A/N: Guys, you have been so, incredibly patient—and for that I am forever thankful. I've been having a lot of medical issues lately. My back is still really messed up (2 years later and will most likely never fully be fixed) and I have arteries smashing my intestines, amidst other things. So thank you for still being interested in my story. I am truly sorry it has been so long since my last update. I won't promise to update super frequently. But I will promise to finish the story. My goal is to update monthly at the very least. Thank you for keeping up. I am grateful.

Chapter 27: Don't Be Ashamed

Harry woke in the middle of the night. His back was throbbing angrily and he let a low groan escape. The bandages around his chest felt too tight as he tried to sit up. His bladder protested the change in position and he flopped back down. The impact was too much for his damaged spine. His back spasmed and he arched back, swallowing a cry before it woke Draco. His bladder couldn't take the pain. "No," he whispered. He couldn't control his muscles. They spasmed and contracted on their own accord. He felt piss shoot into his boxers, it soaked though the thin fabric and started staining the blankets strewn across him. Harry watched as the darkness spread in every direction as his desperate bladder continued to empty. His back spasmed again, forcing him to arch back again, another scream choked in his throat. He panted in the dark, his skin coated in a thin layer of sweat. He managed to stop the flow, but not soon enough. His cheeks reddened as he looked at what he'd done. Everything was soaked in urine, his clothes, blankets, sheets, and even the damn mattress. "Fuck." His thoughts raced as he tried to think of a way to clean it up.

"Harry? You okay?" Draco asked from the bed beside him.

"I'm fine," he hissed. He didn't want the blonde to see what happened.

"Are you sure? It sounded like—"

"Just shut up!" Tears cascaded down his cheeks. He smelled the acrid scent of urine and figured Draco could too.

"Did you—"

"Yes, I pissed the fucking bed," he hissed again. His bladder was barely half empty, and was begging for another release.

"It's okay. Harry, please try to calm down. Your heart can't take this right now. We'll just get Sev and—"

"No! He can't know. No one can know."

"Harry," Draco said pleadingly. "You can't just stay in a soaked bed."

"I know, but… Dray, I don't wanna be in trouble. I tried to be a good boy. I tried to be better, I tried. I tried, I'm sorry," he sobbed.

"Shh, shh, it's okay," he said, desperately wishing he could hug the crying boy to his chest.

Severus woke to Harry sobbing. Worried something had gone wrong with his chest, he raced to the foot of Harry's bed. "What's wrong?" Before the sobbing boy could answer, Snape smelled the problem before he saw it. The scent of piss hung in the air, and the dampness of Harry's blanket were a dead giveaway.

"He's had an accident. His back spasmed and he lost control again," Draco offered.

"I see that now." He gently touched Harry's shoulder. "Harry, shh, it's okay. It's okay."

"P-p-please don't hurt me. I d-d-didn't mean to. I tried… I tried to be good. I'm sorry!"

"You're not in trouble. It's okay, you're okay! Harry, Harry look at me."

The emerald eyes snapped open, and looked around in a panic before locking onto the onyx.

"You. Are. Safe. Repeat it."

"I am safe," Harry mumbled.

"Are you hurt?"

"No," he muttered, trying to shift the blankets to hide what Snape had already seen. The pee was starting to cool and his legs were itchy.

The potion master waved his wand, cleaning and drying Harry and his bed. "See, Potter, everything's fine."

His back spasmed again, less severely, but another shot of piss escaped into his boxers. "I..uh…"

"Yes?"

"I still have to go," he mumbled, nodding toward the bathroom.

"Alright, I'll help you," he said, offering Harry an arm. Slowly, he got him out of the bed.

Harry leaned against Severus as they hobbled closer to the loo. Halfway across the room, his back hinted at another spasm. "No," he whispered.

"What?" Severus asked, stopping.

Harry's right leg gave out and he fell heavily into Snape. "Shit, shit, shit."

