Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!
—————————————————————
Britain's wizarding government took the utmost care with the tallying of the election votes.
Each ballot was counted, analyzed for fraud, and then recounted.
The process took three days to complete.
During that time, the Snapes lived their lives as if they had no knowledge of the event at all.
Harriet left the house on the third day after the election and traveled to Hogsmeade to purchase two new mortar bowls the family needed.
She had no trouble completing her errand quickly, although, unbeknownst to Severus, Harriet paused to make an extra stop.
Her shopping bag hung from her arm as she walked up the stone steps and entered an old building that stood on the busy street.
A sign hung over the establishment's front window that clearly read:
Hatley and Hail Midwifery
est. 1540 A.D.
—————————————————————
Harriet kept her appointment a secret from Severus for the rest of the day as she went about her business with a smug smirk on her lips.
Her new midwife had been kind enough to give her a scent-blocking balm that ensured her alpha's suspicions wouldn't be aroused prematurely until after she had the chance to deliver the news to him herself.
Harriet had covered her pulse points in the velvety salve before she purchased a couple of special ingredients from the magical farmer's market.
Mrs. Snape intended to prepare a delicious dinner that evening.
Harriet's efforts were hardly enough though, Severus Snape was often a difficult person to deceive.
While he could be extremely gullible at times, his dark eyes narrowed to slits as he watched his wife smile to herself while she moved around the kitchen early that evening.
".......Why aren't you using magic?" Severus questioned Harriet after he spent several minutes observing her.
Harriet blinked up at him as she asked, "What......?"
"Why aren't you using magic....to cook the meal?" Severus asked suspiciously.
Harriet replied with a shrug and a grin, "Because I want dinner to be special. Magic won't be the same as me making it by hand, will it?"
"........May I ask the reason for the occasion?" Severus inquired as he rose to his feet and swept through the living room to come closer.
Behind him, Disencan played with Maggie on the floor.
"The election's over." Harriet replied with a flimsy lie.
She spoke a fact, yes, but that wasn't the real reason why she had gone to extra lengths for the evening's dinner.
Severus stared at her with a disapproving scowl until she laughed under the intensity of his black gaze and lifted her hands, "..........Is that not true?"
"It is........" He agreed in his low drawl.
When Harriet turned to the sink, Severus glided up behind her to purr in her ear, ".....Though I can hardly be less than suspicious.....my love.......about why you've concealed your scent from me?"
Harriet's emerald eyes widened.
She whirled around to stare up into Severus's face as she scowled defensively, "I-I haven't concealed anything! What are you talking about?!"
"Your scent is like a constant calm that I can detect every second of every day as long as I am near you." Severus drawled in his velvet voice, ".......I couldn't help but notice that constant calm had vanished as soon as you returned from your errands this morning........A balm, perhaps? Over the places that help me recognize you best?"
Severus's deep voice was as much of a thrill to Harriet as the gentle touch of his lips while he bent forward and kissed the base of her neck, where he guessed correctly that the scent-blocking balm had been applied.
"I........I don't know what you're talking about." Harriet chided while Severus placed one last, subtle kiss against her throat.
Her heart raced as his hands moved from her hips to splay possessively over her flat belly, just underneath her navel.
".........Is something the matter with the child?" Severus asked in a concerned whisper.
Harriet gasped.
Her eyes widened as he pulled back and stared into her soul.
In her shock, Harriet abandoned her ruse and scowled as she demanded, "......How did you know about-?!?"
"-Your scent has become as sweet and as lovely as it was when you carried Maggie." Severus explained.
His expression visibly softened while he gazed at Harriet.
She let out a quiet gasp of disappointment as the scowl on her face melted into a frown while she stared into Severus's dark eyes.
"You've ruined the surprise completely...." Harriet whispered, "I've planned this all day...I went to the market, bought these things for dinner, and I......I......"
As Harriet's voice trailed off, Severus deftly cut in, "-Surprise?............Have you forgotten our bond, my love?........I could sense the life that grows within you the day its conception occurred.....Now, if you will.....please.....rest. You need to be off your feet.......I can finish preparing the meal."
"I'll do no such thing!" Harriet stubbornly insisted, "I'm not injured, Sev! I'll stand here and finish the cooking....If you won't give me the opportunity to please you with pleasant news, then we can at least enjoy the food I've worked so hard on."
"You please me far more every second by breathing than you ever could with any news, my love." Severus whispered to Harriet while he gently took her into his arms and pressed her against him in a meaningful embrace.
"Sev........." Harriet whispered while he cupped her face in one of his hands.
Although Severus was a man of relatively few words, as he brushed Harriet's cheek with his thumb and stared down at her, all of her negative emotions were washed away to be replaced by a feeling of warm comfort from the look of soft, reverent admiration that she found in her alpha's dark eyes.
Harriet saw the devotion and the flicker of happy excitement about their growing family reflected in her mate's gaze.
She smiled wryly as she raised a hand to place over Severus's as he spoke, "Have you not noticed how closely I've watched your diet and water intake over the past week?"
Harriet thought back for a moment before she nodded, "........l suppose I have, actually."
"Have I not made certain that you've had an ample amount of adequate sleep each night?" He asked Harriet with a frown.
"........You have, yes." She confirmed.
Harriet felt a humbling wave of gratitude wash over her as she analyzed Severus's actions while she recalled the last few days.
She realized that as soon as he had known about her pregnancy, he had already started doing his best to care for her and their new baby in every way possible.
