Chapter 2: The Mysteries of Muggle Life

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! It made me write faster, knowing that you were waiting to see what would happen. Ron gets into loads of trouble in this chapter ---I couldn't resist! ; )

Ron Weasley was standing in the middle of a muggle street. He had walked down to the corner to check the street sign and had assured himself of the fact that this was Cherry Lane, the street upon which Hermione lived.

He had now returned to his previous position and was just about to think about what to do next when he was interrupted, quite unpleasantly, actually.

A car had, all this time, been speeding down the street and now stopped at a screeching halt a few centimeters from Ron's legs.

"Oy! What do you think you're doing! Get out of the road!" the driver, a large, grungy looking man, with facial hair and several tattoos screamed out of the window.

Despitehis limited experience with muggles, Ron was amazingly able to discern that this was one muggle he did not want to make mad. He stepped out of the way, and smiled embarrassedly at the angry muggle driver, "Right, well-er-sorry, then."

The man gave him a look of deep disgust mixed with a look that seemed to clearly call Ron's sanity into question and then speed off once more.

Having gotten lost and having almost gotten run over by a muggle motorist within his first few minutes in the muggle world, Ron thought it was best if he started looking for Hermione's house.

Ron was just about to walk up to the nearest house when he received another nasty shock. A lorry was coming down the street, only it was doing the strangest thing. It was playing music from out of a large speaker on its roof. It was a jingling tune that sounded familiar to Ron so he decided to see if the man in the truck could help him.

He waved at the man who seemed friendly enough and stopped good naturedly.

"Wha' can I get you young man?"

"Hermione Granger, Please." Ron said, thinking that this man and his musical truck really were a lifesaver.

"Sorry, haven't heard of those. But I can fix you up with a nice chocolate covered-."

"Er-no thanks, I am actually quite particular about having Hermione Granger," Ron said, taken aback that in the muggle world people sold girls coated in candy out of the back of lorries. He would definitely have to tell his father about this later.

"Well, if I've never 'eard of it than it can't be that good can it? Now, anything else? Not even something in the large gumball variety?" the man asked hopefully

Now Ron was incensed. He loved Hermione Granger. Who was this man to say that a girl with larger "gumballs", as the man had so crudely put it, would be better suited for him!

"Why, you—horrible—disgusting—I would not!" Ron said indignantly.

He was about to give the man, who was no longer smiling, some what for.

"Well, no need to get angry. Honestly! If there's nothing else I have to go before the girls start to melt!" the man said patting a large case behind him fondly.

Ron was horror struck and was seriously considering calling the 'pleesemen' on a public 'fellytone' until a young girl in a pink jumper raced up to the lorry and asked for a Cream Pop and a Mars Bar.

Several seconds of comprehension later, Ron understood that the lorry sold candies and ice creams- not women-as previously thought, and decided he had no gripe with the "Ice Cream Muggle" after all.

Thinking that the muggle world really was more trouble than it was worth, Ron approached the door of a nearby house and after several minutes of pondering the small button next to the door, and going as far as to shout at it fiercely, using language that his mother certainly wouldn't approve of, he found that if he pressed the little button a little bell rang.

Ron actually found the 'funny little muggle knob' very amusing and, by the tenth or eleventh time that he had pressed it, was hanging onto a trellis for support.

Now, if only I knew what it did?

Ron scrutinized the knob and was bending over and glaring at eye level, with an amused grin on his face when the door opened.

"What on earth!" the woman cried.

"Why did you ring so many times?"

"Er-so you heard it too? Whew-well, that is a relief," Ron said, happy that he wasn't imagining ringing buttons right before his date.

The woman gave Ron a curious look.

"I don't want to buy anything!" she said.

"Er-that's good, I guess, neither do I," Ron said, thinking that this muggle was rather peculiar.

"So please leave." And with that Ron had the door slammed on his face and was left standing on the front step.

The woman was now glaring at him through a tiny curtained window in the door and Ron thought it was best if he found another muggle to ask as this one didn't take kindly to having her little button pushed and was discussing the most random things such as shopping.

Three houses and a whopping 213 ringing button pushes later Ron had his third door slammed in his face. By the fourth house he prided himself on the fact that he had mastered the muggle button. This time it only took five rings to bring someone to the door.

It was the young girl who had bought ice cream from the Ice Cream Muggle earlier and she stood in the doorway glaring at him.

"Er- hello-is your mummy or daddy home?" Ron began.

"Maybe. Who are you and why are you carrying onions?"

Ron looked appraisingly at his bouquet.

"Why? Aren't they nice? I heard muggles—oops I mean people-"

"What did you just say?" the girl piped up.

Ron didn't answer; he realized he shouldn't have said 'muggle' in front of the little girl.

"Well- it must be a very bad word because I have two older brothers and I have never even heard them use it!"

"No-no-it's not really-it's just a term--" Ron bent over towards the girl and smiled at her with his head level with hers.

"I don't like you." She narrowed her eyes behind her glasses

"I'm going to tell Mummy that you said a bad word. She will be very cross with you and will probably ground you like she did my brothers."

Ron had no idea what this "grounding" thing was but didn't like the sound of it at all.

"No, please don't do th-----"

But it was too late,

"MUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMMMYYYYYYYYYYYY! There's a boy at the door carrying onions and he has just used a dirty woooord!"

Ron didn't wait around to see if her mum was coming. Gryffindor or not, he ran. When the little girl's house was out of sight and he no longer heard her screams, Ron stopped to lean against the side of a house in order to catch his breath, clutching his ribs.

He was hot, his bouquet for Hermione was beginning to smell, and he doubted very much that any vestige of his part remained.

Fortunately the muggle postman arrived at that moment and dropped several envelopes on the mat of the house against which Ron was leaning.Having once watched his parents send a letter by muggle post to Harry, Ron knew that the address would be on the envelope.

Checking to make sure that the muggle postman was out of sight, Ron crept up to the doormat and was just picking up the top envelope when the door in front of him opened and their was a sudden sharp intake of breath.

Okay- so sorry but there were just so many ways that Ron could get into trouble in a muggle neighborhood. Next chapter Ron actually sees Hermione okay? I promise! Just trust me and keep reading (and reviewing)!

xxx-Bexie1217