(A week later)

Hermione walked in the common room with Harry and Ron. They sat down and lit a fire in the fireplace. Hermione was the first to notice Sarah asleep on the sofa. She was curled up into a small, bony heap on the sofa. Her long hair draped over some of her face and she lay so still that from a distance someone could think she was dead.

"Ssh, don't wake her up." whispered Hermione. Harry and Ron noticed Sarah and nodded.

"She looked tired when she got here." muttered Ron. "But look how thin she is! That can't be healthy."

"It isn't," said Hermione. "I just went through Sarah's things. She lied to us about eating the last few nights. You know how she says that she eats snacks instead of meals with us? She didn't have one snack in her suitcase, and there were no wrappers laying around. No crumbs. Nothing. For a witch that'd be easy to do, but she's muggle. She can't have just made them dissapear." Harry shrugged.

"Well, maybe she threw the wrappers in the fireplace." said Ron.

"There was no fire in it, and if she tried to start one, don't you think someone would have noticed? And why would she go to all that trouble anyway?"

"Hermione's right. It wouldn't make sense." muttered Harry.

"So you're both telling me that you think she's starving herself?" said Ron. "Why would anyone do that?"

"There are many reasons," said Hermione softly. "My guess is it has something to do with her father." Ron made a face.

"So she's trying to kill herself to make her father like her?"

"Not kill herself," said Hermione. "She's probly doing it to try to control something in her life."

"It's what Anarexics do," said Harry.

"Ana-what?" asked Ron.

"Anarexics," repeated Hermione. "They're people who think they can't control anything in their life so they take control of their eating. It isn't good though, because once they've been doing it for a while, it takes control of them."

"So, you mean she could die?" asked Ron as his eyes widened.

"Maybe, but we don't even know if that's the issue. We're just guessing. It may only be that she's nervous so she's not very hungry at the moment."

"Either way," said Harry. "We need to make sure that she eats something tonight."

"And speaking of which, it's time for dinner." said Ron.

"I'll wake Sarah," said Hermione softly. She walked over and gently shook her. Sarah twitched and then jumped awake. Her eyes were wide and her breathing was heavy. She looked terrified, like she had just been running from something. She suddenly noticed where she was and relaxed.

"Hermione," she gasped. "Sorry. You startled me."

"It's okay. Come on! It's supper time." Sarah nodded and stood up. She followed them groggily to the table and sat down, taking a fork full of steak and ate it. Harry and Hermione nodded at each other satisfied. They ate quietly and talked about their day. Sarah stood up after a while. "I need to go, but I guess I'll see you tonight."

"Alright," said Harry. Hermione watched her leave and shook her head.

"What?" asked Ron.

"I'll bet you anything she's going to the bathroom," she said firmly.

"Oh, and that's suddenly our business because...?"

"I mean she's throwing up." Ron raised an eyebrow.

"Why? The food wasn't that bad."

"That's not what she means," said Harry. "She's making herself throw up so the food doesn't stay in her system."

"But we don't know that." said Ron. Hermione stood up. "Where are you going?"

"The bathroom. I have to see for myself." she said. Harry stood up.

"I'm coming too," he said. Ron shrugged.

"Let's go." He muttered. They all left and snuck into the bathroom. Hermione peeked under the stalls until she found a pair of black shoes and ratty jeans covering them. She pointed to the stall and nodded signalling that this was the one. She, Harry and Ron all listened in. It was silent, but soon they heard coughing and gagging and soon the sound of vomiting. Hermione pointed to the door and they all slipped out quietly. They hurried to the common room and looked at each other.

"Great," said Ron. "We have an anerosic and no idea what to do."

"It's anarexic, Ron," said Hermione.

"But what do we do?" asked Harry.

"Confront her. We tell her what we know and threaten to tell her dad, or mom." said Hermione softly. It was silent for a moment and everyone knew that none of them wanted to have any part of it. Soon the portrait hole opened and Sarah walked in the common room. She looked at all three of them and her smile soon faded.

"What's going on?" she asked.

(five minutes later)

"I can't believe you spied on me in the bathroom!" shouted Sarah.

"Sarah, we did it because we were concerned." said Hermione.

"And I suppose you went through my stuff too because you were concerned. God, can't anyone have privacy here?"

"Sarah, we weren't trying to be spies. It's just that eating dissorders are very serious. They're nothing to ignore."

"I do NOT have and eating dissorder okay?"

"Then can you explain to us why you threw up everything you ate at dinner?" asked Harry.

"I just did. I wasn't feeling well."

"Either way this has got to stop. We were talking and we decided that either you stop, or we'll tell your mother and father and get you help." Sarah's face was burning with anger.

"Look, my life is none of your business! So you just butt out or I'll tell the teachers that you went through my stuff." She stormed off angrily. Hermione looked at Ron and Harry.

"What do we do now?" asked Ron.

"We wait and watch. Hopefully she'll cool off. And I'll talk to her and see what's bugging her."