AUTHOR'S NOTES:
This was my 2013 Hogwarts365 (hogwarts365 . livejournal . com) entry for WEEK THREE (29 September-5 October, 2013). The challenge was to write a 365 word drabble (exactly) using at least one of three prompts the Mods supply:
Prompt used was: "Millicent Bulstrode"
Thank you to the Mods for putting on this drabble challenge. I really had fun with it!
Please review!
DISCLAIMER: "Harry Potter" is the property of J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. This fanfiction was written entirely for fun, not for profit, and no copyright infringement is intended.
TIMELINE: Hogwarts Era – 7th year A/U (no Voldemort resurrection, no war).
MAIN CHARACTERS FEATURED (alphabetical order, last name): Millicent Bulstrode, Daphne Greengrass, Draco Malfoy, Pansy Parkinson, Blaise Zabini
SUMMARY: "Chasing society's ideal of beauty only ends up making you sick!"
RATING: PG-13
WARNINGS: One small profanity, discussions of eating disorders.
BIG AND BEAUTIFUL
By: RZZMG
"Looking good, Bulstrode!"
"Wow, Millie, is that you?"
"Bloody hell, she's..."
"Thin," Millicent snarled with disgust, throwing her bum down on the bench next to Pansy. "I know, alright? I'm disgustingly, hideously scrawny. You could pick teeth with me!"
Slytherin table went deadly quiet at such a bizarre comment, unsure what to make of Millicent's foul mood.
"But you look beautiful," Blaise stated.
Millicent glared at him. "I can see my feet for the first time since I was seven, Zabini. I don't think there's anything spectacular about that."
He frowned. "I don't understand. Seeing your feet-"
"Is a sign of shame!" Millicent bellowed. "Do you know how hard I worked to be full-figured, and not like my bulimic mother? Do you know what she's done to herself, all in the name of beauty? Her teeth are rotting out of her mouth from vomiting up her food. She spends a fortune on Glamour Charms to get rid of 'unsightly bulges'. Her waist is smaller than one of my thighs, and you can see her ribs, for Salazar's sake! Do you know how unhealthy and how emotionally and financially destructive that is? Chasing society's ideal of beauty only ends up making you sick!"
"Huh. I never thought of it that way," Pansy stated, contemplating Millicent's words.
"Me, either," Daphne chimed in. "I've always seen being thin as a mark of desirability, but look what I give up to achieve it. I skip meals to cut calories, so I'm always hungry and tired. I have trouble concentrating in classes because of it."
Draco looked over at Millicent, speculative. "How did you lose so much weight anyway?" he asked her.
Millicent sighed. "On the train home for the Easter hols, Bitch Granger hit me with a Vomiting Charm for bullying a first year. I was charfing up my intestines all week." She plucked a giant turkey leg from a platter on the table. "Thank Merlin I'm back at Hogwarts, though. I've really missed the food!"
Author's Note:
I realise that weight issues are a sensitive and political topic (they are at my house anyway). The point of this piece was to get readers to consider the importance of health and weight and self-image -that intended weight loss is about one's health, not about one's beauty or worth- not to pass any sort of judgment on overweight or underweight people.
Please review!