Harriet Potter and the Alpha in the Dungeon

Chapter 79 - This Time

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 ignored the low cramps that began in her belly as she and Severus returned home with their children.

She even managed to tuck both Maggie and Little Sev into bed before she climbed into her nest with a ragged sigh.

"My love, what's the matter?.....Are you in pain?" Severus asked as he gently rubbed low, soothing circles into Harriet's back while she sobbed into the closest pillow.

A soft groan came from her throat as the incorrectly-brewed potion sent her empty womb into tight, gut-wrenching squeezes.

"Sev........." Harriet whispered as she lifted her head from the pillow to speak.

Severus scowled as he listened to Harriet suck in a sharp breath.

Under his palms, her robes dampened with sweat as she struggled through the pain.

"I........." She gasped, "I......."

"If you're unable to speak, may I read your thoughts?" Severus asked.

His tone was sharp but his eyes were soft with worry as he frowned at his mate.

"I.....I've done something I shouldn't have." Harriet sighed.

She had been exposed by her own mistake.

Realizing that something must have gone wrong during the potion's brewing, Harriet knew it was only a matter of time before Severus discovered the truth.

If he invaded her mind, she wouldn't be able to conceal her memories of buying the ingredients or making the potion and he would surely-

"I bought some larindonan legumes." Harriet confessed.

Severus's frown turned into a scowl.

".......I beg your pardon?" He drawled.

"I bought them!....And I brewed it........The fertility potion.....A fertility potion, anyway." Harriet breathed.

Severus's mouth fell open for a moment before he asked, ".........Have you taken it?"

"Yes....." Harriet confessed in a shuddering gasp as the pain sharpened, "Yes, I have! I did! T-This evening, I.....I wanted us to-"

"-How much did you swallow?" Severus asked urgently.

He prioritized his wife's physical health over any emotions as a thousand unspeakable fears flooded his mind.

There had been good reason why Hogwarts offered no instruction to its students on fertility potions.

Severus knew that every year, dozens of women ended up dead as a result of consuming those mixtures.

"The.....The vial is in my robes, my old school robes." Harriet whispered as she pointed towards the closet, "The clerk at the apothecary.....She never said it'd be this painful!"

Severus glanced at the closet before he leapt from the bed and swooped over to throw open the door.

Before Harriet could turn her head, her mate had already retrieved the empty glass vial, uncapped it, and breathed in the clues offered by its scant remains.

"Sev.......it hurts!" Harriet cried, "G-Give me something!"

"Pain Potion will do no good in this instance." Severus wisely determined.

Harriet could hear the anxiousness in his voice.

As he watched his wife suffer through the effects of her own awry plan, he discarded the vial, walked over, and gently helped her get comfortable on the pillows.