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 blinked as she slowly opened her eyes.

While consciousness gradually returned to her hazy mind, she groaned as she heard the whispering of voices nearby.

A door opened.

Someone went out……….

………….And someone came closer.

A dark shape appeared.

"...Dad?" Harriet blinked as she furrowed her brow until Severus's pale face came into focus.

"Good…….you're awake at last." Severus remarked in his cutting drawl.

Harriet looked over and noticed the vast array of vials that stood on the nightstand while Severus reached over and uncorked one of the tallest glass pieces.

"What's all that?" She asked as she hastily sat up.

"Still…..be still." Severus said quickly as he reached out and used one hand to gently push her back against the pillows, "...I can't possibly let harm befall you. Forgetting my own implications, your mother and your lover will be beside themselves if they hear of another incident…….especially so very soon."

"Mom….." Harriet sputtered in confusion before she sat up again and asked, "Mom was there?! Did Mom see what happened?!"

"No, but she saw your wounds." Severus said very matter-of-factly while he pressed a cool cloth down on Harriet's aching shoulder, "That was enough to send her into a fit of worry."

"It's not that serious." Harriet confidently determined as she yawned while her fingers pressed over Severus's, "...I'll be fine, really."

"Yes, I'll wager that after you escape my and your mother's care, you'll be perfectly fine indeed, although it may be some time before you rejoin your……..friends." Severus let the last word fall from his mouth as if it were some sort of taboo insult.

"...What are you talking about, Dad?" Harriet asked as Severus placed a couple drops of fluid from the tall, glass bottle onto the bandage that covered her injured shoulder, "I'm alright, there may be a few accidents, but I can look after myself."

"The midwife was summoned here immediately after you and Draco arrived last night." Severus slowly revealed.

Harriet's mouth slowly dropped open as he explained, "After a quick examination and several carefully told lies from your mother, she determined you should remain supervised until the birth…….and within the safety of your own home."

Harriet's eyes widened.

She shot forth with such ferocity that Severus could not hold her down as she exclaimed, "Have you gone mad?! I can't stay here!"

"Quiet……." Severus warned her in a biting hiss.

Harriet scowled as an act of quiet protest but in a rare moment of obedience, she humored her father and lay back.

"We'll never find what we need to find and do what we need to do as long as I'm lying here." She huffed as Severus gently tended her bandage.

"Nor will anything productive be accomplished if your foolish pursuits end with your lifeless body lying on a heap of all the others." He quietly quipped.

Harriet's green eyes moved over to him in a single second as her eyes narrowed.

"A lady in your condition can often suffer from issues with magical talent at a time like this." Severus revealed, "I understand your determination to persevere, but your insolent negligence to the reality you find yourself faced with is nothing short of…..irresponsible."

Harriet laughed as she put a hand to her head.

Severus scowled at the sound until he glanced up and noticed his daughter had pressed her fingers down over her eyes as if she were in great pain.

He opened his mouth to speak but Harriet took his chance as she asked, "...Do you regret it?"

"...I beg your pardon?" Severus scowled.

"Do you regret loving Mum?" Harriet asked as she let her hand slip away to stare up into Severus's face.

"Your mother has been my life since I met her on the riverbank as a child." Severus said with an unintended roughness in his voice, "Loving her has never been a choice……Loving her has been the only real truth I've ever known."

Harriet couldn't help but smile at her father's words.

Neither Harriet nor Severus noticed but as they spoke, the door had cracked open while Lily peered in to see if her husband needed any help.

As she listened to his heartfelt sentiment, tears welled in her emerald eyes.

"Do you regret being my Dad?" Harriet asked Severus.

His black eyes studied her closely as he threw her the same calculating look he often gave to his students who managed to perplex him with their idiocy.

"Being your father has been the second truth I've ever known." Severus said simply as he reached over, corked the bottle of tonic he had used, and stood.

Harriet settled back to rest as the enchanted mixture lulled her into drowsiness with a smile on her face and her heavy heart somewhat lightened.

Severus lingered there for a moment until he noticed her chest rising and falling gently as she drifted through a pleasant dream.

Satisfied he had cared for his daughter as best he could, he turned on his heel and moved to leave the room.

His dark eyes narrowed as he opened the door and found Lily staring at him in bewilderment.

"Sorry, I didn't mean for you to be out so quick!" Lily gasped in a hushed whisper.

"Have you been here this entire time, my love?" Severus frowned.

"I have…" Lily smiled shyly as Severus stepped into the hall and quietly closed the door behind himself, "...Loving you has been the only real truth I've ever known too, Sev." She said with a delicious chuckle lining her voice.

Severus would have been mortified if anyone else had been present, but seeing Lily as his and his alone, he chivalrously accepted her loving words by offering her his arm.

Lily gently placed her hand over his and together, they walked down the hallway, intent on staying nearby to watch over their daughter.

Lucius and Narcissa remained under the impression the baby belonged to Draco.

The previous night, there had been a terrible accident……that was all.

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Tom knew well enough that being close to his other part would bring nothing but danger for his darling and their child.

Once he apparated straight into Draco's room later that evening, he purposely kept his visit short as he bent down and placed a loving kiss on Harriet's lips.

His dark eyes softened as he pulled back and admired how peaceful she looked in her sleep.

A quick glance at the nearby potions quickly showed him the reason for her deep slumber as he bent down and pressed the center of his nose against hers while he whispered, "Oh, Harriet……my darling, my love…..Will you ever listen to me?"

Harriet said nothing in response as she slept on, but Tom placed one last kiss upon her lips before he stealthily apparated away.

Outside in the hallway, Draco sniffed as he listened to the silence that followed Tom Riddle's departure.

He found comfort in knowing that his rival had left at last.

Draco had placed himself on the window seat in the adjoining section of hallway, a short distance from Harriet's door, minutes after Severus and Lily had left earlier that day.

Draco had passed the hours gazing out the window at Malfoy Manor's rain soaked gardens while he loyally waited for Harriet to wake.

Her parents had come and gone.

Tom himself had come and gone, but Draco remained steadfastly at her side.

What kind of monster would he be if he left his darling all alone?

Suppose she woke and needed someone, wanted something?

Draco's jaw rippled as he gnashed his teeth while he looked out the window at the moonlit night.

No……….he couldn't bear the thought of Harriet opening her eyes in want of anything, or in need, or in pain.

Draco vowed no matter what the others did, he would do differently, he would be there for his beloved, whether she wanted him to be or not.