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“My gosh Ron do you ever stop shoving food down your throat!?” Hermonie exclaimed, grossed out at Ron’s horrible table manners. However, Ron just rolled his eyes and continued eating as he always does. He was hungry so he was going to eat, end of story.

"Can you just leave it, Hermione? Not everyone needs to eat like you do, alright? I’m hungry Hermione, leave me alone!” Ron said with an annoyed tone as began shoveling a spoon full of food into his mouth.

"Well, I’m not telling you to stop eating, but honestly, Ron, it's getting a bit ridiculous! The least you could do is slow down a bit and at least try to be respectful when eating!?” Hermione shot back, her nose wrinkling at the boy’s lack of table manners. “My goodness does he ever stop?” Hermione thought with a sigh.

“Sorry, Hermione, but it’s just too good!” Ron said with a teasing tone, however, he did tone it down a bit.

However, Ron noticed he was getting…well, chubby. It was clear he had gained weight and Harry had noticed too. When they were getting into their Quidditch uniforms, Harry had teased him, his voice lighthearted and playful.

 “Blimey, Ron, your stomach pokes out a bit, doesn’t it?” Harry said as he poked at Ron’s now slightly protruding stomach.

It made Ron a bit self-conscious even though he knew Harry was only teasing him but…it really got to him. However, Ron chuckled, deciding to take it as a joke and attempted to tease Harry about his appearance too, but sort of failed and just kept quiet with a smile on his face.

“If Harry knew how he felt about his body, would he have still said that about him?”  Ron thought, now somewhat questioning their friendship. Ron found out he was a lot more hurt at Harry’s words than he initially thought as he was so concentrated on what Harry had said about his body, he didn’t even know they had won the Quidditch match, in fact, he wasn’t even excited about it all that much. He just put on a fake smile and went about the party. 

Ron snuck away to the bathroom, taking off his shirt and looking at his body in the mirror. His body was lanky, long limbs and hands that didn’t seem to match his body at all, and now the extra fat on his stomach, giving him a small curve to his waist…he felt, awkward. No, more than awkward, disgusting. He felt uncomfortable even looking at his own body after his weight gain. He decided to put on his Hogwarts robes and grimaced at the sudden tightness of them, it made him feel guilty about gaining weight, his family didn’t have enough money to afford new robes for him just because he decided it would be a good idea to eat so much.

Ron dug his nails into his arms, hard, in frustration and sadness as he quickly left the bathroom and ran to his shared dorm. He got into his bed and cried. Tears of frustration about causing his family more financial issues about his robes not fitting anymore, tears of frustration at himself for causing his body to look like this, he felt disgusting. After a few hours of crying and self-loathing he went to sleep on the tear-soaked pillow beneath him.

Ron decided to start working out moderately, but after a few weeks he felt defeated, when he was happy, he’d overeat, when he was sad, he’d overeat, when he was bored, he’d overeat. Ruining the progress he’d been trying to make for about 5 weeks now, he looked the same, hell, not even the same, he looked fatter than before!

“What in Merlin is going on!? Every time I try something, exercise, eating less…it’s just…calling me, the food.” Ron thought as he looked in the mirror, grabbing his chubby stomach in his hands. He was about to cry, he grabbed his hair in frustration, he sunk to the floor and started sobbing to his knees. “Merlin, I need some food…” and after that he headed to lunch, shoveling food into his mouth, as the norm with him now.

After a few days of just doing the same old thing, stuffing his face at mealtimes, his robes had grown too tight for his liking and it made him panic, if it ripped, he wouldn’t be getting any new robes anytime soon and his body looked worse and worse every day. It was a normal breakfast, he was stuffing his face to the brim with food, trying to ignore how bad his situation was, he quickly excused himself from the Gryffindor table and ran off to the bathroom.

“Sorry guys, I got to go to the bathroom!” Ron said in a hurry, causing Harry and Hermione to wave goodbye.

“Alright, see you in class Ron!” Harry said not seeing anything wrong, Hermione added, “Don’t be late!” in her warning tone.   

Ron closed the door and made sure nobody else was in the bathroom before he looked into the mirror for the umpteenth time that day, he shook his head and focused on what he was here to do, get rid of this feeling.

He opened the stall door and with shaking hands, Ron shoved two fingers down his throat, a familiar gag reflex immediately following. The sound of his body rejecting the food he had just eaten echoed in the stall, the force of it coming from deep in his gut, sending a violent wave through his stomach. His breath hitched as he felt the nausea rise. His eyes watered, and he gripped the edge of the stall to steady himself, knuckles white. The acid burned in the back of his throat, leaving a horrid taste in his mouth as he wheezed a bit, wiping his eyes of the tears forming in his eyes.

