Chapter 42: 3

Maria and Hermione Do Girl Things [The Underwear Chapter]

Hermione was absolutely furious.

True, she had never actually seen Maria change clothes. Once Maria changed into her pajamas, she rarely stayed up late, and she always favored wearing sweater-vests and standard school jumpers. Her youthful, still-budding curves were easily hidden by those garments alone.

—But still, that was no excuse.

"To think you aren't wearing a bra—!"

Sure enough, having caught the brunt of her tirade, Maria was sitting meekly on the floor in a traditional, apologetic Japanese seiza.

"No sanitary products, no bra. It's unprecedented!"

"Unprecedented, is it?" Maria echoed meekly.

"It's an absolute catastrophe!"

The meaning was exactly the same, but somehow the severity of the situation had just escalated.

"Anyway, it is abundantly clear to me now that your home environment was far worse than I ever imagined. Not even providing a girl your age with proper undergarments... You don't even own one, do you?"

"I do not."

"...I'll give you one of mine. It's brand new, of course. Let's see... I suppose warm colors would suit you best, Maria."

When Hermione pulled a brand-new, unopened pale orange bra from her school trunk, Maria went into a sheer panic.

"W-wait, I can't accept that!"

"You will accept it. It's not free, of course; I'll be charging you for it. I'm simply providing it on your behalf since you have no opportunity to get one yourself. ...That makes it easier to accept, doesn't it?"

Having the adorable, frilly fabric shoved into her hands with a terrifyingly bright "Go on!" from Hermione, Maria just blinked her eyes, which sparkled like jewels in the light.

"That's... really helpful, but. What do you mean, 'go on'?"

"You don't even know how to put it on, do you? Take off your clothes."

"......"

"Hurry up and take your top off."

Taken completely out of context, it was undeniably a conversation that would breed misunderstandings. Breaking into a cold sweat, Maria was profoundly grateful that none of the other girls in their dormitory were present.

"I-I at least know how to put it on! Um, you hook it behind your back, right...?"

"That's easy to say, but quite difficult in practice. Go on, give it a try."

"A practical demonstration!?"

"I won't be satisfied until I see you do it properly. You'd better etch it into your brain that when it comes to things like this, my trust in you is at absolute zero."

Flinching under Hermione's stern gaze, Maria still couldn't bring herself to move. Maria wasn't a normal girl. Exposing her bare skin in front of another female... if anything, it made her feel like some sort of indecent exhibitionist.

"If you're embarrassed, I'll take mine off too. It's easier to understand with a visual demonstration, isn't it?"

"That makes it even worse!?"

"How so?"

Hermione could only tilt her head in confusion at a wide-eyed Maria. Unlike Maria, Hermione was a perfectly ordinary girl, so she couldn't comprehend why there was any need for such intense embarrassment between two females.

"Okay, I'll take it off! I'm taking it off—just please keep yours on!"

She suddenly felt incredibly guilty towards her parents and Ron.

Looking as though she might literally die of embarrassment at any second, Maria stared intently at the floorboards as she pulled off her school jumper and shirt.

"...You hide your figure quite well, don't you?"

"Please don't stare..."

Seeing Maria cross her arms defensively over her chest, blushing fiercely all the way to the tips of her ears, Hermione suddenly felt as though she were committing a terrible crime. What is this atmosphere? she thought. It feels like I'm bullying a helpless innocent creature.

"...Ahem. Right, well, put it on, then. The size might actually be a bit too small for you."

"Y-yeah... hmmm?"

Maria's first-ever attempt at putting on a bra was proving far more difficult than anticipated. —She couldn't locate the hooks at all. Whenever she tried to fasten them, the fabric just got in the way.

"See? It's difficult, isn't it?"

"You're right... Witches and Muggle women alike fasten this every single day? That's amazing."

"Don't speak as if it doesn't concern you. From today on, you'll be doing it too."

"Y-Yes ma'am."

Hermione’s brown eyes flashed dangerously, prompting an automatic, reflexive nod from Maria. The instinct that One Does Not Simply Defy Hermione Granger was etched directly into her soul.

"For beginners, I recommend fastening it in the front and then spinning it around to your back."

"Fasten it in the front...? —W-Waaaah!! What are you doing!?"

The bra was snatched away from her, and Maria instinctively hugged herself. Hermione looked utterly exasperated at her reaction.

"You're reacting as if I'm some sort of pervert! Come on, stand up straight!"

"Y-Yes."

Desperately suppressing her embarrassment, she straightened her back. Hermione efficiently helped her into the garment. Fastening the hooks under her bust, she gave it a spin. Finally, slipping her arms through the straps, the process was complete.

"I see..."

"Hmm, as I thought, my size is a little bit too small for you. How vexing."

Hermione examined Maria from top to bottom—and then plunged them in. Her hands. Right between the bra and Maria's chest.

"H-hyawaa?!"

Hermione firmly held down Maria, who was letting out an undignified shriek and trying to escape. By now, Maria was redder than a Howler.

"Hey, stop thrashing around."

"Wha— wha— wha—"

"This is a very important step! Honestly. Women’s undergarments aren't purely for protection, you know. They are meant to properly support and shape you. You have to scoop everything up from underneath like this so it settles properly... Are you even listening to me?"

"Y-yhes."

Maria's embarrassment had officially reached its breaking point.

She wanted to drop to her knees and apologize to Ron right then and there. What am I letting another man's (future) wife do to me?

"Yes, I was right. Orange definitely suits you. You are to wear this all day today. You simply must get used to the feeling. Now, I’m going to go track down an Owl Order catalogue."

"Y-es... Th-ank you very m-uch..."

Collapsing limply onto her four-poster bed, still wearing nothing but a bra on her upper half, Maria thought from the very bottom of her heart:

Being a girl is hard work.