Word count: 579

Warning: body image issues


Hugo doesn't really like the beach. When he was younger, he would always get excited whenever his parents would tell him and Rose they were going. Now, at twelve, the beach is just a source of misery for him.

It isn't the heat or the sand or the water. No, the beach itself is lovely, and he wishes he could still enjoy it.

The trouble is him. More specifically, his stomach is a problem. Try as he might, Hugo hasn't shed what Grandma Granger refers to as puppy fat. He isn't tall and thin like James, nor is his chubbiness cute like Roxanne, who always tells people they're free to kiss her curvy arse if they have an issue with the way she looks. Hugo is caught somewhere in body image limbo, and he doesn't see a way out.

His male cousins all run around without their shirts, but not Hugo. The thought of actually showing his body to the world makes him want to curl up and die.

"Hu?" Lucy runs over, smiling. "Come on! We're going in the water."

Hugo shakes his head. He used to love seeing who could swim the farthest. Now, it would just mean his shirt would cling uncomfortably to his wet skin, and he doesn't like that.

"Come on, Hu! What's wrong?" she asks, her smile fading, replaced by a soft frown that radiates concern. "You've been quiet all day."

"I…"

If he can trust anyone, it's Lucy. Of all the Potter-Weasley kids, Lucy has always been the kindest, the one who listens without judgment, no matter what she's told. Maybe that's why, if he's honest, she's his favorite cousin. Of course, he'll never admit that.

"I'm fat."

Lucy fixes him with a look and shakes his head. "First off, you aren't fat. You look like a regular kid," she says flatly with the wisdom that comes with being fifteen. "Secondly, even if you were fat, so what? Fat isn't a bad word. It's just an adjective that society decided was the worst thing a person could be."

Hugo wants to protest. After all, he's heard so many people say negative things about people's weight. That must mean it's terrible to be fat. Besides, he knows how it makes him feel to not be happy with his body. That has to mean something too.

"If you don't like your body, change it. But don't you dare do it because someone else doesn't like how you look or whatever. You're perfect, Hu," she tells him, wrapping an arm around him and pulling him into a hug. "Don't forget that, okay?"

He wishes her words were some magical cure, and he's suddenly free from worry. Unfortunately, it isn't that easy. Still, maybe she's right. Does he really hate his body, or does the world make him think that's the appropriate response to being heavier than society thinks is good? He isn't sure. As Rose would say, he's going to have to unpack that and come to terms with it himself.

For now, though, Lucy's words have made him smile and consider that maybe his body is okay. So, hands trembling, he pulls his shirt off and tosses it aside, relishing the warmth of the sun on his bare skin. "Last one in the water is a dung beetle!" he yells before sprinting forward.

Maybe it's going to take time to accept his body, but that's okay. Hugo is willing to put the work in.