Chapter 7: Knockturn Alley
Charing Cross Road is located in Central London, between Oxford Street and Trafalgar Square, with dozens of bookstores scattered along the street, the most bustling being Foyles flagship bookstore, directly across from number 84 Charing Cross Road.
Melvin looked up at the bright red sign, withdrew his gaze, and pushed the door open.
It’s called a bookstore, but it’s more like a commercial center, with 5 floors above and below, covering over 30,000 square feet, said to stock over 200,000 kinds of books, with all the bookshelves connected in a way that spans the entire street.
Shakespeare works have a dedicated section, Beethoven scores occupy two walls, next to them are vinyl records, and there are also various gift stationery items…
The second floor is a café, with a faint fragrance permeating the air.
Sunlight streams in through the glass curtain wall, paired with warm-colored carpet and carefully arranged decorations, giving it a somewhat cozy feel, with thick carpet laid on the floor, as if to prevent footsteps from disturbing the readers looking at books, like that hunched old witch by the window.
The witch, nearly two hundred years old, looks ancient beyond measure, stooped and hunched, her face covered in fine wrinkles like a web, yet her hair is combed meticulously, her head lowered as she reads.
After getting on in years, studying becomes a very strenuous task.
Facing knowledge from an entirely new system, the experience accumulated over long years not only proves useless, but sometimes becomes a stubborn obstacle.
Scanning over those unfamiliar words and phrases, one has to silently read them several times in their mind to grasp the meaning, but understanding the meaning isn’t enough; one must also abandon wizard thinking, stand from a Muggle perspective and think it over several times to gain new knowledge.
Lands separated by oceans can fit together, the ground beneath one’s feet is constantly rushing nonstop…
Lightning tearing through the sky is completely different from the lightning used by Muggles…
The old witch must completely discard the magic she learned in the first half of her life to barely glimpse a corner of scientific knowledge, but even this tiny corner still makes the nearly two-hundred-year-old witch as delighted as a child, her cloudy eyes shining brightly when she occasionally sees an exciting part.
Melvin approached, deliberately stepping a bit heavier, his hard-soled leather shoes making a slight but distinct sound, as a transparent spell rippled outward.
“Tap.”
Griselda Marchbanks, immersed in her reading, looked up, her fine wrinkles smoothing out to reveal a gentle smile: “Professor Levent.”
Melvin glanced at the book title, which was exactly the textbook he had selected not long ago, 《DK Children’s Encyclopedia》.
“Sorry, breakfast was delayed by ten minutes waiting for freshly baked bread.”
Melvin sat across from her, his voice louder than usual so even the hard-of-hearing old wizard could hear clearly, yet the sound waves lingered only within a few feet around them, unable to spread: “Also, you can call me by my name, madam.”
“You really look like Dumbledore when he was young.”
Madam Marchbanks noticed the magical barrier around them, chuckled lightly, and didn’t specify where the resemblance lay.
She casually closed the book: “The book you recommended is excellent, everyone at the Department of Magical Examinations is reading it. I have to say, this book is extremely comprehensive, just as its name suggests—Encyclopedia. I must admit, most adult wizards will never know the knowledge that Muggle children read in this book over their lifetimes. This knowledge not only helps us correctly understand Muggles, but also helps us correctly understand the world.”
“That’s exactly what I hoped for.”
Melvin said unhurriedly: “Natural science is the Muggles’ wand. In my view, after science dispels ignorance, their nearly two hundred years of development have surpassed the previous several millennia. An unprecedented revolution is approaching, and wizards can no longer bury their heads in their own lives as in the past; they must correctly understand the relationship between the Wizarding World and the world, and explore new paths.”
“Unfortunately, science cannot dispel the ignorance and stubbornness of wizards.” Madam Marchbanks sighed, her withered fingers stroking the book’s cover page. “When they learned you were using Muggle books as textbooks, the Ministry of Magic started making trouble again. That group of pure-bloods never settles down, clamoring to convene the Wizengamot for a new decision.”
“New things always come with controversy.”
“We old folks don’t have the energy to deal with their fuss.”
Madam Marchbanks shook her head, her trembling right hand dipping into her shirt pocket to pull out an appointment letter far larger than the pocket opening: “Tofudi—that old fellow who sat next to me that day, he’s the deputy director of the Administration—discussed it with me and decided to appoint you as Special Advisor to the Department of Magical Examinations, specifically responsible for the reform of Muggle Studies.”
