Borgin

Borgin
Biographical information
Born	Between pre-1846 and 1975
Blood status	Pure-blood or half-blood (most likely)
Nationality	British
Physical information
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Affiliation
Occupation	Shopkeeper
Loyalty	Borgin and Burkes

"Mr Malfoy, what a pleasure to see you again. Delighted — and young Master Malfoy, too — charmed. How may I be of assistance? I must show you, just in today, and very reasonably priced —"

— Borgin greeting Lucius and Draco Malfoy in his shop

Mr Borgin was a Dark wizard and the co-owner of Borgin and Burkes, a shop in Knockturn Alley which bought and sold objects of dark magic and other dangerous magical artefacts. Borgin seemed to operate the shop mostly by himself, and it is unknown what happened to his co-owner Caractacus Burke.

Biography

Early life

Borgin behind the counter of his shop

Borgin and Burkes was established in 1863, but it is unknown whether Borgin was one of the founders of the shop, and, if not, when he started working there. From the 1920s to the 1940s, Caractacus Burke seemed to have been the one who handled business at the shop, as he bought Slytherin's locket from Merope Gaunt and was Tom Riddle's employer until the latter left to pursue his own schemes c. 1947.

Borgin had multiple interactions with the Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt, with Kingsley later claiming that Borgin would talk to him during an investigation because he "knew him well."

1990s

Aquiring Grindelwald's wand

By 1991, Borgin and Burke had acquired Gellert Grindelwald's original wand, although neither of them bothered to obtain its provenance, and put it up for sale in their store. A magical artefacts collector bought the wand from them and sought to verify it as Grindelwald's. At the same time, a Metamorphmagus Dark wizard used the Cruciatus Curse on a number of individuals in an attempt to track down Grindelwald's wand to "reclaim Grindelwald's glory", catching the attention of the British Auror Office.

Kingsley Shacklebolt, Nymphadora Tonks and the Rare, Obscure, and Confounding Case Division agent Jacob's sibling were assigned to stake out Borgin and Burkes to capture the Dark wizard, with Tonks also suspecting that Borgin might have been involved in the Dark wizard's crimes alongside Burke. While they did so, the Dark wizard had already made his way inside and began using the Cruciatus Curse on Borgin, demanding that Borgin reveal the location of Grindelwald's wand. Under torture, Borgin told the Dark wizard that the wand was no longer in the shop, as it had already been sold to the collector. Having got the necessary information from Borgin, the Dark wizard used his Metamorphmagus abilities to escape without being seen by the watching Aurors and Jacob's sibling. These events were observed by Mundungus Fletcher, who left Borgin and Burkes in fear before being convinced by Jacob's sibling to tell them what he had witnessed and that the Dark wizard had already escaped. Mundungus also asserted that Borgin seemed to have recovered from being tortured remarkably quickly.

Kingsley later interviewed Borgin regarding the situation. Borgin confirmed the story Kingsley had heard from Mundungus, asserting that the wand had been sold without provenance to the collector, whom Borgin claimed to be legitimate. Kingsley informed Tonks and Jacob's sibling of Borgin's claims at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, where they realised that the collector would likely seek out Garrick Ollivander to verify the wand as Grindelwald's.

Doing business with the Malfoys

Draco Malfoy: "Can I have that?"

Borgin: "Ah, the Hand of Glory! Insert a candle and it gives light only to the holder! Best friend of thieves and plunderers! Your son has fine taste, sir."

Lucius Malfoy: "I hope my son will amount to more than a thief or a plunderer, Borgin."

Borgin: "No offence, sir, no offence meant —"

— Borgin trying to sell goods to the Malfoys

Lucius Malfoy selling Borgin dark items

In 1992, Lucius Malfoy came to Borgin and Burkes to sell him several dark objects and poisons, fearing that the Ministry of Magic would soon be investigating his mansion. Borgin seemed displeased that Malfoy did not want to buy anything, but tried to convince Malfoy's son Draco to buy the Hand of Glory. Once the Malfoys left, Borgin showed signs of disliking and resenting Malfoy, thinking that the objects Malfoy had brought him were only a small piece of what Malfoy was hiding in his mansion.

Second Wizarding War

Borgin: "Well, without seeing it, I must say it will be a very difficult job, perhaps impossible. I couldn't guarantee anything."

Draco Malfoy: "No? Perhaps this will make you more confident. Tell anyone, and there will be retribution. You know Fenrir Greyback? He's a family friend. He'll be dropping in from time to time to make sure you're giving the problem your full attention."

Borgin: "There will be no need for..."

— Draco Malfoy threatening Borgin

In 1996, Draco Malfoy came to Borgin to reserve the Vanishing Cabinet, which he planned to use to smuggle Death Eaters into Hogwarts. He also asked for instructions on how to repair the other Vanishing Cabinet, located in Hogwarts. Borgin was not sure how this would be possible without having the cabinet with him, but became much more cooperative when Draco showed him his Dark Mark and threatened to send Fenrir Greyback on regular checks if he would not succeed. He also sold the Opal Necklace and Hand of Glory to Draco, the former being used in a failed attempt to assassinate Albus Dumbledore, and the latter being used in combination with Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder.

