The next morning, a flutter against Harriet's rib cage caused her green eyes to crack open. Instinctively, she placed a hand on her belly and blinked when she noticed that something was already covering it.
A soothing scent permeated the air and she sighed as the baby in her womb gradually stilled.
Harriet blinked and looked around in confusion.
She nearly jumped out of the bed when she saw Draco sleeping beside her with his hand protectively splayed over her tummy.
Harriet narrowed her green eyes at Draco for a moment but when she saw how peacefully he was resting, she decided not to disturb him.
Besides, there was such a lovely comfort in the alpha's scent~.
Harriet drifted back into a deep, dreamless sleep as she nodded off again, too comfortable to stay awake.
The feeling of Draco holding her so closely was amazing.
Draco.......holding her?
—————————————————————
Much later that morning, Draco and Harriet both finally woke up. Draco's eyes opened first but Harriet's did the same a few moments later.
"Good morning, Potter." Draco smirked at his omega for a moment. He paused to admire how beautiful she looked before he bent his head and placed a kiss on the curve of her belly, "Good morning, my little one."
Harriet's green eyes widened at Draco's gentle gesture. She didn't want to admit to the electric shocks that Draco's kiss sent shooting through her body, but that didn't make them any less real.
"I-I didn't give you permission to do that." Harriet snapped coldly.
Draco looked up at her and blinked, "I wasn't kissing you, Potter. Why do I need your permission to kiss my child?"
"They're still a part of me, Draco." Harriet huffed.
Secretly, there was nothing Harriet would have liked more than for Draco to kiss her belly again.
Or her.......
"Not for much longer." Draco replied. His statement would have usually come with an arrogant smirk but the reality of the situation painted a very serious look on his face instead.
"A while, yet." Harriet argued.
She searched through her memory to find out why she had woken up in bed with the handsome, blonde alpha.
Oh yes, her nightmare......
"I'm sorry I troubled you last night." Harriet apologized as she cleared her throat.
Draco propped himself up on one arm and looked down at Harriet. Despite her abrasive attitude, he took his hand and began to trace soothing lines with his fingertips up and down her belly.
When Draco saw his omega visibly relax under his touch, that made him smirk again.
"You didn't trouble me at all." Draco replied, "I'm glad I could help. That's all I want to do, Potter......Help."
Harriet was ashamed of herself but under Draco's captivating gaze and his tender touch, the pregnant omega didn't have the ability to maintain her efforts of pushing him away. Another sharp flutter landed against her rib cage suddenly and Harriet winced as her hand flew to the side.
"Goodness." Draco laughed as he placed his hand over Harriet's, "Active today, aren't they?"
"You should have felt them earlier." Harriet huffed.
"I did. I felt them all night, but I didn't mind. I've missed out for months, you know." Draco said as his handsome face twisted into a frown. Harriet ignored his comment, too preoccupied with the pain from the baby's kick and that worried Draco.
"Are you alright? Should I call the healer in?" He asked Harriet urgently.
"No, I'm fine." Harriet said as she let out the breath she had been holding, "That happens sometimes."
"What else happens?" Draco asked.
Harriet blinked up at Draco and Draco gazed down at her.
It was almost amusing to the omega. Draco wasn't asking out of stupidity. The look on his face was genuine and full of wondrous curiosity.
He honestly wanted to hear about how the pregnancy had gone, about how and what his darling Harriet felt.
"It doesn't matter." Harriet replied with a pout.
"Of course it does." Draco replied, "It's our baby."
"It's your baby." Harriet stubbornly insisted.
Draco looked at Harriet and raised an eyebrow.
Harriet's obstinate denial no longer bothered him.
The healers estimated they had a little over three months before the child arrived.
Considering how far Draco had come with Harriet in a few days, he calculated that was more than enough time to win his mate's heart.
—————————————————————
As the next couple of weeks passed, Draco's progress towards securing Harriet's affection and trust remained slow, but somewhat steady.
Harriet adjusted well to life at Malfoy manor and with Draco's parents still away on their business trip, he and his beloved had no interruptions during their days together.
Draco continued to oversee Harriet's care, which included daily exams from the healer, proper nutrition, ample fluid intake, and an adequate sleep schedule.
Under Draco's watchful eye, Harriet had made wonderful progress. Draco grinned proudly when the healer had commended his efforts on helping the poorly omega and the child she carried regain their health.
While they tended the pregnancy, spending so much time together left Harriet and Draco plenty of opportunity to talk and chat.
And bond.
Although they did exchange a fair amount of banter, both always enjoyed their conversations.
Draco found happiness in simply being around Harriet. It didn't matter if she was pregnant or not, if they were talking or arguing, Harriet was his mate and all he really wanted to do was just be with her.
Harriet protested Draco's every advance, Draco's every flirtation, but even while she put up a fuss, she never took the obvious steps available to her as a means of repelling him either.
Draco had been very pleased when Harriet invited him to sleep in her nest after that first night. She passed her request off under the guise of wanting him close by in case she had another nightmare, but he knew the silent truth.
Harriet liked cuddling with him.
Each evening as Draco snuggled close to Harriet, his heart leapt hopefully when the omega gladly snuggled back.
They fell into such a familiar routine that one night, when Draco wrapped around Harriet, he noticed she was actually arching her spine towards him.
He was preparing to ask what she was doing, but then he noticed.......she was waiting.
Harriet was waiting for him to place his hands on her belly.
She wasn't protesting his touch, she was expecting it.
When Draco understood that his omega was expressing her need for him, he smirked from ear to ear as he happily obliged and splayed his hands over their unborn child.
Harriet slept very well that night, but Draco barely managed to get any rest at all.
