AN: Hi, all! We're sorry for the wait! Here's chapter 12, which percyjackson135 started and I finished and edited. We hope you enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series or any of its characters.
Chapter 12:
As the babyish teenager was wheeled away by the nurse, the werewolf Remus Lupin put a hand on Zacharias' shoulder and gave him a look that clearly said, "Tell me what happened!"
He looked a little angry, but in all honesty, Zacharias really didn't blame him. However, it wasn't his fault that his own father held a rivalry with the Black family.
"Look," Zacharias said wearily, "I don't really care about my father's rivalry. Maybe in the beginning I was a little prejudiced against the Potter and Black families, but that's not who I really am. I want the same thing you guys do. I want Harry to get better. Do you want to know what your godson has been doing for the past six months? Maybe even more?" This question was directed at Sirius, who looked surprised, but said nothing, "Your godson has been living with me in the Room of Requirement as a baby, and I don't mean just playing at being a baby, I mean, literally a baby."
"Why, though?" Sirius asked confusedly.
Zacharias looked sad as he answered, "Because the graveyard incident affected him greatly and I don't think he really had a chance to be a child, to be honest. He feels safer this way, because he knows that Voldemort cannot hurt him as easily as he would like to. Oh, yes, when Harry is in his baby form, there is no denying that he does have night terrors involving Voldemort, but he does not understand what they are about, so therefore, he cannot be lured out of school the way Voldemort wants him to be. And that scar really bothers him; I think there is something more inside of it, but he will not or cannot tell me what it is."
The two older men looked at the teenager and saw nothing but confusion, sadness, and worry. Whatever they had been expecting, it wasn't that. They had expected Zacharias to be exactly like his father, but they knew now that he was nothing like him. He was a scared, vulnerable, teenaged boy just trying to do the right thing
Just then they heard a wail come from down the hall, and a desperate, "Da-dee!"
Zacharias was up and headed in that direction before anyone could stop him. Seeing no other alternative, Remus and Sirius followed with a shared shrug.
They found Harry in a bed in an examination room, trying to twist away from the nurses as they tried and failed to do an ultrasound on Harry's kidneys. Every time the wand would come down to touch Harry's belly, Harry would scream and sob, twisting once more as his face contorted in pain.
"Stop, stop!" Zacharias tried to halt the nurses and reach his baby boy at the same time, but it was too late. With no warning, Harry projectile vomited over the side of the bed. There were many sounds of anger and disgust from the nurses, but Zacharias ignored them all. With careful steps to avoid the mess, he reached the bed and his sobbing boy.
"It's okay, baby… It's okay… We'll get you changed really soon, Daddy promises. And then we'll get you all better so we can go home," scooping his boy into his arms, Zacharias rocked him to sleep as both Sirius and Remus watched and silently agreed that this whole arrangement might be good for Harry, even if they themselves didn't agree with the idea of it.
