AN: So, this is the first Harry Potter story I've ever posted. I'm sure everyone is a bit OOC, so you'll have to forgive me for that. I have finished this story and I'm currently working on the sequel to it. This is a Snarry fic with a side of Alpha/Beta/Omega dynamics and mentions of mpreg. If none of those are your thing, turn back now. I was unsure on the rating, so I went for M because of some of the events and I'd rather be on the safe side. Feel free to tell me if you see any errors that need fixing - I don't have a beta. I suck at titles, so the one you see is the best I could come up with. By the way, I'm an American so I might accidentally use some American slang. I apologize if I do.

This story was greatly inspired by a series of stories I read on (AO3). The series is called "Holiday Surprise", the stories, in order, are "Holiday Surprise", "Winter Storm", "Small Miracle", and "Remembrance". The author is Demondog136. These stories are Drarry rather than Snarry, but a good deal of the plot in my story came from these stories. I highly recommend reading them.

That bring me to this. Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, that honor belongs to the wonderful JK Rowling, and I did not come up with this plot entirely on my own.

Warnings: At the beginning of this story, Harry is in an abusive relationship (not Severus Snape). During this story, the following will either take place of be mentioned, so if the following are triggers for you, this is not a story for you: domestic abuse, rape, child neglect, or mild violence.

Intro: In this 'verse, a person finds out if they are an alpha, beta, or omega when they come of age (17). Only wizards or witches can be an alpha of omega - all Muggles are just betas. There is a 3:1:1 ratio of betas to omegas to alphas. In the majority of cases, betas mate with each other, while alphas mate to omegas and vice versa. Most omegas (male or female) and female betas can get pregnant. Omegas naturally seek to make their alphas happy. All alphas know this, and while some use that information to encourage their omega, some take advantage of it. Some see omegas as nothing but baby makers and are manipulative in order to get an omega to carry their 'pups'. Often, when an alpha is unsatisfied with their omega, they become abusive or kick the omega out, both of which are difficult situations for omegas. There are laws in place that were designed to protect the unique relationships between alphas and omegas, but they have been corrupted. The laws that were intended to keep those who don't understand omegas (who are very complex and can get emotional(ly fragile)) from manipulating them have been twisted to say that under no circumstances could anyone other than an alpha try to come between said alpha and their omega. In other words, even if there is a known case where an alpha is abusing their omega, no one can do a thing about it. Alphas have unlimited rights with what they can do to their omegas, short of killing them. In this story, Harry is omega, Snape is alpha, and Hermione and Ron are beta. Sirius is an alpha, mated to Remus, who is omega. When Sirius was accused of the crimes that got him thrown into Azkaban, Remus knew he was innocent but could do nothing about it. He didn't have too hard of a time because Sirius hadn't purposely left him, but things were still very hard on Remus, who is still a werewolf in this story. Sirius was exonerated within 2 years of breaking out of Azkaban (Between Harry's 4th and 5th years at Hogwarts), which in the long run saved his life and many others. He is very protective of Remus now, as well as Harry. Harry went to live with Sirius and Remus the summer after his fourth year.

Snape was in his store, as he usually was these days. He had found, after the war, that returning to Hogwarts was just too much, especially now that it was common knowledge he had never been a traitor after all. He couldn't bear those looks people gave him - the ones that said they thought he was some sort of hero worth admiring. The fact that he had nearly died didn't help to tone down those looks, either. He had never liked the spotlight. So here he was, in his store, where he was very good at his job but generally away from the prying eyes of the public – as much as he could be while still earning a living. He hadn't seen many people from Hogwarts lately, and that was perfectly fine with him. He liked his solitary life, even though he did sometimes wish he had a mate. He was an alpha, but he wouldn't have minded having a beta around. He knew, of course, that he would clash a bit too much with another alpha, but he wasn't sure he could really handle an omega. They seemed a bit too emotional, and Snape didn't have the kindest disposition. It wasn't that he didn't care for people; he just didn't know how to show it and he certainly wasn't heartless enough to accept causing emotional heartache to an omega because he couldn't show the compassion that omegas often craved. Then he walked in.

Harry was having a rough week, just like he did every month after his heat. He had an alpha - a mate - and he had loved the man at first. They had met a few years after the final war and become mates only six months after meeting. The alpha had been so fantastic in the first year and a half of knowing each other, but after a year of being mated and still not having any pups, the other man, Nathaniel, was starting to get frustrated with Harry. He kept going on about how if the famous Harry Potter was so great, he should be able to bear pups. Then he'd said the thing that had broken Harry's heart. He'd said that was half the reason he'd mated to him – because Harry was so good with everything else he had been sure the omega 'couldn't louse up getting bred.'