“Blimey! That was horrible!” Ron thought as he rubbed his throat in discomfort, it felt so dry and sore all of a sudden. “I have to make it stop. I just need to feel better, just for a second.” Ron thought as he clutched his head, he felt lightheaded and he felt guilty, he knew this was wrong, but he didn’t stop. He leaned over the toilet again and he stuck his fingers down his throat again, wanting to make sure his stomach was completely empty of his big breakfast.

After he finished purging, he looked around cautiously, making sure nobody was still not in the bathroom, and he nodded to himself when he heard no one.

Ron flushed the toilet and stepped back, his heart racing. closed the stall door, walking over to the sink and the…dreaded mirror. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, eyes refusing to meet the mirror. But as always, his gaze was drawn to it, unwillingly. He stared at his reflection, feeling the familiar wave of discomfort wash over him. His body... still softer than he liked. Still imperfect. He pulled at the waistband of his pants again, relieved to feel the slight loosening. “It worked, I guess. But it’s never enough…still tight, but better than before.” Ron thought as he inspected his body a little more, of course he was still disappointed at the softness, but his eyes glanced at the clock and quickly rushed out.

“Damn, I’m going to be late! Ten minutes until class starts and I’m all the way on the other side of the school!” Ron said as he passed students in a dash, his heart pounded as he didn’t want Hermione to be mad at him, not right now. But he was also trying to outrun the feeling in his stomach. He was late yes, but his mind was racing, he wanted to avoid it all.  Ron panted as he soon found Harry and Hermione peacefully walking together, Hermione rambling on about potions class.

“Woah! Slow down there Ron!” Harry said as he caught Ron’s wrist before he was about to slip, he rested a hand on Ron’s back, but he quickly got out of Harry’s grasp, not wanting Harry to feel the fat of his overeating. He smiled at Harry and Hermione, holding his hand up as he panted, since when was he so out of shape that he was panting from sprinting for 2 minutes?!

“S-Sorry guys, I went to a farther bathroom then I thought!” Ron said with a small chuckle as he finished panting, he was still a little self-conscious, panting after 2 minutes of sprinting.

“It’s fine! Come, class is starting.” Harry said as the 3 continued walking to 1^st period.

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After a few days of not eating as much, Ron’s friends and family had noticed but didn’t comment on it, they assumed Ron was still in his “weight loss phase.” It wasn’t the first time Ron had decided to cut back on food and because he played Quidditch they didn’t even bat an eye. Like last summer when he went on a brief summer diet, or when he focused on getting “fit” for Quidditch. Yes, they had noticed the changes in Ron’s body, he was leaner, thinner, and with the Quidditch Cup rolling around nobody thought it was a bad thing it happened so fast, they just thought he was determined for his sport.

 Yes, they had offered him snacks and invited him to mealtimes however he just always said “Not hungry” or “I already ate.”

Ron didn’t want anyone to worry about him, plus, he was seeing results faster than his other attempts to lose weight before that he didn’t want to stop. Nobody had to know about his secret midnight walks around the castle that would stretch on for hours, left with his thoughts of sudden success, Merlin, people were even complimenting him on his body now!

Nobody had to know he would retreat to the nearest bathroom after mealtimes to throw up what he had eaten, whether it was a tiny apple or a big meal. When he finally looked into the mirror after a few weeks of doing this, he didn’t feel as disgusted or see that much of a curve in his figure anymore. It was all so…exhilarating, all the compliments, it just egged him on to keep going.

He would always do a body check in the morning and when he finally looked in the mirror after weeks of this “routine.” He smiled when he saw the little to no roundness, he had despised a few months prior.

He always envied the other players on his Quidditch team for their fit, lean, bodies and now, he had one himself. He was…happy. Happy to feel the looseness in his clothes, the robe fit even better than it did before when he wasn’t fat. He got so many compliments when he changed in the actual changing room and not in the bathroom.

“Looking good Weasley!” One of his teammates shouted.

“Yeah Ron, looks like that weight loss plan worked well, whatever it was!” Harry complimented, with a solid pat on Ron’s back, it made him feel accomplished, but he realized, he had to keep this up. He couldn’t go back to being that lazy bloke who overate, he had to continue this dangerous habit. “I have to.”

