Disclaimer: I don't own anything Harry Potter, I make no money from this, etc etc
A/N: This is a WIP for now, not sure how many chapters will be involved. If weight gain kink isn't your thing, I'd stay away from this one. Also lots of dubious medical and personal ethics at play, now and in the future, so if that's a trigger for you, this fic will have a lot of that. Thanks for reading! Comment if you're so inclined.
"Oh, Merlin's saggy tit!" Harry muttered furiously under his breath as he yanked the sides of his trousers together, trying in vain to force the insufferable button into its necessary hole. Panting heavily, he finally let go and dropped his arms to his side. Staring into the full length mirror in front of him, he realized there were small beads of sweat forming on his forehead, and he conceded that maybe, just maybe, it shouldn't take so much effort to simply get dressed.
He fiddled with the button-the sodding useless button, he groused in his mind- and stared at the wide space between both sides of his trousers. I just bought these from Madame Malkin's...what, three months ago? They can't be too small, he thought to himself, doing the mental calculations of when his last trip to Diagon Alley had been. Yes, three months ago. Ginny and I had that dinner party and she told me I had to get new clothes because of the incident. He shoved aside the memory of his ripped trousers. He looked at himself in the mirror. How were these too small already?
He suddenly saw a flash of Ginny's bright red hair in the mirror behind him.
"We have to leave for my parents' house any minute, the kids are all ready. What's the hold up?" Ginny asked, in a mildly impatient voice.
Reluctantly, Harry turned around. She took in his unbuttoned trousers; it was all too clear, just by looking at him, what was taking him so long to get ready. She made a soft, sympathetic noise, and removed her wand from her back pocket; she muttered an incantation and Harry felt his trousers loosen. He looked down, briefly noticing that he could no longer see his feet, and forced the sides of his trousers together; the button slipped into the hole, barely.
"Thanks, Gin," he said quietly, reaching for the sweater his mother-in-law had knitted for him last Christmas. It clung to his stomach, showing off his rounded belly. Ginny reached out and tugged the sweater down surreptitiously so it covered him all the way, but it just fit. Just.
Harry felt a flush creep into his face. He turned from his wife and crossed to their bathroom, reaching for his hairbrush.
"Harry, I...I'm concerned," Ginny said stiffly.
Harry pretended he didn't hear her, raking his hairbrush through his mess of hair. He felt Ginny's hand settle on his shoulder, and he closed his eyes and turned to face her again.
"Nothing to be concerned about, Gin, everything's fine."
"We've been pretending that everything's fine, Harry, but there's a...big...problem," Ginny said, chewing softly on her lower lip. It was her nervous habit, a sign to Harry that this was not a spur-of-the-moment conversation; she'd clearly been mulling this over for a moment, and was feeling some anxiety about it.
"What might that be?" He asked innocently. If she was going to bring this up, if she was going to speak this problem into existence, she was going to have to be the one to literally speak it into existence.
"Oh, Harry," Ginny sighed and cast her eyes slightly downward. "Your weight. I think it's time we had a discussion. It's getting a touch out of hand, don't you think?" She grabbed his hand loosely.
Harry's flush from earlier returned with a vengeance, his whole face red with embarrassment. "I know I've put on a few pounds lately…"
Ginny scoffed. "Lately? Honey, this has been going on for years. Since I got pregnant with James. And that was five years ago." She stopped when she saw the look on Harry's face. "Look, I'm sorry. I don't mean to embarrass you or make you feel bad. I love you no matter what, okay? I promise. That's why it's been so hard to bring this up to you, because I didn't want you to feel bad or upset, but it's unhealthy."
Harry sighed. It was hard to admit to himself that he had a weight problem. He had spent-like Ginny said-years pretending that he hadn't felt himself getting fatter. He'd dismissed his need for larger clothes as normal body changes that occur as one heads into adulthood. He had pretended that the way he gasped for breath after a flight of stairs was because he'd stopped playing Quidditch. He'd ignored the way it required more and more food to keep him sated. He'd even simply chuckled during the last holiday season when he'd his four year old son saw him wearing a red sweater and gleefully patted his stomach, proclaiming, "Mommy, Daddy looks like Santa!"
But he couldn't ignore it if Ginny was presenting it to him this way. He sighed. "You're right, I suppose. I could stand to lose a few. I've just been pretending that it's been unnoticeable. I don't know how I let this happen."
"Life is stressful, Harry. Having three kids under five and working as an Auror is stressful. A lot of people cope this way," Ginny said, wrapping her arms around her husband and laying her head on his chest. After a moment, she gently rested her hand on his stomach, and he unconsciously sucked his gut in. She smiled, a touch of sadness in it.
"You probably think I'm disgusting," he said softly into her hair.
"You are not, and will never be, disgusting to me," she said firmly. "I wouldn't even bring it up if it wasn't so unhealthy. The kids and I need you to be around for a long time."
Harry inwardly sighed in mild annoyance. He could concede that he needed to lose some weight-his job was becoming more difficult with the extra pounds, and he knew he was overweight-but Ginny was being a tad dramatic. She was acting as though he would drop dead of a heart attack any moment.
