A/N: Welcome, friends. Warning before we get started. This story deals with eating disorders and recovering from that. If this will potentially trigger you or cause you grief, please don't read it. I'd much rather you ignore my story and stay well. You're far more important. For everyone else, enjoy!
There's also no romance here. Just friendship and family. You can ship who you want to, but I didn't write any into this story. Happy reading!
Disclaimer: Soup!
The war was over. It was finally done. People could finally start regaining their old lives, or what was left of them. For the Weasleys, it was a little more difficult. Everyone keenly felt the loss of Fred, and George's pain was palpable to everyone. But the family was slowly healing and trying to get back into their old routine as best they could and had developed their own coping mechanisms to get through the day.
Molly Weasley's coping mechanism was cooking. She prided herself on being able to always provide a hot meal for her family, no matter how tight money was. She lost herself in her cooking, frequently making much more food than her family could eat at one sitting. Nobody said anything about it, though. They knew what was driving Molly to cook, and they didn't want to take that away from her.
Which is why Harry Potter and Hermione Granger didn't say anything about their eating troubles. Because they were living on the run the last year, supplies were severely limited, especially food. They never did know where their next meal would come from or when they would get it. This had left all three teenagers underweight, but somehow Ron was able to recover fairly easily. Harry and Hermione joked with Ron that it was because he had such a big appetite and was able to eat large amounts of food at any given time.
Harry and Hermione, however, weren't recovering as well as Ron had. There were many days that they went hungry, especially during the weeks after Ron left them. Many nights found them huddled in bed, ignoring their growling stomachs and clinging to each other for both warmth and comfort. But now they were safe at the Burrow, where they never had to do wonder if they would eat.
Unfortunately, this caused a different kind of problem. Because of their lack of food over the last year, Harry and Hermione had lost a significant amount of weight. No one knew this, though. They went to great lengths to make sure nobody was aware of their struggles, wearing baggy shirts and jackets, despite the warm weather. But it wasn't quite enough.
Supper was well underway and Harry and Hermione were trying to eat as much as they could without rousing suspicion. Because there were so many people sitting around the table, it was fairly easy to get away with not eating all of their food. Unfortunately, Molly would pile more helpings onto their plates once she saw that they'd eaten part of their supper. "You need to eat more," she would always say. "You're much too thin."
While the teenagers appreciated her caring, it was a little more than they could handle. Hermione had just taken a bite of the mashed potatoes Molly had just served her and felt an unwelcome yet familiar discomfort in her stomach. Feeling a little lightheaded, she slowly set down her fork and wiped her mouth with her napkin. "Excuse me," she said softly as she got up and headed toward the bathroom. The closer she got, the worse she began to feel, and before she knew it she was running and dropping to her knees in front of the toilet, the food she'd just eaten bringing itself back up.
She absently felt one hand in her hair and one hand on her back. "You're doing fine, Hermione," Harry's voice murmured softly in her ear. Hermione continued to expel her food until she was finally done. Closing her eyes in relief, Hermione leaned back into Harry, feeling his arms come around her comfortingly. "Too much?" he asked knowingly. Hermione just nodded slowly, feeling exhausted after being so sick. "Come on, I'll take you to bed."
Standing up, Harry carefully lifted Hermione into his arms and carried her to his room. He knew that when Hermione was upset she was most comfortable with him. "Stay with me?" she requested weakly. Unable to deny her when she was like this, Harry toed his shoes off and climbed into bed behind Hermione, wrapping his arms around her and gently cradling her to his chest. Both teenagers drifted to sleep, Harry praying his own food would stay down tonight.
Wondering how Hermione was doing, Ron got up from his seat at the table and went to find his best friends. He could tell Hermione had been feeling sick and he wanted to make sure she was okay. Looking in the room she shared with Ginny proved fruitless. His next guess was his own room. Opening his door, Ron was met with the familiar sight of his two best friends curled up in Harry's bed, sleeping not soundly, but at least somewhat peacefully. He quietly shut the door behind him and went back downstairs. Maybe he would room with George tonight, give Hermione and Harry some time to themselves.
Ron didn't feel the least bit jealous seeing his best friends sleeping together. After abandoning them for several weeks during their hunt for Voldemort's horcruxes, he felt he had no right to be jealous. He knew the other two had forgiven him, but it still cut Ron deeply that he had done such a thing and he tried to be as supportive as possible when his friends had their hard moments.
"How is Hermione?" Molly's worried voice interrupted Ron's thoughts about his friends.
"She's doing alright," he answered cautiously. He didn't want to rat his friends out when they weren't doing well. "Harry went to check on her and now she's asleep."
"I worry for that girl," Molly said sadly. "I wish we could do more for her."
"We're doing as well as we can, Mollywobbles," Arthur assured her, putting an arm around her shoulders. "And Hermione knows that. I'm sure she will be fine, just as we all will be." As Ron listened to his parents, he could only hope that they were right and that Hermione would recover. He didn't know what he would do without his best friends.
