Blitz

Chapter 2

A/n: Many thanks to the fabulous infallible angel for her alpha/beta skills. I decided to update my posting schedule to twice a week! So it'll be completely posted by October 1st! Yay!

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blitz - to charge directly

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September 1938

Wool's Orphanage

Central London, England

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Mrs Cole informed Tom and Hermione that the orphanage had no money to spend on getting a taxicab to King's Cross on the first of September. There was a London Underground station half a mile from the orphanage, the Kennington station. It was only seven pence a ride, but even that was more money than either of them had. And truly, they would need twenty-eight pence total to get them both to King's Cross in September and home from it in June. The wizarding world had an entirely different monetary system and Tom felt quite sure that there wouldn't be an opportunity to work for money at all during the school year.

So the moment that Mrs Cole had mentioned they couldn't pay for a taxicab to King's Cross, Tom decided that he and Hermione would have to pay for the Underground ticket themselves. Tom searched the neighborhood surrounding the orphanage high and low for cans and bottles to recycle. That was enough to get them the fare, but Tom decided that just having twenty-eight pence wasn't enough. In fact, he hated relying on the charity of the school. There were so many things he'd seen in Diagon Alley that he would love to buy but weren't on the approved list for the school. He started helping at the grocers on the corner, sweeping the sidewalks and bagging groceries, even helping neighbors carry groceries home. It wasn't much but by the time they were ready to leave for Hogwarts, Tom had a little over two pounds saved. He buried most of the money at the bottom of his trunk and only kept what he and Hermione would need for the train to King's Cross.

Half a mile wasn't far, but lugging two heavy trunks behind them made for slow going. Worse, it was hot. Mrs Cole had made them wear their Sunday best and Tom was sweating through his shirt and his coat as he pulled his trunk behind him.

"Can we rest?" Hermione asked after they had passed the halfway mark. Tom wanted to snap at her, but he held his tongue.

"We can rest on the train, it's only a few stops to King's Cross, but it'll be long enough," Tom grunted as he pulled his trunk up a curb.

Hermione nodded and didn't say another word as they made their way down the street. It was mostly residential and they attracted a few looks, but Tom's scowl was enough to keep any busybodies at bay. Finally, they made it to the Underground station. Tom had been half a dozen times already, looking at the map and figuring out the best way to get to King's Cross. Not having ever been on the train, Tom was still a little nervous that something might go wrong, but by now he had the entire map of the Underground memorized. While Hermione waited with their trunks, Tom purchased their tickets from the ticket seller and they descended in the lift to the level where the trains were. Tom had never even been in a lift before, it was all a new experience to him.

"Here we are," Hermione said as the lift stopped and they both piled out, lugging their trunks behind them. "I'll be happy when we finally get on the train to Hogwarts," Hermione said grunting as she pushed her trunk toward the platform. "How soon does the train come?"

"They run every seven minutes," Tom said. "Then it's a twenty-minute ride to King's Cross. When we get to King's Cross, we'll have to switch trains. Levels too probably."