Now Harry was desperate. His alpha had mated him mainly because he wanted pups, and Harry had been too blind to see it. Now that it had been two years since they'd gotten mated, Harry could sense the storm coming. It was only a matter of time before he was tossed out on his arse; there wasn't much holding the alpha back, considering the reasons he'd mated Harry in the first place. It wasn't that Harry wouldn't be happy to get away from the man – after he'd shown his true colors he'd turned out to be a bit abusive and Harry was feeling at the end of his rope with all the pressure put on him by the alpha – but there was one problem. He was an omega who had an alpha mate, and while if an alpha lost their mate, it was hard but doable to move on, an omega who lost a mate had a very hard time recovering. If Harry had a choice, he would go back and stop himself from ever meeting the other man. He would be better of eternally single than single after having an alpha dump him. Omegas rarely ever moved on from losing a mate. The ones that didn't kill themselves battled depression and had to go to constant counseling, and as much as Harry hated to admit it, as bad as his current situation was, it would only get all the more worse for him if he was tossed aside like the worthless piece of trash he apparently was.

That's what had brought him to his current quest. He'd been searching for a year to find a good potion that would increase his chances of getting pregnant, but so far nothing had worked and Harry was beginning to suspect he was defective. He had been to almost every apothecary in the United Kingdom. All he wanted to do was earn back the love his alpha had once shown him (because as an omega, he had the innate desire to be loved and to satisfy his alpha, and he hated his biology for that), and he really hoped he might do that by producing pups, but he just wasn't having any luck and it was only a matter of time before he was kicked out. He thought he might have a few months left of chances. If he was lucky. And despite the feeling that maybe things would be alright again if he could get pregnant, he knew in the back of his mind that Nathaniel had only mated him so he could have pups, and that would always hurt even if he could earn back some affection.

The last thing Harry expected to see when he opened the door to the apothecary he'd just found, was his old Potions professor. "Professor Snape," he said in surprise.

Snape smelled something wonderful come into his shop and briefly recalled an article he'd read in some magazine that said a person's true mate would smell better than anything else to them. He had discarded it as meaningless rubbish. Then that wonderful something had called him a name he hadn't been called in years, and he looked up sharply, startled by the boy – no, man – he saw standing near his door. "Snape will suffice," he said, confused at what his olfactory receptors were trying to imply. "I have not been a professor for years. Now, what can I do for you, Potter?"

Harry didn't know why, but he wanted Snape to call him by his first name – even though he didn't call the other man Severus– but he did notice appreciatively that the man no longer said his surname with such malice as he once had. Harry was briefly relieved he had opted not to change his last name to match his mate's. The odds of him still having a mate by the same time the next year were slim anyway. "I need a potion," Harry said, fumbling. How do you tell the professor you once hated but grew to appreciate – to put it mildly – that you needed a potion to help with conception?

"Well, I would assume so, considering the type of establishment you just walked into. Could you perhaps be a bit more specific?"

Harry was suddenly glad for the sardonic tone. It wasn't hateful, like the tone Nathaniel often used, and it wasn't admiring, like the tone of everyone who didn't know him and thought he was so incredible because of a series of events that were out of his control. "Well, it's a bit personal, and I wasn't really expecting to run into you."

"Out with it, Potter. I'm hardly going to embarrass you now. I've long since lost the enjoyment in such an activity and I am bound by magical law to keep all my dealings with customers confidential. Now if you would please tell me what it is you're looking for, I might be able to help you."

"Alright, fine. I don't know if you realize, but I'm an omega." Now that Harry said so, it should have been obvious. It was somewhat of a difficult concept, the Boy Who Lived being an omega, a type of person who was seen as being quite fragile. Snape had seen for himself that Potter was made of sterner stuff that the stereotyped omega, although he did know not to put too much faith in stereotypes. "I've had a mate for a couple years now, and we've been trying to have pups, but it hasn't been working out and I've tried several different potions, but nothing has worked so far. I was wondering if you might have something?"

Snape raised a brow. So Potter and his mate were having trouble conceiving, and they had turned to potions to help them out. The only odd thing about the situation was that, normally, this was something mates looked for together in these cases – at least in Snape's experience. And Potter looked a little worried about the situation. Surely he hadn't gotten caught up with one of those alphas – the ones who treated you nice to start out with, only to get you to mate them before showing their true colors – abusive bastards who wanted nothing more than pups, who broke off anything with an omega who couldn't reproduce properly. It sickened Snape that there were people like that. Didn't they realize what that did to an omega?

Forcing himself to focus on what he should be focusing on, Snape said, "I think I might be able to find something for you, if you would give me a few moments." Snape went to the back room where he kept all of his extra supplies. He hadn't brewed a fertility potion in a while, but he was able to find some. "Here, take this. Swallow a spoonful every night with your meal, two spoonfuls all week the week before your next heat."

"Thank you," Harry said, truly hoping this one would work.

"Of course," Snape said.