"I think you should see a Healer, honey. For a check up. It's been a while, and he or she could even help you figure out a diet and exercise plan," Ginny continued.
Harry groaned. "Come on, Gin…"
"Please? I'd feel a lot better if we had someone figure out a game plan for us, and if you got a clean bill of health."
"Fine. I'll make an appointment next week, if you really want me to."
"I really want you to. Thank you. I love you," she said, leaning up and kissing him. "Let's go have dinner with my parents, I'm sure the kids are out there causing a ruckus right now," she said teasingly.
Harry flashed a smile at his wife that he was sure ended up looking more like a grimace. The last thing he wanted was to have dinner at his in-laws now, but they'd made a commitment. So he gathered his children up, and Flooed to the Weasley abode.
He tucked into his meal there, cleaning three plates full, and refused to acknowledge the delight he felt in the disapproving glances Ginny was shooting his way.
He'd ruined his trousers by the end of the night, the button clattering uselessly to the bathroom floor.
The following week, Harry was eating breakfast with his children when Ginny set a piece of paper next to his plate. He looked at it absently as he pushed a spoonful of cereal into Lily's mouth. James and Albus were across the table, eating the same pancakes that Harry was eating.
"What's that?" Harry asked, making a funny face at Lily, who giggled.
"I've made you an appointment with Healer Abernathy. He comes highly recommended. It's for tomorrow afternoon, at 3:45. That's your early afternoon from work, right?" Ginny asked cheerily.
Harry looked down at the small scrap of paper, scowling at the name, address, and time. "Yes, that's my early afternoon. Gin, I don't know if I…"
"You promised. You told me you'd go. I think it's important."
"I'll eat better, I promise. Start exercising. I can do this by myself, I don't need a Healer," he said stubbornly.
"Harry, that's a nice sentiment but we both know it's not true. You've the will power of first year at the Start-of-Term Feast. If you thought you could do it on your own, wouldn't you have started by now, instead of eating this stuff?" Ginny gestured at the plate in front of him, the pancakes forgotten, the syrup congealing. "Promise me you'll go. Tomorrow afternoon."
"I promise," he sighed, shoving the last spoonful of cereal into Lily's patiently waiting mouth, then finishing off his pancakes.
The next day, Harry found himself standing in front of a small Healer's office outside of Muggle London. It was quaint, with potted plants of cheerful yellow flowers outside. The sign outside bore a placard, proclaiming that it was the office of HEALER ANDREW ABERNATHY, elaborating underneath that he was a Healer of GENERAL MAGICAL MEDICINE and a specialist in WEIGHT MANAGEMENT. Ginny had conveniently left out that the man was not just a general Healer. He took a deep breath, and thought about Apparating to the Leaky Cauldron on the spot. Then he remembered his promise to his wife, sighed deeply, and pushed his way in.
Twenty minutes of paperwork later, Harry found himself facing a scale for the first time in Merlin knew how long. It had been a while, but he was surprised they didn't just use a weight spell. This small, antiquated measure seemed symbolic to him. The moment of truth, so to speak. He looked over at the nurse, who gave him an encouraging smile. He stepped on and watched the numbers spin up, finally settling.
"Looks like...a little over 17 stone. 17 stone and and 2 pounds," the nurse said, making a notation in the chart. Harry sucked in his breath. 240 pounds? How was that possible? His mood turned even more sour than it had been before.
The nurse lead him to an exam room, where she performed some simple spells and notated his blood pressure and height. She asked him some simple questions about his general health, and then surprised him with "And what's your reason for coming in today?"
"Oh, just a check up, I suppose," Harry said. He was going to leave it at that, and then Ginny's disapproving face swam into his mind. "And I guess…well...myweightisaproblemtoo," he blurted out quickly.
"Ah, noted. Well, the Healer will be in to see you shortly!" she said brightly.
Harry glared at her back as she flounced out of the exam room. Where did she get off being so peachy, Harry thought sourly. Doesn't she remember that I'm apparently a whale? Doesn't she know that my wife is going to force me to eat boiled fish until I'm 165 pounds again? Bollocks.
He expected to have ages to mull over his angry thoughts, assuming that Healer Abernathy would take forever to arrive for his appointment. Therefore, he was very shocked when the Healer came in mere moments after the nurse had shut the exam door behind her.
"How are we doing today, Mr…...Potter?"
Harry was also very shocked when the Healer who came striding confidently into the room was none other than Draco Malfoy.
Draco and Harry looked remarkably like fish gaping at each other, both of their jaws having dropped. They hadn't seen each other since their belated graduation from Hogwarts, hadn't so much as spoken a word to each other in a decade.
Harry squirmed uncomfortably. Of course he'd run into Malfoy here, looking the way he did, while Malfoy looked...fuck, he looked good.
"You are not Healer Abernathy!" Harry exclaimed.
Draco rolled his eyes. "Glad to see your vision hasn't been affected by the years, Potter, though I see that other things have been."
Harry broke into a blush, while Draco broke into a smile.