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"What do you need? I'm sure we have your size."
— Malkin's friendliness towards her customers[src]

Madam Malkin was a witch and the owner of Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions in Diagon Alley. She was a squat woman dressed all in mauve who was very friendly to her customers,[1] unless anyone displayed signs of aggression in her shop.[4]

Biography[]

"Hogwarts, dear? Got the lot here -- another young man being fitted up just now, in fact."
— Malkin graciously greeting Harry Potter into her shop in 1991[src]
MadamMalkin

Madam Malkin in her shop

Malkin became the proprietor of Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions sometime before 1991. In August 1991, when Harry Potter first visited Diagon Alley with Rubeus Hagrid to purchase his school supplies for his first year at Hogwarts, Malkin greeted him kindly and found some robes to fit him. It was then, that Harry first met his long-term adversary Draco Malfoy in her shop, who was also buying his school robes.[1]

In early 1992, Madam Malkin went to Paris for the Which Witch? fashion show, and left her shop closed with a notice outside.[6]

In August 1993, Harry Potter returned to her shop when shopping in Diagon Alley, to purchase new school robes for the upcoming academic year, along with other needed school supplies from other shops.[7]

In 1995, Madam Malkin had a sale in her shop, for which an advertisement was published in the Daily Prophet.[8]

In 1996, Malkin was unsuccessfully trying to fit new robes on a particularly disgruntled Draco Malfoy, who was in the shop with his mother Narcissa Malfoy. When Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger entered her shop to purchase their own robes, Draco nastily insulted Granger as a 'Mudblood', much to her shock and disapproval for such inflammatory language being used in her shop. Whilst the trio argued bitterly and traded insults with the Malfoys, Malkin became very anxious of the escalating tension, and even tried to tweak the robe he was trying on, but ended up accidentally pinching him with her needles. Malfoy and his mother then left the shop in contempt, with Narcissa Malfoy disdainfully telling her she would rather do business with rival tailors Twilfitt and Tattings, because of the 'scum' that she served, leaving Malkin highly insulted. She picked up all the robes which had fallen to the floor, cleaned them with a wave of her wand, and fitted and sold robes to the trio. She seemed to be relieved when everyone had left, as it meant no more confrontation in her shop.[4]

Madam Malkin survived the Second Wizarding War and was still running her shop by 2008. Before 1 September that year, she helped a student dress up and get their robes.[2]

During the Calamity in the late 2010s and early 2020s, Madam Malkin made a custom set of flowing, light-weight combat robes for an Auror member of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force, with the additional freedom of movement increasing their defensive strength in combat.[9]

Physical description[]

Madam Malkin was described as being a squat, smiling witch who was dressed in mauve clothing.[1]

Personality and traits[]

"I don't think there's any need for language like that! And I don't want wands drawn in my shop either!"
— Malkin's disapproval of poor behaviour in her establishment[src]

Madam Malkin was generally friendly, helpful and personable towards her customers,[1] as well as fair; most notably, she reprimanded both Draco Malfoy for using the highly insulting term 'Mudblood' in her presence despite him being a wealthy customer, and Harry Potter and Ron Weasley for drawing their wands in response. However, she was not above being irritated or offended, as she was when Narcissa Malfoy implied her shop was of lower class for catering to Muggle-borns, and could become very easily distracted if in this mood. She was also shown to care for the welfare of her customers, as she was greeted Harry Potter generously into her shop in 1991 and was very willing with their purchases, and even reminded Draco to be careful when wandering around Diagon Alley.[4]

Magical abilities and skills[]

"Snatching up the fallen robes and moving the tip of her wand over them like a vacuum cleaner, so that it removed all the dust."
— Malkin performing non-verbal magic[src]
  • Charms: Malkin could successfully use a spell which removed dust from objects like a vacuum cleaner.[4] Malkin was capable of conjuring at least a non-corporeal Patronus.[3][5]
  • Nonverbal magic: Malkin was able to instantly clean up dust which had gathered on several robes which had fallen on the floor merely by running the tip of her wand across them, without using an incantation.[4]

Possessions[]

Etymology[]

The name 'Malkin' may be derived from 'Malkin Tower' which was a key element in the Pendle witches trial.[11]

A malkin is also an old name for a scarecrow, dressed to frighten away birds. Malkin-trash was someone who was poorly or frighteningly dressed.[12]

It could also be of early medieval English origin, deriving from a female given name first recorded as 'Malkyn' in 1297, a diminutive form of 'Malle', itself a nickname form of 'Mary'. To Malle has been added the diminutive suffix 'kyn or kin', meaning 'close relative of'. 'Mary' was an extremely popular medieval female given name, being the claimed name of the mother of Christ in the New Testament. The original name is thought to have been derived from the Aramaic 'Maryan', translating as the 'wished-for-child', but others claim that it means 'the star of the sea'.[13]

Behind the scenes[]

Appearances[]

Wiki
The Harry Potter Wiki has 12 images related to Malkin.
Madam Malkin

Madam Malkin in LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4

Notes and references[]

Diagon Alley North Side
Locations

Apothecary · Bats! Bats! Bats! · Belcher's Bottled Beers · Bernie Balls Fireworks · Blinkhorn's workshop · Boogermongers · Brigg's Brooms · Bufo's · Caput Mortuum · Creepy Scrawlers Stationers · Crispa Culpepper's Drugs & Preparations · Eeylops Owl Emporium · Flail & Hyde Furriers · Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour · Flourish and Blotts · Gaberlunzie Garments · Grandma Gramercy's Grandiloquent Gramophones · Gringotts Wizarding Bank · The Harpy's Bazaar · Herbert's Sherbets · Janus Galloglass · Krakens · Leaky Cauldron (1 Diagon Alley) · Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions · The Magic Lantern · Magical Menagerie · Mandrake Mufflers · Marcus Minucius Myomancer · Mourning & Starr Armourers · Mr Milvus Grizedale, Kitemaker · Mr Trismus, Mouth Magician · Mulligrubs Materia Medica · Nell's Bells · Nollikins for Scrolls & Skins · Noltie's Botanical Novelties · Oldknowe Books · Pettichaps · Potage's Cauldron Shop · Praedico Predico · Quality Quidditch Supplies · Shrew & Scold's Bridal Wear · S. Starling · Tangle & Noils Wigmakers & Perruquiers · The Three Sheets · Tut's Nuts · Twinkle's Telescopes · Vietch's Leeches · What Larks! Songbird Specialists · Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment

Known residents, shop owners and employees

Blinkhorn · Belcher · Bufo · Crookshanks (formerly) · Eeylops Owl Emporium female employee · Eeylops Owl Emporium male employee · Florean Fortescue (deceased) · Flourish and Blotts manager · Hedwig (formerly; deceased) · Madam Malkin · Noltie · Madam Potage · Magical Menagerie salesman · Magical Menagerie saleswoman · Milvus Grizedale · Marcus Minucius · Trismus · Tut · Twinkle · Vietch · Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment employee

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