She never meant to stop eating. It was gradual, it took time. That's what most people don't understand, it took months to get where she was. She didn't wake up one morning and decide to stop letting food pass her lips.

It started with sweets. Her parents were dentists, it wasn't hard. She spent a month of her summer holiday working as a receptionist at her parents' clinic. She explained her disinterest in sugary foods by saying she was horrified by the state of some people's teeth. One thing she didn't give up was Coke, it gave a sweet kick, enough to make her last. One can would spare her a day of lollies.

Weeks later, she had only lost one kilogram. She couldn't explain it. She thought she had eaten a lot less. She made a point of writing everything she ate down. After a week of no change, Hermione went to the library. She branched out into the nutrition section and read about calories. The only food item she had with her was her bottle of Coke. She spun it around, grasping at the bottle. 288 calories. She had two Cokes per day. Disgusted with herself, Hermione swept it into the bin. She would drink diet from now on.

A few days later, Hermione began running. She couldn't go far, a few blocks at most. By that point she was gasping for air. She began doing exercise at night, 200 jumping jacks, 100 crunches, 50 squats. Each day she added more until her routine took her over an hour. She lost two kgs. She wanted more.

Instead of poking around in the classics or fiction sections at the library, she moved into the psychology section. She found the DSM, a book about diagnosing disorders. She sipped on her Diet Coke and flipped to the anorexia section of her book. It was basically a hand book. It described behaviours typical of an anorexic person. Hermione knew she wasn't one of them, she was too fat. That didn't mean she couldn't at least borrow their techniques.

Chewing and spitting was more appealing than bingeing and purging. She feigned a cough for several days. Instead of phlegm, her napkins filled with chewed food. Eventually she had to move on, her parents were wanting her to go to the doctor. She would spit as much as she could without arousing suspicion. It took several tries to purge, she couldn't do it. Eventually she managed it, then avoided it for a few weeks. it was awful.

Before she went back to Hogwarts she had lost eleven kilograms. Once 62 kgs, she now weighed a mere 51 kgs. It wasn't enough.