Into the Dark
written by Sayan Sanyal
Light isn't that much white every where.... Somewhere it also fades in the fear of the dark... there are places... there are magics..there are stories.... the society is not aware of.... Behind the walls of fake security there are forbidden worlds where wizardry is not present in its usual way.... where you can fear the unknown.... can face the hidden truths.... But, every such things need sacrifices.....
Last Updated
05/31/21
Chapters
14
Reads
948
Dark & Forbidden Places
Chapter 7
Behind the known walls there are places this chapter is going to talk about in a few words....
This section is going to discuss about some of these places....
"Little Hangleton graveyard"
After Voldemort killed his father and paternal grandparents, they were buried in the graveyard by the church in Little Hangleton. This, then, is also where Harry was taken by Portkey, saw Cedric Diggory killed and Voldemort reborn, and duelled Voldemort in 1995.
"Grimmauld Place"
Grimmauld Place is a Muggle street in London on which number twelve, Grimmauld Place is found. Since number twelve is hidden from Muggle eyes, the residents of the street have “long since accepted the amusing mistake in the numbering that had caused number eleven to sit beside number thirteen”.
We know the street is within about a mile of King’s Cross Station and of St. Mungo’s Hospital, but can determine little more information than that.
"Knockturn Alley"
The name Knockturn Alley may be a play on words of "nocturnally", meaning done by night.
Just around the corner from Diagon Alley lies a dark, twisting alleyway devoted to the Dark Arts : Knockturn Alley. It’s a place that the Weasley children are not allowed in, and with good reason; not only are the wares sold their a bit dodgy, but the wizards hanging around behave fairly suspiciously as well. From the shops and the street vendors one can purchase, among other things, shrunken heads, poisonous candles, human-looking fingernails, and Flesh-Eating Slug Repellent.
"Borgin and Burkes"
Some way down Knockturn Alley at number 13B lies Borgin and Burkes, the most notorious of the alley’s shops, which specializes in “objects with unusual and powerful properties”, and particularly items that are both “unusual and ancient”. The shop is quite large, dusty, and dimly lit, with a large stone fireplace, and is known to be frequented by families like the Malfoys. Its proprietors, Mr. Borgin and Caractacus Burke, are smooth talkers known to buy magical objects for much less than they’re worth, and sell them for far more.
When Tom Riddle graduated Hogwarts, he surprised his teachers by taking a job at Borgin and Burkes, though they gladly hired him as he was an enchanting young man and able to “persuade” owners of valuable magical objects to sell them to the shop. What his professors didn’t know was that Riddle wanted access to these powerful objects, already thinking of his
Horcruxes. When Riddle went on one such visit, to the home of Hepzibah Smith, she showed him two valuable objects that she possessed: the cup of Hufflepuff and Slytherin’s locket. Upon seeing these, Riddle murdered Hepzibah, framed her house-elf, stole the items, and vanished.
Harry has visited the shop twice; first as a twelve-year-old, when he accidentally took the Floo Network to the wrong destination, and watched Lucius Malfoy come in with Draco and sell items to the shop; and second four years later, when he secretly followed Draco to the shop and overheard him purchasing the vanishing cabinet and threatening Mr. Borgin, though Harry did not figure out what Malfoy had been buying until many months later.
"Caretaker’s cottage"
Frank Bryce, caretaker of the Riddle House, lived in a run-down cottage on the property.
Bryce had a bad leg from World War II and wanted to be left alone by the other villagers of Little Hangleton. But when the three members of the Riddle family dropped dead one night, he became the main suspect, and everyone in town thought he was "odd" anyway. Yet when the medical report came out, there was no clear cause of death and nothing to connect Frank to the murders, which were actually perpetrated by young Tom Marvolo Riddle.
When Voldemort returned to the Riddle House with Wormtail, Bryce saw a light on from the cottage kitchen window while filling his teakettle. He thought boys had broken into the house and went to investigate, where he met his death from the Killing Curse.