Luckily, Gryffindor won, and they threw another party in the dorms. Harry and Hermione grabbed some food for Ron.

“Hey Ron! You want some food?” Harry said, Hermione following him, holding up to plates of food.

Ron grimaced at the food, now looking at the food made him feel a bit disgusted.

“No thanks, I’m tired from the match, heading to bed!” Ron said with a faked yawn that the 2 clearly didn’t catch onto.

“Okay, well, remember we have that test in herbology study if you can!” Hermione yelled, not wanting Ron to get bad marks.

“Yeah, yeah will do…” Ron’s voice was gone as he left the room, now heading to his bed, his stomach hurt. In reality he hadn’t eaten anything that day, in fact he only drank water when he got hungry. It hurt. So bad. But he pushed through, wanting to keep this new body. The body that gained him compliments instead of insults.

Not long after Ron went to bed hungry, clutching his stomach in pain, now like most nights. He couldn’t stop this cycle, as long as he got compliments, as long as his parents didn’t have to buy him a new robe, as long as the reflection in the mirror kept getting smaller and smaller, Ron wouldn’t stop. Couldn’t stop.

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The days following up to the Quidditch Cup were some of Ron’s bests. He felt lighter, more in control with his food in take and people praised him constantly. He didn’t have to worry about his family having to buy new robes for him because he was fat. One problem was that he was losing weight too fast, to the point Hermione and Harry noticed. They were concerned.

It was during dinner, in the great hall, that Harry and Hermione glanced at each other, Ron was in the middle, Harry to his left and Hermione on his right. They were going to ask Ron what was up, they were worried, nobody should be able to lose that much weight in only 3 months…in a healthy way at least.

“Hey, are you okay mate?” Harry asked in a concerned tone, leaning into Ron, inspecting his arm a bit to see how small it was.

Ron was poking his food that was on his plate, he wasn’t hungry and looking at the food made him fell sick, his body had gotten used to eating a little, and even if Ron did it, he would end up throwing it up immediately after anyways so what was the point?

“I’m okay Harry, I guess I ate too much at lunch and now I’m feeling a little sick looking at this much food!” Ron said with a small nervous laugh, glancing at the 2 next to him. He had said too much didn’t he?

It was clear Harry and Hermione didn’t believe that lie, they had been watching how much Ron had been eating the past few days and to say it wasn’t a satisfactory amount.

“Ron, you’ve barley eaten this day, are you sure your alright?” Hermione said, joining into the conversation as she also began looking over Ron’s slim form.

“Yeah, you’ve been eating less mate what’s up?” Harry said they both began looking Ron over, grabbing his arms which gained the attention of a few Gryffindors and his 2 older brothers Fred and George, though they didn’t say anything. Looking at each other in a bit of a wordless conversation as they leaned in closer to the table, hoping to get a better handle on the conversation on the other side.

“I said I was fine you two. The Quidditch Cup is coming up for Merlin’s sake, I want to be ready so we can win!” Ron said in a fake determined tone that Harry and Hermione could easily tell was fake, however they sighed and stopped asking Ron questions to Ron’s relief. They knew it would get nowhere. They needed to make Ron speak somehow, but for now, they would just monitor him.

Ron quickly excused himself as he ate his small dinner as usual, going to the bathroom.

Harry and Hermione moved closer to each other and looked down at the hallway, once Ron was out of earshot they began talking.

“We need to start watching him more, notice how he always goes to the bathroom after eating?” Hermione whispers to Harry, her voice laced with concern.

“Yeah, I get what you mean. He’s much paler now and he looks a little…boney.” Harry whispers back, in a silent conversation between eyes, they were going to watch Ron, they didn’t want him to die from starvation for Merlin’s sake!

Ron rushes into the bathroom, tears falling from his face as his secret was almost found out. He had said too much, too much of how he felt, and he put it into a small lie which he knew Harry and Hermione knew was a lie. Ron grips the side of the sick, staring into his face. His eyes were sunken in a bit with black circles surrounding it. He glances down at his stomach, the need to get rid of it causing Ron to grip the sink harder, his knuckles turning white, he wipes his tears as he rushes to the bathroom stall and his small dinner is thrown up. He falls to the ground, his back leaning on the stall door as he slides down it, his knees to his stomach as he cries into his arms. He didn’t want them to know. He knew what he was doing was wrong, but the results were amazing and fast…he didn’t want to stop, if they knew…they would stop it immediately.

