Knockturn Alley
Knockturn Alley, a pun on nocturnally, is a fictional location in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series of novels. Leading off of the more savoury Diagon Alley, Knockturn Alley is a dark and seedy alleyway in London to which muggles have no access, and where no respectable witch or wizard ought to be found either. All of the shops and stores in Knockturn Alley are devoted to the Dark Arts; the largest and most disreputable is Borgin & Burkes, which sells sinister and dangerous objects.
Despite its reputation, Hagrid visits Knockturn Alley in Harry Potter and The Chamber Of Secrets in search of Flesh-Eating Slug Repellent and other items which he presumably requires for the care and feeding of the exotic and dangerous creatures to which he tends to become attached.
Harry, while travelling via floo powder to Diagon Alley, accidentally landed in Knockturn Alley, where he spied on a conversation between Lucius Malfoy, his son and Mr. Borgin. Harry was discovered by a witch who clearly wanted to take advantage of him being lost and vulnerable, but he was rescued by Hagrid.
Shops in Knockturn Alley
Borgin and Burkes
In the fictional Harry Potter series, Borgin and Burkes is a shop on Knockturn Alley, widely reputed to have a collection of Dark magic items, poisons, and the like on sale.
Template:Spoiler Borgin and Burkes is first seen in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, when Lucius Malfoy and his son Draco pay a visit. Mr. Borgin is given a list of poisons that Malfoy wishes to sell. Borgin and Burkes is later visited by Draco Malfoy in Half-Blood Prince, where he asked how to mend a Vanishing Cabinet and to keep an item in his shop (either the second Cabinet or the opal necklace).
It is revealed that when Merope Riddle was pregnant with her son Tom Riddle (later Lord Voldemort), she went to Borgin and Burkes to sell a locket, a family heirloom that originated with Salazar Slytherin, as she was desperately in need of money. Mr. Burkes, knowing how valuable the item was, bought it for a small amount of gold, which the poor woman willingly took.
Borgin and Burkes is also revealed to be the place where Tom Riddle worked after leaving Hogwarts. Riddle was employed to seek out and purchase rare antiques, heirlooms, and obviously Dark items; his legendary charm aided him in this pursuit. His employment ended when he abruptly quit around the time that a witch was found murdered and two ancient heirlooms stolen.
After the death of Mr. Burke, Mr. Borgin seems to be working alone.
Wares
Borgin and Burkes has held many items of ill repute. Notable items include the Hand of Glory, a withered human hand holding a candle that will give light only to the bearer. The shop also contains a Vanishing Cabinet connected to its twin in Hogwarts and a silver and opal necklace which causes death to anyone who touches it. Other items which have unknown uses include many rusty, spiked instruments, masks, a blood-stained pack of cards and a staring glass eye.
Other unamed shops
In Chamber of Secrets there are other stores mentioned selling shrunken heads, live gigantic black spiders, and poisonous candles. Street vendors include an old witch with a tray full of whole human fingernails. And somewhere in the alley, according to Hagrid, someone sells Flesh-Eating Slug Repellent.
References
- Rowling, J. K. (1998). Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Bloomsbury. ISBN 0747538492.
- Rowling, J. K. (2005). Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Bloomsbury. ISBN 0747581088.