The Underground Route

Harry once again cursed his luck, turning around to see if Dudley had been awakened by the noise. It has been a clap of thunder, something that for some reason occurred every few weeks at Privet Drive; it was made particularly strange due to the fact that it was currently summer.

Aunt Petunia had informed him, with the usual snobbish air, that it was merely the weather releasing its frustration that there was a freak in their lovely town. He responded by asking his dear aunt whether she thought he might be able to get the lightning to smite her using his freakish powers. As far as he knew, that wasn't possible, but there was no need to tell her that. He hadn't received food for half a week after that comment.

It wasn't the only strange occurrence that had occurred in Privet Drive, and that was likely the reason his Aunt Petunia had believed him. Over the last few years, there has been rain, thunder, lightning, snow, and much more at the most unexpected of times. Even disregarding the weather, there had been other strange occurrences at Number 4, Privet Drive, but Harry knew that to be his magic occasionally acting up in fits of accidental magic.

Thankfully, Harry's whale of a cousin still lay asleep in his bed, undisturbed by the thunder. Considering the loudness of his snoring, Harry wasn't entirely surprised. Pocketing the money, Harry quickly made his way back to his room. From there, he took his Invisibility Cloak and wand, both of which would be useful when arrived in Diagon Alley.

He had already let Hedwig out last night, telling her to fly off to the Burrow where he would see her tomorrow. It had taken half an hour of convincing before he had gotten her to go, although she hadn't left without nibbling his ears affectionately.

During the summer, Harry had been allowed to keep Hedwig in his room without a cage. It was mainly because Harry had pointed out that the neighbors might get suspicious if his owl suddenly started hooting non-stop (as Hedwig frequently hooted in annoyance at being forced into a cage). It had been a great summer of bonding between the two of them, as Hedwig had barely left his side during the summer, with the obvious exception being when she had to send letters.

His plan on arriving at the Leaky Cauldron was rather simple. He knew the street that the pub was located, having accidentally memorized it due to staying there for weeks last summer. It had been on a busy muggle street called Charing Cross Road, although the part that the Leaky Cauldron was in was covered from top to bottom with Muggle Repelling Wards, as well as Notice-Me-Not charms that had been adapted to only affect muggles. Harry had learnt this from Tom, the barman of the Leaky Cauldron, and was planning on using the information today.

He couldn't take the Knight Bus, as Stan Shunpike had a hard time keeping his mouth shut. There was no adult that Harry knew that would allow him to go (except for Sirius, who was quite likely on the other side of the earth at the moment), so that was out of question as well.

Therefore, Harry had decided that he would use the London Underground Subway as means of transportation. It might not be as fast as the Knight Bus, but it was nothing to scoff at, especially considering it was made without the use of magic.

Harry made his way out of the house with one of his school bags, which contained his cloak, robes, and some food he had pilfered from the Dursley's refrigerator. In his right hand he held his wand, which was concealed by his sleeve. In his pocket, he had the six hundred pounds he had stolen from Dudley.

Truthfully he had no clue what the rate for the subway was, having only ever been on it once before. That had been with Hagrid, who had shoved more than a hundred pounds into the coin slot in an attempt to get the two of them through the bars and onto the subway. He hadn't bothered to take the bills that remained in the coin slot, telling him that it had only been a few galleons.

Harry really hoped he wouldn't be seen by any of the muggles nearby; they still thought he was a delinquent, thanks to the Dursleys.

After twenty minutes of walking in the direction of the station, Harry had arrived. As it turned out, it only cost five pounds to ride the subway. This was more of a gain than a loss, considering that it meant Harry had a lot more money.

The ride to Charing Cross was a long yet entertaining one. Many of the muggles Harry saw were among the strangest he had ever met (though Harry personally believed most of the wizards he had met to be much more peculiar). In the center of the train he was on, two muggle men were having a sort of fist fight over an attractive blonde woman, which was entertaining to say the least. Particularly when the woman slipped out at one of the stations without either of the men noticing.

An hour and a half later, Harry stepped out of the subway and went up to the surface street. According to the directory he had seen when he had exited the subway, Charing Cross Road was only two blocks away from where he was now. Sure enough, he spotted the dusty wooden sign of the Leaky Cauldron just ten minutes later, sticking out amongst the colourful and bright muggle signs.

Harry stood directly in front of the pub door and turned around, looking at the people nearest him on the street. He noticed that the people who were looking at the shops all did the same thing. When they scanned the stores, their eyes seemed to almost skip the Leaky Cauldron, including Harry. Grinning to himself, Harry placed his bag on the floor and pulled out his Invisibility Cloak, before covering himself with it. Now unseen, Harry opened the pub door and walked inside.

It took Harry a moment to remember that doors typically didn't open themselves, causing his skin to pale slightly under his cloak. Thankfully, most of the wizarding world consisted of stranger things, and so his slip up went unnoticed. Harry quickly made his way to the other side of the pub, slipping through the door after a large group of teen witches and wizards a year or two older than himself. They had swung the door open to enter Diagon Alley, laughing at something one of them had said.

Harry grimaced when he saw their faces recognized them. They were a group of Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, all of whom had made fun of him during his second year during the Chamber of Secrets debacle. He didn't like them very much, they were part of the reason he had constantly had to replace his belongings during that year. How they had managed to enter the Gryffindor common room, Harry didn't know. He was fairly certain, however, they hadn't used Polyjuice Potion.

As the group parted the brick entrance to Diagon Alley, Harry sent a whispered wide area stinging charm at them. Thanks to finally reading 'Hogwarts: A History', he had finally learned how to use his wand without getting in trouble with the Ministry of Magic.

According to the book, each wand sold in Diagon Alley had a trace issued upon it, which lasted until it's master's 17th birthday. All the trace did was tell the ministry where the underage magic was used, not by who. As long as Harry was not near Privet Drive, he would be fine.

Harry had also learnt that house elves were commonly sent in the 1800s to use magic in muggle born households, as they were capable of triggering the trace of a wand by using magic nearby. Harry was more than slightly agitated to read that it had become considered 'a common game played by pureblood witches and wizards during the summer months', as stated in the book.

Fortunately, that had been dealt with decades ago, and the punishment for doing such a thing was now quite severe. The only reasons he hadn't tried to sue the Malfoys upon hearing that was because Dobby had triggered the trace without being told to by the Malfoys, and because Harry was rather fond of the elf.