"A cobblestoned shopping area for the wizarding world, where Hogwarts students can purchase necessary supplies." —Description of Diagon Alley [src]

Diagon Alley is a cobblestoned wizarding alley and shopping area located in London, England behind a pub called the Leaky Cauldron. Inside the alley is an assortment of restaurants, shops, and other sights. All items on the Hogwarts supply list can be bought at Diagon Alley. The alley is completely hidden from the Muggle world which is right outside of its boundaries. It is very large in area and essentially the centre of wizarding London.[2]

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History

Early history

The Leaky Cauldron was present long before Charing Cross Road was even planned in the nineteenth century; its true address is number one, Diagon Alley, and it is believed to have been built some time in the early 1500s, along with the rest of the wizarding street.[1] It is a popular historical theory that the second oldest building in Diagon Alley is Gringotts Wizarding Bank and that the other shops grew up around it.[4] However, there is a possibility that Ollivanders is the oldest building, records dating back to the early fourth century B.C.[2]

When the Statute of Secrecy was imposed Diagon Alley was hidden by the use of many powerful spells of concealment. The then Minister for Magic, Ulick Gamp, agreed to give the landlord of the day present at the Leaky Cauldron responsibility for letting people into Diagon Alley from his back yard.[1]

In 1926, one of the shops in Diagon Alley was burgled with the help of a Four-Headed Bird.[5]

Harry Potter's early visits

"There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments Harry had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon..." —Harry Potter visits Diagon Alley for the first time[src]

Harry Potter's first visit to Diagon Alley with Rubeus Hagrid marked his re-introduction to the wizarding world. Harry's first stop was Gringotts Wizarding Bank, where he encountered Goblins for the first time. After entering the huge, grand bank and explaining what they want to a goblin, Hagrid and Harry are taken by Griphook down to the vaults on a speeding cart, which makes Hagrid sick. First they stop at the Potter vault, then continue to the higher security Vault 713, where Hagrid gets the Philosopher’s Stone.[2]

After obtaining money from the bank Hagrid helped Harry shop for his school supplies and purchased Harry's eleventh birthday present, the snowy owl Hedwig, from Eeylops Owl Emporium. Harry later named her Hedwig, a name he found in A History of Magic.[2]

Harry also purchased his wand from Ollivanders. After trying out a large number of wands, none of which seemed quite right, Harry was handed a holly and phoenix feather wand. Harry pays seven Galleons for the wand and leaves the shop. Also when visiting Diagon Alley, Harry remarked that he wished he had more than one pair of eyes to be able to take in all the sights the alley had to offer.[2]

Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys visited Flourish and Blotts to buy school books for their second year at Hogwarts. They discovered that Gilderoy Lockhart was signing his new book, Magical Me. When Lockhart spotted Harry, he dragged him up in front of the camera with him and announced to the crowd that he would be the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts for the up coming year. After Harry escaped from the spotlight, Lucius Malfoy and Arthur Weasley got into a fight. Lucius used that moment to sneak the Diary into Ginny Weasley’s cauldron.[6][7]

During the summer before his third year, Harry spent several weeks in Diagon Alley, staying in a room at the Leaky Cauldron by night and roaming the street by day, marvelling at the incredible shops and the witches and wizards, in from all over the country, who came by to do their shopping. He did his homework out in the open, ate free ice creams, picked up his books, and repeatedly stoped by Quality Quidditch Supplies to admire the Firebolt. Ron, and the Hermione were also staying at the Leaky Cauldron. Hermione brought Crookshanks from the Magical Menagerie. That night, Harry overhears Mr and Mrs Weasley in conversation — and learned that Sirius Black was after him.[3]

Return of the Dark Lord

The colourful, glittering window displays of spellbooks, potion ingredients, and cauldrons were lost to view, hidden behind the large Ministry of Magic posters that had been pasted over them... A few windows were boarded up, including those of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. On the other hand, a number of shabby-looking stalls had sprung up along the street." —Description of Diagon Alley's gloominess[src]

Following Voldemort's return to power in 1996, wizards and witches no longer felt safe wandering out in public, and Diagon Alley changed dramatically. The once-crowded streets stood virtually empty, faces of Death Eaters plastered the fronts of once-bright shops, and street vendors popped up, hawking anti-Dark devices.[8]

Within another year and Voldemort's taking over of the Ministry of Magic, a large number of shops had closed, replaced by others devoted to the Dark Arts, and the street was filled with Muggle-borns who had been cast aside by the new system. Ollivanders and Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour were closed.[8]

Presumably, after Voldemort's eventual downfall and the installation of Kingsley Shacklebolt as Minister for Magic Diagon Alley eventually returned to its splendour of old.[9]