While Ron was in the bathroom crying, Harry and Hermione were in the library, noting down what they could about Ron’s current position. They listed things like, pale, massive weight loss in only 3 months, going to the bathroom after meals and leaving to be alone after small snacks, smaller portions, slimmer in a bad way, drinking lots of water before meals, etc. This was their way to see how Ron would be doing and to see if he really needed help or not, maybe they could ask Madam Pomfrey about his “symptoms”.

“Did you notice anything else about Ron these past 3 months Harry? You do see him while he changes for Quidditch after all.” Hermione asks, quill still in hand as she dips it into ink absent mindedly.

“Well, not during Quidditch but I did notice he is not in the dorms later in the night.” Harry says after some consideration at Hermione’s question, Hermione nods and writes that down on her list.

“Did you notice how sometimes he starts eating like his old self? Like, how he eats a lot suddenly?” Hermione glances up from the list and nods a little.

“Yeah…I kind of miss it, when he was messy…” Hermione reminisces, she bites her lip as she tries not to cry as she jots that down to, if this was a case of starvation it was getting bad, she didn’t want to lose Ron, especially not to something like this. She starts to cry as Harry pats her back comfortingly, pulling her into his chest so she cries, letting her emotions out, Harry starts to think of the severity of this situation, and he begins to tear up, like Hermione.  

“I miss it to Hermione, when he was loud, messy, and…you know, himself.” Hermione smiled a that a bit, wiping her tears her eyes still glazed over but she leans up off of Harry’s chest a bit. “He always knew how to cheer us up with jokes…” Harry continues as he wipes a few tears of his own. “W-We can’t lose him.” Harry stutters a bit, but Hermione speaks up.

 "What if he gets angry at us?" Hermione’s voice was quiet, but the concern was clear in her eyes, her voice a little wobbly from her recent crying. "We’ve been through a lot together, but this feels… different. He’s changing, Harry. And not in a good way." Hermione slowly pushes the parchment away so as not to get their tears soaked into it. “I-I don’t want…him to hate us. But I don’t want him to destroy himself either. We need to find a way to help, Hermione. Before it’s too late.” Harry said through tears and sniffs.

A few days passed and another match rolled around. Ron’s broom soared through the air, his body light as a feather, the wind rushing through his hair. The Quidditch Cup was within Gryffindors reach, and for the first time in weeks, he felt a true sense of accomplishment. But as he blocked a bludger from the goal and the cheers of the crowd ringing in his ears, he couldn’t escape the gnawing emptiness in his stomach. For every cheer, there was a voice inside him whispering "It’s not enough. You still need to be smaller. You still need to be perfect."

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The room was eerily still as Harry's eyes flickered open. The soft moonlight spilling through the window cast a glow on the two beds in the room. He rubbed his eyes, feeling the weight of a practically sleepless night pressing down on him. It was 4 in the morning. He stretched with a deep yawn, glancing over at Ron’s bed. The covers were thrown off, and the space next to Harry was empty. A cold shiver of worry coursed through his veins as he bolted upright, his heart pounding. Where was Ron? His fingers trembled as he grabbed the invisibility cloak, throwing it over him hastily as he snuck his way to the girl’s side of the Gryffindor’s Tower.

“Hey, Hermione, get in!” Harry whispers yells, looking for anybody around, specifically Ron or the professors. Hermione jumps a bit and quickly gets under the invisibility cloak. Their worry was evident as they began looking down the corridors. After about 15 minutes they spot Ron, he was walking around aimlessly with some food in his hand. Ron’s footsteps were soft but loud enough to hear. They smile a bit, happy to see him eating, even if it was just a little bit.

“I’m happy…he’s eating, though just a little, still a good sight…” Harry whispers to no one in particular, his smile falters a bit as they continue moving behind Ron.

They walked in shadows Ron glancing behind his shoulder a few times which scared Hermione and Harry as they thought they got caught. Hermione frowns as she sees Ron scratching his wrists a bit, leaving red angry irritated marks, she told him to stop doing that when he was anxious, and it made her upset.

After an hour of Ron just walking around the castle, seemingly with no planned destination, he finishes his snack that he brought and he continues walking, peeking around corners to make sure no prefects or professors were nearby. Ron jogs outside of the castle and making sure no one was around (even though Harry and Hermione were following him the entire time), Harry’s breath caught in his throat as they followed Ron outside. The cold air stung Harry’s skin, but nothing compared to the shock that ran through him as he watched Ron, eyes wide with what seemed to be desperation, desperation to help as he witnessed Ron press two of his fingers into his throat.

