Author's note:
There are references to female menstruation/periods in this chapter. Nothing graphic, but be warned that it is mentioned in a very PG sense.
Andromeda hadn't been surprised, or not very, when Dora and her friend remained in the kitchen after her husband had left. Nor did the news of Becky, having only worn a corset for a month, was being expected to sleep laced a mere inch looser during the day. That was far too tight for a beginner, even if her own mother had imposed the same restrictions upon Andromeda and her sisters. Certainly, she reflected, Dora might sleep an inch and a half looser at night than during the day, but this had been well after she'd been in training and sleeping without issues for nearly that length of time. Besides, it had been Dora's idea. If it were not for the fact that Dora was entirely at ease during the day, Andromeda would have insisted she go back to sleeping two inches looser.
There were, if not rules, certainly recommendations for those new to wearing corsets and training their waists. No more than a two inch reduction in the beginning days, don't wear it for many hours at a time, and certainly don't sleep in a corset until you've mastered everything else. Yes, Druella had dismissed these rules with her own girls, but her own mother had been even more severe, and by comparison, Druella had been quite reasonable.
Andromeda wondered what Becky's mother's line of thinking had been. She did not spend a great deal amount of time with other pure-blood families, finding many of them to look down upon muggles, muggle-borns, and even half-bloods. Perhaps, she should have. Andromeda might have better understood what Dora's classmates would encounter at this age, and how best to prepare for it. What if parents like the Roberts and the Harpers, well-meaning but clearly ambitious, were the norm? Well, she would only know if she spoke to Mrs. Roberts, and she certainly didn't want Becky to be unduly uncomfortable during her stay.
Nor, of course, did she wish to break any of the Robert family rules for the sake of temporary comfort, as this would likely only go worse for Becky in the long term.
"Of course I will speak to your mother, Becky, dear," she answered, kindly, to hearing of the girl's predicament. "If you provide me with the name of your home and the most opportune time, I will do so today. I do believe that this is quite pressing."
She managed not to laugh at the word choice, lest the girls not realize why, but they immediately noticed the meaning and burst into giggles.
Andromeda chuckled. "Ah, a rather poor choice of words on my end."
Dora laughed outright, and Becky gave her a small smile. Andromeda had known that her Dora's closest friend was rather quiet, and likely needed gentle urging to coax her from her shell. That, in combination with a rather ambitious mother, must make for a less pleasant experience with training her waist than her own daughter was experiencing.
Not too far off from her own, although Andromeda sincerely hoped that Mrs. Roberts refrained from the use of locking charms.
"Why don't you remain in the sitting room? Perhaps, start a game of Wizards Chess, or one of our muggle games? That way, if she wishes to speak with you, I can call you in," Andromeda suggested.
"Yes, ma'am," the girl answered, with evident relief. "Our address is Roberts Manor."
Ah, one of those. Perhaps Becky's mum had been of the Sacred Twenty-Eight before her marriage. Few outside of that group used the word "manor" to describe their homes, considering rather old-fashioned. Even Walburga Black and her husband had renamed their home after a few years of marriage, favoring the darker nature at that point in time.
Grimmauld Place did have rather a more notable air than Black Manor, after all.
"Very well," Andromeda replied with a smile, inwardly summoning the authority of being a Black and pure-blood and descendant of quite possibly the only wizarding family that shared blood with all of the others.
And, of course, a waist of sixteen inches in her 30's after childbirth.
That, alone, ought to prove she knew something about waist training.
She stood even straighter and adjusted her robes so that this asset of hers could not be missed. Then, she strode over to the fireplace, added a pinch of the necessary Floo Powder, and spoke the name of Becky's house.
Then, she placed her head-and only her head-into the flames.
Communication via fireplace was hardly Andromeda's preferred method. Much like her husband, she believed that some muggle technology ought to be integrated into the wizarding world. Telephones, for instance, were far more practical than using floo powder to connect with another witch or wizard's fireplace. They also provided the option of leaving a message if said person was not at home. Not to mention, Andromeda reflected, that they were far more private.
