Rubeus’ dad was sitting in the kitchen at the breakfast table counting out some funny looking money, muggle money. He then scooped the coins into his wallet and shoved most them in his pocket.Rubeus approached the table and stared curiously at the coins left at the time, he picked a hand full of them up on one side was a head that Rubeus recognised immediately as the muggle King.
"You can keep these, they’re four pennies” His dad said pressing the coins into his hand, Rubeus smiled with delight as he tried to imagine all the things he could buy in the muggle world with it.
“it’s just under two sickles, four pennies” his father laughed as his sons face fell down again “but there are certain shops where you can buy lots o’ muggle sweets wi’ this, however there is rashing so it might be hard” he added.
“Rashing?”
“yeah summat like tha’, there isn’t enough food so they rashion it out, I think its rashing, or perhaps rationing….oh well who knows, but we’ll find some muggle sweets somewhere”
Muggle sweets were not Rubeus’ favourite, he preferred the ones which made you roar like a lion or smoke in the mouth and some could even make your tongue grow almost a two metres. Muggle sweets did none of this, plus as the muggle war was still on it was unlikely that any of these types of shops would be open, despite his father’s optimism, so he just placed the coins safely in his pocket.
Just as Rubeus and his father were about to step out the door, his father apparated upstairs and back down again holding two cardboard boxes on strings. He placed one over Rubeus’ head and himself.
“Got ‘em free with The Daily Prophet, ‘pparently all muggles have to wear ‘em now” Rubeus’ father said answering Rubeus’ puzzled face.
The two of them set off from the house walking down a long winding path until they reached a road where they waited at a bus stop.
“I don’t understan’ dad, how the muggle buses know when t’ stop for people?”
“I’m not sure son, perhaps wizards work under cover t’ make ‘em work” and as he answered a bus pulled round the corner and stopped where the two stood. His father nodded knowingly to Rubeus and the climbed on to the bus and sat down
“One adult ‘n’ one child please to London” he said to the conductor.
“station” the driver grumbled,
“pardon?”
“ to station, from there you go to London, seven pennies all together please”
He opened his wallet and tipped a handful coins onto his palm desperately trying to find the right coins. The conductor became impatient and picked seven small coins from his hand and nodded to which he replied with a thankful smile and a nod.
"not from round ‘ere eh?”he said very carefully and slowly.
“um , no”
"Then where?” The conductor replied threateningly
“Wales, sir”
"ahh, Wales I thought I recognised your accent”he said relaxing once more.
“Wales?”Rubeus sniggered
“firs’ place I thought o’”his father answered smiling
“then he recognised our accents? We sound the same as ‘im”
“I know” his father laughed.
Rubeus and his father laughed and joked the whole way to the station, often putting on their best welsh accents which resulted in fits of giggles which they tried to hide through coughing, until one kind gentleman behind them offered them each a cough sweet as to which they had to accept graciously and spent the rest of the journey sucking the sweets listening to the man talk about how his granddaughter had fallen ill, and these sweets were the only things that provided some comfort to her poor throat.
Finally, they arrived at the station; they left the bus and wandered into the station. The station was full, hardly room to breathe. There were many children all sat on small leather suitcases with the same cardboard boxes hung round their necks, their faces were solemn. Across from them was many adults all focusing on these children, pointing them out to a lady with a clipboard. Slowly the number of adults and children declined as they grouped together and were led out of the station.
“Come on Rubeus” a voice whispered which turned out to be his father as he spun round.
The man and boy followed a sign to the ticket office in which they purchased tickets to London after much confusion over money issues.
They walked through the barriers triumphantly waving their tickets like flags as if they had just found cure for a werewolf. They stood side by side at the train station; Rubeus was fascinated by all the muggles and was very scared when a girl walked into a tall red box and started chatting to a long black object held to her ear, he thought she was mad.
"it’s a fellytone, I think muggles use them to communicate” Rubeus’ dad explained uncertainly
“Why don’t they use owls, even a muggle could send an on owl, there’s no magic involved in that?”
“They have letter men for sending post”
“Do they fly?” Rubeus asked now bouncing on the balls of his feet, imaging little dwarves with wings holding letters in their mouth
“Of course not “he chuckled in response “they put them in boxes and men deliver them from house to house, it must take weeks though, so that’s why they use felly tones. It’s a bit like communication through flu powder only the muggles can’t see each other only hear each other”
Rubeus nodded to show he understood but he didn’t really. Fellytones? Rubeus then at that moment decided that in his third year at Hogwarts he was absolutely not taking Muggle studies; a subject he would fail for definite.
Just as Rubeus was thinking about the subjects he would like to study in his third year, his first and second year subjects being compulsory, the train approached the station to which it gave it gave a huge puff of white smoke as if exhausted from its journey.
Rubeus and his father climbed aboard and found a compartment on the second carriage, once inside the wizard pulled out his wand after checking nobody was watching and pointed to the door and uttered “protego maxima” under his breath. A sort of invisible mist wavered making the window on the compartment look like water but it disappeared after a second and he sat down replacing his wand inside his jacket.Rubeus stared at the door in awe, just waiting until he could get his wand and use magic.
“No one will interrupt us now” he said smiling to which Rubeus smiled and replied “I can’t wait ‘till I can use magic” more to himself rather than his father.
For the majority of the journey Rubeus and his father slept, after arising at no later than six in the morning to make sure they would arrive in London with a full day ahead. As the train puffed into the station the two awoke drowsily as Rubeus’ father took his wand out of his pocket to reverse the protegus charm.
The train reached a stop at the platform and the two men climbed off, Rubeus was amazed by London’s station but no sooner had he began admiring the station his father grabbed his hand and lead, rather pulled Rubeus through the crowds of people, through the ticket barriers and out into London.
