Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!
—
Tom had wondered if his infatuation with Harriet would at least level once he had his darling pregnant with his child.
It surprised him that Harriet's condition only worsened his dark obsession.
Her scent sweetened by the day, which made her all the more irresistible to Tom.
He had to purposely choose his words in her presence not to reveal the true degree of his frustrated irritation.
Unless Tom was hovering over Harriet, claiming her in her nest, or watching her closely with one hand on her growing belly, then he became irked beyond measure.
His aides, along with most other Ministry employees had begun to notice their superior's shortened temper.
After Harriet joyfully told her friends the good news, she and Tom decided to hold a press conference to formally notify Britain's wizarding world of their happy announcement.
One afternoon, they each spoke from a podium as they stood beside each other while they informed the media of their relationship and Harriet's pregnancy.
Cameras flashed.
Shouted questions rang out.
In an attempt to protect his expectant darling, Tom ended the press conference prematurely by sweeping his cloak over Harriet and hurrying them both off the platform.
"Minister!" One of his aides called as the band of ravenous reporters chased them.
Tom ignored their call as he and Harriet rushed towards the press conference room's door.
"Minister Riddle!" Another aide called as he rushed to Tom's side, "You can't leave yet! The media has another fifteen minutes left in their time slot!"
"I am the Minister for Magic!" Tom hissed. The arm he had around Harriet's shoulders pulled her closer against him as he snapped, "I can and will do whatever necessary to protect my family!"
"Could we not grant an interview?" Harriet asked,
Tom glanced at her with his dark eyes narrowed, "...What was that, sweetling?"
Over the cacophony of squeals, shouted questions, and eager chatter behind them, it was difficult to hear.
"Could we not grant an interview…..for a single reporter to tell our story and ask the press then to leave us alone?" Harriet blinked.
"...Do you feel up to that?" Tom asked incredulously.
"For fifteen minutes….." She shrugged, "I think I could manage."
Tom scowled before he glanced over and nodded at his aide, "Very well. Choose one reporter and send them straight to my office. Be sure to mention the Minister and his….er, the Head Auror will grant one and only one interview on the matter."
"Yes, sir!" Tom's aide obediently replied before he ran off towards the unruly crowd while Harriet and Tom left the room to seek out the safe, peaceful respite of his office.
She didn't bother to consider who may be sent to conduct the interview.
All Tom worried about was if Harriet and their children would be alright having experienced such unexpected stress.
Back in the press room, however, one unbelievably persistent reporter clawed her way through the crowd with her half spectacles firmly in place and her flamboyant clothing clearly distinguishing her.
"I do beg your pardon, sir!" The journalist called as she boldly stepped onto the platform over her clambering colleagues. Her smile revealed rows of white teeth made glaringly bright by the hideous compliment of red lipstick, "But perhaps I am the best man, or woman rather, for the job. I've had the pleasure of interviewing the Head Auror previously, back during her Quidditch days at Hogwarts."
Tom's aide smiled, relieved to have his decision simplified, "Very well, ma'-am. If you'll follow me, I'll take you straight to the Minister's office."
As the aide led the way, Rita Skeeter smirked as she trailed behind him.
—
"I'm terribly sorry, sweetling." Tom cooed to Harriet as he rubbed her feet while she lay on the sofa of his office.
"You don't have to be sorry, Tom. I'm used to it, I've faced the press before." Harriet sighed as she laid a hand on her belly, "I'm just…..I'm just more sensitive now, my stamina isn't quite what it was."
"Naturally." Tom grinned.
"It's odd though." Harriet scowled, "Because the midwife confirmed what I've read…I'm surprised to have more energy this trimester."
"Perhaps the midwife momentarily forgot you're expecting three." Tom chided, "From what I've read, exhaustion is a common symptom for women carrying multiples."
"I'll be too big to move by the time they're born," Harriet huffed as she placed a hand over her full belly.
The thought tightened Tom's trousers.
He opened his mouth to respond but was caught off guard by a shrill rapping at his door.
Vexed that his moment with Harriet had been interrupted, he turned his head and shouted with a snarl, "Yes…?!"
"Minister, sir, I have the journalist here for your interview." Tom heard his aide call through the door.
Harriet sighed as she sat up and slipped her feet back into her shoes with Tom's help before he called out, "...Send them in!"
The door to his office swung open as Rita Skeeter strolled into the room with an impish grin on her pale face.
Harriet recognized her immediately as she gasped, "Rita Skeeter!"
"Hello, Harriet Potter." Rita chuckled as she boldly walked over and sat down on the sofa adjacent to the one Tom and his lover shared, "Long time, no see, eh? Minister Riddle." She nodded at Tom.
Tom was more than aware of Rita Skeeter's embellished accounts of events in the wizarding world.
Although Harriet harbored a particular dislike for the reporter who had rudely twisted her words in the interview she had participated in during her Hogwarts' days, as she saw how comfortable Tom seemed with the woman, Harriet generously decided to give her a second chance.
"Let's get started shall we?" Rita smirked.
"Of course, Miss Skeeter." Tom nodded,
It was his desperate hope that Rita would embellish the details he and Harriet were about to speak.
Tom didn't want a boring, bland article printed about their interview.
He wanted Rita to plaster the details of their passionate love for one another all across The Daily Prophet's pages.
