Knockturn Alley

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Knockturn Alley

Location information
Location	Diagon Alley, London, England
Permanent Resident(s)	Borgin, Caractacus Burke
Affiliation	Dark Arts
Behind the scenes
First appearance	Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Latest appearance	Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Knockturn Alley is a shopping area off Diagon Alley in London. It is filled with shops devoted to the Dark Arts, including Borgin and Burkes, which specialises in objects that have curious and strong magical properties. When Tom Riddle graduated from Hogwarts he worked at Borgin and Burkes.

[edit] History

Harry Potter first entered Knockturn Alley in 1992. He ended up inside Borgin and Burkes when he didn't say "Diagon Alley" clearly enough when trying to travel there by Floo powder. He ran into Rubeus Hagrid outside the shop, who told Harry that he shouldn't be hanging around in such a 'dodgy place' . Harry's next visit to the alley was in 1996, when he, Ron, and Hermione followed Draco Malfoy, suspecting him to be a Death Eater.^[1]

Draco Malfoy led death eaters into Hogwarts through a Vanishing Cabinet in Borgin and Burkes at the end of the 1996–1997 school year.

The name "Knockturn Alley" is a play on "nocturnally", just as "Diagon Alley" is a play on "diagonally". "Nocturnally" has to do with the night and darkness, hinting at its dark nature.

From the shops, one can purchase many types of dark objects, which include poisonous candles, human-looking fingernails, and Flesh-Eating Slug Repellent. Because of its contents, Arthur and Molly Weasley prohibited their children from entering Knockturn Alley.

[edit] Access

As with Diagon Alley, Knockturn Alley is not directly accessible from the Muggle world. The Leaky Cauldron pub provides one access (via Diagon Alley), while Apparition and Floo powder are other access options. There may be other entrances. In addition, as noted above, a vanishing cabinet located within one of the stores provided direct access to Hogwarts.

[edit] Behind the scenes

The 2-disc DVD edition of the film version of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets includes an interactive tour of Diagon Alley, which includes one of the entrances to Knockturn Alley, although the tour does not progress into the alley itself).