In the second Harry Potter movie - The Chamber of Secrets, the young Harry Potter, on Molly Weasley's instructions, uses the Floo powder to travel from the Burrow to his intended destination, Diagon Alley. His journey deviates from the expected course, and he ends up alone in the dodgy Knockturn Alley. Though Hagrid escorts him to the Weasleys, the young wizard does become privy to an odd conversation between Mr. Borgin and Lucius Malfoy which hints at brewing anti-Muggle sentiment. So, how does the young wizard end up in the twisting alleyway devoted to the Dark Arts in the second Harry Potter movie, and what was he doing in the Weasley family home, the Burrow, in the first place?
The answer lies in the Dursleys' mistreatment of Harry. At the beginning of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the Malfoy Manor house-elf, Dobby visits Harry at 4 Privet Drive. The elf warns Harry from returning to Hogwarts and when the young wizard refuses, he jeopardizes the biggest business deal of Vernon's career. Dobby lifts Aunt Petunia's pudding using a Hover Charm, dumps it on Mrs. Mason, and vanishes. Harry gets the short end of the stick and Vernon Dursley imprisons him in his room by putting bars outside his window and forbids him from going back to Hogwarts. Thankfully, Ron, Fred, and George Weasley rescue Harry in their father's Flying Ford Anglia and take him and Hedwig back to the Burrow.
How Does The Floo Network Work?
As Harry's having breakfast with the Weasleys in The Chamber of Secrets, Errol the owl delivers the boys' Hogwarts letters. Naturally, they head to Diagon Alley to purchase school supplies. They pull on their coats and stand in front of the fireplace. Molly picks up her household stock of Floo powder flowerpot from the mantle and offers it to her house guest, asking him to go first. Puzzled, Harry looks at Ron, who informs her mother that his friend has never traveled by Floo powder before. The lot of them stand in front of the fireplace and Molly calls Ron forward to show how it's done. Ron takes a pinch of powder out of the flowerpot, steps inside the fireplace and Molly directs everyone to step back. Tossing the powder into the fireplace, he shouts the name of the destination, "Diagon Alley!" The fire turns emerald green with a roar, rises above Ron and he vanishes. The green flames extinguish, and Molly assures Harry that traveling by Floo powder is quite easy and that he needn't be afraid.
While Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets doesn't go into the details of the Floo Network, the fact is, witches and wizards utilize the magical Floo powder to travel by the Floo Network. The said network connects the fireplaces of almost all wizarding households and buildings. Upon entering a fireplace at the origin building, travelers use the Floo powder to exit a fireplace at the destination building. The use of this magical powder has specific prerequisites. Right off the bat, it's absolutely essential that travelers speak very clearly, and not fidget or panic. When the powder is tossed into a fireplace that's connected to Floo Network, ash, heat, and panic can prevent a traveler from stating the intended destination properly. Since Floo powder can only be used once, a traveler can end up at the wrong destination if they do not speak clearly.
The Floo Network is established, monitored, and maintained by the regulatory Floo Network Authority, affiliated with the Ministry of Magic. The Ministry uses Floo powder due to its advantages. The first one being it's a lot quicker, unlike the broomsticks. Secondly, witches and wizards can use the powder without the fear of breaking the International Statute of Secrecy. Muggles' homes aren't connected to the Floo Network, but of course, temporary and special arrangements can be made. Harry first traveled via the Floo Network when he journeyed from the Burrow. In the movie adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the British pure-blood witch, Bellatrix Lestrange used the Floo Network to escape from the Battle of the Department of Mysteries.
Harry Ended Up At Knockturn Alley
Harry Potter got nervous during his first Floo powder travel. He took a pinch of the magical powder from the flowerpot, walked into the fireplace, and forgot the one thing that Molly advised him to do, i.e. "...to speak very, very clearly." He said "Diagonally!" out loud, vanished, and fell out of the wrong fireplace. Harry slid out of Borgin and Burkes' fireplace, located at 13B Knockturn Alley. Chapter 4 of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, "At Flourish and Blotts," describes Harry's journey via the Floo Network akin to "...being sucked down a giant drain."
The young wizard arrived disheveled, and covered in ash and soot. His glasses were broken, and he was slightly terrified of the antique shop he'd landed in. This dimly lit wizard's shop stocked unusual artefacts, such as the Hand of Glory that tightly grabbed Harry's hand, forcing him to pry it off. Before he could make his way out, he saw Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) outside and took refuge inside a cabinet. Borgin and Lucius were unhappy with the ongoing Ministry of Magic raids and the latter was selling off his Dark Magic items. It was only when Lucius walked out of the shop that Harry walked out of the cabinet. Mr. Borgin grabbed him from behind, and he excused himself saying he was in the wrong place. Harry quickly realized he's landed in a dodgy place. Fortunately, Hagrid, who was looking for Flesh-Eating Slug Repellent, saw him in the twisting alleyway and steered him out into the bright sunlight of Diagon Alley. This scene propelled the plot of the second Harry Potter movie.