Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!
—
Regardless of her budding love affair with Tom, as the weeks passed, Harriet only became more miserable.
What used to be one nap in his office a day turned into four by the time she saw the midwife for her seventh month check up.
Tom stood by Harriet's side as she lay on the examination table while the midwife performed a variety of diagnostic charms.
As she waited on the results, she cleaned her hands and gently felt Harriet's heavy belly.
"Is there anything you can do to ease her discomfort?" Tom asked while Harriet waited impatiently for the midwife to finish her work, "The usual potions aren't helping. She can barely make it through a day."
"I'm afraid at this point, there's not much left to do but rest and wait, Minister Riddle." The midwife smiled at the couple, "However, I can sign an excuse for your employer, Miss Potter." The midwife nodded.
"He is my employer!" Harriet snapped as she pointed at Tom.
He patted her hand as the midwife shrugged and asked the couple, "A break from the office until the babies arrive may be for the best."
"I don't want to stop working." Harriet frowned.
"We've had several chats about the issue." Tom smiled at the midwife, "She's quite dedicated to her career."
"Are you also dedicated to enduring dangerous complications for you and your children, Miss Potter?" The midwife retorted as she blinked at Harriet over her spectacles.
"No." Harriet pouted.
"Then I'd strongly urge you to reconsider." The midwife nodded.
Harriet huffed as she looked at Tom for help, but he just flashed her an arrogant grin.
"Let it be a consolation to you, Miss Potter….." The midwife said as she lifted her hands from Harriet, walked over, and studied the results of her charms, "In a month or so, you may have your little ones in your arms."
Harriet could barely see over her belly.
She knew the birth was approaching, but somehow, the midwife's declaration sent her heart racing with excited anxiety.
Tom watched the expression of uncertainty wash over her fair face before he reached out, clasped her hand, and gave her a reassuring nod.
It calmed Harriet to see her lover had no outwardly noticeable qualms at all.
Most expectant fathers were a nervous wreck as their mates approached the expected dates of their deliveries, but Tom Riddle was not most expectant fathers.
—-
Tom's priority shifted to convincing Harriet to reduce her own burden.
The Auror Department would have no trouble functioning without her for a few months.
To Tom's dismay, his darling was harder to convince than he originally anticipated.
Later that evening, Harriet lay in bed while Tom prepared to join her.
He noticed her emerald stare following him around the room and made use of the moment to strip himself slowly.
A sly smirk curled his lips as he glanced up and caught Harriet tracing the fine lines of lean muscle that covered his exposed torso and arms.
"See something you like, sweetling?" Tom asked flirtatiously as he removed his pants and underwear.
"It's not polite to tease, Tom." Harriet pouted.
He shrugged and replied, "I don't remember ever claiming to be polite."
Harriet scoffed at his arrogance while he grabbed his wand, cleaned his body with a spell, and pulled on a pair of black sleep trousers.
Her hungry gaze amused him as he slipped into bed next to her.
"If there's something you want, sweetling, you only have to say so." He smirked.
Harriet's hormones surprised him as her mood switched to angry frustration while she snapped, "I want you to stop pestering me to take a leave of absence from work."
Tom chuckled darkly.
"Sweetling," He purred as he moved over Harriet to stare down at her while she laid against her pillows, "Though I find your fierceness intriguing, you're beginning to try my patience."
Harriet scowled up at Tom as his dark eyes flickered over her.
"Your body is tired. The midwife has already advised you to give yourself the opportunity to rest…I love you, Harriet Potter, but I cannot allow your stubbornness to harm our children. Surely you understand, sweetling?" Tom said with a smile that was far too sweet.
Harriet didn't seem intimidated in the least as she crossed her arms over the weight of her fuller breasts.
The action she meant to signal defiance only sparked Tom's lust as his dark eyes watched the subtle movement of her ample curves.
"What are you going to do about it, then, Tom?" Harriet scoffed, "Lock me out of my office?"
Tom smirked as he opened his hand and summoned his wand into his grasp from its place on the nightstand with one swift, nonverbal spell.
"Oh, sweetling," He sighed as he stood from the bed in one smooth motion, "I see you've severely underestimated my imagination."
"Containis." Tom spoke smoothly as he pointed his wand at Harriet.
Harriet's emerald eyes widened as four swirling vines of shifting blackness crawled towards her from each corner of the bed.
"Tom!" She shouted in surprise as they crept closer and closer.
"I've tried to tell you, sweetling," Tom shrugged as he watched, "That I expect you to listen to me, as my mate. I always know what's best for you, Harriet."
Harriet gasped as those black vines wrapped around her ankles and wrists.
"Tom!" She called in irritation.
Fear never entered her mind.
Although she was being bound to a bed directly in front of the wizarding world's most powerful dark wizard, she haughtily assumed Tom would never harm her.
The vines themselves were a reassurance of his unwillingness to inflict any real pain on her, made from some sort of soft rubbery substance, Harriet noticed they squeezed her only enough to hold her in place.
Tom watched casually until the vines had positioned her to lay against the pillows, upright and comfortable with her arms out to her sides and her legs spread wide.
"Tom!" Harriet laughed as he vanished her panties and nightgown with a wave of his wand.