"New Orleans"
American city in the state of Louisiana, located at the delta of the Mississippi River on the Gulf of Mexico.
"Spinner’s End"
Spinner’s End is a street in Cokeworth, a dark industrial Muggle town, most likely somewhere in northern industrial England. It is on this street that Snape’s house sits, and down which Narcissa Malfoy ran – with Bellatrix Lestrange in pursuit – to seek him out. Somewhere nearby, there is also a Muggle playground where a young Snape first met Lily and Petunia Evans, and most likely the house they grew up in as well.
Severus, Lily and Petunia grew up together in the town of Cokeworth, which is where Spinner's End is located.
During Occlumency lessons, Harry used a Shield Charm against Snape's Legilimens and accidentally saw some of Snape's memories that took place at Spinner's End: "...a hook-nosed man was shouting at a cowering woman, while a small dark-haired boy cried in a corner… a greasy-haired teenager sat alone in a dark bedroom, pointing his wand at the ceiling, shooting down flies…".
Spinner's End is near a "dirty river" and overshadowed by a huge chimney left over some from forgotten mill. Bellatrix Lestrange refers to it as a "Muggle dunghill".
"Sea Cave"
Inaccessible except by magic, this cave complex on the coast was visited by young Tom Riddle while he was on an outing to the coast with children from the orphanage (circa 1930). While there he terrorized two of his classmates, Amy Benson and Dennis Bishop. Many years later, he magically stored and protected one of his Horcruxes in an inner chamber of the cave system.
Though we can’t be certain where it’s located, somewhere in Britain is the cave Tom Riddle visited as a boy on a trip with his orphanage – and where he later stored one of his Horcruxes.
The cave had a large number of complex enchantments placed on it, some placed by Voldemort and some perhaps by earlier wizards, which were designed to keep others away from the Horcrux.
"Malfoy Manor"
Located in southwestern England in Wiltshire, the Malfoy Mansion is a “handsome manor house” with extensive grounds. Draco Malfoy grew up here with his parents, Lucius and Narcissa, and their house-elf Dobby. Dobby was freed in 1993, and we know of no other family members or house-elves who have stayed here.
At some point during his 1996-1997 ascent to power, Voldemort decided to begin using the Malfoy Mansion as a base for Death Eaters. He wasn’t around much himself, but a number of Death Eaters stayed there and prisoners were kept in the cellar under the drawing room.
Layout and Grounds
Albino PeacockLocated off a “narrow lane,” the entrance to the grounds of the mansion is grand indeed. A high, manicured yew hedge borders the driveway on both sides. The driveway is perfectly straight, running through wrought-iron gates and straight up to the front door. Though we never see the rest of the grounds, there are hints of an expansive landscape: the garden has a fountain and albino peacocks roam the lawns.
Jo has also described the gardens as a contrast to Harry’s background – she planned a scene for the books that never made it in, but took place in the gardens and “showed the difference between the place where Draco has grown up and number four, Privet Drive.” Given that number four, Privet Drive is a nice house itself, it’s safe to assume that peacocks aren’t the only taste of elegance present around the Malfoy mansion.
Inside the house is no different – “sumptuously decorated, with a magnificent carpet” and “ornate,” “gilded” furnishings. There is a large entrance hall with a door that leads directly into the drawing room, where Voldemort held a meeting with his Death Eaters and where Harry and his friends were interrogated and tortured after their capture. Off of this room, a dark passageway leads to a steep staircase and a cellar, where Mr. Ollivander and Luna Lovegood were held as prisoners. These rooms are the only ones described in the books, though presumably there are many more as well.
Draco Malfoy has also described a “secret chamber under the drawing-room floor,” where Lucius can hide his Dark Arts stuff from Ministry officials when they conduct raids; this is presumably the same chamber that is used for prisoners years later, as when Mr. Ollivander is trapped there his cries come from beneath the floor of this room. The entrance to it doesn’t seem particularly inconspicuous, though; perhaps it’s normally hidden behind a tapestry.
