By old custom, this Saturday morning was supposed to be the first "Hogsmeade Week" of the new term.
Almost all the young wizards above third year who had been allowed to leave Hogwarts Castle for free activity chose to take part—in fact, under the new term's rules, students of every year could choose to use this weekend time to return to their own homes and reunite with their parents. But because of the Floating City's rise, during this first week, most parents chose to come to Hogwarts themselves rather than let their children go back, which meant that even the very young first- and second-years were able to begin touring the urban district of Hogwarts, this Academy City, with their parents.
Cheap replicas of Gubraithian Fire, known as eternal fire, had already been set throughout Hogwarts's urban district and streets, lighting the streets and shops across the whole area for the use of shop assistants who slept during the day, customers shopping at night, and tourists planning to view Hogwarts's night scenery after dark—though this did not give any advantage to the new guards in the district, the armed forces of Umbrella's Red Umbrella Department, who wore equipment masks with night vision capabilities.
The Commercial Plaza outside the Ravenclaw Temple in the south of the Academy City had become the first choice today for students and those tourists alike. This was Hogwarts's commercial center that never closed; the notice stated that, apart from holidays, it never shut down.
Umbrella Corporation also had its headquarters in this commercial district of the city, not far from the shops and trades they served or owned. Apart from a few patrol boats and Umbrella wizard guards riding on Dragons, most floating ships of various models were also moored at the docks on the plaza