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When he next awoke, Harry saw that it was dark outside. "Must be pretty late," he mused. He looked over at the sleeping witch in his arms. She had turned over in her sleep and her head was now nestled in the crook of his neck. Despite enjoying the feeling of his best friend in his arms, Harry hated what put them in that position. He sighed softly and ran his fingers through her hair. Listening intently with battle-honed senses, the teenager could tell the house was silent, everyone having gone to sleep for the night. "Hermione," he addressed her softly, his fingers lightly scratching her scalp. "Hermione, wake up."
The girl in his arms slowly opened her eyes, looking around lethargically before figuring out where she was. "What?" she mumbled groggily.
"Everyone's gone to bed. Want to go down and try to eat something?"
Blinking lazily, Hermione finally met Harry's eyes. "Sure." Closing her eyes once again, she snuggled a little more into Harry's shoulder before rolling out of bed, her best friend following closely behind her. They made their way down the stairs and into the kitchen on silent feet, where Harry started up the stove and Hermione raided the pantry. "What do you feel up to, Harry?" she asked.
"I don't know. Would you prefer something even lighter than usual after being sick a while ago?"
"Yeah, I think so. That really wiped me out earlier." Hermione brought out a tub of rice and handed it to Harry.
"I can tell. That did seem a little worse than usual." With practiced movements, Harry had the rice in a pot with water and set it on the stove, seasoning it very lightly so it wasn't unbearably bland.
"Thanks for that breath freshening spell earlier," Hermione mused as she sat down at the table to watch her friend cook. Though she knew it was learned from a less than pleasant childhood, she never got tired of watching Harry work in the kitchen. He was a completely different kind of wizard in the kitchen.
"I knew you wouldn't want that taste in your mouth once you woke up." When the rice started boiling, Harry turned it down to simmer, set the lid on the pot, and cast a tempus charm to let him know when it had been twenty minutes. Then he joined Hermione at the table.
"You were right." An uncomfortable look crossed Hermione's features for a moment. "How prominent are they, Harry?" she asked hesitantly.
"You want me to look or feel?" he responded just as seriously. Hermione sat in silence for a moment before answering.
"Feel," she finally decided uncomfortably.
Harry could sense this. "If it makes you uncomfortable, I don't have to do it," he assured her. "We can find someone else."
"No, that's not it," Hermione argued. "I promise, it's not you. I'm more comfortable with you than anyone else. It's just…"
"You wish we didn't have to do this in the first place?" Harry asked knowingly. Hermione nodded tearfully, so grateful that her best friend could understand her without her having to use words. "It's alright, Mione. I get it completely." It saddened Hermione that this was true. "Go ahead and stand up." Doing as told, Hermione got to her feet and stepped between Harry's knees. Rubbing his hands together to warm them, Harry gently reached up under Hermione's shirt and wrapped his hands around her torso. His fingers could easily feel the exposed ribs stretching her skin.
His wince was all the answer Hermione needed. "They're still really bad, aren't they?" she asked, not really needing his answer.
"Well, you have been throwing up after almost every meal," Harry reminded her. "After everything, I think you could be much worse."
"Your turn," Hermione insisted, ignoring Harry's silver lining. With a sigh, Harry stood and lifted his own shirt and let his best friend's hands roam his chest. "Not too bad. You've been thinner."
"Well, I am a little more used to this than you are."
"Though you shouldn't have to be," Hermione interrupted. She hated the way her best friend had had to grow up and frequently fantasized all the ways she could get back at his relatives for treating him so abysmally his whole life.
"That doesn't matter at this point. All that matters is that we're in this together." His green eyes bored intently into her brown ones, making sure she paid attention to his words. "We're going to get through this, Mione. I promise." Tears began to fill Hermione's eyes, but they were interrupted a short time later by Harry's timer. "Looks like supper's done," he announced. He and Hermione stepped away from the table to fill their bowls with small portions of rice before sitting back down, both silently praying they would be able to keep it down.
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The next morning, the Weasley household was greeted the same way it always was: with the tantalizing scent of breakfast filling the air. As per usual, Molly had gone all out preparing a large meal of eggs, toast with jam, sausage, bacon, pancakes, and muffins.
Just as she finished setting the food out on the table, she heard footsteps sounding down the stairs. The first to show up, unsurprisingly, was Ron. Molly could always count on her youngest son to be on time for a meal. "Good morning, Ron," she greeted him cheerfully with a light ruffle of his ginger locks. "Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah, well enough," he answered. He didn't let her know that he had indeed bunked with George the night before so Harry and Hermione could sleep. He was glad he did, too, as not long after midnight, George was awakened by a nightmare. It took a while for Ron to get George calmed down enough to go back to sleep, and that was only after he joined George in bed and let his older brother curl up in his lap. George's anguish at the loss of Fred was almost more than Ron could bear, and he had a silent cry of his own once he was sure his older brother was asleep.
