On the third day of their beach holiday, Andromeda sat in a comfortable transfigured chair at the edge of the beach, sipping from a glass of iced tea and watching her husband and daughter play in the water.
Just like so many years before, she thought, contentedly.
She loved the beach and their house as much as her husband and daughter, even though she rarely went into the water past her ankles. It was to chilly, and she'd stopped enjoying swimming long before her mother had put her into the tight corsets that made swimming impossible.
Even though Dora had begun to train her waist in a similar (though far less severe) manner, Andromeda wouldn't think of denying her child her joy of jumping in the waves and swimming in the ocean.
She wouldn't have objected had Dora chosen to forego wearing corsets for the duration of the holiday, but her daughter chose to wear them when she wasn't submerged in the ocean.
Now, Dora and Ted splashed each other playfully, each acting more like children than adults and teenagers.
And Andromeda loved watching every moment of it.
Next year, I must bring a camera, she promised herself. There's too much happiness here not to capture the moment.
Her mind traveled again to the next summer. Ted had voiced his desire to spend more than two weeks at their summer house, echoed emphatically by Dora. It was true that they had spent the entire summer there before she'd started at Hogwarts, but the holidays were barely two months now, and Dora often wanted to have a friend or two over, or to visit their home. Two weeks was quite manageable, but a month would take a level of commitment that there would be less time for everything else.
Besides, Dora was a teenager, and soon she might not wish to spend so much time with her parents.
Or perhaps not. Andromeda would have expected her daughter to choose bras over corsets, and when that had proved not to be the case, to choose the smallest possible reduction in order to support her developing breasts while leaving plenty of room in the waist. Instead, Dora had chosen to train her waist. Of course, she was far more comfortable in Andromeda's old corsets than Andromeda had ever felt in them, but her waist was rapidly diminishing. Not as rapidly as the training regime Andromeda's mother had put her and her sisters through, but Andromeda would rather her only daughter be at ease than a society belle.
Anyway, they no longer moved in such circles, for which Andromeda breathed a sigh of relief. No one would pressure her daughter to marry a man she didn't love simply to preserve the Sacred Twenty-Eight bloodlines.
The only mistake I made, Andromeda admitted to herself, was her name.
Ted hadn't liked the name, even after learning its meaning. Andromeda had been unsure of what to name her child until Dora emerged from her, changing the color of her eyes immediately. It was then that Andromeda knew of her rare gift, and promptly decided to name her Nymphadora.
Her daughter hated it from the start, claiming it was too long and impossible to spell. Later, after meeting other witches with more ordinary names, she felt like an outcast.
So they settled on calling her "Dora," and once she was at school, all of her teachers called her "Miss Tonks." Her friends, of course, called her "Dora."
Still, Andromeda thought that this was a fairly small mistake in the scheme of things. Her daughter could go by her nickname for the remainder of her life, if she wished. Her husband, after all, went by "Ted" even though his formal name was Edward.
A breeze of wind came then, brushing against Andromeda's robes, and making her almost sleepy.
Her eyes opened sometime later, and she wondered how long she'd been sleeping. Dora and Ted were still playing, and the sun was still bright in the sky. A few minutes later, though, they headed towards Andromeda, water dripping from their robes.
Andromeda wordlessly dried their robes, and they both smiled at her.
"I love that spell," Dora said through chattering teeth.
"Did you have a nice swim?" Andromeda asked, standing and pulling Dora into a hug.
Her daughter, looking a good few years younger, nodded with enthusiasm and hugged her back.
"Reckon we should take our showers now," Ted murmured, taking the chair as they headed in.
"I'll be half asleep afterwards," Dora laughed. "Mum, would you help me when I dress?"
"Of course. Would you like your day corset or night one?" she asked, an arm still around her shoulders.
"Day one," Dora answered. "I want to get some training in. Besides, it's so snug."
Andromeda gave her a light kiss on her head.
"Mum, you'll get salt water on your lips!" Dora protested, with a laugh.
"A bit of salt water won't harm me, sweetie."
Once back at the house, Andromeda prepared hot chocolate and biscuits for when they were finished with their showers. She knew it would be some time, because the shampoo they used always worked especially hard when there was sand and salt water in their hair. Not that either minded. Ted emerged a half an hour later with a grin on his face that resembled his look after they had been intimate, and promptly pulled her into a long hug.