"There, that's much better." He smirked.
As Tom dove forward, Harriet gasped in wild anticipation of what was to come.
—
It was a controversial thing for the Minister to work from home, but Tom was used to breaking the social norms associated with his position.
Even after their feisty bit of play had ended and Harriet had agreed to take a few weeks off, as the babies' arrival hastened, she reached the point where her body demanded she spend a large amount of each day asleep.
Owls spent their waking hours flying to and fro Riddle Manor either bringing the Minister for Magic his work or carrying parcels from his home to the appropriate person or office.
Tom's professional drive had not decreased.
More determined than ever to cling to his position of power, he muscled through his daily workload in record speed.
By midmorning, he usually completed his duties, after which he fed Harriet breakfast once she woke.
During the afternoons, while Harriet slept, Tom studied the many books he had collected on childbirth, infant care, and postpartum recovery.
One rainy Thursday, while Harriet dozed in her nest, his dark eyes narrowed as he skimmed over one volume's final chapter.
He couldn't help bur glance up once his reading became difficult as the last remaining bit of light left the sky.
From the large window in his grand bedroom, Tom narrowed his eyes at the black sky that had come to surround Riddle Manor.
"That's some storm." He heard a whisper behind him.
Tom turned around and gave Harriet a gentle smile as he spoke, "I didn't realize you'd woken, sweetling."
"I know." Harriet huffed as she sat up and tried to get comfortable, "That's why I let you read for a bit. If I'm awake, you don't get anything done except tend me."
"There's nothing wrong with that." Tom smirked as he stood, walked over to the bed, and helped her into a more comfortable position.
"Is that any better?" He asked once he had her settled on her side.
"Not particularly." Harriet groaned as she moved her leg up farther on the pillow that lay against her body.
Tom had learned the limits of her patience over the last few weeks.
If he hadn't loved Harriet, he would have enraged her by selfishly reaching out and pinching the fattened rosebuds that taunted him from underneath her thin nightgown as she sighed.
"I hope you realize you have talent. Not many omegas can look this beautiful this far along." He chided as his dark gaze moved over her in silent admiration.
"Piss off, Tom." Harriet grouched while she tried to get comfortable, "I'm not-"
Tom blinked as Harriet's words cut off as she sucked in a breath and placed a hand to her side.
"Sweetling….?" He asked hesitatedly, "What's the matter?"
"I….I hurt….." Harriet whispered as she rolled onto her back and arched her spine.
Tom's eyes widened as Harriet closed hers and pressed her hand against her side, "Oh, Tom…I hurt! There! There!"
Her support was instant.
She hadn't even heard Tom move before he rushed forward, placed his hands on her belly, and calmly instructed her, "Breathe….Breathe…..That's it, the worst of it will be over in a moment."
Harriet bit her lip as the cramp in her midsection strengthened, but Tom was there with her as he placed his hands over hers.
When the pain ended and she dared to look around the room again, Tom's face was the first thing she saw.
"Goodness, sweetling, I felt that one against my fingers." He frowned in concern, "Shall I call the midwife?"
"No…" Harriet whispered as she fought to regain her breath while she sat up in her nest.
"Then should I contact St. Mungo's?" Tom frowned, "Tell me where you want to be and I'll take you there straight away."
"I don't know what's happening." Harriet said distantly as she raised a hand to her temple.
Tom blinked for a moment before he scowled, "You're ready to deliver triplets, that's what's happening. We've been waiting on this for weeks…Keep calm, sweetling, I'll be beside you the entire time."
"No, Tom, I don't know that it's time yet! Listen to me!" Harriet snapped.
His frown returned at her hateful outburst before she moved towards the edge of her bed and sighed, "I've had early pains for weeks, that could have been one of them. Let me rest for a moment, I'll be fine."
Tom frowned as he slipped into Harriet's nest behind her and began to knead the tense muscles of her lower back.
His omega looked ready to burst.
Harriet had done little to convince him a spasm strong enough to stop her speech hadn't been the beginning of her final battle.
—
For the next two hours, Harriet tried desperately to convince herself the birth would be delayed, but Tom focused on the task of helping her through the beginnings of labour.
Uncomfortable in the bed, Tom agreed to let Harriet stand as long as she held onto him for support.
To Tom's frantic elation, the pains came closer and stronger the more Harriet moved.
One particularly bad cramp sent her shouting as she leaned against a wall and clung to him.
"AAAAAGGH!"
Tom's expression became deadly serious as he watched Harriet squat down while she panted through the receding echoes while he coached, "Breathe, my love, that's it…Steady and quick."
Harriet groaned as she slowly straightened herself but Tom kept his frown as he aided her and nodded, "Hold onto me and I'll take you back to your nest. Or would you rather I carry you?"
"I want to stand." Harriet swallowed thickly.
"And I want to call the midwife." Tom retorted, "To do that, I need to make sure you'll be safe. What's it going to be, my darling? Do you want to walk or would you rather I carry you?"
"Carry me, Tom." Harriet begged in one desperate gasp.
As Tom gently lifted her into his arms, he failed to hide the scowl on his face.
Tom wanted the midwife present immediately, but Harriet just wanted to lie in her nest and focus on her work knowing her lover was there with her.