Dora rather prided herself on being able to concentrate on whatever she was reading regardless of what was going on around her, or how she was feeling. Nerves had never prevented her from being able to focus, because her mind simply wrapped itself around the text of the book, whether it was fiction or fact, and drew from it. She hadn't even been aware of this talent until starting school, and hearing her other classmates complain about being too nervous to concentrate when it was nearing (or during) the weeks of exams. For Dora, if there was a book open in front of her, she would gleam whatever she could from it.
Which is what she was doing as she waited for her friend to arrive. Tucked into a comfortable, yet sturdy, high backed chair, sitting upright as her corset insisted through its gentle-yet unyielding-pressure, Dora occupied herself with her second very thick textbook for Muggle studies, so absorbed in the information that she was hardly aware of anything else.
That is, until her friend's voice sounded in the flames on the other side of the room, and Dora was momentarily so startled that she jumped in her chair.
"Hello? Dora?" Becky asked.
Dora immediately left the chair and stood in front of the fireplace. "Becky! You startled me!" she said, with a laugh.
"Me?" her friend returned, with a giggle of her own.
Her closest friend was very quiet, almost shy, and while her voice was not exactly hard to hear, it was hardly one to scare people. Unless she was angry, which was a rarity.
"I was reading," Dora explained, which was an explanation in and of itself. "Come on through!"
"All right!" Dora heard the fellow Hufflepuff bid a quick farewell to her family, and then walked forward in a graceful manner that Dora would likely never be able to accomplish.
And holding two trunks, at that. Dora was impressed.
Becky gently and effortlessly placed the trunks on the floor, then pointed to her robes and muttered, "Scourgify" to banish the soot from them, and then her yellow robes were as clean as though they'd just been washed. Finally, she stepped forward and gave Dora a hug that almost rivaled her mum's.
"Oh, thank you for having me over, Dora! I've been looking forward to seeing you!" she practically squealed.
Dora hugged her friend back, and detected the firmness around her friend's frame that was a sure sign of a corset. When they separated, Becky had a surprised look on her face.
"You, too, Dora?"
Dora grinned, but a devilish side of her wanted to deny it, just for a few minutes, just to see what would happen.
"I haven't the least idea what you mean, Becky. Here, let me help you with your trunks. Did you want to stay in my room, or one of your own? My mum and I prepared both, so you don't need to worry about that," Dora prattled on.
"I'd like to stay in your room, if you don't mind," Becky answered. "Shall I follow you?"
"Yes, it's through this door. Follow me," Dora told her, taking hold of the trunk.
Thankfully, it had a Feather Light charm on it, or else she would never have managed based on its size. What had made her friend bring two trunks of clothes? She was only staying for two weeks, and they weren't society belles with balls every night.
Upon arriving in her room, and thankfully not at all out of breath, Becky studied Dora carefully. "You really don't know what I'm talking about?"
"What are you talking about?" Dora echoed. "I can't read minds, Becky."
Becky put her hands on her hips, and her already small frame went in even smaller. "You know. We are thirteen, after all, and some of us are nearly fourteen."
Dora took a seat on her window seat, and nodded for Becky to join her. "Yes," she said, with a bit of a dramatic air. "I've joined the ranks of those who wear corsets."
Becky rolled her eyes, then laughed. "I knew it! I thought so as soon as I saw you, but when I hugged you, I knew it for sure."
"How could you tell before?" Dora asked, a bit startled.
"Well, you never slouch, exactly, but you were full on upright when I saw you," Becky explained. "And even though our robes are loose, you can tell if you look hard enough. The lining, you see." She pressed a hand to her front, and yes, it was possible to see the imprint of the clips that attached to her busk, even on the non-fitted robes. "Then, there's the fact, you know, that they look bigger. And a bit higher up. My mum says once I get a bit larger there, everyone will know."
She blushed a bit as she said this.
Dora nodded, thinking about this. It had occurred to her that some of the older girls at school had this appearance, but she'd never given it much thought. After all, that was just how adult (or near adult) witches looked. Anyway, she wouldn't have been rude enough to stare, and the Hogwarts robes were loose enough that you'd have to do just that.
"Oh! We should go downstairs," she said, suddenly. "Say hello to my mum and dad."
Becky paled. "Oh, you're right. I should have said hello to them immediately. I'll apologize."
"I'll do that, let them know we were taking up your trunks," Dora promised. "Come on, I reckon they're in Mum's garden."
Upon meeting their children's friends, the parents in the wizarding world universally shake hands, and both females curtsy to each other. Not wanting her daughter to muck up this form of greeting, she'd had her practice several times last summer, until she was passable at it. Becky's curtsy was far better than her own had been, she knew, lower to the floor and more elegant. Which was even more impressive, Dora knew, because her corset kept her back perfectly straight, and her friend had to concentrate on not overbalancing or falling when she moved her legs downward. It was bad form to give any type of critique on this greeting, no matter how well of poorly it's done, but Dora could see from her mother's smile that her friend had done particularly well.
"It's lovely to meet you, Becky," Andromeda said, warmly. "Have you been enjoying your holiday?"