"Leaky Cauldron"
The Leaky Cauldron is a wizarding pub located on Charing Cross Road in London.
The Leaky Cauldron is described as “dark and shabby” inside, though it’s also known for being a “welcoming” place. The main room on the ground floor has a bar and quite a few tables, and down the narrow hall from here is a private parlor, also with a fireplace, where Cornelius Fudge once chatted with Harry about blowing up his Aunt Marge.
From the ground floor, a “handsome wooden staircase” leads up to the guest rooms, of which there are at least five and almost certainly more. The room Harry once stayed in was Room 11, the first room at the top of the stairs (and likely the first room on the first floor, rather than the eleventh room). The rooms have brass numbers on the doors and contain comfortable beds, polished oak furniture, and at least in Harry’s case, a fireplace and a mirror that talks in a “wheezy voice.” From the windows, both Charing Cross Road (on the Muggle side) and Diagon Alley (on the wizarding side) can be heard. Ron and Percy spent one night in Room 12, next door to Harry, as well.
"Forbidden Forest"
To the east of Hogwarts castle is a large, dark forest. This forest is strictly off limits to Hogwarts students, except in the course of occasional Care of Magical Creatures lessons or detentions. Fred and George Weasley have spent quite a bit of time trying to get into it, naturally. The forbidden forest is often as just called “the forest.”
The forest is thick with trees — beech, oak), pine, sycamore, and yew are mentioned, as well as undergrowth such as knotgrass and thorns — but there are paths, brooks, and some clearings. Off the path the way is almost impassable, although people have moved through it and creatures as large as Acromantulas and a Ford Anglia have managed to get around.
The forest is home to a wide and strange assortment of creatures. Anything wild and dangerous that needs a place to live is put there.
There are areas around the edges of the forest that are part of the Hogwarts grounds, but which are out of sight of the castle. Hagrid set up a paddock for hippogriffs in an area like this and the dragons which had been brought in for the first task were confined here.
Hagrid’s cabin is located at the edge of the forbidden forest.
During the Battle of Hogwarts, Voldemort used the Acromantula’s lair in the forest as his base of operations. The Death Eaters drove out the Acromantulas and conscripted them to fight for the Dark Lord. It was into this clearing, still with webs draped overhead, that Harry walked to sacrifice himself.
and there are many more across the world to discover....
This section is going to discuss about some of these places....
"Little Hangleton graveyard"
After Voldemort killed his father and paternal grandparents, they were buried in the graveyard by the church in Little Hangleton. This, then, is also where Harry was taken by Portkey, saw Cedric Diggory killed and Voldemort reborn, and duelled Voldemort in 1995.
"Grimmauld Place"
Grimmauld Place is a Muggle street in London on which number twelve, Grimmauld Place is found. Since number twelve is hidden from Muggle eyes, the residents of the street have “long since accepted the amusing mistake in the numbering that had caused number eleven to sit beside number thirteen”.
We know the street is within about a mile of King’s Cross Station and of St. Mungo’s Hospital, but can determine little more information than that.
"Knockturn Alley"
The name Knockturn Alley may be a play on words of "nocturnally", meaning done by night.
Just around the corner from Diagon Alley lies a dark, twisting alleyway devoted to the Dark Arts : Knockturn Alley. It’s a place that the Weasley children are not allowed in, and with good reason; not only are the wares sold their a bit dodgy, but the wizards hanging around behave fairly suspiciously as well. From the shops and the street vendors one can purchase, among other things, shrunken heads, poisonous candles, human-looking fingernails, and Flesh-Eating Slug Repellent.
"Borgin and Burkes"
Some way down Knockturn Alley at number 13B lies Borgin and Burkes, the most notorious of the alley’s shops, which specializes in “objects with unusual and powerful properties”, and particularly items that are both “unusual and ancient”. The shop is quite large, dusty, and dimly lit, with a large stone fireplace, and is known to be frequented by families like the Malfoys. Its proprietors, Mr. Borgin and Caractacus Burke, are smooth talkers known to buy magical objects for much less than they’re worth, and sell them for far more.