He was too excited to sleep.
—————————————————————
As Harriet entered her last trimester, fueled by the nervous happiness that only expectant fathers knew, Draco began to make preparations for the birth. While Harriet took naps, he took lessons from the healer on what his omega's labor would be like and what he could do to help.
Draco read every book he could find on the subject.
Draco tried to talk to Harriet about her wishes for the birth, but whenever he did, she changed the subject.
That worried him.
They had been growing closer and closer to one another, or at least, he thought they had. Surely that wouldn't all be thrown out the window as soon as the baby was born?
Regardless of their progress, when the Malfoy heir saw that as a realistic possibility, he was the one who began having nightmares.
.....Something was wrong with Harriet and she left him, going somewhere far away, hurt and in trouble.....and he couldn't find her.
........Something was wrong with the baby and she left him alone to care for their ill child.
.......Something was wrong with Harriet and the baby and the house was on fire!
Draco became tormented by his own fears.
Whenever he woke from one of those horrible dreams, instead of Harriet finding respite in his scent, it was Draco who took solace in hers. He would nuzzle into the crook of her neck and breathe in the smell of the beguiling hormones she released, listening to her heartbeat until he fell back asleep.
—————————————————————
Lucius and Narcissa were due to return home very soon. Both were eager to be present for the arrival of their secret grandchild. Harriet paid little attention to that fact. As Draco's son or daughter grew heavier, she had really started to notice the increased strain on her spine.
Draco had been a wonderful aid to her recovery but his scrupulous attention couldn't completely erase the aches of pregnancy.
One evening, before Draco joined her, Harriet sat down on the bed with a pained sigh.
The tie of her bathrobe was firmly fastened over the swell of her belly. No matter how she turned or laid on the bed, she couldn't ease the smarting pain that burned in the center of her lower back.
Harriet was continuing her attempt to ease her discomfort when Draco walked in the room.
Draco allowed Harriet to go to bed first, then he followed shortly afterwards. That way, he was sure that he gave her the privacy to shower and dress, then they cuddled together in her little nest in the bed and went to sleep.
Draco would have preferred to have made more concrete strides in charming his omega, but he wasn't complaining.
Considering where they had stood with each other less than a month ago, Draco would take what he could get.
That night, though, his eyes narrowed in concern when he saw Harriet wrestling around in bed.
"Alright, Potter?" He asked worriedly.
"I'm fine." Harriet sighed, "My back hurts, that all."
"Do you think you're having early contractions?" Draco asked as he immediately walked over and sat down on the side of the bed.
"No." Harriet sighed in exasperation, "I think I'm having a pulled muscle.......or three."
"Why don't you let me rub it for you?" Draco asked quickly.
Harriet stopped shifting around and blinked at the alpha in front of her as she forced herself not to blush.
She didn't want to think about it, but she had indulged in more than one fantasy about lying in bed and Draco offering to rub.....something.....for her~.
"T-That's alright." Harriet replied, "You don't have to do that."
"I want to." Draco nodded.
Harriet blinked as Draco reached under her arms and, careful not to put any pressure on her belly, lifted her up.
Draco positioned Harriet on the side of the bed and he moved behind her to lift his hands. Cautiously, Draco placed his palms on Harriet's sore back and began to knead gently.
The soft groan of instant relief that left Harriet's throat startled them both.
Draco's grey eyes widened as blood rushed to his groin at the sound.
Harriet was mortified but when Draco continued his ministrations, to her dismay, a soft, satisfied sigh escaped her lips.
Draco smirked victoriously.
It felt good~.
His hands felt good to Harriet~.
Silence fell between them as Draco gave and Harriet happily received.
The only problem was her stupid, thick bathrobe.
It was in the way!
Draco couldn't feel Harriet's skin under his hands and she couldn't fully feel his touch through the fabric.
Draco's heart raced when Harriet decided she'd had enough of the hindrance. He watched as she pulled away from him for a moment and wriggled out of the confining envelope of terrycloth to sit in her nightgown.
Draco tried not to stare as he began his work once more.
Harriet's happy sighs grew louder when she was able to derive a higher amount of benefit from Draco's long, skilled fingers as they worked the kinks out of her tense muscles.
In the middle of enjoying her massage, instinct began to take over for Harriet. Draco's velvety fingertips coupled with his scent, the smell of a loving, protective alpha, it was too much for the omega to bear. As a craving was born in her heart, her body began to release the pheromones that signaled to Draco exactly what she wanted.
In the silence, the tension between them rose as Draco took notice and worked his hands up from Harriet's lower back until they gently kneaded her shoulders.
Harriet was breathing hard as Draco rose behind her. He knelt on the bed so he could look down over his vulnerable darling as she waited for him to pounce and take~.
It was hard to say what was more pleasing to the Malfoy heir, the way Harriet's head lulled back against his chest, exposing her creamy, pale throat, her swollen womb that held the child she was growing for him, or her beautiful, ample breasts.
Draco's vision fixated on the swollen glands. They seemed much plumper and rounder than he remembered. Harriet's darkened nipples protruded through the thin fabric of her nightgown, begging him to peel the airy fabric away and latch on.....
Trying not to drool, Draco took his hands off Harriet's shoulders and cupped her heavy breasts in his elongated hands.
The needy way she breathed in his ear at the contact sent fireworks exploding in his mind.
"Potter~....." Draco exhaled in a husky growl.
To his relief, Harriet begged him to do exactly what they both wanted.
"Take me, Draco." Harriet whimpered, gasping for breath as her nipples rubbed obscenely against the insides of his fingers with the rise and fall of her heaving chest, "I need you~."