there's nothing you can do to stop me, Professor."
His dark eyes widened slightly as he pulled back to stare down at her while her bright green eyes glowed as she gazed up at him.
"I've loved you through the war and I love you now." Harriet frowned, "I know you'll never love me back, but I…..I still wanted you to hear it!...Finally! I don't care if you think I'm weak! I have a heart, Severus Snape, and it belongs to you!"
As Severus gazed at Harriet, she watched an unfamiliar softness slowly creep into his glimmering, dark eyes.
Harriet couldn't tell if his stare expressed sentiment, sympathy, pity, or all three, but she lost herself in his black eyes, unaware of the grip she already had on his heart.
She imagined how wonderful it would actually be…..to mate with Severus, be taken by Severus……..claimed by the man she loved.
As he bent forward, Harriet closed her emerald eyes and lost herself in his kiss once more.