When Tom Riddle graduated Hogwarts, he surprised his teachers by taking a job at Borgin and Burkes, though they gladly hired him as he was an enchanting young man and able to “persuade” owners of valuable magical objects to sell them to the shop. What his professors didn’t know was that Riddle wanted access to these powerful objects, already thinking of his
Horcruxes. When Riddle went on one such visit, to the home of Hepzibah Smith, she showed him two valuable objects that she possessed: the cup of Hufflepuff and Slytherin’s locket. Upon seeing these, Riddle murdered Hepzibah, framed her house-elf, stole the items, and vanished.
Harry has visited the shop twice; first as a twelve-year-old, when he accidentally took the Floo Network to the wrong destination, and watched Lucius Malfoy come in with Draco and sell items to the shop; and second four years later, when he secretly followed Draco to the shop and overheard him purchasing the vanishing cabinet and threatening Mr. Borgin, though Harry did not figure out what Malfoy had been buying until many months later.
"Caretaker’s cottage"
Frank Bryce, caretaker of the Riddle House, lived in a run-down cottage on the property.
Bryce had a bad leg from World War II and wanted to be left alone by the other villagers of Little Hangleton. But when the three members of the Riddle family dropped dead one night, he became the main suspect, and everyone in town thought he was "odd" anyway. Yet when the medical report came out, there was no clear cause of death and nothing to connect Frank to the murders, which were actually perpetrated by young Tom Marvolo Riddle.
When Voldemort returned to the Riddle House with Wormtail, Bryce saw a light on from the cottage kitchen window while filling his teakettle. He thought boys had broken into the house and went to investigate, where he met his death from the Killing Curse.
"New Orleans"
American city in the state of Louisiana, located at the delta of the Mississippi River on the Gulf of Mexico.
"Spinner’s End"
Spinner’s End is a street in Cokeworth, a dark industrial Muggle town, most likely somewhere in northern industrial England. It is on this street that Snape’s house sits, and down which Narcissa Malfoy ran – with Bellatrix Lestrange in pursuit – to seek him out. Somewhere nearby, there is also a Muggle playground where a young Snape first met Lily and Petunia Evans, and most likely the house they grew up in as well.
Severus, Lily and Petunia grew up together in the town of Cokeworth, which is where Spinner's End is located.
During Occlumency lessons, Harry used a Shield Charm against Snape's Legilimens and accidentally saw some of Snape's memories that took place at Spinner's End: "...a hook-nosed man was shouting at a cowering woman, while a small dark-haired boy cried in a corner… a greasy-haired teenager sat alone in a dark bedroom, pointing his wand at the ceiling, shooting down flies…".
Spinner's End is near a "dirty river" and overshadowed by a huge chimney left over some from forgotten mill. Bellatrix Lestrange refers to it as a "Muggle dunghill".
"Sea Cave"
Inaccessible except by magic, this cave complex on the coast was visited by young Tom Riddle while he was on an outing to the coast with children from the orphanage (circa 1930). While there he terrorized two of his classmates, Amy Benson and Dennis Bishop. Many years later, he magically stored and protected one of his Horcruxes in an inner chamber of the cave system.
Though we can’t be certain where it’s located, somewhere in Britain is the cave Tom Riddle visited as a boy on a trip with his orphanage – and where he later stored one of his Horcruxes.
The cave had a large number of complex enchantments placed on it, some placed by Voldemort and some perhaps by earlier wizards, which were designed to keep others away from the Horcrux.
"Malfoy Manor"
Located in southwestern England in Wiltshire, the Malfoy Mansion is a “handsome manor house” with extensive grounds. Draco Malfoy grew up here with his parents, Lucius and Narcissa, and their house-elf Dobby. Dobby was freed in 1993, and we know of no other family members or house-elves who have stayed here.
At some point during his 1996-1997 ascent to power, Voldemort decided to begin using the Malfoy Mansion as a base for Death Eaters. He wasn’t around much himself, but a number of Death Eaters stayed there and prisoners were kept in the cellar under the drawing room.
