Her mum looking at Dora rather oddly throughout the day, but when Dora looked back, she would just smile. This didn't ease her worries. Dora knew her mum well enough to know when her mother was smiling sincerely, and when she wasn't. The only reassurance was that her mum's smile wasn't the kind of smile she used when they had company or were in public, when Dora had said or done something she shouldn't have, and would later receive a telling off. No, this time, Dora was fairly certain she wasn't in trouble.

Rather, she decided, her mum had something rather serious to speak with her about, and she was either dreading it or waiting for the right time to bring it up.

Dora wracked her brain, trying to figure out what could be troubling her mum. Was it about taking Divination? Was her mum afraid that she'd have nightmares about the future?

Dora found out what her mum had on her mind that evening, after she'd changed into her nightgown and headed into her parents' room to say goodnight.

"I'd like to talk to you for a bit, honey. In your bedroom," Andromeda said, rising from her bed, and donning one of her dressing gowns.

Dora hid a sigh. Whatever it was her mum had on her mind, it wasn't something she felt comfortable discussing in front of her dad.

So, she followed her mum to her own room, and then sat down on her bed, with her mum next to her. Dora studied the quilt her mum had made by magic, a beautiful pattern of flowers. She'd had it on her bed for as long as she could remember, and if it had been a muggle quilt, the designs would have surely faded from all of the washings over the years. But it remained pristine.

Andromeda put a hand around Dora's shoulder, and she looked up at her mum.

"You're not in trouble," her mum said, smiling. A real smile.

"I'm not?" Dora asked, her voice a little shaky.

Her mum hugged her tightly. "Oh, honey. No, not at all."

Relieved, Dora hugged her back, and they stayed like that for several minutes, until Dora let go.

Andromeda laughed, just a little. "You're not in trouble," she repeated, and Dora nodded again. "You're just...growing up."

Dora frowned. "Haven't I always been?"

Another laugh. "Come have a look with me."

They stood in front of the full-length mirror. Andromeda Tonks looked beautiful, as always. Beautiful wavy dark hair that flowed past her waist, piercing eyes, very delicate features, and of course, the pale skin she'd associated with her family. (Even her dad had pale skin, but he'd joked that it came with the red hair.) It didn't matter that her mum was wearing a white nightgown with a blue dressing gown over it. She stood with the grace, the poise, of a witch about to dance at a ball. Poise that Dora never had, likely never would have. She was clumsy by nature. Yes, Andromeda Black Tonks was absolutely beautiful, there was no doubt about that. Her family might call her a blood-traitor for marrying her dad, but they would never be able to say that she wasn't downright gorgeous.

Then, there was Dora. She didn't think she was unattractive, and she could change her appearance at will-although she was still working on developing that skill. Her mum said that her face was "heart shaped" and she did have her mum's pale skin. Her hair was dark and almost as long as her mum's, but sleek and straight, instead of wavy. Really, though, Dora hadn't much considered her appearance as it naturally was. People might say she was a pretty kid, and she didn't disbelieve them, but she wasn't one of those witches who spent hours trying on makeup and experimenting with the latest hairstyles. Also, if there was one thing she liked about Hogwarts, it was that-at least during class-everyone wore the same black robes.

Then, as Dora looked a bit more-following her mum's gaze direction a bit below her neck, she realized that...oh. Oh! Her upper body, once completely flat...wasn't.

Not anymore.

Not that she had anything like what her mum had (Dora almost blushed thinking about it), but she was...what was the word?

Well, whatever it was, she sure wasn't a kid anymore.

Dora wasn't sure how she felt about this. No wonder her mum had been acting so strangely that whole day. Still, it needed to be acknowledged. So she did.

"Oh."

Andromeda laughed, then put her hand around Dora's shoulders. "I began when I was about your age, and so did my sisters. As soon as my mum could see the smallest hint of...development...she whisked us to the 'developing ladies' department of the shop we used to purchase robes, and had us fitted for our first corsets."

Dora squirmed. Her mum still wore them all the time, even when she was sleeping. Well, probably not when she bathed, but other than that, Dora knew that her mum never took hers off. She never said much about them, really. Dora assumed that this was one of the things she'd kept on from growing up in a pure-blood family, or maybe she liked them. But from what she could tell from the occasional glimpse, and the shape of her mum's fitted robes, they didn't look very comfortable.

For one thing, they kept her mum upright at all times. She couldn't slouch, or lean back in a chair like Dora or her father. Just sitting or standing so straight, so stiff, had to be tiring. Sure, her mum had been wearing them for at least twenty years, so she was likely used to it, but Dora didn't want to have to get used to it.

Also, a look at her mum's tiny waist made her wonder how she could breathe. Not that Dora had any doubt that she could, and she never looked uncomfortable...

Still.

Dora knew that she really didn't want to wear one.

"You don't have to wear one," Andromeda told her, as though reading her daughter's mind. Or, perhaps, seeing her stare at her own. "All muggles and many muggle-born witches now wear bras." Dora exhaled with relief, and Andromeda continued, "Now, I don't know much about bras, but your dad's sister can help you there. Would you prefer that?"

