Cultural adjustment

[nineveh_uk]

I was inspired - if that's the word for it - by yet another thread in FAP Britpicking about underwear in the UK to ponder what the Hogwarts girls are really wearing. Popular as the theme may be in fanfic, I doubt very much that if Ginny took Hermione underwear shopping it would involve lacy bustiers. So here follows very short fic.


John Granger, drawn by the near-hysterical sounds of whooping from the hall, found his wife holding a piece of paper in one hand and holding desperately onto the chair with the other. On a second glance, it wasn’t paper, but parchment. After a moment, Pat found a handkerchief, wiped her streaming eyes, and offered him the page, adding in a shaky voice,

“It’s Hermione’s uniform list for Hogwarts.” John took it, and stared. Not at Robes, black, three pairs, nor Pointed hat, black, nor even Travelling cloak, black with school crest (obtainable Madam Malkins and Twylfitt and Twingings). He stared at the list of underwear. No longer, as he imagined himself in wool vest, white and long johns or stockings and garters at the age of thirteen, did John Granger feel the slightest twinge of envy at his daughter's abilities. He read on down the list.

Underwear (witches)

Years 1 and 2

Robe shields (charmed to stick), 10 pairs
Liberty bodice, white (7)
Woollen stockings, black (15 pairs )
Under-robe, black (optional)

Years 3 - 7

Robe shields (charmed to stick), 10 pairs
Liberty bodice, white OR bra, camisole and garters/shoulder suspenders, white (7 sets)
Woollen stockings, black (15 pairs)
Under-robe, black (optional)

"Oh dear. And none of it available from Marks and Spencers."

Pat Granger smiled.

"Hermione seemed to think it would be quite fun. I don't think she's realized yet that there's no mention of knickers."

*

Twenty-five years earlier

In one of the Slytherin boys' bathrooms at six o'clock in the morning, Severus Snape was scrubbing a pair of underpants in the sink. Ashamed as he was to admit it, his Muggle father's influence was strong, so that after nearly five years at Hogwarts he still surreptitiously washed a pair of white cotton pants every morning. He brought a new pair with him every term, and scrubbed every morning they just about lasted, greying and threadbare, to the next holidays. Keeping a spare pair in the dormitory was unthinkable - Hogwarts students had a decided tendency to be free with one another's possessions, and the thought of his classmates discovering his secret was too much to be borne. If they ever guessed that he wore underpants, Snape knew, it would be the end of his acceptance as a real wizard. He could imagine nothing worse.

***

ETA: Given the amusement, I shall confess that this is not in fact my sole magical underwear fic (perhaps I ought to be ashamed of that). The first can be found here in Fiction Alley Park.

Any more takers for the first lines meme before the answers are revealed?

Comments

[tudorpot.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed this clever answer to the grey underpants question. I love the idea of no nickers. I expect that witches have better approaches to menstrual issues, perhaps sea sponges. Long ago memories of belts and pads make me cringe. The whole issue of wizarding clothes is facinating. My reading of the robes question is that no trousers or skirts/shirts/jumpers are worn underneath.

[nineveh-uk.livejournal.com]

Whatever its faults, the wizarding world seems to have a pretty practical approach to bodies – no doubt they have a simple and effective solution, and an excellent pain-killing potion.

Yes. I understand why the film might have taken a different route, but in canon it seems pretty plain that formal robes are the main garments, and that though something may be worn underneath for warmth, and/or hygiene, it ain’t jeans, a blouse, or a pretty skirt.