After all, even before Mrs. Roberts could see that she had contacted her, Andromeda could see the room which housed the connecting fireplace. True, she could hardly enter it, not without the invitation from one of the residents of the home, but she was fully aware of everything within the room. The same would be said of her sitting room when Mrs. Harper arrived, but at least Andromeda had been the one to initiate the call.
She waited, as was the polite thing to do, until someone appeared. In this case, it was a house-elf wearing a (thankfully, clean) pillowcase wrapped around his or whole small torso.
The elf spotted her, and made no noise of surprise. Instead, the elf simply bowed low, almost to the floor, and asked in a high pitched voice if she would like to speak to someone of the Roberts family.
"Mrs. Roberts, please," Andromeda answered, trying to adjust her posture so that she was not bending as much from the hips.
Of all muggle inventions, telephones were among their most practical.
The elf bowed again, and then disappeared with a plop. Moments later, there was another pop signaling Apparition, and then the appearance of a woman more or less Andromeda's age. Her hair was piled on top of her head, the color identical to her daughter's light blond.
"Good afternoon," the woman said, rather formally. "With whom am I conversing?"
Andromeda tried not to smile as she stated her name. "Andromeda Tonks, formally Andromeda Black, mother of Nymphadora Tonks, better known as Dora."
The woman raised her eyebrows just a bit, and then nodded. "Good afternoon, Mrs. Tonks. May I inquire as to the nature of your call? I trust that Becky has arrived safely?"
Andromeda did smile, then, but it was a warm smile. "Yes, your daughter arrived without any trouble. She and Dora are currently in the other room, no doubt chatting away."
Mrs. Roberts returned Andromeda's smile. "I'm glad."
She was waiting, Andromeda realized after the noticeable pause, for her to explain why she was calling. It occurred to Andromeda that this call could have been rather rash, that she ought to have used her authority to insist upon Becky sleeping with a lighter reduction, and contacted her mother via owl for a meeting.
Andromeda was not nearly as rash as Bella, but she knew that she didn't have the same social skills as her younger sister.
Which, she now remembered, her mother had told her on various occasions. She remembered a "talk" her mother had given her after failing to secure the attention of one of the Olivandor sons, never mind that his engagement was announced mere days later.
"Bellatrix has a passion for the dark arts, a face of great beauty, and a waist that-while larger than mine-would make any sane wizard fall to his feet. Narcissa's beauty is of a lighter sort, the aristocratic type showing the purity of her blood. Her manners and the way she carries herself are immaculate, even for a girl of fourteen. While her waist is still only seventeen inches, she has plenty of time to become smaller. But you, Andromeda! At seventeen, you may not be plain, but you have few real attributes. Your waist is downright large at fifteen inches, an entire inch and a half larger than mine after birthing three daughters! You have no passion for preserving the pure-blood culture, and your grasp of magic is average at best. And your social skills are nearly abysmal! What decent pure-blood would consider you for his spouse?"
It would have stung more had Andromeda not been secretly engaged to Ted Tonks at the time.
Andromeda briefly wondered what her mother had thought of Bella and her husband having tortured the Longbottoms into insanity, a pure-blooded family who had just given birth to their heir.
Andromeda now pushed these thoughts away and decided to draw attention to, as she and her husband had adopted the muggle saying, "the elephant in the room."
"I realize that this is rather ill rehearsed and a bit hasty," Andromeda explained, with a self-deprecating laugh, "but when the girls went to me, I believed I should speak with you before performing a course of action that would cause any potential harm."
Mrs. Robert's eyes widened before her pure-blood breeding took over. "Quite. May I ask the nature of this?"
Andromeda nodded. "Your daughter, much like mine, has begun training to reduce the size of her waist."
Understanding flashed through Mrs. Robert's face, and she immediately invited Andromeda over for a cup of tea so they could talk further.
Andromeda hesitated for only a moment before accepting. The fireplace connection would remain open, the girls hardly needed supervision, and in the event that they did need something that Ted could not provide, they could call over.
Yes, she could enter the family house without causing much alarm to her own.
"That is most gracious of you," she answered, and easily stepped through the warm flames.