“…”
Melvin pondered briefly: “How is the salary calculated?”
Madam Marchbanks was somewhat speechless, looked up at him, her slightly hoarse voice echoing in the few inches of space: “No salary, only duties. You need to record your teaching content, write detailed lesson plans, record student feedback. It’s just that the knowledge points you record will become exam points for Muggle Studies, and for the next few decades or even centuries, your lesson plans will be the teaching syllabus… In short, the standards for this subject will be set by you.”
“A thankless hard job.”
“That’s right.”
“But I want to give it a try.”
This job wasn’t as bad as Madam Marchbanks described; no salary didn’t mean no rewards.
And for Melvin, the rewards of this job were extremely generous.
Since its establishment in the 15th century, the Department of Magical Examinations has grown, after years of development, into a professional institution with vast resources.
The Administration has multiple functional departments responsible for all examination-related work in the Wizarding World, including qualification reviews, independent question setting, exam supervision… An institution that sets standards and evaluates other wizards has seen its influence continuously expand over five hundred years.
This influence was exactly what Melvin needed.
Over the next few hours, the two discussed detailed teaching plans until the sun set in the west, when Melvin finally suggested parting.
…
The bookstore is also open at night.
Madam Marchbanks didn’t leave, sitting by the window in the café, the encyclopedia open in front of her, her expression gentle as she looked at the street below, as if appreciating the view.
According to the Administration’s system, wizards appointed as Special Advisors are all retired professors; the previous record-breaker for age was fifty when onboarding.
This exceptional appointment was due in part to Dumbledore’s behind-the-scenes push, and also their group of old scholars seeking change.
Normally, Special Advisors have no right to set teaching standards; an expert group is usually formed, with constant additions and deletions, repeated negotiations, dragging on for decades before agreement. The revision of Muggle Studies teaching content began ten years ago, more or less influenced by the Wizarding War and the Dark Lord.
The content their group of old pedants compiled, totaling hundreds of thousands of words, was all swept into the scraps of paper compared to this encyclopedia.
The old witch’s eyes reflected the passing traffic, the soft streetlights on both sides of the road, and also the figure with light footsteps by the roadside.
So young.
…
Correspondence calls with Madam Marchbanks, answering questions from the Wizard Examinations Administration, adapting to London’s living environment, adapting to the local accent, and wizards’ strange slang, surveying art development prospects… It was already the end of July when he returned to Diagon Alley.
The road was crowded with students and parents doing back-to-school shopping.
Melvin stood at the entrance of the stationery shop; he needed to buy some developing potion.
This potion makes the people in photographs move, turning pictures into videos—moving pictures without sound—the duration and frame rate fluctuating based on potion quality; poor quality gives two or three seconds of mosaic, good quality just half a minute standard definition.
The raw materials for brewing the potion aren’t rare, and the steps aren’t complex, but it’s time- and labor-intensive, so it doesn’t sell for much.
Skilled Potions Masters won’t waste time on it, so developing potions on the market are generally low quality; Melvin could only try his luck.
“Welcome to Transfiguration Ink Stationery Shop. How can I help you, sir?”
“Do you have developing potion?”
“Of course, sir!”
The shop assistant’s eyes lit up at developing potion—who among ordinary wizards does photography?—he quickly took out several bottles of stock: “This one lasts two seconds, only 19 Knuts per pint; this one four seconds, only 1 Sickle 17 Knuts per pint; this one 10 seconds, 3 Sickles 7 Knuts per pint!”
“…”
Prices with decimals.
Melvin’s eye twitched.
With such a distorted and deformed exchange rate, Gringotts goblins must have been drunk to come up with it.
“Sir, which one do you need?”
Melvin rubbed his brow: “Is there developing time longer than that?”
“Even longer.” The shop assistant showed a delighted expression. “Sir, you should know the properties of developing potion; I must warn you in advance that beyond 10 seconds, the longer the time, the more expensive, and every additional second doubles the price.”
“Show them to me first.”
Melvin spoke without much confidence; he roughly calculated that for a movie at 90 minutes, even if he was frugal, no editing needed, using the shop assistant’s calculation method…
While he was calculating how many Diagon Alleys he could buy with 3 Sickles 7 Knuts multiplied by 2 to the 5400th power, the shop assistant had already taken out the shop’s highest quality developing potion.
