Dora always felt ambivalent about returning to school after a holiday, but especially at the beginning of a new school term. As much as she wanted to see her friends again, she knew she would miss her parents.
It meant the final day or so of holidays was rather somber for everyone. Also, there were more hugs than usual.
Today was no different, although Dora was pleased to find that she had reached 17 and 7/8 inches. So was her mother.
"I can't believe how quickly you're progressing, sweetheart!" she marveled, after making sure that Dora could still breathe properly and wasn't overdoing it. "You're certain that you're comfortable?"
"Yes, Mum. Very comfortable," she answered, patiently, but with a grin.
She stole another glance in the mirror. She really was getting quite tiny!
"Do you think it's because I've been wearing your old ones and don't need to spend time breaking them in?" Dora wondered as she got dressed.
Her mother laughed, then shrugged. "Well, I don't know if it's causing you to progress faster than I did, but I expect it doesn't hurt." Andromeda bit on her lip, and her eyes narrowed in concentration. "You also started an inch smaller than I did, the same size as Bella. Although, she had larger hips than I did, and Mother had to lengthen her corsets and add more boning around there, because neither of them found it to be attractive. I'm sure it was quite painful for Bella, even though she never complained."
"You said that she liked pain, right?"
"More inflicting it on others, but yes, she could be quite masochistic," Andromeda answered, rolling her eyes a bit. "Anyway, let's not dwell on the unpleasant."
They did. Dora wanted to spend her last day entirely with her parents, so she and her mum gardened until it was too hot to stay outside, and then Andromeda helped Dora perfect the cleaning charms she'd been learning. Dora wasn't poor at Charms, exactly, but it took a lot more work for her to master them than Transfiguration or Potions.
After lunch, Dora and her father flew on their brooms for a couple of hours. Dora had been surprised, and pleased, to find that she wasn't really hindered by her corset. Not by everyday flying, at any rate. It might have been different if she'd been on the Quidditch team, learning maneuvers that would have landed any sane person in the hospital wing. (Which had seen plenty of students after the matches, especially when they played against Slytherin.) Dora imagined that if she were required to play, she'd want to be a Chaser, because that would not hinder the team as much with her natural clumsiness.
Corsets might make her move a bit more slowly and gracefully, but they did nothing about her arms and legs, and those were the chief source of her clumsiness.
Upon landing and returning inside (and receiving an extra fierce hug from her dad), they all settled in the sitting room for hot mugs and tea, and all of Dora's favorites besides. Her mum had promised to send an owl with freshly made ones on her first day of lessons.
Dora didn't cry easily, but she felt a lump in her throat and a slight struggle to breathe that had nothing do do with the garment holding her tightly.
Andromeda noticed, of course, and immediately crossed the space to give her a hug.
Dora let herself nestle into it, latching her hands onto her mum's robes the way she hadn't since before she'd first started school. Her mum just held her tighter until Dora dropped her grip.
"Sorry," she said, embarrassed.
But Andromeda just put an arm around her shoulders. "There's nothing to apologize for, honey."
"You should have seen me when it was time to return to school the first few terms," Ted put in, now wrapping his arms around her, pressing his head on top of hers. "As much as I loved Hogwarts, I always had a hard returning after holidays."
Dora gave him a glassy smile and thanked him.
After tea, they finished with her packing. Andromeda suggested that Dora try on her dress robes once more. As her waist was a shade under the eighteen her mum had specified, they weren't as fitted in the waist as they were meant to be.
"Don't worry. The house elves will fix them before your dance. I expect you'll be a bit smaller by then, too," Andromeda promised. "Even though they're a bit loose, you look lovely."
Dora gazed at herself in the mirror, not caring if it was silly. Really, she still couldn't believe how beautiful these dress robes made her look, how much more grown up. The extremely full skirts swished whenever she moved, another feature she was just starting to appreciate. The folds didn't make them billow out the way the muggle hoop skirts of the 1860's did, but there was just as much material contained in the skirt as one of those, if not more. And oh, how the color complemented her skin tone-she could see this-and her long black hair looked lovely against the color of the skirt. Then, there was the fact that her waist looked very small, smaller than Dora had realized from wearing regular robes all the time, especially when contrasted against the vast amount of material that was emphasized when she twirled. She felt a bit silly, even vain, but her mother just smiled proudly.
