London Underground

London Underground
Location information
Location	Greater London area
Affiliation	Transport for London

"Four stops, Harry... three stops left now... two stops to go, Harry..."

— Arthur Weasley on the London Underground.

The London Underground (colloquially known as the Tube) was a rapid transit rail system in England that served the Greater London area as well as several neighbouring regions.

History

Sometime in between 1927 and 1932, Albus Dumbledore took a train to the London Underground and up to Piccadilly Circus and pondered before walking off to a London cafe to have a meeting with his former partner, Gellert Grindelwald.

Albus Dumbledore once told Minerva McGonagall that he had a scar above his left knee in the shape of a perfect map of the London Underground.

Harry and Hagrid being transported in the London Underground in 1991

On 31 July 1991, Harry Potter and Rubeus Hagrid took a train to London to visit Diagon Alley and purchase Harry's school supplies. Hagrid got stuck in a ticket barrier on the Underground, and complained about how the seats were too small.

Arthur Weasley at a station in the London Underground in 1995

"Trains, underground! Ingenious, these Muggles."

— Arthur Weasley marvels at the London Underground

On 12 August 1995, Harry rode with Arthur Weasley on the Underground to get to to the Ministry of Magic for his disciplinary hearing. Arthur was very excited about the Muggle technology such as the escalators and the automatic ticket machines, even though they were out of order. Harry handled with the money transaction of the tickets as Arthur did not have sufficient experience in Muggle currency.

In December of the same year, Harry again rode a train on the Underground, along with Moody, Tonks, Hermione, and the Weasleys, to visit Mr Weasley at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

In February of 1999, Rufus Fudge, the nephew of former Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge, joined the Improper Use of Magic Office, but was soon sacked for vanishing a tube train on a bet.

In 2008, Rubeus Hagrid and a soon-to-be Hogwarts student took the Underground to return from Diagon Alley.

Behind the scenes

• In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the scene where Harry and Hagrid take a train to get to Diagon Alley uses Central Line 1992 Stock which would not be introduced until 1993. As the scene depicts events set in 1991, this can be considered anachronistic.
• In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the scene where Harry and Arthur go through the ticket barriers is anachronistic. The yellow circles visible on the barriers are electronic Oyster card readers, which were not introduced until 2003. The London Underground station that appears in the film is the Westminster Station.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film) (Appears in deleted scene(s))
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
• Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore - The Complete Screenplay (Appears in flashback(s))
• Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (Appears in flashback(s))
• Daily Prophet Newsletters (Mentioned only)
• Fantastic Beasts: Cases from the Wizarding World
• The Archive of Magic: The Film Wizardry of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter: Magic Awakened

External links

• The London Underground, Transport for London
• London Underground on Wikipedia