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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Kingsley's date to leave office soon arrived and Severus's training ended.
He and Harriet both rose before dawn that morning to prepare for their busy day.
Disencan had agreed to care for Maggie and Rabbie, which alleviated some stress for the couple.
Harriet smiled at her husband while they sat at the dining table and ate their breakfast.
An anticipatory anxiousness permeated the air as the morning's first rays of sunlight threatened to break across the dark sky outside.
"You're going to be brilliant, don't worry, Sev." Harriet reassured her husband as she reached across the table and took his hand into hers.
Severus said nothing for a moment as he chose to focus his black stare on Harriet.
"Never mind the day's later events." He spoke in his low drawl as he glanced down to take another bite of his food before he lifted his eyes back to Harriet and added, "You know well enough our true priority."
Mrs. Snape beamed as a happy smile spread across her lips.
Although Severus would become the most powerful man in magical Britain that afternoon, he shrugged the matter aside as if it were nothing as he spoke of her midwife appointment that had been scheduled for the morning.
It filled Harriet's heart with unbridled joy that she had the privilege of loving a man who valued her and their children above all else.
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Harriet and Severus walked hand in hand down the street as they journeyed to the midwife's office.
People whispered as they passed by, but Severus paid them little attention as he focused his thoughts on his wife and baby.
Half an hour later, as the sun rose to announce the joy of a new day, Severus held his mate's hand while she laid on the midwife's table.
The door to their examination room had been closed while the midwife inspected her patient with skillful hands and a stern frown of concentration.
Severus wore a similar expression as he watched the healthcare provider perform her work.
He waited impatiently for an update on his wife and child's health, but he tried not to show his anxiousness to Harriet as he soothingly rubbed the back of her knuckles with his fingers.
After the midwife finally finished her study of Harriet, she nodded at the couple with a pleased smile as she announced, "The pregnancy appears to be going quite well! Both of you should be very pleased! I must say, Mr. Snape, I'm certain it will give the people of our world confidence to know that the new Minister for Magic is a kind man who takes painstaking care of his pregnant wife."
Severus tried not to let himself bristle with repressed pride as he straightened his spine while he shifted in his chair.
Harriet glanced over at Severus as she laid a hand on the small swell of her belly while the midwife asked, "Would you two prefer to know the gender?"
As Severus glanced over at Harriet, she laughed at the wan expression on his face.
She looked back at the midwife and chuckled, "Thanks, but I suppose we'll wait until the birth. Happy surprises, you know...." Harriet shrugged.
The midwife smiled slyly at the couple as she asked, "....Would you two like to know how many happy surprises you'll receive?"
Harriet blinked.
Severus's mouth fell open.
".......How....many?" Harriet asked.
"It's not unusual for omegas to carry multiples." The midwife nodded at Harriet.
Severus's eyes widened as Harriet bravely pushed forward, "Is.....Is that what's happened this time?"
"It doesn't appear to be....However, I'm afraid my judgment on that issue may not be entirely accurate." The midwife replied with a frown of concentrated musing.
Severus let out a silent breath as Harriet waited for her to go on. The midwife furrowed her brow as she spoke, "It's odd, really, it's almost as if there's a veil inside your womb, Mrs. Snape. My diagnostic charms don't seem to penetrate as clearly as they should."
Severus and Harriet squeezed one another's hands nervously.
When the midwife noticed the anxiety she had caused the expectant parents, she laughed and assured them, "It's nothing to worry about! I don't sense anything that should carry qualms, perhaps your next child simply likes a little bit of mystery."
Mystery.......
"Perhaps." Harriet nodded.
Severus squeezed his lover's fingers as he frowned at the midwife.
He silently considered taking Harriet to another healthcare provider for a second opinion.
What kind of midwife was that woman to tease them, then talk about some sort of intangible curtain that concealed the nature of Harriet's condition?
Severus Snape hated mystery, especially when it concerned Harriet and his pups.
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Mr. and Mrs. Snape arrived at the Ministry of Magic that morning at an hour when most members of the wizarding world would usually be starting to wake.
However, the lacquered halls had already started to fill with witches and wizards who eagerly waited to witness the inaugural ceremony of the new Minister.
Severus and Harriet avoided the teeming crowd by taking the secret passage that led to the Minister's office.
It brightened Harriet's smile to notice that Severus walked with her pulled protectively close to him as he grasped her hand tightly in his.
As soon as they arrived at their destination, Severus led Harriet into the private room that had been built for her and Maggie.
She blinked at her mate as he helped her lower herself down into her secondary nest before he knelt in front of her.
"Are you well, my love?" Severus asked quietly, "I realize the exhaustion this morning surely caused you. If you need to rest, then do so. We have hours until the ceremony begins."
"......And meetings and interviews to fill the time!" Harriet exclaimed with a happy laugh as Severus reached out and placed one of his large, elegant hands over the slight swell of her belly.
Harriet stroked his dark hair for a moment as her emerald eyes shone with soft tenderness as she reassured her alpha, "I'm fine, Sev. You don't need to worry about me.....Today is your day."
"All of my days are about you and our children." Severus corrected her with a low growl as he leaned forward and stole a sharp kiss from her lips as he promised, "This one bears no divergence from that fact."
Harriet wanted to pull him close for a deeper kiss as the urge to shower her mate with affection overwhelmed her in the happy glow of that promising morning, but a sudden knock from the office's front door thwarted her plan.
Severus rose to his feet as Harriet stood from her nest to follow him into the main room of the Minister's office as he called out, ".....Come in."
The door opened and Kingsley stepped into the room to greet them both with a bright smile as he clapped his hands together and said, "Good morning, Severus, Harriet. I see you two arrived bright and early today!"
"Good morning, Minister......We have, indeed." Severus nodded.