"I know you think that because I'm your mum and I have to say it, but I do believe you will be the prettiest girl there. Certainly among those with the smallest waists, and I include the older students. You look lovely, sweetheart, simply lovely," Andromedas told her, placing her hands on her shoulders before pulling Dora into another strong hug.
"Thank you, Mummy," Dora whispered.
After Dora let go, her mum smiled at her, then took a deep breath. "Let's go over the rest of your wardrobe once more."
Dora nodded. Like most girls raised in the wizarding world, she owned an assortment of robes that did not include the seven black ones of her school uniform. In total, her wardrobe contained two dozen, but half of those were for the colder months. While Dora's trunk might be large, bringing over thirty robes felt rather excessive. So, they settled on seven favorite robes for the warmer weather, and an additional seven for the colder weather. This would be sufficient for the entire year, although Dora expected to return for the Easter holidays as well as the Christmas ones.
"Now, your corsets," Andromeda determined, after they had placed the robes in her trunk. "I believe that your two sixteen inch overbusts, one eighteen overbust, and one eighteen underbust should be sufficient."
"I rather outgrew my twenty inch ones," Dora agreed, "even to sleep in."
Andromeda laughed. "You certainly have," she said, squeezing her daughter's arm affectionately. "Now, even though the laces are enchanted to make them very hard to break, I have experienced it on occasion, and Bella at least once a month. In any event, I would feel better if you have spare ones."
"All right, but I don't know how to put them in," Dora admitted.
"No time like the present," Andromeda laughed.
It wasn't so much mentally or physically complicated as it was intricate. There was only the one ribbon, after all, and several yards of it. Dora had to keep both ends even with each other as she moved each strand in and out of the eyelets. Then, there was the "loop" in the middle, around the waist.
Of course, Dora had been aware that her laces were at her waist, in a loop, but she'd never given much thought to why that was.
In the end, she managed to lace up her spare 16 inch overbust in under a half an hour, and hoped that the laces in all of her corsets would hold for the length of their use.
"Did your laces ever-break?" she asked, once they were packed on top of her new nightgowns and chemises.
"Twice, both times when my mother was attempting to lace me down to fourteen and three quarters. I couldn't breathe, not at all, and just as I was about to faint, the laces broke. It might have been accidental magic on my end, or perhaps they really were under too much strain. Merlin knows my poor lungs were!" Andromeda grimaced. "After the second time that day, Mother realized that she was going too quickly. She allowed me to remain at fifteen for a week. Then, she tried at fourteen and seven eighths. Well, the laces didn't break that time, but I still fainted! Later, I learned that Mother and Bella and even our house elf couldn't bring me around until Mother allowed me to be loosened to fifteen. I rather suspect she would have tried again, had I not escaped with your father shortly afterwards."
Dora threw her arms around her mum again, holding onto her with all her might.
She realized tears were streaming down her face when Andromeda began rocking her back and forth.
"It's all right, honey," she soothed. "I'm fine, now, and I would never put you through that."
"I know," Dora murmured into her mother's shoulders, but she held onto her for several more moments.
Everyone tried to be cheerful at dinner, and Andromeda had made all of Dora's favorite foods. She couldn't eat more than half, though, and it had nothing to do with being laced below eighteen inches. In fact, Dora noticed, neither of her parents cleared their plates.
Her father suggested they watch a popular TV show they all liked, as no one reacted to a game with much enthusiasm. Dora rested against her mother's side as her father rubbed her feet. She noted, rather sleepily, that it was a particularly lovely foot rub, no doubt because he knew she wouldn't be back for months. Upon realizing this, Dora swallowed hard, and her mother held her closer.
