So... I went to England... I rode the underground... yeah.
Audrey's a muggle. I own nothing else. Please don't hurt me.
The Underground
"...Scars can come in handy. I have one above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground..." Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Audrey Ianelli was trying not to stare at the old man sitting at the end of the subway car. It was bad enough that he was ancient and more wrinkled than dried apricots, but he was also wearing a dress, and not only was he wearing a dress, but he was lifting the skirt, pulling it above one knobby knee, and not only was he lifting the skirt, but he was peering at his shrunken, hairless leg, stretching it in front of him and fingering something just above his knee, squinting through half-moon glasses perched on his long, crooked nose..
She was trying not to stare, but it was so hard, really. She had never seen anyone like him before, with such long silver hair, flowing from his head and his chin. He seemed completely unaware of how out of place he was on this train, and how all the other riders were giving him a wide berth. There was even an empty seat next to him, unheard of on the London Underground.
He looked up after a moment and met her eyes. He really did have extraordinary eyes, Audrey realized. Light blue with a bit of a twinkle to them, like she had always imagined Santa Claus' eyes to be. Not that she still believed in him, but if he were real, he'd have this old man's eyes.
"Excuse me, Miss," he said, his voice sounding younger than his face revealed. "Do you know what stop I'd get off at for Goldsmiths College? I'm afraid those new lines aren't on my map."
"Your... map?"
Audrey looked at his knee, where he had gestured to. He rotated his
leg so she could see a scar above the joint, an almost perfect map of
the London Underground. "Oh... um... New Cross Gate, on the East
London line is probably the closest."
"Thank you, Miss,"
he said, giving her a wink and rising to his feet as they pulled into
Canada Water, the exchange point.
Audrey watched as he left
the train, feeling oddly like she had been in the presence of
greatness.