AN: This part was written by percyjackson135 and edited and added to by me at their allowance. We hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series.
Chapter 10:
After that choking scare with Harry, Zacharias was a little bit on edge. After seeing the red gleam in his baby's eyes, he was more than a little frightened. He knew exactly who was trying to hurt his little boy and he felt helpless because he felt he could do nothing about it. Which was why, after last night's events, he decided to take Harry back to the room of requirement and allow Harry to be a baby once again.
One drop of the special potion was all he needed this time. He didn't want him to regress too much just yet. This was because Zacharias needed to know that his baby boy could still talk to him if he needed to. So, one drop was enough to regress Harry to the body and mind of a toddler.
Harry looked adorable this way. His jet black hair stuck up in all directions just as it had when he was a teenager and his emerald green eyes were just as soulful. The main difference was that they looked much bigger and his frame didn't look so sickly and frail. In fact, he was starting to fill out a little bit, which made Harry's facial features look even cuter.
It was in this toddler stage, after Zacharias picked him up to read to him that he started to feel pain in his forehead. Harry the teenager new of course what was happening, but Little Harry however, did not. All he knew was that he was uncomfortable and he wanted his daddy to help him. "Hurts, Dada, hurts!"
Zacharias held toddler Harry closer to himself and rub gently at the scar marring the baby's forehead. "I know Baby, I know." But did he really know? Did he really understand that the scar on Harry's forehead was not an ordinary scar?
After a few minutes of sitting with toddler Harry and reading to him, Zacharias noticed something else that he hadn't before. Without knowing he had done so, the toddler was a mess and didn't even feel it. He had been in nappies for so long that he was losing his muscle control and didn't know it. However, Zacharias sniffed the air and realized immediately what had happened. "Whoa! Come on little man; you need to be changed."
Harry protested a little when Zacharias stood up. Harry was feeling sleepy and he didn't want any disturbances.
"I know, little guy," Zacharias said in a silly tone of voice. "I know you don't like this too much, but I've got to do it or you will get a rash. We don't want that; now do we?" Carrying the toddler into the nursery portion of the Room of Requirement, Zacharias did his best to distract Harry while he changed the messy nappy.
Zacharias made silly noises and faces for Harry as well as gently tickling him with some soft stuffed animals he found in the crib. Before either of them knew it, Harry was cleaned up and wrapped in a warm blanket. And Zacharias never expected the next day to be almost as nerve-racking.
After he had gotten Harry out of the crib and once again rushing into the hospital wing because he was choking, he hadn't known that Harry was sick until the nurse pointed it out. So, for the rest of the day, Zacharias stuck with the baby and did his homework in a little niche the room had provided months ago. It was perfect. It was hidden enough that no one could see it unless they were specifically looking for it, but at the same time, Zacharias could see everything Harry was doing. So, when the baby crawled over to him, wanting to be picked up, Zacharias hadn't expected the little one's forehead to feel hotter or for him to be pulling at his ears as if they hurt him. When Harry began to cry, loud, miserable tears, Zacharias lent down to pick him up and cuddle him. "It's okay, Baby; Daddy's here. Daddy's here."
With that reassurance, and the feeling of being safe in his Daddy's arms, Harry wet his diaper without even realizing it. But this time, the diaper leaked, soaking the baby and his clothes. Harry gave a screech of discomfort as this happened, and Zacharias stood frozen, halfway through picking Harry up.
"Oh Merlin," he said aloud in shock, unsure about what to do, "It's okay, Sweetheart, It's okay."
He carefully moved Harry to the bathroom, stripping him out of his wet onesie and getting him into a warm bath. Harry hollered and screamed all the way through a quick bath, clearly uncomfortable for some reason. He got him dressed and quickly made his way back to the Infirmary.
"Madame Pomfrey! His fever's higher than before, and he doesn't like me touching him, especially on his back."
"Come here, sweet boy, oh…" She took Harry into her arms, taking him to a bed, "I'm going to do a scan on him to find the problem, although I have my suspicions. It will be all right, Mr. Smith," Cooing to the baby, she took her wand and muttered a spell, "Just as I thought; kidney stones."
"Kidney stones?" Zacharias questioned.
"A mostly Muggle condition. His body has just needs to flush them out. It can be quite painful and cause an infection, which is probably the cause of the fever, although the stress from his headaches could be another cause. Just give him lots of fluids and control his pain until it passes."
"Thank you, Madame Pomfrey," the sentence was quiet, Zacharias being stunned and overwhelmed.
You're welcome. The poor boy will feel better in a few days, you will see."