Dora watched as her mother left, feeling more anxious by the moment.

Don't be silly, she told herself. If you hate wearing or find you can't breathe, she'll take it off you.

Dora knew that her mother was nothing like her own mother. Not that she'd ever met her maternal grandmother, but from the stories she'd heard...

She took a seat on her window seat and stared out at the yard. Her room had a great view, there was no doubt about it. She could see the flowers her mum had planted over the years, pruning them with love, casting spells to give them extra water when it failed to rain for days on end. Then, there was a large oak tree, on which sat two swings that she and her father (and sometimes her mum) used, swinging for at least an hour at a time. Once, when Dora was about seven or eight, she fell off, but her accidental magic had taken over, and she'd emerged without so much as a scratch. She smiled to herself as she remembered her parents' hugs, then their relief that her magic had kept her from getting hurt.

When she heard her mother's footsteps outside of her door, Dora turned around, and saw that she was carrying two bundles in front of her. The first looked far smaller than the second, but it was the second that caught Dora's eye. It wasn't wrapped, not like the first one. She could tell that it was a corset, but it looked as though it had been swallowed up by ribbons.

"I see the corset, but what's the top bundle for?" Dora asked, instead.

Her mum held up the first one, which looked a bit like her nightgowns, but shorter. "Before you try on the corset, honey, you'll need to take off your nightgown and put this on. I'll look away."

Dora obeyed, and found that whatever she was wearing was far shorter than any of her nightgowns. Like the muggle skirt she'd worn the previous day, it covered her knees, but not much else. She rather wished it was longer, as it was even softer than her nightgowns. She'd never worn silk robes, but her mum had once allowed her to touch one of hers, before donning it to go to a party. This felt just as nice.

"What is it?" she asked, glancing down at herself. "And what's it for?"

"It's called a chemise," Andromeda explained, pronouncing it like "shem-ease." You wear it under the corset, so the fabric doesn't rub against your body and cause cuts or chafing," her mum explained. Smiling at Dora's reaction, she added, "Soft, isn't it?"

Dora nodded, and resisted the urge to twirl a little.

Her mum unwrapped the corset next. Dora could see, amidst all of the ribbons, that even though it was white it color, it was decorated throughout with embroidered designs, like flowers. Tiny stitches covered the corset, making it beautiful. It was rather a shame that there were so many ribbons that, while they didn't cover the designs, certainly drew one's eyes away from them. Dora noted that, much like the corsets her mother wore, there were a series of metal clasps that held the front sides together. They weren't decorative, Dora was quite sure, as she thought they could open and close easily enough. Her mother, as though reading her mind, turned the corset on its other side so Dora could see the back. While the metal clasps covered one side which held the two pieces of fabric together, the fabric on the other were held together by ribbon that came out of metal holes...about twenty-eight in all, fourteen on each side. Really, it was a shame that it was covered in all those extra ribbons, because Dora thought it was quite pretty.

"What are those holes called?" Dora asked, pointing to the back.

"Eyelets. Muggles and witches initially gored holes into the fabric to hold the laces-that's what we call the ribbons or cords or whatever you use that hold the back together-but a very intelligent muggle came up with the idea of using metal holes instead. Before then, you couldn't lace very tightly, or you'd destroy the bodice-the fabric. After that, you could make your waist even smaller. Over time, of course," Andromeda added. "I don't know how our kind found out about the new kind, but I expect it was from a muggle female marrying a wizard. Well, you know that muggle inventions rarely make their way into our world, but this was certainly an exception. Smaller and smaller waists came out of this almost immediately."

Probably not something we'll learn in Muggle Studies, Dora thought, rather amused at the idea of it.

But there was another issue at hand. Dora had never exactly studied her mother's corsets, as they were usually covered by her robes, or mostly covered by her dressing gown. But she was pretty sure that they didn't include an enormous amount of ribbons-outside of the necessary ones on the side.

The ribbons came in so many colors, too. Mostly shades of pink and purple, but there were also a large amount of green. Well, her mother had been in Slytherin. She supposed even her undergarments had to reflect this.

"There's...quite a bit of ribbon, Mum," she noted.

Andromeda, to Dora's relief, laughed.

