DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own the Harry Potter universe. I do, however own Elizabeth. Don't take her.
She sighed, staring at the endless rows of food on the table. This was going to be a long night. She was back at Hogwarts, yes, but she had overlooked the feast at the beginning of the year. She had to pretend to be eating something to keep suspicion off of her. Even though she faded into the background of her house most times, she just knew she would be stared at if she didn't appear to be eating.
Her name was Elizabeth. A perfectly ordinary name. She wished she had another name sometimes. Like Naomi, or Freya. But no, she was stuck with Elizabeth.
She sighed, and took another bite of food to her lips, taking a bite and chewing. When she thought no one was looking, she spit it out onto her plate, hiding it under a bit of untouched food. It made her less likely to eat the food around the chewed up bit. Anything that would keep her from eating any more than she already had that night would be a good thing. At least, to her it would.
She flicked her short, messy hair over her shoulders. It had a habit of falling in her face all the time, blinding her with fuzzy brown puffs of frizz in front of her eyes. She wished she had dark hair, or even red. Anything but mousy brown, frizzy hair.
She glanced around her table, the Gryffindors. Realizing no one was looking her way that she could see, she relaxed a little. After all, no need to pretend to eat anymore if it she was the only one watching herself. She knew she wasn't eating, and that was good enough for her.
She really didn't think she belonged in Gryffindor, a house full of brave people. She felt like a coward, always hiding from everything. But where else would she be placed? She didn't have what it took to be in Slytherin, nor did she want to be in the house with the snake on its crest. She wasn't smart enough to be in Ravenclaw. She honestly wasn't sure why she hadn't ended up in Hufflepuff. She might never know.
The minutes dragged on. She looked further up the table, to where the famous Harry Potter was sitting. He was in an animate conversation with a few other Gryffindors, including Ron Weasley. She repressed another sigh she felt coming on. She knew she would never be like Harry. He was popular, well liked. He probably didn't know her. After all, why would he? Sure, they were both in the same year and the same house, but why would he bother with her when he could talk to the better people in the house?
After what seemed like forever, it was over. She took a deep breath, glad the food was finally gone. She couldn't stand to look at it any longer. Her stomach was rumbling terribly. She tried to quiet it, rubbing it to comfort it into silence.
And so they headed back to the Gryffindor dorm. She was near the back of the group of students heading up the moving staircases. Thankfully, she had gotten used to the staircases changing quickly in her first year.
The password was 'butterscotch ripple'. She committed it to memory. She followed the others into the dorm. But, instead of milling about, she headed straight upstairs to find her bed. She felt so tired. Even going up the stairs tired her out lately. She changed into her pajamas, then washed her face at the sink. After all, she reasoned, its never too early to start preventing pimples.
She laid on her bed, taking laborious breaths as she waited for the spasms in her back to stop. Every day, she tensed her back so much, that when she finally laid down and let it relax, it hurt like hell, the muscles twitching. Eventually, the pain died down. She began to drift off, just as the other girls were coming in. The last thing she heard, before sleep claimed her, was a loud laugh as the other girls talked. Probably about how cute they thought some boy was. With that thought, she slipped into a sleep, plagued by bad dreams.
The next morning, she woke before the others. She had to have a bit of time to get ready. And so she dragged her weary body out of bed and toward the shower despite its protests.
She turned the water on, undressing quickly and stepping under it. She let it run over her body, paying close attention to her jutting bones. Hipbones, ribs, collarbones, she loved the feel of them, no matter how much they ached. Their sharp edges showed how much progress she had made.
After drying, she wrapped a towel around her wet hair and began to get dressed. Knickers first, pink, with lace. And then a matching pushup bra.
After that, she had to decide what to wear under her robes. She debated it for a few minutes, but then decided on a pair of jeans and an aqua colored t-shirt. She pulled her robes on over this, and slipped on a pair of comfortable sporty shoes.
Now came the hard part. She began her makeup with concealer, rubbing it over her perceived 'flaws'. Then she went on to eyeliner, eyeshadow, a bit of blush, and lip gloss. She tried very hard to make it look natural. She didn't want to look like she was wearing a ton of makeup, but she didn't want to go without. Because without, she looked pale and corpselike. She had hollows in her cheekbones and under her eyes. Therefore, she needed the makeup just to look normal.
She finished the careful application of her cosmetics, breathing a sigh of relief. She quickly stored her makeup away in her trunk, thankful none of the other girls had woken and seen how much she was putting on.
She lay down on her bed, covering in the blankets again, just as the girls around her began to stir. She closed her eyes in a façade of sleep. Soon enough, someone would come to wake her, thinking she had overslept. Her assumption was right.
"Wake up! Elizabeth! It's time to get up!" Said a voice, as a hand that presumably belonged to the voice reached out and shook her shoulder.
She groaned convincingly, opening her yes and sitting up. And then she saw who it was. None other than Ginevra Weasley.
"Th-thank you for w-waking me!" She stuttered, suddenly nervous around someone as important as Ginny. She didn't think she was good enough to talk to a friend of Harry Potter. She sat up quickly and got out of bed. If Ginny was surprised that Elizabeth was already in her robes, she didn't show it. Ginny left Elizabeth alone, satisfied that her dorm mate was up an about.
She brushed her hair, now that it was mostly dry, and began to braid it. She wanted a reason to be late for breakfast today. All the other girls left, mostly ignoring her. She finished her hair, then began walking slowly downstairs. At first, she was mingled with other students getting off to a late start. But as she walked, they got ahead, all seemingly looking forward to a hearty meal.
But not only did she not want to go to breakfast, she couldn't walk too fast or she would get dizzy. She couldn't let herself faint again. Last time she had, it had raised many suspicions that she had to quell.
She arrived outside the Great Hall. There was noone about, so she stopped to catch her breath. Once she could breath properly again, she walked into the hall unobtrusively and slid into a seat at the far end of the Gryffindor table. She didn't think anyone was really watching her today, so she just put some food on her plate for if anyone looked and poked at it. She didn't want to put any of the stuff in her mouth today.
She glanced around every once in a while, just to make sure she was being ignored. Satisfied that none of the other students were watching her, she got off the bench and began to leave, taking a deep breath of the smells of the Great Hall before leaving. It turned out to be a mistake. She hurried out towards a bathroom, hoping with all her heart that this bout of retching wouldn't make her feel too bad. She still had classes to attend today.
But she hadn't been quite right. One lone pair of eyes had seen her departure. Neville Longbottom sat and pondered his Housemate's strange behavior, knowing that all was not alright with Elizabeth.