The familiar spinning sensation occurred, but like the warm pressure of her corset, it was hardly troubling or disorienting to Andromeda. She Vanished the soot from her robes before exiting the fireplace, and Mrs. Roberts held out a hand in case (Andromeda supposed) she required any assistance. Andromeda felt mildly irritated at that, but supposed this was a reflex from helping her own daughter. Andromeda took the offered hand with a smile, and allowed herself to be led to a small table.
"Hinky!" Mrs. Roberts called, and the elf Andromeda had seen earlier appeared. "Some tea, sandwiches, and light pastries."
The elf bowed low. "As Mistress requests."
"Very well."
Once Hinky had vanished, Mrs. Roberts turned her attention towards Andromeda.
"Mrs. Roberts," she began, realizing that she did not know the woman's first name.
"Please, call me Sarah," she answered, with a kind smile. "May I presume to call you Andromeda?"
"Of course," Andromeda answered, with a laugh. "You know, I never quite understood the reasoning behind males using surnames. It works well enough if you're a teacher, I suppose, to display formality, but unless you're a Lord or something, everyone is mostly equal under the Ministry."
"Certainly within each other's homes as guests," Sarah agreed, smiling at Andromeda. "Now-"
But before she could finish, the elf had arrived, carrying a large tea tray that held enough food to feed a large family.
Rather than feeling bewildered, Andromeda felt almost touched. Food was a universal element of welcome, whether you were with muggles or wizarding folk. To offer a bounty was a display of hospitality.
As tradition dictated, they each took a cup of tea (Sarah served it, of course, as the host), and then Andromeda helped herself to a couple of pastries and sandwiches from the platter Sarah offered. Never mind that she was not hungry-it would be rude to refuse the food, and she certainly wasn't going to offend her hostess before presenting arguments for lightening her daughter's waist-training program.
They began by sipping their tea, and then Sarah took a small bite of sandwich. Andromeda copied the motion. She had read that it had once been a tradition among British muggles that those who dined with the Queen took their cue from her. When she had finished eating, no one could consume another morsel.
A few minutes of quiet nibbling followed before Sarah broached the topic for Andromeda's visit. Feeling better prepared than before, she was able to begin without feeling awkward.
"I hadn't realized just how much my Dora had grown up until I saw her at the train station," Andromeda began, smiling at the memory. "She turned thirteen just before the New Year, and we saw her for the Christmas holidays, but she remained at school for the Easter ones to study. Six months away from your daughter is a long time, but I nearly did a double take when I realized she had become a teenager in more than age."
Sarah nodded, almost sagely. "Becky's the youngest of three. Her other siblings are twins. They have always been close, even though one's a boy and the other's a girl. Becky's so quiet, it makes me wonder if being the daughter after a set of twins had any effect. Like you, I saw her at Christmas, and while she hadn't began to grow, she had begun to bleed."
Andromeda winced a bit. Her own cycles had begun just before her mother had made her start training her waist, but the cramps she had suffered had been enough to make her go to Madam Pomfrey. It there had been one positive aspect to the early days of tight lacing, it was that the pressure there made the cramps go away. Or so she'd thought. Later, she learned that this was a pleasant result many girls experienced from wearing corsets-tight lacing had little to do with it. Still, the reprieve had been a welcome one.
"Dora has yet to begin her cycles, but I will have to prepare her," Andromeda said, as much to herself as to Sarah. "She knows about them, but I hadn't wanted to alarm her. Mine were particularly painful until I began to wear a corset."
Sarah nodded again. "They certainly do help."
"When Dora returned home," Andromeda continued, steering the subject away from monthly cycles, "I knew that I would have to address her growing in a careful fashion. Her father is a muggle born, and while she grew up in our world, we have a family in his relatives." At Sarah's nod, she continued. "I knew that most muggles no longer wear corsets, and thought that Dora might be uneasy about wearing one. I told her that she could wear a bra, if she preferred."
Sarah appeared to know about this undergarment, as her face indicated no surprise upon hearing the word. "I imagine she was relieved to hear this?"