"You won't be able to call me that for much longer, Severus!" Kingsley laughed with the mirth of a man who would soon be liberated, "The journalists have lined up for the first round of interviews. Let's get started quickly so we can have them over with, shall we?"
Severus cast Harriet an anxious glance but she nodded at him reassuringly.
Confident that his loving wife would remain loyally at his side, Severus agreed with Kingsley as he looked at him and answered, "My wife and I are more than ready to answer a few questions."
Kingsley nodded at Severus before he escorted the couple through the private hallway and into a conference room designated for the media's exclusive access.
As Harriet and Severus walked in, the journalists began shrieking their questions like frantic crows as intrusive cameras flashed from every direction.
Severus squinted his dark eyes in protest of the bright light, but Harriet held firmly onto his arm as they walked side by side to follow Kingsley to the podiums at the front of the room.
As Mr. and Mrs. Snape faced the crowd of frenzied reporters, they each took a deep breath.
In the chaos of the moment, they took solace in their bond.
No cameras, no questions, and no titles could disrupt the peaceful tranquility of the love they shared for each other.
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Harriet stood next to Severus as his loving, beautiful wife as the magical press bombarded him with questions.
He bravely answered each inquiry with steely nerve.
Harriet interjected her own replies when the hungry journalists assaulted her with an onslaught of queries they had already thought of to hurl at the Minister-elect's wife.
Severus kept edging protectively in front of Harriet, as if he sought to shield her from the harshness of the flashing cameras with his heavy, black cloak.
Harriet would gladly tolerate the blinding light if her presence would help ease her alpha's burden.
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The members of the magical press hadn't finished asking their questions before the time allotted for interviews ran out.
Later that day, there was no prouder witch in all of Britain as Harriet stood to the side, in her flowing, trailing robes, and watched with the rest of the wizarding world as Severus officially became the new Minister for Magic while he faced the public and took his oath.
In the center of the Ministry, a platform had been erected for the occasion.
On the platform stood one of the high-ranking officials who served as the ceremony's conductor, along with Kingsley, Severus, and Harriet.
Below them, the Ministry's halls had become even more packed with thousands of onlookers.
Ministry employees, potioneers, shop owners, healers, housewives, men, women, children, young, and old all stood crammed into the vast hallways while they watched Severus Snape become their new head of government.
As the ceremony came to a conclusion, Severus stood with formal rigidness in his posture as the officiant asked him, "Do you, Severus Snape, promise to do your best to defend, protect, and cultivate the magical world as we know it today?"
"I give my solemn vow." Severus nodded very seriously.
Kingsley nodded as the officiant reached out and shook his hand.
He used that same hand to turn and shake Severus's as he faced what he could of the large crowd and announced to the people who stood in the Ministry, "Citizens of magical Britain, I present to you, our new Minister for Magic, Severus Snape!"
Applause and cheers erupted from the throngs of bodies below, but Severus looked away from his praise as he turned his head to glance over his shoulder at Harriet.
He didn't have to call her name, he only had to reach one of his long arms out.
The white cuff of his sleeve crinkled around his hand as he opened it towards her.
She smiled as she walked across the platform and let Severus pull her against him while they faced the cheering crowd.
"........And his lovely wife, Harriet Potter, er, Snape!" The officiant declared.
While the people below continued to celebrate noisily, Harriet affectionately laid a hand on Severus's chest as they faced the next chapter of their lives together.
Severus's term as Minister for Magic had begun.
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The rest of the day became one party after conversation after forced smile after another.
The new Minister and his wife greeted thousands of people.
They discussed Severus's plans for the future of magical Britain's government.
They mingled with witches and wizards from varying backgrounds.
Since Harriet thrived in social situations, she found the day invigorating.
As much as she loved the peaceful solitude that she and Severus had previously known at their secluded home, there were times when she missed large, social events.
Severus, however, struggled through the hours while he secretly counted the seconds until he could escape with Harriet.
After the last celebration of his ceremony came to an end, the Minister hastily escorted his wife out of the room and back to his office.
"It's getting a bit late, isn't it?" Harriet asked as Severus ushered her in the room and locked the door behind them.
She blinked as she watched him remove his wand and murmur a sealing spell over the lock.
".........Severus?" Harriet blinked.
Severus ignored her while he waved his wand around the room as he whispered, "Silencio!"
".......Severus?" Harriet asked with a suspicious chuckle.
"You've been by my side throughout these tedious hours, my love." Severus sighed as he turned to her and frowned, "It would be villainous of me to ask more of you now, wouldn't it?"
Harriet smiled softly as she replied, "No, Sev....of course not! What do you need? What can I do to help you?"
Severus let his black gaze flicker over Harriet while he stepped forward, pulled her in close, and let his eyes drift with his hands across her fair face down to the supple curves that made his mouth water with yearning.
His low purr sounded as sweet as candied velvet while he whispered his order to his darling mate, "Place yourself on top of my desk.....with your body bare......and your legs spread."
Harriet felt her cheeks flush as a warm surge of deep arousal flooded her core, straight from the center of her occupied womb.
For a moment, she became lost in the excitement caused by Severus's command and the intensity of his smouldering, black stare.
He lifted a hand and placed two fingers under her chin as he reiterated his order in a deep tone of delicious dominance, "........Now."
Harriet gasped as he removed his fingers and stood perfectly still while she turned away.
As she slowly walked over to the desk, she could feel her alpha's dark stare boring into her.
Harriet's heart began to race as she heard Severus's cloak swish across the floor.
She had yet to undress, sit down, or open her legs for him, but Severus maintained a flimsy grip on his patience, especially after being so near to Harriet's sweet scent all day without even a kiss to calm his raging instincts.
The Minister for Magic had worked hard.
He wanted the best view possible for the show his omega would offer him to reward his efforts.......