"Oh, yes. All of my corsets were all like that. Before, that is, I married your father and purchased new ones that didn't look as though several spools of ribbon had exploded onto them." She glanced at the corset with some fondness. "If you like wearing it, honey, I can have the ribbons removed."

Dora nodded, more than a little relieved. Sure, no one was likely to see her corset if she wore one...except her roommates, and if any of them wore them, they would likely tease her mercilessly.

Or even if they didn't. Dora wasn't a tomboy, exactly, but that didn't mean she wanted to wear a garment with more ribbons than what she expected wedding robes would look like.

"You said this was twenty inches?" she asked. "When it's all the way shut?"

Andromeda nodded, and then beckoned Dora to come to her. Instead of putting it around her waist, though, Andromeda used her wand as a measuring tape.

"Twenty-three inches, so only three inches larger than this. That's quite good." She smiled. "Now, rest assured, I am not going to do what my mother did, and have you wear it laced closed on the first day. The standard reduction is two inches...but..." Andromeda glanced at Dora, who was sure she looked as apprehensive as she felt. "I think that one inch will suffice, for now. We can always tighten it over time, and I don't want you to be uncomfortable. After all, we're only using it to support your breasts, not to train you down to fourteen or fifteen inches."

Dora, once again, was relieved. "And I'll be able to breathe in it? You're sure?"

"Yes. And if you're even the least bit uncomfortable, let me know, and I can either loosen it a bit more, or take it off altogether," she promised, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I promise."

That settled Dora's nerves considerably. Her mum never broke her promises.

"All right."

Andromeda unfastened the clasps, first, and then began to move the corset back and forth, resulting in the ribbon staying within the confines of the eyelets, but the sides separating from each other. As she worked, the inches of separation increased until she was content.

"First things first. Let me fasten this around you, and I'll close the claps. That's extremely important, Dora. The clasps need to be fastened before the laces, and when you unlace, they're the last things to be unfastened. If you unhook the clasps before the laces, you could hurt yourself and the corset. And you're far more important to me than some fabric and steel."

Dora nodded, watching her mother and following this logic. Her mother came around to her front and began to hook up the clasps to the corresponding hooks, but even after they were all done, she didn't really feel any different. Perhaps like she was wearing a very loose sort of box around her, but it was far from compressing her.

"Next, the laces. Now, if you choose to wear this instead of a bra when you return to school, you really ought to learn how to lace yourself. I'll show you how soon enough. It's not that it's wrong to ask someone to help you, mind, but this way, you can get in and out of your corset on your own. Also, you can control how tight it is," Andromeda added, with a smile. "Ready?"

"I'm ready," Dora answered, but felt rather nervous.

"Good. Turn around, stand up straight, and take a deep breath," Andromeda instructed. "Hold it in for a bit. Good, like that."

At first, Dora felt nothing, but could see the ribbons coming out of the sides of the corset on both ends. Her mum must have really loosened the sides.

Then, she felt a small amount pressure around her, and saw even more ribbon come out from both sides of her waist. Or what she expected to be her waist. She half-expected to feel out of breath any moment, but then, the ribbons coming out of the sides ceased.

"I'm tying it off now," Andromeda told her. "You can let out your breath."

Dora obeyed. She still half-expected to collapse onto the floor, or at least not to be able to breathe, but when her mum turned her around and instructed her to take another deep breath, Dora found she was able to without any difficulty.

"How does it feel?" Andromeda asked.

Dora considered. Now that the lacing, her mum had called it, was finished, she felt more or less how she normally did. Certainly, she was aware of pressure around her waist, her sides, and even her breasts, but it was hardly uncomfortable. In fact, it felt quite snug-not at all unlike a hug.

Really, now that she thought about it, Dora realized that the corset felt like her mother had told her it would. Like being held in a hug. A warm hug, too, as the fabric and steel of the corset pressing into her upper body certainly added a layer of warm that her loose robes never did. Not without a Heating charm, anyway.

It felt quite pleasant. A bit like being held, even.

Unlike those wretched bras, Dora found she was in no hurry to take this off, to escape from it.

Yes, it was a great improvement over a bra.

"It's...snug," she answered, slowly, and was relieved that she could speak without any effort. "It does feel rather like a hug." She took a breath, not because those few words had made her loose her wind, but to prove that she could. Then, she laughed, mostly out of relief. "Mum, I feel a lot more comfortable than I would have expected."