The man was ready for the impact, he tightened his hold on the boy, holding him against his side. "Are you alright?"

Urine sputtered out of his cock, spreading quickly through his boxers and onto Severus's robes. He was peeing hard and could hear it splattering loudly on the floor. His back spasmed again, he violently shuddered against the potion master before slowly dropping to his knees. Piss continued spreading around him as he clung pathetically to Snape's wet leg. Tears sprung to his eyes and he hung his head. Finally, the torrent tricked to a stop. His body shook with sobs as his back continued to spasm. He felt a light hand on his back.

"Harry?"

"Fuck, I'm sorry. Just go. Please just fucking go." He couldn't look his professor in the eye. His face burned bright red.

"I'm not going anywhere."

"I fucking pissed on you. Fuck off! Just fucking go. Leave me here. Please." Harry wiped the tears off his cheeks. He was frustrated. His own bladder and back were uncontrollable.

"No." Severus dropped to a knee to look him in the eye. "I'm not leaving you. It was an accident. You need to get out of those wet clothes and back in your bed, okay?"

"Okay." He allowed Snape to wrap his arm around his chest and pull him up. His legs weren't working very well, he was more being dragged back to his bed. Once he was laying down, and spelled dry, he sighed.

"If you need to go again, please ask for help. There's no shame in it."

Harry still refused to look him in the eye, but nodded.

"Perhaps we took the catheter out a little too early. I apologize."

"It's fine."

"It isn't. You shouldn't have been put in that position. I need to redo your bandages, is that okay?"

Harry shrugged and looked away.

Severus started undoing the bandages. "Right before I started at Hogwarts, my father was… in one of his moods. He was displeased with the way I had stowed the dishes. He called me into his office and there was a stack of plates on his desk. He said, 'One hit for every flinch'. He broke each one in front of me so the shards rained on my skin, my face, my hands. I flinched seven times. One of the punches my father landed… he hit my bladder. I lost control in his office, staining his unicorn-skin rug. He hit me far more than seven times that night. For the next four months I continued to have very little control over my bladder. The night of my sorting into Slytherin, I had to leave the Great Hall no fewer than four times to avoid having an accident. Dumbledore took notice of my disappearances. I called to his office shortly after. I lied and told him a flying incident led to my condition. He believed me. He always trusts when he shouldn't." He shook his head. "However, he informed my professors that I was to be allowed to use the lavatory whenever I asked. There were a couple who were unwilling to comply. It resulted in a humiliating mess in the middle of a stairwell. So, Harry, believe me when I say 'there is no shame in what happened this evening'. You aren't alone. I won't hold it against you and it would do you well to not hold it against yourself. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask." Severus shot Draco a silencing look and turned on his heel.

"You saw all that, didn't you?" Harry asked Draco once Snape disappeared though the office doors.

"I didn't have much choice."

He groaned.

"It wasn't your fault, alright?"

Harry remained silent.

Sev doesn't talk about his life, Harry," Draco said.

"I've noticed."

"No, Harry, I have never heard him talk about his father. Now I know why." Draco pulled himself out of his bed. He dragged his IV pole with him over to Harry's bed and climbed in. His fingers found his love's and intertwined with them. "I love you."

"I love you too." Harry snuggled against him as best he could.

"I'm not going to tell anyone what happened tonight. Neither is Sev."

"I know," he whispered. "I just hate that I can't control it. I can't control anything. I can't control anything." He cried softly into Draco's shoulder until he fell asleep.

Draco lay awake, stroking Harry's shoulder as the raven-haired boy slept. He wished there was something he could do for his back. The look of shame and horror on Harry's face when he realized he was pissing himself and Snape made Draco's heart ache. He just wanted the best for his love. No one deserved to suffer as much as this boy.

Harry started whimpering in his sleep. Draco started humming a lullaby, the same his mother used to sing when he had nightmares. Harry's whimpering subsided and he continued sleeping peacefully in his love's arms. "I love you, my sweet prince. Sleep well."