That revelation made Harriet's heart glow.
She closed her eyes as she pressed her face against Severus's chest.
He wrapped his arms around her and folded her into the protective covering of his long, black robes while she huffed, "Will I never be able to reveal a pregnancy to you again?"
"As long as it doesn't hamper my ability to protect my mate and pups." Severus countered as he blinked down at Harriet.
Harriet threw him a playful glare as she raised her head to eagerly accept the loving kiss that he placed on her lips.
When he pulled away again, his voice was low and gentle as he asked, "If you refuse to obey my wishes and rest yourself, may I at least assist with the table preparations?"
"........I suppose." Harriet replied as she smiled up at her alpha.
Severus stared down at his wife as if she were the most wonderful thing that he had ever seen.
With the exception of Maggie, that was true.
—————————————————————
That night during dinner, Severus kept one hand intertwined with Harriet's under the table while the Snapes all enjoyed their meal.
Since Severus and Harriet had both acknowledged they knew about the baby, they decided to find the right time to tell Maggie and Disencan.
However, they intended to spend that night celebrating the happy news in each other's arms.
Harriet hadn't forgotten about the evening when they had discovered that Maggie lived in her belly.
Her cheeks flushed as the memory played through her mind.......
Maggie and Disencan gladly ate their food next to Harriet and Severus until a crunching noise from outside captured the entire family's attention.
"What is that sound....?" Harriet whispered to Severus as they scowled at each other.
Severus looked at Harriet for a moment before he leapt to his feet and rushed to peer out of the kitchen window.
In the darkness, he noticed the gingleberry plants in a distant part of the garden shaking and waving.
He narrowed his black eyes before he charged out of the kitchen.
Harriet followed immediately behind him.
Disencan didn't know what to do, but when Maggie whined and reached towards the door that her parents had walked out of, he scooped the tiny girl into his arms and raced outside with her to chase after Harriet and Severus.
Severus came to a stop a short distance in front of the trembling plants.
Harriet skidded to a halt behind him a second later, with Disencan and Maggie on her heels.
Severus glanced over his shoulder to glare disapprovingly at his family.
It didn't please him that his pregnant wife had followed him or that his house elf had brought his baby to a place where there may be danger, but as a heavy thud came from the ground ahead, he turned his focus back onto the disturbed garden.
"What's happening?" Harriet asked in a hushed whisper behind Severus.
"Something's.......in there." He frowned.
Harriet watched her lover slip his wand out of his pocket and into his hand before he pointed its tip at the quivering plants and shouted, "REVELIO!"
A wild ball of brown, grey, and beige fur came shooting out of the dark obscurity to land right in front of the Snapes with a great crash.
Disencan and Harriet jumped back, but Maggie squealed happily, "Rab-bie!"
Severus narrowed his eyes.
Harriet gasped.
Disencan blinked.
Maggie was right, it was indeed a rabbit......of sorts, anyway.
The animal was huge, as large as a dog, with massive paws and powerful legs.
Its gigantic ears flopped over its face, which Severus noticed was missing an eye.
Patches of its fur had been torn off, shed, or lost down to the skin.
As the giant rabbit glared threateningly at the Snapes, Severus held up his wand defensively.
"What is that thing?!" Harriet asked her husband as she put a protective arm out behind herself to shield Maggie and Disencan.
"Rab-bie!" Maggie happily informed her mother.
The joy at seeing the animal was plain on the small child's face.
Maggie didn't seem the least bit frightened or put off by the monstrous rabbit's unsightly appearance.
Severus considered which spell he should use for a moment until the rabbit threw him one last nightmare-inducing scowl before it turned its corpulent body around and hopped off into the reclusion of the garden's dark patches.
Severus lifted himself into the air in broomless flight and watched as the rabbit fled from his crops to disappear into the woods.
Harriet and Disencan felt the earth shake underneath their feet with each of the bunny's devastating hops.
"Everyone....back inside." Severus ordered as he gently lowered himself back to the ground.
"-But....." Harriet started to protest.
".......NOW." Severus commanded in one, firm word as he glared at his wife.
He would not tolerate his pregnant omega challenging him twice in one evening, Harriet knew that.
She turned with a scowl and walked back into the house.
Disencan followed Harriet and Severus trailed behind them all, ready to defend against any other threats that potentially lurked nearby.
He would allow Harriet to cook, but he would not allow her or Disencan to endanger their children by standing in a garden that could be filled with dangerous creatures.
After they all made it safely back inside, Severus took Maggie from Disencan's arms and inspected his little daughter as he closed the door, but Harriet stared down at something on the dining table.
".......Sev?" She called out to her husband, "A letter's come for you."
"A letter?" Severus asked incredulously, "At this hour? It must have been delivered earlier today and been overlooked. The post doesn't run at night."
"Yes, I know that, but this didn't come with the regular post this morning, I'm certain." Harriet mused as she picked the envelope up from the table.
The parcel bore no address, only a very distinct "M" that had been stamped on its front.
"Open it." Severus nodded at Harriet after she glanced up at him.
Maggie cooed and held onto her Daddy while Disencan went to prepare her room for bedtime.
Harriet slit the envelope, pulled out the parchment, and read over the lines it contained.
Severus scowled as he watched an unreadable look of bafflement come over his wife's face.
"My love?" He called out, "........What's the matter?"
Harriet's face paled as she lifted her eyes from the parchment with her mouth open in shock.
Her voice was a choked whisper as she croaked to Severus, "You've..........You've won the election."