Borgin and Burkes is a large, dusty, and dimly lit shop located at 13B Knockturn Alley. It is known throughout the Wizarding World as a purveyor of objects with dark, dangerous, or questionable magical properties. The shop's window display typically features unsettling items, such as a collection of shrunken heads, to attract its niche clientele. The interior is cramped and filled with a vast inventory of sinister artifacts. When Harry Potter first visited, he noted glass display cases containing items like a blood-stained pack of cards, a staring glass eye, and evil-looking masks. Other notable items for sale included human bones, rusty and spiked instruments, a hangman's rope, and a cursed opal necklace. Two of its most prominent items were the Hand of Glory, which gives light only to its holder, and a large, black-and-gold Vanishing Cabinet. The shop was co-founded by Mr. Borgin and Caractacus Burke. Mr. Burke was known for his unscrupulous business practices; he once purchased Slytherin's Locket from a destitute Merope Gaunt for a mere ten Galleons, a fraction of its true value. After graduating from Hogwarts, a young Tom Riddle worked at the shop as an assistant. He used his charm and position to persuade witches and wizards to part with their valuable heirlooms. It was during this time that he murdered Hepzibah Smith to acquire both Helga Hufflepuff's Cup and Slytherin's Locket, which he would later turn into Horcruxes.
Borgin and Burkes is a key location in two major plotlines of the series. In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter accidentally travels to the shop via the Floo Network when he mispronounces “Diagon Alley”. While hiding inside the Vanishing Cabinet, he overhears a conversation between Lucius Malfoy and Mr. Borgin. Lucius Malfoy is selling several dark poisons and other forbidden items to avoid them being found during Ministry of Magic raids. His son, Draco Malfoy, accompanies him, expressing a desire to own the Hand of Glory. This event serves as Harry's first introduction to the dark underbelly of the wizarding world. In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the shop becomes central to Draco Malfoy's secret mission from Lord Voldemort. Draco uses the shop's Vanishing Cabinet and its twin, located in the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts, to create a secret passage. He intimidates Mr. Borgin into helping him repair the cabinets. Harry, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger spy on Draco at the shop, confirming their suspicions that he has become a Death Eater. Draco's plan culminates in him successfully smuggling a group of Death Eaters into Hogwarts, leading directly to the Battle of the Astronomy Tower and the death of Albus Dumbledore. Additionally, the cursed opal necklace that nearly kills Katie Bell was purchased by Draco from Borgin and Burkes.