After the show ended, Dora remained with her parents for some time. They sat together, silently, and her father joined her mum in holding her close. She might have fallen asleep like that, but after two yawns in the space of a minute, Andromeda gently suggested she get changed for bed.
"You'll feel more comfortable waking up in your own bed, dearest," she murmured, still holding Dora close.
Dora nodded, and reluctantly rose. "I need to shower. Will you help me get ready for bed?" she asked.
"Of course."
"And you'll stay with me?" she added, with the briefest glance at her father.
Ted laughed. "I won't disrupt a mother daughter tradition." He rose, hugged her tightly, and pressed a kiss on the top of her head. "See you tomorrow, honey."
Dora could have unlaced herself, of course, but she was happy to let her mum do it for her. As always, she felt the familiar coolness as the warmth of the corset separated from her skin, a surprising wash of air into her previously (mildly) constricted lungs, and the combination of freedom accompanied by the loss at the secure hug. She removed her long chemise quickly, then eagerly entered the warmth of the bath water, submerging all but her face. Dora's long hair dangled around her, much more wild than while dry, and her mind went to the pictures of the mer creatures she'd seen in books. Far scarier looking than the mermaids from muggle fairytales.
Andromeda, of course, was waiting outside. Except during extenuating circumstances, her pure blood background made it taboo for a mother to see her teenage daughter without at least some clothing. Illness or injury aside, Andromeda was a firm believer in privacy. It was a belief that was likely prominent among most families, though.
Dora let herself relax in the hot water for several moments before going about the business of washing, rinsing, and then drying herself. When she returned to her bedroom, she wore one of her luxuriously soft new nightgowns, with clean (and combed) hair, and brushed teeth.
"Nineteen and a half?" Andromeda asked, after pulling Dora into a long hug.
Dora nodded, and remained still as her mum fastened the underbust corset around her. This being the last time for a few months, Dora was determined to savor every bit of it. Perhaps realizing this, her mum worked extra carefully, and Dora closed her eyes as the pressure around her waist and sides increased from hardly there to a secure hug. Another one from her mum, and the two got into bed, Dora happily nestling herself against her. Andromeda's arms tightened around Dora's frame, and she fell asleep feeling safe and loved.
Upon waking, there was a bit of time before they needed rise from bed upon waking up. Dora let herself relax in her mum's arms, enjoying the feel of her arms around her, and lay cuddled next to her.
"Shall I stroke your hair?" Andromeda asked, after a moment.
"No, I'll just fall back asleep," Dora answered.
Andromeda laughed. "Do you ever sleep on the train?"
"I have napped a bit," Dora admitted. "It's a long ride, and we can only chat for so long. Polly and Becky and I usually drift off a bit after we enjoy some of the train treats."
"You'll want to be careful with that. The treats, that is, not sleeping afterwards," she cautioned. "You'll feel full more easily than before, and there's the feast to think of."
"I reckoned I would save more than usual, and only eat a piece or two of chocolate," Dora suggested. "And...maybe only lace to eighteen and a half?"
"Nineteen would be my suggestion. Even twenty," Andromeda offered. "I know that twenty is even looser than how you sleep, but the feast only comes around a couple of times a year, and you don't want to be laced too tightly to properly enjoy it."
Dora frowned. "Twenty feels too loose. Almost uncomfortable. My normal waist is already below twenty-two inches," Dora pointed out. "But nineteen and a half sounds all right."
Andromeda laughed and kissed her on the head. "Nineteen and a half, then."
Even though Dora had mastered self-lacing almost six weeks ago, and perhaps because of this, Andromeda laced her up that morning. Dora kept her eyes closed, savoring it, knowing it would be months before her mum laced her into her corsets again. There was something about home her mum did it that made it even more relaxing and reassuring than when Dora did it. Perhaps, the way someone brushing your hair felt better than doing it yourself.
Dora didn't put on her school uniform, as there would be plenty of time for that on the train. Instead, she selected a pair of blue robes, over her new, long chemise. The feel of the soft material against her entire body (well, minus her arms) still felt lovely. Andromeda watched, ready to provide any needed aid, and then walked with Dora downstairs for breakfast.