This wasn't for his mom to know, however. He knew he could go to Harry and Hermione with this later. They always set aside time everyday for the three of them to just sit and be and talk about their troubles for the day. A tiny piece of Ron's mind hoped they would tell him what had upset Hermione the night before. He had been noticing a pattern lately. One of his friends would get up from the table before everyone had finished eating, and the other would follow. Ron wasn't sure what was causing it, but he hoped his friends would tell him soon. He wanted to help them as much as they helped him.
Not a moment later, the other teenagers filed sleepily into the kitchen and took their places at the table, voices slurring morning greetings to each other. Hermione and Harry had just helped themselves to some toast when Ginny's voice piped up. "Where were you last night, Hermione?" she asked curiously. "I didn't see you when I got up."
Hermione's eyes widened imperceptibly for a quick second before she answered. "I got restless during the night and came down here. I fell asleep on the couch."
"Ah, okay," Ginny accepted easily. It wasn't the first time Hermione had snuck downstairs in the middle of the night. Hermione turned to Harry and they shared a quick glance that went unnoticed by everyone but Ron. Hermione may have been right in fifth year about him having the emotional range of a teaspoon, but he had become much more observant and sensitive after everything the three of them had been through together.
Breakfast went by quietly as everyone ate. Unfortunately, Molly continued to try and feed all of them as much as they could eat. Ron ate at a much slower pace than he used to, which meant he filled up more quickly than in the past. He grabbed the plate set next to his place and began filling it with food. "I'm going to take this up to George," he announced softly. Everyone else exchanged sad and knowing smiles with him. They were all glad George had begun opening up to Ron. It was good for the grieving brothers, especially the older one.
"Tell him we said hi," Harry requested softly around the bite of muffin he was trying to avoid eating. Ron nodded his acquiescence and quit the room.
Hermione watched her friend walk away and absently took a bite of the sausage she didn't notice had been added to her plate and immediately felt the effects of it. Her eyes widened as she began to gag on the greasy food and took off running, ignoring the startled and worried voices behind her.
Harry took off after her as well, following her up the stairs to the first level bathroom where he found her retching. Repeating his actions of the night before, he gathered up her hair and held her until she was done. When she leaned back into him and rested her head against his shoulder, he wrapped her into a gentle hug. "You think you're about done?" he asked her. She only nodded slowly, keeping her eyes closed and breathing carefully. "Stay here, and I'll get you some water." Hermione nodded again and rested her head against the cool wall while Harry went to the sink to get her a cup of water and a wet rag.
Unbeknownst to them, they'd been followed, and a concerned redhead stood just outside the door and had heard everything. Ginny nearly entered the bathroom to check on her friend when the sound of vomiting began again. She was just about to check on her sick friend when a voice stopped her in her tracks. "Harry!"
"Harry's sick too?" the redhead thought to herself. "What's going on?" She turned and went back downstairs to inform her family of the new development.
"Harry, are you okay?" Hermione asked in concern. She forgot her own discomfort as her friend dropped down next to her and began throwing up himself.
"I'm alright," Harry gasped as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
"No you're not," Hermione contradicted with a sigh, but she only handed him the cup of water he had just gotten for her. "What do you think caused it this time?" she asked as he swished the water around his mouth and spat it into the toilet.
"Not sure, but maybe that muffin," he guessed. "I'd thought it wouldn't have been heavy enough but apparently not. Was yours just from that sausage?"
"Maybe that and from being sick last night." She dropped her head against Harry's shoulder with a groan, which covered the sound of soft footsteps outside the door. "I'm so ready for this to be over. I'm tired of being constantly sick."
"I hate it for you, Mione."
"Hate it for yourself too, Harry," Hermione scolded. "You've been sick almost as often as I have."
"Yeah, but it's hit you much harder, which is understandable. This is all knew to you."
"I hate that you have to experience this as well, but I'm glad we're in this together. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have you with me through all this."
Harry sat up and brought Hermione into a hug. "We'll get through this together, Mi. You know we can get through anything together." He kissed her gently on the forehead. "Come on, let's get cleaned up and go lie down. You need to rest."
The eavesdroppers quickly dispersed before the sick pair could exit the bathroom and reconvened in the kitchen. "What on earth was that about?" Ginny began the discussion.
"If I didn't know any better, I would think Hermione was having morning sickness," Molly observed. "But that wouldn't be. They haven't had any opportunity for that."
"I don't know, Mum." Ginny turned to her brother. "Didn't you say there were a few weeks that you had gotten separated from Harry and Hermione last year?"
"Yeah," Ron confirmed hesitantly. He didn't want to add fuel to the flame, but he really couldn't lie. He was worried about his friends too. "But that wouldn't explain why Harry was sick," he tried, hoping to dispel their suspicions.
"Actually, it would," Molly spoke up. "Lots of men will have sympathy symptoms when their wife gets pregnant. This could very well be the case for Harry and Hermione."
"But they wouldn't do that," Ginny protested desperately. Even though nothing had been discussed between the two of them, Ginny still had feelings for Harry and hoped they would get back together. Hermione possibly being pregnant would definitely get in the way of that. "There's no way Harry and Hermione would sleep together."