"You smell lovely," she murmured, hugging him back.
Even through her corset, she could feel his arms around her. Then, Ted gently placed both hands around her waist and lifted her up to give her a kiss.
Andromeda sighed happily after it was over. "If I was ever uncomfortable, it would be worth it just for that," she said, with a laugh.
"I'm glad you're not uncomfortable anymore," he said, keeping his hands on her waist.
She smiled. Even though most of the girls in her year who trained had gone through programs similar to her own (regardless of house), it was considered bad form to complain in front of males. You could say that your corset was killing you in your own dormitory, in front of sympathetic roommates, but you always had to look at ease in public.
"It won't matter how small your waist is. If you look as uncomfortable as you feel, no one worth marrying will pay you any attention!" her mother had told her and Cissy on numerous occasions, usually after a tightening.
Ted had been particularly observant, and while Andromeda considered herself good at hiding her discomfort, he could always tell when her mother's orders made her corset tighter than before. After several instances of this, Andromeda had finally admitted that she was laced tighter than she was used to, but she would be fine in a day or so.
It wasn't until after they were married (and when the charms her mother controlled her corsets with had broken with her name being burned from the family tapestry) that she told him the full extent of what her family life had been.
Of course, after Andromeda had begun to train after Dora's birth, her sweet husband was always urging her to take it slowly, not to hurt herself or cause herself any undue discomfort.
"I love you as much with a twenty-four inch waist as with a sixteen inch one," he'd assured her.
But Andromeda had missed the support during her pregnancy, and found that she liked the hug her post pregnancy corsets provided.
Now, of course, it was a good, strong hug, rather than a breath stealing grip on her lungs.
Andromeda assured Ted that she was very comfortable, and after a few more kisses, she went to check on Dora.
Her daughter was in her room, clad in her chemise, and brushing her long hair. Upon seeing her mother, she smiled and put the brush down. Her face was uncharacteristically pink from the shower, and she looked happy.
"Hello, honey. Are you ready for my help?" Andromeda asked.
Dora nodded, and eagerly fetched the day corset from over the chair. "Could you lace me to nineteen?"
"Of course. We can always loosen it later if you want seconds at dinner," Andromeda agreed, and placed it around her.
Dora fastened the clasps with ease, and when she was finished, held her breath. Even though Andromeda's mother had instructed her and her sisters to get a good grip on the door or bed post, this was only necessary for tight lacing. All Dora had to do was take a deep breath and stay still.
Andromeda worked slowly and methodically, first taking her in to twenty-one inches with some speed, then half as fast to twenty, and finally gradually to nineteen. Dora's stance relaxed as Andromeda was sure hers never had before her marriage, and she let out a few contented sighs as the steel and cotton held her in a hug. Based on her daughter's reaction, and the feel of the ribbons in Andromeda's hands as she pulled, she was quite sure that her daughter would be a half or quarter inch down further not long after they had returned home and she was back to wearing a corset nearly all the time.
"Comfortable?" Andromeda asked, holding the ribbons taut, but not tying them off. "Too tight?"
"It's perfect, Mum," her daughter reassured her. "Feels like a lovely hug."
Her voice reflected the sentiment. Andromeda knew when her daughter was not at ease, either physically or emotionally, and at this moment, Dora was perfectly comfortable and content. Andromeda tied the ribbons into a neat bow, and then stepped back to make sure nothing was amiss.
Dora, too, studied her reflection and beamed before donning a pair of periwinkle casual robes, then gave her mum a strong hug.
"Thank you, Mummy," she murmured.
Andromeda knew that she didn't just mean for the help (which Dora didn't really need, as she'd mastered the art of self-lacing weeks ago), and hugged her back. When Dora finally let go, Andromeda wrapped an arm around her back.
"Shall we have some hot chocolate and biscuits? They're both hot and fresh."
Dora nodded, letting her head rest against her mother's shoulder for a moment before breaking apart as they headed downstairs.
Andromeda beamed, feeling warm all over and truly content. Her life could hardly be better than it was now.
Author's note:
I figured it was time for Andromeda to have a chapter. If you liked it and want more, let me know and I will take it into consideration!
Next up: coming home and getting ready for the last month of holidays.