Basilisk Eyes

Chapter 31: Underground

Harry was really glad to have Hermione's arm to hold onto as they made their way through a crush of people exiting the train at Waterloo station. He realized that Hermione must be holding on to her dad, too, by the way she was walking. He held his staff in front of him and followed a step behind Hermione, but still, he felt buffeted by the waves of people that were moving by them.

I would have been so lost in this sea of people if I had come by myself.

He held on tight to Hermione's arm, afraid to lose her.

Dr. Granger was telling them which way they were headed, but Harry couldn't really make sense of it. His staff wasn't describing the scene, either, and that was okay because it would have been too much. He was feeling like it was too much just listening to it, feeling it, and smelling it. He was amazed at all the aromas and odors that were assaulting his nostrils—from sweat to perfumes to colognes to pastry to exhaust to sewer to wet dog—there was a lot to smell in the underground.

There was also haunting music. A busker was playing a violin and it sounded otherworldly echoing through the underground chambers mixed in with all the voices and the sounds of the trains as metal wheels ground against metal rails.

The pastry aroma reminded Harry of how hungry and thirsty he was.

I should have had some of my water while I was on the train. I'll have to wait until we're at 56 Charing Cross Road, though maybe once we're on the underground I can have some.

"Harry, we're about to get on an escalator," Hermione warned as she stepped up and he felt the ground moving under his feet.

"Thanks, Hermione! You know, you're pretty good at this, " he said as he found his footing on the moving steps. He imagined that Ron would not be nearly as good at warning him.

Of course, Ron would never know what to do on an escalator anyway.

Harry smiled to himself imagining Ron navigating the tube. Hermione squeezed his hand in response.

She warned him as they neared the top, though the way the escalator started to level out was also helpful. He bumped into Hermione stepping off—her momentum stopped while his was still moving forward.

Now they were moving through an echoey space that reminded Harry of a mall. There were other smells and sounds here... more food... bacon and coffee and something spicy like curry. Music was issuing from different areas like it was being piped into a bunch of small shops. People were moving differently, too. They were moving against each other more than as a tide in concert with each other. Harry was catching snatches of conversations and picked up on a multitude of languages being spoken.

Dr. Granger slowed and said something that Harry couldn't make out and suddenly, they turned and were headed down a corridor, leaving the reverberating space behind them.

Hermione warned Harry that they were getting on another escalator, this time down and he stumbled behind her, lurching as the ground moved under his feet again. It was very discombobulating and he was looking forward to returning to the surface of the earth and not having to deal with the press of humanity all around him. Again, he was very thankful that he hadn't had to try to navigate this on his own. He'd probably still be stuck in the Waterloo station with no clue for how to get out.

If I had ever figured out how to get on the train in the first place.

There were even more people waiting for the underground. Harry pressed himself against Hermione. He had never been in a crowd like this before.

It's rush hour on Monday in London, in the heart of London.

Breathe. Just breathe.

"It's okay, Harry. I've got you," Hermione said in his ear. He realized that he was holding her with both hands, his staff pressed against her arm, trapped by his hand.

"Sorry. There's a lot of people here. It's hard... " he said trying to steady his breath and letting go with one hand.

Dr. Granger had a hold of his shoulder, too, he realized.

"We've got you, Harry. Don't worry," Dr. Granger reassured him, "Okay—here's our line. We won't lose you, Harry. Keep holding on to Hermione. We've just got three stops and then we're there, the Leicester Square Station, okay? It's packed, so we'll just stand together."

"Okay, thank you," Harry didn't know when he'd been more thankful.

They shuffled forward with the surging crowd onto the tube. Harry clung to Hermione, who was holding onto her father, who seemed to be holding onto something more stationary. They swayed with the train as it sped through the tunnels and three stops later they were disembarking. Harry felt like he was coming up for air. They moved with the crowd up to the surface of the street and then he felt like he could actually breathe. And the aromas up here were so different than Little Whinging... spices, baking bread, and fetid sewer smells all mixed in with a heavy diesel overtone as well as dust.

Dr. Granger kept walking. He seemed to know where he was going and Harry was happy to just follow. Hermione seemed to feel the same way.

"Okay, I think this is it... 56 Charing Cross Road, right Harry?" Dr. Granger asked.

"Yes, that's right," agreed Harry.

"Hmm. It looks like a bookstore," Dr. Granger seemed perplexed.

"I imagine it is like Diagon Alley and St. Mungo's, Dr. Granger. It looks like a regular muggle establishment but has a magical entrance. Of course, I have no idea how to find the entrance. I don't think it is on the paper they gave me and I don't remember anyone mentioning it. Though... I wasn't in the best frame of mind when they were giving me this information."

There was a long silence as the three of them stood in front of the bookstore while passersby walked around them.

"Oh!... " And for a second Harry thought Hermione was going to run off to the library, but then she said, "Harry, why don't you try to find the entrance with your staff?"

"Oh, that's a good idea," Harry said.

As he stepped forward he muttered, "Navigant 56 Charing Cross Road," and swung his staff in an arc and stepped forward.

His aftí spoke in his ear, "You have reached the entrance of the Perenelle Flamel Adaptation Center, do you wish to enter?"

"I think I found it, Hermione, Dr. Granger!" Harry called to them. They stepped up beside him and Hermione put her hand on Harry's arm. He hoped Dr. Granger was holding onto Hermione.

He said, "Yes, we wish to enter," and stepped forward.