Andromeda chuckled. "Well, if I'd taken you in as much as my mother had, you wouldn't have said that, believe you me. But I'm glad you're comfortable, honey. Why don't you have a look at yourself in the mirror?"

Feeling a bit nervous, although she wasn't sure why, Dora walked the few feet towards the mirror. She could certainly see a difference in the shape of her body, and thought it was a good one. Her waist certainly looked a bit smaller-not that she'd ever really noticed that before-and her still small breasts (the sales clerks had told her she was a size A, or the smallest size there was) looked a bit larger, as they were being held up. It occurred to Dora her mother's corset was essentially supporting her breasts, the way a bra was intended to, but without the horrible straps or pinching or any of that.

This was what women wore for hundreds of years before bras. Why in the world would they give up this feeling of being hugged and warm and supported in favor of some fabric that pinched and pushed down on their shoulders?

"I look different," she murmured. "In a good way?"

Andromeda put a hand around her shoulders. "Yes. You're becoming a beautiful young lady, honey."

Dora beamed.

She would have been happy to stay laced in her new corset for the rest of the day, but her mum made her take it off after a few hours.

"It holds your body more stiffly than you're used to," Andromeda explained, as she unlaced her, "and you'll get a sore back if you wear it for too long. Besides, it's time for lunch, and I'd rather have you get used to wearing it on its own before you have to manage eating with it on."

Dora nodded, seeing the logic, and after she removed her robes, her mum undid the laces.

It felt a bit strange, having the corset come off. She found that, even though her breathing hadn't been restricted, she'd been breathing rather differently-more from the upper part of her body. There was a feeling of freedom that came from not being confined (even if it had been only by one inch), along with the missing the closeness, and the hug.

"Can I wear it for a bit after lunch?" she asked.

Her mum considered. "Perhaps. Not immediately afterwards, as you should give your food some time to digest. Let's see how you feel around 2."

As they ate dinner at 6:00 each night, Dora assumed that this would mean another four hours of being laced up. She found that she was looking forward to it.

As she ate, she paid attention to what her mother did. Dora and her father's plates were the fullest-her because she was still growing, and him because he had a large appetite-but her mum still had plenty of food on hers. Her mother took small bites, and seemed to chew (politely, with her mouth closed) for longer than Dora or her father. Then, she'd take another small bite. All the same, she finished all of the food, and did not seem to be ill at ease as a result. She didn't take any longer to finish eating than Dora or her dad, either. Dora realized that her mum must have eaten this way for most of her life-slowly, carefully, but still eating reasonable sized meals, and even dessert each night. Lacing to sixteen inches hardly meant starving.

It was a relief.

Dora worked on her homework in her room while she waited for her own food to digest. When her mum came in and asked if she wanted to be laced in until dinner, she nodded with enthusiasm.

It was certainly easier this time, in part because she wasn't scared of not being able to breathe. All the same, she was aware of sitting more straight than usual, of being unable to bend over her work, and eventually she gave up and went downstairs to relax on one of the sofas (she could lie against the cushions on her side with relative ease) until it was time for dinner.

For the first few days, Dora remained at a one inch reduction. Her mum would lace her up after breakfast, take off the corset again for lunch, and then let her remain laced up until it was time for dinner. Dora continued to find her new corset very comfortable, and looked forward to wearing it. It was starting to feel a bit loose, though, so on the fourth morning, Andromeda asked her if she wanted to be laced down an additional inch.

"All right," Dora answered.

The extra inch felt a bit more snug than she remembered the first day of being taken in one inch had been, but still very comfortable.

"Feel all right?" her mum asked, studying her daughter. "Not too tight?"

Dora took a deep breath easily enough, then shook her head. "No, it feels nice, Mum."

Her mum beamed. "Take a look in the mirror."

The difference was certainly more defined than before. With a waist of twenty-one inches, it was far larger than her mother's, but still quite small and defined. Perhaps, her breasts even looked a bit larger? Dora smiled, a bit shyly, at her reflection.

"I look rather nice."

"You look beautiful. Would you like to stop, or shall I take you in further in a few days or so?"

