A new home

Chapter 12

After Albus left, Harry came back down, holding his stuffed giraffe. He stood in the kitchen awkwardly, not knowing what to do. Severus gestured him to come over. They both sat down with a cup of tea for Severus and a glass of milk for Harry.
"We need to talk" - Severus said.
Harry started to look nervous, holding his toy close.
"You don't have to worry. I'm just going to ask you some questions and we'll talk about some solutions for your current conditions"
He waited for Harry to calm down before speaking again.
"Ok, first, I want to know why you didn't stand while using the toilet in the cinema. I know it is up to you but I want to know if there are any problems about it so we can work out the solution."
Harry's eyes swelled up with tears.
"'Cause I'm scared"
"What are you scared of?"
"I'm scared that the toilet seat would fall down"
"What do you mean?" - Severus was confused
"I...One time when I was u...using the toilet at my uncle's house, he came in and slammed the... the toilet seat and lid down. It hurt my wee-wee. Since then I've never stood when I peed" - the boy said tearfully.
Severus winced. Merlin knows how it hurts. How could that monster of an uncle have his own son and treated another child like that?
"How old were you, Harry?"
"F... five"
Severus knew being afraid that the seat would fall down when the boy had been taller and gotten quicker reflexes is silly. Not to mention the child would still be afraid of it even if he was alone in the room. However, Severus knew how much some unpleasant experiences in the past can traumatize a person, especially a child.
"What if it is something that doesn't have a seat or a lid. Would you stand to use it?"
"Uhm, yes"
"Ok, I understand" - Severus said thinking of getting the boy a urinal or something. He didn't have one in his home. Anyway, he was definitely going to get the boy to urinate while standing up. He was a boy after all. He would let him get used to it and when the boy trusted him and understood that he would not be hurt again, Harry would feel safer and more confident.
"You know that Mark came over today for your check-up results, right?"
Harry nodded.
"Ok, we'll talk about that now. Mark said that your bladder is very small and weak, that's why you have accidents"
"But... why didn't it happen before? I didn't wet the bed every night before this summer"
"Because you have just experienced something traumatic a few weeks ago. It is just the way your body deals with it."
Harry looked down at his lap sadly
"Harry, we have a solution for you. It's not going to make it go away but it can make you feel more confident and comfortable. It will also ensure better sleep."
The boy looked at Severus curiously, hoping it would be a good idea.

"What is it?" - the boy asked quietly

Severus looked at him for a few seconds and took out the package of pull-ups which he then unshrunk and showed the boy

"This"

Harry had a look of horror

"B...but they're nappies. I'm not a baby" - Harry said softly, panicking. He had something similar to a whine in his tone. Was the man going to make him wear them now? And then tell his Slytherins about it?

It seemed like Severus could read his thoughts.

"Harry, calm down" - the man said holding Harry's arms gently. - "Listen to me, you are not a baby, you just need some help. That's all. And they aren't nappies, they are called pull-ups. You certainly don't have to use it if you really don't want. However, I would ask you to try for me because if you continue waking up in the middle of the night, your sleep would be affected badly. And you don't have to worry, I won't use this against you."

Both of them stayed quiet for a while until Severus broke the silence.

"How about this? You try it tonight, and we'll see if you're ok with it, alright ?"

The boy nodded hesitantly.

"Ok, that settles it then" - Severus breathed a sigh of relief.

They sat in comfortable silence. Severus read his parenting book and Harry read his storybook.