Layout and Grounds
Albino PeacockLocated off a “narrow lane,” the entrance to the grounds of the mansion is grand indeed. A high, manicured yew hedge borders the driveway on both sides. The driveway is perfectly straight, running through wrought-iron gates and straight up to the front door. Though we never see the rest of the grounds, there are hints of an expansive landscape: the garden has a fountain and albino peacocks roam the lawns.
Jo has also described the gardens as a contrast to Harry’s background – she planned a scene for the books that never made it in, but took place in the gardens and “showed the difference between the place where Draco has grown up and number four, Privet Drive.” Given that number four, Privet Drive is a nice house itself, it’s safe to assume that peacocks aren’t the only taste of elegance present around the Malfoy mansion.
Inside the house is no different – “sumptuously decorated, with a magnificent carpet” and “ornate,” “gilded” furnishings. There is a large entrance hall with a door that leads directly into the drawing room, where Voldemort held a meeting with his Death Eaters and where Harry and his friends were interrogated and tortured after their capture. Off of this room, a dark passageway leads to a steep staircase and a cellar, where Mr. Ollivander and Luna Lovegood were held as prisoners. These rooms are the only ones described in the books, though presumably there are many more as well.
Draco Malfoy has also described a “secret chamber under the drawing-room floor,” where Lucius can hide his Dark Arts stuff from Ministry officials when they conduct raids; this is presumably the same chamber that is used for prisoners years later, as when Mr. Ollivander is trapped there his cries come from beneath the floor of this room. The entrance to it doesn’t seem particularly inconspicuous, though; perhaps it’s normally hidden behind a tapestry.
"Leaky Cauldron"
The Leaky Cauldron is a wizarding pub located on Charing Cross Road in London.
The Leaky Cauldron is described as “dark and shabby” inside, though it’s also known for being a “welcoming” place. The main room on the ground floor has a bar and quite a few tables, and down the narrow hall from here is a private parlor, also with a fireplace, where Cornelius Fudge once chatted with Harry about blowing up his Aunt Marge.
From the ground floor, a “handsome wooden staircase” leads up to the guest rooms, of which there are at least five and almost certainly more. The room Harry once stayed in was Room 11, the first room at the top of the stairs (and likely the first room on the first floor, rather than the eleventh room). The rooms have brass numbers on the doors and contain comfortable beds, polished oak furniture, and at least in Harry’s case, a fireplace and a mirror that talks in a “wheezy voice.” From the windows, both Charing Cross Road (on the Muggle side) and Diagon Alley (on the wizarding side) can be heard. Ron and Percy spent one night in Room 12, next door to Harry, as well.
"Forbidden Forest"
To the east of Hogwarts castle is a large, dark forest. This forest is strictly off limits to Hogwarts students, except in the course of occasional Care of Magical Creatures lessons or detentions. Fred and George Weasley have spent quite a bit of time trying to get into it, naturally. The forbidden forest is often as just called “the forest.”
The forest is thick with trees — beech, oak), pine, sycamore, and yew are mentioned, as well as undergrowth such as knotgrass and thorns — but there are paths, brooks, and some clearings. Off the path the way is almost impassable, although people have moved through it and creatures as large as Acromantulas and a Ford Anglia have managed to get around.
The forest is home to a wide and strange assortment of creatures. Anything wild and dangerous that needs a place to live is put there.
There are areas around the edges of the forest that are part of the Hogwarts grounds, but which are out of sight of the castle. Hagrid set up a paddock for hippogriffs in an area like this and the dragons which had been brought in for the first task were confined here.
Hagrid’s cabin is located at the edge of the forbidden forest.
During the Battle of Hogwarts, Voldemort used the Acromantula’s lair in the forest as his base of operations. The Death Eaters drove out the Acromantulas and conscripted them to fight for the Dark Lord. It was into this clearing, still with webs draped overhead, that Harry walked to sacrifice himself.
and there are many more across the world to discover....