"Not today," Dora determined. "Perhaps once this feels a bit looser."

"Yes," Andromeda agreed, nodding. "Of course. Not before you're ready."

When Dora looked back on this day, she rather thought it was when she first begun to train her waist. Up until then, she was just getting used to wearing a corset. But now? She wanted to get smaller, like her mum, and to learn all she could before going back to school. She was determined to stay comfortable-she hated the idea of being laced until she was out of breath-but she trusted her mum not to go that far. Dora knew, then, that she would never have to wear a bra, but would wear corsets every day from then on.

Even if her friends and roommates might think she was old-fashioned.

Dora went from a one-inch reduction for three hours in the morning and another four in the afternoon a day to a two-inch reduction during all of her waking hours. With that came learning, or relearning, how to do things she'd taken for granted since she was a child. While there was no change in walking, she did have to use a bit more caution when she climbed or descended a staircase. Her breasts might only be a size A, and not yet large enough to prevent her from peering below her corset, but her mum had warned her that this would be temporary. If she was anything like her mother, she'd grow a size or two in that area within the next couple of years, and it would be best to learn how to navigate a staircase by instinct while she still had most of her full scope of vision.

Then, there was sitting down. Dora couldn't lean back in a chair anymore, or slouch against a high-backed chair. The corset provided full support for her back, but it rather kept her sitting on the edge of the chair. So, that was something else to adapt to. If she wanted to lay down on a couch or in her bed to read, she had to focus hard if she wanted to rise without help. Dora knew it was possible, having seen her mother do so elegantly throughout her life, but her mother also had about two decades of experience in that area, while Dora was on her first week.

Finally, there was eating. Dora had always been somewhat of a fast eater, and often took more food than she could comfortably eat. While the Tonks never had a rule about finishing everything on your plate, Dora's mum or dad would give her a look if too much remained, so she'd often felt rather uncomfortably full for an hour or so. But she couldn't do this any more without feeling worse than uncomfortably full, as Andromeda reminded her.

Dora managed small enough portions to avoid any stomachaches for the first two days, but then she became overconfident. Also, there was chocolate cake for dessert, and she ate two pieces without thinking about what her mum had said.

Less than a half-hour after she'd consumed the last bite, Dora felt her stomach rebel, and her body begin to sweat.

"Oh, honey," Andromeda murmured. "Come, let's get you sorted out."

She immediately took Dora to the loo, where she removed Dora's robes and loosened, then removed, the corset. The relief was immediate.

"Oh, that's better," she said. Then, realizing that unlacing after a large meal at Hogwarts would be nearly impossible, her relief turned to dismay. "I won't be able to do that at school, though."

"No, you likely won't," her mum answered, running a hand through her hair. "That's why it's important to take small bites, to take your time, and be careful about how much you eat at once."

"I'm sorry," Dora said, hating her weak her voice sounded. "You warned me."

"Shh, honey," Andromeda murmured, her tone far more gentle, and she continued card her daughter's hair. "I know. It happens to everyone sooner or later. Better now than at school, right?"

Dora nodded.

"Do you feel ill?"

"Not...really," Dora admitted. "Though I don't think I want to eat for awhile."

Andromeda rolled her eyes. "I should think not. How about a Stomach Soother?"

Dora nodded again. "That would be great, Mum."

So Andromeda guided her daughter into the sitting area, who was still clad only in her chemise, and then summoned a bottle of Stomach Soother from her supply of potions. Most potions were foul tasting, either by design or because they included potent ingredients whose foul taste couldn't be disguised without rendering it ineffective. Stomach Soother, thankfully, was one of the exceptions. It tasted of peppermint to those who liked that taste, and of a mild cinnamon candy to those who did not. Dora swallowed it slowly, savoring the taste, and then the effects.

Her dad covered her with a light blanket and massaged her feet while she rested, and her mum sat by her side and read a magazine.

A bit later, Andromeda drew her a hot bubble bath, and waited on the loo until she was ready to get up. Finally, after helping her into her nightgown and coaxing her to brush her teeth, her mum tucked her into bed and carded her hair until she fell asleep.

Dora felt much better upon waking the next morning, but the lesson remained with her. Don't eat too quickly, and don't overeat. The consequences really weren't worth it.

