Harriet Potter and the Alpha in the Dungeon

Chapter 55 - Minister Snape's Dilemma

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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As weeks passed and his growing family settled into their new routine, Severus concentrated on his work.

The unknown threat presented by the curses and those disturbing messages still lingered.

It terrified the Minister for Magic to think that despite Voldemort's defeat, there could be another potential enemy loose in the world who sought to destroy every fragment of the paradise-like peace he had found at long last.

Harriet helped where she could, but between mothering a small infant and a toddler, she often found herself tending her sweet babies instead of assisting her husband.

As she watched her children learn and grow, Severus's professional duties were often placed in the back of her mind.

Severus visited the Ministry's expansive library and gathered every book he could find on ancient magic.

He spent hours with his dark eyes narrowed to slits as he combed page after page for information while he replayed everything he had learned from Ingrid in his mind, desperate to discover some overlooked clue.

After careful weeks of tedious study, it frustrated him that he seemed no closer to uncovering the truth.

His irritation reached a boiling point one night while he watched Maggie roll her chair through the living room to play with her baby brother, who lay on his belly as Harriet held a series of enchanted, squishy balls in front of his face while she spelled out words.

It broke Severus's heart as he gazed at his daughter's cheerful smile while he contemplated her damaged entry into the world.

Rabbie silently sat nearby, until he spoke and drew Ingrid out.

"Is there nothing else you can do? To help my daughter? To help me?" Severus grouched sourly as he looked over at the large rabbit from his seat on the sofa, "......Can you not see that we're struggling?!"

In one swift leap, Rabbie vanished and Ingrid appeared to tower beside Severus.

She blinked down at him as she answered, "Yes, son of my son. I see that you're struggling, that's why I saved your life, your wife's life, and continue to protect your daughter."

Severus moved his dark eyes up to meet Ingrid's as an awful scowl marred his face.

"Is there nothing else you can do for her?" He asked bitterly, "I watched you remove curses from my wife, one by one, surely you can help my daughter in a similar way!.....Look at her!....She should be able to run and play like all children her age!.....It's a living cruelty that she had to be birthed under such-"

"Son of my son, you present yourself as an educated man when you are really just a fool." Ingrid snapped, "I removed no curses from your wife, merely their echoes. If a curse touches a body, there is no magic in this world that can reverse it. I suppose one day you'll bring me a corpse and demand I restore it too?"

"My daughter is not a corpse!" Severus hissed.

"Her legs may as well belong to one." Ingrid solemnly assessed.

It was all Severus could do not to snarl at Ingrid while Harriet and the children continued their play.

"Life is hard for a woman." Ingrid declared as she crossed her arms and stared at Maggie, "It will be harder for the child, though I have come to ease her burden as much as possible. That is all I can do, son of my son, I cannot breathe life into what has died......Her legs are attached to her body and that is where their connection ends."