AN: I'm sorry this took so long! Most of this was written by percyjackson135. I edited this and added a bit to the end. We hope you enjoy this chapter!
Trauma Of a Savior
Chapter 5:
After that request, Zacharias was surprised, but not overly so. Judging from what Potter had told him, the younger student had far from a happy home life, especially given how skinny he was and how pale he looked. If Zacharias didn't know any better, he would say that the boy was rather sickly and if he wasn't, he was shocked to realize how physically healthy he seemed otherwise. He was also surprised that Potter didn't come to him sooner, but because of how he treated him in the past, Zacharias certainly understood why the younger boy was hesitant to trust anyone. But, looking into those soulful and almost pleading green eyes, Zacharias' heart melted and almost broke at the sight of so much fear and pain. It became clear to him then. The Savior of the wizard world needed a savior of his own. It also became clear to Zacharias that the younger student virtually had no one to take care of him and he desperately needed that, and, odd as the request was, Zacharias found himself giving Harry a hug, "Okay," he said gently, "Strange as this is, I understand that this must've been hard for you to tell me, but I'm glad you did. You don't ever have to be afraid to tell me anything like this again. I'm use to younger children, but this is new, so we will tread carefully. Now, is there anything you want to tell me right away, or can I let the other members in? I don't want the ministry woman to find them and get them in trouble."
Harry looked slightly alarmed, but he realized that Zacharias was right. He didn't want anyone to go through what he did with the ministry worker any more than Zacharias did, "There is something else, but you may let them in for now. I will tell you after everyone else leaves."
And with a flick of his wand, Zacharias removed the silencing charm as well as the double locking charm in order to allow the rest of the members to come into the room of requirement. As they were finished with their talk, the room morphed itself into the defense room that they were all used to. Harry also noticed that Zacharias looked haughty and slightly arrogant; the manner he always used to keep others out. However, this did not bother Harry as he knew now that the haughtiness and arrogance was simply a front that Zacharias was hiding behind. He of all people understood that. For years, Harry had to hide behind a strong front so as to not give away how truly upset and hurt he really was by people he trusted, and especially his relatives. He knew they hated him, but somewhere, deep down, he hoped that they could see who he really was.
All through the meeting, Harry kept worrying about his nighttime accidents and what he was going to do about them. It was only October, but his nighttime accidents had increased from once a week to three times a week, which was really starting to stress him out. On top of that, Harry was starting to see glimpses of Voldemort and his followers through his scar, which woke him up quite often. It was also really starting to frighten him because he had no way to defend himself against these attacks and sometimes it made him physically ill when he had pain like this.
So, after a few hours of practice, and allowing the other Dumbledore's Army members to leave in twos and threes, he and Zacharias were alone in the room of requirement once again. And once again, Zacharias sealed the room to everyone and put up a silencing charm. As Harry was not in his little headspace, the room did not change into the baby's playroom as it was earlier. It became an ordinary room with a table and chairs along with some parchment and quills in case either of them wanted or needed to write something down. "Okay Potter, what's going on?"
Without any further hesitation, Harry began to speak. "Well, ever since the beginning of the school year, I've had problems sleeping because of nightmares about Cedric, but it's more than that. About three weeks into the school year, I started having accidents at night and they occurred only once a week. But it wasn't just this year either. After the tournament, that was when I had my first accident. Cedric's death really affected me, but I had no idea what was happening to me. I haven't wet the bed in many years until then. If I had, my aunt and uncle would make me fend for myself. When a dementor came after my cousin and me, I thought I was going to be sick and I thought my aunt and uncle would kill me. They almost wanted to kick me out of the house, but my aunt got a howler from Dumbledore telling her to remember something, but I don't know what that was about. Anyway, it's because of these reasons that I am starting to wet the bed more frequently and I don't know or understand what's happening to me. I don't want to, but I don't have a choice. I need help, but I don't know what to do about this."
Zacharias was thoughtful as he listened carefully and patiently to Harry's story. He knew his home life wasn't good, but he had no idea that the Azkaban guards would come after a child or anyone without authorization. He also knew that the younger boy looked increasingly tired every single day, but he just didn't understand why until now. A few things had been explained, but not everything. After a while, Zacharias asked gently. "How often do these accidents happen?"
"They used to happen at least once a week, but now, they have increased to three times a week and I'm afraid that I might be losing control. I don't know what's happening to me."
Zacharias put a gentle hand on Harry's shoulder and replied gently. "I don't think there's anything wrong with you. You've had a lot of trauma in your lifetime and sometimes that's how it is handled. I'm not saying it's right, but sometimes, the brain can make your body handle stress in very strange ways. And I think for you, not having a lot of bladder control at night is one of them. After what you told me earlier about your relatives, I'm not surprised that your brain decided to handle your traumatic situations in this way."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked, confusedly.
Zacharias sighed heavily. "Well, I'm no healer, but given what you told me about your relatives not allowing you to use nappies when you still needed them, I'm guessing that your brain decided to handle your trauma by telling your body to revert back to a younger age; both physically and mentally from what I have seen today."
"So, what can I do about it?" Harry asked hopefully.
Zacharias smiled as gently as he could and answered. "Well, you have one of two choices. You can either continue wetting through your boxers and pajamas and having to change your sheets almost every single night; or, you can wear a nappy when you go to bed and have a plastic sheet over your mattress. If you choose to do this, you need to let the house elves know so that they can fix your bed up properly for you."
Harry's eyes lit up at the prospect of being able to wear a nappy, but then he looked a little crestfallen as he asked, "But there's only one problem with that. How will I be able to change myself? I haven't used them in so long, but I want to, I really want to…"
Zacharias looked at the younger boy's face and noted just how vulnerable Harry really was. "Do you want to do it now?" He asked gently, "I can tell that this is important to you and I know this may be a little overwhelming for you."
In response to the younger boy's need, the room changed; going back to the playroom, but there was something different about it as well. In one corner, there was a huge changing table; complete with nappies, both cloth and disposable, wipes, and lotion. Sensing somehow that Harry had retreated into his little headspace, Zacharias took him over to the table and gently lifted him onto it. Making sure to be gentle, Zacharias removed the younger boy's trainers along with his outer row and trousers. He felt rather awkward doing this, but Zacharias didn't care. All he cared about was whether or not the younger student was happy, and he seemed to be, if the delighted sparkle in the teenager's green eyes was any indication. He was completely floored though, to hear him giggle when the disposable nappy was put under him along with oil and lots of cream. This was to help prevent a rash from forming when the teenager wet himself when he was sleeping. It was clear to Zacharias that Harry had wanted this all along, maybe even needed it and he wasn't going to deny him that. He was also very surprised at how naturally he diapered a teenaged boy even if he thought it was a little strange.
Lifting Harry down from the table, Zacharias hugged the babyish teenager close as Harry babbled incoherently as a real toddler would, "Sleep well, baby boy," he whispered gently, "You'd better get back to your common room."
In response, little Harry whined and clung closer, hand gripping onto Zachariah's shirt. It was clear he didn't want to let his Daddy get away. Zachariah sighed and tried to think. What could he do? They needed to get to their separate dorms or the Prefects would tell their Heads of House.
But it clear that Harry and the Room had other plans, ad so with another a resigned sigh and close snuggle before walking over to the oversized crib the Room had equipped itself with and gently lay Harry down, shushing him a little when the sleepy baby whined again and snuffled unhappily. When he had settled Harry down, Zachariah went to the bathroom the Room had given them and changed into the pajamas the Room had so graciously given him, all while trying to figure this all out in his head. He would get no sleep that night.