"It doesn't look that way," Arthur argued gently. "But whether Hermione is pregnant with Harry's child or not, we will be there for them and support them no matter what. Right, family?"
"Absolutely, Arthur," Molly agreed without hesitation. Ron just nodded absently, deep in thought, and Ginny huffed and leaned back in her chair, arms crossed over her chest. "Now, let's leave those two alone for a little while to rest. They have a lot on their minds right now." Arthur and Molly simultaneously stood from their seats, Arthur to go to work and Molly to start cleaning up the breakfast dishes. Ginny stormed outside to pout while Ron moseyed into the living room.
While he agreed with Ginny on the low probability of Harry and Hermione ever having a child together, especially at such a young age, Ron couldn't deny the possibility of it being so. Harry and Hermione had been alone for several weeks after he left them, and they still hadn't told him everything they had done and been through during those weeks. Ron never would have suspected his two best friends of having a sexual relationship, but it seemed he would have been wrong. But until they came out and confirmed Hermione's pregnancy, Ron was going to give them the benefit of the doubt. There were other things that could cause his best friends to be sick, so he would wait and let them come to him.
The redhead's thoughts were interrupted by the entrance of another redhead. "Thanks for the food, Ron," George said softly when he saw his brother on the couch.
"No problem," he said absently, eyes glued to the floor in contemplation. George noticed this.
"What's going on?" he asked in concern as he sat down next to the younger man.
"Hermione and Harry have been getting sick," Ron informed his brother. "Ginny heard them throwing up in the bathroom a while ago and came downstairs to get us."
"What's been making them sick?" George loved Harry and Hermione tremendously. Next to Ron, they'd been the most supportive of him as he mourned his twin's death. He hated the thought of them being unwell.
"Mum and Ginny think Hermione might be pregnant and that Harry's the father."
"No way!" George gasped. "Is that even possible? When would that have even happened?"
"There were a couple months that I was separated from them last year when we were hunting horcruxes. They haven't told me much about those weeks I was gone, and with the two of them in that tent alone in winter, there's a possibility that they did have sex at some point."
"But because it's Harry and Hermione, it's just not very probable," George picked up on Ron's thoughts.
"Exactly." A moment of silence passed before George spoke up.
"So what's going to happen now?"
"Mum and Dad said we're just going to be supportive of them, whether Hermione's pregnant or not. Ginny was pretty mad, so I don't know about her, but I'm going to stand by them. They're my best friends, baby or no baby."
George nodded in agreement. "I will too. We'll just have to keep an eye on them and make sure they have everything they need."
"Yep." The brothers sat in silence after that, both deep in thought and resolved to be the best friends they could be.
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Several weeks lapsed and not much changed. Hermione still got sick after almost every meal, and Harry chased after her. Harry occasionally got sick during that time as well, and Hermione would be right behind him to take care of him. Ginny got an annoyed look on her face every time this occurred, though everyone ignored her for the most part.
Ron officially moved into George's room, combining his and Harry's beds into one big bed for his two friends, who now didn't like to sleep without each other. Ginny gave Ron a dirty look when she learned of this, but he ignored his sister's jealousy in favor of his friends' wellbeing. Plus, George was starting to do better now that he had Ron with him at night to wake him from his nightmares, and George made sure to return the favor whenever he awoke to Ron having a nightmare of his own. They would also use these times to discuss Hermione and Harry's situation.
They had noticed that their friends had started getting sick less often, especially Harry. He had almost stopped getting sick, though it did still happen on occasion. Hermione was slowly getting better as well, and they were both starting to gain some weight. They looked much healthier now than they had looked since the war ended, and the two brothers were grateful for it.
The only thing nobody was sure about was whether or not Hermione was pregnant. Neither she nor Harry ever said anything about a baby, but occasionally someone would catch Hermione with her hands at her waist, a thoughtful expression on her face. And once, Molly overheard the two of them talking in the garden about Hermione's size. When she peeked out the window to check on them, Harry had his hands under Hermione's shirt and both of them looked excited. She could see they weren't doing anything inappropriate, but it did make her wonder if Hermione and Harry really were pregnant. Only time would tell, she supposed.
One night, George woke up from a nightmare. For once, he didn't wake up screaming and crying, for which he was very thankful. He glanced over at his sleeping brother on the other side of the room, glad he didn't disturb him. George could never thank Ron enough for the rock he had been to him.
He felt his stomach grumble, so he stood up and stole downstairs for a midnight snack. Entering the living room, he was contemplating what to eat when a pair of voices interrupted his thoughts. "What do you feel like eating tonight?" Harry's voice asked. Wondering what this could be about, George hid himself behind the fireplace. Maybe he could finally learn more about what the secretive pair could be hiding.
"How about chicken broth?" Hermione suggested. "We haven't had that in a little while, and I'm feeling up for something a little more savory tonight."
"Chicken broth it is." While Hermione found a large pot and filled it with water, Harry dug around for the chicken they'd had for supper that night. George briefly wondered why they would be sneaking around in the middle of the night to cook chicken broth when there was plenty of food already prepared for them to choose from, but he figured he would find out eventually.
