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."

On the whole, the weather had been temperamental lately. One minute, it was absolutely bucketing it down, and the next, it was bright sunshine. The amount of rain had turned the ground into a muddy mess, but at least the tents provided perfectly adequate shelter, and a gazebo had been erected over the community dining table to protect everyone from the elements.

Despite the temperamental weather, however, it had been fairly warm throughout the past two weeks, so the chill in the air during dinner that evening was particularly noticeable, even before the dark, hooded figure by the Ministry's representative's desk had been seen.

Nervously, the Ministry representative approached the table.

"I'm afraid we have a visitor," he said, addressing everyone at the table and hoping that anyone not there could hear him. "This is a Dementor, one of the Guards at Azkaban. It's a high security prison. He's just here to, well, ensure that a certain escaped criminal isn't hiding amongst you.

"I don't expect he'll be here for more than an half an hour, so do try not to worry too much. They can make people rather, well... uncomfortable."

Bowing his head slightly, he left the Outsiders to their meal.

[And so, a Dementor is lurking around the camp, just in case one of the Outsiders is secretly Sirius Black. They're known to sap the happiness out of the environment, and - in cases where there are true horrors in someone's past - cause traumatic memories to resurface.

The chilly, depressed feeling can be lifted by the deliciousness of chocolate, though the Outsiders will need to discover this on their own. Good thing there's dessert.]