Dora knew just a little more about bras than her mother. At least, what they looked like. They didn't push the stomach in, making it (she assumed) a lot harder to breathe. They were just another piece of clothing that sort of held up the breast.

"I want a bra," Dora said, determinedly. "I definitely want to wear a bra, instead of a corset."

Andromeda laughed, then ran a hand through her hair. "Very well. I'll have Ted contact his sister, and she can help you."

Dora nodded, feeling relieved. "Thanks, Mum."

Andromeda hugged her again, tucked her into bed, and then gently kissed the top of Dora's head. "Sleep well, honey."

It was rather a good thing that the Tonks house had a telephone, and that they all knew how to use it, thanks to her dad. Andromeda called up her husband's sister the following day to ask for her help. Aunt Susan, while busy that day, promised to clear the entire afternoon of the day after to help Dora find "a suitable bra," as she put it.

Dora tried not to think too much about it. She spent that day sending owls to her friends (without mentioning her need for a bra, because that was just too embarrassing to put to paper), and getting a good start on her school assignments. She might have received more detentions so far than both her parents combined within their seven years, but failure to complete assignments on time had never been one of the reasons. She might be clumsy and prone to mischief, but her grades and study habits were exceptional-according to both her parents and her teachers.

"You don't take after me in that," her dad had told her, more than once.

"I thought you got good marks," she'd objected.

"Sure, but I was always one to wait until the last minute. 'Cept my OWL year, and then I really buckled down. Got Exceeds Expectations or better on everything." He'd shaken his head, as though certain there had been a mistake. "Better to start out with good study habits, the way you're doing."

Anyway, Dora mused as she finished her History of Magic essay on the uselessness of burning witches, it was always better to start early and finish early. Not have it hanging over you.

Unlike, for instance, the need to get a bra.

Several, in fact, according to Dad's sister. Aunt Susan was one of those muggles who was allowed to know about the wizarding world, because with her brother being a muggle-born wizard, the Ministry could hardly Obliviate his entire family. This meant that Aunt Susan and Uncle Peter and both of their parents (Emma and Steven, although Dora always called them "Grandma" and "Grandpa") knew far more about the wizarding world than at least 99.9% of muggles in Great Britain.

Dora thought that it was silly that her mum's family couldn't get past her marrying a muggle-born wizard, while her dad's family welcomed her mum-and later, her-into their family. Surely, accepting magic had to be a lot harder than accepting someone who happened to be born into a family without magic?

It was one of the reasons she was looking forward to taking Muggle Studies. Being a half-blood, she reckoned she had a leg up on most of the class, and she expected her teacher would have an interesting take on aspects of their world everyone took for granted. Also, according to rumor, Professor Burbage was also a half-blood, with one parent from an old wizarding family and another who was muggle-born.

It was as Dora was engrossed in these thoughts that there was a gentle knock at her door. She stood up immediately to answer it, and banged her leg against the desk.

"Ouch!" she grumbled.

"Hurt yourself?" her mum asked, by way of greeting.

"Banged my leg against my desk," Dora explained. "I'll live."

Andromeda chuckled. "How you got to be so clumsy, I'll never understand. I know, I know, you take after your father, but even he wasn't this bad when he was your age."

"It's a gift," Dora replied, with confidence. "Like my metamorphmagus ability."

Her mum rolled her eyes. "Clearly. How's your essay going?"

"For History of Magic? It's finished. I can show it to you, if you'd like."

Andromeda often looked over her summer essays, but rarely had any criticisms that warranted an entire rewrite.

"In a bit. I wanted to let you know that tea is ready, if you're hungry, and that your aunt will be coming over tomorrow after lunch to take you bra shopping," Andromeda explained.

Dora felt her ears burn with embarrassment. "Thanks. Er, just how many shops is she planning on taking me?"

Her aunt was an enthusiastic shopper, to borrow her mum's phrase. It was a good thing Aunt Susan wasn't a witch, or they'd go to at least five different shops for school robes every year.

"I expect it will be all afternoon." Andromeda looked sympathetic. "Do you want me to join you?"

Dora shook her head. Her mum had never worn a bra-as far as Dora knew. Speaking of different articles of clothing...

"Mum, won't it look odd if I show up to a bunch of muggle shops in my robes?"

"We thought of that." She smiled at her daughter. "She'll bring over a few dresses from when she was your age. They're a bit old-fashioned according to today's muggle styles, but I don't think they'd attract nearly as much attention as your robes," Andromeda reasoned.

No, probably not. Dora had seen how muggles dressed. She'd never worn anything except long robes in her life, and liked it that way. Imagine wearing those short skirts that didn't even cover your knees...or worse, trousers!

Author's note:

I can't promise daily updates as a rule, but my goal is to update on a weekly schedule. Since I have several chapters already written, I figured I'd add the next one right away. As always, if you are enjoying this or have any suggestions, please let me know.

Next up:

After various fittings at multiple shops, Dora becomes the not so proud owner of sixteen bras. And hates every one of them.