“No...” Hermione gasped, her voice barely a whisper, but it was enough to break the silence. She clutched Harry’s arm, her nails digging into his sleeve. Ron gagged, tears brimming in his eyes as he retched violently onto the ground. He coughed a bit as he stood up, wobbly as he wipes his tears, he looks around, making sure no one saw him. But someone, no, his friends saw him. Ron quickly gathers some leaves and other outside debris and covers the throw up making sure it’s not visible to anyone walking by the morning after. Ron’s movements were slow and lethargic as he wobbled back to the Gryffindor dorms.

They didn’t know what to do, what do you do in this situation? Do you stop him and reveal yourself? Do you stay hidden and watch your friend puke his food up? Do you get yelled at for helping? Or do you stay put and rather not get yelled at for helping? This is the dilemma the two friends were going through, what do they do?

Harry and Hermione stayed in shock, looking at each other with massive worry, how come they didn’t know sooner? They felt bad, their friend was going through something and they only noticed it 3 months later? What kind of friends were they? They quickly recover from shock, Hermione crying once more but silently as they quickly make it back to the Gryffindor dorms, luckily before Ron, Harry sits in his bed, fake sleeping as he hears the door open. He didn’t know what to do as he heard Ron sit in his bed and go to sleep.

It was another Quidditch match, and Harry didn’t know how to feel as Ron took his shirt off, he looked boney, not muscular anymore just…boney, slim, sluggish, weak. Harry hated seeing Ron like this. However, the worst was yet to come.

The Quidditch match finished, and the crowd cheers meant nothing to Harry right now, he just wanted to check up on Ron, some bludger’s Ron could have easily gotten, went past him, he was slow and looked weaker than ever before. They were all undressing and putting on their normal clothes for school when all of a sudden Ron collapses right next to him, he quickly rushes over, as a few other Gryffindor’s do as well. Harry shakes Ron but he is unconscious. Harry shakes him rougher, but nothing works, tears begin to fall down on his cheeks onto Ron’s unconscious body, Harry thought Ron died right in front of him, but luckily, when a professor was brought in and Ron was taken to the medical wing Ron was okay…unconscious, but okay to Harry and Hermione relief.

The entire Weasley family was there all gathered around the youngest boy’s body, fear and uneasiness filled the room. Molly Weasley was crying uncontrollably next to her unconscious, frail, weak son whose pulse was barely there, Arthur was patting her back in comfort as he cried as well.

“Ron…please, please wake up…!” Molly cried into Ron’s chest with desperation, her thumb caressing Ron’s unconscious hand. The siblings all stared at Ron’s body sadness and tears were all throughout the room.

The 2 older siblings couldn’t stop moving, Charlie running his hand through his disheveled hair, Bill no different as he sighs rubbing his face over and over again with his hands, praying his baby brother would be okay and wake up.

 As the twins stayed quiet, unusual for them, their playful banter gone. Their eyes filled with anguish as they breath calmly. Until one of the twins spoke up, Fred.

“I-I can’t believe we didn’t notice our baby brother was hurting himself…” Fred said as he teared up a bit leaning on George.

“We should have noticed, if we did…he wouldn’t be like this right now…” George said, caressing Ron’s other hand and rubbing Fred’s arm up and down in comfort.

Ginny’s and Hermione’s eyes were puffy as they cried together, wondering why Ron didn’t bother reaching out to anyone about this dangerous mental health issue.

“Why didn’t I notice…? Who goes to the bathroom every time they eat...even after a snack…?” Ginny questions herself in her mind, how could she be so stupid to not notice the massive weight loss, hell she even praised him for it for Merlin’s sake, just egging on his mental issues, deep down she knew it wasn’t her fault, but she still felt responsible.

“Oh, Ron…why didn’t you tell anyone?” Hermione mumbles under her breath as she looks at Ron’s body on the bed. Harry pats both of their backs in comfort, he was supposed to be Ron’s best friend, and he couldn’t even tell Ron was going through so much…

Percy stood a ways away, just pale and stiff. He stared at his baby brother, his eyes in shock and disbelief. He was the responsible one, prided himself as the one who was diligent, yet…somehow, he missed something going on with his own family member? His baby brother…he failed him. He failed his baby brother, who could possibly die to his own negligence. “How did I not notice?” Percy thought as he stared at the ground, does he even deserve to be a prefect anymore if he couldn’t even notice something as drastic as this?

