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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Harriet conversed with her friends through letters, as well as Draco and her parents once the initial shock of the situation began to lessen.
To her dismay, the group decided that it would be best to stay at Malfoy Manor for the foreseeable future, both to give her friends an advantage while she distracted Voldemort and to give her body the chance to rest in an actual bed for a while.
Draco gladly gave up his room for his darling.
The mere thought of Harriet sleeping in his bed made him want to sigh, whether he was there beside her or not.
As he spent one long night after another in a guest suite down the hall of the wing she occupied, he often frowned to himself while he dreamed.
He was no fool, he had noticed that Tom Riddle seemed to get weaker and weaker with each destroyed horcrux.
It gave Draco a lifeline of hope to wonder about what would happen if Tom ceased to exist with Voldemort's defeat.
As strong as his beloved was, as independent, and as fierce, she may welcome a bit of help if she found herself to be a new mother of a fatherless child.
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Young Tom Riddle was not much more merciful of a leader than the older version of himself.
With Harriet gone, he ordered Hermione and Ron around as if they were working employees who depended upon his every command to keep their salaries, instead of comrades who had agreed to assist with the many missions that lay ahead of themselves out of their own kind hearts.
Having no reasons to display his good qualities for his two companions, Tom was often blunt with his words and thoughtless with his actions.
Ron and Hermione followed along as best they could while he led them here and there on the hunt for the next horcrux during the following weeks.
Unlike Harriet, Tom had no patience, very little tact, and an uncontrollable temper whenever he caught anyone making a mistake.
One night after dinner, Tom stalked off to his tent and left Ron and Hermione by the fire while they chatted.
"You did well today." Hermione nodded reassuringly at Ron, "Don't let him tell you otherwise. I think he's frustrated......It seems to frustrate him whenever we don't find one."
"I don't care what he says." Ron frowned as he shrugged off Hermione's compliment, "I just want this all to end. I can't believe we've lost Harriet."
"We haven't lost Harriet." Hermione corrected him as she shook her head, "She'll be back as soon as she finishes putting up a good front........Another few days and she'll be with us again, you'll see."
Ron looked at Hermione for a long moment before he turned to stare into the fire's dancing flames.
He forced himself to be patient with Hermione, knowing that she had no younger siblings and little experience with the situation they faced.
Ron had been barely old enough to remember, but he could vaguely recall his mother lying on the sofa and in bed the months before Ginny had been born.
Did Hermione really not realize they had an entirely new clock to race against?
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To keep up appearances, the following morning, Draco made his way down to his room, intent on checking to see how Harriet had fared after yet another lonely night.
His polished shoes clicked against the lacquered floorboards of Malfoy Manor as he bit his lip.
His heart longed for reality to be different.
There was no war, no Voldemort.
The baby was his.
Harriet-
Draco let out a heavy sigh as he resigned himself to the ugly truth and knocked on her door as he identified himself, "Snape, it's only me."
"........Come in." Her response came.
Draco frowned as he opened the door and walked into the room to find Harriet hurriedly stuffing the supplies left behind by the midwife at her most recent visit into a small, enchanted bag.
Tonics and tablets, all manner of helpful items quickly disappeared into the wide-mouthed sack as Draco watched incredulously.
Harriet didn't so much as look up until he called out, "........What on earth are you doing?"
"I'm trying to gather a few things I'll need." She replied without glancing his way.
"Need for what?!" Draco demanded as an insolent snarl marred his pale features.
".......For whatever's to come." Harriet shrugged as she cinched her bag and finally looked up, "You've been camping with us before, even using magic, it's not the most convenient thing in the world....or the most comfortable."
"You're not going back!" Draco exclaimed in disbelief.
"I suppose you're going to stop me?" Harriet scoffed, "Don't try it, Malfoy.......You'll live to regret it."
"I'm not going to duel a pregnant girl." Draco sneered.
Harriet shot him a deadly glare as she walked over and placed her bag on the bed while she gathered its drawstrings.
".......I do shudder to think of what Tom will have to say when he sees you endangering yourself and his child, though." Draco shrugged, "He's never struck me as a happy fellow, yet this will certainly leave him less than pleased."
As he looked down at his hand, he bit the inside of his mouth to suppress a triumphant grin as he noticed Harriet glance up at him out of the corner of his eye.
His victory ended prematurely when he heard the covers rustle as she picked up her bag and whispered, "You're wrong, Malfoy.......Tom and I are supposed to be together, nothing will make him happier than seeing me."
Draco looked up just in time to see her apparate away before he let out a growl of pure frustration.
It wasn't his child and Harriet wasn't his to love, regardless, the thought of harm befalling her still made his stomach churn and his heart ache.
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Ron and Hermione sat finishing their breakfast in silence with Tom when a sudden pop rang out.
All three looked up to see Harriet standing there with her bag as their eyes widened.
Ron nearly choked on his mouthful of food.
"HARRIET!" Hermione shouted.
"Sweetling!" Tom called as he hastily stood and rushed towards her.
Harriet's arms were open before Tom ever reached them, upon which he promptly encircled her waist and pressed a kiss to her lips.
What should have been a formal greeting turned into a heated expression of genuine need that sent Hermione clearing her throat and Ron turning back to his empty plate.
"You shouldn't be here....." Tom whispered huskily against her lips as he pulled back to let their noses rub together, "You shouldn't be here, it isn't safe!"
"I had to see you!" Harriet retorted as she took a step back from Tom, "......All of you!"
Hermione and Ron looked up once they realized the dreadful snogging had ceased.
"We're doing fine, Harriet." Hermione nodded, "Can you say the same?"
"Sure." Harriet shrugged, "I'm fine, but.....How is it all going? The search? Tom," She frowned as she glanced at her lover, "I know it's dangerous....for everyone....but I still expected you might try to come and see me."
"Oh, Harriet...." Tom frowned as he placed a hand on her face, "I love you more than life itself, my daring, that's why I'm simply unwilling to risk yours by a simple visit. I'm more than willing, however, to endure a bit of separation if it sees to your and our baby's survival."
Harriet let her emotions blind her to the truth as she lingered on Tom's words instead of contemplating his negligent actions as she smiled widely and exclaimed, "Oh, Tom!"
As the couple selfishly renewed their kiss, Hermione and Ron looked back at the early morning campfire before their eyes met.
Hermione threw Ron a frown but she struggled not to laugh as he rolled his eyes at Tom and Harriet's exchange.
Harriet had the heart of a hopeful young girl, light, gullible, and more than ready to welcome Tom deep into its trenches forever.
She failed to realize that if it had been Draco's child growing within her, there would not have been a moment that passed where he strayed more than a few meters from her side,
Tom grinned against her lips as he continued their kiss.
Tom Riddle was more than accustomed to it, he didn't expect it necessarily, no, he demanded it.....to ride on the corrupting wave offered by any and all forms of victory.