Location

Diagon Alley is accessible from Muggle London through the Leaky Cauldron, which is on Charing Cross Road, set between a bookshop and a record shop. The Muggles who pass by the inn seem to be "quite unconscious" of its existence.[2] Knockturn Alley, a dark artefacts area, is an off shoot of Diagon Alley, as are the areas of Horizont Alley and Carkitt Market.[6]

Access

"Welcome, to Diagon Alley." —Rubeus Hagrid introduces Harry Potter to the alley[src]

The entrance is behind the Leaky Cauldron in a small, walled courtyard with a dustbin. Diagon Alley can be accessed by tapping the correct brick in the wall behind the Leaky Cauldron (from the rubbish bin, three up and two across). The wall goes in a small hole first but forms a large archway.[2] It can also be accessed by Floo Powder[6] and Apparition. There may be other entrances as well.

Diagon Alley connects to a second, less reputable shopping district, Knockturn Alley.[6]

Community

"Best thing about the shopkeepers here is that they're all honest." —A female patron expresses her opinion of Diagon Alley[src]

Known Locations

"There's only one place we're going to get all this. Diagon Alley." —Molly Weasley on buying her children's school supplies.[src]

Etymology

Inside the Alley is an assortment of restaurants, shops, and other sights; some even have tables out front with coloured umbrellas.Particularly during the days or weeks before school starts at Hogwarts, the location is packed with witches and wizards, though shops are open year-round as witches and wizards travel to the location for various goods. While the shops include many school-supply locations, there are also many locations important to the wizarding world, such as Gringotts Wizarding Bank and Ollivanders . Diagon Alley is also the location of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes , established by Fred and George Weasley shortly after leaving Hogwarts

The words "Diagon" and "Alley" when pronounced together, produce the word "diagonally" which is most probably the origin of the name "Diagon Alley". When Harry mispronounced the name due to inhaling a mouthful of ash, he landed in a fireplace in nearby Knockturn Alley.

Behind the scenes

In the United States, there is a shop which is a remake of Diagon Alley in Los Angeles, California called Whimsic Alley (which is a play on the word "whimsically"). The store features false store fronts inside the shop which mimic those of the "real" Diagon Alley, where many Harry Potter and wizard themed items can be purchased. [25]

In the film Eat, Pray, Love there is a set that looks very much like the set used for Diagon Alley.

there is a set that looks very much like the set used for Diagon Alley. In the the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone , Hagrid taps a series of bricks to enter Diagon Alley instead of one brick (three up two across).

, Hagrid taps a series of bricks to enter Diagon Alley instead of one brick (three up two across). The 2-disc DVD edition of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets includes an interactive tour of Diagon Alley, including non-interactive interior views of several shops, and an interactive exploration of Flourish and Blotts.

includes an interactive tour of Diagon Alley, including non-interactive interior views of several shops, and an interactive exploration of Flourish and Blotts. As depicted in the films, Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley are strictly pedestrian precincts, as the streets are too narrow to accommodate either vehicular or carriage traffic. Presumably magical means are exercised for stocking the shops, eliminating the need for standard transportation corridors.

As depicted in the films, Diagon Alley was inspired by the look of London in the early 1800s, but with fantastical touches, such as buildlings leaning at such sharp angles that they would surely fall if not supported by magic.

There is a LEGO set based on Diagon Alley, released on 1 January, 2011. It has three main buildings: Gringotts Wizarding Bank, Ollivanders, and Borgin and Burkes. It includes minifigures which have appeared in several of the Harry Potter films.

Though Muggles are unable to view the Leaky Cauldron and thus reach the entrance to Diagon Alley, Hermione Granger's parents accompanied her on her trip in her second year. It is possible alternative arrangements are available for such cases, such as a temporary connection to the Floo Network.

There is a Diagon Alley in the Universal Studios theme park, joined with Knockturn Alley. It includes a lot of the same shops and buildings where one can purchase Harry Potter merchandise, such as Harry Potter-themed clothing in Madame Malkin's and wand replicas in Ollivander's and Gregorovitch's.

Some have proposed that Diagon Alley is based on Victoria St in Edinburgh, which is located a few blocks from the Elephant House café. Victoria St is a narrow, winding road with high shops on either side, including a book shop, a clothing shop, a joke shop at one end, and a shop that sells wands. However, Rowling has never mentioned Victoria St.

In order to fill all the Shops in Diagon Alley, set director Stephenie McMillan and her team went to antique shops, auctions and flea markets in the city and the countryside.

Crew members who went to purchase the items were asked not to say why they needed so many jars, books, or owl cages. One of the crew members told a shopkeeper the reason she was buying so many broomsticks was because she had to do a lot of sweeping!

Pottermore had a feature on designing Diagon Alley.

Appearances

Diagon Alley. The Harry Potter Wiki has 152 images related to

Notes and references