She didn't eat as much as usual, planning to save room for the treats on the train, and the feast. Still, she did eat two pieces of buttered toast and a full egg. Perhaps she was eating more slowly, because she ended up finishing this food at about the same time as her parents.
"Well," Andromeda said, almost briskly, "I suppose we ought to do one last look around, but then see you off."
"All right," Dora answered, a bit shakily.
A final search of her room revealed nothing else that she wished to bring with her. Not that this surprised Dora in the least. The two of them had been very thorough with her packing, and her mum had charmed her trunk so that it was feather light. A particularly impressive feat, as her trunk already had an Extendable charm and could easily support dozens of books, robes, and undergarments.
Dora left the old sports bra in her bottom drawer, noticing with relish that it was beginning to become dusty.
"Good riddance!" she muttered under her breath. "My corsets are ten times more comfortable than you will ever be!"
The bra made no response.
Feeling more cheerful, Dora easily lifted her trunk and brought it downstairs.
"I have everything I need," she told her parents.
"Not quite," said her dad, with a grin. He opened the trunk with his wand, and removed his Silver Arrow from behind his back. "I reckon it will get more use with you, honey."
Dora just stared at him for a minute, open-mouthed, sure that she didn't look the least bit ladylike.
"Are-are you certain, Dad?"
"Very. Especially since you have insisted you don't need a pet," he put in.
It was true. She had never seen the point. The owlery had plenty of spare school owls, she didn't much like cats, and toads...well, you ought to bring nothing before a toad. Of course, the list of acceptable pets for older students was more flexible, but Dora had never felt a need for an animal. Not after her mouse died.
Still, a broom like a Silver Arrow is as practically an antique. It might not fly as fast as the Nimbus 1500 or Cleansweep five, but it was sturdy, secure, and a beauty. Her father had purchased his when he turned seventeen, having saved up pocket money for years, and Dora knew that he saw it the way muggles might view old cars.
"I promise, Dad, I will be extremely careful,"
He wrapped his arms around her. "Just don't let it get smashed by a Bludger!"
That would be easy enough, as Dora had no plans to go out for Quidditch. Hufflepuff hadn't won the Cup in over fifty years, and with Charlie Weasley as the Seeker for Gryffindor, they wouldn't for at least another five.
"I promise-no bludgers," she murmured into his robes.
He chuckled, still holding onto Dora until she let go.
Then, it was her mum's turn for a hug. There would be more at King's Cross, but the really strong hugs would be at home. Andromeda wrapped Dora into a hug that she was sure rivaled the pressure of her corset, and held on for a good, long while.
"Remember what I told you yesterday," she whispered. "I love you no matter your marks or your waist size."
Dora squeezed back even tighter, letting go (eventually) with some difficulty. There would be homesickness throughout the day, and perhaps some of her friends would judge her (and Polly, and Becky...), but she had to get it all over with.
Besides, as her mum said, they'd already known her for two years.
They Apparated with Dora to the station, easily passed through the barrier, and said goodbye (and gave final hugs) after leaving Dora with Becky and a few other girls from her year. Dora quickly brushed a tear away from her cheeks as they boarded the train.
Author's note:
To my knowledge, the Silver Arrow is only referenced once in the Harry Potter books, and likely came before the Nimbus and even the Cleansweeps. Perhaps it's not realistic that Ted (instead of Andromeda) would have owned one, but I rather see him as more inclined to enjoy older brooms. A bit like how some people buy antique cars to restore and drive.
I wanted to show in this chapter that Andromeda had reached her bodily limit at fifteen inches, and likely the surmounting pressure from her mother to go smaller (her own mother was thirteen inches before marriage, and Bellatrix had managed a fourteen inch waist) was probably a key factor in Andromeda's escape.
As always, thanks goes to those who have left feedback!
Next up: A train ride to Hogwarts, the feast, and perhaps a new friend.