Once the broth was set to cook, the pair of friends prepared some tea to go with their meal. "Do you really think I'm getting bigger?" Hermione asked randomly. George's eyes widened. Could Hermione actually be pregnant?
"I'm sure, Hermione," Harry chuckled. "I told you yesterday that you felt bigger. I felt it with my own two hands."
"Still, do I look bigger?" Wondering the same thing himself, the ginger chanced a peek into the kitchen. Just in time to see Hermione take her shirt off. George couldn't believe his eyes.
Hermione stood there in only her bra and jeans. That wasn't what had George so fazed, though. Having spent so many summers with Hermione, he'd seen her in much less than a bra and jeans. Those bikinis she favored left very little to the imagination. No, what had George so transfixed was the sight of her ribs and hipbones peeking out under her skin. For as long as he'd known Hermione, she'd never been so thin that her bones were visible.
"Wow," Harry gasped. "You've definitely put on more weight. Your ribs are much less visible than before. You can still see your hips pretty well, but that makes a little more sense."
"Yeah, I'm not as worried about my hipbones. They've always been pretty noticeable just because I'm a girl."
"How about me? We haven't checked my ribs in a little while." As Hermione put her shirt back on, Harry took his own off, showing a torso just as thin as Hermione's.
"You've definitely put on more weight. But that's understandable. You haven't been getting sick nearly as much as you were, and you know better how to reacclimate yourself to eating full meals."
"It'd be so much easier if we didn't have to sneak around, though," Harry sighed as he put his shirt back on. "But Molly's been doing her best to get us to eat more, and I don't want to take that away from her."
"I know, Harry. I don't either. Goodness knows she deserves all the happiness she can get, especially after Fred…" Hermione trailed off without finishing her sentence, and George saw Harry move closer to her and wrap her in a hug.
"It'll all be okay, Mione," Harry assure her. "We're all still recovering. We just have to be there for one another."
"I'm still so glad we're helping each other with this." Hermione nuzzled her head into Harry's chest. "After all that time together, just the two of us, I don't know how anybody else could understand just what we're recovering from. All those days we couldn't find any food, or we just lived on a few plants we could find. No one else here can understand that. Even Ron doesn't know exactly how desperate we got at times, and he was with us for almost the whole year we spent in that tent."
"We're doing so much better now, Hermione." Harry nuzzled against the top of her head and pressed a gentle kiss to her temple. "We're gaining more weight, we're able to eat just a little bit more, and we're getting sick less. I know it seems kind of hopeless right now, but I promise we're recovering. We're healing."
"I love you, Harry," Hermione whispered so softly George almost didn't hear her.
"I love you, too, Mione," Harry said just as softly and gave her another kiss.
Hearing this put all the pieces together in George's mind. Hermione wasn't pregnant, and Harry wasn't having sympathy nausea. They were both suffering from an eating disorder and trying their best to recover. He felt tears fill his eyes at their selflessness. They were suffering just as much as the Weasleys, but they hid it so everyone could heal at their own pace.
"How about we add some toast to our broth?" Harry asked cheerfully. "I think we'll be okay to start adding more foods to what we eat."
"You daredevil," Hermione joked. "Sounds good to me, but I still want to be careful. I'm ready to stop throwing up."
"Just one piece of toast for now, then." Appetite forgotten, George slunk back upstairs. He didn't want to disturb the friends who were currently celebrating their improving health. And he now had a lot to think on. Climbing back into bed, George thought over everything he had just heard and seen. He knew without a doubt that he would help the pair as best he could to continue their recovery.
One thought pervaded his mind, and he nearly wanted to smack himself. How had nobody noticed how much Harry and Hermione were suffering? They were so thin, though they hid it well with those baggy clothes they'd preferred since the end of the war. He could understand if an eating disorder wasn't the first thought everyone had when Hermione started getting sick, but certainly his family could've thought of a more plausible explanation than pregnancy. George did berate himself for not thinking of it as well, but at least he didn't jump on the Hermione's pregnant bandwagon like everyone else did. And Molly had gotten even worse about feeding them more, especially Hermione since she was supposedly carrying a child.
"I'm talking to Ron about this as soon as he wakes up," George vowed as he curled up under his blanket and tried to go back to sleep.
The sun was rising, and with it were the smells and sounds of breakfast being prepared. George woke up slowly, not quite as rested as he would like because of his late night excursion. Remembering what he'd seen and heard in the kitchen last night, George shot up in bed and threw a pillow across the room. "Ron, wake up!"
"Wha?" the younger redhead grumbled as he quickly sat up, wand in hand. "Who'sit?"
"Ron, wake up," George repeated. "We need to talk."
"'Bout what?"
"I know what Harry and Hermione are hiding!" This caught the younger man's attention and he was wide awake in seconds.
"Seriously? How?"