Hermione Granger tried to trick Borgin into telling her what Draco had been doing inside the shop, but Borgin easily saw through it and threw her out of the shop.

Later life

Although Borgin continued working at Borgin and Burkes through at least October 2020, the Ministry of Magic kept an eye on his operation for several years after discovering that he was the one who had sold the Opal Necklace to Draco.

Physical description

Mr Borgin in his shop

"A stooping man had appeared behind the counter, smoothing his greasy hair back from his face."

— Borgin comes to greet Lucius Malfoy and his son

Borgin was a stooping man with oily hair. He would put on a pair of pince-nez when reading was required.

Personality and traits

"Good day yourself, Mister Malfoy, and if the stories are true, you haven't sold me half of what's hidden in your manor..."

— Borgin's greedy personality

Borgin was described as having a voice as oily as his hair. In the presence of important and intimidating customers, he would bow deep and flatter them. Only upon departure would he drop his oily manner and express his disdain with dark muttering. He was also very greedy and money-minded, as he was jubilant when Lucius Malfoy entered his shop, only to be disappointed that the man was selling instead of buying, with Borgin even swiping a coin back without Lucius or his son noticing.

Borgin could be intimidated easily by customers with powerful influence, as Draco Malfoy threatened him with the Dark Mark on his forearm and Fenrir Greyback, both of which led Borgin to cower to Draco's whims. However, when dealing with obviously less influential people, such as Hermione Granger, Borgin could be very cold and insolent, as he booted her out of his shop after she made a poor attempt to coax information from him. According to Mundungus Fletcher, Borgin also displayed an ability to recover notably quickly from the effects of the Cruciatus Curse, suggesting he had been exposed to the curse's effects several times prior to its use on him by the Metamorphmagus Dark wizard.

Borgin appeared to be a pure-blood supremacist, as he stated to Lucius that blood purity was as significant to him as ever (this incidentally suggests that he was a pure-blood wizard, or at least a half-blood clinging onto his wizard heritage). It is, of course, possible that Borgin was simply playing up his loyalty to pure-blood supremacy to endear himself to Malfoy and thus get a better deal out of him.

However, when he compared him to the rest of Knockturn Alley's residents, Harry Potter expressed a belief that Borgin was "relatively harmless", although he did assert that his wares could be extremely dangerous.

Magical abilities and skills

• Dark Arts: Borgin, being the proprietor of a shop devoted to dark magic, was highly knowledgeable of dark magical artefacts and cursed objects, such as the Hand of Glory and the Opal Necklace. His superior knowledge in this field heavily implied he was a highly competent Dark wizard as well.
• Magical repair: Borgin was very well-versed in repairing magical artefacts that cannot be simply be done with the Mending Charm, as with the instructions he gave to Draco, the young wizard managed to repair the Vanishing Cabinet, though it took about a full school year to do so, meaning he was certainly knowledgeable in this magical craft.

Relationships

Malfoy family

Borgin: "It's the same all over. Wizard blood is counting for less everywhere —"

Lucius Malfoy: "Not with me."

Borgin: "No, sir, nor with me, sir."

— Borgin being sycophantic towards Lucius Malfoy

As the Malfoy family was full of wealthy Dark wizards, they carried many dealings with Borgin. In their presence, the shop owner would put on his sycophantic personality and flatter them at every situation possible. However, behind their backs, Borgin rather resented the patriarch Lucius Malfoy due to his haughtiness.

When Lucius's son Draco Malfoy came to him for repairing the Vanishing Cabinet, the young wizard intimidated Borgin into unquestioned cooperation, all the while Borgin could barely hide his resentment, and even less his fear.

Muggle-borns

Borgin appeared to be a pure-blood supremacist, and as such, appeared to disdain muggle-borns. He was cold and insolent towards Hermione Granger when she visited his shop, though her poor attempt to coax information out of him was also quite insulting in return, which is most likely the reason why he booted her out.

Behind the scenes

Borgin in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets on the Game Boy Color

• Mr Borgin was portrayed by Edward Tudor-Pole in the the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, but his scenes were cut. They were later included in the extended version.
  • One of these deleted scenes shows Harry being noticed and stopped by Borgin as the former is about to leave. When Borgin asks Harry what he wanted to buy in the shop or a reason for his presence there, Harry quickly gives a white lie about being in the wrong place, after which Borgin allows him to go.
• In the video game adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Borgin owns the Lumos spellbook.
• If Borgin truly founded the shop with Caractacus Burke in 1863, he would be at least 146 by 1992. While wizards have been known to live this long, it is unknown if he is was this ancient or if he became Burke's business partner well after the shop was already established and eventually put his name first, possibly after Burke's death. However he could also be a descendant of the original Borgin.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film) (Appears in deleted scene(s))
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game) (GBA and GBC versions)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film) (Mentioned on sign) (Possible appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Mentioned only)
• Pottermore (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter (website) (Mentioned only)
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (Mentioned on sign)
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 (Cutscene only)
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter: Wizards Unite