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A Portkey is an object enchanted to instantly bring anyone touching it to a specific location. Most of the time, a Portkey is an everyday object that would not draw the attention of a Muggle. Travelling by Portkey is said to feel like having a hook "somewhere behind the navel" pulling the traveller to their location.

Advantages

Portkeys have an advantage over Floo Powder in that they may transport many people at once, but each Portkey can only transport its users to one destination. Unlike Apparition, Portkeys may also be used by anyone, such as underage witches and wizards and possibly even Muggles, though there are no known instances of the latter occurring.

Types of Portkeys

Portkey2

Hermione Granger, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley during Portkey transportation from Ottery St. Catchpole to Quidditch World Cup.

Some Portkeys are preset to travel to their destinations at a specific time. Examples include the Portkeys that transported wizards to the Quidditch World Cup in 1994 and the ones that transported members of the Order of the Phoenix from the different Order safehouses to the Burrow after the Battle of the Seven Potters in 1997. Other Portkeys are triggered immediately by a person's touch; examples include the Triwizard Cup, which transported Harry Potter and Cedric Diggory to Little Hangleton, and the broken statue head that sent Harry Potter back to Hogwarts after the Battle of the Department of Mysteries. It is unknown how one effects the difference between the two types of Portkeys. Before the creation of the Hogwarts Express, Portkeys were used as a means of transportation to not draw the attention of Muggles. Eventually another method was sought because majority of students would either not find the item that was their Portkey or not arrive in time to take the Portkey. Many students were 'Portkey-sick' and the Hospital Wing was filled with students for the first few days of term while the students got over their hysterics and nausea.

Both types of Portkey travel to the destination along with their users. With touch-activated Portkeys, touching it again might transport the users back to their original location, but because Harry was transported back to a different location in Hogwarts, it is also possible that this was two separate Portkeys. Time-activated ones can be handled after their use without effect.

Creating Unauthorized Portkeys

According to Remus Lupin, the creation of unauthorised Portkeys entails some sort of punishment, and Cornelius Fudge was quite angry when Albus Dumbledore created one in front of him without permission. However, as demonstrated by Dumbledore and Barty Crouch Jr., the Ministry does not have the ability to detect the creation of such Portkeys.

List of Portkeys

Portkey User(s) Starting point Destination Creator
Broom Unidentified Quidditch referee Quidditch pitch Sahara Desert Unidentified Quidditch fan
Unknown Gellert Grindelwald Godric's Hollow Central Europe Bathilda Bagshot
An old boot Stoatshead Hill 1994 Quidditch World Cup Unknown, presumably the Ministry of Magic
An old newspaper Unknown Unknown
A punctured football
An empty drink can
Triwizard Cup Quidditch pitch, Hogwarts Little Hangleton Graveyard Barty Crouch Jr.
A blackened kettle Headmaster's office, Hogwarts 12 Grimmauld Place Albus Dumbledore
The head of a golden statue Harry Potter Ministry of Magic Headmaster's office, Hogwarts
A small, silver-backed hairbrush The Tonks' house The Burrow Unknown member of the Order of the Phoenix
A rusty oilcan None Unknown house of a member of the Order of the Phoenix
An ancient sneaker
Unknown
A bent coathanger

Behind the scenes

  • According to W.O.M.B.A.T., in order for portkeys to be arranged between countries, the consent of both Nations's Ministries of Magic may be required.
  • Also on W.O.M.B.A.T., it is possible that releasing a Portkey before arriving at one's destination may result in serious injury or death.
  • It is unknown why the Death Eaters used the Vanishing Cabinet when they could have created a portkey to Hogwarts unless there is a specific spell that stops portkeys, however Albus Dumbledore made one from the Ministry so this is also a contradiction. However, it may be possible that only the Headmaster or Headmistress of the time can make a Portkey in and out of Hogwarts.
  • The incantation for creating a portkey is Portus.

Appearances

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