"I woke up from a nightmare last night, don't worry, it wasn't a bad one, and went downstairs to get a snack. I was just about to go into the kitchen when I heard Harry and Hermione talking about what to cook. Then Hermione asked him if she was getting noticeably bigger-"
"Bigger?!" Ron interjected. "Is she really pregnant?"
"No, she isn't. Because then she took her shirt off for Harry to confirm her size." George breathed a shaky sigh and ran a hand through his messy red locks as he remembered the previous night. "Ron, she's thin as a rail. I could clearly see her ribs and her hipbones from all the way across the room. And Harry was just as bad."
Ron had to pick his jaw up off the floor before he could even begin to process everything his brother had just told him. "So we were right, there is something else going on. How did they get so thin?"
"From the horcrux hunt." Pain filled Ron's heart at George's gentle explanation. "I heard them talking about how there were days on end that they wouldn't be able to find any food or the most they would have to eat was a few plants they could scrounge up. They were starving and now they're trying to recover from it."
"That explains why they've been so sick. Every year when we got back to school, Harry would only eat small portions of light foods because the Dursleys starved him over the summer. Why didn't I notice it before now?" The younger brother felt tears in his eyes as his hands buried themselves in his hair.
"Because you've been suffering same as the rest of us have. Harry and Hermione don't hold it against you, Ron. I promise. They were keeping it a secret on purpose so no one would have to worry about them. Harry knew how to get them back on their feet, so they worked together on learning how to eat again."
"We've got to start helping them out somehow," Ron decided, a determination shining in his tearful eyes.
"I thought the same thing, little brother. My first thought was to start vanishing their food little by little so Mum thinks they're eating."
"That's a good start. And if she she sees them eating a full plate, maybe she'll stop piling more food on for them to eat."
"That sounds like a good plan for now. And maybe we can sneak them little snacks during the day, small things that won't sit heavily in their stomachs."
"Right, I remember Harry packing pieces of toast and things like that after meals and munching on them discreetly during the day."
"Sounds like a good plan for now." The brothers were interrupted by Molly's voice calling everyone down for breakfast. "Well, let's go see how our plans work out."
Once everyone was downstairs and seated, Molly began handing out plates piled high with food. "Alright, eat up, dears." As usual, Harry's and Hermione's plates held more food than the others. Four people mentally rolled their eyes at this, but no words were said. They knew it was because Molly cared.
While Harry started on a couple pancakes and Hermione nibbled on a piece of toast, the Weasley boys put their plan into action. They each picked a friend and pointed their wands, and when they took a bite, another bite about the same size was vanished from their plate.
Green and brown eyes looked down at their plates in surprise before glancing up at everyone. They landed on the pair of brothers across from them, Ron giving them a tiny smile and George giving them an imperceptible nod. That's when it dawned on Harry and Hermione.
They knew. George and Ron knew what they were hiding and they were helping them out. Hermione nearly started crying as she and Harry returned thankful nods to their friends, and the meal went on without any hiccups.
After breakfast, Hermione and Harry cornered Ron and George in their room to get some answers. "How did you figure it out?" Hermione asked without preamble. "We hid it so carefully."
"Or as carefully as you can when you're regularly throwing up everything you eat," Harry added dryly.
"Oh, you hid it very well," George began.
"So well that Mum and Ginny are convinced you're pregnant," Ron finished.
The pair of brunettes just rolled their eyes. "We were hoping that would die down if we didn't say anything about it," Harry grumbled. "I mean, the only time I would've been able to get Hermione pregnant was when we were separated on the hunt."
"And I would be close to six months pregnant by now. There would be no hiding it then."
"Hey, we never believed you'd gotten pregnant," Ron assured them defensively.
"So how did you figure out we've been sick?" Hermione asked again.
"Last night I woke up from a nightmare and went downstairs for a snack. I found the two of you in the kitchen and heard you talking about it." George decided to omit that he'd seen them as well. He didn't think that was really necessary.
"And when George told me about it this morning we both decided to help you guys as well as we could, which is how we came up with the vanishing breakfast idea."
"It worked," Harry praised his friends. "That was the first time your mum didn't immediately give us more food. And neither of us is feeling sick right now."
"Thank you guys so much," Hermione jumped up from where she was sitting and grabbed both brothers into a hug. "And we're sorry for not telling you what was going on. We just didn't know how."
"It's fine, Hermione," Ron assured her as she let them go. "We get it. We've all been recovering from the war and have our own struggles. But now you've got George and me to help you out."
"Now it might be even easier for you to start getting back your old appetites," George agreed.
"We can only hope."
HRHxHRHxHRHxHRH
More time passed, and with Ron and George's help, Harry and Hermione were flourishing. They'd put on much more weight, and even George and Ron could see a difference on those instances when their friends would ask their opinion. Harry's ribs were completely covered now, and Hermione's full figure had returned.
The trio's daily meetings now included George, and they took place at night while Harry and Hermione had their secret suppers. All four relished these times together, learning more about each other and helping each other heal.
The rest of the household could see a change in the new group, and Arthur and Molly couldn't be more thrilled that George was coming back out of that shell of grief he'd built around himself. Even the friends and family that came by for visits could see how well the four of them were doing, and they frequently praised them for it.