Molly spoke up, wiping her tears as she tried to stabilize her voice, trying to sound strong for her children.

“H-He will be okay, he’s strong, he’s still here…my baby…” Molly says as she caresses Ron’s hair that was now significantly thinner than before.

Madam Pomfrey walked in slowly with a paper in her hand, everybody turned to her, hoping for good news.

“S-So…I have good news and a bit of bad news…” With that statement everybody froze up, even a little bit of bad news could be overwhelmingly terrible for the family.

“Ron will make it. He is just in a small coma right now. So do not worry…however, recovery will be hard which is the bad news…I don’t know how his recovery will go, but we suggest he stay at the burrow instead of at school, Dumbledore said it was okay and that they will mail assignments in small segments to your house to ensure he is not missing out on anything during school times.” Madam Pomfrey explained, a big sigh out of everyone was heard, Molly sobbed but of happy tears, her son was going to live.

Chapter Text

When Ron woke up from his coma, the world around him felt blurry. His head hurt to no end and for a moment, he wondered if he was still trapped in the darkness. The sensation of soft blankets beneath him was the only clue that he was no longer in the hospital wing.

Ron was placed on the couch next to the fire, Molly had wanted Ron to stay warm, so he had a lot of extra blankets if needed. A big bowl of his favorite snacks nearby if he wanted one, Ron smiles at his family’s kindness and no judgement to his mental issues. But he felt bad, causing them so much stress, plus not to mention the snacks they had to buy him.

The first few days back at the Burrow went by fast, a strange combination of discomfort and confusion but also happiness to be back with his full family. Charlie and Bill never left his side once, they moved silently throughout the house, on of them even sleeping on the living room floor at night if Ron needed anything, whether it’d be taking him to the bathroom or filling a cup of water they were there in an instant. It weighed heavily on Ron’s heart.

He didn’t want to feel like a burden.

He stared blankly at the ceiling, re-thinking about his decisions and his survival. He had survived, he was alive, he should be happy but right now, he just felt exhausted.

Harry and Hermione came over practically every day to check up on his slow recovery, bringing him schoolwork and notes and whatnot, same with Percy. He was happy they didn’t push him to say much about his thought process on the whole weight loss thing.

“Ron,” Hermione said, having pulled up a chair and placed it right next to Ron’s couch, Harry was in the kitchen, bringing him Molly’s soup. “You’re not alone, okay? We are all here for you! Recovery will be over before you know it okay?” Hermione said in a small cheerful tone, trying to get Ron to smile a bit, which it did.

“Thanks Hermione…” Ron said as he sat up slowly to take the soup from Harry, all his family members had piled into the living room, sitting and eating with him on the living room floor. Ron found it a bit weird but chuckled slightly at it, after he ate the soup halfway, he was done, he felt sick if he’d eaten anymore. But that was enough for Fred and George.

“Hey! That’s my baby brother!” Fred exclaimed, ruffling up Ron’s hair.

“You’re getting there Ron!” George added, with a big smile and a thumbs up.

Some of his family members stayed there with him in the living room, making sure Ron didn’t move from the couch to the bathroom to throw up, he had to at least wait there for an hour.

The recovery was long and hard, at the start whenever he sat down and looked at the food, he felt nauseous, and his fingers twitched with regret as they picked up the utensil. But it got better, seeing his family and friends happy that he was getting better…made him happy, pushed him to keep going.

After a few weeks Ron was able to finish an entire normally portioned meal to everyone’s relief and happiness.

“That’s my baby boy!” Molly ran over and hugged Ron tightly, as she pats his back, happy tears from seeing her son finish an entire bowl of her food again, it made her feel relieved, happy, and overall proud of Ron. It showed Ron was getting better and Ron was slowly gaining an appropriate amount of weight as well.

Ron was sitting on the couch one evening looking into the hearth with a fondness, Harry had walked over, sitting on the edge of the couch and hugging Ron as he whispers into Ron’s ear.

“I’m so proud of you, mate.” This made Ron burst into tears as he cried into Harry’s chest. He was so happy he found friends like Harry and Hermione, and a family like his. They encouraged Ron the whole way through, and after 4 months of continuous recovery and proper eating habits he was able to come back to Hogwarts, a small party was thrown for him in the Gryffindor dorm’s where Ron ate a piece of chocolate cake. Ron had learned one thing about recovery as he ate that chocolate cake. Recovery wasn’t just about surviving your mental illness, but living, and for Ron Weasley, life actually felt like fighting for and fight he did.