Flourish and Blotts

"They bought Harry’s school books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all."

- Harry Potter's first time at Flourish and Blotts.

Flourish and Blotts Bookseller is a bookshop in North Side, Diagon Alley. Established in 1454, it is where most Hogwarts students purchase their schoolbooks. The shop has had a few problems with certain books, such as The Invisible Book of Invisibility which cost them a great deal of money though they never found them, and The Monster Book of Monsters which tore each other up as well as biting the manager when he tried to get one out. Flourish and Blotts also runs a service, which enables purchasers to buy books via owl delivery. They also take advance orders for book that are in high demand, such as The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore.

Establishment
Flourish and Blotts was first established in Diagon Alley in the year of 1454.

1992
Sometime in early 1992, Flourish and Blotts was closed as it attempted to locate its order of Disappearing Ink. In August of 1992, famous wizard author Gilderoy Lockhart held a book signing at the shop and used it as an opportunity to announce his taking of the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry that year. In an effort to gain more publicity, he dragged Harry Potter into the spotlight against his will and gifted Harry a complete set of his books. That same day, a fistfight occurred between Lucius Malfoy and Arthur Weasley, and Lucius Malfoy secretly gave Tom Riddle's Diary to Ginny Weasley.

During the Christmas holidays, the bookshop was temporarily closed, as they were still tidying up after Gilderoy Lockhart's book signing in August.

1993
In the summer of 1993, the front window of Flourish and Blotts held an iron cage filled with hundreds of copies of The Monster Book of Monsters. To deal with the vicious books, set for the third year Care of Magical Creatures class taught by Rubeus Hagrid, the harassed manager had to gear up with thick gloves and jab at them with a knobbly walking stick, as the books tend to rip each other apart. When Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley went to the shop to buy their schoolbooks, the manager almost cried when Ron and Hermione said they wanted two copies of The Monster Book of Monsters, but was very relieved when Harry noted that he already had a copy. Harry also asks for a copy of Unfogging the Future to which the manager leads them to a small corner in the back of the shop where a small table lies for books on Fortune Telling, such as Predicting the Unpredictable: Insulate Yourself Against Shocks and Broken Balls: When Fortunes Turn Foul.

Behind the scenes

 * The set for Flourish and Blotts was a redress of the set for Garrick Ollivander's Wand Shop, which reflects on the real-world as shops on Diagon Alley would most likely have similar layouts due to space requirements, as a row of mini-mall shops might.
 * The 2-disc DVD edition of the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets includes an interactive tour of Diagon Alley and this shop, which is the only shop interior in the tour to also be interactive.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
 * Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (real)
 * LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
 * LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
 * Harry Potter Trading Card Game
 * Pottermore