Fred and George and the Toilers of Trouble (Year 1) ✔

Chapter 3:3

When the rest of their family had gone, and the twins were bored with flipping through high-priced books, they snuck out the side door of Flourish and Blotts and joined the rest of the curious shoppers on the crooked cobblestone streets of Diagon Alley.

And what a splendid sight it was to the eyes of two official students of a magical school.  The bustling, narrow walkway was lined with tiny shops of all different names and filled with every sort of magical wonder.  There were shops devoted to enchanted instruments, rare and confusing ingredients for potions, used broomsticks, dealerships for house-elves, and supplies for paranormal plants and gardens.  They even found Ollivanders, where Cedric had bought his wand.  The twins gazed through the large, diamond-pane window and marveled at the endless rows of cloth-wrapped wand boxes.  Beside the counter was a young black boy with short hair and a monogramed robe currently trying out a wand.  His parents radiated sophistication — Dad with the garb of a high-ranking Ministry official, Mom with her dark hair slicked back and a long crystal hanging from her neck.  The twins could see that the boy was an only child by how they doted on him with such pride.  Though a bit disheartening, it was fun for them to watch someone else enjoy the tradition of selecting a magic wand.

As a group, the Weasleys had visited that shadowed alley in the heart of London for years, but this was the first time the boys had traveled there for themselves.  It was finally their time.  And it was well-known, even publicized, that there was something at Diagon Alley for every witch or wizard, no matter their age, so the Weasley twins were determined to find the shop that would suit them best.

"Let's see, George," said Fred, as he sauntered into an active intersection of pedestrians, "where is this Knockturn Alley that Dad's been raving about?"

"My guess is...that direction," George replied, pointing to a tapered, foreboding lane that was devoid of sunlight.  When they saw another cautious parent ushering their young student away from the few peculiar wizards who were frequenting its deserted shops, the twins were certain they had found their objective.

Fred exhaled a sigh of satisfaction. "And away they went," he said.

Ramkins Magical Oddities, the shop directly across the barren and gloomy alley from stores named Our Badder Belongings and Hannibals Hullabaloo, was filthy, to put it mildly.  Beside a lumpy mass of stray rubbish, the cracked steps were littered with bug carcasses, thick iron bars lined the cloudy windows, and much like the rest of the shops along the spooky, serpentine path, there was nothing on display in front of the store.  Knockturn Alley was altogether different from Diagon Alley.  No ornately decorated boxes, no happily chirping creatures, no whirring merchandise tempting you to enter willingly.  It spoke more of terror than toys.

Above the aged door was a phrase carved into the raw, green wood of the storefront. 

Muggles will scream

As you beg for more.

'Tis a promise

Of what's in store.

Fred admired the sign with slow-rising eyebrows. "Isn't it brilliant, George?"

"Welcome home, Fred."

Muggles, as the sign at Ramkins Magical Oddities had stated, were the common people of the world.  They were mysteriously normal and knew nothing of the wonders around them.  Most children who were brought up in the magical community had a hard time understanding Muggles.  Not the twins.  Their father loved the idea of a non-magical lifestyle.  He was so intrigued by their cultures and doings that he took up a job at the Ministry of Magic in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office.  Arthur Weasley could very often be found at home studying something that Muggles used in everyday life, like an oscillating fan, a rubber band, or a child's pacifier.  Most of these objects confused the magical, and yet, if a Muggle were to be introduced to even a speck of the wizarding world, they would run away screeching.  For that reason, the twins stepped boldly into the first shop on Knockturn Alley that touted such wares.