The only one that wasn't sharing in their happiness was Ginny. She was very confused by everything that was happening. Of course she was glad that her loved ones were becoming happier after everything they had survived. George's more frequent smiles brightened her day like few things ever could. But Harry and Hermione were still keeping secrets from the rest of the family, and even though Hermione was steadily gaining weight, she still wasn't nearly as big as she should've been by now.
Ginny watched day after day as her two friends shared secret smiles, whispered conversations, and hugs when one of them wasn't having a good day. What confused her even more was her older brothers' understanding of Harry and Hermione's odd habits, as if they knew what they were hiding. None of them bothered explaining why Harry and Hermione were still sleeping together, despite the progress everyone had made.
All of these questions continued roiling around in the redhead's mind until one morning at breakfast, she finally had enough. "Okay, what's going on?" she exploded. The entire table went silent as all eyes turned to her.
"What are you talking about, Ginny?" Molly asked.
"What's going on with you four?" Ginny asked her brothers and friends, ignoring her mother's question. "You've all been walking around sharing this big secret that no one else is allowed to know for weeks. Harry and Hermione are still sharing a bed even though they've both been doing better than in the past, and they kicked Ron out of his own room to do it. And speaking of them sleeping together, Hermione still doesn't look like she could be pregnant, even though she should be huge by now. What aren't you telling us?"
A heavy silence filled the room as Ginny's demands hung in the air. Molly and Arthur were livid at their daughter's insensitivity, and the other four just looked annoyed and resigned. They all exchanged glances, each silently asking each other how they were going to answer Ginny and how much they were going to reveal. A sigh from Hermione and a nod from Harry told the brothers that they were finally going to tell everyone everything.
"Hermione and I have been sleeping together because it helps keep away the nightmares," Harry began. "For a long time, we only had each other to rely on, and it's hard to break that habit. So Ron, being the amazing friend that he is, moved into George's room so Hermione and I could have our own room. As you can see, it's done all four of us a world of good, not just Hermione and me."
"And it was my own decision to room with George," Ron insisted. "Hermione and Harry did not kick me out."
"And as for me being pregnant, I am not, nor have I ever been pregnant." Ginny sat stunned by Hermione's proclamation. "Harry and I never had sex, so there was never a baby. Harry was not having sympathy nausea."
"So what was causing you to get sick after every meal?"
All eyes were now on the only brunettes in the house, waiting for an answer. Harry began with a sigh. "When we were on the horcrux hunt, supplies were really scarce. We barely had anything to eat, and after Ron got separated from us, it was even worse. We would go days without food, and sometimes that food was just some edible plants that happened to be near where we were camped. We would go to bed starving almost every night, and the only thing that kept us sane was each other."
"Because we had no food, we both lost a lot of weight," Hermione continued. "So much that it was unhealthy. We got sick so much because our bodies didn't know how to handle so much food."
Molly burst into tears, interrupting Hermione's explanation. "You poor dears," she wailed as she jumped up to hug the teens. "I'm so sorry I didn't notice what was making you so sick. I'm so glad you're doing better."
"It's alright, Molly," Harry assured her. "We know you were just trying to take care of us. And we really are doing better. We've gained back a lot of the weight we lost and we're able to eat normal meals now, if just smaller portions." Molly reluctantly went back to her seat so the children she loved as her own could finish their story.
"We kept it a secret because we didn't know how to explain it to anyone. We were so used to only relying on each other that we didn't know how to let anyone else in, especially concerning this."
"So I taught Hermione how to retrain her body to digest food. It wasn't easy, but every night we would come down here after everyone had gone to bed and cook something really bland, like eggs or soup broth, things like that. We slowly built up how much we could eat and what kinds of food we could eat."
"George accidentally found out one night and told Ron about it the next morning." Hermione sent a smile toward the brothers. "They helped us tremendously by vanishing away small amounts of our food so it looked like we were eating more than we were. They kept us company at night and our trio became a quartet."
"We are sorry for keeping this from you, but it was just something Hermione and I had to work through ourselves. You guys can't know how excited we got as we gained more weight and were able to keep more food down. That kind of healing is indescribable."
No one quite knew what to say after the revelations that morning. There was more than one person with tears in their eyes, and Harry had to hold Hermione before she began crying as well. A contrite Ginny was the first to break the silence.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions like that. I should've followed Ron and George's examples instead of believing what I wanted to believe. Can you forgive me?"
"We'll forgive you, Ginny," Harry told her, a hard edge to her voice. "But you have no idea how painful it was just now for Hermione and me to reveal everything we just did. How painful it was for George and Ron, who have been our rocks for the last several weeks, to hear us recount it all in such detail. Even though we're eating more now, we still have a long way to go before we're fully recovered from this. It wasn't just hunger Hermione and I fought. It turned into an eating disorder, a sickness, one that isn't easy to fight. Next time, be a little more sensitive to those around you."