The potion didn't work. Harry followed the instructions, but nothing changed. Nathaniel was getting more frustrated than ever, and Harry was lucky to escape violence whenever he was in the other man's presence. It didn't make him feel any better when he was told to sleep on the couch until he could prove he was good for something other than looking pretty. Deciding to give the potion another chance, because it could take more than a month to actually work, he went back to Snape a week after that heat, since he'd run out of the potion.

"Could I have another bottle of that potion?" Harry asked quietly when he returned.

Snape studied Harry. Clearly, he'd had no luck. That wasn't the worst of it, though. Harry seemed beaten down and… beaten. He had an odd bruise on his left cheek, and it seemed as though Harry had tried – unsuccessfully – to conceal it. He was also thinner and paler. But what could Snape do? Anyone who tried to refute the bond between an alpha and omega – other than the alpha in the bond – would receive worse than Azkaban, and unless Harry was seeking help Snape could do nothing. Even if Harry was seeking help, there would be next to nothing Snape could do. "Yes, you may. I'll retrieve some from the back. One moment."

Harry waited for Snape to come back. It had been strange – almost like the man was analyzing him. He wondered how much Snape had been able to deduce from his appearance. It seemed like it had been a lot, but you never could tell with Snape, even post-war Snape, who was different than Potions-Master Snape. "Thank you," Harry said when Snape brought another bottle to him. He left before another word could be said.

"That's it. I've had enough. I'm done dealing with you. You're no good to me – worthless. I should have gotten rid of you sooner, then I might at least have a pregnant omega if not pups. Good luck finding someone who can actually find a use for you now. I'll give you an hour to pack your things and leave. Understood?" Nathaniel said. It was as if he was firing someone from their job, or foreclosing on a house, not kicking out a mate, someone you're supposed to bond with for life. Harry knew it was basically over for him, now. For an alpha, a breakup with a mate was nothing, but for an omega it brought feelings of abandonment, failure, uselessness, hopelessness, fear, despair, and anything else under the sun. It would be a struggle now. And he knew from experience that heats without alphas were the worst, so he'd have to get suppressants. And a place to live. Maybe Ron and Hermione would let him live with them for a few days, or even a week if he needed it. He'd need to find a counselor, too.

Harry left Nathaniel's house with his most important possessions packed in a small bag half an hour later, and he was punched in the stomach on his way out the door because he took too long. He immediately apparated to Ron and Hermione's house, hoping they would understand. He knocked on the door dejectedly, feeling like the epitome of failure.

"Harry?" said Hermione when she opened the door.

"Hey, I was wondering, if it's not too much trouble, if I could stay with you two for a while? I don't really have a home anymore right now…"

"What—oh never mind. Come on in, we'll talk about it once you've gotten a bit settled." Hermione then led Harry to a spare bedroom, where he unpacked the few things he had brought with him, before going downstairs to find the beta making tea. "Ron's still at work," Hermione mentioned as she had Harry sit down on the couch. She sat beside him. Ron worked at the Ministry, while Hermione was a medi-witch at St. Mungo's. "I got off work early today. So, why did you say you don't have a home anymore?"

"Nathaniel kicked me out," Harry said quietly, ashamed.

"What?! Why?!"

"I guess he got fed up with the fact that I wasn't getting pregnant."

"That's not reason to kick you out!"

"It is when that's the only reason he wanted me to move in with him to begin with. He played me, Hermione. And I fell for him so hard."

"Harry, I'm so sorry. Please believe me, though, when I say none of that is your fault. He's just being a dick."

"Thanks Hermione, but I think that might take a while to sink in," Harry said honestly. "I'm going to go out and get some suppressants tomorrow, I think. You know, for the next heat."

"Probably a good idea," Hermione agreed. "And I highly recommend you go see a counselor. I think you know why, but if you don't I'll be more than happy to list out some reasons."

"I know why, and I agree. I would like to survive these next few years. I don't suppose you could recommend anyone for me?"

"Yes, actually. There's a wizard with an office close to mine and I think he'd be great for you. I can set up an appointment if you'd like, or you can do it yourself. Whatever you would prefer."

That was the moment Ron chose to Floo home. "Harry! What a surprise. How are you?" he greeted before giving Hermione a peck on the cheek.

"Not great," Harry said honestly. "Nathaniel kicked me out."

"What?! He can't do that! Can he?"

"I'm afraid he had every legal right to," Harry said.

"Well, that's a dick move," Ron said vehemently.

"My thoughts exactly," Hermione agreed.

"Yeah, well, I'm staying with the two of you now, unless you've got an objection," Harry said.

"Of course not. It'll be just like old times. Except this time we won't be sharing a room."

Harry gave a small smile for the first time that day. Maybe things would be alright, so long as he had his friends.

AN: I know I kinda put a lot in that first chapter, but it just seemed like a good amount. The next chapter should be coming soon. Leave me a review please!