Harriet Potter and the Alpha in the Dungeon

Chapter 10 - Severus's Scheme

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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Severus didn't see Harriet again until Monday at breakfast in the Great Hall.

He presumed that she had taken Teddy back to his grandmother the previous day.

As he glanced over at the omega that morning while they ate their meal side by side, the look in his dark eyes was surprisingly gentle.

Severus could still smell the scent of those warm cookies mingling with the sweet aroma that drifted off of Harriet's skin.

Severus could still feel the soft weight of her against him as she leaned on him while she rested, silently relying on him to protect her.

Severus could still hear the tenderness in her voice when she had spoken to Teddy.

His eyes narrowed as he watched Harriet nonchalantly finish her breakfast.

Severus Snape wasn't the kind of alpha to overstep his bounds, and so, he was determined to learn the facts, once and for all.

Did Harriet truly have a mate.......or had she told Elion Dacre a falsehood?

Severus hoped with all the remaining parts of his heart he had left to give that Harriet Potter was a liar.

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In the pause between breakfast and the beginning of class for the day, Severus held his once weekly meeting with the other heads of houses.

Professor McGonagall, Professor Sprout, and Professor Flitwick all stood in the headmaster's office as Severus peered at them from behind his desk.

It was an odd and unlikely situation that they faced.

The headmaster wasn't supposed to also be a head of house, but no other staff member had stepped forward to lead Slytherin in Slughorn's absence.

Severus was aware that he might project a bias, and so, he attempted to listen to the others' concerns and offer what leniency he could on their requests.

The meeting passed by relatively quickly.

Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw were slow to make many demands or raise issues, but Gryfinndor had something important to discuss.

Severus could see McGonagall's eyes glinting as the meeting began to teeter towards conclusion.

"Is there......something else.....you'd like to speak about, Minerva?" Severus drawled.

"Actually, yes, Severus, there is." McGonagall nodded.

Severus held up his hand in a silent gesture to prompt her speech.

McGonagall nodded and began, "As you know, tensions have run high in our world since the war. The students and their interactions with each other are no exception to that."

Severus listened silently.

"The students in Gryffindor house want to ask the headmaster for a ball." McGonagall stated flatly.

"A......ball?" Severus repeated, barely moving his lips as he spoke.

"Yes." McGonagall nodded, "After the rousing evening they had during last year's Triwizard Tournament, the students are anxious to replicate the experience that the Yule Ball offered. I would have dismissed the idea, but I've considered it Severus, and I think it might not be so terrible, after all. It could foster fraternity between the houses."