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Diagon Alley
The excursion to Diagon Alley took place on August 27th. Transport had been arranged via portkey, with groups of seven assigned a portkey every ten minutes from 9AM. They would be greeted by a second Ministry Rep, and given the instruction to wait until all Outsiders had arrived.
As they arrived at the Leaky Cauldron, each Outsider was provided a complementary drink and an item from the breakfast menu, as the two Ministry Reps handed out envelopes to each Outsider. Contained in the envelope, they would find a letter from Hogwarts School, a list of required books and supplies, and a simple map of Diagon Alley highlighting the shops to visit.
"As you're aware," one of the Ministry reps said, addressing them all, "the Assistance Fund is unlikely to cover everything listed were you to buy them brand new, and as such we would strongly advise seeking out second-hand items where you can. For those studying adult courses, Flourish and Blotts is the exclusive provider of the course materials - these are produced at a low cost, specifically to allow the grant to cover them.
"Please keep your letter with you. On visiting the wandmaker, Ollivander, you will need it as proof of identity, otherwise you will be required to pay full price for your wand."
"Once you've all had your breakfast, we'll be moving on to Gringotts, the Wizarding Bank, where you can collect a portion of your grant. From there, you may explore Diagon Alley as you see fit. Please ensure you have all items listed before we leave, as well as any additional items such as stationary and bags."
"Lunch will be served here, at the Leaky Cauldron, at twelve thirty. We will be leaving for the Hogsmeade camp from here at four thirty."
As they arrived at the Leaky Cauldron, each Outsider was provided a complementary drink and an item from the breakfast menu, as the two Ministry Reps handed out envelopes to each Outsider. Contained in the envelope, they would find a letter from Hogwarts School, a list of required books and supplies, and a simple map of Diagon Alley highlighting the shops to visit.
"As you're aware," one of the Ministry reps said, addressing them all, "the Assistance Fund is unlikely to cover everything listed were you to buy them brand new, and as such we would strongly advise seeking out second-hand items where you can. For those studying adult courses, Flourish and Blotts is the exclusive provider of the course materials - these are produced at a low cost, specifically to allow the grant to cover them.
"Please keep your letter with you. On visiting the wandmaker, Ollivander, you will need it as proof of identity, otherwise you will be required to pay full price for your wand."
"Once you've all had your breakfast, we'll be moving on to Gringotts, the Wizarding Bank, where you can collect a portion of your grant. From there, you may explore Diagon Alley as you see fit. Please ensure you have all items listed before we leave, as well as any additional items such as stationary and bags."
"Lunch will be served here, at the Leaky Cauldron, at twelve thirty. We will be leaving for the Hogsmeade camp from here at four thirty."
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Are you okay?
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They've given us a map and a list of what to buy. It shouldn't be too complicated.
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I don't know English and yet I've been able to understand and speak with the people here. It must be the same for this note.
[Either whatever it was that made him understand and read it wasn't working for the other boy. Or he never learned how to read at all...]
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[Well, it's not "never," but... you're going to have to do some major mental damage control to make him talk about that.]
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Do you mind if I see your letter? I could tell you what you need and where to go.
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Fifth years need quite a bit of stuff.]
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You need the same books and items that I do.
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[Huh, that's useful.]
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If you want to, you can follow me since we need to buy the same things. Or I can tell you where to go and what your list says.
[Not that it would help him much unless he had a good memory and could ask a store clerk about the items, but the choice was there.]
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[He's like a scared little rabbit and it's blindingly obvious. He reaches out hesitantly, trying to grip the hem of Akira's shirt.]
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We can go to that store first.
[He indicated which one with a hand motion and a look at it.]
It should have the books we need.
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Okay.
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He lead them to the store indicated on the map as the one where they can get their books at and found other kids around his age or younger also there. It was definitely the book store, but some of them... were definitely magical. Still, it was the most normal store, he was sure. Might as well start with it.
His free hand folded down the map with a finger and he looked over the list one more time just to make sure he had the right names memorized before he placed the papers into his pocket. He looked over the layout of the store, then walked down the aisles to be able to read the book titles. He still held Tobias' hand so he wouldn't get separated when he had needed his help so much.]
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He shrinks as close as he can when they get inside the shop, just barely avoiding making walking harder. He swallows dryly, clearly terrified, but remains quiet, peering around to try to distract himself.
Of course, when one can't read, a store of books doesn't offer much in the way of distraction...]
...What do they say?
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This is one we need.
[He grabbed one of the books with his free hand.]
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Okay.
[Once Akira's book is firm in his hand, Tobias reaches up and takes one of the same, holding it to his chest almost defensively with that one free arm.]