Harriet Potter and the Alpha in the Dungeon

Chapter 35 - Hopes

Maggie frowned at Severus while he lifted her back into his arms after the rabbit disappeared.

He hurried over to Harriet and Disencan, who had spent the majority of the morning trimming mint leaves.

"She spoke." Severus hissed to his family members as he rushed up to them with Maggie in his arms.

Harriet frowned at Severus for a moment before she asked, ".............She what?"

Disencan blinked.

"She spoke!" Severus exclaimed. He looked at Maggie and asked his little girl, "What did we see in the garden just now?......Can you tell your mother?"

"Rab-bie!" Maggie happily informed Harriet with a bright smile.

Harriet's mouth fell open as Severus explained, "There was a rabbit.....young, like her. The sight pleased her so well that it drew the word from her throat. She seems to be having trouble with the last syllable, but she spoke!"

Harriet gasped.

A happy smile came over her face as she placed her hand on Maggie's back and she praised her daughter, "Mummy's so proud of you, love!"

"Daddy......." Maggie replied as she placed a hand on Severus's chest.

Severus's dark eyes glimmered with pride as Harriet nodded eagerly and replied, "That's right, that's Daddy! Very good, sweetheart!"

"Mummy....." Maggie murmured as Harriet scooped her out of Severus's arms to hold her close.

"Yes!" Harriet nodded as she cuddled Maggie close, "I'm your Mummy, very good, love!"

As Maggie laid her head down on Harriet's chest, Harriet closed her eyes for a moment.

She had waited two years to be addressed by the title that she had earned, the title so many other women complained about hearing themselves called.........Mummy.

While Harriet snuggled Maggie, Disencan looked on from the background.

Ever the teacher, Severus pointed to the elf and asked his daughter, ".......Can you tell us who this is?"

"Disey!" Maggie giggled.

A warm smile lit up Disencan's face as Harriet kissed Maggie's little cheek.

"There will be quite a bit of work to be done on her pronunciation." Severus remarked to Harriet as Maggie looked out over the garden.

"That'll come with time, Sev!" Harriet whispered so that Maggie wouldn't hear, "She's spoken! She's finally spoken!"

Severus proudly embraced his wife and daughter as the birds that flew overhead chirped in the sky.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Snape held onto their hope that perhaps, their daughter would be able to heal.

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It could have been the relief of the campaign stress being alleviated or perhaps the joy that Maggie had started to make progress.

Whatever the reason, a week after the Snapes' daughter had uttered her first word, Harriet found herself spending the day upstairs, obsessing over every detail of her new nest.

The covers, the pillows, the sheets, everything needed to be in perfect order for Harriet.

It had been so long since she constructed a place of comfortable respite that she had forgotten what a monumental task it was in the immediate days before a cycle began.

Her head ached, her empty womb cramped, nausea constricted her throat........

Harriet sighed to herself as she dreaded the unbearable warmth that would inevitably come, yet she relished the idea of having her mate next to her the entire time.