"Very much so, Mrs. Tonks," the girl answered, softly. "Thank you for having me."
Ted beamed. "It's always great to meet one of Dora's friends. Say, are you hungry, or would you two rather chat a bit before lunch?"
"Oh, however you manage meals is fine," Becky answered, with a smile.
"Well," Ted determined, consulting his watch, "it's around 11:15, so how about we have something to eat at 12:30? That can give you two a chance to catch up before my wife fills you with good food."
Becky and Dora agreed that this sounded like a good idea, and then retreated to Dora's bedroom. She showed Becky the second closet that mostly went unused, and which she'd cleared out entirely in the event that her friend would want to stay in her room.
"You can hang your robes there, if you like."
Becky nodded, and they began to open her trunks and retrieve her clothes.
"Did you enjoy your time at the beach?" Becky asked as she hung up a pair of blue robes with yellow embroidered flowers around the skirt.
"Oh, it was wonderful!" Dora answered, sighing a little at the memory. "I do so wish we could have stayed there for more than two weeks. Dad loves it, too, and says he'll work on Mum to stay for a full month next summer. Oh, and we might go back again for the Christmas holidays. How was your beach holiday?"
"It was lovely, although we got a few days of rain in the beginning, so the five of us spent a lot of time playing games. I had just about enough Wizard's Chess to never want to look at the board again. Still, I'd take a rainy day there over anywhere else," Becky added, rather ruefully.
Dora nodded in understanding.
"How are Brian and Katie?" she asked, after a brief pause. "Are they worried about their upcoming OWLs?"
Becky's older siblings were twins, and just as quiet and studious as she was. They were also in Hufflepuff-nearly everyone in her family had been Sorted there-but Becky had told Dora that everyone had been just a bit surprised that at least one of them didn't end up in Ravenclaw. Usually, though, the Hat stuck families in the same house, so it was always a surprise when they were separated.
"Determined to succeed, rather than worried," Becky explained. "Aside from our holiday, they've done little this summer except study. They test each other on what they know, and when I overhear them, it's nothing like what we've been learning. In Transfiguration, for instance, you're supposed to know how to Vanish certain animals. I expect it will make more sense when we get to that level, but it's unintelligible to me. They'll likely get E's and O's all around."
"Or flat out O's," Dora noted, and her friend laughed.
"Probably," she agreed.
Becky's older siblings worked extremely hard, as she'd witnessed from her time there. They made her almost look like a slacker, and she made it a point to read all of her textbooks at least twice before the beginning of the fall term.
Well, they had plenty of time before they had to take their OWLs.
The subject of corsets didn't come up until they had finished putting away Becky's other clothes. Underneath her chemises-she had one for each day of the week, just like Dora-were two additional corsets that she held with great care.
"This one," she said, holding up the larger of the two, a traditional overbust like Dora's, "is my spare for daily wear."
"Oh, it's so pretty!" Dora praised.
It was, too. The color was pale yellow, and there were splashes of flowers throughout the material. The flowers were made on the print, not embroidered, the way Dora's had been. There were crocheted lace flowers all around the top of the undergarment, and Dora thought that was the prettiest part. While she was no expert on sizing, she expected that it likely closed around 18 inches.
"And this one," Becky added, pulling out a smaller one, without an overbust, and looking at it as though it were a small but annoying animal, "is for nights." She sighed. "My mum insisted I start sleeping in one as soon as I reached twenty inches. If I'd known, I would have tried to wait as long as I could. I don't mind wearing them during the day, but I can hardly bear to sleep laced up."
"I don't mind sleeping in mine," Dora contradicted, cautiously, "but I did find it really hard at first. I kept waking up, unable to breathe." She waited for her friend's reaction before continuing. At Becky's nod, she continued, "The first time, both my parents came in. Because of the wards, you know?" Another nod. "And Mum unlaced me, and stayed with me until I fell asleep. It got a little easier the second time, and slowly, I grew used to it, and I enjoy it."
Becky considered this. "Well, it's only been a week for me, so maybe it will become easier over time," she allowed. "How tightly do you sleep?"
"I started two inches looser than what I was during the day, but I managed to get my mum to let me sleep an inch and half looser. What about you?" she wondered.
Becky made a face. "Only an inch looser than whatever my measurements were that day."
"Would your mum let you try sleeping two inches looser? At least, until you got the hang of it?" Dora prodded.
Becky shrugged. "Maybe. She might say that I might as well not wear one to bed at that point. Which would be fine with me, because I think I look perfectly fine at twenty inches, and I'd certainly rather sleep well over having her sixteen inch waist."
She said the last part with a bit of bitterness.
Impulsively, Dora hugged her. "Let me talk to my mum. She'll convince her. At least, while you're here. Who knows, you might lose another inch, and if you can do that while being comfortable, your mum can't complain. And besides," she added, "soon you'll be at school, and you can sleep however you want. She must know that!"
"Yes, it's a good thing she doesn't believe in those dreadful locking charms!" Becky shuddered. "All right. Thanks, Dora."
Author's note:
Next up: Andromeda to the rescue?
If you're enjoying this fic, I'd love a few words (or more) of feedback!