—
Rita Skeeter did not disappoint.
The article she wrote after her exclusive interview dropped jaws and widened eyes.
Harriet abhorred the publicity she and Tom received as a result, but he delighted in the extra attention.
Letters began to pour into the Ministry from wizarding Britain's citizens offering congratulations and vehement best wishes to the unlikely pair.
Although he chose his words and actions very carefully, he allowed himself to live out the fantasy that they had already mated.
In the meantime, he continued to be as doting a man as any expectant mother could ever hope to have nearby.
Normally fiercely independent and painfully determined, as Harriet's pregnancy progressed, she gradually gave in to Tom's offers for assistance.
Still months away from the birth, Harriet easily looked full term with Tom's triplets nestled in her short torso.
Tom had to battle himself constantly to stay calm around his expectant lover.
Although there were times when Harriet became annoyed with his near constant kisses and touches, she counted herself fortunate to be so desired by an alpha who was not yet…..officially…..hers.
One evening, Harriet lay in her nest as Tom covered her in soft kisses.
A box of chocolate-covered strawberries lay beside them on top of the soft blankets.
Tom's elegant hands splayed over her womb as she sighed while he glanced up from his ministrations to meet her emerald gaze.
"Would you like another, sweetling?" He asked in his velvet voice.
Harriet's eyes flickered to the strawberries before she frowned and said, "I dunno…I think you're trying to make me fat, Tom."
"Harriet…..." Tom chuckled with a wolfish grin, "I'm merely attempting to satisfy your cravings. Can you fault me for that?"
Harriet smiled tiredly as she lifted a hand and let her fingers idly play with Tom's dark curls as she answered, "Fault you? No. I hadn't imagined I'd ever have a mate, who-"
Tom's dark eyes widened.
Harriet gasped quietly at her own mistake before she hurriedly sat up as Tom moved back.
"Sorry." She said quickly as she shook her head, "I didn't mean to….Er, what I meant was-"
"-Harriet Potter." Tom interrupted as a smile spread across his handsome face. He kept his hands securely on her heavy womb as he laughed darkly, "I am honoured beyond words that you would ever, if only by mistake, consider me as your mate."
Harriet let out a ragged breath as she gazed at Tom.
The gentle softness in her green eyes spurred him onwards.
She was needy, she was vulnerable, and Tom had no doubt that if he spoke very carefully, Harriet could at last, be his, truly his.
The moment slipped away without his consent as Harriet looked away, "I…My mind seems scattered now."
Tom clenched his jaw in consternation.
After more than a decade of silent brooding, pining, and unrelenting yearning, with Harriet pregnant in his bed, Tom Riddle chose to pursue his endeavor of winning her heart.
"But my love for you is not." He revealed in a tone that sounded colder than he anticipated.
Harriet blinked in surprise.
"...What?" She asked.
"May I be truthful with you, sweetling?" Tom frowned.
"...Sure." Harriet nodded.
Tom swept his hands off her belly and gripped her palms instead as he gazed into her eyes and spoke, "Harriet, I have desired you, fought for you, loved you since the moment we met on the train as children."
Behind her glasses, Harriet's eyes widened.
Tom went on before she could respond, "I have to admit, I've volunteered my assistance largely from my own selfish desires."
He waited tensely through the silence that followed.
It gnawed at the edges of his nerves to notice Harriet didn't immediately respond.
The frown that crossed her face broke his heart as she asked, "Are you saying, Tom….That you didn't actually want…children?"
The devastation was plain in Harriet's voice as she let go of one of his hands to place it cautiously over her belly.
"No, Harriet, no." Tom reassured her quickly. He wasted no time as he explained, "I've always desired an heir…You've been thoughtful enough to give me three and that only adds to my admiration of you. I could have chosen any witch to mother my children. From the beginning, I gladly accepted the dreamlike chance to share this with you…..But you are my ultimate desire, Harriet Potter…..you."
"And you would be my mate?" Harriet frowned.
"Better." Tom smirked. He leaned down close to Harriet as he teased, "I would do anything in the world, anything at all, for the mere chance of you considering me as such."
Harriet stroked his cheek with a hand as she gazed into his eyes.
"I'm not very good at…this sort of thing." She chuckled.
"Fortunately, I am." He growled as he leaned towards her.
"Tom…." Harriet breathed.
As she closed her eyes and cupped his face, he shivered as he anticipated enjoying the decadent treat of her kiss once more.
Once their lips met, Tom held her in his arms as Harriet pushed herself forward until her breasts crushed against his chest.
After years spent harboring a secret crush on one of her closest friends, it delighted Harriet to learn of his hidden love for her.
While Tom celebrated his victory by turning her to malleable clay under his gentle touch and addictive kisses, Harriet hazily thought back.
Tom Riddle had never been known for his kindness, yet he had always been kind to her.
Harriet closed her eyes and whimpered as Tom found the warm, waiting center between her legs with his fingers and mouth.
While he prepared to make her scream his name again, the realization occurred somewhere in her foggy mind that actually, Tom's secret love hadn't ever really been a secret at all.
Their gentle kisses ignited deeper passions as the minutes went by and their heavy breathing filled the room.
"Tommmmmmm!" Harriet cried out as his actions lifted her over a pleasurable peak.
Her cry was a sweet siren's song to Tom's ears.
