Knight Bus

From ArticleWorld

The Knight Bus features in J.K. Rowling’s series of Harry Potter books. It is a heavily enchanted bus providing transportation facilities to witches and wizards. It is a violently purple colored triple – decker bus.

The bus transports magical folk all throughout England, Scotland and Wales. It does not seem to have any set route and passengers get off at any destination of their choosing. The interiors of the bus are enchanted and vary with the time of the day. During daytime, there are rows of mismatched chairs all along the bus. At night, the chairs are replace by rows of beds complete with mattresses. Pillows and hot chocolate are given on paying extra money.

The Knight Bus is invisible to muggles and bolts through streets a high speeds. The ride is seemingly dangerous and filled with jolts and hundred mile leaps which makes the ride very uncomfortable. Objects like lampposts and post boxes dodge out of its way instead of it being the other way round. The only limitation of the bus is that it cannot travel in water. It is lightning fast as per muggle standards but is slower than Floo powder or apparating.

The bus is driven by Ernie Prang and the conductor is Stan Shunpike. The bus is first introduced in the third book when Harry unknowing “hails” it.

Stan Shunpike

Conductor of the Knight Bus, Stan Shunpike is a young pimply fellow who speaks with a cockney accent. He makes a brief appearance in ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’ and also in ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’.

In ‘Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince’, Stan is arrested on suspicions that he is a Death Eater. He is kept in Azkaban though Harry and Dumbledore repeatedly asset his innocence.

Ernie Prang

Driver of the Knight Bus, Ernie Prang, has no significant role in the books. He has no lines in the films. In the book, his only word is “Ar”, the West Country affirmative.