Toads were not the only pests inexplicably populating Hogsmeade this week: Saturday morning saw a swarm of locusts tear through the streets of Bartonburg. Though not usually native to our regions, insects in countless number were first encountered in Padmore Park, laying waste to carnival tents and natural foliage alike. As the locusts were carried on the wind, they took to North Bartonburg. There, considerable damage was done to properties - with some drawing rooms flooded with them, and pantries razed of food stores - and a reasonable degree of trauma accorded to the residents unfortunate enough to be out in the fog amongst them.

The Ministry has, in recent days, made a conspicuous public step towards solving the fog problem. Whether the open expedition is an impressively brave scheme or merely an impressive show of floundering remains open to question; as does the question of whether the locusts will be the last blight to be rained upon us. Like the toads and the days of darkness, the swarm did not escape the bounds of the fog: thus, until the fog has been stopped, there is every possibility that locusts will be followed by something still worse.

In a similar vein, there have been an array of rumours to suggest that, in the event of the expedition failing to discover a solution, the village will be formally re-christened "Fogsmeade".