Ginny nodded tearfully. She really could have messed things up between herself and her friends with her selfishness. She was beyond thankful that they were so kind and understanding. "I will. And again, I'm so sorry." Embarrassed at her actions, Ginny got up from the table and went upstairs to her room. She needed to think and get her head back on straight.
"Harry, Hermione," a tearful Molly spoke next. "I'm sorry too for not realizing you were both so sick. Ron tried to tell us there was something else going on, but none of us knew what else could be causing you to be so sick."
"It's okay, Molly," Hermione promised. "We know you were just trying to take care of us and make sure we were healthy. We were the ones that hid the truth from you. You don't have anything to apologize for."
"Well, I'm still going to make sure you both eat as well as you can. What are you able to eat now?"
"We're able to eat just about anything now," Harry told her. "But we still can't handle big portions or anything too sweet or greasy, or anything really heavy."
"Well, I'll make sure to have something easy for you to eat at lunch," Molly promised.
"I'm very glad you're both doing better," Arthur said, speaking for the first time. "I'm sorry for Ginny's rude outburst earlier."
"She's just hurt and confused and trying to make sense of everything," Harry defended his red haired friend, "just like the rest of us. But I am glad we set her straight. Hopefully things will be peaceful for all of us now."
"I'm sure they will be," Arthur smiled kindly. "Well, I'm off to work. Thank you for another wonderful breakfast, Mollywobbles."
"You're welcome, dear." The older couple shared a smile as Arthur kissed her on the cheek on his way out the door.
Looking at his friend across the table, Harry caught George's eye and conveyed a silent message. George's only response was a tiny wink, and he stood up from the table. "Breakfast was great, Mum," the lanky man repeated his father's sentiments as he handed Molly his plate.
"I'm so glad you've been joining us for meals again, George," Molly cooed over him as she pulled him into a hug. "It's done you so much good."
George nodded in agreement. "It really has." He glanced to the side, and his mother followed his gaze to the three teenagers still at the table. They really had done a lot for George in the last couple months, and he loved them for it.
As George went upstairs to his room, Ron, Hermione, and Harry all decided to go outside and relax under the giant tree in the yard, one of their preferred places to get away. Hermione laid a blanket out on the ground and the three took their seats, Harry leaning against the tree trunk and Hermione nestled into his side.
"Well that was unexpected," Ron piped up dryly, referring to his sister's outburst at breakfast.
"You're telling me," Harry scoffed. "I thought she was about to spontaneously combust."
"At least we finally got all of that out of the way. And now we don't have to hide away anymore."
"True." Harry looked up and noticed George coming their way with something under his arm. "Although at this point there really isn't that much to hide. We're already back to eating almost normally."
"And for that, we're all thankful," George said as he dropped down between his brother and Hermione. He set the box he was carrying on the blanket in front of them.
"What's that?" asked an ever inquisitive Hermione.
Surprisingly, Harry was the one to answer as he lifted the box. "It's a little something for you," he said and handed the box to Hermione.
With furrowed eyebrows, Hermione opened the box to find a muggle photo album. "What's this?"
"Open it." When Hermione opened the album, the first image she saw had her in tears.
The first picture in the album was of herself and Harry snuggled up together in the tent. They were asleep, Hermione's head buried in Harry's neck. Both of their faces were thin and careworn. The next picture was of the two of them sitting together after the battle had ended. Covered in bruises, scratches, and dirt, they looked even more haggard than in the first picture. As she flipped the pages, more and more images of the two of them in varying degrees of thinness met her eyes, documenting the progress she and Harry had made in the last few months.
"How did you get these?" Hermione whispered in awe. "I'd have known if someone was taking pictures of us."
"I had a little help from George," Harry confessed. "He snuck out one night and stole the pensieve from McGonagall's office and brought it back here."
"Hey, I didn't steal anything," George protested. "I borrowed it. I just forgot to ask permission first."
The teenagers chuckled before Harry resumed his explanation. "I knew you would want to have our progress documented somehow, so I went through my memories in the not stolen pensieve and got these pictures with a camera George charmed to take pictures of memories."
"Harry, this is amazing," Hermione cried. "Thank you." They shared a heartfelt hug as Hermione held the treasured album to her chest. "And thank you guys, too," she addressed the brothers as she pulled out of the hug. "We wouldn't have recovered nearly as much as we have without your help."
"It was nothing, Hermione," George insisted.
"You're family," Ron added as though it were obvious. "That's what family does for each other."
After Ron's declaration, there really wasn't anymore that could be said. So the four friends spent the morning together, basking in the love they shared for each other.
"So when are you going to return the not stolen pensieve to McGonagall?" Laughter rang out and filled the air, promising a brighter future for them all.
A/N: Sorry for the bit of Ginny bashing. It wasn't intentional, really, because I do like Ginny. It just fit well with the story and Harry and Hermione's struggles. And you guys have no idea how hard it was to write dead Fred! I refuse to accept that he's dead! But it had to be done, unfortunately. Thank you so much for reading, guys. Don't forget to review!