Harriet Potter: Tom Riddle's Obsession

Chapter 9 - Harriet's Volunteer

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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After more than ten years of waiting for his best opportunity, Tom wasted no time approaching Harriet the very next day.

Before he ever went to his office, he strode into the Auror Department once he arrived at the Ministry and headed down the hallway to knock on her door.

"Come in!" Harriet called.

As soon as her voice rang out, Tom turned the doorknob and strode inside her office.

"Tom!" Harriet exclaimed in surprise as she looked up with a confused frown, "You're here awfully early, aren't you? Or did you want to change our plans for lunch? We can go back to that same cafe we visited yesterday, if you'd like. I don't mind."

"Actually, I'd like to give these back to you." Tom explained as he reached into the pockets of his robes and withdrew Harriet's prenatal pills, "I'm afraid you dropped them."

He watched her expression visibly change to one of embarrassed surprise before she swallowed thickly and reached out with a trembling hand to take the pills while she murmured, "Oh.......Thanks."

"You should have mentioned your condition." Tom chided as he flashed Harriet a kind smile, "The Ministry will gladly make any accommodations necessary to assist in your daily duties."

"Oh, no......" She chuckled dryly as she placed the jar of pills back in her desk drawer, "You don't understand....I'm.....I'm not expecting."

"Oh?" Tom blinked as if he were surprised.

He congratulated himself on successfully manipulating his darling into disclosing information she had previously decided to hide.

"No, I.....Actually, I'm hoping to conceive soon. That's why I'm taking these." Harriet explained as she nodded at the drawer before she closed it.

"Ah." Tom answered. He gave Harriet a warm smile as he added, "Well, your mate's a very lucky man. I'm certain you'll make a wonderful mother, Harriet."

"Thanks, but.....I don't have a mate." She laughed mirthlessly.

Like a snake slithering through grass to grab an unsuspecting mouse, Tom began his approach.

"You don't?" He gasped in feigned shock.

"Unfortunately, no, I don't." Harriet confirmed with a bittersweet smile, "I haven't found anyone capable of.....You know, being there, being a good partner, or a decent father, for that matter. I'm not getting any younger, but I am getting more impatient. This last year especially, maybe it's just part of the aging process or hormones of whatever.......Anyway, I'm desperate to become a mother!"

Tom listened vigilantly as she raised a hand to her head and sighed, "I signed up to adopt a child, but I've been denied at every turn. It seems not many expectant mothers wish to turn their baby over to a woman with no husband, unfortunately."

Say it, Tom would force her to say it and give him the chance to present himself like a fine riding stallion.

"May I ask why you're taking supplements, then? Isn't that harmful?" He questioned.

"Well, Tom, it's a bit embarrassing." Harriet chuckled as she dropped her hand and met his gaze, "I have an appointment at the end of the month to visit St. Mungo's and receive a......donation. They've assured me whoever I chose from their inventory will remain anonymous........They've also mentioned the procedure is painless and low risk, which is reassuring."