"What did your mum do when you made that mistake?" she asked, not sure she wanted to know.

Andromeda sighed. "Refused to let me unlace or to have anyone loosen the laces. Not even to go to bed. Not that I slept very much, being ill most of the night."

Dora shuddered. "That's practically barbaric."

"My mother learned from her mother that pain was an excellent teacher." She sighed again. "When I struggle with a parenting decision about you, and it's not needing immediate attention, I ask your father for his input. If he doesn't know, or says he defers to me, I ask myself what she would do, and do the opposite."

Dora laughed, just a little.

"I'm glad you didn't follow her advice last night."

"Oh, I was acting entirely on motherly instinct," Andromeda reassured her. She glanced at the corset, which she'd left on the chair. "Are you up for it?"

Dora nodded. "I'll be more careful."

Andromeda kissed the top of her head and pulled her into a hug. "I know you will."

Author's note:

Although there will be a chapter at the conclusion of this work that is one expanded author's note, I believe there is a need to set a couple of things straight before continuing onwards.

First, within the various communities dedicated to corsetry and waist-training, it is an established fact that someone interested in wearing corsets should wait until they are at LEAST 18 years of age. Partly because you are a legal adult at that age (well, in the United States, which is where I reside), and partly because your body needs to develop fully before you should perform any form of body modification. Although waist-training is temporary in the sense that, upon stopping, your body will revert to its usual form, it is still a form of modification and should not be attempted until you are a legal adult. Yes, teenagers wore corsets as recently as the early 1900's, but the world was a lot different back then. With POSSIBLE exceptions for medical care such as a back brace-and then you should speak not only to your parents or guardian, but also to your doctor. In short, this is a work of fiction, not an endorsement for thirteen year olds to buy a corset and start training their waist.

Next, once it's been established that you're an adult, the question of how much of a reduction has come up quite regularly. The general answer is as much as feels comfortable, and for as long as is comfortable. You should NOT push your body past what is comfortable at this point, and possibly ever. (Of course, if you're an adult and are okay with being uncomfortable-that's entirely up to you.) The amount of reduction recommended is two inches (so, if your natural waist is 28, you would be at 26; if your natural waist is 26, you would be at 24, and so forth), but this depends on a myriad of factors, including your natural waist size. There are charts available to give you an idea as to how much of a reduction larger people can corset to, as compared to the smaller-sized people, but what it ultimately comes down to is COMFORT and taking it SLOWLY.

In light of this, Andromeda is taking a very slow and very conservative approach with lacing Dora down by only one inch. She's letting her daughter decide if wearing a corset on a daily basis is something she would prefer over wearing a bra, and she's also letting her daughter decide whether she wants to train her waist to both look considerably smaller (which will have an immediate effect) and become smaller (a longer-term change, which would still be temporary, should Dora stop wearing corsets altogether). Andromeda's actions, in short, are those of a loving, respectful, and caring mother who wants her daughter to feel as at ease as possible, and to ease into wearing corsets. This will be developed more fully in later chapters.

Finally, and this will be covered more fully in later chapters (I sound like a broken record, don't I?), seasoning/breaking in/getting used to your corset is absolutely essential to both getting the most out of it, and to getting the most comfort out of it. Why, then, am I not including this with Andromeda's corsets? Because Dora's body shape is close enough to her mother's at that age that it simply isn't needed. Her mum went through the rather arduous process of breaking in her corsets when she was a teenager, which means that they have already adapted to her shape. This means that they have adapted to Dora's shape. (Is it possible in the wizarding world that there's a spell they can use to break in their corsets? Sure, and if you're so inclined to write that fic, feel free to do so! However, it's my opinion that using magic alone to solve a problem would feel like a letdown. Otherwise, why not just magic Dora a 15 inch waist and be done with it?)

Next up: Now that Dora has decided to make wearing corsets a part of her daily life, she realizes she still has a lot to learn. Including that sleeping in a corset...causes nightmares?

I would like to extend a big thank you to those who are following this fic and have left feedback. I know that "starting over" with a new pen name can limit my readership, and the sheer number of Harry Potter fics (plus this rather unconventional topic!) can detract from otherwise interested people. So, for those who have read and commented, it's like a virtual hug! Thank you for your support!