“Handmade by Potions Master Damocles Belby, developing time up to 23 seconds, priced at 1600 Galleons.” The shop assistant’s smile was exceptionally friendly.
“…”
Melvin was somewhat moved.
He even rounded it down for me.
After a few seconds of mutual silence with the shop assistant, Melvin still bought a few pints of the cheap ones. As for that work by Potions Master Belby, it was after all the shop’s treasure; Melvin thought it should stay in the shop.
“I want to make a two-hour developing photograph. Any suggestions?”
The shop assistant knew that bottle was hard to sell and wasn’t too disappointed: “Sir, you’re talking about Muggle videos, right?”
“You actually know?”
“I’m a half-blood wizard; my mother is a Muggle.”
The shop assistant neatly packed away the potions and turned with a smile: “I suggest you just use a Muggle camcorder to shoot; full set of equipment, cheap price, and clearer.”
Melvin shook his head: “Camcorder filming and projection both need electricity…”
Power generation, transmission, usage—that’s an entire industrial system.
By the time the Wizarding World has electricity, wizards and Muggles should have entered a new era; fastest would still take over a decade.
Seeing him frown in worry, the shop assistant glanced around and lowered his voice: “If you really need it, you can check out Borgin and Burkes in Knockturn Alley next door.”
“Even the Dark Wizards in Knockturn Alley have electricity?” Melvin was very surprised.
“Even if the Ministry of Magic agreed, those pure-bloods wouldn’t allow it.” The shop assistant showed an exasperated expression. “I mean, next door might have modified camcorders.”
“…”
Melvin left thoughtfully.
Magical modification of Muggle items, something teetering on the edge of the Secrecy Law.
Under the jurisdiction of the Office for the Misuse of Magic in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, with an Office for the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts below it—once an open-minded department that modified a batch of technological creations, including cars, elevators, wired telephones…
Since Umbridge took over, it became closed and conservative, severely cracking down on such activities.
Melvin exited the Transfiguration Ink Stationery Shop and slipped into the adjacent alley, reaching this street in a few minutes.
Before the Secrecy Law, wizards’ shops were set up among Muggle markets; wizards entering did magic business, Muggles entering did ordinary business. Diagon Alley wasn’t called Diagon Alley back then.
As Britain’s most bustling city, this street in Central London attracted wizards nationwide. Solitary wizards occasionally came to procure magical materials; wizarding villages did bulk procurement of living supplies. If a Potions Master brewed rare potions to sell, in that era of information blockage, it was hard to find buyers, so selling to the potion shops here was the best choice.
Sometimes Muggle merchants sold grain, oil, salt, exchanging for finely crafted handicrafts; to unskilled Muggles, every item here was a precious work of art.
After all, made with Transfiguration.
Occasionally one could find legendary treasures, like sickles that automatically harvest wheat, potions that cure all diseases…
Convenient transportation, well-informed news, stable supply channels; Muggle merchants did business here tax-free, wizards could exchange Transfiguration products for gold and gemstones. With caravans and wizards spreading the word, its reputation grew.
At that time, the British royals still employed court wizards; the Ministry of Magic and the royals had a tacit understanding. Under this unspoken tacit approval, a renowned wizard trading market was born in Central London.
Including the Malfoy family, many pure-blood families accumulated astonishing wealth in that era, annexing land and building their foundations.
Until the Secrecy Law was enacted.
In just three hundred years, everything changed; Muggle shops and wizard shops were completely separated, wizards who once traded with Muggles became pure-blood families scorning Muggles, the bustling market dispersed, split into two alleys.
Diagon Alley has wide, open roads under Ministry of Magic supervision, with Aurors on regular patrol to ensure safety of customers and merchants’ persons and property; all goods legal and compliant, no Muggle-related items.
Knockturn Alley started legal and compliant too, but its roads are rugged, alleys intersecting alleys, corners linking corners, complex environment with narrow sightlines—not to mention safety for merchants and customers, even lone Aurors couldn’t guarantee their own safety, so gradually the Ministry of Magic overlooked the place.
Without strict rules, wild growth inevitably produces strange things.
Borgin and Burkes is such an existence: a place dealing in acquiring and selling Dark Magic Items, yet earning praise from Dark Wizards for its own reputation, gradually building fame to become Knockturn Alley’s enduring signboard.