"Only until she spent an afternoon trying them on. To hear her speak about the experience, it was quite close to torture! The poor girl was quite morose. Well, I knew that her build was similar to mine at her age, only rather more slender, and I had the foresight to take my corsets with me upon leaving home," Andromeda continued, "and she agreed to try one on with a very modest reduction."
Sarah looked interested-not simply attentive, as a host should always act before her guests. "How modest?"
"Only an inch. Dora had been miserable about how uncomfortable her bras were, and even though she was willing to give corsets a fair chance, I was loathe to do anything that would make her uncomfortable or scare her away. Besides, even though I have kept my waist tiny, my mother was rather severe with us. So, I took her twenty-three inch waist down to twenty-two, and she was very comfortable and wanted to wear it the entire day! I didn't think this was wise, not for a beginner, so we went at it very gradually, and I only tightened her when she told me she was ready. In about a week, she determined that she wanted not simply to wear a corset, but to train down her waist," Andromeda concluded, not bothering to hide her smile, "and after she had mastered everything else, I helped her with sleeping in one."
Sarah looked surprised. "Do you remember what her corseted waist was at this point?"
"Oh, yes. It was twenty inches. I insisted that she sleep laced to twenty-two. I could tell that Dora was disappointed, but she very quickly understood my reasoning. The first few nights were very difficult for her, and she woke up from nightmares on more than one occasion." Andromeda shook her head at the memory. "I'm sure you know that it's a very rewarding feeling to wake up wearing a snug corset, but in the beginning, it's usually quite a struggle. Dora has persuaded me to allow her to sleep one and a half inches looser, instead of two. I know she wants to sleep with even less of a reduction, but she's very young and I worry about her health."
Sarah took a sip of tea, taking this in. "Becky has complained of discomfort at night," she allowed. "She sleeps an inch looser than during the day, as do I. However," she added, quickly, "I had believed that this discomfort would be temporary. She's only been sleeping corseted for a week, and is hardly distressed during the day."
Andromeda reached over to take the other mother's hand. "It's difficult to know what is best for our daughters. I don't deny that there's often discomfort when you're training your waist to minute sizes." Privately, Andromeda vowed to do whatever she could to keep Dora from experiencing this. "If Becky truly wants a tiny waist, she will understand this. There's a world of difference, though, between what you are willing to do and what someone is telling you to do for an alleged future benefit."
Sarah sighed, but then allowed herself a small nod. "Katie, Becky's sister, outright refused to train her waist. She said that she would wear a corset during the day, but she would never sleep in one." She laughed a bit. "She's so very stubborn, I simply didn't have the heart to argue. I don't believe in locking charms, and even if I did, Katie is away at school for most of the year. Well, it's turning out all right. Katie's natural waist was a bit under twenty-three inches, and even without sleeping in a corset, she's managed a nineteen inch waist."
"That's lovely," Andromeda praised.
Sarah inclined her head. "Perhaps, I have been in too much of a hurry with Becky. Her waist is not as small as her sister's, and she did take to wearing one better than Katie. I expect I was rather ambitious on her end."
"Perhaps," Andromeda allowed, "but there's time to mend that."
"Well, I will have a talk with her when she returns. In the meantime, please tell her that she may sleep however she chooses. If she prefers not to lace down at night," she added, with a small sigh, "she may."
"I don't believe she will choose that route. Not with my Dora telling her about how lovely it is, once your body adjusts," Andromeda reassured her, laughing a bit. "You never know. She might return to your house with a smaller waist than when she left."
Sarah laughed a bit, and they began to reminisce about their own training. Andromeda was relieved to find that Sarah Roberts' mother had been far less severe than her own.
She returned to her home laden with leftover pastries.
Author's note:
The next chapter will also be an Andromeda chapter. If I were to put everything I wished to include into one, it would be a few thousand more words, and she's an interesting character to write. Also, as Dora will be returning to school soon, there likely won't be much opportunity for me to write for her for some time.
Next up: Dora and Becky receive good news, and Andromeda plans a surprise for Dora.
As always, thank you for your feedback!
